Fashion is one of the largest industries in the world. Globally, it produces nearly 3 trillion dollars, and it continues to grow by reaching global markets.
A great fashion product will inevitably grow outside its own country, especially emerging markets. Therefore, apparel companies must understand the importance of translation and interpreting for their business.
Translating your Fashion Brand for Emerging Markets
Brazil, Russia, India and China are the usual places brands expand to. But they know that most people in these countries don’t speak English. Here are some statistics of English speakers in these four countries:
- Brazil – 5% of Brazilians speak English. Only 0.14% as their first language.
- Russia – 5.48% of Russians speak English. Only 0.002% as their first language.
- India – 10.35% of Indians speak English. Only 0.019% as their first language.
- China – 0.8% of Chinese speak English. There’s no data for how many speak English as their first language.
As you can see, translation is crucial for a market outreach strategy.
While these may be the most popular countries out there expansion, they’re not the only ones. CEOs from Alexander Wang, Dunhill, Michael Kors, among others, predict that the apparel industry will expand globally to Middle East countries, Japan, Dubai, and Europe.
Localizing the Fashion Brand’s Message
Localizing happens when a translated message matches the culture of the receiver. Imagine a Colombian interpreter using Colombian slang to convey the brand message to a market in Spain. It’s not going to work.
In the case of fashion, localizing your content can avoid confusions. For example, a jumper in the UK is what America knows as a sweater. And what Americans call a jumper, the UK calls it a pinafore.
That’s why focusing on countries alone isn’t enough. As cities outperform countries regarding market growth, localizing your brand’s message is more important than ever before. One city will have its own culture and local slangs, and another city a few miles away, in the same country, will feel like a completely different place.
Translating for Fashion
Fashion translation covers many areas of marketing and production. Here are some of the ways fashion businesses need translation:
- Stores. Store signs, software, internal documents, manuals, training presentations.
- Websites. Online stores and catalogs, local SEO, alt text, metadata, blog posts, magazine articles.
- Advertising. Billboards, posters, expos, banners.
- Internet Ads. Adwords campaigns, ad banners, affiliate marketing.
- Social Media. Social profile identity, posts copy, images translation.
- Catalogues. Booklets, store promotions.
Take the Next Step
If you want to find out more about ways to grow fashion business, talk to us for a free consultation. We have a 20% discount for new customers, so you can reach the global marketplace as soon as possible.
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