Another season dawns.
Another range of products awaits.
I’ve never been to an ISPO event. I never want to. I just don’t care for the endless conveyor belt of products that brands release.
It’s unnecessary.
It’s the status quo.
What if… Instead of releasing new products each season to keep up with each other, and competing within a saturated marketplace brands focus on making their existing range better.
Refining what they have already brought to market to make this year the best kit for their end customers who they are ultimately consuming.
Yes, the hype train of new kit would chug on past them.
Yes, they would not score superficial ISPO awards.
But these brands would cement themselves as reliable and unchanging entities in a sea of endless change and a drive for new, better, lighter.
Wouldn’t it be nice if a brand like this existed?
Oh, wait.
Buffalo.
Let’s take a moment to learn about Buffalo outdoor gear.
Incorporated in November 1970 in Sheffield by John and Margaret Gerrard. Buffalo Systems was originally called JB Sports and made their start by manufacturing sleeping bags and tents for the British Army. However, in 1975 the business made a shift towards high-quality outdoor clothing for civilians
Stubborn excellence
Being stubborn in business isn’t always a good thing. I’m sure Buffalo has left a lot of money on the table by not ‘innovating’, or moving their manufacturing overseas.
Yes, they make everything in their factory in Sheffield 🤯
Yet, surely this isn’t the goal.
What strikes me about Buffalo Systems is this:
- Their website is awful. It hasn’t been updated in years, loads slowly, and is a horrible representation of the brand.
- They do very little digital marketing. Who has ever been served an advert from Buffalo? At the time of writing no adverts are being served on Meta. They also do not run Google adverts against their domain and the only sponsored Buffalo products are sold through their stockists.
- Unlike almost every other outdoor brand Buffalo has not opened up their e-commerce offering on their website. You have to go through stockists
- They have 7.4k IG followers.
- They post once a week on social media.
- There are no current press releases.
These numbers are enough to make a digital marketer’s skin crawl. Where have buffalo been? It’s 2024 for goodness sake.
Yet they exist as a brand, and continue to make products and serve customers.
The Paradox
So, here’s the paradox: Buffalo seemingly does everything wrong in today’s marketing-driven world as I’ve shown above.
Yet, they persist and to my knowledge, and by the numbers on Company Check, are doing just fine.
They haven’t chased the hype train.
They haven’t compromised on quality by moving production overseas.
They haven’t sacrificed their core values for flashy marketing campaigns, bigger better offices and a fleet of executive company cars.
But how do they survive?
As a guess, the answer lies somewhere with their loyal customer base.
I’ve met a few Buffalo customers. Their garments are often worn down to threads, and still going strong. It’s hard not to love gear that’s built to last, and quality helps to create a good reputation.
I guess that these customers, tired of the fleeting promises of “new and improved,” appreciate Buffalo’s commitment to timeless design and functionality.
And here’s the catch-22.
What if Buffalo did turn on an Instagram advert? What if they employed an influencer manager, and invested in digital marketing, a new site, online sales, etc?
My guess is that demand would skyrocket. Customers would lap up the heritage, and unchanged durable design. Their team would likely crumble under the newfound pressure, and increased manufacturing KPIs and production would be shifted overseas to meet demand.
Then, the Buffalo looks like every other brand. A vague ghost of what they portray to be.
So, to help the tortoise outpace the hare, please don’t tell anyone about Buffalo Systems. Please…?