Brand Audit- Charlotte Cuff- Kansai Yamamoto S/S 2020 Relaunch by Charlotte Cuff

Brand Audit Charlotte Cuff

Contents •

Introduction

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History Timeline

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Customers

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Competitors

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Suppliers & Supply-Chain Logistics

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Availability of Raw Materials

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Distributors

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Porters 5 Forces Threat of Substitute Threat of New Entrants Power of Consumer Buyers Power of Suppliers Rivalry Among Existing Competition

5-6 6-7 8 8 8 9

9 9 9 10 10

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Brand Positioning

10-11

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Visual identity

11-12

Brand Essence

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Brand Onion

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Marketing Mix

Product

Price

Promotion

Place

4-5

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PESTEL Political Economic Social Technological Environmental Legal

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15 15 16 16 17 17

SWOT Strength Weakness Opportunity Threat

18 18 18 18-19

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Consumer Analysis

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Market Penetration

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Competitor Analysis

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Recommendations

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Image Reference List

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Bibliography

23-28

Introduction Kansai Yamamoto designs and creations were first established in 1971. The Japanese designer brought contemporary Japanese fashion to the western world in the 1970s and 80s. (Harris, 2013) Encapsulating aspects of his heritage and culture Yamamoto’s designs and garments embodied elements of Kabuki theater, this established traditional form entertainment contributed elements such as colour, silhouettes and character in relation to the Kansai Yamamoto brand. From the decorative sets to the intricate garments the art form stems from the Japanese term kabuki-mono which translates to ‘a person who attracts attention due to their strange clothes/ hairstyle and overall odd behavior’. (Johnson, 2016) Yamamoto started off his career assisting fashion designers Hisashi Hosono and Junko Koshino from being the apprentice to these influential Japanese designers Kansai Yamamoto then went forward and created his own brand and designs. He then first showcased his garments in 1972 a year after setting up his own business, in London he exhibited the first viewing of the highly Figure 1: Kansai Yamamoto bold anticipated collection in a grand manner. Taking applique jacket. - (Delaney, J. 2013) inspiration from his adoration of kabuki theater, Yamamoto stood on the stage conducting the proceedings including the models and live music. (McDowell, 1987) Kansai Yamamoto stated that at the heart of all his designs lies basara. This Japanese word translates into meaning “dress freely with a stylish extravagance. BASARA is the opposite of the Japanese wabi-sabi aesthetic, which is underplayed and modest; it is colourful and flamboyant.” (Lanji, 2013) From the bright colours and patterns to the graphic t-shirts and knitwear, Kansai Yamamoto’s contemporary fashion designs and creations push the boundaries of daring aesthetics, creating extreme silhouettes for men and women. The flamboyant structures in addition to the bold appliqués and larger than life shapes, making his garments avant-garde to the point of being unwearable (Harris, 2013) Yamamoto create visions which projected his extravagant imagination "true originality is almost impossible to imitate as it is the expression of the creator's personal experience and cultural environment. As a Japanese, I always seek the 'Oriental quality' that is within me." (Martin, Snodgrass, 2017) The Kansai Yamamoto brand was built upon the foundations of the eastern oriental influence deriving from aspects within Asian culture as well as elements of futuristic/ modern fashion. Yamamoto defines his aesthetic through colour, through time and experience traveling where he gained his inspiration which he has fused with traits of his own culture.

The futuristic kaleidoscope that is reflected within Yamamoto’s collections caught the interest of many through the decades, but more notoriously the relationship that developed between Kansai Yamamoto and David Bowie, through their joint love of the oriental and the innovative. Through this bond Yamamoto designed and commissioned the development of outfits for Bowie for his tour. The outfits represented and partnered with Bowie’s vision, the flamboyant and androgynous nature the garments had directly reflected the inspiration from kabuki theatre. The spectacle of the dancing and set design to the fluidity of gender roles within the performances, Kansai Yamamoto colourful creations became iconic for David Bowie and the portrayal of his creative vision. (Lewis, 2012) History Timeline (Adrianna, 2017) • 1967- Kansai Yamamoto won the Soen prize at Bunka College of Fashion. • 1971- Yamamoto Kansai Company Ltd. was Figure 2: Kansai and David Bowie’s friendship born in Tokyo. During the same year, he through fashion. (Hayashi, K. A. 2014) showed his first collection in London. • 1975- Yamamoto displayed his collection in Paris for the first time • 1977- The designer opened Kansai Boutique in Paris. He was awarded Fashion Editors Award in Tokyo. • 1993- This year Kansai Yamamoto had his first super show in Red Square in Moscow, he was the first to get permission to use that location. The show was elaborate and flamboyant, including dancing, fireworks and fashion • 1997- Yamamoto organized the program for India-Japan Mixed Cultural Cooperation Committee. • 1999- He worked with Junko Koshino revitalizing one of the most important items the kimono. His avant-garde kimonos gained popularity thanks to one big-name fan: David Bowie. The celebrity wore his kimono in Ziggy Stardust Tour. • 2001-Yamamoto made a licensing deal with Ayoyama USA for eyewear. • 2008- The Edo-Tokyo Museum put on an exhibition titled “Netsuki Shinten: Kansai Genki Shugi” which translates as The Energy Principle of Kansai. • 2009- A significant exhibition was held at Philadelphia Museum of Art displaying Yamamoto’s work. • 2010- Kansai Yamamoto was approached to design the Skyliner train which connects Japan’s Narita Airport with central Tokyo. • 2013- Yamamoto began to get back into the fashion industry, showing at the 19th New Britain Mask Festival in Kokopo, Papua New Guinea.

