x Barcelona Clara EspaĂąa RamĂłn / BA Fashion Marketing and Communications, Level 5, 2015-2016 / CW4 Transversal Semiotics and Sociology / Fashion Culture 2 / Gabriela Pedranti and Alfred
1. Introduction 2. Industry overview 3. Methodology 4. Discussion 5. Conclusion 6. App endix 7. References
1. Introduction The aim of this project is to do a research about launching a chosen company in a new location. The selected company is Le Specs, a famous Australian eyewear brand worn by many recgonized faces all over the world. The brand is know by their iconoic and innovative sunglass collections, and for being at an affordable price. The new location will be Barcelona, the city. And I will be analyzing the brand and the culture of the city, and how the both will work together for the purpose of the project. First there is another type of introduction to the project with an Industry Overview, and a Methodology section. Second, I will start by selecting a target I think will be suitable for the brand and their product. After that, I will study this target, what percentage of the population they are, their economy, how they consume and spend their money and their lifestyle. Following, I will describe two target profiles of actual people I know that fit perfectly, to make the target more realistic and visible. Third I will be analyzing the Brand Codes, and Cultural Codes explaining them and anaylzing shortly. Finally the project will be closed on a conclusion reflecting my thoughts on the CW4. I hope you enjoy reading this project and the layout of the pictures, as much as I did making it!
2. Industry overview In Barcelona the optical industry has great some advantages over other locations, the city is know for the good weather and sun. The Spanish optical sector is bill around 2,000 million euros annually. Which 325 million euros are made by sunglasses. And over a 13.000 profesionales on eye care. - Longidtud de Onda, 2013.
3. Methodology For this research there will be a followed order to everything, in part 4 the Discussion, there will be different sections; Sociology with a part 1 and 2, The Description of the target, the Target Profiles, and Semiotics with 4 Brand Codes, 4 Culture Codes, and lastly a positioning map. Part 5 is the Conclusion, 6 Appendix with some extra information on the research and finally part 7, the References.
4. Discussion Sociology I. PART 1 The target selected for Le Specs in Barcelona goes from 15 to 39. The direct target, whom can pay for the product themselvs is from 20 to 39, where they usually earn their own money, and make their own choices when purchasing a product. The indirect target is from 15 to 20, where usually the parents are the ones who pay for it, and therefore, they have to be considered when it comes to quality for a product like a sunglass, that is going to protect the eye. The range for parents goes around 45-64. The population of my target is 370.353 people.
· Economic: Le Specs’ product goes from 40 € to 89 €, which means it can be avaliable for mostly all of the classes above the low-middle class. In 2012 Barcelona had a GDP of $170 billion. The average annual wage of people from15 to 20 years old is approximately 4.000 €, and from 20 to 39 years of age is over 19.000 €. (28% of the families with a minor of 20 struggle to end the month economically wise) The amount left of people avaliable for my target are 352.400. Therefor, my final target is a 27% of the population of Barcelona.
The money of Barcelona is distributed strongly on neighborhood. Pedralbes, Sant Gervasi, Vallvidrera, Tres Torres are some of the richer neighborhoods of the city, and Ciutat Meridiana, Trinitat Nova, Can Peguera, and Baró de Viver are some of the poorest ones. The social gap between them is increasing and 75% of this neighborhoods are below the average. For example, a family of Pedralbes has an income seven times higher than a Nou Barris family.
I. PA RT 2 - Consumerism
The consumerism in Barcelona has changed over the pasts years, after the economic crisis people have started to spend in a different way, putting more money on places they weren’t necessarly before. For example, family spending in education has increased a 37% and 20% on services like gas, elecrticity, etc... and a 13% on health care. But, it has decreased a 37% on furniture and equipment for the house, 29% on clothes and shoes, 58% on jewlery, and 24% on restaurants. Even though this numbers clearly show that people are not spending as much on apparel, jewlery, shoes or restaurants,the tradition on Spain is to spend a lot on socializing and taking care of the way we look. Barcelona is a city referent for Fashion, Trends and a “Cool Lifestyle” people like to spend on cars, on clothes, on shoes, restaurants, activities and party. That’s how we are, we live the moment, and like to enjoy every minute of it with our friends, family and loved ones. One interesting and important fact is that we have public education, for University and College, we can acces for a very little amount of money. On other countries like America they need to start saving at a very early age, due to the expenses on education, where one year of school can go around $ 40.000 - $ 50.000. Therefor we don’t grow up with the need of saving for many things, we are taought to study, work and then save maybe for a house or a better car.
