Follow the Thread by gabihowarth

Name: Gabrielle Howarth N0735657 Word Count: 8575 (excluding quotations, tables, references and business models)

most SUSTAINABLE option.

' 4

#2 55

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Firstly, I would like to start by thanking the Fashion Marketing and Branding teaching staff at Nottingham Trent University, I have learnt so much and I would not have made it to where I am today without you all. Secondly, I want to thank my tutor Kimberley Errington for always being there to help and to all the industry experts that provided me with the information to support my project. Finally, a huge thank you to all of my amazing family and friends who have always been there for me throughout my time at University. For that I am truly grateful.

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 5 THE BIG IDEA

CHAPTER 8 THE CONSUMER

12 Introduction 13 Rationale 14 Report Aims & Objectives

35 Business Summary 38 Business Model

72 Consumer Segmentation 74 Consumer profiles 76 Brand profile 77 Brand Portfolio 78 The Rogers Adoption Curve 79 Partnership Feedback

CHAPTER 2 METHODOLOGY 16 Aims and Objectives 17 Research Design 17 Research Sample 18 Data Collection Methods 20 Advantages and Limitations of Methods 21 Data Analysis 21 Overcoming Data Limitations 22 Chapter Summary

CHAPTER 3 THE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY 24 Key Insights 26 The Problem 28 Opportunity Platform 29 The Business Opportunity

CHAPTER 4 IDEA GENERATION 31 Consumer Testing 33 Expert Feedback

CHAPTER 6 THE MARKET 41 UK App Market 41 UK Lifestyle Market 42 UK Shopping App Market 43 UK Sustainable Fashion Market 44 Market Drivers 45 Micro Trends 46 PESTLE Analysis 48 Ranking External Factors 49 Competitor Analysis 51 Market Positioning 54 Porter’s Five Forces 56 Market Obstacles 56 Market Opportunity 56 Market Readiness 57 TOWS Analysis

CHAPTER 7 BRAND DEVELOPMENT 59 Brand Mission 60 Brand Vision 61 Brand Values 62 Brand Pyramid 63 Brand Promise 64 Brand DNA 70 App Details

CHAPTER 11 BRAND MANAGEMENT

CHAPTER 9 MARKETING STRATEGY

130 Financial Objectives 131 Key Start-up costs 132 Initial Funding 133 Sales Forecast 136 Profit and loss accounts 138 Sensitivity analysis 139 Cash flow 140 Marketing Budget 141 Risk assessment

81 Business Aim & Objectives 82 The 4 P’s Of Marketing (B2B) 88 The 4 P’s of Marketing (B2C) 94 Three Year Marketing Strategy

CHAPTER 12 THE FUTURE

CHAPTER 10 COMMUNICATION STRATEGY 98 B2C AIDA & DRIP Model 99 B2C Communication Objectives 100 B2C Communication Strategy 116 B2B Communications Objectives 117 B2B Communication Strategy 126 B 2C & B2B Communications Overview Y2 & Y3 127 Communication Time Plan 128 Measuring Success

144 Long Term Growth Objectives 145 Future Growth

CHAPTER 13 CONCLUSION 146 Conclusion

CHAPTER 14 REFERENCES 146 References 155 Bibliography 164 Image References 174 Appendix

PROJECT DECLARATION This submission is the result of my own work. All help and advice other than that received from tutors has been acknowledged and primary and secondary sources of information have been properly attributed. Should this statement prove to be untrue I recognise the right and duty of the board of examiners to recommend what action should be taken in line with the Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s regulations on assessment contained in the handbook.

110 0

SIGNED:

G.HOWARTH

PRINT NAME:

GABRIELLE HOWARTH

DATE:

8TH May 2020

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

11 11

Intoduction

Project rationale

This proposal was driven by the extensive research undertaken in the future thinking and stage one reports.

Sustainability within fashion has become prevalent with many people around the world demanding brands to act in a more sustainable, ethical and transparent way.

The research provided a thorough understanding of sustainability within fashion and critical insights into the attitude behaviour gap. Furthermore, research delved into the factors which currently prohibit the success of sustainable and ethical fashion. This report aims to present an in-depth analysis and propose a new concept for the sustainable fashion market. The concept was born out of an increase in consumer demand for brand transparency within the fashion market. The report will include: an in depth market analysis, a breakdown of branding, business structure and strategy, a communication plan and business management including finances.

With fashion being one of the second dirtiest industries worldwide (Sweeny, 2015) there are several detrimental impacts occurring at every stage of a productâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life cycle. The fashion industry continues to lack transparency with widespread exploitation of people working in the supply chain. The International Labour Organisation believes that 24.9 million people worldwide are currently being exploited within fashion supply chains (Labour Exploitation Organisation, 2020). The motivation to explore this sector of the fashion industry was developed throughout the Future Thinking and Stage One report. It became apparent that there was a lack of consumer trust within the fashion industry which was creating a clear divide between the conscious consumer and fashion brands.

13 13

and objectives AIM The overall aim of this report is to develop a new successful revolutionary brand concept which will deliver transparency into the fashion market using innovative technology. The unique idea focuses on resolving the tensions between consumers and brands which were found through in-depth research in the Future Thinking and Stage One reports.

REPORT OBJECTIVES

To produce a successful business idea that can help bridge the attitude behaviour gap in fashion by providing consumers with the relevant information required to make sustainable fashion purchases.

To build a structured business plan outlining marketing strategies and an engaging communication strategy whilst also considering the financial implications of the plan.

To evaluate insights obtained from the Future Thinking and Stage One report and to understand how this data can create a viable business idea.

To demonstrate a clear link between existing research and new research and the need for this concept to be developed commercially.

To design a unique brand DNA that will encourage consumers to interact with the brand and successfully communicate the brands values, story and message.

To discover a balance of positive and negative impacts which may arise through understanding the risks and rewards associated with this concept.

CHAPTER 2

Methodology

Aims and objectives AIM To explore the practicality and the long-term manageability of the proposed idea for the shopping app market, focusing explicitly on Generation Z and young millennials.

Research design A multi-method research approach was used throughout the report, which combines exploratory quantitative and descriptive qualitative data which will overall provide richer insights and ensure the most efficient research can be undertaken (Dudovskiy, J, 2018) By using various research methods this ensured that the key markets were analysed as well as the consumer’s motivations, thoughts and behaviours. Quantitative research was carried out through Instagram polls and an online survey which discovered consumer attitudes, opinions and behaviours to get viewpoints before qualitative research was conducted. Qualitative research was carried out through expert interviews and focus groups which unveiled underlying reasons, motivations and opinions that reinforced the quantitative data.

OBJECTIVES 1

To explore the marketing and communication strategies of current sustainable fashion apps and evaluate the ways they are encouraging use of the app.

To examine the need of the business concept amidst the selected target audience as well as industry experts and therefore informing the durability of the concept and gaining insight into the likelihood of success.

To conduct a thorough and in-depth analysis of the UK app market, the UK shopping app market, the UK sustainable apparel market and the UK lifestyle app market in order to determine the existing market and establish the growth and future forecasts, as well as recognising a gap within the market that the business concept will fill.

To establish which colour palette and logo is best associated with the consumer’s needs.

To consider the logistics and cost of implementing the concept to help inform financial projections.

Research sample A self-selection method has been utilised throughout the research which allowed participants to communicate their desire to participate voluntarily within the research. The sample who took part included young females who are part of the Generation Z and the Millennial generation, of which were students, graduates, employees and unemployed. This age selection was used to provide more applicable results as it may be argued that older generations are not as pertinent to topics surrounding sustainability. Furthermore, the research will focus predominantly on females, as the majority of ethical of ethical and sustainable brands only cater to women, so this gives a more accurate representation of vast ethical fashion buyers (Zarley and Yan, 2016). The reason this sample may be deemed as controversial is due to the research being female focused. Throughout the Future Thinking Report, findings suggested that the Generation Z and the Millennial generation were the most influential generations within shopping sustainably and ethically with many disputes between who has the biggest impact on society. Therefore, throughout Stage One primary research both generations were researched into with a focus on what is being deemed the ‘pivotal’ generation. The ages of the two generations used were defined as Gen Z ages 7-22 and the Millennials ages 23-38. (Pew Research, 2019). The younger end of the spectrum was found as the ‘pivotal generation’ who were just coming of age to spend money on what they desire, and therefore giving an honest reflection on their moral buying habits. Therefore, the proposed business idea will have a strong focus on the Generation Z.

Data collection methods ONLINE QUESTIONNAIRE

FOCUS GROUPS

Objective Met: 1

Objective Met: 3

The online questionnaire was developed on Google Forms in a methodical and structured format. However, the results may be inconclusive and may not be used to generalise all cohorts therefore meaning that the sample used throughout is not a true reflection of society. The questions proposed were designed in a way to ensure there could be no bias responses as the questions may interfere with respondents’ true opinions (Muratovski, G, 2016) (Refer to Appendix 1)

The aim of the online survey was to understand consumer receptiveness to a new service within the marketplace of the targeted audience and to determine if it would be successful upon the entry to market. There were however a few limitations such as time constraints meaning that there was a small respondent pool and therefore the data collected cannot be considered representative of the whole target demographic. 120 Participants Aged 18+

EXPERT INTERVIEWS Objective Met: 2 Several industry professionals were contacted in the hope of attaining rich market insights. The following professionals were targeted; Susan Azari (Mobile App Commercial Lead at Very.co.uk), Avi Libbert (Founder of Capri Sunglasses), Holly Wagman (Marketing Manager at Skin Academy), Mitchel White (Managing Director of Reward Agency), Hasna Kourda (CEO & Founder of Save Your Wardrobe), Annabel Humphrey (Founder of Pursuit The Label), Lukas Puender (Founder of Retraced), Camilla Schippa (CEO of The Social Outfit) and Anna Mattei (Communications Manager at People Tree). (Refer to appendix 5-15 for full expert interviews)

The aim of the expert interviews was to gain a thorough understanding of how brands could incorporate Follow the Thread into their business model, their opinions on the success of it as well as the strength of the brand concept, the viability, and their thoughts on the best way to initially fund the idea. However, all but one interview which was over the phone, was carried out over email, which could be argued as a limitation due to the inability to analyse emotions, facial expressions and reactions. Nevertheless, this method is seen as the most efficient one due to the experts being experienced and reputable.

INSTAGRAM POLL Objective Met: 4 A sequence of Instagram polls were produced to gain an insight into which marketing methods would be most successful and what social media is most beneficial when Follow the Thread start their

campaigns. Logos and colour schemes were also presented throughout the polls and consumers were able to choose which they thought best fitted with the brands values.

The focus groups allowed further expansion on specific topic areas that were prevalent within the online questionnaire. A discussion which involves the existence of multiple participants enabled a variety of points to to appear which may not have in the online survey; “A dynamic group can generate or respond to a number of ideas and evaluate them, thus helping you to explain or explore concepts. You are also likely to benefit from the opportunity that this method provides in terms of allowing your participants to consider the points raised by other group members and to challenge one another’s views” (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2009)

Two focus groups were undertaken within the 18-26 sample and consisted of four females in each focus group. The first focus group focused on concept testing, with the second focus group focusing more on the finalised idea. It wasn’t possible to do a focus group in person due to external circumstances therefore in order to overcome this issue both focus groups were held over a Microsoft Teams meeting.

IN-STORE OBSERVATIONS Objective Met: 2 According to the Nielson Report (2020), in-store observations are crucial to understand a shopper’s motivations as ‘what shoppers say’ is not always ‘what shoppers do’. In store observations were originally planned and organised as part of primary research, however

due to external circumstances this was not possible. To overcome this inconvenience, research was compiled from focus groups, online surveys and secondary research.

SECONDARY RESEARCH Objective Met: 1,2,3 and 5 Various sources of secondary research were analysed to thoroughly understand the industry and the market. The sources included specific books, trend reports, articles and marketing reports which were studied to give a better understanding when researching statistics, studies and debates. Secondary research resources enabled the report to have access to larger scale investigations as primary research can only uncover so much about the market due to time and cost restraints. Whilst undertaking various methods of secondary research, it is important to understand the potential limitations they may bring. Journals and books can provide detailed information and statistics; however, the data can be dated and inaccurate

However, there is a possibility within focus groups that certain participants may dominate the conversation and inhibit others from speaking, this could affect the results negatively as the ideas may be agreed with publicly, but privately disagreed with, therefore giving inaccurate data (Stokes and Bergin, 2006). To avoid this situation, care was taken in grouping individuals as well as in controlling group discussion for equal input.

to present market conditions. Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2009) further discuss that books and journals cannot always be credible and that data must be backed up by other sources. New age secondary sources such as podcasts, documentaries and Ted Talks were additionally used, this enabled the analysis to have a macro perspective of the topic and more culturally relevant considerations. However, secondary sources gathered from podcasts and the internet may have high levels of bias and the spoken word often lacks supporting data. To conclude many sources of secondary data are needed and once carefully evaluated, the results are even stronger once combined.

Advantages and limitations of methods Varied research methods were selected by weighing up the advantages and disadvantages of the method and the different types of data they would produce. Focus groups showcased a participantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s initial reactions to questions and concepts, feedback you would not receive from a survey or secondary research. However, the online surveys provided a fast and efficient way to gather data from a large sample in a short timeframe, which seems to be appropriate for this project. The survey delivered reliable consumer feedback which could then be translated into data and compared against secondary research findings (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2016). The primary research was further enhanced by the use of secondary research which offered a cost and time efficient way to support primary research findings and therefore reducing the amount of primary research needed. Understanding the limitations of the different research methods used enabled the research to remain accurate and reliable. Focus group results are not representative of a wider audience, so therefore a survey with a bigger sample size was supportive of data produced in the focus groups. Online surveys have their advantages; however, it is possible to lose research control as it is unknown who has filled in the survey and often, justifications for responses are not detailed. However, in order to overcome this survey limitation, an explanation at the start of the survey was outlined with the survey sample requirements. Secondary research can support primary research findings as it enables data to be compared and contrasted. However, data collected through secondary sources can often be outdated and manipulated by unofficial sources which can affect the reliability of the source. To keep the risk low of using poor secondary research analysis, credible sources were used such as; Mintel, Euromonitor and Statista. The strategic approach of data findings enabled the report to be constructed through various means of analysis and research which gives the report a more dynamic structure.