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2014- Kansai Yamamoto proved it wasn’t just apparel he was interested in. In 2014 he made a debut as an interior designer. 2017- The Japanese designer collaborated with the power house brand that it Louis Vuitton for their 2018 cruise collection. Which was showcased in Kyoto, Japan

The most recent form of brand extension within the Kansai Yamamoto company, was the development and release of an eyewear collection in 2001 (Adriana, 2017) The Yamamoto brand made a licencing agreement with the American company Ayoyama USA that they could sell the Kansai Yamamoto products and apply to brand name and logo. Customers The customers are a vital part to the success of a business, they hold the key to brand development through the purchasing of products thus expanding and progressing a company. To be able to provide for said customers a brand would need to identify the customers’ needs then accordingly produce the products that there clearly is a demand for. The process of consumer orientation would be applied to this situation. The strategic plan aims for a company or brand in this case to meet to long term needs of the customer. Identifying and satisfying the customer therefore retaining them keeping them loyal to the brand. (Cross,2017)

Figure 3: Brand identity prism (Cuff, 2017)

The original customers devoted and attached to the brand followed the brand primarily for its avant garde principles “The form, shape, and volume of outfits have also been changed by the avant-garde influence. Details now consist of unexpected cuts and oversized tailoring which offer a different perspective to what the wearer is presenting.” (Gongini,2017) These specifics and features of Kansai Yamamoto’s garments attracted and held customers, as this form of fashion broke the norms. It allowed those who wanted to break the rules and challenge constructs the fashion industry had built at the time. Relative to the Kansai Yamamoto products which is part of a luxury fashion brand, the launch will be taking place in 2020 which therefore means the Yamamoto brands needs to be aware and tuned Figure 4: Comic print bomber jacket, large into to the relationship between them and silhouette from A/W 1983. (Japanese, F. A. customer and how this bond will have 2016) developed in 3 year’s time. According to Delolitte and their insight on the luxury opportunity and how luxury brands can respond they state that “luxury brands will need to carefully develop their ‘digital frame’ to ensure it offers the luxury consumer a truly valuable experience to create desire” (Deloitte,2015) therefore when the re-launch of the Kansai Yamamoto brands takes place in 2020 the online platforms surrounding/supporting the relaunch will have to encompass the same levels of luxury and Avant-garde the brands values hold from 1970 but carried forward into present day to reach the customers of the present. According to Mintel “The most active designer fashion shoppers are older Millennials aged 25-34. This age group is likely to help drive sales of designer fashion” (Mintel, 2015). This group of shoppers are more likely to purchase online, furthermore this was stated in an in a report on WGSN claiming 56% of Gen-Xers and Millennials choose to purchase online and are prone to engaging on average six hours on online shopping a week (WGSN, 2016)

Competitors When Kansai Yamamoto was at his height of his success so were a number of other contemporary Japanese designers including Issey Miyake, Rei Kawakubo, and Yohji Yamamoto making moves and infiltrating the fashion industry with the eastern oriental take on luxury fashion. The cross-cultural influences these brands brought to the runways of London and Paris and became trailblazers for nonwestern designers to break into the fashion scene. (Jett, 1985) Although this movement of designers emerged around a similar time, Kansai Yamamoto brought something different his outlandish, decorative and basara clothing delving deep into the rich Japanese culture and history from kabuki theatre to the Qing dynasty (Fury, 2017). Suppliers & Supply-chain Logistics When analysing suppliers and the logistics including intermediaries in relation to the Kansai Figure 5: The infinity of tailoring Yamamoto brand, distributors hold a lot of power A/W 2013 Comme des Garรงons: due to the fact the manufacturing and exporting of (Guardian,2017) the garments will be based in Japan when the relaunch of the brand occurs. According to the Future of Natural Gas in the World Energy Market, Japan much like Europe rely on international fuel suppliers primarily from Indonesia, Malaysia and the Middle East (Emirates, 2001) many have turned to these countries due to the fact finding cheaper lower cost options for a good price as a long term alternative since the areas in which there were copious amounts of oil and gas at one point are now running low and since thoughtless use of the energy sources over the past decades (Abed, 2017). Consequently, meaning the popular suppliers that the vast majority will be purchasing from will have a substantial amount of power over their customers, giving them the control to rise and fluctuate prices and amounts permitted causing a knock of effect within this case of the production and supply of the garments. Availability of Raw Materials Japan as a country has shortages in relation to the availability of raw materials such as oil, coal, iron, ore, copper aluminium and wood (Asia,2017) meaning that these materials will need to be imported. However, Japan enforce a consumption tax, this 8% tariff implemented on all goods imported into Japan as well as manufactured in the country. The amount of consumption tax is decided by Customs who evaluate the value as well as insert excess taxes. (Minsitry,2017)

