Opening Ceremony 6 Month Buying Plan by Amira Hatlani

Andrea Di Lello, Amira Hatlani, Stephanie Tian, Morgan Zaslavsky, Ines Alvarez

part one founders mission statement brand identity

part two locations social media customer profiles

part three competitors SWOT analysis collaborations growth

part four product category trends corporate buying plan assortment plan

table of contents 3

opening ceremony Founded by California natives Carol Lim and Humberto Leon in New York's Soho district in 2002, Opening Ceremony was conceived as a shopping version of the Olympics, featuring emerging designers from a different country each year. The store was inspired by a trip to Hong Kong. The plan was to bring the magic of travel and discovery to customers back home.

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founders

Carol Lim, an American with Korean heritage, met American student Humberto Leon in their sophomore year at the University of California, Berkley. They both spent about a decade in corporate jobs until they decided to quit their jobs and open Opening Ceremony. Opening Ceremony is a multi-brand boutique in New York named after the Olympics. The two designers are known for their playful and cool take on fashion, and they recently became creative directors of the French fashion house Kenzo, owned by LVMH.

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Opening Ceremony wants to be perceived by customers as a forward thinking and futuristic brand that is constantly evolving and expanding by bringing in exciting new designers and brands to their company. They want to always be on trend with the latest styles and keep up with with the everchanging list of upcoming designers. Customers experience a marketplace rather than just a retail shop when entering one their four stores around the world. Opening Ceremony goes about their brand in a versatile, open-minded approach, and are not afraid to try new things or test the waters with different ideas.

brand identity 1

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CORE MISSION

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Opening Ceremony's mission is to keep customers intrigued with new and upcoming designers in order to create a unique retail experience. Opening Ceremony goes out of their way to be different than most other brands, not only with their unique style, but also with anything from the way their shops are set up, their online store, and even their social media pages. When a customer purchases something from OC, it is exciting and a shopping experience. Opening Ceremony is a continuously growing brand that is constantly seeking out the creativity in the world.

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locations

SOHO Their SoHo location is the first Opening Ceremony store and remains their main flagship store, carrying their largest selection of products.

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ACE HOTEL

Opening Ceremony's smallest store is located inside the Ace Hotel in New York City's midtown. They offer a more selective range of products.

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LA Located in the artsy and upscale shopping area of La Cienega in West Hollywood, Opening Ceremony opened their store in 2007 with a more laid-back, Californian vibe.

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TOKYO This four-story Opening Ceremony store is recognized as their second flagship store, encompassing the entire OC world and featuring successful collaborations with Asian brands such as Hello Kitty and Comme des Garcons.

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social media

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180K LKES 878 CHECK INS

154K FOLLOWERS 16.2K TWEETS

1M FOLLOWERS 5K POSTS

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customer profiles17 2

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YUNG ART KID 20-28 YO $50,000/YR

The Yung Art Kid is a young customer who lives in a big city and already works or is intent on working in the fashion industry. Whether they are a student, intern, or a retail sales associate, they want to be apart of the fashion world. The Yung Art Kid is curious about modern contemporary art and listens to the hottest new underground musical artists. Social media (Instagram) is their bible and where they thrive. Highsnobiety and Hypebeast are their number one destinations for keeping up to date with their world. The Yung Art Kid's style consists of few hype items and statement pieces scattered amongst good finds from vintage stores. The brand is everything to the Yung Art Kid, and they want to stand out. Street style has a significant influence on their look, and ultimately, they want to be street style

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Olivia is a 20 year old student and aspiring model. She lives in Brookyn, New York City and is most well known online for being a social media star. She is a self-coined meme queen and a proud feminist. Olivia is very outspoken about her views and opinions and uses social media as platforms to spread her ideas with younger girls who follow her and look to her for advice. She is a big Petra Collins fan and listens to Travi$ Scott and Sky Ferreira. Her closet includes mostly basics from American Apparel and Urban Outfitters with a few fun pieces that shes collected from VINTAGE/THRIFT stores. The trend that Olivia is currently really into is ATHELEISURE.

