Ante Meridiem - Research & Marketing Plan

RESEARCH REPORT

CONTENT project proposal Concept Evidence Objectives Intended Audiences

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METHODOLOGY & ETHICAL CONSIDERATION

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DISCUSSION

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Introduction Chapter 1 : The definition of athleisure Chapter 2 : Active fashion and trends Chapter 3 : External influences on the active wear market Chapter 4 : Intended audience analysis

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CONCLUSION

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

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list of references

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APPENDIX

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PROJECT Concept

The purpose of this project is to provide a new trend forecasting for female active wears so that it could be consumed by both active and non-active markets. The project would focus on how to enhance the feminity through the colors and/or fabric treatments, the designs of the garments, and yet to keep the main utility of the sportswear so that the product could be used for active purposes and are stylish enough for daily outfits.

Based on the keyword ‘Neo Nippon’, the modernism of Japanese culture would be the basic foundation for the project concept. This concept would be interpreted in various ways that would be suitable for current, modern market through the silhouette developments, and by adding more value to the garments with relatable techniques such as prints, embroideries and fabric treatments.

PROPOSAL Evidence

Japanese culture still remains as a strong culture even in the modern era is one of the strongest culture and has influenced fashion industry in many ways due to their meticulous art characteristic. There have been several Infamous Japan originated designers that have made remarkable achievements in fashion industry such as Kenzo Takada, Issey Miyake or Yohji Yamamoto who always add a slight touch of Japanese culture to their collections.

Not only Japanese originated designers, the implementation of Japanese culture inspired could also be seen in recent high fashion runway.

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business side of the fashion world, especially in recent years. Making up a big percentage of the consumer market, more and more designers and companies are taking that fact into account, whether it’s including more of Asia’s top models (think Liu Wen, Soo Joo and Fei Fei Sun) in campaign ads and runway shows or pushing out products that strike fancy with the consumers.

From left to right : Chadwick Bell S/S15, Alexander Wang S/S15, Richard Chai S/S15 (Source : Harpers Bazaar, 2015).

But diving into Asian-appropriated territory is tricky business, and a long history of misappropriation and distortions in all forms of art –from film to fashion– proves that. And unfortunately, it still goes on today. Case in point: Just recently, there was quite some backlash on Weibo when Burberry unveiled its latest monogrammed scarf for Chinese New Year (it’s the biggest shopping season of the year, so naturally, companies are scrambling to take well advantage of that fact).

Probably assuming the design would receive as much love as it did for the personal monogram scarves and poncho, the results ended up looking tacky with the lucky character ‘fu’ (read: good fortune) stitched in red on the scarf. Not only is it incorrectly placed, but it also shows Burberry will go to any means to appeal to the Chinese market. Sure, it may not be as faux-pas as others who have produced tonguein-cheek accessories based on all-American invention (ahem, Kate Spade), but because of the lack of research and/or sensibility, we’ve expected better from the English heavyweight.

With their perception of beauty and unique characteristic, Asian culture has been able to inspire designers and make their way into a fashion trend countless time, and this invasion would still even be seen in the future. This prediction is supported by an article by Fashion Magazine on www. fashionmagazine.com , stating that 2015 have been the year of Asian Inspired Fashion as seen on the article below (retrieved from http://www.fashionmagazine.com/ fashion/2015/01/30/2015-asian-fashion/ ) : Nevertheless, culture misappropriation is a sensi-

“Judging from this year’s line-up of fashion

shows, parties and spring collections, 2015 is the year of celebrating Asia in the world of style.

Last September, Vogue and the Metropolitan Museum announced their upcoming annual costume exhibition and gala would take on the theme China: Through the Looking Glass, showcasing the culture and its influence on and from the Western world. And last week Chanel announced it’s taking its super-luxe Cruise 2015 collection back to Asia on the very same day as the Met gala, this time to Asia’s rising fashion capital, Seoul, Korea. Being the up-and-coming centre for cool fashion trends and all things beauty, we can’t imagine a better fit for Karl Lagerfeld.

Asia has been an aesthetic influencer since the 1800s and recently even more so. Not only has the the fascination of the Far East culture inspired designers like Yves Saint Laurent and Coco Chanel(to name a few) decades ago, but the Asian demographic has also no doubt been fueling the

tive topic, but we can’t deny the progress (albeit a slow one) we’ve been seeing as of late. Seeing less history textbook and more abstract adaptations, designers are less misappropriating and more inspired by present-day scenes. Take Raf Simons for example. His most recent Tokyo-staged collection for Chistian Dior did not result in any stereotypical cherry blossom-filled kimono-like designs (although we think the anime-inspired eyes for the models was a stroke of genius by Peter Philips). Instead, the environment and the current Japanese style (think urban dressing meets functional wear) sparked Simons’ creativity, resulting in a collection relating to current times.

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So will the Chinese-celebrated Met exhibition and the much-anticipated Chanel Resort collection in Seoul succeed? Only time will tell. In the meantime, as we count the days till the Asia extravaganzas, let’s take a trip down memory lane. From Alexander McQueen‘s reinterpretation of the traditional dresses worn by Qing Dynasty’s Manchu women to Tom Ford‘s sultry cheongsam gowns for Yves Saint Laurent back in Fall 2004, we round up our 10 fave Asian-inspired moments in (recent) fashion history.

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Objectives

This trend forecasting project would aim to take the opportunity to fill the current market gap, while also introducing a part of Asian culture into a broader market which in this case, is the active wear market.

This project would also help in the author’s personal achievement of developing and enhancing personal skills to the project of researching, designing and explore new territory opportunity in fashion industry.

Japanese culture invasion to the fashion industry has indeed been seen on ntended Audiences high-end fashion to mass fashion / casuKeywords : Sporty, Casual, Laidback, Chic al wear industry. However this invasion is yet to be seen on active wear industry.

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METHODOLOGY ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS This project will be aimed for female au-

the target market’s generation and social class for a better analyze and research purpose of the target consumer behaviour.

The questionnaire would also provide informations about the respondent’s active lifestyle and personality such as their preference on sports and about their active routines, buying behaviour such as purchase occasion and their loyalty status towards a certain brand. Finally, the questionnaires will also provide informations regarding of the respondent’s opinion on sports apparel to lead the project so that it could fit the expectations of the market.

diences that are conscious of their looks and aware of fashion trends. The trend is directed at the market who seek comfort and performance support in their clothing preferences. The target market would be most likely female teenagers to young adults who are concerned with their appearance, both working-out and daily outfit style. They are most likely adore sporty fashion style and like to add a sporty fashion element to their casual, personal style.

