Johan Svensson Plans to Give & Other Stories an Editorial Spin
MORE STORIES: After nearly 10 years in business, the H&M-owned brand & Other Stories wants to take a more editorial tack and speak to an increasingly sophisticated and sustainability-minded customer.
To wit, it has hired magazine veteran Johan Svensson, former design director at W Magazine and creative director at British Vogue, as head of brand identity and creation.
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While Svensson’s big reveal won’t be until the fall 2023 ad campaign, he plans to make a series of “small changes” in the next months with the aim of reinforcing & Other Stories’ point of view.
When & Other Stories launched in 2013, it was a jolt of fresh air: a high street concept store and marketplace selling fashion, jewelry, accessories, lingerie, fragrance, makeup and skin care.
It went large on collaborations, working with labels including Rodarte, Rejina Pyo and Vika Gazinskaya, and had worldly flair, touting its collections which are designed in studios stretching from Paris to Stockholm to Los Angeles.
In an interview, Svensson said his plan is to conjure some of that initial excitement and treat the brand as its own media outlet.
“The editorial point of view is increasingly important in commerce because everyone communicates through their own channels nowadays. We no longer rely on magazines doing editorials in the same way as they did in the past. And I think that editorial credibility is increasingly important if you want to speak convincingly to the customer,” he said.
Svensson believes it’s important for brands to have “journalistic integrity, and to try and communicate in an honest way. Especially us — we are telling stories,” he said.
He believes the brand is dealing with a different customer now than it was 10 years ago.
“The world has changed, and the customer is more sophisticated. They know more, they are more fashion conscious and, obviously, from a sustainability standpoint, they are more concerned. And so are we. We have to do the right thing or they will go elsewhere,” he said.
Svensson didn’t give any specifics about the changes he plans to make, but said that “communication and campaigns” will get the biggest refresh in the next months.
Asked about the scribbled logo, Svensson said he’s not touching it. “We love our logo. It has that hand-drawn component that is the core of the brand. It’s artistic, almost like a signature,” he said.
Going forward, Svensson said one of his biggest challenges is “being relevant in all the markets” where the brand operates. “There are lots of interesting ways to do it, but it’s definitely a challenge,” he said.
There are 76 physical & Other Stories stores in 25 markets and it is present online in 33 markets. In terms of store numbers, it is one of H&M group’s smaller brands, and its price points are on a par with other premium high street fashion retailers, such as Zara.
He believes the solution to staying relevant in so many markets is to think like a magazine creative, keep things “at a very high level of quality, and make sure they’re beautiful and well-made. There has to be a sense of surprise, too, a twist, something to grab your attention,” Svensson said.