20 2 0

Data analysis Thematic analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data produced. This type of analysis puts the results into categories and codes data to produce recurring themes. The use of thematic analysis enabled a structured approach which was easy to understand and accessible compared to more complex types of qualitative analysis. Quantitative data was analysed through Google Forms, the software that was used to create the survey, which showed the results in the form of pie charts, bar charts and tables which displayed response statistics. The data was easily examined and was clear when comparing trends within the data. (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2016).

Overcoming data limitations Despite great care being taken in order to minimise limitations, most methods did encounter some sort of limitation. To ensure the business is not developed on biased results and data and misleading insights it is important to do the following:

Thoroughly checking consistency of all primary research by backing it up with published secondary market data. This was found to be problematic throughout the concept testing stage due to there not being much data out there already however the consumer behaviour stages were found to be easier to back up, due to consumer behaviours being easier to measure.

By using both qualitative and quantitative data to achieve clear and reliable research, whilst also comparing data insights for any inconsistencies.

CHAPTER SUMMARY Follow the Threadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s marketing strategies and overall business plan has been influenced by data collected throughout the research stages. Follow the Thread has a strong chance of gaining a strong foothold in the market due to the amount of research and development prior to market entry.

CHAPTER 3

The opportunity

Key insights

“ If brands showed you how you were personally helping the environment” “ If brands were more transparent”

In the future thinking section of the report, it was made clear throughout that consumers treated sustainability as a key priority in their lives. Increasingly, consumers are now adopting sustainable practices in all aspects of their life, with fashion becoming a key part. In recent years there has been a significant demand for sustainable solutions within the marketplace, therefore, brands have reacted to that demand by creating sustainable strategies to ensure that their brands remain competitive in the market.

“ If I saw proof that it was truly sustainable and ethical”

From Stage One, key insights will form the main structure of the proposal, narrating the analysis from research to developing the main concept which can improve the fashion sector from both an ethical and financial point of view, with a goal to encourage consumers to purchase more ethical and sustainable fashion products. The proposal is targeted in the direction of conscious consumers and conscious brands who are aiming to become more sustainably driven. The two main insights found throughout the Stage One report are:

Gen Z seem to be the ‘pivotal generation’ with strong opinions on sustainability within fashion. Involvement of the pivotal consumer is integral in ensuring they are on board with the up and coming trend.

Brands do not show the history behind their products, therefore consumers are unable to attach themselves to the sustainable and ethical processes. A lack of brand transparency puts consumers off which could be the main cause of the attitude behaviour gap. By providing consumers with the story behind products, the attitude behaviour gap could become less prevalent. In a world of uncertainty and distrust, consumers are looking for brands with purpose that will enrich their own lives as well as others. Therefore consumers are expecting brands to be the ‘new life coaches’.

WHAT WOULD BE YOUR MAIN MOTIVATION TO BUY SUSTAINABLE FASHION?

The following quotes from Stage One research justify the need for complete brand transparency: “The most important factor is who has made the piece of clothing. I don’t want anybody making anything I wear that has been exploited and not been treated fairly.” (Gabi Howarth, Stage One Report, 2020)

“ If brands actually mean what they say they do”

“I can go into a restaurant and see that a pasta dish has 1500 calories and decide I don’t want it, why is it I can’t walk into a shop pick up a jumper and not see where it is from or who has made it and then make my decision” These insights relate mostly to the factors that hinder consumers from a sustainable level and ethical commitment to fashion, with brand transparency being the tallest barrier to overcome which is why a disparity between good intentions and actual purchasing behaviours has been created.

“ If brands were truthful about where their clothes were coming from” 25

The Problem As discovered in the previous section, the Stage One insights highlighted that consumers who look to purchase sustainably and ethically struggle to do so, given that brands do not provide enough information or transparency regarding their supply chains. Greenwashing is a well known issue within the market, where brands will attempt to be perceived as sustainable without any sustainable practices within their supply chains. This behaviour from brands is one of the main causes for a lack of trust from consumers, and potentially why the sustainable market has not excelled as of yet. The lack of trust and transparency in the market acts as a barrier for consumers to make conscious decisions - creating an attitude behaviour gap. A statement from the McKinsey State of Fashion report, stated that 65% of consumers cited â&#x20AC;&#x153;there is a need for trust in product authenticity and creative originalityâ&#x20AC;? (McKinsey State of Fashion Report, 2019). Research has suggested that education on sustainability is imperative and would help reduce the attitude behaviour gap. The stage one report also accentuated the fact that consumers do want to act responsibly with their purchases however often do not due to external factors influencing their decisions. Factors such as fitting in with society and not feeling connected with the product they were buying were prevalent reasons found in market research. Moreover, educating the industry and consumers on how to decipher between sustainable and unsustainable practices, would ensure that decisions can be based on hard evidence rather than word of mouth. It is apparent that consumers are demanding sustainable options within the market, but there is a lack of support in their decision making.

People increasingly question ... WHAT IS REAL AND WHAT IS NOT?

Opportunity platform There is a lucrative opportunity within the market for a brand to make the industry transparent and unite brands and consumers together. It is clear that brands are not developing strategies to increase transparency, therefore creating a significant gap within the market. Throughout the stage one and future thinking reports, primary research displayed a consumer need for the product story behind the items of clothing they were purchasing.

The business opportunity

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think the story behind the brand and the product is what intrigues a customer and gains their trustâ&#x20AC;? (Gabi Howarth, Stage One Report, 2020)

The problem and opportunity platform uncovers a strong business opportunity for an authentic, easy and accessible app which educates consumers about how their purchase was made and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s origins. Research has revealed a compelling gap within the market where consumers require a service that provides them with this information in a more digestible manner, on a singular platform with no biased opinions. Furthermore, by providing consumers with a singular platform, it helps to minimise the inconvenience of changing habitual patterns of consumer clothing consumption from non sustainable to sustainable types.

CHAPTER 4

Idea generation

Consumer testing Throughout primary research, the concept received positive feedback showing consumer demand for such a service. To understand how feasible it would be to develop Follow the Thread and integrate it into the sustainable fashion market, the concept was tested on both industry experts and the target audience. Both consumers and industry experts supported the concept (Refer to Appendix 2-15), and the feedback and insights received proved that the concept has significant potential to be developed in greater depth. Feedback was positive with 80.2% of survey respondents answering â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I am interested!â&#x20AC;&#x2122; when asked if the concept interests them. Furthermore, feedback from the focus groups provided further support that all participants liked the concept and stated it has a place within the industry.

74.3% of respondents would want to understand a garments journey and the origins of the items they are buying

93.1% believe that brands have a responsibility to educate the consumer

91.1% would be more likely to start shopping ethically if they knew what they were doing to help the environment

80.2%

are interested in an app where they can learn about the origins of sustainable fashion products

Expert feedback When the idea was discussed with industry professionals, the business concept gathered positive feedback, as well as some pointers in which they thought would be beneficial in the making of the app. This feedback greatly validates the commercial feasibility and the viability of the proposed concept. (See Appendix 5-11 for full expert feedback)

“THE IDEA SOUNDS AMAZING

After reviewing stage one recommendations two concepts were tested on the target audience of females aged 18-24. (Refer to appendix 1)

CONCEPT ONE

HOPE YOU ACTUALLY

An app that educates consumers on the origins of sustainable and ethical fashion garments. The consumer would be able to look into the journey of a sustainable garment by scanning a barcode and a visual journey of information would appear, showing how the product was made, the raw materials and if possible, which individual made the product. The aim of this concept would be to create absolute transparency within the supply chain and enabling consumers to feel confident within their sustainable purchases.

LAUNCH IT. I WOULD

CONCEPT TWO •

Creation of a platform that incentivises consumers to shop sustainably whereby each product will equate to a certain amount of ‘sustainable points’ which will be based on several factors such as whether the item has been sourced locally, the materials used, how much CO2 was produced. Consumers can earn points by purchasing the product through the platform and as points build up, consumers can exchange them for vouchers or even contribute their points to a chosen charity which focuses on helping create a more sustainable fashion environment.

The key insights that appeared throughout the focus group was the integration of the two concepts. “I like both ideas, I think it is very important to use incentives within any app to ensure consumers don’t forget about it. I think I prefer the first concept however, I would like it if the second concept could also incorporate the first concept.” (Participant D, Focus Group 1, Appendix 3) Whilst concept one received the most positive feedback, participants expressed a need to be rewarded within apps to ensure that they keep using the app. The final proposed concept will aim to merge aspects of both concepts to offer educational, fun, accessible aspects within the app to encourage use.

AND SO DETAILED!

“YOUR IDEA SOUNDS GREAT FOR IN-STORE SHOPPING/

DEFINITELY USE IT!” (Holly Wagman, Marketing Manager of Skin Academy UK)

POST-PURCHASE HOWEVER WITH THE EXPONENTIAL GROWTH OF ONLINE COMMERCE IT WOULD BE GOOD TO EXPLORE HOW YOU CAN ALSO ASSIST WITH ONLINE PURCHASING DECISIONS.” (Sue, App Lead at Very.co.uk)

“I JUST WANTED TO SAY I THINK THIS IS A FANTASTIC IDEA - COMBINING TECHNOLOGY AND STORYTELLING IS ALWAYS GREAT BUT USING IT TO MAKE SUPPLY CHAINS MORE TRANSPARENT IS EVEN BETTER.” (Mitchel White, Founder of Reward Agency)

Business summary CHAPTER 5

The big idea

The finalised business idea encompasses transparency within fashion brands. The core function of the business will be an app where consumers can delve into the journey of a sustainable garment. The consumer will scan a product barcode on an item or search for the item which will open up a visual journey of information for the consumer to take in due to visuals being processed in the brain â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;at 60,000 times the speed of textâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (Wrap, 2019). The consumer will be able to learn about the products origins spanning from which factory the product was developed in, how the product was made, the raw materials, even to the point of which individuals created the product. The goal is to create absolute transparency within the supply chain enabling consumers to feel confident in their sustainable purchases. This will be achieved through collaboration with partnering brands to understand their supply chains. It will then be up to Follow the Thread to dive deeper into the processes, policies and certifications of the brand and create a visual journey for the consumer to understand. Follow the Thread is a powerful mobile app which helps aid consumersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; decisions as they transform their shopping behaviours to those that are more sustainable and ethical, by supplying them with the information and advice needed to make more informed choices in one single accessible app.

Business model It was identified through research that many successful startup companies deployed a combined business model of business to business and business to consumer strategies when entering a new market. Companies such as Uber, Airbnb and Amazon designed strategies which targeted businesses and also consumers. This enabled the brands to develop business contracts which offer more security while also targeting consumers through various marketing strategies. Follow the Thread will follow a similar market integration and distribution model which will be designed to target both brands and consumers. The aim is to gain a strong foothold in the market by working with brands which in turn, will give access to consumers. Follow the Thread will be registered as a limited company through Companies House. A limited company structure ensures that a directors personal finances are at risk if the company was ever in financial trouble. Setting up a limited company also poses various advantages such as; protection through limited liability, tax and national insurance benefits, more reputable when accessing external finance from investors and increases a company’s reputation as all accounts are public (Companies House, 2020).

REVENUE STREAMS As discussed previously, Follow the Thread will have a more secure business model by signing contracts with businesses. The main revenue streams used within the business model are as follows: A subscription basis will be formed where brands will sign up for a minimum 12 month period. This enables Follow the Thread to have a strong forecast for future earnings. Three levels of subscription will be designed; for brands that turnover £50,000 - £250,000, £250,000 - £750,000 and £750,000 +. This approach means Follow the Thread can cater for exactly what that brand needs at their current growth stage. This more tailored approach will show that Follow the Thread is with the brand for the long term, joining them on their journey. This revenue stream was mainly influenced by the fact that subscriptions are having an immense impact on apps, ‘the revenue model empowering apps’ (AppAnnie, State of Mobile 2020 Report).

CHAPTER 6

The market

A second revenue stream will be through monetising sales. Follow the Thread will take 15% of all sales through the app, with the remainder going to the partnering retailer who sells that specific product, in the event a consumer has scanned the product and followed through to purchase the item. This commission taken by Follow the Thread can be justified to the brands by app and sales analytics. The revenue streams are there for negotiation, and Follow the Thread will not turn down business if not all their streams are covered. However, Follow the Thread must ensure they have a professional and structured approach to becoming successful and earning income to grow the company.

app market UK Chapter intoduction The upcoming chapter will evaluate various factors such as the market size and forecast, the market compatibility and a competitor analysis. This chapter has broadly been developed by utilising industry reports within the UK mobile app market, due to Follow the Thread being an app based platform, therefore analysing the mobile app market will give valuable insight and knowledge before approaching a successful marketing plan. Other markets were analysed alongside the UK app market, such as the UK shopping app market, the UK lifestyle app market and the UK sustainable fashion market, as Follow the Thread further taps into these markets. Once Follow the Thread has analysed and consulted market data and any competitors within the market the app should be better placed to succeed as the relevant market analysis has been undertaken.

“The mobile app market is continuing to go from strength to strength with consumers spending more on apps each year.” Zach Emmanuel, Consumer Technology Analyst (Mintel Mobile Device App Report, 2019) The mobile app market is estimated to be worth £1.98 billion in 2019, rising by 33% compared to 2018, this growth is due to consumers downloading more regularly. According to a 2019 Mintel report, the mobile device app market is estimated to grow by an enormous 83% to £3.62 billion between 2019 and 2024. (Emmanuel, Z, 2019) From looking at the 2018 Mintel Mobile Device Apps Report, there has been a significant increase between 2018 and 2019, this growth suggests that the UK app market is set for a continued rise, with the younger generation and most active mobile users driving its success (Moss A, 2018). It was also suggested that in-app purchases is the most commonly used app monetisation strategies for non-game apps. (Briskman, J, 2020) The UK mobile app market has seen a sufficient increase in growth in the past decade since the release of smartphones, therefore Follow the Thread would be safe to enter such a market where there is predicted an 83% growth. However, the app market is slowly becoming more and more saturated so therefore gaining a foothold in the market would prove to be difficult without the correct business strategy. Nevertheless, due to the niche market of sustainable shopping apps, Follow the Thread has a better chance of succeeding within a smaller pool of competition. Reynolds (2018) discusses that if an app does not ‘differentiate itself’, ‘add value’ or ‘provide entertainment’ sufficiently, it will fail to capture the attention of users. Follow the Thread must therefore ensure that it has a significant unique selling point to differentiate between competition and to enter the market successfully.