Veblen’s pecuniary theory of the dress can be used to understand what I’m saying, how people use the way they dress to show their social class, their wealth. Always being around people, makes us more concious about the way we look, and wanting to fit it, feel like we belong, and have power, being respected is important in our culture, in a way we want others to know what our lifestyle is by just looking at us. Let’s put an example, if I see a girl wearing very nice shoes, a beautiful dress suit, with a nice white shirt, and a designer bag, her appeareance well put, I asume she is powerfull on her job, she is maybe a bos, a manager at a lawyer firm or the president of her own online fashion company. Looks say a lot to an impression of who we are, what we do. The people tend to spend in some compulsive ways, and to think they can have what they want, spending what they don’t have some of the times. We are not famous for being big on savings. One courious fact about our coulture is how young people a lot of the times prefer to spend their money on socializing, spending what they have or little they make on restaurants, partying, and doing activities. But for our the product, like we said previously it is an affordable one, so its secure that this percentage of the population will be able to afford it anyways. The Fashion industry always has been a very big one in Barcelona, we like to spend on the way we look, since we are so active on our social lifes, always doing things and seeing people. Eventhough, the highest consum on the fashion industry happens on Christmas, when going for apparel is the easiest gift. The product can be purchased as a gift, therefor the client/consumer can be a different one. Meaning that the person who purhcase it might be for example a parent, and the consumer their child. The publicity and image focus of the product has to be appropriated for both targets.
Ta r g e t D e f i n i t i o n ·Woman/ Man ·Young adults 18-35 ·Studenting /or Working ·Stable families (economical wise) ·Location of the shop : Plaça Catalunya area, in the center of the city. ·Where most of the shopping happens in Barcelona. ·Consum on the social life, little travels, and some shopping.
After a research within the sorrounding me that fit in my target for the project I selected the products that will work the best on this location, and cercled on green the glasses that were selected most selected from the people I asked.
Ta r g e t
profiles:
Profile 1 This is Cristina, she is 21, working on short-time events winning per each aprox. 400₏, she studies publicity at blanquerna. She spends her money for traveling on the summer with her girl-friends and her boyfriend, she spends a part of those savings on treating herself with little things‌ ( good diners for celebrations, lunch out at new places, thousands of coffes with friends and some fashion.. )
Profile 2 This is Jordi, he is 33, an actor on Spanish TV, stable economically. He spends his money on the day to day spences; rent, gas money for the car, restaurants, etc.. He likes saving for the future, but also likes treating himself on little things like sunglasses and clothing, shoes.. His style is very surf-urban-chill. Mostly always on sunglasses, a tshit and sweatshirt, jeans, and vans-like shoes.
Semiotics
BRAND CODES: 1 The Great Modern Life Le Specs presents a profile of a Great Moder Lifestyle, where words like summer, trendy, cool, beach, sport, bikinki,.. come to mind. This is their stonger message, a beautiful lifestyle with your Le Specs on.
I. TRENDY: Forever celebrities have been setting trends on the society, where to go, what to do, where to eat, shop, sleep, travel, mostly everything they do. Fashion, plays a huge part in this. Celebrities wear this brand constently, and it is spotted on them all the time, becoming a trend setter for the society. Some of these celebrities are Rihannah, Beyonce, Gigi Hadid, Taylor Swift, Nichole Richie, Lady Gaga, Cara Delevinge, Zoë Kravitz, Kristen Stewart, among others. Also, they are famous for colaborating with celebrities, like with designer Adam Selman. Le Specs is very big on Social Media, mostly Instagram, and has tons of followers and Instagrammers post with their producs, just a few names are: Heike Sophia Brejak Solis, kristiannaslesh, katiekuips, Magá Moura, Ingrid Tolentino, Dilara Köseler, Alessandro Limentani, Liv Lo. All of them are very big on social media too, and have a huge impact on the style decisions of their followers. The brand interacts with their consumers posting their pictures with the sunglasses on their own profile, which improves the relationship betwen brand-costumer.
“L ive t he g re at life t hrou g h ou r co ol su ng l ass es”
II. BEACH-Y The brand sells this image of The Perfect Life, with pictures of beautiful destinations, luxurious life, beach lifestyle, summer, girls and boys on badisuits, pools, cool clothes and outfits, beautiful food.. They have a very attractive profile online.
2 Affordable price for a high value Spain has suffered economically for the past 5-6 years. The fact that this brand has good product at an affordable price for the middle class and up, is the greatest opportunity they have.