They might or might not be a part of the active market, as the trend aims to cater both active and non-active market needs. All respondents were notified regarding the purpose of the questionnaire given As this project is aimed for females, a number and were voluntarily participated in this of questionnaires will be distributed among research. The questionnaires will not rewestern and eastern female participants to veal any personal detail / information that find out their preference and interest towards is considered as private, or unrelated to the current project, to provide a comparison the research. The participating responbetween western and eastern market. The dents’ identity will remain anonymous. questionnaire would be distributed directly in the sports center area and campus area Also in order to get a better understanding in order to get relevant responses from tar- of the active wear market and any other geted age group market and active people. related issues surrounding the market, there One of the limitations include the way to reach eastern region based audiences. Few Asian people could be found within the area, however in order reach more audience with different range of age and lifestyle, some of the eastern region based respondents were approached through e-mail, mobile platform messenger application, and social media such as facebook. 25 questionnaires would be given online to each western and eastern based region and made it summed up to be 50 respondents in total.

The questionnaire will provide informations regarding of the target audiences’ geographic background, demographic background such as age, occupation and income that could lead to finding out about

would also be a secondary research by looking up through additional related information from various sources such as scholarly articles, publications, websites, books, news, and social medias. All works belong to other authors would be acknowledged with the use of Northumbria Harvard referencing system, and the content will be maintained regarding of the objectivity in discussions and analyses throughout the research.

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IS

‘ATHLEISURE’ IT JUST ANOTHER

Introduction

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Chapter 1 : The definition of ‘Athleisure’

This research report was done in order to analyze what kind of market would be fitted for Neo Nippon project, and also to 1.1 What is ‘Athleisure’? analyze the project’s chance or probabililothes is undoubtedly one part of socity as the next fashion trend for active wear. ety’s primary needs. However, aside from The first chapter will go through the analy- the primary needs, due to the developing sis and definition of the ‘Athleisure’ trend in lifestyle of society, people that belongs to order to get a better understanding of the higher class within the society begin to feel athleisure itself, analysis of fashion trend another need to differ their social status within the active wear industry and to prove through a more luxurious lifestyle. The needs the existence of athleisure in the market. of luxury eventually leads to a term that is now known as fashion. Fashion have more The second chapter will analyze about the value added to just a mere primary need existence of fashion trend in the current indus- of clothes. Through fashion, people could try, and how relevant it is to active wear mar- express their social status and class. For ket. This analysis will be used to find out wheth- some, fashion is also a personal statement, er athleisure would be a trend or a lifestyle. a reflection of one’s character.

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The third chapter will cover analysis through external factors that have affected the active wear industry such as technology advancement and how it affected the sports industry, the relation of the technology invasion and sports industry to the society’s general behaviour and buying behaviour.

Finally, the fourth chapter will summarize and analyze through the responses gathered from the primary research method on the intended audience. These responses will be used to define the target market’s personality and lifestyle, and whether this project would be able to cater their need.

Along with the advancement of the society, their needs and their lifestyle, clothes have been adjusted to cater the society demands that leads fashion to be divided into a more specific market with a different function / value purposes. For example, there are clothes that were specially made for cold or hot weather or clothes that were specially made for pregnant women. This specific garments were made to fulfill different market demands and there are now even more specific classification aside from the gender classification in fashion such as casual wear, evening wear, beach wear, outdoor wear, maternity wear, etc.

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Active wear is a specifically made garments to support the wearer’s movements and performances. They usually come in a comfortable style which allow the wearer to move around freely. Even non-active fashion conscious people started to add some elements of the active wear to their daily style. For example, many people start to wear jogging pants and sports sneakers as a part of their casual outfit, be it due to their preference on sporty style or because of the flexibility and function of the sports apparel that allows the wearer to do their activities with ease.

This cross-function of garment styles even created a new jargon in fashion known as ‘athleisure’ (an acronym of the words athletic and leisure). Just like the word’s own origin, athleisure fashion is to support athletic performance of the wearer and to provide comfort at the same time. In other words, athleisure fashion is created by combining the strength of active wear and casual wear (performance and laidback).

According to Jan Brinkmann (2015), The athleisure trend will be gaining momentum in the current and future seasons due to the smart functional and casual lifestyle that it can offer, it is also a fashion statement.

Figure 1 : ALEXANDER WANG X H&M Campaign (Source : Sanaabrooks, 2014) The athleisure trend could also be seen in a Japanese street style brand, EVISU (see figure 2). EVISU takes the elements of sportswear and implemented it to their previous Spring/Summer 2015 casual wear collections. EVISU aims to fill the gap in both casual and active market by creating a casual-active wear collections that would provide them with style and functionality.

1.2 Athleisure in the market

Sports

sneakers have made such advancements in their designs that made it to the non-active market. However, this advancement is yet to be seen with active wear garments. There is a diverse range of active wear apparel designed for females, however not much of what is available in the market is suitable for females especially teenage girls taste and body type (Steyer, 2015). It is quite a challenge to provide sports apparel for female with the right function yet also maintain their femininity and style.

Athleisure even made its way to the mass fashion market by Alexander Wang and H&M through their infamous Alexander Wang X H&M collection that were launched in 2014 (see figure 1).

Figure 2 : EVISU Spring/Summer 2015 Collection (Source : Trendstop, 2015)

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In order to keep their brand image, EVISU tried to implement more boldness in their casual street style collection with playful prints such as handwritten Japanese calligraphies, typographies and geometric shapes. Along with the modern cutting, their collection also includes coating effects and 3D embroidery with a monochromatic color story. (Trendstop, 2015.)

Chapter 2 : Active Fashion and Trends 2.1 ‘Fashion Trend’ - is it dead?

‘Trend’ in fashion indicates the acknowl-

edgment of something new in terms of fashion design. A prevailing fashion trend, or shortly known as a fad, is usually taken after with enthusiasm for some period by any On the other hand, a major sportswear brand, form of behaviour that develop itself among ADIDAS have recently launched a newline a vast populace. An English fashion author, specifically designed for female teens to critic, curator and fashion historian James Layoung adults named ‘ADIGIRL’ see figure 3). ver had come up with a rudimentary timeline flow of trend in fashion industry and named it as the Laver’s Law. According to Laver’s Law, a fashion trend is considered as ‘smart’ when it is happening, considered as ‘daring’ when it applied one year before, and becomes ‘ridiculous’ if applied 20 years later.

And then after 50 years, there is a possibility for a trend to make its way back into style.