UK lifestyle market - aggregator apps Additionally, Follow the Thread also fits into the Lifestyle app market due to some of the features provided within the app. For example, there is a feature that allows consumers to find out where the nearest location (i.e charity shop/recycling bins) is, to dispose of their clothing in a sustainable manner. Lifestyle apps are labelled as the fourth-most common app type available in the App Store, predicted to grow 33% by 2022. (App Annie, State of Mobile Report, 2019) Aggregator apps within the lifestyle app market are likely to move to the forefront of the app market due to the growth expectations within the market. An aggregator app is a tool that pulls content from multiple online sources and compiles it into one easy-to-follow interface. Aggregators are attractive to those consumers who do not have the time or desire to visit numerous websites or install various apps to find their desired information. ‘Aggregator apps tend to become user favourites when they are convenient or enhance the shopping experience.’ (Golmack S, 2019)

UK shopping app market The app segment that Follow the Thread best fits into is the shopping category which was created by both Apple and Android in 2015. The category was introduced to support the purchase of consumer goods whilst materially enhancing the shopping experience on app stores (Apple Report, 2019). Nowadays, apps have become increasingly important in gaining consumer loyalty. Therefore, due to the segment only recently being launched, it does not occupy a significant proportion of users with only a small market share of 2.39% (Statistica, 2019). However, this percentage is predicted to increase by a further 3% by 2021 (App Annie, State of Mobile Report, 2020). The shopping segment on app stores grew 54% in 2017 (Flurry App Analytics Report, 2018) and has since become the second fastest growing app category due to consumers changing their buying habits through technology platforms. Follow the Thread’s main competitor, Good on You was placed by Apple in the top 10 newest apps within the app store which shows just how strong and upcoming the sustainable fashion category is. The success of Good on You provides further evidence that Follow the Thread belongs in the shopping category within mobile app stores due to their similar business model. Since the rise of smartphone popularity, there has been a significant increase of time spent on mobile apps which has led to worldwide record sales within the shopping market. Furthermore, in 2019, with consumer incentive days such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, consumers spent more than 2.5 billion hours shopping with their mobile apps which was a 40% increase from the previous year (App Annie, State of Mobile Report, 2020). These statistics prove that Follow the Thread is entering into a growing category with a large consumer pool to target.

UK sustainable fashion market Sustainability: A £10 Trillion Market by 2030 (European Business Review, 2019) The fashion industry has been on a meteoric rise for many years and with this rapid growth it has caused many companies to take short cuts within their supply chains to increase company profits. Consumers are gradually becoming aware of this and are now accepting responsibility for the impacts behind their purchases (The Future Laboratory, 2016). Consumers are increasingly demanding more transparency from fashion brands, in order to reverse some of the negative effects over supply has caused not only on the industry, but on the environment. According to Mintel’s Purchasing Journey for Fashion – UK, June 2019 Report, spending on fashion is forecasted to continue soaring, reaching £70.5 billion in 2019, representing a 1.6% increase in comparison to 2018. Many fashion shoppers are beginning to make changes to their shopping habits due to increased awareness around shopping more ethically and sustainably. According to data from the Mintel Sustainability Report 57% of fashion shoppers said that they are trying to shop more sustainably than they did a year ago (Mintel Sustainability and Fashion Report, 2019). A fashion search engine Lyst has released a new report based on the online search behaviour of 80 million shoppers last year, revealing a 66% increase in searches for sustainable fashion. It is predicted that by the end of 2020, 10% of all fashion purchases on Lyst will be made with sustainability in mind (Ebert G, 2019). However, data from the Mintel Sustainability Report displays that the topic of fashion sustainability is sometimes overwhelming and can cause consumers to become confused. There is a lack of understanding from a consumer’s standpoint to decipher between ethical and unethical items, with 79% of consumers admitting to finding it difficult to know when a fashion retailer is ethical with Generation Z at the vanguard with 52 percent agreeing that they always research for background information before buying, compared with 45 percent of Millennials and 41 percent of baby boomers (Mintel’s Clothing Retailing Report, 2018). It is therefore important for there to be more clarity over which products and retailers are more sustainable. As sustainable and ethical fashion is a relatively new market, there is not much published data on predicted growth of the market. However, there has been a significant increase in sustainable spending between 2018 and 2019 with the market increasing by 15.7% overall and a predicted overall market of £10 trillion by 2030. As a result, it can therefore be predicted that the market will continue to grow at a rapid pace, especially due to the strong desire of Generation Z. Throughout 2020, the trend will mostly lie with the consumers, they will be more focused on shopping according to their personal sustainability values such as; where have my clothes been made? Who made them? What is the carbon footprint? It won’t be enough for a brand to just have a sustainable line, they have to delve deeper into the supply chain to provide their consumers with the answers to their questions.

Market drivers SOCIAL MEDIA

RADICAL TRANSPARENCY

Mintel produced a Digital Trend report in 2019 which compared the percentage of social media that was accessed over a three month period in 2017 and 2019. There has been a significant growth over the two year period with 52% in 2017 and 79% in 2019. (Mintel Digital Trends Report. 2019). Within the report, there was data from the Trusted Sources for Sustainable Fashion which proclaimed that consumers were more likely to trust online resources in a bid to learn more about sustainable fashion. Furthermore, 92% of 16-24 year olds admit to using social media on a regular basis and a quarter of 16-24 year olds stated that they trust social media personalities as a source of information. To summarise, social media has led to an increased awareness around sustainability, and with many platforms being in the public domain, consumers are able to post comments publicly regarding issues which are important to their beliefs.

The fashion industry is continuing to suffer from a rising trust deficit and due to this consumers are ‘demanding to know much more about a range of issues, from where and how items are made to the design provenance and the item’s quality’ (Ahmed I, 2019). With 94% of consumers more likely to be loyal to a brand that offers full transparency (Label Insight, 2019), industry players are expected to come back by uncovering their supply chains, providing consumers with the level of trust needed to help them make educated choices.

GEN VIZ

GETTING WOKE

There is a realisation amongst society that the most desirous ethical consumer is coming from the digital generation. A recent statistic from The Ethical Consumer Report shows that 24% of 18-25 year olds claim to be online for the majority of the day (The Ethical Consumer Report, 2019), with Gen Z spending 3.8 hours on average on apps every week. Furthermore, there is a 60% higher engagement rate in mobile apps with Gen Z’s compared to older generations (App Annie, State of Mobile Report, 2020).

Younger consumers are becoming extremely alarmed with the social and environmental causes due to human fashion consumption with many stating this as the ‘defining issue of our time’ (Amed I, 2019). These consumers are favouring brands that support their beliefs within their shopping experience and avoiding those that are not authentically proving claims they are making.

In a recent Forbes 2019 Consumer Spending Report, it was distinguished that ‘62% of Generation Z prefer to buy from sustainable brands’ (McCue, T, 2019). It has been said that Generation Z’s outlook on life is not a local one, instead a global one with them being more open to new ideas due to their upbringing in a multicultural society where environmental activism was prevalent. This was further supported by a recent Mintel report which stated 40% of Generation Z consumers chose environmental activism as a priority to their lives, massively over indexing other generations. These consumers would prefer if retailers were to take on the role of being environmental activists and raise awareness about this huge global issue (Mintel Sustainability Report, 2019). With Generation Z becoming the largest generation of consumers this year, 6.8%, brands must start boosting sustainability practices now if they are wanting to keep up the expectations of this generation. It can be said that it is of utmost importance for Generation Z to drive the trend due it being their future that will be affected by the change. “Generation Z is the generation in choosing to spend more money on goods from sustainable or ethical companies” (The Cassandra Report, 2017)

Micro trends “Radical Transparency is coming soon across the supply chain. Unless fashion brands adopt best practices from outside the industry and improve measures from within, consumers will begin to wonder what they have to hide.” (Chitrakorn, K, 2018)

‘There are risks to brands that fail to get this right’ (McKinsey Report, 2019).

STORYTELLING WITHIN FASHION “Everything needs to start with a story.” (Business of Fashion, 2016) Consumers are increasingly demanding for the authenticity of products therefore it is favorable to bring the journey of a particular product to life. Therefore brand storytelling is essential to bring emotions to brands and connect with target audiences, it provides consumers with the reasons why they should be buying a particular product or service and bridges that gap between consumers intentions and actions. Businesses need to start sharing the story behind particular products as well as their own brand. “Storytelling can be up to 22 times more memorable than facts and the most powerful tool for effective education.” (Costa C, 2019)

Pestle analysis In order to recognise the external influences on both the market and on Follow the Thread, a PESTLE analysis has been formed that provides a clear understanding on which factors are of most importance and what needs to be considered when creating a new business. The risk level of each section has been analysed in order to understand which macro factor is of most importance for Follow the Thread to face up to.

P E S POLITICAL

ECONOMIC

SOCIAL

In January 2020, the UK Government’s Environmental Audit Committee published Fixing Fashion, their report on the sustainability of the UK fashion industry. Within the report were key recommendations that the UK Government should adopt into policies and legislation, to help combat the social and environmental abuses that occur as a result of the way clothing is made, sold and discarded. However, Ministers essentially rejected each and every recommendation in the report, often citing alternative courses of action for the issues in question, without committing to any tangible policies. Furthermore, ongoing Brexit talks created a negative outlook on the economy and uncertainty around trade within the UK. Mintel’s 2018 report stated that 68% of consumers were very concerned about the UK economy and what the future held. However, since the decision was made to leave the European Union, there has been a wave of positivity in the market and consumers are back spending their money on consumer discretionary markets. As found in Mintels financial tracker reports, fashion is a discretionary product which is susceptible to consumer confidence as a result of economic and political pressures. The report also identified that although there has been plenty of political uncertainty and stress, buying trends within the fashion industry have very much stayed on track. “This has been driven by growth in real wages, alongside low unemployment, as well as a tendency amongst UK consumers to separate concerns about broader economic issues with their own finances” (Mintel, 2018) Research for Mintel’s British Lifestyles – UK, April 2019 shows how against this backdrop consumers have remained willing to spend on fashion, with 14% of UK consumers saying they spent more on clothing, footwear and accessories in the last year, whilst a further 58% said they spent roughly the same amount.

Risk Level: Amber Implication on Follow the Thread: The lack of government support could have a detrimental effect on the sustainable fashion market in terms of funding new businesses to solve the ever growing industry issues. Follow the Thread would be entering into a settled political climate where the economy will take an upward turn and consumers are willing to spend their income on fashion goods again. However, since leaving the EU, legislation has not been released by the UK regarding sustainable fashion practices. This may leave Follow the Thread short on policy information regarding sustainable fashion.

Risk Level: Amber Implication on Follow the Thread: The economy and politics are very much interdependent of each other and when politics is turbulent, so is the economy and vice-versa. As a result, the more consumer confidence in the economy and politics, the better chance Follow the Thread has of being a success. Follow the Thread should aim to enter into the market while the economy is strong and also while there is little political unrest.

“Men more likely to care about style than sustainability” (Mintel Report, Attitudes towards Sustainable Fashion, 2019) When it comes to style over sustainability we can see that there is a gender divide. Male shoppers are more likely to care about the fashionability of the item whilst women are more likely to be concerned about fashion purchases being sustainable. Social media has been the catalyst of consumers adopting a sustainable lifestyle, especially with regards to sustainable fashion. Consumers have the ability to dig deeper into where products are made and what exactly goes into the item they are purchasing. Not only that, but consumers have the internet to tell other consumers about it. As a result, awareness levels are at the highest point they have ever been and the retail industry is currently seeing rapid growth in the popularity of green shopping and the demand for sustainable fashion. The global fashion search platform Lyst, saw a huge 47% increase in sustainability-related keywords in user searches.

Risk Level: Green Implication on Follow the Thread: Follow the Thread’s target demographic is 18 - 26 year old females, therefore, the fact males put style over sustainability does not affect the business model. Furthermore, this research proves that the target consumer is correct and that females are more likely to use the platform over males.

Risk Level: Green

TECHNOLOGICAL

L E LEGAL

ENVIRONMENTAL

Technology has long been a key driver of change in fashion’ (McKinsey Report, 2016). ‘Rising smartphone ownership has fundamentally changed the way British consumers shop. Not only are more people shopping online, with smartphones now a very popular device for doing so, but our almost constant connectivity means that we are researching our purchases more than ever before, with price and product information at our fingertips’ (Mintel Purchasing Journey for Fashion Report, 2019). App Annie predicts that the total number of app downloads will come to nearly 260 million in 2022. Technology has helped improve the traceability of various supply chains.

“The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is an important and globally influential data and privacy law from the European Union” (Privacy Policies, 2020)

Implication on Follow the Thread: Follow the Thread have their target market already engaged within technology, expediting the difficult task of getting consumers to understand and use the product. Finally, technological advances will make it easier for Follow the Thread to communicate with their consumers through targeted advertising and branding methods. As stated by App Annie, 2019 ‘More apps have been downloaded than ever before in 2019, and more money has been spent on in app purchases, 22% more than last year, with 10% more apps being downloaded’ This could positively impact Follow the Thread sales as consumers are more inclined to purchase within the apps. Furthermore, due to an increase in available information on the internet, as well as the introduction of transparent platforms such as blockchain; consumers can use technology to benefit their understanding of products and supply chains. Not only consumers, but this benefits brands who rely on transparency within their businesses. The advancements of Blockchain may be something that Follow the Thread can utilise in the future within their business to ensure even more trust and transparency.

Risk Level: Red

The GDPR law which was announced in 2016 applies to mobile apps that collect and process personal data. The purpose of the GDPR is to provide improved privacy protection and control for EU citizens. It is designed to give individuals control of their personal data and to improve how businesses manage personal consumer data.

Implication on Follow the Thread: Failure to comply with this legislation could result in costly fines. Follow the Thread must ensure GDPR compliance within their mobile app, when collecting email addresses at account sign-up and when processing financial transactions. If Follow the Thread does not comply with GDPR regulations, the Information Commissioner’s Office can now issue fines of up to 4% of Follow the Thread’s annual turnover (Gov UK, 2020).

In recent years, sustainability and impacts on the environment have been taken incredibly seriously by consumers.

Risk Level: Green

Data from Fashion Revolution’s Fashion Transparency Index 2019 reveals that more brands and retailers are disclosing their suppliers than they were just three years ago. Almost half (48%) of UK consumers say that they prefer to buy clothing from retailers that are trying to reduce their impact on the environment, rising to 60% of Gen Z consumers.’ (Mintel Attitudes towards Sustainable Fashion Report, 2019)

Implication on Follow the Thread: Follow the Thread has a difficult task in working with brands which are 100% sustainable, and to do this, a large amount of research and development must go into every brand they work with. As discussed previously, Follow the Thread will have severe legal implications if they are found to be representing a non sustainable brand.