olivia

Avery is a 22-year-old bi-racial man working as a sales associate while also working towards becoming a model. He lives in QUEENS, NEW YORK CITY and likes to spend his free time reading and watching ANIME. He enjoys going THRIFTING with his friends on the weekend after checking HIGHSNOBIETY for the hottest new trends. Avery's most played artists on Spotify are FKA Twigs and Blood Orange. KENZO is his absolute splurge brand. His favorite brands are SUPREME, HUF, while most of Avery's wardrobe comes from URBAN OUTFITTERS.

avery

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local artisan

29-35 YO $120,000/YR

The Local Artisan is an older and more sophisticated customer. He/she lives in a medium to the large sized city and makes a good income in their job in the art and design industry. They still have a young mentality, and that is what keeps them so up to date with the most modern trends and brands. The Local Artisan is interested in good food and travel and has a deep appreciation for locally crafted goods wherever they are. The Local Artisan's style is always modern, contemporary, and most importantly, comfortable. They are consistent in their style and devoted to a handful of brands that are up-to-par with the quality of their products. The Local Artisan understands and respects the design and price of whatever they buy as long as they consider it a good find.

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siri

$200,000/YR

tyler

Siri is a 31-year-old art director/ production designer. She lives and travels between Los Angeles and Stockholm (because of her Swedish roots).She is single and enjoys to spend her free time exploring art galleries with friends or alone. Siri is very proud of her very strong aesthetic in her work, and that translates into how she lives as well. She is a vegan and loves finding new spots to eat everytime she is in either LA or Stockholm. Siri is an Aesop enthusiast and dedicated to COS as her staple brand. Her splurge brands include Maison Martin Margiela and Issey Miyake.

Tyler is a 35-year olf furniture designer currently living in Seattle, Washington. He loves to sip on Americanos while reading the latest Biannual Magazine that arrived in the mail. His favorite author at the moment is Walt Whitman, whose books he enjoys to read while listening to The National on his Bang & Olufsen headphones. Tyler's favorite item of clothing will always be a good cashmere scarf. His closet mostly consists of designer basics from Comme Des Garcon, ALL SAINTS, and ACNE (jeans).

$180,000/YR

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compet

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titors

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Dover Street Market has had worldwide success and fame in the last year and is perhaps one of Opening Ceremony's strongest competitors. They offer the same type of product and prices as well as attract a very similar customer. They have a strong online presence and good e-commerce flow. Also, similar to Opening Ceremony, they only have four brick and mortar stores worldwide with a similar feel to OC's shop-in-shop concept. Their store locations are in New York, Tokyo, London and Beijing.

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Luisa Via Roma has two brick and mortar stores in Italy, but their main strength lies in their e-commerce store. They attract the same customer as Opening Ceremony, and their products have the same price range and quality as Opening Ceremony, making them a strong e-commerce competitor for Opening Ceremony.

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Apart from their online success, one of Boutique 1's major advantages is their dominance of the Arab market. Besides their London store, they have locations within the Arab Emirates, two stores in Dubai (including one in The Dubai Mall) and Abu Dhabi, and one in Beirut, Lebanon. Being as their brick and mortar stores are in these locations, they compete with Opening Ceremony mostly through e-commerce. Their stores carry the same types of products and are at similar price points as Opening Ceremony, attracting a similar type of customer.

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Reformation is mainly based in the United States (Los Angeles, and two in New York City) and also has one store in London. Their concept primarily focuses on sustainable and eco-friendly luxury womenswear and their products have a similar aesthetic as the ones offered at Opening Ceremony. In New York, their stores are located in the same area as Opening Ceremonies. The demographics and psychographics of their customer are also very similar to the Opening Ceremony customer, making them strong competitors against each other.

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Farfetch is currently one of the leading fashion e-commerce sites worldwide. They curate their styles to target the fashion-forward millennial. They have very similar consumers and products as Opening Ceremony but have a broader price range and product volume, which differentiates them most from most retailers.