Figure 3 : ADIGIRL campaign (Source : Huffingtonpost, 2015)

ADIGIRL, taking the major concept of athleisure are directed at women. Not only does ADIGIRL could provide the users’ need for function, it also fulfills their aesthetic needs for by adding more ‘style’ value to the collection with fun print treatments. In contrast to EVISU’s monochromatic color scheme, ADIDAS embraced more bright and playful colors in their collection.

Along with the globalization and the advancement of the lifestyle of the society, fashion has now become a mixture of every style.

People used to rely on a very few designers to decide what is relevant for the season, but now people actually make their own trends (Brown, 2014). Other than designers, now external influencers such as celebrities, magazines, bloggers, and social media users have take part as dictators to decide what’s in and out of fashion. Fashion trend can emerges and disappears as quick as overnight.

A ‘trend’ occurs when the innovation is accepted by the market, which could lead to a new market demand from a more extensive business sector. People have begun to invent and explore their own style instead of being told of what to wear and Internet could make a trend go viral in such short amount of time.

According to a fashion publisher Countess Louise J. Esterhazy, the word ‘trend’ is over because fashion trends no longer exist.

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From Spring/Summer to Fall/Winter collection, now seasons have multiplied itself in the fashion industry. There are now Resort collection, Pre-Fall/Winter collection and also Pre-Spring/Summer collection. The border between seasons have blurred into an almost constant stream of new trends. What is being called as a new trend are rarely something really new, instead often they are a representation of something from the past. Trends are no longer confined to specific periods, instead it keeps rewinding on previous trends an brought back on current fashion trend such as the 50s era sundresses, the 90s grunge looks, etc. The previous trends have influenced on how people dress in modern era and even in the eccentric trends. Trends have been repeating itself within the fashion industry.

However, rather than adopting trends, active wear have actually become trend itself within other fashion division such as high-end fashion to mass fashion. Many designers try to implement such elements of sportswear to their non active wear designs. This could be seen on the high fashion runways over the years such as Phillip Lim Autumn/Winter 2013 runway, John Galliano Spring/Summer 2014 runway, and recently Jasper Conran’s Spring/Summer 2015 runway (see figure 4).

Active wear itself have made its way to the high-end fashion brand category, starting from Tom Ford’s sport jerseys with sequined details, Chanel’s sweatshirt and sneakers to Jeremy Scott’s baseball inspired dress.

Rather than just being inspired, brands such as H&M, Old Navy, Juicy Couture and even Tory Burch has begun to offer actual Marc Worth from Worth Global Style Network, active wear category to their selections. or better known as WGSN, a trend forecasting service have claimed that they do not actually do ‘trend’ forecasting. They do not forecast trends nor predict trends, rather they provide creative inspirations to create trends.

Now, due to the fast-pacing environment of fashion industry and the advancement of society’s lifestyle, trends eventually appears, and then disappears within a faster and more turbulent environment (Abnett, 2015).

2.2 Active Wear as Trend

In order to be able to compete within the

market, active wear have also eventually become affected by fashion trends.

Starting from basic, performance utilized apparels, active wear now come with an even more various designs. Classic sportswear brands such as ADIDAS and NIKE have made several collaborations to their collection designs starting from luxury designers such as Jeremy Scott, Stella McCartney and Mary Katrantzou to public figures such as Pharrell Williams and Kanye West.

Figure 4 : Jasper Conran Spring/Summer 2015 Collection (Source : Vogue UK, 2015)

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The popularity of wearing active wear as casual wear trend have been increasing not only because of what’s been shown on the fashion runways, but because of the value that active wear offers. Not only that active wear allows the wearer to move around freely, it is casual and feels comfortable whether it is being used or not for working out. The industry has foreseen the upcoming sportswear inspired apparels and active wear as casual wear in the near future (Klein, 2014).

According to the Power Balance’s US website, the Power Balance’s main idea is to optimize the body’s natural energy flow, similar to some Eastern medical philosophies through the hologram in the wristband that was said to resonate with and respond to the natural energy field of the body.

Chapter 3 : External influences on the active wear market 3.1 How sports influence people’s buying behaviour

Sports as a lifestyle has also affected the

buying behavior of whom in the modern society. Aside from people who are actively doing sports, the sport trends have also encouraged people to spend on their favourite sport team’s shirts, caps, jerseys, and even marked articles of memorabilia due to their bias towards their favourites. People tend to show to others what they believe they represent (Adelman, 2008) and in this case is their beliefs that they belong to a certain group which favours the same sport teams, or to show their pride for people who happen to live in the given region. Through what they wear, other than showing their supports they are actually reflecting their own identity as they are consciously or unconsciously want to display their social information of which group they belong to. On some certain sport societies, these expensive & licensed clothing may also indicate the wearer’s social class.

This behavior could be considered as conspicuous consumerism, as they purchase officially licensed sports goods in order to build their pride and showing that they could afford a luxurious sports apparel (Griffin, 2014).

Back then in the year of 2010, there was also a controversial fad trend over a silicone wristband that became famous due its ability to improve balance, strength and flexibility called ‘The Power Balance Wristband’ (see figure 5).

Figure 5 : Power Balance Wristband (Source : Skepticink, 2014) Even though the effectiveness of Power Balance still remained in question (Butler, 2011), many people took part in the trend and purchased the wristband, and this affected both the active and non-active market.

Ethical issues also have made their way to many people’s consideration of certain companies, and these ethical issues have also affected major sportswear brands such as ADIDAS and NIKE. There were some issues regarding ADIDAS’ labour exploitation. A recent investigation has revealed that ADIDAS workers in Indonesian factories were tied to a ‘slave’ contract to produce shoes and clothing for the brand. The workers had to work up to 65 hours a week with only 7000 rupiah (around 0.34 pence) per hour earnings. Due to this contract, many workers were forced to skip meals and work overtime to save more money.

This act of exploitation was found in Indonesia, China, Sri Lanka, and Philippines (Tanner, 2012). The same ethical issues regarding labor exploitation was also reported from it’s own major competitor, NIKE.

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NIKE has also experienced public shaming because of their labor practices. This labour exploitation was reported from the company’s contractors located in Indonesia, China, Vietnam and Bangladesh (Nisen, 2013).

This issue had a great impact and badly hurt both the company’s image and sales.

However due to the activism, NIKE eventually took actions regarding their ethical issues and managed to turn around the company’s image. Both cases of two major sportswear brands showed that society actually pays great attention to ethical issues that surrounds these companies, and companies should be well aware that the ethical issues could have a great impact on its performance, image and as well their profits.