‘46% of Gen Z said they would spend more on a sustainable product, and 31% have boycotted a brand for unsustainable and unethical practices.’ (Asos Report, 2018)

There is an enhanced interest in sustainability across fashion, and consumers demanding more transparency. As a result, consumers are ready to use a platform which provides them with key information and education on products they are purchasing.

Ranking external factors

Competitor analysis LEVEL 2

LEVEL 1

HIGH RELEVANCE

P HIGH IMMEDIACY

LOW IMMEDIACY

EC A competitor universe analysis was executed to understand where Follow the Thread sits in relation to its competitors within the market. As Follow the Thread offers a unique service not currently provided in the UK market, it does not have any direct competitors. However, the model serves a purpose and has been used to identify a clear representation of the market and how other brands differ to Follow the Thread as well as having similar aspects. It is important to acknowledge similar brands within the market, as Follow the Thread may be able to gain a competitive advantage through research. Within the analysis, the type of competitor has been tiered at a level 1 and a level 2 of competition.

LEVEL 1 COMPETITORS Follow the Threadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s primary competitors consist of Good On You, Avoid and Fashion Revolution in relation to their positioning. All these brands provide a similar service to a similar audience.

LOW RELEVANCE

LEVEL 2 COMPETITORS The brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s secondary competitors include brands which are of similar business models and provide similar functions however they focus on a different market such as the cosmetic market and the food industry with some not operating within the UK. Although Follow the Thread will be focusing on the sustainable fashion market, it is useful to understand similar business models as within the future Follow the Thread may lift their concept into different markets.

LEVEL 1

Competitor analysis (Refer to appendix 19 for full competitor analysis, Posner’s Table of Differentiation)

Good On You

Price Point

Fashion Revolution

Avoid

Follow the Thread’s Competitive Advantage

After evaluating the market position of level one competitors, it has helped pinpoint a clear unique selling point for Follow the Thread.

Free to download for consumers however there is an option to purchase the item through the app, which provides Follow the Thread with a competitive advantage due to the ease of everything being available all in one platform.

Although the current market Follow the Thread are entering and operating in is not heavily saturated with like for like brands, Follow the Thread must ensure they are monitoring the market and the potential rise of competitors with similar business models.

Free

Free access for consumers

Free

Product

An app that analyses and rates sustainable and ethical brands, whilst also promoting offers within those brands at the current time.

Fashion Revolution offers more of an initiative rather than a business, and therefore this poses less of a threat to Follow the Thread. Fashion Revolution’s Transparency Index report is produced to educate consumers of the sustainable contributions of brands.

A plug-in for consumers internet browser that runs in the background whilst shopping online. If the brands displayed have received any negative rating, the products are hidden from view.

Follow the Thread will provide a rating as well as visual images to show the journey as well as having a ‘gamified’ element within the app whereby consumers will be able to compete against their friends

Promotion

Good on You has a significant following on social media with 135,000 followers on Instagram. The brand uses popular celebrity figures to promote the app such as Emma Watson.

Fashion Revolution uses social media to boost their brand exposure as well as creating campaigns across social media. The Transparency Index is not just promoted on the website.

Avoid do not currently run a social media account, they mainly promote themselves through press releases and their LinkedIn page.

Follow the Thread will have to ensure that their unique selling point will be fully communicated through their social media to gain followers and therefore once a portfolio of followers has been reached, the brand can start to work with popular influencers with a variety of different audiences in order to gain traction to the brand.

The website is Avoid’s only route to market.

The app is Follow the Thread’s route to market, however as part of the first year communication plan a website will be launched as well as social media in order for consumers to research further into the brand and it’s values. Throughout the app, website and social media, the unique selling point of Follow the Thread will be revealed throughout and therefore encouraging consumers to engage with the app.

Place

The app, social media and an informative website is Good on You’s remote route to market.

Their website and social media is Fashion Revolutions remote route to market

Market positioning The below perceptual map consists of primary and secondary competitors of Follow the Thread.

FASHION MARKET

SUSTAINABLE BRANDS

ALL BRANDS

By analysing the level one competitors of Follow the Thread it has provided a thorough understanding of the market and services offered by competitors. Brands within the market offer various aspects that Follow the Thread aims to incorporate within their service. However, there is no brand within the market that offers the exact services found in Follow the Thread’s business model. This poses a gap in the market for a single app that combines all features in one, giving consumers an all encompassing platform that competitors do not offer. Follow the Thread will offer more unique features within the app including; accessible information, educational content and a competitive reward system to be used amongst app users and friends. Moreover, this will encourage a higher level of brand recommendations between peers and in turn create an increased brand awareness. 50

ALTERNATIVE MARKETS 51

As illustrated in the perceptual map and the table of differentiation; Follow the Threadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main primary competitor within both the mobile app and the sustainable fashion market is Good On You. Their platform analyses sustainable and ethical fashion brands on their processes. Additionally, it informs consumers on discount codes that they can use when shopping from these brands, to save money. Follow the Threadsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; competitive advantage lies within their USP of providing a visual and immersive journey starting with details of an items origin and how it eventually made it to the shop floor. Furthermore, Follow the Thread offers a truly unique feature which enables consumers to identify the nearest drop off point for their old clothing, to be disposed of sustainably. Follow the Thread must ensure that they market and communicate these exciting features within their social media marketing in order to compete against competitor Good On You who have recently partnered with Emma Watson who has 55.4 million followers on Instagram. Fashion Revolution were another brand who were identified as primary competition within the market. They provide a similar service by offering a transparency index report which informs consumers of the sustainable contributions of brands. This offering is similar to Follow the Thread in the way it provides consumers with ratings however, Fashion Revolution is a not for profit global movement. Therefore, they are not seen as a direct competitor within the market and pose less of a threat to Follow the Threadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s success.

Porter’s five forces The Porter’s five forces model has been used to analyse the intensity level of competitors within the market. This will enable Follow the Thread to be aware of possible roadblocks prior to their launch.. The research of competitors pre launch is invaluable and it will enable Follow the Thread to maximise financial success and market share. The forces are made up of:

THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS – HIGH

Due to the increase in demand for sustainable fashion items, possibility of new entrants is likely from both start-ups and existing brands. Despite high start-up costs in research and development, consumer demand will see brands entering the market to capitalise on the growing trend. Bigger brands with more market share and capital expenditure are more likely to overcome high entry costs. Follow the Thread will need to ensure it offers continuous innovative app development to remain relevant to consumers. However, as Follow the Thread will be one of the first to offer such a service, they will establish strong relationships with existing brands. This will pose a threat to competitors who do not already have such relationships.

COMPETITIVE RIVALRY – LOW Due to the rapid growth of the sustainable fashion market, there are other brands in the market who are driven by sustainability. However, Follow the Thread has a strong USP and brand identity which will keep competitive rivalry low. As brand transparency remains an issue within the market, Follow the Thread has the opportunity to be a market leader and focus on consumers needs and wants and retain strong sustainable values.

BUYER POWER - HIGH

SUPPLIER POWER - HIGH

The supplier pressure does have an affect on Follow the Thread. Getting supply chain information is a difficult task already, however factories and brands could make this even harder. Furthermore, if brands that are signed up, do not cooperate with being sustainable, it will make Follow the Thread struggle to demonstrate sustainability. Furthermore, future competitors may look to exploit the cheaper end of the market and potentially undercut Follow the Thread’s premium service.

Follow the Thread is reliant on brands being comfortable with fees associated with the service. Follow the Thread is also somewhat led by the market and what price brands feel the service is worthy of. As Follow the Thread will be pitching to brands at different growth stages, it is important to meet their desires at the right price. Follow the Thread must keep in mind that while pitching sustainability, they can not lose their price conscious mentality as brands may look at doing it themselves.

THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES - LOW

Follow the Thread should look into the possibility of patenting their idea or copyrighting their designs. Covering themselves on Intellectual Property Rights will ensure that no new entrants can enter the market and copy the idea. Furthermore, due to Follow the Thread being a potential market leader with a high market share, the threat of substitution remains low, especially as the service is unique and of a high standard.

Market obstacles Whilst the sustainable and ethical fashion market is booming, it is important to note that brands may not know their full supply chains themselves. However, brands are increasingly researching the supply chains of their products, with a 15% average increase in brands level of transparency in 2019 compared to 2018 (Fashion Revolution, 2020). Consumers are constantly wanting to know the answers to their questions regarding the brands supply chain. More brands and retailers are disclosing their supplies than they were three years ago, 80 out of 200 major fashion brands reviewed are publishing a list of their manufacturers, where clothes are cut, sewn and finished (Fashion Revolution, 2020).

Tows analysis Through a TOWS analysis, Follow the Thread can understand the external threats and opportunities it faces as a new market entrant, and how they must develop internal strategies to become a success.

Market opportunity

Internal Weaknesses:

• Market innovator - no direct competitors

• Low brand awareness due to being a start up

• High consumer demand for sustainable fashion and transparency

• Pressure to become a market leader in a niche territory

• Evidence of a gap in the market

• Consumer trust in the brand may take time to build up

• Solves the issues of the lack of transparency within the sustainable fashion market

• Small team which will increase pressure to meet targets within first year

• Strong unique selling point • Immersive marketing strategies with easily recognisable branding

A prevalent market opportunity is for a service that provides clarity over which garments and retailers are truly sustainable and ethical.

External Opportunities:

S/O Strategy:

W/O Strategy:

• New technologies and platforms to take advantage of such as blockchain and social media

This is supported by primary research ‘I find sustainable and ethical fashion so confusing’ (Refer to Appendix 3) as well as secondary research. ‘79% of consumers admitted to finding it difficult to know when a fashion item from a retailer is truly ethical and sustainable’ (Mintel Report, Behaviours Towards Sustainable Fashion, 2019). Therefore, in order to overcome this consumer problem, there is a market opportunity for an app that helps consumers guide their choices to purchase sustainable and ethical fashion.

• Expand into different markets, not a service that is fixed to one market

Follow the Thread was created due to a gap in the market that was identified as a result of a deteriorating relationship between brands and consumers. The educational platform will act as a catalyst for brands to communicate their transparent supply chains to consumers and to help create the trust which is currently lacking.

To minimise the pressure of being a new brand with low brand awareness, Follow the Thread can communicate through well known influencers and personnel currently active in the sustainable fashion market.

Market readiness While the sustainable fashion market remains a growing sector, the shopping app market is largely untapped. Due to this niche nature of the market, it creates a timely opportunity for a brand to develop a market leading service. Stage one insights coupled with data produced from the online survey, it was discovered that an app created specifically for brand transparency, was eagerly anticipated by consumers with 69% of survey respondents believing that brand transparency is an important factor within their lives (Refer to Appendix 2). It can therefore be assumed that an app providing transparency with minimal competitors would be successful when entering the UK sustainable fashion and app market.

Internal Strengths:

• Untapped shopping sector within the mobile app market • Monopolise a small growing market • Collaborations with like minded and influential individuals

Due to the market being in its infancy, there are very few competitors which provide Follow the Thread a strong platform to create and engage a large consumer base. To ensure Follow the Thread keeps this consumer base engaged, they can take advantage of new evolving technologies. Furthermore, there is also an opportunity for Follow the Thread to expand into new markets and therefore create a diverse consumer base.

Furthermore, by executing a well planned communication plan throughout the first year of business, Follow the Thread can ensure they are building a strong reputation within the market.

External Threats:

S/T Strategy:

W/T Strategy:

• Due to the premature nature of the market, there are low barriers to entry for competitors

Follow the Thread will have a strong loyalty towards consumers due to the service they are providing and their strong unique selling point that is not available elsewhere in the market.

Consumer trust in the brand may take time to build up and during this period, other competitors may enter into the market. Furthermore, in order to overcome this threat, Follow the Thread needs to ensure that they gain consumers’ trust as close as possible to the launch date by using trustworthy influencers and ensuring Follow the Thread provides a consistent brand message across all platforms.

• Brands may want to deliver such a service in house • Potential for an influx of ‘copycat’ brands which can create an oversaturated market • Poor execution from Follow the Thread with regards to marketing campaigns • Brands do not want to carry on the subscription/cancel early • Growing market, there is a higher incentive for competitors to join

However, due to the market being in its early stages of growth, it is possible for new entrants to develop a similar business model and attract Follow the Threads’ consumer base. To overcome this, Follow the Thread will need to ensure that they adapt to new market trends and constantly look out for what competitors are doing whilst communicating their strong personality and distinct unique selling point.

CHAPTER 7

Brand development

MISSION STATEMENT: TO PROVIDE AN ALL ENCOMPASSING PLATFORM THAT EMBRACES DEVELOPMENTS IN UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS, PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND COMPLETE TRANSPARENCY ACROSS THE SUPPLY CHAIN.

Brand values BRAND VISION: TO CONNECT PEOPLE TO PRODUCTS AND PRODUCTS TO PEOPLE

COMMUNITY Bringing together a community of conscientious fashion consumers along with brands that believe in an honest and transparent supply chain.

EDUCATIONAL Committed to encouraging both consumers to shop and brands to manufacture in the most ethical and transparent way through a reliable, digital platform.

HONESTY As a brand we believe in providing consumers with complete transparency based on exploring and presenting brand supply chains, a catalyst for growth in brand and consumer relationships.

IMPROVEMENT Continuous research and development will be at the forefront of our strategy to ensure the most effective and efficient platform is made available for consumers and brands.

INTEGRITY Acting with integrity and honesty throughout all of our activities.

Brand pyramid

BRAND ESSENCE STRIVING FOR SUSTAINABILITY

BRAND PERSONALITY

BRAND PROMISE: OUR PROMISE IS TO DELIVER MOMENTS OF SATISFACTION

CONFIDENT | RESPECTFUL SOCIAL | INSPIRING | PRINCIPLED

EMOTIONAL BENEFIT: Follow the Thread provides consumers with a service where they can feel confident in their sustainable purchases and also feel connected to a productâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development and origin. As a result, consumers may feel more obliged to keep a product for a longer period, and fix any repairs needed instead of throwing it away. Furthermore, consumers may feel like they are helping the environment around them by only buying products with a known origin.

FUNCTIONAL BENEFIT: Providing consumers with the answers to their shopping questions in a simple and accessible way.

