And the very, very big number is only getting bigger.” In fact, he claims that the number of available niche products outnumber the “hits” or megabrands by “several orders of magnitude.”

An infinite array of smaller, niche brands are spread across the horizontal axis (called the Long Tail) and distributed through the Internet.Īnderson posits, “…a very, very big number (the products/brands in the tail) multiplied by a relatively small number (the sales of each) is still equal to a very, very big number.

Conversely, today the Internet provides unlimited, cheap and global distribution, affording the “nichers” and specialists to take share (in the aggregate) away from the megabrands.īoth the loss in share and declining growth of the megabrands would lend credibility to his theory, if not for the fact that many of these brands are not losing solely to Internet retailing.īrand Proliferation Is Not Just About the InternetĪnderson’s theory is visually represented in the long tail chart below: blockbusters and megabrands on the vertical axis (called the “Head”) are distributed through traditional retailers such as Walmart, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus and others. And this evolution predated the scale provided by the Internet.Īnderson says that mid-20th century companies focused on creating the next bestselling novel, chart-topping rap song, or megabrands, like Levi and Gap, because the cost of distribution and limited shelf space in physical stores meant that profitability depended on a high volume of sales. However, his theory, which is largely based on the power of the Internet, overlooks the reality of how distribution and brand proliferation has evolved in the apparel/retailing industry. At the same time, many of the 20th century megabrands, such as Levi, Gap, Lee Jeans, and others, have slowed - and in many cases declined. In fact, some current megabrands already have, without consciously calling it their “long tail” strategy.Īnderson’s long tail is a theoretical rationale for the explosive growth in numbers of niche apparel brands across all retail sectors. So it’s timely to revisit the theory and suggest how current struggling brands such as GAP, Levi, and other megabrands might stimulate some new growth by incorporating Anderson’s theory into their brand strategies. However, he didn’t give the heads-up to most of last century’s traditional megabrands and retailers that they might also participate and accelerate their growth by implementing the theory. A decade has passed since Chris Anderson wrote The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling More for Less, and his theory is being proven as reality.

The long tail anderson