What is the connection between socks, market evolution and a digital business model?
On the occasion of International Socks Day (a well-deserved day for our humble opinion), we wanted to share a fascinating case study of the Blacksocks company.
The digital age may bring companies an opportunity for massive disruption of the market (Tesla in the vehicle market) or may create a danger for established companies that do not adapt themselves strategically to the new market (Kodak, Nokia, etc.). The question arises, how can an old generation organization adapt itself?
Adapting to the digital world does not sometimes involve breakthrough technology or an algorithm developed by the best minds from Silicon Valley. Sometimes all that is needed is to take a proven business model from another field and make a digital adaptation to it through creative thought. That’s exactly what Blacksocks did.
The company took the old subscription model that has existed for many years (Newspaper, theater shows, etc.) and applied it to the clothing industry. In this industry, the common business model was in-store sales: a customer comes to a store and buys the clothing products he needs. Blacksocks took the business model of selling in a store and turned it into a business model based on a renewable internet subscription. It allowed customers to subscribe through its website and they would receive the pairs of socks chosen by them – at home, every defined period (a month or any other chosen period).
In conclusion, like socks, innovation comes in all kinds of colors and shapes, even an organization that is not at the forefront of technology, can thrive through creativity and innovative management based on proven foundations and models.