Distributors Brands and companies may choose to sell their products or goods directly to the consumer through brick-and-mortar retail spaces, where they can interact with their customers/ consumers first hand dissimilar to this some organisations prefer to communicated and sell items online through e-commerce. This form of retail involves a middle man, the distributors. It is the distributors job to supply the end users with the products they have purchased online. An article written on Business of fashion stated the future of retail is the end of wholesale, it then proceeds to claim that â&#x20AC;&#x153;e-commerce will rapidly reshape the entire economic model of retailâ&#x20AC;? (Stephens, 2015). By the 2020 relaunch of the Kansai Yamamoto brand there will be and original brick-and-mortar retail space in Tokyo Japan in correlation the original heritage and history of the brand with hubs set up across Asia such as; Shanghai, Jakarta, Singapore and Seoul where immerging markets are appearing and developing. But as previously stated in the audit, the customers/ consumers who will be engaging with the relaunch of the brand creating a connection and becoming invested spend the greatest amount of time online shopping for products on their devices. As much as the brand needs to keep to its origins and principles to entice original customers, who already have a relationship with the brand. Times have changed, there is also a new consumer who requires instantaneous products and the supply of them. So alongside the retail spaces the brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website will provide the rapid, direct service some require now, but the vast majority will demand by 2020. Porters 5 Forces Threat of Substitute Within the market today that the Kansai Yamamoto brand plans on selling in, there is the opportunity for other brands and companies to become substitutes if consumers feel as the brand is not performing to their standards, whether that be in relation to the price, quality of the products consumers have the option to go elsewhere. Many of the options which could be considered a substitute against Kansai Yamamoto have already been established as brands for many years, and have remained as substitutes and competitors since the seventies. Threat of New Entrants As the industry progresses there is the likelihood for new brands and business to develop over time particularly by 2020, who may enter the industry approximately the same time as the brand relaunch. Brand loyalty plays a major role within this issue, when a new entrant inserts themselves into the industry consumers will/ may face switching costs. (Nicholson & Walter, 2009) if the consumer chooses to swap from one brand to another, they may face the expected uncertainty that comes along with trying a brand which might not be properly suited. (National Economic Research Associates, 2003). When the relaunch occurs the expectation is that the customers who were once loyal to the brands and the new consumers who the brand will be directly targeting at will resonate with the ethics and origins of the original company and the developed brand today. Power of Consumer Buyers The consumer holds vast amounts of power when it comes the success of the brand during the relaunch period. The customer has the capability the alter the prices, whether that be

an increase or a decrease. If there are too many options/ substitutes e.g. Comme des Garçons, Kenzo the consumer buyer power is excessively high meaning the level of substitutes/ replacements available is broad, subsequently meaning consumer are more likely to go elsewhere. Furthermore, on the contrary if the power of the consumers is at a low level. Consumers are less likely to waver from the brand due to the lack of alternatives or price fluctuation. Power of Suppliers As stated in a previous part of the audit, the suppliers play a significant role mainly relating to the price aspect of the relaunch. Much like consumers and the power they hold, if there are not many suppliers when the relaunch occurs this then means the Kansai Yamamoto brand will have to buy under the supplier’s conditions, implicating on the price the suppliers will charge. On the other hand, if there are a number of alternative suppliers out there for the brand to choose from the bargaining power the suppliers hold is low positioning the Kansai Yamamoto brand in a financially better position. Rivalry Among Existing Competition Due to the strength and high positioning brands who were and still are Kansai Yamamoto’s competitors to this day, the rivalry continues. From Yohji Yamamoto to Issey Miyake the brands that were relevant in to 70s and 80s are still pertinent currently when analysing for the Kansai Yamamoto brand relaunch. Many ranging from the affordable luxury category and accessible core section, right through to the premium core level in relation the fashion pyramid of luxury brands (Willett, 2015). Through the rival companies offering products at the bottom of the pyramid within the affordable luxury section i.e. entry level products, this then attracted consumers to the other brands offering this products example perfumes, phone cases etc. Brand Positioning According to Kotler, positioning is the act of designing the company’s offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the minds of the target market (Kotler, 2009) The brand community previously and currently value the same ethics the brand still holds to this day. Garments and products associated with the Kansai Yamamoto brand all retain the “traditional with a view of the future” they all hold an essence of traditional Japan e.g. art, music, theatre alongside a modern twist. The brand community might value that the Kansai Yamamoto brand in the future will still hold the same core values and personality expressed through clothing collections and other projects attached with the Yamamoto name. Kansai Yamamoto Inc. currently claim that for “the past 23 years can be described as his successful period as an event producer attracting 3.6 million audiences globally, to his spectacular