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As a part of their mission, Opening Ceremony tries to have no competitors but rather collaborate with them, which is also one of the main concepts of their brand and image. Some collaborations include: Colette Barneys New York 10 Corso Como Rodarte Mansur Gavriel Teva

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swot swot

swot analysis

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strengths 3

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Opening Ceremony presents their products to customers through being an omnichannel retailer. Customers have the options to shop at their brick and mortar stores or on their huge online e-commerce website. Their brick and mortar stores boast unique and ever-changing interiors that attract customers themselves. Opening Ceremony has an incredibly diverse product variety as well as Department variety, ranging from clothes to home goods to wearable tech. Their price range is relatively broad, which allows it to be attractive to a wide variety of customers. Opening Ceremony's most notable strength is the collaborations that they do with brands and designers every few months. They are always fresh and on top of whatever is trending, keeping Opening Ceremony at the cusp of what is current in the fashion world. They have a very strong understanding of their customers and always produce the most unexpected but simultaneously well-received products.

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weaknesses Opening Ceremony, unfortunately, has a very small number of brick and mortar stores that are in selective locations. Though they are present on social media platforms, Opening Ceremony's level of interaction and presence on those platforms are not very good. They do an excellent job of advertising and creating hype for products on their social media, but do not utilize traditional advertising methods. Another weakness of Opening Ceremony's social media and online presence is expressed through the complaints regarding poor online customer service on their Facebook page.

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Opening Ceremony should take the opportunity to open more brick and mortar stores in locations in the United States. Instead of the main cities, they should benefit from medium-sized cities that are currently getting on the map for fashion, such as Miami or San Francisco. They have put a lot of effort in their collaborations with designers and artists, but the original mission of Opening Ceremony has gotten somewhat lost in all the excitement. Opening Ceremony should go back to the roots of their company by placing more emphasis on their annual featured designer from a different country. Opening Ceremony's shop-in-shops have proved very successful for their past brand collaborators, and they should continue with more. In the product department, Opening Ceremony could benefit massively from featuring an activewear department. A collaboration with a fun activewear brand like Outdoor Voices or P.E. Nation would be very satisfied with their target customers and go along smoothly with the current athleisure trend. To improve their social media presence, Opening Ceremony should consider starting a SnapChat for their stories they blog about on their websites, or their fashion shows since they are so exciting and always a performance.

opportunities 3

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threats

The biggest threat that Opening Ceremony faces lie in the volatility of fashion trends and their focus on trend management. Opening Ceremony puts a lot into unique and sometimes risky styles that are not for the average retail consumer. Sometimes trends have a long life, while sometimes they do not and most of the products end up suffering from markdowns. Another threat comes from the fast fashion retailers such as ZARA or H&M that can produce cheaper knock-offs of items that are doing well in Opening Ceremony. Other online retailers with better customer service and online presence may be another threat to them. Real innovation can be a treat to any fashion brand, but customers are constantly expecting the newest and most exciting ideas from Opening Ceremony, which can always turn into a struggle to keep up with.

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collaborations

teva Opening Ceremony is especially strong in producing consistently exciting collaborations with other relevant brands and designers. For example, they recently collaborated with Esprit, Canada Goose, and Teva. They have an extensive and constantly growing list of collaborations that put them at the forefront of the industry. This builds upon the distinct brand identity that Opening Ceremony is notorious for.

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Notable collabs include: Vans Fossil Google Mansur Gavriel Calvin Klein Lacoste Alpha Industries

canada goose 3

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growth Opening Ceremony is currently in a great position to grow. Their collaborative efforts are a key strength for them, and they should continue to release exclusive collaborations. Another potential area for growth is expanding their retail storefronts. Opening Ceremony currently has three stateside stores in excellent locations, and they could benefit from opening more stores. The company recently had a private equity firm invest in them, which hopes to grow the brand's retail presence as well as its namesake women's, men's and accessories collections. They are also in a good position regarding e-commerce and can grow and expand their online store to reach a wider range of customers. Another area for growth is for Opening Ceremony to host more shop-in-shops. For example, Opening Ceremony collaborated with French luxury leather goods brand Mansur Gavriel to create a shop-in-shop. This helps draw the Mansur Gavriel customer to Opening Ceremony, and vice versa.

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Product category

womenswear

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trends 4

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We've identified these key trends as opportunities for Opening Ceremony to expand their current product offering. The following trends align with the new vendors we've identified in our assortment plan (see p59) as potential areas for growth.

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ATHLeiSURE There is currently a huge marketplace for athleisure in retail. The trend combines workout clothes with sportswear, making it perfect for the Opening Ceremony customers who leads an active and on-the-go lifestyle. Key pieces include leggings, sweatpants, technical jackets, and sneakers that are all very fashion forward but still functional and comfortable for day to day as well as day to night wear.

