THE WHITE COMPANY BUSINESS OF FASHION CHLOE REES: 25007290
INTRODUCTION 5-6
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 7-8
CHOSEN BRAND 9-10
BRAND IDENTITY 11-12
CONTENTS BRAND IMAGE 13-14
BRAND CONSUMER 15-16
BRAND POSITIONING 17-18
C O M M U N I C AT I O N S M I X 19-23
INTRODUCTION This report will be looking at the a s p e c t s o f T h e W h i t e C o mp a ny which contribute to it being a successful brand, this includes the brand’s image and identity as well as who its target consumer is. It will also look at the different methods that the c o mp a ny u s e s t o b r i n g c o n s u m ers and businesses in. The methods used to research the brand include; observation of stores, websites, books and blogs.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report gives an analysis of The White Company’s brand and what has made it the successful brand it is today. Starting as a 12-page mail order catalogue, the brand has expanded and developed and now has over 50 stores and has a website launched in the USA. The brands expected turnover for 2015 is £180 million. The brand’s identity has been with it since the first catalogue with its simple style and elegance, this is also true of the brand’s image. The White Company has always been recognized for its white bed linen and still is today, the products have retained their high quality and value. Most of The White Company’s consumers are female, with 82% of those who buy the products being female and 38.6% of their consumers are aged between 40 and 54. Amongst the brands competitors, The White Company fairs well because to this day, there isn’t another brand that features all similar products as them and so the brand differentiates like this. The brand uses a number of different ways to promote and advertise, including social media. They also have a blog and continue to use mail order catalogue as a way of retaining regular consumers.
CHOSEN BRAND T h e W h i t e C o mp a ny was
f o u n d e d i n 19 9 4 b y C h r i s s i e R u c k e r, a s c h o o l d r o p o u t , b a s e d i n Kent. She spotted a gap in the market for affordable, white home accessories. The brand began with a £6,000 investment from her savings and was first launched with a 12 - p a ge m a i l - o r d e r b r o ch u r e from her boyfriend’s spare room. As the popularity of the brand g r ew, C h r i s s i e c o u l d a f fo r d t o e x t e n d t h e c o m p a ny, t h i s f i r s t b e gan when it got its first office in 19 9 6 a n d t h e n i n t h e f o l l o w i n g ye a r T h e L i t t l e W h i t e C o mp a ny wa s launched for babies and toddlers as again she believed there was a gap in the market here too. In 2 0 01 , T W C o p e n e d i t s f i r s t s t o r e on Symons Street, Sloane Square, London. This store has now become the f lagship store for the c o m p a ny.
F r o m h e r e , t h e c o mp a ny ’ s p r o d u c t s b e gan to diversify and they moved into fragrance in 2002. The brand continues to g row and develop over the next few years with a clothing line being launched in 2003 and then gift and Christmas lines being introduced in 2 0 0 5 . I n 2 0 0 7, t h e o r i g i n a l 1 2 - p a g e b r o c h u r e h a d g r o w n t o 13 0 p a g e s o f products and ideas for the home. Seven years af ter the first store opened in London, TWC opens its 20th store i n 2 0 0 8 . B y 2 011 t h e c o m p a n y h a d 4 0 stores in total as well as a franchise in Dubai. The 50th store was opened i n 2 0 14 w h e n t h e c o m p a n y t u r n e d 2 0 years old as well as launching a website for the USA.