"Kansai Super Show" and "Nippon Genki Project"… as well as winning a ‘Good Design Awards 2010’ and ‘Blue Ribbon Awards 2011’ towards his interior and exterior design of Keisei Skyliner (an express trains service for Tokyo Narita Airport), Kansai not only extends his talent in fashion and events but in a variety of fields with his creativity.” One of the brands most recent collaborations is with Louis Vuitton, under the creative direction of Nicolas Ghesquière. Yamamoto according to Vogue served as both muse and collaborator… creating classic Japanese art and Kabuki-inspired patterns and prints for the Cruise collection. (Bobb, 2017) This most recent collaboration has brought the Yamamoto brand/heritage back to the forefront of previous and potential consumers’ minds, carrying the brand back to popularity further down the road. Visual Identity Brand Essence • Vibrant pop art inspired prints Figure 6: Kansai Yamamoto collaboration with Louis • Intricate eastern patterns Vuitton. (Jordan, 2017) • Some cases Avant- Gard to the point of being unwearable • Contemporary • Larger than life patterns and silhouettes influenced by Kabuki theatre • Subculture Glam T • Extravagant-Imagination • Tradition with a view of the future • The west in Asian forms • Oriental Quality • Three dimensional qualities • Folding • Pleating • Twisting Fabric • Bold and Graphic • Creating and impact with the silhouette Figure 7: Kansai Yamamoto- designer portrait (Hayashi, K. A. 2014)

The creator of the Kansai Yamamoto brand Kansai Yamamoto himself radiates through the company and the many extensions. His personality, style and flavour exudes colour, passion, freedom and flamboyancy which can be found in any of his creations. Over the years the brand has developed and changed their font type as well as logo which accompanies the different collections. From a bold, plain, structured font in colours which matches the correlating garment to an oversized brush stroked title with a smaller tag line. The brands font has never been limited or remained the same. More recently the brand has developed a number of motifs/ logo which are identifiable in relation to the brand. The first being an interpretation of a face featured in Kabuki theater, containing bold and simple lines as well as sticking to the primary colours. Providing an effective and memorable design. Another one of the more recent developments of the brand logo and fonts is the female profile motif alongside a pop art style speech bubble which encapsulates the brand name “kansaï yamamoto” in lower case Ariel black font in black. The simple colours used in the previous logos, have been continued into the latest ones. Elements from this logo have been identified and used as smaller emblems for the brand i.e. the red lips, speech bubble cloud and polka dots. Previously in the seventies the brand incorporated bright, bold and clashing colours in comparison to the development of the brands visuals today which follow a simple colour scheme of mainly black, white and red.

Figure 8: Kansai Yamamoto lips motif Figure 9: Monochrome speech paired with lower case brand font/ name. bubble logo (Yamamoto, 2017) (Tokyu Department. S, 2016) Through travel and experience Kansai Yamamoto spent time in middle eastern countries such as Afghanistan and Istanbul etc. as well as countries such as China, and Tibet. Here Yamamoto studied native materials and brought them back and incorporated them within his designs. (Hayashi,2014) In addition to this many of Yamamoto’s creations involved knit. Whether it was a sweatshirt, jumpsuit or pullover the knitted texture was dominant within collections.

Brand Onion

BRAND IN ACTION Bold prints, Knitted Texures, Graphic patterns and T-Shirts. Kansai Yamamoto female logo including lips motif. Oriental vibe with modern elements, daring silhouettes

BRAND PERSONALITY Fun, Bold, Glam, Individual, Daring, Flamboyant, BRAND VALUES Colourful, Inspiration and muse from Confident Japanese kabuki theatre. Extravagant and vibrant ESSENCE The Kansai Yamamoto brands represents the avant garde fashion scene and vibe in the 1970s