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laidback luxe Laidback Luxe is the comfortable side of highend fashion. Designers realize that not all fashion has to be skin tight or uncomfortable to wear. We are starting to see more relaxed fabrics and leisurely silhouettes.

Clothes are more loose fitting yet you can still clearly identify that they are made from expensive fabrics and are crafted extremely well. This trend doesn't play too much with wild colors or fabrics, but keeps things simple and has a minimalistic approach to keep it less harsh. You can see this trend easily transformed from runway to street style.

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rebel youth The rebel youth is all about personalizing your wardrobe in creative and daring ways. Garment customization has been taken to a whole new level by designers all around the world. From denim jackets to extreme distressing, to bleaching and hand painting clothing, the rebel youth trend is all about being bold. This trend is exactly what a younger audience that shops at Opening Ceremony would wear every day. This is why we decided to focus on brands like UNIF, which follows this trend in their latest collection.

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Puffer jackets are a perfect example of high-end fashion meets functionality.

puffer jackets This trend is perfect for the fall and winter seasons. It is a great statement piece and comes in all different colors, patterns, and silhouettes. It's nice to finally see brands create expensive pieces that can and should frequently be used. You get your money's worth from it.

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lifestyle Lifestyle trends play a huge role in the Opening Ceremony customer's shopping habits. The first lifestyle trend we noticed is a heightened importance of art & design. The OC customer appreciates thoughtful art & design and wants to see it incorporated everywhere, from the products they buy to the merchandising of the store. The next significant trend for their customer is travel. Millennials have a wander lusting desire, and we even see an increase of interest in local travel. So many stores feature city guides to their store locations on social media, especially Instagram. Opening Ceremony has such strong locations, and they could benefit from talking about their locations as travel destinations.

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Another key lifestyle trend is tech and tech accessories. Opening Ceremony recently collaborated with Google to create a range of smartphone cases that feature slogans and graphics from their latest collection. Phones are now an extension of the customer's self, and what better way to involve yourself in your customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s day to day lifestyle than by being on their phone case. The last lifestyle trend weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve identified is political activism. Designers are using fashion as a discourse for politics, and Opening Ceremony is taking advantage of this too. Their latest collection features tees and hoodies that read things like "Fight" and "Protest." For Opening Ceremony, being politically involved helps their customers feel like they shop somewhere that shares their same values and beliefs.

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6 month corporate

buying plan 4

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corporate buying plan

Project Model

Fall 2017 Plan Net Sales, Fall 2017

3240.0

Est. Net Sales, Fall 2016

3000.0

Plan % Last Year:

8.00%

Average Stock, Retail:

1222.2

Inventory Turnover:

2.65

Planned Reductions, $:

648.0

Reductions % Sales:

20%

Plan IMU %:

58% Project Model

Fall 2017 6 Month Buying Plan

(000's)

January

Fall 2017

712.8

388.8

3240.0

18%

22%

12%

100%

1296.0

1341.4

1425.6

972.0

1222.2

2.3

2.5

2.3

1341.4

1296.0

1341.4

1425.6

972.0

1000.0

Plan Reductions

51.8

97.2

142.6

162.0

97.2

648.0

% Fall

15%

22%

25%

15%

100%

Purchases, Retail

667.4

635.0

661.0

810.0

421.2

514.0

3708.6

Purchases, Cost

278.1

264.6

275.4

337.5

175.5

214.2

1545.3

August

September

October

Net Sales

453.6

583.2

518.4

583.2

% Fall

14%

18%

16%

1179.4

1341.4

2.6

Plan EOM Stock

Plan BOM Stock Stock / Sales Ratio

November December

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soho, nyc buying plan

Project Model

Fall 2017 Plan Net Sales, Fall 2017

1620.0

Est. Net Sales, Fall 2016

1500.0

Plan % Last Year:

8.00%

Average Stock, Retail:

623.9

Inventory Turnover:

2.60

Planned Reductions, $:

324.0

Reductions % Sales:

20%

Plan IMU %:

58% Project Model

Fall 2017 6 Month Buying Plan

(000's)