There is also a similar technology innovation called Emana. Emana is a biocrystal fabric that claimed to be able to improve thermo-regulation of the body and aid blood microcirculation. This textile innovation absorbs body heat and return it back into the body in the form of infrared rays that promote collagen synthesis (London, 2014).

The advancement of technology has also made a significant influence towards sports.

Through the innovations and new inventions there are now many technologies invented for sports and entertainment purposes such as Radio Frequency Identification Technology, or shortly RFID tags that European Rugby teams are currently experimenting with; 3 Dimensional network dashboard that has already been implemented by several European Hockey teams, etc. This rapid 3.2 Technology invasion in the sports industry technological advancement has also indirectly influenced the active wear industry. nother recent issue related to the active wear is regarding the possibility of chemi- A rapid prototyping on speed skating boots cals that are contained in sport apparels has been developed by Australian speed which are actually toxic and could put the skaters, Clint Johnson and Steve Bradbury. users’ health at risk. This could even lead to With their knowledge and experience on serious health issues such as cancer, obe- the ice, they aim to develop custom pairs sity and developmental disabilities. Tox- of boots that would allow athletes to move ic chemicals have been an ongoing issue faster and hopefully break records. Anothin the apparel industry, however it is such er example of this technological advancean irony that exercising could harm one’s ment in active wear was also seen in Haptic health due to what one wears. Sweat and Sports Garment. This active specialist clothfriction can prompt more rapid absorp- ing line are developing ways to improve tartion of toxins into the body, and this issue get key muscle groups and the users’ poshas become a particular problem for the ture by utilizing vibrations. These garments active wear industry. (Westervelt, 2015). also could help the users maintain optimal speeds when wearing it. (Coco, 2010).

In 2007, Fuji Spinning Co. Ltd, a Japanese company launched a range of wearable vitamin technology on textiles called V-Up. The company spokesperson Makoto Suzuki claimed that V-Up enable people to ingest vitamin C through their skin by wearing V-Up garments. The microencapsulated nutrients in the fabric open and release pro-vitamin substances when came in contact with body heat, and turn into vitamin C when they react with chemicals within the skin.

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There are also microfiber textiles made from woven polyester which have been applied to many sportswear garments due to its light weight, softness, draping ability, breathable and flexible behavior. Many smart fabrics have been invented, some of them incorporating multiple electronic sensors which caused the garment to be somewhat bulky and sensitive to moisture. Some technology developers from the UK had been working on a new textile invention which could make the garment itself become an active motion sensor for the users called Xeflex. This technology used fiber-optic thread, and is robust enough to be used as sportswear material with a small electronic pack being the only other component.

The current millennial generation feels that the amount of likes on their social media determines their self-worth within society, which encourages them to impress their friends / followers through their social media posts. This behavior can also be seen with public figures such as celebrities or even politicians (see figure 6).

3.3 How technology influenced the society’s behaviour

The invasion of technology has also tak-

en over the regular society’s active lifestyle. Smartphones for example, have slowly become a mandatory tool for people even though they are going to the gym.

It is not rare to see people carrying their smartphones around on the cardio machines or muscle toning machines, as they usually use their phones as a music player, and / or some of them would be seen operating their smartphones when they took a short break from exercising, or even when they were on the treadmill machine.

Another common habit became popular due to the smartphone is the ‘selfie’ trend.

According to Oxford Dictionary (2014), ‘selfie’ means a photograph of and taken by oneself, usually taken by a smartphone or webcam. Also, due to the social media trend that allows other people considered as their ‘friends’ or ‘followers’ to give them appreciation through ‘like’ buttons on their post, many people actually shared their selfie on social media to gain more ‘likes’. Aside from selfies, many active people also shared their post-workout pictures on their social media, usually flaunting their muscles or body shape.

Figure 6 : A Celebrity Kristin Cavallari’s post-workout selfie post on her social media (Source : instagram @kristincavallari, 2014) In recent news, there was a group of Arizona State female students being mocked on TV by Fox Sports for taking selfies. This group of teenage girls was seen taking self-captured photos of themselves for nearly two minutes non-stop, without even paying attention to the match. This behavior is considered strange for many people, especially for sports-entertainment fans.

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There was also a comment stating that Chapter 4 : Intended audience these girls just wanted attention, or were tryanalysis ing to show that they were ‘true’ sports fan by posting their selfies in the match, but that sports remain a boys club (Graham, 2015). total of 50 questionnaires have been Though some people found it simply anoth- spread to an even number of female reer millennial generation behaviour transition. spondents from both Eastern and Western region in order to get a balanced According to Goldman Sachs Global Invest- ratio of response from both cultural ment Research (2015), millennial generation background (see appendix p1 fig.1). consist of people who were born between The respondents that belongs to <15 age 1980 to 2000. For some reason, the millenni- group both came from Eastern region, al generation is also labeled as the ‘selfie’ while the rest of the age group respongeneration because the definition of the dents were made up by both Eastern word itself related strongly to their states and Western Region. Apparently, most of mind around character and way of life, of the respondents belong to the millenand the fact itself that the millennials take ian generation (see appendix p1 fig.2). more selfies than other generations (Spenner, 2014). However, often that the millennials are misjudged because of the way they approach adulthood in the same way that past generations have. Millenials have experienced growing up in a period of rapid changes, an expanding universe of decision and choices for pretty much all that they would require or need. They see life in a different way, they don’t simply just see one path that is available for them, rather they see boundless conceivable outcomes to make their life as their own. Their affinity Figure 7 : Respondents Income Chart for technology advancement is reshaping the retail space. With product data, re- Most of the respondents are currently workviews and value examinations available, ing as students. No respondents are currentmillennials are turning to brands that can ly unemployed. The Employed and Self-Emoffer most convenience at the least cost. ployed group were formed by both 20-25

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Millennials have grown up with digital gadgets that gather communication, education, as well as shopping, mapping and other form of entertainment all in one. Smartphones have become one of their living standard from an early age (Solomon, 2014). Due to this condition, millennials have a tendency to adapt to new technology innovations more immediately. According to marketer J.D. Peterson, millennials essentially anticipate that technology would definitely work, because that has been their experience.

Smartphones are in fact, the closest technology that they have adopt to their lifestyle.

and >25 age group (see appendix p2 fig.3).

Due to the difference of eastern country and western country’s currency and living cost, respondents with eastern background mostly belongs to the group with <200 GBP income per month and 200 to 500 GBP income per month. However there are also few eastern respondents that belongs to the group with 600 to 800 GBP income per month and over 800 GBP income per month; while the western respondents be-

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longs to over groups (see

200 GBP appendix

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month 4 respondents who picked none are the fig.4). same respondents who claimed that they do not do any physical exercise routine.