Marketing Mix Product From the more avant-garde luxury collections through the 1970s and 1980s to the entry level phone cases etc. in the present day. The Kansai Yamamoto brand has had a large range of products. Structured bombers/ jackets in addition to large silhouetted knitted jumpers with appliqued embroidery and motifs as well as collaborative projects with brands such as Louis Vuitton make up the mid-range and upper tier products which formed the luxury sector of the brand. On the opposing coin purses, formal ties and keyrings make up the aspirational sector. These lower priced and less desired products are an easy access point for some consumers to feel like they have a piece of the company additionally feel like they can afford a part of a luxury brand. Price According to Forbes millennials will reshape the luxury market, after a drop in prices last year it has been predicted that will be a 2-4% growth in this year alone and is forecasted to rise over the coming years. By 2025, which is surpassing the launch of the Yamamoto brand. Millennials at this point will make up 45% of the global luxury goods market. (Soloman, 2017) With this in mind and more importantly the prices the brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s competitors are retailing at. The Kansai Yamamoto brand will need to market the garments at a similar price point to that of their competitors, to reach the same level of exclusivity and luxury the 13

brand wants to achieve. Taking KENZO for example, prices within their sweatshirt collection range from £175-£355, the upper tier products Yamamoto plans on releasing will need to fall at the higher end of this spectrum to be considered a ‘luxury brand’ but also necessary to provide the entry level products at the correct prices, to meet demands and rectify a problem the brand faced in the nineteen seventies. The phycology of pricing plays a major role when a brand determines the value of a garment, “Psychological pricing allows sellers to stay ahead of competitors without needing to resort too low, unprofitable prices. When you price your products in a way that you know will be attractive to your customers, you’ll encourage purchases while strengthening your brand, your understanding of your customers, and your product positioning.” (Ugino, 2017) This strategy will allow Yamamoto reflect on the prices of their leading competitors and the driving forces of returning/ potential customers, these incentives including prices, customer demands and what they expect and want from the products and the advertisement. Promotion A major downfall to the Yamamoto brand was the print promotion and advertisement of brand during its prime in the nineteen seventies. The main feature of his avant-garde collection was publicized in the July edition of Harpers & Queen in 1971. Yamamoto’s work made the cover with model Marie Helvin donned in one of Yamamoto’s sculpted creations, here alongside the bold image read the words “Explosion from Tokyo, the fantastic sculpture clothes of a fashion architect”. Within the magazine the Kansai Yamamoto creations came to life the loud prints, chucky knits and bold silhouettes on 3 double page spreads, following this major feature which contributed to the hype and boost in Yamamoto’s popularity. His work was then featured within The Sunday Times in late November of 1971 which was where “work received coverage in the national press” (Gorman,2016) From here Kansai Yamamoto’s garments became a uniform for music icon Figure 10: Kansai Yamamoto, David Bowie he “drew on Yamamoto’s flamboyance and Sunday Times: Gorman, P. (2017) daring when presenting Ziggy Stardust on stage. Several of the designs were worn by Bowie in performance during live promotion, in particular of the Aladdin Sane album” (Gorman, 2016) These small but yet still major features were the only two, which saw the Yamamoto brands broadcasted through the media of print. Place Apart from the production and retailing of the Kansai Yamamoto collection in Japan, the West London boutique Boston 151 was the only establishment you could purchase any Yamamoto’s garments until Yamamoto contacted the boss behind the Great Gear Trading Company at number 85 King’s Road, London and proposed the thought of using the “large ground floor area usually occupied by a number of clothing stalls for a show of his latest collection. The venue choice was in keeping with Kansai’s fascination for London’s boutique scene” (Gorman, 2016). This fixation regarding London, especially the restricted regions/ countries the Yamamoto brand chose only to sell in could have been its biggest downfall. By doing this created limits and constraints against potential customers on a global scale