To d ay t h e c o mp a ny s e l l s a l a rge range of products that continue to be developed, TWC still sells its original products including the bed linen as well as a large range of women’s clothing and different types of candles and fragrances such as diffusers and home sprays which can come in over 30 scents. T h i s y e a r, 2 015 t h e c o m p a n y i s e x p e c t e d t o m a k e a t u r n o v e r o f £ 18 0 million, with 56 stores in the UK a n d 11 f r a n c h i s e s a b r o a d . ( W h i t e C o m p a n y , 2 0 1 5 ) ( T e l e g r a p h , 2 0 10 )
BRAND IDENTITY T h e W h i t e C o mp a ny ’ s i d e n t i t y b e g i n s w i t h t h e n a m e o f t h e c o mp a ny i t s e l f . T h e s i m p l e a n d s e l f - e x p l a n a t o r y c o mp a ny n a m e expresses to the consumer what can be expected of the products, giving the first indication of the simplicity and elegance that can be seen in the products. The logo exerts this idea as well with its white backg round and white serif text. The simplicity of the logo and name is something that j o u r n eys t h r o u g h o u t t h e c o mp a ny i t s e l f , i n c l u d i n g t h e l ayo u t a n d t h e d e s i g n t h e m e of the stores. The look of the stores emphas i s e s t h e e l e ga n c e o f t h e c o mp a ny w h i ch then allows the products to be placed in a high value range. As well as this, the products themselves all link together as being simple but high quality and sophisticated. The customer recognises this instantly and they know that when they see the logo of the brand that the products here will be of h i g h qu a l i t y a n d a r e c o n s i s t e n t i n t h e way they appear in store. The look of the logo a n d t h e n a m e o f t h e c o mp a ny h e l p t o r e f lect the value of the products in store and entail make the high prices acceptable and a s w o r t h p a y i n g f o r.
B BRAND
IMAGE
rand image is described by Kotler and K e l l e r, 2 01 2 a s ‘ t h e p e r c e p t i o n a n d b e l i e f s held by consumers, as ref lected in the associations held in consumer memory’. T h e B r a n d I m a ge o f T h e W h i t e C o mp a ny wa s f i r s t e s t a b l i s h e d i n 19 9 4 w h e n t h e f i r s t c o l lection of bed linen went into a catalogue and since then the brand image has in some ways stayed the same but has also developed g reatl y. F r o m t h e b e g i n n i n g t h e c o n s u m e r h a s t h e impression that the products will be simple but retain high value. As well as this, all the promotional campaigns have a running theme in which they feature a few of the products and have a simple caption that reaches out to t h e c o n s u m e r. T h e c a m p a i g n s a r e a l s o k e p t m i n i m a l i s t b y t h e l a c k o f c o l o u r, t h e t e x t i s usually kept either white, grey or black.
BRAND CONSUMER
From researching who the brand consumer is, it is clear that The White Company generally targets females, data which has been found expresses that 82% of The White Company consumers are female. This is to be expected as the clothing products in the store are all women’s clothing and the products from The Little White Company are mostly aimed at mothers but there will also be a small percentage of men buying the products as well, presumably as gif ts. Also, 38.6% of The White Company’s consumers are aged between 40 and 54 and this is closely followed by the age g roup of 2 5 - 3 9 w i t h 3 7. 4 % o f T h e White Company’s consumers being within in this age range. Following the emphasis on the age of consumers there is importance placed on the amount of disposable income consumers of the brand have. The average consumer has bet we e n £ 12 5 a n d £ 4 9 9 o f m o n t h ly spare income with 60.7% of consumers being placed in this c a t e g o r y. T h i s i s a n i m p o r tant feature because The White Company products are placed in the higher value range and so those with a small disposable income do not have the extra cash to be able to spend on such products. This idea is mostly targeted at consume r s b e t w e e n t h e a g e o f 18 a n d 2 4 as only 2% of who The White Company sells to are in this age range and this is because on average people within this age are either students, on apprenticeships or have part time/ full time jobs which are paid minimum wage and so their disposable income is a much lower sum. The social grade of consumers of The White Company plays a small part in who buys their products as 56% of consumers have been placed in the ABC1 social g rade and 44% of their consumers have been put in the C2DE band. ABC1 consumers include upper middle class, middle class and lower middle class and C2DE consumers are the skilled working class, working class and those at lowest level of subsistence. ( y o u g o v, 2 3 / 10 / 15 ) ( a b c 1 d e m o g r a p h i c , 0 8 / 11 / 15 )
BRAND POSITIONING
Brand Positioning is a very important aspect of marketing a company to the consumers as Armstrong et al, 2012 states ‘marketers need to position their brands clearly in target customers’ minds. It is believed that strong brands are positioned on strong beliefs and values. Brand positioning helps to describe how a brand differentiates from their competitors. The idea of an emotional selling proposition is one that The White Company will depend on for the return of customers on a regular basis. Sudharshan, 1995, p154 expresses that ‘tying in emotions to offerings may provide unshakable bonds with consumers’. The White Company is the type of store where they want the consumer to want everything in the store, the layout of all the products creates the presence of a home and of a potential lifestyle for the consumer. Throughout the stores there are different sections which feature all different types of their products. For example, where there may be a bed and bed linen, there will also be a side table which features candles and fragrances and just around there will be rails of pyjamas and dressing gowns. The logic behind this is that the consumer doesn’t just look at what they first went into the store for but it makes them feel as though their set may not be complete without the other products that are featured in store. As you enter each store, whether it be the flagship store or a concession, consumers get a feeling of warmth and home from the stores, this contributes to the selling of products because consumers will want their own homes to have this same feeling of warmth. The Unique Selling Proposition of The White Company and its products is the same theme that has run with the company since the day it began. This is the fact that majority of the products are white but these days some of the products are grey and black but this is the only colours that can be seen amongst the products. The company’s competitors such as John Lewis, Jo Malone and Next also feature products in similar colours and simplicity but they also sell products that are more colourful and so this is where The White Company differentiates, consumers always know what to expect from a White Company store, whereas Next and John Lewis that sell bedding as well, also feature bedding that is colourful and has other patterns and designs on them.
