The Denim Revolution started a little after the global calamities of World War 2. Countries were still healing and the world economy needed some bandages.
Amid the chaos, the rebellious teenagers thrived.
To capture the young, angsty market, the clothing industry needed a dramatic shift. They opted to make clothes out of denim.
A remarkable decision for that time. One that the once-popular AMCO brand implemented flawlessly.
The traditional jeans company, once acclaimed for their work jeans, dived into the denim market. They soon became global leaders in that industry as well.
Not bad for a company that existed before the magical effects of globalization, wouldn’t you say?
AMCO jeans, one of the most popular clothing brands for veterans, has its roots in the years after World War 2.
They launched simple yet effective designs to capture the less picky market of the 1900s. And boy, did they gain some loyalists!
Products like the AMCO stretch jeans, the AMCO vintage jeans, and especially the AMCO peaches jeans began to sell out as soon as they hit the market.
Everything was going well for the company for over thirty years.
But with modernization, the trajectory gradually became slower and slower, until the lifeline of the company became stagnant.
It is 2022 now, and there are no signs of any business from the AMCO brand – only an un-updated website and a dead Instagram account.
The lovers of the brand are asking questions. And we’ve come prepared with the answers. So strap on your jeans and read on.
What is AMCO Jeans?
A pair of straight-legged denim jeans washed with a sky blue color. Belt loops snaking around the head of the cloth with a smooth fly zipper on the front.
Finally, a start, distinctive AMCO label on the back – the trademark look of the veteran brand.
AMCO was one of the most popular Australian go-to brands for jeans, particularly made of denim material.
It was also one of the first in its country to start manufacturing in the clothing industry.
Originally, AMCO was more popular for producing utility jeans, such as those that you could wear to work.
But after a while, they re-marketed their brand, becoming more and more denim-centric.
After a certain point, people started associating denim with AMCO altogether, a marvelous feat considering denim jeans and clothes were only an experiment during the time of the company’s inception.
Nevertheless, the gamble paid off. Soon enough, nearly half the city walked around, dressed in the freshly manufactured stock of the popular AMCO bull denim jeans.
The company operated at the top of the chain for over thirty years, serving its community and the global market loyally. In return, the customers offered their loyalty to the brand.
Of course, they offered money as well, otherwise, the business couldn’t have lasted.
Being the foremost manufacturer of denim jeans, AMCO was running hot on profits and revenues. However, it started dwindling as the market shifted.
The company underwent a temporary hiatus in the late 1900s.
However, they tried to turn the situation around and re-brand themselves. That worked to some extent, but they never got back the acclaim that they once enjoyed.
AMCO Jeans – Where Did It All Start?
A little history of AMCO Jeans could help you understand more about its current whereabouts, which we shall be discussing later on.
Fortunately, our history lesson won’t be nearly as boring as your elementary-grade lecture on the French Revolution.
AMCO Jeans was comparatively lower on bloodshed, and higher on entertainment and pizzazz.
The Origins
Today, the fast-fashion market has successfully dissolved the ever-so-concentrated popularity of AMCO Jeans.
It would be a near-impossible task to find a youngster wearing the AMCO stretch jeans with the familiar label on their back.
But once upon a time, specifically in Australia, those jeans were all that you could see in a bustling street.
So who started AMCO Jeans? AMCO Jeans had its inception in 1948 when the Vincent family – Mrs. Amy Vincent and Mr. George Vincent – initially registered the company as an Australian brand.
During the initial years of its operations, business was fairly modest.
The brand’s sustenance stemmed from the fact that they produced average, low-priced work jeans that everyone could wear. There was nothing special about that.
However, they got their deserved breakthrough in the 1950s. They remarketed the brand and tapped into the denim market.
They launched a series of commercials that introduced the “rugged” jeans for boys.
(See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWdWgpBSTgs)
It was after this re-emergence of the company that AMCO Jeans became a brand in 1957.
By the 70s, the company had acquired the entire denim market and was a legendary company in the minds of the youth.
Their advertising campaign was running rampant across the globe.
It was through their calculated and careful marketing techniques that they acquired the legendary tagline – “Every AMCO tells a story”.
(See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHneYqfkfsc)
Emergence as a Top Brand
After the popular rebranding of 1957, AMCO established itself in the pole position to sway the Australian market.
They opted to offer a rugged look for the growing “rebellious streak” among the teenagers.
They used the denim revolution in the mid-twentieth century to catapult their success from a moderately-run business to a complete brand.
It became the first important, if not the very first Australian brand, to manufacture its own line of jeans.