PESTEL Politics Within Japan there resides a monarchy, however this hierarchy has very little power over the residents of the country and they in addition to this don’t have a large amount of control/ influence over political decisions within the state. (Frue, 2016) The Japanese people have opportunity to vote for a party and consequently a leader is elected, this then leader the Prime Minister has vast amount of power over the country especially when it surrounds political and economic laws passed/ approved within the country. With the country of Japan being an active member of the G8, a number of issues have arisen over a number of years generating damaged and weakened relationship between countries and leaders. As Brexit occurred it emerged that with the UK withdrawing from the EU, subsequently meant the retraction out of previous deals made with Japan. Primarily surround forms of power and fuel, in particular nuclear. (Buchan, 2017) In addition to this, due to Japans involvement within the G8, relations between other nations such as China, Russia and North and South Korea have become strained. This has been due to disagreements surrounding natural gases and oil as well as further marine resources such as promising supplies of crude oil (Frue, 2016) In relation to the relaunch of the Yamamoto brand, this could drastically effect the production and manufacturing of the materials and the compounds including the achieve the high quality luxury result. Economic During the height of the Kansai Yamamoto brand, Japan the country suffered a server oil crisis, this economic test challenged Japan as the country “had become virtually dependent on foreign petroleum. Japan experienced its first post war decline in industrial production, together with severe price inflation.” (Dolan, R.E, 1994) This was one of the vital reasons for the decline of the Kansai Yamamoto brand, production and manufacturing of the extravagant, unique garments became too expensive in addition to the struggle of obtaining resources. Today Japan has the third largest economy in the world. Since the collapse after the second world war, as a country Japan has expanded and excelled because of the post war expansion which was then boosted development and research within consumer electronics and the automotive industry. (BBC, 2017) A major development in Japan’s economy that is set to increase the economy significantly is the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. “Preparations for the games may have helped to contribute to growth in public investments, while high levels of employment have also pushed businesses to invest in capital projects, helping to boost the economy” (Partington,2017) The flood of foreign tourism to the country is set to support the country’s economy for a number of years succeeding the Olympics capitalizing on the tourism boom. Subsequently since President Donald Trump was elected and put into power the most recent US election, the value of the Yen against the dollar has decreased. Therefore, making “exports more competitive and raises the price of imported goods” (Ajima, 2017) Giving the Kansai Yamamoto brand the upper hand when it involves the manufacturing and distribution, positioning the brand in a more secure and positive place financially in comparison to in the 1970s.

Additionally, the global luxury market in Japan is progressively developing once again after being derailed by the global finical crisis in 2011 which was in the wake of two major natural disasters within the country which saw the country’s economy plummet to a trough. On the contrary today, Japan’s economy today is evolving and recovering from the disrupt five years previously. “Japanese consumers are now spending 3.6 trillion yen (about $33 billion) each year on luxury goods” (Chitrakorn, 2017) According to Business of Fashion the key reasoning for the repositioning of the country’s new and booming is the abenomics approach the Prime Minister has enforced, which includes the rotation of rising wages, spending and inflation, causing a requirement of Japanese’s exports of a global scale. Social A poignant social issue in Japan is the ideal of women settling down and marrying by the age of thirty years ‘old. This traditional social construct suggests women should establish a career but once married should relinquish her said chosen path, and then follow the natural progression of the routine which results in children. An ideal which is highly sought after in a number of Western countries is the birth of a son in the family to carry on and inherit the family’s assets. However, in more recent years the birth rates have dropped between married couples (Frue, 2016) Correspondingly Japan’s average marrying age is going up it was 25 years old in 1970 and now hovers around 30 years old. And while just around five percent of Japanese women aged 35 to 39 had never married in 1970, in 2005, almost 20 percent in the same age bracket had never tied the knot. (Huffington Post, 2013) This meaning a certain spectrum of adults now have a surplus of disposable income which they can then spend on whatever they wish. Furthermore, due to rise of employment and the rise in household wages the spending power Japanese’s consumer holds is increasing rapidly. (Chitrakorn, 2017) Technological Japan is one of the most technological advanced nations “by September 2007, Japan had 27.7 million broadband lines in place, making it the third largest broadband country in the world after the USA and China. 78.2 % people in Japan uses internet now. Much of the success of Internet in Japan is owed to the stunning growth in 2003 of ADSL as a broadband technology.” Japan as a country in the world has the quickest and cheapest internet connection (Belson, 2007) meaning Japanese’s consumer are accessible to ecommerce at all times, anywhere. Making this a vital access point for consumers. However, purchasing luxury products online in Japan is not a popular activity within Japanese culture, bricks and mortar establishments the physical retail experience is the preferred one. Nevertheless, Durand-Servoingt at McKinsey makes the point that “the digital journey is important. Luxury shoppers of all ages like to familiarise themselves [online] to prepare for their shopping journey and what brands and products they will purchase,” (Chitrakorn, 2017) Subsequently the only way this will improve in any manner is through education, brands now have a duty to educate their customers about e-commerce so they are encouraged to purchases the luxury products through a brands website pushing and developing the online luxury segment (Chitrakorn, 2017)