Brand DNA Name: Follow the Thread Follow the Thread was chosen as the brand name due to the service creating transparency amongst supply chains for consumers. All garments start off at first by a single needle and thread adding to the inspiration of the name. The word follow insinuates that the consumer is being invited to understand a particular garment’s journey and creating the path towards a more sustainable future.

Tone of voice:

Strapline: Look beyond the label Logo:

The inspiration came from a needle and a single piece of thread which cursively spells out the brand name. The brand name is incorporated within a circle which represents the complete unbroken journey.

Font used: The curly font for titles is called Nicklainley, this was used due to the font looking like a thread. The bold font used for headlines and sub lines is called Aller Display which is a strong font used for impact. The main body font is Gotham as it is a neat, clear and modern font and works well for a lot of information.

Colour Palette:

A colour palette of blue’s and purple’s has been chosen as the brand’s primary colours due to the meanings of the colours. The colour blue is often associated with stability and symbolises trust, faith and confidence and the colour purple is often associated with independence and power. This colour palette was tested on an Instagram poll and was seen as the most engaging. (Refer to Appendix 20)

CONVERSATIONAL INSPIRING ENCOURAGING 65

Unique selling point Follow the Thread simplifies the accessibility of sustainable and ethical fashion by presenting consumers with the information, knowledge and transparency they require to make sustainable and ethical decisions more efficiently.

Brand story Follow the Thread was born out of frustration at the lack of transparency within the fashion industry. Founder, Gabi Howarth, is a fashionista who cares about the environment and is very up to date with the latest trends. However, she became frustrated at how little she knew about her favourite pieces of clothing. The brainstorming for a new business idea had begun. In early 2020, after many emails, Follow the Thread was founded with a sole ambition to provide more supply chain transparency to consumers with a focus on the sustainable fashion industry. Although founded in Manchester, the mission lies across the UK and eventually worldwide. This is the future of fashion.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Follow the Thread started out of personal frustration for how little we know about the things we buyâ&#x20AC;? Founder, Gabi Howarth, 2020

Meet the team Brand Researcher Meet Natasha Hunt Responsibilities: • Performs in depth brand research across the fashion market with a strong focus on the sustainable fashion market • Organises meetings with potential brands • Liaises with Gabi on a day to day basis, helping general business growth • Network with other brands • Manager of Marketing Intern

Founder Meet Gabi Howarth Responsibilities:

Marketing Intern

• The overall direction and strategy of the business

Meet Niamh Jones

• Communicating with brands on behalf of Follow the Thread

Responsibilities:

• Leading the development of the company’s short and long term strategy

• Researching and analysing marketing trends

• Maintaining awareness of the competitive market landscape

• Assisting with social media campaigns

• Understanding potential growth/expansion opportunities

• Researching relevant influencers Follow the Thread can collaborate with in the future

• Setting strategic company goals and ensuring they are achievable

• Assisting brand researcher

• Networking within the industry

App details BARCODE SCANNER OR PRODUCT SEARCH The app contains a barcode scanner and a search option which uses technology to reveal the true story and the sustainability of a particular garment. This feature provides consumers with the visual journey of the garments supply chains and also a rating in stars of how sustainable and ethical an item really is. Therefore the stars will provide consumers instant information before purchasing and the visual journey for after they have purchased the product. If the consumer concludes that the sustainability star rating is acceptable, they will go through to purchase the product either through the app which will take the consumer to the partners website or in store.

SUSTAINABLE SCOREBOARD A feature included within the app is a scoreboard that is dedicated to present a consumers’ sustainable footprint within the fashion market whilst competing against their fellow users. This is based on interaction with the app and also sustainable purchases through the app. A recent report suggested that including competition amongst peers and consumers is the best way to increase a user base and maintain high user retention rates (Schneidmiller, C, 2018). Once the consumer has reached a certain amount of points they will be able to donate their points to a sustainable charity of their choice. Furthermore, a sustainable scoreboard was influenced by Mitchel White, Founder of Reward Agency when he stated ‘trying to gamify your offering would be good, you could look at a leaderboard of who has the most sustainable wardrobe’ (Refer to appendix 9).

CHAPTER 8

The consumer

NEW BEGINNINGS This function of the app will be based around navigation technology whereby a list of places nearby to the consumers location will be provided of the closest places to sustainably dispose of their clothing that they no longer want or need. This increases the chances of clothing being recycled while also reducing the amount of waste caused by old clothing. In 2019 it was said that 300,000 tonnes of unwanted clothing was left in UK landfills as a result of consumers not recycling their old clothes. Furthermore, extending the active life of clothing by nine months can significantly reduce its environmental impact (Wrap, 2019). It can be said that offering consumers this feature within the app will promote recycling, especially due to the accessibility of this feature.

Lohas segmentation model “LOHAS is an umbrella acronym that stands for Lifestyles Of Health And Sustainability. It refers to products or services that are designed to be environmentally conscious, sustainable, socially responsible, and/or healthier – both for people and the planet” (French, S; Roogers, G, 2019)

Consumer segmentation Follow the Thread must ensure that they identify the segmentation variables that ultimately define the group of consumers that they are targeting. Identifying this target market is crucial for the business to ensure that awareness and brand engagement are directed effectively. Follow the Thread must tap into the targets preferences as a means of acquiring these customers and communicate their values effectively to ensure the brand aligns itself with the target group and encourage downloads of the app and frequent use.

The LOHAS consumer is the portion of the population that makes purchase decisions with this criteria in mind as well as used as predictors of upcoming trends. The five different market segments within this model include LOHAS, Naturalities, Drifters, Conventionals and Unconcerned, the chart shows how much of the UK population each of the segments under the LOHAS system equate to. According to their characteristics, values and lifestyles it would be beneficial to target those situated in the LOHAS segment. LOHAS consumers are constantly looking for ways to do more for the environment and because of their price insensitivity and rate of consumption, LOHAS consumers are typically the most attractive population for Follow the Thread to focus on.

LOHAS UNCONCERNEDS

19%

17%

CONVENTIONALS

19%

NATURALITES

19% DRIFTERS

25%

Follow the Thread will focus on a predominantly young female audience aged 18-25 who are active conscious fashion consumers, also hoping to appeal to secondary users of young millennials aged 25-30 who seek to switch to a more sustainable and ethical lifestyle and aspire to purchase more sustainable fashion within the near future. As previously mentioned in the report, research conducted throughout Stage One found that the most attractive sustainable audience seemed to be aged 18-25, however with the slightly older age group not following far behind. This mixture of demographics is attractive to Follow the Thread as they are more likely to purchase sustainable fashion with ‘nine in ten Gen Z consumers believe that companies have a responsibility to address environmental and social issues (Amed I, 2019) and ‘73% of the millennial generation are willing to pay more for sustainable fashion’ (Petro G, 2020). Furthermore this seems like a more appropriate choice of target consumers due to ‘women being more conscious consumers, seeking out and purchasing sustainable retail brands more often than male customers’ (Ebert G, 2019). Additionally, 70% of the online survey were aged 18-24 and 80% of the online survey are interested in an app where they can learn about the origins of sustainable fashion products and 17% are somewhat interested (Refer to Appendix 2). As a result of this, the app will be more appealing to these chosen consumer groups.

Consumer profiles The following pen portraits have been produced in order to give personality to the consumer and help envisage the types of consumers that Follow the Thread are wanting to target by looking into a combination of demographic, psychographic and behavioural analysis. By creating a visual pen portrait of target consumers, it helps to understand the lifestyles they lead and ensures there is a better communication between the brand and consumers.

PERSONA TWO

PERSONA ONE Generation Z Active Conscious Fashion Consumer Lauren | Aged 21 Hometown: Manchester Relationship Status: Single

Media Consumption: Instagram and Snapchat Favourite Brands: Levi’s Jeans Reformation No Nasties Patagonia

Full time student studying Fashion Management at Leeds University

Millennial Aspirational Conscious Fashion Consumer Sophie | Aged 26 Hometown: London Relationship Status: In a relationship

BIO:

LOVES

Lauren lives a healthy lifestyle, running daily and going to the gym three times a week. She wants brands to provide more information on how their products are actually being made as often when she is shopping with her favourite sustainable brands she finds it hard to tell if they are being genuine or not. Lauren spends her disposable income on clean, sustainable and ethical products as she feels like that is her way of helping the environment with Instagram strongly influencing her purchase decisions. Lauren admits to spending a bit too much time on her phone on social media platforms with an average of 3 hours a day, however she is trying to cut this down to an hour a day.

• Music • Keeping up to date with the latest trends • Travelling the world • Socialising with her friends • Festivals in the summer months

LIKES • Yoga and Pilates • Shopping (as long as it’s not too busy) • Going to the gym

PET HATES • When brands claim they do something purely for a marketing ploy • Influencers promoting a product or service when they don’t believe in it • Spiders

Sophie is a business management graduate who lives in the centre of London in an apartment with one of her co-workers. Her attitudes towards fashion are relatively open and loves to hear about new brands and the latest trends. Sophie also uses apps to receive codes for shopping as well as to enhance her shopping experience whilst also following many brands and influences to gain inspiration on new trends. Sophie is slowly becoming very conscientious towards sustainable clothing and in a year’s time she is wanting to shop with brands that have more of a sustainable and ethical background. In the near future Sophie is wanting to become a column editor in a high end fashion magazine.

Full time job working at a recruitment agency in London Graduated in 2014 with a 2:1 in Business Management Media Consumption: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

LOVES • Discussing with her friends how they can help the environment and become more conscious consumers • Socialising and hearing what her friends have been up to and what they have recently been buying • Travelling with her boyfriend and exploring the world • Going out for dinner to wind down the week

LIKES • • • •

If a brand has ethical values Keeping active on Instagram Trying new brands Baking herself instead of buying ready made

PET HATES • Sticking to one brand • Shopping in store • Additives in food 75

Brand profile

Brand portfolio

Follow the Thread is committed to helping businesses grow and develop within the sustainable sector. Brands should be willing to open up to their consumers and educate whilst providing them with the full supply chain of products. The typical criteria of brands that Follow the Thread will be targeting are as follows; TARGET BRANDS: Sustainable brands operating within the UK who already have knowledge on their supply chains and sustainable credentials

An essential feature of Follow the Thread’s business proposition is the partnering brands due to the app being unable to operate without the existence of these brands. Below are the brands which Follow the Thread are going to target as their early adopters of the service to provide consumers with a seamless experience. They consist of popular sustainable female brands operating within the UK.

BRANDS TARGET MARKET: aged 18-30 1. People Tree

22. The Social Outfit

2. Birdsong

23. Christy Dawn

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 80-100

3. Reformation

24. VETTA

IDEAL BRAND VALUES: Supportive, Collaborative, Improvement, Positivity

4. Patagonia

25. Eksempel

MOTIVATION: To help consumers shop sustainably and delivering their sustainability promise by providing consumers of how their products are being produced

5. We-Love

26. The M|N|ML

6. Know The Origin

27. Me to We

7. No Nasties

28. Threads 4 Thought

LOOKING FOR: A platform that can promote transparent supply chains in order to reduce the prevalent attitude behaviour gap between consumers and brands.

8. People Tree

29. FTLA Apparel

9. The Ethical Silk Company

30. Mara Hoffman

10. Levi’s Jeans

31. Beaumont Organic

11. Make An Impact

32. Beyond Skin

ANNUAL TURNOVER: £250,000-£5,000,000

BRAND’S PAIN POINTS:

BRAND GAINS:

12. Zola Amour

33. Cossac

• Consumers not trusting their own information

• An increase of overall trust and rapport with consumers

13. Pursuit The Label

34. Gung-ho

14. MUD Jeans

35. Komodo

• No time or expertise and a lack of resources to do it themselves

• Transparency amongst supply chains

15. We-Love

36. Kitty Ferreira

• An increase in company sales and profits

16. Bon Label

37. Lucy and Yak

• Raise brand awareness

17. Organic Basics

38. Valentina Karellas

• Gain competitive advantage over the market

18. Milo + Nicki

39. Vildnis

19. Passion Life

40. House Of Sunny

• Loss in sales due to the lack of brand transparency and missing out on sustainable consumers • Lack of awareness towards sustainable industry standards • Lack of competitive advantage against the market

THEIR QUESTIONS: How long have you been running for?

20. Lovebird Design 21. Vege Threads

What will we need to provide to you? What benefits can your brand bring? Past case studies with other brands? Overall costs of the platform? 76

The Rogers Adoption Curve Follow the Thread’s current target brands and future target brands have been placed on the adoption curve below, to help show the future of Follow the Thread’s portfolio.

Partnership feedback Various partnering brands were contacted in the hope of gaining some valuable feedback from the brands. (Refer to appendix 12-15 for the full

Late majority

brand transcripts)

“THIS APP SEEMS LIKE A GREAT TOOL FOR SUSTAINABLE BRANDS TO USE TO DISPLAY THEIR SUPPLY CHAINS. IT IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING PEOPLE TREE WOULD LOOK INTO USING IN THE NEAR FUTURE TO HELP GET OUR

“DEFINITELY A SERVICE THAT THE SOCIAL OUTFIT WOULD WANT TO INCORPORATE

SUSTAINABILITY AND TRANSPARENT MESSAGE ACROSS.” (Anna Mattei, Communications Manager at People Tree)

WITHIN THEIR BUSINESS TO HELP

Early majority

CONSUMERS WITH THE SHOPPING JOURNEY AND TO BUILD THAT ELEMENT OF TRUST” (Camilla Schippa, CEO at The Social Outfit )

“I THINK AN APP THAT CAN SCAN A BRANDS ETHICAL PRACTICES IS MOST DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT A GROUP OF CONSUMERS WOULD USE OR EVEN RETAILERS TO EFFICIENTLY ASSESS HOW SUSTAINABLE A BRAND REALLY IS.

Early adopters

I BELIEVE WE ARE STILL IN THE EARLY PHASES Laggards

OF THIS MOVEMENT BUT IT HAS A LOT OF SCOPE TO EVOLVE FROM HERE AND DEFINITELY

Innovators Sustainable fashion brands

Sustainable collections within high street retailers

Sustainable collections within fast fashion retailers

All collections from fast fashion and high street retailers

SOMETHING WE WOULD LOOK AT USING IN THE NEAR FUTURE!” (Annabel Humphrey, Co-Founder & Director at Luxury Sustainable Brand Pursuit the Label)

Business aim CHAPTER 9

Marketing strategy

To become the market leader of providing transparency and trust between brands and consumers within the sustainable fashion market and to meet the ever evolving needs of consumers.

