St. John 니트의 디자인 분석 및 브랜드 성공전략에 관한 연구

The purpose of this study is to examine St. John Knits Design and Brand Strategy to analyze design characteristics and the factors for success as the world’s top brand through analyzing strategies for differentiated brand and luxury brand and to utilize this study results as data for developing competitive high-grade knit products. The study results are as follows. First, with its core technology, St. John developed "Santana" fiber which has good elasticity and resilience enabling production of wrinkle-free knit to make suits with knits that are too delicate and too easily extensible. Second, ‘Vertical Integration’ is the important production system that determines St. John’s high quality products. More than 98% of production process from the early stage of fiber and dying to the ending stage of attaching buttons, jewelry and accessories is done within St. John, and the system is the company’s core secret of producing consistently high-grade knits and the strategy that is differentiated from other brands. Third, St. John brands succeeded in differentiating strategy as total brands that can totally coordinate suits, which can meet proper time, place and purpose through the subdivision of brands. Fourth, St. John Knits attempts to transform its brand image into younger and more active brand image by expanding target age and adding sportswear production lines. Moreover, the aggressive marketing through advertisement strategy of working with top models also has greatly contributed to the revitalization of new brand image and sales increase. The major factor for St. John Knits having succeeded in becoming the world’s top luxury knit brand maker is the development of new material that enables knit, whichis too extensible and delicate to be manageable, to be used to make top-grade tailored suits. This success can be attributable to the founder’s remarkable sense of design and his insight leading the times by identifying consumer needs and demand of the times ahead of others and presented the designs to consumers. Another factor for establishing the position of the world’s top knit brand is the artisan spirit that directly manages each production process maintaining high-grade product quality consistently, even if time goes by, with the continued trust in customers.