Environmental Japan suffered two major disasters Tōhoku and Fukushima within 2011. As country Japan is an island surround by a number of bodies of water, including the North Pacific Ocean, The Sea of Japan and the East China Sea making disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis incredibly destructive, affecting them majorly economically when it re-building aspects of the country occurred. “About 70% to 80% of the country is forested, mountainous, and unsuitable for agricultural, industrial, or residential use. This is because of the steep elevations, climate and risks of landslides caused by earthquakes creating soft grounds and heavy rain”. This in ability to inhabit the dangerous forest areas of Japan mean there is an “extremely high population density Figure 11: Clean up team after Fukushima -Hamilton, B. (2016) within compact areas of Japan” resulting in problems such as land, sea and air pollution. During the early 1970s when the Yamamoto collection was unveiled to the people of Japan, there was a serious underlying environmental and health issues surrounding the residents of Japan. Due to the fumes produced through automotive pollution and industrial a photochemical smog engulfed the country causing a large portion of the population to develop asthma and bronchitis as well as breathing difficulties due to arsenic poisoning. However, since this lethal problem an environmental policy has been enforced in Japan, now Japan in the “world’s leading importer of both exhaustible and renewable natural recourses and one of the largest consumers of fossil fuels” which is an important segment of information to take in mind for the 2020 relaunch, aiming to make the manufacturing and distribution of the garments as environmentally friendly as possible. Legal Similarly, to the UK, Japan enforced labour laws, the right and obligation to work, a ban on child labour across the whole country and the freedom of workers’ association. The Japanese labour laws were founded to give employees a basic foundation and contracts when entering their field of work. (Jung, 2017) These labour law also include minimum standards every company in Japan must comply with, these include; working conditions, workplace safety and hygiene. These simple by-laws must be followed. Additionally, as previously stated in the audit, Japan enforce a consumption tax, this 8% tariff implemented on all goods imported into Japan as well as manufactured in the country. The amount of consumption tax is decided by Customs who evaluate the value as well as insert excess taxes. (Minsitry,2017)

SWOT Strength One of the main strengths surround the relaunch of the Kansai Yamamoto brand is the fact the brand may have not been globally recognized, it still holds memories and opinions with some consumers. So this previously established consumer group are hopefully still there and enthusiastic about the brand, as well as the new millennials the brand is trying to engage with the relaunch of the extravagant heritage brand. Another main strength the brand holds is the garments and creation the brand has been built upon are so unique and distinctive in comparison to luxury market, however also the brand has the capability to diversify and be sold in other areas within the market such as phone cases, t-shirts etc. due to his continual use of pattern and shapes they elements can be taken and incorporation into more mainstream products. Weaknesses The downside to Kansai Yamamoto’s work being so avant-garde and bold, is the fact it might deter or scare of potential new customers. Yamamoto’s garments don’t look or follow traditional Japanese ways of clothing, their basara opposite to the wabi-sabi aesthetic, which is underplayed and modest which most luxury fashion brands follow by (Lanji, 2013) This limited market provides a source of apprehension in relation to the relaunch, creating a risk whether or not consumers will still be interested plus will it encourage or frighten potential shoppers. Additionally, another limitation attached to the brands during the relaunch is the constant association with the icon David Bowie, many automatically identify the icon with brand which could be a hindrance when trying to attach at new collaborative partner or face to the campaigns Opportunities An opportunity/ area that the brand could also touch upon, through marketing and advertising is the impact and concerns the nation of Japan have about sustainability and the environment. Revolving the particularly important issue of sea and air pollution, this could be touched upon through campaigns strategy and the end images. As previously stated in the audit Japan is one of the most technologically advanced countries, so this creates an opportunity for the brand now, which wasn’t available in the nineteen seventies. One which may be appropriate for the relaunch of the Yamamoto brand is the development of online fittings, as the brand is trying to push the idea of luxury ecommerce this development would mean a more precise and accurate purchase for the consumers, which may be a worry due to the fit and shapes of some of the brands garments. According to Complex nearly 20 to 40 percent of all clothing purchased online are returned due to fit issues (Tang, 2015) This camera and laser based technology will be able to collect and measure the customer’s dimensions from wherever they are at home, at work etc. Providing the consumer with the most accurate fit along with the greatest convenience right to your door. Threats A major threat which effect a number of high fashion luxury brands is the possibility of knock off/ counterfeit goods being made which replicate their high end products. This area