According to the diagram, the currently most popular exercise among females is yoga, and followed closely by dancing; while the least popular exercise appears to be swimming. (see appendix p4 fig.7). This result can lead to a conclusion that garments for yoga, dancing, fitness and martial arts can grab a bigger market than swimsuits and running / ball sports outfits.

Figure 8 : Exercising Frequency Chart More than half of the respondents do not have a membership for a fitness club (see appendix p3 fig.5), but apparently only 4 people claimed that they do not do sport related activities, while 15 respondents who claimed they only work out occasionally all belong to the group that claimed to not having a membership for a fitness club.Some of the respondents claimed to work out 4 to 7 times a week even though they do not have a fitness club membership. This shows that fitness club member ownership does not justify peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exercising routine. Meanwhile, the physical exercise routine frequency of the respondents who have fitness club membership varies from 1-3 times a week to 4-7 times a week (see appendix p3 fig.6).

This result can lead to a conclusion that most of the target audiences are considered as part of the active market.

Although there are 22 respondents who are a member of a fitness club, apparently only 8 out of the 22 chose fitness / weight lifting as their favourite exercise. The other 14 respondents chose dancing, yoga, martial arts and swimming. Few of the respondents claimed that they do not lift weights even though they have a fitness club membership. Apparently these respondents may have joined the fitness club in order to gain access to the clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s facilities such as swimming pool and group class exercises.

The group exercise classes usually also offer dancing, martial arts and yoga classes.

Respondents who picked jogging/running and ball sports all came from the group that do not have fitness club membership.

More than half of the respondents claimed that they wear branded sports apparel when exercising. The reasons may vary from pride and the luxury they gain by wearing branded sports apparel, performance, style and trust towards the brands.

The rest of the respondents who picked anything comfortable when exercising may not really mind their outfit when exercising as long as it allows them to move freely and comfortable (like non-active t-shirts and leggings) (see appendix p4 fig.8).

Figure 9 : Priority in Sportswear Chart 27 respondents claimed that style is the most important aspect of their sports garment. This came mostly from the respondents that picked dancing as their favourite exercise as style is the most important aspect of their active outfit because they are also considered as performers.

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Their outfit style could boost their confidence and motivation when working out.

10 respondents who picked price as their priority when choosing sportswear apparently are the respondents who do not wear branded sports apparel when they exercise, and the rest of the respondents picked comfort / function as their main priority (see appendix p5 fig.9).

More than half of the total respondents preferred to purchase their sports apparel in the store, leaving the rest of 18 respondents who prefer to purchase online (see appendix p6 fig.12). This result can lead to a conclusion that the target audiences prefer to shop in the store so that they could see and feel the actual item rather than just browse through the pictures online.

Most of the respondents claimed that they are attracted to good choice of fabric, so that their exercising outfit would be able to fully support their activity with good sweat absorption or body heat control. Many respondents also claimed that they are attracted to nicely designed prints and logo on their sports apparel. The brand’s logo is the prestigious key point of the garment which may became another reason to purchase the garment. The respondents who picked details might be attracted the details on their sports apparel, such as pockets or ripped off fabric treatment.

And the rest who considered the garment’s shape as their top priority might want to be able to enhance their look according to their body shape (see appendix p5 fig.10).

Even though 31 respondents claimed that they wear branded sportswear apparel when exercising, apparently only 12 out of 31 respondents have loyalty towards a certain brand, meaning that the rest of the 19 respondents purchased their sportswear from various range of sportswear brand (see appendix p7 fig.13). The brand that is mentioned the most from the respondents is ADIDAS.

Figure 11 : Sportswear as Casualwear Chart Only 16 respondents are willing to wear their sportswear as their casual outfit (see appendix p8 fig.14). Interestingly, most of the respondents came from the same respondents who picked dancing and running as their favourite sport as running and dancing outfit are the most suitable sportswear Figure 10 :Sportswear Purchasing Chart that could be worn as casual outfit. Some of the reasons were mentioned by the re20 out of 50 respondents claimed that they spondents regarding of why they would not purchase sportswear occasionally / not in a wear sportswear as casual outfit, such as constant frequency. This might happen due ‘not stylish for daily wear’ and ‘sportswear to the respondents’ sudden need or be- materials are not suitable for casual outfit’. cause of sale seasons. Interestingly, the number of the respondents who wear branded sports apparel and the respondents who wear anything comfortable when exercising spread evenly through all four categories when asked about their sportswear purchasing frequency (see appendix p6 fig.11).

p14

conclusion Sports had been and will continue to be

To the society, fashion could be more than just a clothes’ style, as it could be the representation of their identity, character, and social status. Athleisure fashion’s style should be adjusted to these considerations, and could be enhanced through a more thoughtful designs for the target market, which some of the fashion designers have been trying to do so. Quite some infamous designers / brands within the fashion industry had tried to implement the concept of athleisure in their designs throughout the years.

one of the inseparable part of the society’s lifestyle even in the future. According to the primary research result, most of the target audience are involved in active lifestyle even though they have different frequency. The society is both directly and indirectly involved within the sports industry, as some people consider sport not as an activity routine but as an entertainment instead. Sports industry itself have affected the society’s way of living and behaviour. The advancement of the society’s lifestyle will affect the Athleisure fashion could still be seen even in sports industry, which will also affect the the current market, and athleisure fashion correlating active wear industry of fashion. will still hold a strong position in the future of fashion industry as it comes with more valThe rapid advancement of the society’s life- ue than just a mere trend or a fashion style. style had also affected the fashion industry The chief industry analyst at Port Washington generally, which have caused ‘trend’ have (New York based market research firm NPD started to disappear within the fashion indus- Group), Marshal Cohen had also gave his actry. With the loss of the fashion trend, the soci- knowledgement towards the athleisure and ety will need something more than a ‘trend’ it’s prospect in the future. “This is not a fashion that would last more than just a fad. The so- trend, it is a lifestyle trend. The difference here ciety need something that would be more is that there’s functionality mixed with fasheverlasting within the fast pacing fashion in- ion, not just solely fashion.” (Cohen, 2015). dustry and at the same time is able to cater their both need of ‘clothes’ as one of the primary needs, and ‘fashion’ as a luxury need.

Few people have started to wear their sports outfit as their daily wears, proved by the primary research result. Athleisure would be something that the society would adopt for their lifestyle since it could provide them with their basic necessity in fashion which is comfort and performance. In order for athleisure to be able to cater the need of fashion conscious market, one aspect that should be enhanced is the ‘style’. The primary research result shows that ‘style’ had become one of the reason that athleisure may have had difficulties to be adapted as a lifestyle within the fashion conscious society. As a fashion concept, athleisure should be able to satisfy their needs of luxury and at the same time provide them with their necessity of both athletic and leisure clothing.