The company operated at the top level for over 50 years, up until the dawn of the 21st century.
By the 1970s, AMCO was the global choice for denim jeans.
They achieved this by launching unique products that weren’t only lasting and stylish but also offered utility with their slim-fit appearance and ability to cling comfortably on the customers’ hips.
AMCO marketed their selling points straight away, also developing some catchy phrase lines along the way like “AMCO – The Name of Everyone’s Hips”.
You cannot say no to a branding movement like that.
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The Reason behind AMCO’s Success
AMCO indeed targeted the right market at the right time. However, some other companies and competitors tried to do the same.
Why, then, did they fail to make it big when AMCO succeeded in the same industry?
Let’s find out.
You know all about the brilliant and innovative marketing strategies of the brand. They had high-quality products as well – brilliant jeans that felt as good as they looked.
But apart from that, the owners of the brand were smart. They calculated all their moves and played their cards right to take the company’s profits to the next level.
AMCO, in no way, was a contributor to fast fashion. But they launched a lot of designs, and never really stuck to the contemporary method of launching the same products over and over again.
This attracted the market. In the 1970s, they introduced their popular baggy jeans, marketing them as the perfect wearable “for the man who loves easy action, trim looks, and room for comfort”.
A little after that, AMCO Flares came into existence, jeans that flared wide at the bottom while the top clung comfortably to your thighs.
By the 1980s, customers had a wide range of products that they could select from.
AMCO’s production strategy also contributed significantly to the company’s growth.
They started setting up their manufacturing units outside of Australia, in countries where the cost of labor and other expenses were relatively lower. So where were AMCO jeans made?
Thus, AMCO primarily manufactured their jeans in factories set up in third-world countries like Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, and so on, allowing bigger room for profit margins.
But the primary driver behind AMCO’s unbelievable rise to fame was the global market shift.
Jeans, for the first time since their introduction, were no longer apparel just suitable for workplaces. It became a fashion statement as well.
The rise in the popularity of jeans came at the same time as the rise of AMCO as a jeans brand. The success of the company, therefore, was perhaps in the stars.
The Downfall of AMCO Jeans
In the 1900s, all was good for the popular jeans brand. However, come the arrival of the 21st century, AMCO fell off the trajectory. And boy, did they fall hard.
For 50 whole years, AMCO Jeans prevailed in the market as the top choice for youngsters. However, as the new generation took over the market, the company lost its hold.
One of the reasons why their business dropped could be the major loss of their brand’s loyalists.
Over years, AMCO had become a major player in the market, amassing thousands of repeat customers every year.
When they lost those customers, it hurt their revenue influx. Ultimately, the company was too financially crippled to sustain its operations.
They stopped pushing out new designs, their marketing campaigns were irrelevant, and people started losing interest.
More importantly, new brands emerged in the market. They had a thousand more companies to compete with, and they all were fresh with enthusiasm and ripe with seed funds.
AMCO simply couldn’t keep up. They got lost in the chaos.
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The Rebranding Attempt
In the early 2000s, AMCO tried to become relevant again.
They re-launched some of their contemporary designs and opted to serve the traditionalists who preferred the rugged look over whatever the fast-fashion trends were offering.
They tried to set up their e-commerce presence as well, through their social media handles and their own website.
Although the rebranding attempt attracted some of their old customers, they failed to make any major impact.
Is AMCO Jeans Still in Business?
Currently, the whereabouts of AMCO Jeans are largely unknown. While their website is still operational, it’s barely any indication of their presence.
It hasn’t had any updates since 2020, and there are only a handful of products available, and not a single jeans design.
The last Instagram post of the company was an advertisement for one of its designs. However, it came in 2021.
There have been no updates ever since, at least not from any of the official handles of the company.
As of now, AMCO Jeans is no longer in business officially.
However, some of their products are still in circulation through various third-party conduits, serving as a respite for the loyal customers of the veteran brand.
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Where to Buy AMCO Jeans?
Currently, it’s hard to find original AMCO Jeans on the market. But it’s not impossible.
The company’s official website is no longer offering its services, although the website isn’t down yet.
However, you can get your hands on some of the brand’s original products from other websites like eBay.
Other platforms like Etsy and Aliexpress are trying to replicate the feel and utility of AMCO Jeans, but currently not playing host to any of the originals.
Wrapping Up
AMCO Jeans, a veteran brand, lost its hold on the market after over 50 years of domination.
While the company is still lost and inactive, its loyal customers are still looking on, keen to find an original product from their beloved jeans company.
