From flea market to fashion powerhouse : A case study on Myrornas brand transformation

Sammanfattning: This study provides information on the transformation from flea market to fashion retail business that the second hand business Myrorna has undergone. The scope of this study has been rebranding, marketing and communication as well as two trends: sustainability and second hand. Previous literature has pointed towards rebranding being an expensive process, whereas Myrorna being a nonprofit business that gives all their excess profit to charity has a non-existing or a tight budget for business aspects. The intriguing question of how Myrorna could go through such an immense transformation with that business structure was a point of departure for this research. The aim for this study was to look into the Swedish second hand business Myronas non- conventional leap from flea market to fashion powerhouse. The research explored this from an internal viewpoint, hence participants that have worked for or at Myrorna during the time when the transformation took place were chosen in order to see if and how: rebranding, marketing and communication and the trends correlated with their change. In order for this study to look into the second hand business Myrornas transformation, this study has conducted a single case study with a basis on conducting semi structured interviews with participants related to the case company and the phenomenon of the brand transformation. This research has taken on a qualitative research approach in order to get a deeper perspective of the underlying factors that have been part of transforming Myrorna. Additionally, in order to get the full perspective of this process a visual analysis on Myrornas campaigns during the transformation in the years 1998-2008 have been conducted to strengthen and show differences in regard to the empirical data. The results showed how both the rebranding process and a change in Myrornas marketing and communication strategy were the factors that transformed Myrorna into a fashion powerhouse. Furthermore, Myrornas brand awareness was enhanced through sustainability and second hand trends as they created an upswing in regard to popularity. The visual campaigns conducted by Myrorna from 1998 to 2008, clearly shows their transformation in steps; from initially communicating unique and personal clothing, to moving forward to portraying the high fashion clothes that can be found in their stores. Whereas they lastly focused on communicating one of their core values: sustainability.