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Trendstop, (2015) EVISU ‘When Street Meets Sporty’ Spring/Summer 2015 Collection. Available at: http://blog.trendstop.com/2015/03/ evisu-when-street-meets-sporty-springsummer2015-collection/ (Accessed: 16 October 2015).

Westervelt, A. (2015) Sweat it out: could your sportswear be toxic?, the Guardian. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jun/02/toxics-apparel-nike-adidas-reach (Accessed: 11 October 2015).

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IMAGES

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Power Balance, (2010) Power Balance Bracelet.

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(2016). Available at: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/m6iKYJjt8EZ5Qm-KVBRS_nNttOD2ciNlyASTmuAAjsMh0KOksD_FIiv5INYfEs6mztGWSms=s123 (Accessed: 8 December 2015).

ADIDAS, (2015) ADIGIRL. Available at: http://3. bp.blogspot.com/-6xe8tsSx4Lo/VdMMAgAAq8I/ AAAAAAAAdik/HH0SDWEGstA/s640/CKjVtgMUsAAWcYm.jpg (Accessed: 8 October 2015).

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Erica Pelosini, (2014) Target Market 4. Available at: http://www.boro.gr/contentfiles/photos/ moda-omorfia/ioulios/02.07/moda3/Erica-Pelosini-0.jpg (Accessed: 8 October 2015).

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APPENDICES

Figure 1 : Respondents’ Regional Background Chart

Figure 2 : Respondents’ Age Group Chart

Figure 3 : Respondents’ Occupation Chart

Figure 4 : Respondents’ Income/Allowance per Month in GBP Chart

Figure 5 : Fitness Club Member Ownership Chart

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Figure 6 : Physical Exercise Routine Frequency Chart

Figure 7 : Preference on Sport Activity Chart

Figure 8 : Respondents’ Exercising Outfit Chart

Figure 9 : Respondents’ Priority in Sportswear Chart

Figure 10 : Respondents’ Priority on Sportswear Style

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Figure 11 : Respondents’ Sportswear Purchasing Frequency

Figure 12 : Respondents’ Preferred Purchasing Method

Figure 13 : Respondents’ Loyalty Towards a Brand

Figure 14 : Respondents Willingness on Wearing Sportswear as Casual Outfit

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MARKETING PLAN

CONTENT introduction

P24

PRODUCT

P25 P26

1.executive summary 2.marketing strategy objectives 3.swot analysis

1.design philosophy 2.brand logo development 3.product

P27

PRICE

1. product pricing 2. competitors price comparison

P31 P32

PLACE

P33

PROMOTION

P34 P35 P37

PEOPLE

P40

1. distribution strategy 2.location 3.expanison plans 4. process flowchart

1. promotion objectives 2. promotion strategy

1. consumer profile 2. employees 3.cooperations

P41

FUTURE PLANS EVALUATION & REFLECTION

P42

REFERENCES BIBLIOGRAPHY

P43

APPENDICES

P44

INTRODUCTION 1.

Executive Summary

Ante Meridiem is an trend forecasting busi-

ness started in 2016 in Tokyo, Japan. The etymology of Asia means ‘The land of the sunrise’ or eastern continent, while Ante Meridiem is an abbreviation from the acronym word A.M. Originated from Latin language, the acronym is used worldwide to specify the time before midday, or morning times.

Likewise as an Asian originated company, Ante Meridiem aims to show the enchantment of the Eastern region through innovative and inspiring trend analysis that the company could offer to global fashion industry.

Mainly, Ante Meridiem is a digital based business, however the company will also offer exclusive consulting service for a more in-depth trend analysis, and physical trend book for each trend analysis. Ante Meridiem is a trend forecaster for unique, and independent fashion brands. As a startup company, Ante Meridiem will be formed by six divisions and will execute several promotion strategy in order to raise brand awareness, making mutual symbiotic partnerships and finally to increase profit for the company. In the future, Ante Meridiem will set more headquarters to other international countries, expand the company’s team and develop more adaptable technology that could bring more benefits to the company. Ante Meridiem will also improve the company’s product by both quality and quantity by adding more product categories. Ante Meridiem to be a global leading trend forecasting company.

2.

Marketing Strategy Objectives

Product Ante Meridiem will optimise the products mostly on the website platform as it is easier to access for the customer and requires less production cost rather than the hard copy trend book, additionally it is also to support sustainability. Ante Meridiem will offer printed-to-order service for the hard copy trend book to reduce the risk of overstocked books.

Moreover, the company will offer trend consulting service for the clients to provide further access to the subject-matter expert in order to gain more in-depth trend analysis.

Price In order to create more profit, Ante Meridiem will offer price for website membership by various time periods, and a different price for the trend books. There will also be an additional charge for private consulting service.

Place As the company’s business platform is online, it is available to access worldwide.

The first headquarter will be placed in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo is one of the cities that have a big influence on fashion industry, therefore it is a potential location to gain more recognition and awareness towards the company from the target customers.

p24

Promotion The first priority of Ante Meridiem’s promotional strategy is to introduce the company to the industry and to create the brand image while engaging first communication to the market.

People Ante Meridiem’s products is designed for such brands that have its own characteristic and unique that would be suitable for independent fashion brands - which will be the company’s main target market. As the company will have its first start up in Japan, Ante Meridiem will start with Japanese brands (such as M.Y.O.B, HEIHEI, NIIMI, etc.) before expanding worldwide.

3.

M.Y.O.B Brand Campaign (Source : www.tokyofashion.com) Ante Meridiem will consists of trained and creative employees in order to support company’s growth and to drive the company towards the goal of becoming a leading trend forecasting company within the industry.

SWOT Analysis

p25

PRODUCT 1.

Design Philosophy

3.1

ESP / USP

Asia is known as one of the continents

with the richest culture variations. As an Asian originated trend forecasting company, Ante Meridiem offers trend inspiration for a fashion industry that is influenced by Asian culture.According to Florida and Johnson (2012), most of the top cities that have big influence on fashion industry and trends are mostly from western region, which are American and European continent countries. Ante Meridiem aims to introduce the charm of Eastern cultures and to bring them further within the fashion industry through the trend inspirations that the company could offer. These trend forecasts would directly and indirectly reflect the Asian cultures.

Instead of fad trend, Ante Meridiem aims to fully understanding the target customer’s lifestyle and their needs in order to offer more thoughtful & creative innovation for fashion industry.

