GRRRL Clothing, founded by bodybuilder Kortney Olson (Baron, 2018), is a company that empowers women through its movement of body positivity, female appreciation, and freedom, regardless of size (About Us, n.d.). From ditching traditional sizing measurements (Body Shape Fits: Sizing Based on Athlete Bodies, n.d.) to embracing larger athletes, they have created a company that is appealing for women that do not fit the stereotypical model physique that women strive to look like. These women are fighting challenging stereotypes and personal struggles, sometimes connected with bullying, rape, eating disorders, depression, and addiction (Baron, 2018). Their group of fanatical customers and sisters are in the GrrrlArmy, a customer group on social media, and their movement is going strong. GRRRL’s buyers are psychologically and emotionally motivated by the activism and marketing message of GRRRL, and they purchase based on that message feeling right and appealing to their psychological needs. Once they have purchased, GRRRL customers become a part of the sisterhood and GrrrlArmy. The clothes that GRRRL sells are a symbol of being a part of the sisterhood and the movement.
Buyer Behavior for GRRRL Consumers
GRRRL consumers are women who are motivated by personal factors such as personality and self-concept. Age is irrelevant, as they target teenage girls in Kamp Konfidence all the way to 81-year-old weightlifters and other seniors in GrrrlArmy. Self-concept, or negative self-concept, is what leads many women to find GRRRL.
On a psychological level, the women that are customers of GRRRL have safety needs of needing to feel safe from violence and freedom to be themselves. They have social needs of a sisterhood to belong to, as many of them feel that they do not fit in and have been bullied. They are an inclusive brand, and they try to give a home to everyone (On the Air, n.d.). They have esteem needs, as many have fought depression, addiction, self-image problems, body dysmorphia, and eating disorders. Women that shop GRRRL have the need overcome the stereotypes and body image expectations that has a crushing effect on their self-esteem. GRRRL’s mission is to provide “Providing women opportunities to be connected and provide a platform for each and every one of them to use their personal experience as a means to empower other women and liberate future generations” (About Us, n.d.). Their entire brand is about empowering women and giving them a revolutionary esteem boost and a victor mentality.
Attitude-wise, Kourtney and GRRRL are on fire with energy and positivity toward all women, victory for women, while being edgy in their messaging. GRRRL uses in-your-face activism in its marketing, from its voice on social media to the text on its clothing. Advocating for more “HERstory” and a stronger female influence, GRRRL pushes hard to overcome traditional beliefs of what a woman should look and act like. One of their campaigns is even called the “Self Love Rebellion Campaign” (Kelly, 2018). Rebellion is what GRRRL is about.
GRRRL fits well, for these reasons, into a psychoanalytical model. Pulling from Sigmund Freud, consumers have “deep-rooted motives, both conscious and unconscious” that lead them to buying a product. Fears, desires, longings, and suppressed feelings all take part in this drive. GRRRL customers purchase based on their desires for safety, for belonging, and for self-esteem, whether consciously or unconsciously (Needle, 2021). To GRRRL customers, the GRRRL product, activism, and sisterhood gives them brand that feels right to them.
Any consumer can go to grrrl.com and shop for products with minimal involvement, so the products do not take a lot of investigation and comparison of features. GRRRL makes purchasing easy, although there are plenty of reviews for discerning buyers that want to do more investigation. They are low-risk to the consumer, as they have a great return and exchange program, allowing any swaps and changes within the first thirty days of purchase (Returns & Exchange Policy, n.d.).
Organizational Buyer vs. Individual Buyer
From a business-to-business perspective, they do have an affiliate marketing program they call their “Ambassador Program” (GRRRL Ambassador Program, n.d.). This enables people to earn a referral commission by bringing customers to GRRRL. They do not currently have any reseller program nor retail partners, so individuals currently have to buy products directly from GRRRL. This is an opportunity for GRRRL in the future: partner up with retailers that will become the distribution for GRRRL’s products.
For organizational buyers, there is not a clear model for purchasing from GRRRL. The organization would need to request a custom quote from GRRRL through their contact page. For instance, if a women’s powerlifting team wanted to choose GRRRL clothes as their team uniform and wanted a price for fifteen sets of leggings and tops with a custom team screen-printed logo, they would need to request use their contact form at grrrl.com/contact-us/ for a custom quote.
GRRRL is marketed heavily to individual women, not to teams and organizations, although that is a possible market and opportunity for them.
Conclusion
GRRRL’s consumers have a psychological drive to purchase GRRRL products: they are women in a world that expects stereotypical model looks and dainty behaviors and shames them for wanting to look or act strong. These women are inspired and empowered by the GRRRL message as it ticks off their needs for safety, social belonging, and esteem. GRRRL appeals to women that are tired of dealing with the norms and expectations of society and empowers them to be more. The products of GRRRL, the clothing line, are a symbol of that activism.
References
About Us. (n.d.). GRRRL. https://www.grrrl.com/about-us/
Baron, K. (2018, August 2). Meet GRRRL, The Billion Dollar Brand In-Waiting That’s Adding Activism To Athleisure. https://www.forbes.com/sites/katiebaron/2018/08/02/meet-grrrl-the-billion-dollar-brand-in-waiting-thats-adding-activism-to-athleisure/?sh=3cb5b8ab5e4d
Body Shape Fits: Sizing Based on Athlete Bodies. (n.d.). GRRRL. https://www.grrrl.com/ditching-standard-sizing/
GRRRL Ambassador Program. (n.d.). GRRRL. https://www.grrrl.com/ambassadors/
Kelly. (2018, April 5). It’s Not Just About The Clothes On Our Backs.
Needle, F. (2021, November 19). Six Consumer Behavior Models (& Which One Applies to Your Business). https://blog.hubspot.com/service/consumer-behavior-model
On the Air. (n.d.). GRRRL. https://www.grrrl.com/media/
Returns & Exchange Policy. (n.d.). GRRRL. https://www.grrrl.com/returns/