January

Fall 2017

356.4

194.4

1620.0

18%

22%

12%

100%

648.0

699.8

748.4

524.9

623.9

2.3

2.5

2.4

2.1

670.7

648.0

699.8

748.4

524.9

486.0

Plan Reductions

25.9

48.6

71.3

81.0

48.6

324.0

% Fall

15%

22%

25%

15%

100%

Purchases, Retail

333.7

317.5

359.6

411.5

213.8

204.1

1840.3

Purchases, Cost

139.05

132.3

149.85

171.45

89.1

85.1

766.8

August

September

October

Net Sales

226.8

291.6

259.2

291.6

% Fall

14%

18%

16%

Plan BOM Stock

589.7

670.7

2.6

Plan EOM Stock

Stock / Sales Ratio

November December

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2.7

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Los angeles buying plan a Project Model

Fall 2017 Plan Net Sales, Fall 2017

1296.0

Est. Net Sales, Fall 2016

1200.0

Plan % Last Year:

8.00%

Average Stock, Retail:

526.8

Inventory Turnover:

2.46

Planned Reductions, $:

259.2

Reductions % Sales:

20%

Plan IMU %:

Project Model

58%

Fall 2017 6 Month Buying Plan

(000's)

January

Fall 2017

272.2

155.5

1296.0

17%

21%

12%

100%

539.1

572.8

598.8

435.5

526.8

2.5

2.6

2.2

2.8

583.2

539.1

572.8

598.8

435.5

Plan Reductions

20.7

38.9

57.0

64.8

38.9

259.2

% Fall

15%

22%

25%

15%

100%

Purchases, Retail

272.2

228.1

279.9

303.3

173.7

177.9

1435.1

Purchases, Cost

113.4

95.0

116.6

126.4

72.4

74.1

597.9

August

September

October

Net Sales

207.4

233.3

207.4

220.3

% Fall

16%

18%

16%

Plan BOM Stock

539.1

583.2

2.6

Plan EOM Stock

Stock / Sales Ratio

November December

Page 1 419.0

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assortment plans

Assortment Plan

Total

Purchases

outerwear

30%

$1,112,580

tops

25%

$927,150

Classification

product categories

Assortment Plans

bottom

15% %

$556,290 $

Classification

Total

Purchases

skirts Classification

5% Total

$185,430 Purchases

outerwear

30%

$1,112,580

dresses outerwear

20% 30%

$741,720 $1,112,580

tops

25%

$927,150

jumpsuits tops

5% 25%

bottom

15%

$556,290

bottom

100% 15%

skirts

$185,430

skirts

existing vendors dresses

jumpsuits

20%

$741,720

Assortment Plans

$185,430

100% %

$3,708,600.00

Existing Vendor

Total

Assortment Plan

$185,430Assortment Plans $927,150 $3,708,600.00 $556,290 $185,430

dresses

20%

$741,720

jumpsuits

$185,430

100% 19% %

$3,708,600.00 $493,244

OC collabs Existing Vendor

19% Total

$493,244

Raf Simons Eckhaus Latta OC collection

9% 9%

$233,642

Assortment Plans

$233,642

Existing Vendor

Total

Raf Simons

$233,642

RafGosha Simons

14% 9%

$363,443 $233,642

Eckhaus Latta

$233,642

Eckhaus Latta

70% 9%

$2,596,020 $233,642

OC collection

19%

$493,244

OC collection

19%

$493,244

OC collabs

19%

$493,244

OC collabs

19%

$493,244

Gosha

14%

$363,443

Gosha

14%

$363,443

70%

$2,596,020

70%

$2,596,020

new vendors

Assortment Plans

Page 1

% New Vendor

Total

Outdoor Voices

$33,377

PE Nation

$33,377

Marques Almeida

10%

$111,258

Unif

$100,132

EachXOther

$55,629

30%

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$1,112,580

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closing We believe our buying plan for Opening Ceremony is a plan with opportunity, and there is potential to overachieve the sales plan. Currently, there's no reason why the brand would regress in the marketplace. Opening Ceremony has always been successful at what they've done, and they're constantly on top of current trends. Their aesthetic and style appeal to a large market and they're currently in great locations that serve that marketplace. Also, considering how the company recently had a private equity firm invest in them, Opening Ceremony is a place where they able to not only expand their retail fronts but also to continue expanding in every other front.

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statement

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