3.3 Values • Appreciate and embracing diversity.

• Provide a creative, efficient and respectful work environment.

• To cater the needs of the creative industry by developing innovative trend ideas.

• Keeping an open mind on changes and growth.

• Provide easy access for the customers to Ante Meridiem‘s products.

3.4 Objectives • Devote creative, innovative and Although Ante Meridiem will be a mainly characteristic trend inspirations. digital based business, Ante Meridiem will of- • Be a leading trend forecaster comfer additional trend book subscription / one- pany in the international market. time-purchase option for the customers who • Provide helpful and good service for prefer physical product than the digital prod- the customers. uct, and Ante Meridiem will deliver a hard- • Maintaining a good image for the copy trend book directly to the customer. company.

Ante Meridiem also offers a consulting service • Creates profit along with the compaexclusively in order to provide a more suit- ny’s growth. able in-depth trend analysis for the customers and to adjust it according to their needs.

3.2

Brand Beliefs

According to a fashion publisher Count-

ess Louise J. Esterhazy, the word ‘trend’ is over because fashion trends no longer exist. Thus, Ante Meridiem believes that the fashion industry needs something more than just a fad trend, that is something that could be adapted to the society’s lifestyle.

p26

2.

Brand Logo Development

Ante Meridiem, or shortly A.M. is a representative of morning time when the sun rises

from the east. The circle around the logo represents the sun and the line represents the horizon, and black is the color of the dawn. These shapes are then presented in a modern way with suitable minimalistic font.

3. Product 3.1

Product Range

Ante Meridiem will start by offering cre-

ative fashion innovation for womenswear.

The first product will be the trend for Spring/ Summer 2017-2018 named â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Odd Eyeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Odd Eye took athleisure as the main inspiration that is directed for modern society which fuses both function and style from casualwear and activewear as a new fashion innovation.

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3.2 Branding

Ante Meridiem is a conceptual, out-of-the-box trend forecasting company which offers picturesque inspirational ideas for unique and independent fashion related brands in a modern way, so that it could be adopted globally.

p29

3.3

Product Life Cycle Phasing

Following the season based trend in the fashion industry, Ante Meridiem will provide two

trend analysis per year for each category, Spring/Summer to Autumn/Winter season up to three years prior.

4.

Product Positioning / Competitors Matrix

p30

PRICE

1.

Product Pricing

As Ante Meridiem offers digital based products, the company will offer a several type of membership to gain access to the website : • Access per content • Standard Membership • Premium Membership • Premium+ Membership

The customer can choose to buy one-time access to the selected content or to purchase a yearly membership. With the membership, the customer will be granted an access to all contents of Ante Meridiem ‘s website.

Ante Meridiem also provide a trend book which contain same trend analysis with the website’s content that will be released per season, and an optional consulting service with an additional charge for both. The trend book is available for sale even to non-members. The consulting service will vary depend on the clients’ needs.

The Premium membership comes together with the consulting service, and Premium+ membership already include all the service offered (consulting service and hard copy trendbook).

Therefore to reach the breakeven point, the total number of sales based on trendbook sales only would be 793 copies (For costing see appendix no.2).

2.

Competitors Price Comparison

Ante Meridiemâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s competitors would be both fellow online trend forecasting companies

such as WGSN, Trendstop, Trendbible, etc; and trend books developer such as Peclers Paris, Trend Union, Promostyl, etc.

Aside from fellow trend forecasting company, fashion bloggers / fashion icons could also indirectly be considered asa competitors as they also influence people in terms of fashion trend the same way that the trend forecasting companies do. Often that celebrities and fashion icons are the one that set the trend.

p32

PLACE 1.

Distribution Strategy

As the societyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lifestyle had been advancing, many business start to innovate on digital

based platform. Ante Meridiem too, will focus mainly on the digital platform, as there are several logical reasons why digital based business is one of thshie most effective way to deliver one or many productsespecially for the modern market. Aside from being as a dynamic ecosystem of value that associates digital resources inside and outside the company to create value for customers, it is faster and more efficient, and it could be optimized to reach wider market / worldwide market; especially millennial generation that is familiar with technologies.

The digital platform could also convey a superior customer experience and to drive the operational and effectiveness to stay competitive. The society is already adapting digital tools to their lives for both purposes of personal and professional (Fenwick, 2014), so it is a logical step to try to keep up with the societyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lifestyle advancement.

2. Location

Ante Meridiem will be first introduced in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo is known as one of most

fashionable cities, and Japan have many independent fashion label. Ante Meridiem’s main headquarter will also act as a trend forecast consulting company.

Ante Meridiem’s first headquarter will be based at Tokyo, Japan.

(Map Source : www.nationsonline.org) However, as stated on the distribution strategy Ante Meridiem will be based mainly on the password protected website platform, www.antemeridiem.com; Where in order to gain access to the website, the customer should purchase a membership package.

Ante Meridiem will also join related exhibitions and tradeshows to raise awareness toward the company.

3.

Expansion Plans

Ante Meridiem will expand the business and build headquarters based in the metropolitan cities on another continent that have strong influence on fashion industry. Starting from Shanghai, Jakarta, Seoul, Singapore and Hong Kong to Sydney, London, Milan, Paris, Berlin, New York and Los Angeles,

Aside from the main headquarters, Ante Meridiem will also expand it’s digital accessibility by developing a mobile application for the company’s website.

p34

4.

Process Flowchart

PROMOTION 1.

• • • •

Promotion Objectives To Introduce Ante Meridiem and its identity Gain more brand recognition Enhance Ante Meridiem ‘sunique selling point Engage communications with potential target customers

2.

2.1

Promotion Strategy Launching Ceremony

Ante Meridiem’s launching ceremony moodboard

Ante Meridiem will have a launching ceremony as the company’s first promotional

activity as an attempt to approach the potential target customers. The ceremony will be exclusively held for invited guests, which are the media partners, and the representatives from targeted fashion brands which are independent labels.There will also be a press conference with the media partners in order to create publicity.

p37

The event will take place at the Shibuya Hikarie, located in the heart of the capital city of Japan. Shibuya is famous as one of a district dedicated to youth culture and fashion; particularly the Sendagaya district which is famous for its garment industry that includes both fashion design and garment production. The event will enhance the brand belief of Ante Meridiem, that is to enhance the uniqueness of Eastern culture worldwide.

Eastern food canapé party would be served, and a small exhibition of Asian fabrics by Kona Bay. There would be a talkshow seminar about how to implement art on to fashion by inspiring quirky Asian high-end fashion designer such as Yohji Yamamoto, and talented artist Yayoi Kusama who specialised in dots and circles on her artworks. These two honoured guests will also have their own space to exhibit their works in the event.