Business objectives To successfully enter and succeed in the UK shopping app market within 3 years and increase the brands market share by 10% year on year. To establish strong brand retention and awareness over 3 years amidst the primary target audience by constantly differentiating the service offerings through new product development.

THE 4 P’S OF MARKETING B2B 82

Product THE FUNCTIONS OF THE APP: • Supply Chain Tracing Tool • Consumers can purchase through the app • Brands can be rated and referred to within the app • Increased transparency for the brand

Process

BRAND JOURNEY

STEP 1

STEP 8

Brands respond positively to Follow the Threadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s marketing campaigns

Brand receives monthly reports on how the app is benefitting their business with further support available

STEP 2

STEP 7

Brands visit the website to find out more information and can request a demo

STEP 3 Brands can request to be contacted by Follow the Thread in order to discuss their business objectives and understand how Follow the Thread can assist their needs

STEP 4 Brand engages in the services of Follow the Thread through the three available product tiers

Brand goes live onto the app

STEP 6 Follow the Thread liaises with the brand to produce content for the visual journey and product offerings

STEP 5 Commercial terms are agreed

Price A subscription basis will be formed where brands will sign up for a minimum 12 month period. This enables Follow the Thread to have a strong forecast for future earnings. Follow the Thread will follow a tiered price plan for brands to choose from. The lowest tier will provide basic yet informative information on product origins including the visual journey, however, this tier limits to 20 products. The second tier available will provide brands with a larger product selection at 60 - 100 while also receiving a more detailed visual journey. Finally, the third tier is the most exclusive with a tailored approach offering a personalised visual journey and unlimited product offerings. Brands will be able to upgrade their plans throughout the year if necessary. Price points are as below:

Lower Tier: ÂŁ119 Second Tier: ÂŁ379 Third Tier: ÂŁ699

Promotion Targeting businesses is of utmost importance due to Follow the Thread needing these partnerships to function and run the app. Therefore, there will be a strong brand focus on attracting these brands as quickly as possible, before launching the app into the marketplace. Follow the Thread will need to ensure that they are continually targeting sustainable fashion brands, in order to accelerate new partnerships to bring to the app to help grow the business whilst also engaging and retaining current users. In order to successfully do this, Follow the Thread will use a series of different platforms such as trade shows, LinkedIn and an informative website to engage brands and encourage sign ups. The communications used will concentrate on portraying a message that is inspiring, supportive and encouraging, revealing exactly why brands should participate in such a fascinating service.

Product THE CORE FUNCTIONS OF THE APP:

THE 4 P’S OF MARKETING B2C

• Consumers can scan a products barcode or search for the item depending on whether they are in store or purchasing online. A visual journey of the product as well as the sustainability star rating of that product will appear • The consumer can then go on to buy this product through the app • Within the app there will be a sustainable scoreboard where consumers can compete against fellow users on how sustainable they really are, depending on how many products they scan and purchase • Where to dispose of old clothing nearby (consumers would need to authorise location settings) • Leave reviews on brands

‘The above functions touch upon consumers preferences for apps that do ‘everything for them in one place’ (App Annie, 2019).

Process

STEP 6

The process indicates the procedures involved that the customer will go through when using the app.

Consumers asked if they want to share or review the purchased product with friends, family etc. This will be rewarded with additional sustainable points or a discount code for a future purchase.

The app journey for consumers;

STEP 1 Consumers will sign up with their email address and create a password

STEP 5 The scoreboard is updated with various points values for reviewing the product/purchasing the product

STEP 2 Scan or search for a product

STEP 4 STEP 3 Receive the visual journey of where that product was produced, how it was produced, the raw materials it was made from and the productâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sustainability credentials.

The user can then go on to purchase the product in store or if viewed online can take you through to the brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website.

Price

Promotion

Follow the Thread will be free for consumers to download and use just like all apps within the shopping category. The price for the app was confirmed throughout primary research with 99% of respondents stating they are more likely to download an app if it is free. (Refer to Appendix 2) Furthermore, all apps in Follow the Threadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s category are all currently free to use (Mintel Digital Trends Report, 2019), therefore by charging consumers for the app would put the brand at a disadvantage. (Refer to Appendix 23 for Mintelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chart on Shopping App Prices)

Follow the Thread will need to ensure that they are creating brand awareness and generating interest around the brand in order to engage consumers before they enter into the market. The promotion towards consumers will implement the AIDA and DRIP approach by continually engaging, informing and persuading future users to download the app, therefore increasing user retention and ensuring that Follow the Thread is an essential for the target audience. This approach will follow across various channels which are focused at consumers including both online and offline platforms such as social media, pop-ups and podcasts, enabling Follow the Thread to target as many consumers effectively. The communications across these platforms should be encouraging, empowering and educational.

Three year strategy YEAR 1 MARKETING STRATEGY LAUNCH, GROW BRAND AWARENESS AND ENHANCE BRAND LOYALTY

YEAR 1 GOALS 1 To gain 5000 users of the app by the end of the first year in business. 2 To get 40 brands to partner with Follow the Thread by the end of Year One. 3

To launch Follow the Thread in June on both IOS and Android within the shopping sector of the UK mobile app market.

Launching the brand will be the main focus during the first year as well as increasing brand awareness and loyalty within the marketplace and amongst the target audience. The strategy in doing the aforementioned must remain realistic throughout the start up phase. Follow the Thread’s primary focus prior to launching the business in June will be teaming up with partnering brands in order to facilitate the main functionality of the app. Follow the Thread will initially target smaller and more independent fashion brands that have a key focus on sustainability and ethical agendas, as this type of business is more likely to want to participate and understand exactly what the business is looking to achieve. Increased publicity and free marketing will be highly attractive especially as these ‘smaller businesses’ will have lower budgets to work with and therefore highly incentivising to participate and provide relevant information needed to be incorporated within the app. The aim for Follow the Thread is to team up with 40 brands within the first year, as this will ensure users aren’t limited to particular brands or products when using the app. In addition, smaller brands will have a condensed product offering thus making the process of inputting information on the brand into the app easier, given the smaller quantities of garments they will have to offer. Throughout the latter seasons of the year, the main focus will be driving app downloads and to build a durable user base. Across online channels informative content will be offered and ensure that this content will provoke conversations amongst Follow the Thread’s users. In order to encourage this, a referral and reward programme will be introduced, which will trigger an increased user base, loyalty and the inclusion of fun, using a scoreboard feature whereby users can compete against their friends and other app users, which can also be shared on social media. to reduce the prevalent attitude behaviour gap between consumers and brands.

YEAR 2 MARKETING STRATEGY EXPAND BRAND PORTFOLIO

YEAR 2 GOALS 1

To grow the team beyond a Founder and Brand Researcher, recruiting a Social Media Strategist, a Digital Strategist and an Influencer Manager

2 3

To gain 10,000 more users of the app To recruit 100 new brands, with 20 of these being fast fashion brands and high street retailers with sustainable lines.

As the number of users on the app will increase over the second year, so will the demand from the consumers, therefore it is essential that Follow the Thread expand their team to ensure the consumer demand is fulfilled. The expansion of the team will include; a social media strategist, who would run the brands social media accounts as well as interacting with users through the platform. Secondly, a digital strategist, who will be responsible for developing solutions to meet clients goals as well as making developments to the software. Finally an influencer manager who will be constantly on the lookout for new influencers for Follow the Thread to work with and ensure that the influencers used are bringing a good return on investment. The second year strategy will also work on recruiting an additional 100 new brands to subscribe to the app to give consumers a wider range of brands to purchase from. It will be easier to gain additional brands due to case studies and success stories from working with other brands and partners throughout Year One. Furthermore, 20 of these new additions will be fast fashion or high street brands with sustainable collections such as the H&M Conscious collection, Zara Conscious collection, PrettyLittleThings Recycled Collection and Topshop’s Considered range. By expanding their brand offering, Follow the Thread will be closer to achieving their vision of creating strong brand retention and awareness over 3 years amidst the primary target audience by constantly differentiating the service offerings through new product development. Furthermore, this will help to bring a higher number of users to the app by engaging consumers that seek to educate themselves on fast fashion and high street brands, not just those that are classed as sustainable brands.

YEAR 3 MARKETING STRATEGY PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

YEAR 3 GOALS 1 2 3 4

To recruit a further 200 brands to partner with the app To gain 15,000 new users of the app To expand into the menswear clothing market To start expanding into different technology uses, to shorten the customer journey and make it more convenient to use the app.

Once Follow the Thread enters into their third year of trade, their growth will mostly be organic and through marketing campaigns. The aim is to recruit a further 200 fashion brands to the app which not only increases cash flow and profit, but Follow the Thread will become the go to sustainable platform in the market. With the increase of brands on the platform, the aim is to gain a further 15,000 new users interacting with the app over the third year. While Follow the Thread will become the market leader in the womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fashion market, the aim is to expand into menswear and tap into the ÂŁ15.4 billion market which makes up around 26% of the total clothing market. According to Mintel UK Menswear Report, 2020, male 16-34s are the main shoppers within the market and the most keen to experiment with new brands. This is due to a shift towards men shopping more online for clothes and young men purchasing on their smartphones (Mintel UK Menswear Report, 2020). Finally, as Follow the Thread will have an all encompassing platform which caters for all angles of the fashion market - the focus will move into the consumer journey within the app and how this can be refined. This can be done by introducing new technologies such as blockchain to increase app efficiency and transparency and provide consumers with that higher level of trust.

CHAPTER 10

Communication strategy

Furthermore, NFC tagging would add to the seamless experience of scanning a tag with a smartphone camera and being taken directly into the app. Constant incremental updates to the technology will ensure Follow the Thread are adapting with the times. A German brand called Retraced currently uses NFC tagging, in an interview with the Founder, he stated the technology offers a unique and slick experience for consumers as it requires little effort yet still provides them with vital information (Refer to appendix 11).

AIDAR & DRIP Models The AIDAR & DRIP models have been used as they ‘identify the cognitive stages an individual goes through during the buying process for a product or service’ (Hanlon, A, 2019) therefore helping Follow the Thread to ‘determine when and how to communicate during each of the stages as consumers will be using different platforms, engaging at different touch points and requiring different information throughout the stages from various sources’ (Hanlon, A, 2019). Therefore gaining maximum exposure and engagement.

B2C AIDAR MODEL AWARENESS: Social media, pop-ups, podcasts and influencer marketing will be used to generate awareness prior to the launch and after launch. Consumers will further be encouraged to share their brand experience of the app online and with their friends to generate organic awareness. INTEREST: Generated through sharing educational, informative and relatable content on Follow the Thread’s channels. Creating a new relationship with their target audience by incorporating both created and user generated content from brand users. DESIRE: Promoting a positive brand experience, building a brand community and offering captivating content that will prompt and encourage a positive change in consumption behaviour of sustainable fashion. The desire is to creatively challenge existing market conditions with new philosophies driven by consumer demands of transparency. ACTION: The successful use of marketing campaigns should increase consumer traffic towards the app in order to provide consumers with an educational and inspiring service. RETENTION: By offering consumers a loyalty programme, this should increase customer retention rates. Furthermore, this will benefit Follow the Threads’ growth and future forecasting.

B2C DRIP MODEL DIFFERENTIATE: Follow the Thread’s unique selling point of providing consumers with an accessible, educational, visual and interactive platform. This platform is not currently available in another format, so Follow the Thread has an opportunity to become a brand leader through a unique and differentiated service. REINFORCE: Through online and offline marketing strategies, Follow the Threads’ morals and ethics will be consistently voiced to create change in the sustainable fashion sector. INFORM: The brand’s target audience about it’s unique and innovative organisation offerings through promotion and collaboration with influencing social figures. PERSUADE: Follow the Thread needs to engage and persuade the chosen market segment through a positive and rewarding consumer experience. Through rewarding consumers, this will ensure high levels of consumer engagement and retention rates.

B2C

COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES 1 To achieve a strong brand awareness of Follow the Thread by attaining 15,000 followers on Instagram by the end of Year One.

2 To achieve an engagement rating of 30% per post on Instagram by the end of Year One.

3 To be within the top 40 shopping category on Apple

iOS and the Android App Store by the end of Year One of business.

4 To regularly bring traffic to the app by encouraging

a change in fashion consumption within the target market through educational and engaging content throughout the first year.

5 To carry out the launch event successfully by gaining a daily footfall of 150 people per day.

Video campaign Follow the Thread will produce a brief video demonstrating the primary functions and key features of the app and the way Follow the Thread can bring value and comfort to the users lives.

B2C

COMMUNICATION STRATEGY ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS

This will help consumers understand how the app works and what benefits the app provides whilst shopping. The use of a video was chosen due to the fact that videos resonate with consumers in comparison to a static image, with 56% of respondents on the Instagram poll stating that they paid more attention to video campaigns than photo campaigns (See Appendix 20). This video campaign aimed towards consumers will be shared across multiple channels aimed at consumers.

STILL HERE

The logo will be the front of the video

Scan a barcode or search for the item

Dispose of your used clothing sustainably with the help of the new beginnings feature

Compete with your friends

STRIVING FOR A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE. Purchase within the app 100

101

Instagram Instagram will be Follow the Thread’s dominant platform for communicating towards consumers due to primary research revealing that 96% of consumers use ‘Instagram to help guide their decision when purchasing a product of service’ (Refer to Appendix 2) showcasing the importance and relevance of this platform amidst the target audience.

Instagram will be a great platform for Follow the Thread to focus on due to their primary target audience engaging with this platform, with 73% of people use Instagram daily within the UK and 60% of these users are aged between 18-24. Instagram having the highest engagement rate of all social media platforms of 2.26%. (Elliot, 2015; Reynolds 2018; Smith 2019) A mixture of created, external and user generated content will be adopted on Follow the Thread’s Instagram page. This combination will encourage peer to peer conversations as well as communicating inspiring, meaningful and educational content. This will expectantly drive traffic towards the app and increase user downloads. A recent study from Comscore suggested that: “Brand engagement rises by 28% when consumers are exposed to a mixture of professional marketing content and UGC.” (Cahill, 2018)

CREATED CONTENT: Follow the Thread will aim to educate consumers and provide them with explicit knowledge on the fashion industry, raising awareness through the use of imagery and visual facts in order to encourage purchasing decisions and behaviours towards fashion. Posts will also include questions around sustainability which will encourage and provoke conversations within the comments on the post. The use of cohesive colour palettes and consistent imagery throughout will ensure that Follow the Thread’s Instagram account is engaging and instantly recognisable. Follow the Thread will further utilise Instagram stories as a tool for building further brand transparency. Stories will include project teasers 102

to help strengthen the relationship between Follow the Thread and its followers by increasing a sense of authenticity.