3 Sexy Le Specs plays with attraction and sexyness. Their campaings have been mostly all very sexy, and have had a lot of attraction between a man and a woman, the “sex” thought that comes to mind when this pictures are shown is strong and they know how to take advantage of that. Sexy sells and Sexy attracts since the day life was created, they have know it very clear. They embrace sexyness, sex attraction, the beauty of being young and powerful. This sexyness makes Le Specs what they are, a COOL and SEXY brand by defining what they think its cool and sexy; They don’t sell any “Sexy and Beautiful” they are on the “young and hot” side, not a you are curvy and sexy side for example. Their models are gorgeous, fit, young, tan and sexy!
4 “Perfect life” The brand uses social media perfectly like we mentioned before, they have a great interaction with their consumers and followers. But they are selling a “Perfect Life” image and that can sometimes be a problem online. Social Media has been having a controversial side online, and it has been a topic of conservation for the media for the past few months. Selling you a life that is not acachivable, and the ilusion, the desire of being like others we see online is a problem on many’s life. Sell it to you how they want it, they control control what goes online and what doesn’t, a way of manipulating the real life, the truth. The perception of perfection is very deamaged though a screen. -Here are a few titles of articles about this topic online:
Social Media is not Real
C U LT U R A L C O D E S : 1 The Barcelona lifestyle: Beach / Summer / Sporty /Sexy this comes to mind right? The City has it’s own magic, and it is know for being a very unique lifestyle. I’m focusing on the idea of the Barceloneta Lifestyle, where the fun happens at the beach. Life is full of joy when you stand infront of the ocean. Day and night is the most animated of the city, when they open the bars and music until the wee hours of the morning. It feels like as if life had a stop botton and you could just press it and enjoy for a while. Le Specs has the same vibe as this lifestyle we are talking about, when I see their pictures I see Barcelona.
2 Health > Beauty Tradition of taking care of our health. A sunglass has to be a good protection for the eyes, and that is why parents teach us the importance of having a good sunglass, the idea that health goes before beauty is a very important one to the culture in Barcelona, and families keep it that way. Making sure their loved ones are taking care of their body like they have taught them. It is a matter of love and protection form a parent to care about the health of their kids, “Take care of your eyes now and you will be thankful forever.” - words from my mom. This factor works in our favour because the young part of the target usually do not pay for themselfs for sun glasses and products of this kind.
3 We are “Fashionetis” The culture of living outside all the time has made us more concious about the way we dress and how we look. We live trends very deeply, some more than others, but for example, for a while the Adidas Stan Smith has been very popular and I can say that almost everyone I know has a pair, also they all have had the same “andrea” boots, and the superga flatform. We like to wear what we see everyone wearing. For this reason, its an advantage and great opportunity that Le Specs is very famous on the US because it will be a trendy product in the city too. Social media has a big impact on the Barcelona culture, the young community is very involved online and the brand has a big presence online, specially on Instagram. As instagram has a big presence on the young community of Barcelona, and young people follow most of the trends online.
4 Hacemos un cafe? Young people of Barcelona rather spend on socializing than on fashion and accecories like sunglasses. We as a culutre are very active on our lifes, like said before previous times we are outside and sourounded by people all the time, we like to meet up after school, after work, we like to meet up for 1h or less to “hacer un cafe?� which means to have a coffee, we love to meet up for any reason, and this is what defines us, very very very active and social. Sadly, at the age of 15-25 or so, we are likely to be on a tight budget, and we rather spend it on going out to places with friends than maybe buying a new purse, or new shoes, or a new pair of sunglasses that we may not need. The habits of consuming vary on function of the age, and the traditions at home. For restaurants, their bigest clients are younger than 30, they have a less busy life, no families yet, a huge social life and tons of friends. It is more likely for them to go on restaurants once or twice on a week than for a 60 year old who is retired and stays home most of the time.
6. App endix The Positioning map for the Brand Codes and the Cultural Codes:
Information on the economy of Barcelona:
-27.9% of families with children under 16 years Barcelona has difficulty reaching end of month. -This is an average family’s of Barcelona income per neighborhood.
5. Conclusion After research on the possible target, I have come to the conclusion that the target I chose for launching this product in Barcelona is the Correct one. I think it fits the brand perfectly and the city fits perfect for Le Specs. If I had the resources I would provably open a Le Speccs store here in Barcelona myself. I have come to the conclusion that the eyewear industry could have more potential than it has, for what the city is and the advantages we have. Besides from this, I really enjoyed making this project, and the layout, their picutres are so great, and so full of life! I loved it. I have also come to realize that if I didn’t spend so much on socializing I would have enough money to travel evey month for a little weekend getaway, so I might start on the savings! The eyewear plays a big part of the optical industry,, and hopefully the market will increase and never die down, we need the, in sunny Barcelona. I hope you enjoyed my project.
6. References