C O M M U N I C AT I O N S M I X The communications mix is the different ways that a company chooses to promote and advertise their brand. Kotler and Keller (2012), believe that when a brand uses marketing communication activities as a device to contribute to brand equity and drive sales; brand awareness is created and therefore forges a brand imagine in consumers’ minds, constructing positive brand judgements and feelings, strengthening consumer loyalty. Social media is an important aspect of promoting and advertising for The White Company, such platforms include Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and Instagram. In particular, Pinterest and Instagram are widely important for this company as they allow consumers to follow their pages and just look at images of the brand. On the Pinterest site, users can create their own boards full of images and so can pick and choose which products to feature on their own page and so create inspiration for the consumer for what they want out of the company’s products. The White Company doesn’t depend on TV advertising or magazine advertising too much, in some ways the company relies on regular consumers knowing what the brand is about and those who aren’t as regular being able to go into any store and instantly get a grasp on the company. When visiting The White Company website, there is an option to read their blog. Blogs are relatively new to large companies and are a way of communicating their ideas and thoughts on trends to the consumer. Blogs can be followed by consumers and so they can keep up to date with ideas that the company has. The White Company blog features writing by the founder, Chrissie Rucker and is updated monthly. There is also a section called ‘things we love’ where the company gives inspiration to their consumers and followers. Another prominent feature of TWC blog is the feature ‘archive’ where different employees give their views on what products are currently important.
The White Company also takes part in personal selling such as business to business selling. They take pride in helping other businesses in their design projects or bulk buying. They also have a hotel amenities line which is in partnership with Pacific Direct. The White Company appreciates the importance of incentivisation and motivation and so offer gift vouchers and reward schemes that can be given to a company’s staff or simply as a gift. Within stores and online, TWC offers a gift box service, priced at £5 per box. These gifts can be delivered straight to their door with a personal message or just to you. When a consumer visits The White Company website, there is always an option to sign up to their emails, with this, the consumer receives regular updates on the company’s products and on some occasions will receive extra gift vouchers as a reward for being a regular consumer. The White Company began as a 12-page brochure and this is something the company prides itself on, the development and expansion of the brochure shows how far the company has come in the past 21 years and so this is why, despite the different social media platforms, TWC still chooses to send out brochures to their consumers. The brochure creates the feel of the company that it first had as well as bringing The White Company lifestyle into regular consumer’s homes.
( h t t p : / / w w w. t h e w h i t e c o m p a n y. c o m / h e l p / o u r - s to r y / 08/11/2015, online) h t t p : / / w w w. t e l e g r a p h . c o . u k / i n t e r i o r s / c h r i s s i e - r u c k er-the-white-company-interiors-design-decor-style-white-21/ 10/10/2015, online) Ko t l e r a n d Ke l l e r , 2 0 1 2
BIBLIOGRAPHY
( h t t p s : / / y o u g o v. c o . u k / o p i / p r o f i l e s l i t e # / T h e _ W h i t e _ C o m p a n y / m e d i a 2 3 / 1 0 / 2 0 1 5 , o n l i n e ) ( h t t p : / / w w w. a b c 1 d e m o graphic.co.uk 08/11/2015, online) Armstrong et al, 2012 Sudharshan, 1995, p154