The launching ceremony would require additional promotional kits such as invitations, press releases, and goodie bags with merchandises. Hard copy trend books would also be distributed among the guest as one of the promotional item. (For details see appendix no.1)

2.2

Tradefairs and Exhibitions

Tradefairs and Exhibitions would be a great

chance to engage and attract potential customers, as the people who attend tradefairs and exhibitions usually already have interests towards the related exhibition theme. The exhibition would take place in fashion / art related museum such as Kobe Fashion Museum and Bunka Gakuen Costume Museum, then to Asian culture / art museum in the western continents such as Asian Art Museum and Oriental Museum.

Ante Meridiem would start attending local fashion tradefairs / exhibitions such as Fashion World Tokyo and JFW-IFF, then to expand globally to other countries’ tradeshow such as Premiere Vision, Tranoi, Capsule Show, etc.

In these exhibitions and tradefair stands, Ante Meridiem will have the chance to give more understanding about the company’s products, and to sell the trend book. To support this promotional strategy, Ante Meridiem will have a special price promotion for the website membership and sell the older copies of previous trendbooks at a discounted price.

2.3

User Experience

Ante Meridiem believes that user expe-

rience is the best promotional strategy.

Through the customer’s own experience on Ante Meridiem ‘sproducts, the customers should be able to explore and gain a better understanding towards Ante Meridiem, and therefore will be able to decide if Ante Meridiem is the suitable choice for the customer or not. With this reason in mind, Ante Meridiem will offer a 30 days trial session for the target customers in order to experience Ante Meridiem’s products and selling points.

2.4

Direct Marketing Approach

Ante

Ante Meridiem will also create advertising on Google to direct the users who were searching related keywords to A.M’s web.

2.6

Blog & Celebrity Features

For the millennial generation, big part of

their lifestyles are pretty much influenced by public figures and social medias. Therefore to attract them A.M plan to involve celebrities into the business. To start, A.M’s web will have a blog section that will discuss celebrities and fashion icon’s fashion style and how it’s relatable to the trend analysis that A.M offers. There could be also interview sessions with them for the blog’s content.

Meridiem will approach the target customers through direct marketing strategies such as conducting a presentation or a meeting. Direct marketing strategies are one of the fastest way to approach the target customers.

Through these direct approach methods, Ante Meridiem could engage a more intimate communications with the target customers, while at the same time enhancing the unique selling point of Ante Meridiem.

2.5

Social Media and Web Advertising.

A.M Blog Mockup

Ante Meridiem will create accounts on sev-

eral well-known social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Tumblr, YouTube and LinkedIn. The purpose of creating these social media accounts are to approach and keeping communications with the customers and business partners, also to maintain the company’s brand image. These social medias will be optimised according to each selling point. For example, Instagram and Pinterest will be used mostly to post inspiring visuals that could represent the company – YouTube mainly for video / short film promotions, and Twitter for updates / news of the company, while on Facebook and Tumblr the company could summarise all other social media posts.

LinkedIn on the other hand, will be used to post professional related news and to build communications with potential employees.

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PEOPLE 1.

Consumer Profile

Ante Meridiem will firstly approach local independent fashion brand based in Tokyo, the same location where A.Mâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first headquarter would be built.

2. Employees

3. Cooperations

an exception of Customer Service & Social Media division) will each consist of two permanent employee and additional interns for creative divisions (Trend scouting, content designers and editor). The permanent employee will act as both the interns’ mentor and supervisor. Ante Meridiem will recruit different temporary interns seasonally for creative related divisions in order to increase the quality of Ante Meridiem ‘s products through more creativity, and also to find potential talent that could be beneficial to Ante Meridiem.

By recruiting different interns, Ante Meridiem could gain more creative ideas from different individuals, and also will reduce the cost for the employees’ wages as interns’ wages standard is not as high as permanent employees.

wise to build a symbiotic mutual partnership with other company. Ante Meridiem would offer a different level of services for loyal companies and educational institutes by giving them a special price for using Ante Meridiem ‘s trend forecasting service.

Ante Meridiem will also build collaborations with fabric suppliers and modeling agencies to aid the content development of Ante Meridiem ‘s product, while Ante Meridiem could direct the customers to the supplier / agency. Or simply, Ante Meridiem could be one of their advertising platforms.

As a startup, Ante Meridiem’s division (with In order to aid the company’s growth, it is

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FUTURE

PLANS

As stated, Ante Meridiem will expand its

scope to the international market and to upgrade the digital platform to fit various gadget devices. Each region will have a Regional Manager, who will be the leader of the team for the assigned Ante Meridiem headquarter. To achieve the company’s goal, Ante Meridiem will need more human resources to build the company, therefore Ante Meridiem will recruit more employees who can support the company, and will provide a trainee program for fresh graduate employees / entry level employees.

In the future, Ante Meridiem will also add new divisions such as : • Finance division, who will be responsible to summarize the company’s financial activities, expenses and earnings.

• Photographers, who will assist the content designers with their photographic skill in order to create a more visually attractive content.

• Human Resources Department, who will be responsible for recruiting talents that could support Ante Meridiem towards the company’s goal.

EVALUATION & REFLECTION Through my academic experiences, this is

the first opportunity for me to develop another things related to fashion aside from garments and accessories; Through this project I was able to learn another department within the fashion industry which is the trend forecasting. As my major project is to create trend forecasting publication, I have learned on how trend forecasts were created, and while through the marketing research project I have learned on how to sell it to the market. I was able to gain more understanding of the trend forecasting industry’s marketing strategy and managed to gain insights on how to compete within the market.

I have encountered some difficulties as the trend forecasting segment is a relatively new segment for me and I was used to create fashion brands instead of trend forecasting company, and both department have quite different marketing strategy. Therefore, I needed to adjust myself and did more research on the trend forecasting industry in order to create an effective and relevant marketing plan for my major project product.

In the future Ante Meridiem will also broaden the range of products offered to more related and specific categories, such as : • Menswear • Kidswear • Footwear • Active & Swimwear • Lingerie • Accessories • Beauty • Home • Lifestyle (Food and Health) To create a more efficient working system within the company, a team leader will be assigned to every division and trend categories team who will lead each own team and report their performance and activities to the CEO.

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APPENDICES 1.

Launching Ceremony Marketing & Press Kit

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2.

Costing Sheets

Written by Claresta Elviana, 2016 Marketing Plan Wordcount : 3170

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