USER GENERATED CONTENT (UGC): “Executing a UGC campaign on social is an excellent strategy to strengthen your brand and build customer relationships.” (Deshpande P, 2017) Users of the brand will be encouraged to share their involvement of using the brand and this will then be reposted on Follow the Thread’s Instagram. By featuring customers on the brands Instagram this makes them feel like they are part of the brand and also encouraging future engagement by encouraging customers to submit photos on Instagram using the hashtag #Lookbeyondthelabel. “User generated content helps to forge a connection between the brand and the prospect by humanizing the brand to make it seem relatable and accessible.” (Stone, S., 2018)

EXTERNAL CONTENT: External content will be used to drive awareness and interest for Follow the Thread. This will involve brands who will feature on the app, sharing images and news of the launch as well as reminders throughout the year. 103

Sponsored Instagram posts By implementing a social media strategy which utilises the Instagram advertising platform will ‘greatly increase brand recognition and engage with a large and diverse audience of potential consumers’ (Cliq, 2018). As consumers interact with Follow the Threads’ content, it will increase brand awareness and will help to build a reputation amongst fellow users interested in the sustainable fashion market. “Each post that is shared, each comment that is made and each like that is given will introduce Follow the Thread to a new network of individuals” (Cliq, 2018). This can lead to new followers of the brand and essentially new users of Follow the Thread. Given Instagram’s large consumer following, 800 million users to be precise; Instagram advertising can introduce Follow the Thread to a plethora of audiences and also target specific segments within the market. Follow the Thread will be able to target groups based on variables such as demographics, interests of users and consumer behaviours. This vital information will in turn help Follow the Thread directly target their consumer segment of environmentally conscious females which in turn will increase Follow the Thread’s levels of consumer engagement. With the use of video advertisements within Instagram, Follow the Thread will use their business to consumer video campaign as their main advertisement, with Instagram allowing ‘videos of up to 120 seconds with the added power of sight, sound and motion’ (Business Of Instagram, 2020). Follow the Thread will constantly update and change posts throughout the year to ensure consumers are seeing new and updated posts. The main benefit of using sponsored posts on Instagram is the analytics that it provides once posted by ‘tracking how many people are seeing and interacting with the promoted post just by simply tapping the post’ (Business Of Instagram, 2020).

Communication tactics REFERRAL & REWARD SCHEME:

“People are twice more likely to pay attention to referrals from a friend.” (Veerasamy, V, 2019). In a recent Nielsen Trust Study it displayed that ‘referrals are the most trusted form of advertising by a large margin’ (McCaskill, A, 2015). Furthermore, this was visible within focus group insights with respondents demonstrating the importance of being rewarded with incentives to build their brand loyalty. The insights from the second focus group concluded that a referral and reward scheme ‘is the best way to ensure people keep coming back to use your app’ (Refer to appendix 4). Additionally, the participants would all be willing to share this app with their family and friends (Refer to appendix 4), therefore supporting the opportunity to use an attractive referral and reward scheme. From research, it was found that consumers react best to potential referral discounts, especially when backed up by a friend (Veerasamy V, 2020). For every successful referral Follow the Thread will offer a 10% discount for a consumers next purchase with partnering brands through the app as well as Follow the Thread donating to a sustainable or ethical charity of the consumers choice.

The Nielsen Global Trust in Advertising Report found that ‘83% of respondents trusted recommendations from people they knew’

REVIEWS: Follow the Thread will incorporate customer reviews across their online channels as well as within the app store. Consumers will be rewarded by leaving a review within the app store.

“59% of people usually or always check ratings and reviews before downloading a new app” (Glauninger S, 2017) The number and average of ratings as well as the number of reviews has a strong influence on how the app ranks within the app store search results, therefore by incorporating this communication tactic this will increase the app store optimisation of Follow the Thread.

SUSTAINABLE SCOREBOARD: By including a competition within Follow the Thread’s app, it will entice consumers to share their purchases and also increase app usage. By using this scoreboard it will increase the user base activity, as well as ensuring high customer retention rates. 104

105

Brand launch Follow the Thread will aim to launch the service on June the 5th 2021. This date was chosen due to it being World Environment Day. A launch campaign will be marketed on social media pages and will incorporate relevant influences, this will aim to engage consumers and achieve a strong brand awareness of Follow the Thread. As part of the brand launch Follow the Thread will invite two influencers and press to the pop-ups running throughout the summer months at Glastonbury and Parklife. The influencers will take over Follow the Thread’s Instagram account. This will help generate instant awareness of the brand as well as encouraging and driving consumers to visit Follow the Thread’s Instagram page and find out more about the brand.

Key opinion leaders Key opinion leaders (KOL’s) are defined as ‘a member of the community who’s expert advice is respected by others in their field and are authorities on a specific topic’ (Burns, A, 2019).

Launch campaign Campaign Name: #lookbeyondthelabel Aim: To increase brand awareness with an engaging social media campaign Message: The key campaign message is to help unite customers and workers through supply chain transparency and giving the customer the power of influence Key Activity: An influencer each month will be asked to share a post or story with the lookbeyondthelabel hashtag and how the app has helped them to pursue a purchase. As a result, this will increase awareness and will create a conversation around the brand

Whilst influencers are a decisive component of Generation Z’s shopping habits, it seems to be of importance to them to look at those ‘in authority for professional credible claims’ (Mintel, 2018). In addition to this, there was a supporting insight within a focus group whereby a consumer stated ‘I think it’s more important in this business case as well to get professionals to promote this on Instagram rather than influencers, professionals that know more about it and have a high following rather than influencers just for the sake of it’ (Refer to appendix 4). Follow the Thread will aim to build strategic relationships with KOL’s, for example sustainable fashion experts and head of brands whom Follow the Thread have partnered with which will provide reliable educational content across Follow the Thread’s online channels. For example, a Q + A session on their Instagram story with these key opinion leaders. Initially, Follow the Thread hopes there will be no monetary exchange involved between the KOL’s and the brand due to a collective decision that it is extremely important to educate consumers and provide them with trustworthy and reliable information.

Platforms: Follow the Thread’s Instagram as well as the influencers Instagram KPI’s: The number of followers gained since the start of the campaign, the number of times the hashtag is used, brand mentions, engagement levels and app downloads

106

107

Brand advocates

Micro influencers “Micro influencers are everyday consumers who possess a large social media following; generally between 1,000 and 10,000, though some have up to 100,000.” (Keyhole, 2019).

Follow the Thread will establish brand advocates once the brand is up and running. Brand advocates will be identified as the ‘people who love the brand and continue to support the company and promote the services to new customers organically’

Micro influencers tend to have higher engagement and trust levels than those with a larger following. This can be due to the personal engagement a smaller influencer has with their following, rather than a larger influencer who is not able to reach all of their followers on a personal level.

(Kunsman, T, 2019).

By Follow the Thread incorporating brand advocates within their communication strategy it acts as a method of recognising their support to the brand. .

‘Brand advocates are 70% more likely to be seen as a source of reliable information’ (Mershon, P, 2017)

‘Brand advocates are 50% more likely to create content that influences a purchase’ (Mershon, P, 2017)

The average engagement rate for micro influencers is around 3.6% in comparison to macro influencers which averages around 1.5%. (Sharma G, Unknown) An advantage of using a micro influencer for campaigns is that they tend to be much cheaper than larger influencers, this is vital for Follow the Thread due to being a start-up with a limited marketing budget. Micro influencers tend to charge c.£100 for every 10,000 followers as opposed to larger influencers who are known to charge thousands of pounds per post (Keyhole, 2019). Throughout the focus group research it became prevalent that consumers do not want influencers promoting products that they do not believe in them themselves and are purely posting for monetary benefits.

“I can’t stand it when influencers are promoting products they don’t believe in, which just makes consumers constantly question what the real purpose behind the post is.” (Refer to Appendix 4) Furthermore, 82% of respondents on an Instagram poll stated that they trusted micro influencers more than macro influencers. (Refer to appendix 20) Therefore, the micro influencers on the following page were carefully selected for the campaign based on their high engagement rates and suitable demographics. The influencers also have similar content within their page which falls in line with Follow the Thread’s brand values which will create an authentic brand image and help consumers relate to the influencer as well as ensuring diversity is incorporated throughout. Follow the Thread will aim to have two influencers posting a month for the first three months and then it will reduce down to one influencer a month. The influencers will be asked to download the app and share an example of how they use it and what benefits the app brings to their shopping experiences. .

108

109

@aditimayer Bio: Decolonizing Fashion & Sustainability Speaker on all things style, sustainability, & social justice. Engagement Rate: 3.75%

@trashisfortossers Bio: CEO @packagefreeshop Forbes 30under30 Go #zerowaste with @packagefreeshop Engagement Rate: 3%

@marinatestino Bio: Raising awareness on conscious consumerism #OneDressToImpress #YellowLikeA #WeSeaThrough NY Engagement Rate: 4%

Website Follow the Thread will build a website that provides consumers with information such as the brands core values and the story behind the brand. Furthermore, content such as which brands Follow the Thread are currently partnered with will also be available for consumers to see. A website adds validity and trust for the brand, as consumers may want to research the brand before downloading the app.

@venetiafalconer Bio: Decolonizing Fashion & Sustainability Speaker on all things style, sustainability & social justice Engagement Rate: 5.58%

@jasminehemsley Bio: Food || Eco fashion, lifestyle Engagement Rate: 3.24%

@carmitive Bio: Using fashion as a voice Sustainability enthusiast Engagement Rate: 4.52%%

@consciousnchic Bio: Live your BEST #sustainable life! Engagement Rate: 1.08%

110

111

Facebook and Twitter page

Podcast “The more we feature guests in our podcast, the better it seems to do.” (PrettyLittleThing, 2020)

The podcast will be used to build brand awareness and establish thoughts and debates around the educational topic area. ‘Facebook is a great way of humanising your business’ (Sowards, M. 2020)

By using platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, Follow the Thread will have a friendly and interactive presence on social media to not only market the brand, but also to communicate with their main user base.

Twitter

With 7.1 million people in the UK now listening to podcasts each week, an increase of 24% from 2019, this is a huge market for Follow the Thread to communicate in (Ofcom, 2020). Even though the podcast is mainly aimed towards consumers, there is also a business to business element of this communication method as it generates brand awareness and can establish market opportunity within the industry.

Inviting consumers to a business page can create a sense of security and consumers tend to stay loyal to businesses they feel connected to. Furthermore, Twitter offers an opportunity for an informal, two way communication between the brand and consumers. Both social media tools enable Follow the Thread to learn more about their consumers and understand information such as; what their consumers like, their pain points and what they need help with. Finally, both platforms offer Follow the Thread the ability to track and analyse statistical data which can help Follow the Thread understand consumer receptiveness.

Thoughtful, valuable content can help the brand stand out from competitors and encourage listeners to build a relationship with the brand and also increase awareness on sustainable fashion. Found throughout research the most successful podcasts tend to be in the style of Q&As or panel discussions. As part of Follow the Thread’s podcast, the brand will welcome new guests each episode to share new insights, these guests will include sustainable influencers, industry experts, supply chain experts and garment workers themselves. Due to influencers being a big part of the communication strategy, the podcast will help build on the relationship between the influencers and consumers by offering an insight into their lives and careers, building a higher level of trust.

Facebook

“People don’t just listen to podcasts for fun. The overwhelming majority want to feel smarter at the end of every episode.” (Ofcom, 2020)

Podcast name

Hosts

Content Description

Average Episode Length Upload Frequency Upload Day

112

Behind The Label

Itunes, Spotify We will be exploring important questions and getting to know the influencers that inspire us everyday and speak about topics on a new, deeper level. Let’s remove the barrier of social media and get real.

Behind the Label

30 minutes

Every other week Friday

113

Customer relationship management (CRM) strategy Due to Follow the Thread being a business that focuses on consumers, a customer relationship management strategy is of utmost importance to the business. A main component of Follow the Thread’s value proposition is developing and maintaining relationships with their user base. A competent CRM strategy will ensure that Follow the Thread will continue to meet the needs and desires of their consumers. As Follow the Thread is an online platform, relationships are made online which may potentially prohibit Follow the Thread developing personal relationships. In order to create and enhance existing relationships, Follow the Thread must appropriately employ channel management to interact with their users such as by email, telephone and social media. By utilising a structured CRM strategy, it ensures customers stay content, therefore increasing customer retention rates of the app (Plaksij, Z, 2020). ‘A Customer Relationship Management is known to improve customer retention, by as much as 27%’ (SalesForce, 2020)

APP: The app will contain an FAQ section which will enable users to contact the brand directly regarding any enquiries or problems they may be experiencing.

SOCIAL MEDIA: Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter will be in place so that users can informally get in touch with Follow the Thread with any questions or app related issues. The informal approach will enable Follow the Thread to manage any enquiries in a more efficient manner and enhance consumer relationships.

Offline communications Follow the Thread will use pop-ups as a way to drive traffic to the app rather than a stream of revenue. It will aim to engage consumers by having the chance to interact with the customers in the offline world. “It is crucial to engage shoppers both online and offline with a multichannel sales strategy.” (Crane A, 2020) Follow the Thread will conduct their launch in the form of an experiential pop up. ‘Pop-up stores can be a powerful tool to cut through the noise and create a strong first impression’ (Wang J, 2018). The main aim of the pop up is to provide future users with a physical interaction of the app, securing a significant proportion of users within Follow the Thread’s first month of operation. The pop-up will allow Follow the Thread to engage customers with the service by providing them with a live demonstration of the service and answering any questions the customer may have. It also provides the chance for customers to learn more about the brand and the story behind it, by providing this, the authenticity can start to build brand loyalty between Follow the Thread and their consumers. The pop-ups will incorporate virtual reality whereby visitors can put on a pair of VR goggles and the visual journey of a particular product would become real to them. Considering Follow the Thread has a complex offering, the pop up can be a great way to educate consumers and help them better imagine the service integration within their lives. The pop-up will aim to be within Universities due to the focus on the target consumer however throughout the summer months when university pop ups would not be a success, certain festivals such as Parklife and Glastonbury will be a perfect market for a Follow the Thread pop up. The pop-up within Glastonbury and Parklife will fall with the brand launch in June.