of the fashion industry provides fake cheaper replicas of the sought after luxury goods to sell to consumers who might not normally be able to afford anything for said brand. However, this process causes a knock on effect for the original brands, it often lowers consumer’s opinions on items if they can get them elsewhere for a fraction of the price resulting in tarnished attitudes towards the brand. (Pithers,2017) This threat could majorly effect the progression of the Yamamoto brands and its development after the relaunch in 2020. Consumer Analysis When analysing the different types of consumers for the relaunch of Kansai Yamamoto 2020 as a brand Yamamoto will need to consider established markets as well as emerging ones to relaunch to. The clear market and consumer the brand will need to analyse, is the Japanese. Considering the Japanese consumer was the original consumer when the brand first evolved in the 1970s an understanding on how the consumer have evolved will need to be looked into. The brand originally connected with their target consumer the Japanese and British by only launching boutiques in these two countries, connecting with these consumer bases. At one point Yamamoto’s “sole outlet outside of Japan was west London boutique Boston 151 – approached retail veteran Tom Salter, owner of the Great Gear Trading Company at 85 King’s Road, with the proposal to use the large ground floor area usually occupied by a number of clothing stalls for a show of his latest collection.” (Gorman, 2016) However, in addition to analysing the Kansai Yamamoto consumers previously and right now. The brand needs to look at potential consumers and the possibilities those markets hold. A possible emerging market to look further into is Indonesia. This southeast Asian country in the words of Taranukha, Indonesia is one of the fastest growing countries in the world… In addition to the strong growth of the economy, Indonesian companies have strong financial ratios compared to the rest of the emerging market countries. (Taranukha, 2017) In 2020 Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital will be on track to hosting their 12th Fashion Week “the six-day event is slated to present hundreds of designers from Indonesia and abroad, including from Australia, England, India, Japan, South Korea and Sweden.” (Josephine, 2017) Subsequently bringing more money into the country through tourism hosting events on this scale, leading to further growth in the Indonesian economy. According to EuroMonitor International the shopping habits of an average Indonesian consumer follows is purchasing a main household shop, but then with rest of the consumer’s income they will then further invest in “shopping for big ticket items and personal goods”. The example consumer would purchase these luxury items overseas and would use social media and websites to complete their purchases. When the Indonesian consumer was questioned about their spending habits when it fell under the bracket of fashion and grooming, they expressed their income was most likely to be spent on halal and organic cosmetics and fashion as well as eyebrow and lip threading. (Euromonitor, 2015)

PROFILE 1- INDONESIA • NAME: Ardila • GENDER: Male •

AGE: 35

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OCCUPATION: Fashion Industry

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INTERESTS/HOBBIES: Online videos, Street art, Skating

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FASHION CHOICES: Simple, creating shapes through garments. Pays for high price items to receive high quality Figure 12: Potential profile - Roazen, B. (2016).

PROFILE 2- JAPAN • •

NAME: Sakuran GENDER: Female

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AGE: 27

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OCCUPATION: Blogger

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INTERESTS/HOBBIES: Interested in the environment and the possible problems within the country

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FASHION CHOICES: Image conscious, individuality and confident

Figure 13: Potential profile- Japanese: Harjuku, J. (2017

Market Penetration The main/ first market the Kansai Yamamoto brand will be investing into is the Japanese, this is due to the fact it resonates with the brands original heritage and is a good starting place to then evaluate successfulness as well as areas where the brand initial plans/ strategies haven’t been the most effective. This home hub allows room for error before the stores are taken forward for other countries. The main source of income driving the growth

of the Japanese market around the time or the relaunch is the 2020 Olympics, the city of Tokyo was awarded 730 billion yen, which went straight on investing for the event such as creating new arenas/sporting areas and developing parts of the nation. This large scale event has a direct knock on effect on the number/ amount of tourism entering the country that year, this influx in tourism will boost the economy in certain sectors thus meaning people may have more disposable income to spend of luxury products. It may also mean interests rate may lower meaning less affluent residents are in a better position to apply for loans, mortgages even have a little extra disposable income themselves. The product category the Kansai Yamamoto brand would be looking into is launching a range of luxury apparel with mid to entry level product also available for both men and women. This brand relaunch will be headed by a new collection, which will be heavily influenced by emerging trends set for 2020 as well as it’s critical position online engaging in e-commerce Competitor Analysis The brand positioning map offers a vital visual representation of the where the brand wants to be sitting. With competitors such as Kenzo, Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Comme des Garçons, Kansai Yamamoto’s 2020 relaunch will need to position itself at mid-range price wise. With Yohji Yamamoto’s garments costing the most, reaching prices of £4000 + for a printed, embroidered BRAND ITEM PRICE-AVERAGE coat. In comparison to Kenzo’s KENZO JUMPER £132 iconic tiger sweatshirts ISSEY MIYAKE ‘’ £270 available to the masses for YOHJI ‘’ £500 £175. The Kansai Yamamoto YAMAMOTO brand will need to decide at COMME DES ‘’ £282 which price pint would be best GARCONS to sit and how much they should charge for the garments in the new collection. This decision on price point could heavily be influenced the brand challenges which they have previously suffered. The main reason the brand stopped after its popularity in the 1970/1980s was due to the economic fall, brands after this financial problem had to commercialise and infiltrate into new entry level markets for customer to be still be able to buy from the brand. Yamamoto’s brand became quiet, losing it popularity and status in some customer’s minds. Recommendations • Retain original brand essence and personality particularly referencing the essence of fun and flamboyancy • Reposition the brand as a mid to high range designer knitwear label • Target consumers will be • Develop new product range including limited edition collections and entry level products in which the consumer can personalize • Align brand with key influencers to include musicians (young thug) and social media/bloggers Naomi Watanabe • Distribution through stand-alone ateliers in UK and Japan and Ecommerce. 21

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