EMAIL: When users sign up to Follow the Thread, they will provide their email address and will be asked if they give their permission for Follow the Thread to send monthly updates via newsletter. Newsletters will enable Follow the Thread to engage with their consumers in a more formal manner providing service updates or functionality expansions.

114

115

B2B

COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES 1 To have 40 brands partnered up with

Follow the Thread by the end of Year One.

B2B

Communications strategy

2 To achieve an engagement rate on each LinkedIn post of 30%.

3 To regularly drive traffic to the website by

encouraging brands to look into Follow the Thread after seeing the brand on a particular communication platform.

116

117

In order to develop new partnerships with brands and to further develop the company, various communication tools will be used. Follow the Thread will continuously work on employing new brands to join the app.

VIDEO CAMPAIGN Follow the Thread will produce a brief video demonstrating the primary functions and the key features of the app and the way Follow the Thread can bring value to the partnering brands business. A video was chosen as opposed to a static image, this was justified by the fact that ‘59% of B2B decision-makers prefer video over text content’ (Vende Social, 2020). This was further supported by Databox which suggested ‘60% of marketers believe video tends to drive more brand engagement.’ The video created will be targeted towards brands and shared across Follow the Thread’s LinkedIn profile and sponsored advertisements.

LinkedIn sponsored posts LinkedIn is the number one platform for B2B networking with a 630 million plus member reach. It is vital that Follow the Thread use platforms to communicate their value propositions to target brands. Follow the Thread will produce and share informative videos on their own LinkedIn page as well as sponsored posts, introducing the brand and how it can benefit other brands. Follow the Thread should be partnered with brands prior to their launch in June, this will ensure they are active within the market for the launch. Furthermore, it is vital Follow the Thread can demonstrate activity and growth to external investors. Therefore, Follow the Thread will organise sponsored posts to be launched in March, April and May in order to encourage brand interest early and persuade them to partner with the app, as well as posting monthly throughout the year.

Consumers will scan or search for an item

Consumers will receive a star rating as well as a visual journey

Consumers will then be directed to your website to purchase the item

Consumers can review the item and share the item with their friends

LinkedIn offers many unique opportunities with their sponsored posts. The platform would enable Follow the Thread to target brands based on different variables including industry, company size or employee title. Furthermore, posts on LinkedIn are shareable, meaning there is a ripple effect when the posts are liked and shared on people’s news feeds. Another valuable tool that LinkedIn offers is their post performance analysis which includes content downloads, sign-ups, purchases, and even the conversations from people who have viewed the advertisement. Due to being a start up, the communication tools provided by LinkedIn will benefit Follow the Thread, they will be able to closely monitor the outreach from the specific communication platform as well as knowing where to improve for the next post by seeing engagement metrics and demographic reporting (LinkedIn, 2020).

STRIVING FOR A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE. An increase in sustainable sales for your brand

118

119

LINKEDIN LIVE DEMONSTRATION LinkedIn Live launched in early 2020 on the LinkedIn platform. According to insights from LinkedIn, ‘video is the fastest-growing content-type on the platform, and is 5x more likely to generate conversations with members and 20x more likely to be re-shared’ (LinkedIn, 2020). Through the live streaming, it will enable Follow the Thread to connect with their communities in real-time and make demonstrations more personal. The LinkedIn live demonstration will be used to demonstrate the service to sustainable fashion brands prior to launch and how the service can enhance their brand and sustainability propositions.

“Live lets you walk potential customers through your latest offering, step-by-step. You can also answer questions as they come up using LinkedIn’s live comment feature.”

Website Follow the Thread will build an informative website as a platform for brands to learn more about the business. Furthermore, content such as which brands Follow the Thread are currently partnered with, why they should choose to work with the brand, services, subscription prices and finally, being able to request a demonstration. A website adds validity and trust for the brand, as potential partners will perform due diligence before enquiring about how the Follow the Thread can work for them.

(LinkedIn, 2020)

EMAIL MARKETING Email marketing will be used to encourage brands and engage potential brands to partner with Follow the Thread. Email marketing is found to be;

“the most effective channel to attract, engage and connect with an audience to drive sales and revenue for your business.” (Campaign Monitor, 2019). Emails will intend on driving brand subscriptions and awareness as it allows to reach a vast number of targeted brands and consumers at almost no cost. The emails will include the brand propositions with links to the B2B video campaign along with a link to the website.

“Emails generate around £29bn app sales annually” (Marketing Week, 2019)

120

121

Exhibition stand

PURE LONDON

B2B

COMMUNICATION STRATEGY: OFFLINE COMMUNICATIONS

Follow the Thread will exhibit at the Pure London Exhibition in London, where fashion was born and celebrated. It will be essential to exhibit before their launch in June to broaden brand awareness. Pure London states that ‘17,000 high calibre visitors attend the event yearly’ (Pure London, 2020). Therefore, this provides Follow the Thread with a great opportunity to mix with potential users from all over the world, create relationships and network with like minded businesses. The exhibition will be a good chance for Follow the Thread to target specific brands and showcase how the app works and its functions. Follow the Thread needs to ensure that when targeting potential partnering brands they need to construct a creative exhibition stand which is enticing to target brands and takes them through the journey of the service. Pure exhibitions ‘offer a return on time and big boosts to brand exposure’. (Pure London, 2020) Pure London offers many opportunities when buying a stand. They recently launched Pure Match, ‘an intelligent matchmaking platform designed to optimise the customer journey to start from home, which will enable visitors and exhibitors to facilitate connections and networking before, during and after the seasonal show’ (Pure London, 2020). This provides Follow the Thread with the opportunity to matchmake with brands before the exhibition and pre plan meetings for the day, letting Follow the Thread prepare to meet fellow clients at the exhibition. It is essential that Follow the Thread follow up with contacts after the trade show to keep the business at the front of prospects’ minds by staying in touch after the event. This increases the chance of converting leads into long-term relationships and sales. At the exhibition Follow the Thread will run a concept stand which will include; • A screen showcasing the app’s functionalities and the user journey

Made from bamboo

• The app available on iPad’s • A visual interactive experience • Follow the Thread merchandise

Made from recycled apple cores 122

Made from biodegradable jute 123

The exhibition

CONCEPT STAND

124

125

B2B & B2C

communications overview Y2 & Y3

Communication time plan

Communication activities in years two and three will be dependent on the performance and success of activities throughout year one with the following years building on the successes and failures from the first year. Communication Activity Year 1:

Furthermore, it is important to look at the following year’s objectives to ensure Follow the Thread remains inline with their marketing plan and that marketing campaigns are aligned to new service or product launches. Follow the Thread will predominantly focus on strengthening brand awareness and encouraging brand loyalty by ensuring consumers use the reward scheme in order to grow organic awareness. Follow the Thread should focus on working with powerful fashion influencers who possess a larger following online. Stacey Dooley would be a strong contender as she is a powerful, ethical and sustainable influencer with 861,000 followers. Furthermore, Stacey and her following are demographically and psychographically aligned with Follow the Thread’s target consumer. In terms of B2B, Follow the Thread should aim to exhibit at larger exhibitions with a wider brand audience if they are wanting to expand their brand portfolio. For example, exhibiting at London Fashion Week and fashion weeks around the world will help target worldwide brands. The London Fashion Week event is comparatively more high profile than Pure London with there being ‘over 1 million brands attending each year throughout the week’ (London Fashion Week, 2020) gaining more traction and introducing Follow the Thread to a larger network of companies and helping them gain more media attention. Follow the Thread will also carry on with their Instagram sponsored posts as well as LinkedIn sponsored posts, however, they will aim to post more frequently in order to recruit more brands and to increase brand awareness. By increasing the number of Instagram sponsored posts, Follow the Thread can reach a wider target audience and therefore influence more users to download the app.

April

May

June

July

Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

March

Brand Instagram Account Share teasers on the brand and countdown till launch LinkedIn Sponsored Posts LinkedIn Live Instagram Sponsored Posts Instagram Influencer Posts Brand Launch Pop Ups Podcast CRM Strategy High Performance Website B2B & B2C Pure London Exhibition Email Marketing (B2B) Video Campaign (B2B) Video Campaign (B2C) Start identifying brand advocates Introduce reward and referral scheme Approach potential KOL's and build relationships Start introducing content from KOL's and instagram Q & A's

126

127

Measuring success “A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a measurable value that demonstrates how effectively a company is achieving key business objectives” (Oxford’s Dictionary Definition, 2020)

The following KPIs will measure the effectiveness and progress of Follow the Thread’s business objectives and communication strategies as well as determining how Follow the Thread will proceed in the future.

Objectives

KPI’s

Growth Objectives

To gain 5000 users of the app by the end of the first year in operation.

Follow the Thread will utilise App Annie’s analytics tool which will help to measure their monthly app downloads whilst ensuring that the communication plan has helped effectively reach this target.

To successfully enter and succeed in the UK shopping app market within 3 years and increase the brands market share by 10% year on year.

The percentage of market share will be measured by comparing and analysing the number of downloads of Follow the Thread in comparison to the categories total downloads.

To establish strong brand retention and awareness over 3 years amidst the primary target audience by constantly differentiating the service offerings through new product development.

Brand strength can be monitored through interaction analytics such as app reviews and website traffic.

Communication Objectives

128

To achieve a strong brand image and high engagement on social media with 20,000 followers on Instagram by the end of Year One.

In order to measure the brand’s image and engagement, Follow the Thread will measure the increase in followers after a certain communication initiative as well as looking at the brand reviews on social media and the app store.

To frequently drive traffic to the app by encouraging a change in fashion consumption within the target market through educational and captivating content throughout the first year.

By calculating the click through rate from the different online channels to find out how the marketing and communication actions are effectively driving traffic to the app which will increase conversion rates and conclusively impact the amount of sales made through the app.

To achieve an engagement rate on each LinkedIn post of 35%.

Calculating the LinkedIn engagement by adding the number of likes, shares, comments, mentions and clicks of the post and then dividing it by the reach of the post and multiplying it by 100.

To carry out the pop ups successfully by gaining a daily footfall of 150 people per day.

Every time somebody visits the pop-up the visitor will provide Follow the Thread with feedback of their brand impression using an emoji level on an Ipad. This will calculate how many visitors the pop up has had per day.

CHAPTER 11

Brand management

129

Key start up costs Expense

Cost PCM and PA

Type of payment

Office Rent

£250 pcm // £3,000 pa

Fixed monthly cost

Business Registration

£12

One off payment

App Development

£65,000

Payment over 4 months

Website Development

Included in the app development cost

Annual cost

Business Insurance

£7 pcm // £84 pa

Monthly cost

• To maintain a positive net cash flow throughout all three years

Solicitor

£150

Payment on adhoc basis

Wages (Brand Researcher)

£1,666 pcm // £20,000 pa

Monthly payment

• To break even by the second quarter of year two

Marketing & PR Intern

Marketing & PR Intern 3 days a week part time £9,000pa // 750 pcm

Monthly payment

Financial objectives

• To turnover a gross profit of £1,000,000 by the third year • To successfully achieve year on year growth, by at least 10%

Total: £29,000 B2B Video Campaign

£750

One off payment

B2C Video Campaign

£750

One off payment

Sponsored LinkedIn Ads

£11 per post

One off payment

Exhibition Stand - Pure London

£1899

One off payment

Miscellaneous Items

£250 pcm

Monthly payment

Total start-up costs = £100,922 Total investment needed = £120,000 (c.15% contingency costs) to cover start up costs and oversee the implementation of the concept to successfully launch and see out the first year of business. (See Appendix 23 for the full breakdown of the costs and justifications)

130

131

Initial funding The initial investment has been estimated through costing each element of developing the service and ensuring the brand will continue to be successful post launch. The most significant costs include the app development and the brands marketing. Fundamental elements of the brand is the app and how it performs, as a result, it is essential these elements are developed to the highest of standards to ensure a successful launch. Raising finances from various sources means a smaller amount is needed from each source, ensuring repayments are achievable and not overwhelmingly large. Three sources of finance have been identified for the set up of Follow the Thread, they are as follows:

1. FRIENDS AND FAMILY: Also known as ‘love money’ - a smaller investment will be raised through family and friends who want to help fund the business. This style of investment is very flexible and often, it can be agreed that there are no fixed repayment terms. This method was chosen after consulting a competitor brand ‘Save your wardrobe’ who was supported early on from friends and family. (Refer to appendix 10).

Investment required: £10,000

2. VIRGIN START-UP LOAN: Virgin operates a start-up loan scheme, made specifically for new businesses which are two years old or less. Virgin provides loans between £500 and £25,000 at a fixed interest rate of 6% over a 5 year term. The loan is unique due to the fact the brand is given 12 months of free business guidance, general start up support and mentoring. A fashion company called Pursuit the Label was set up through a Virgin start up loan. Pursuit the label has been very successful since their launch and while interviewing their founder, they could not recommend the loan and service enough (Refer to Appendix 12). Investment required: £25,000

3. CROWDFUNDING: The final route to finance will be through crowdfunding. Crowdfunding offers start ups the opportunity to pitch their ideas to the general public, and in return for equity or repayments, the total loan is contributed. A popular crowdfunding platform in the UK is Crowdcube, they curate funding through their platform for startups and small businesses. Crowdcube not only helps to raise funds, but they help with different elements of the company launch including a pitch, targets and cash flow advice. To date, crowdcube have helped small businesses raise in excess of £750,000. Investors can invest as little as £500 which gives access to your everyday person to invest in small businesses. Crowdcube has various success stories with many of them being apps, therefore Follow the Thread will follow the same pattern to ensure they successfully raise enough funds.

YEAR 1 SALES FORECAST A top-down approach was utilised in order to calculate the three year sales and revenue forecast. The following sales forecast was created by projecting Follow the Threads’ objectives regarding volume of users, partnering brands and revenue streams. B2B and B2C revenue streams were calculated separately for the purpose of clarity and to understand both segments performance.

B2B SUBSCRIPTION: Revenue from B2B subscription was calculated by speaking to competitors and finding out what they charge as well as speaking to partnering brands and seeing what they would be willing to pay for the service. Following on from that, the assumption that Follow the Thread would gain 40 partnered brands by the end of year one enabled them to forecast gross earnings for B2B of £62,554. There was an initial spike of 10 brands partnering in June due to the recent exhibition at Pure London and other marketing strategies such as LinkedIn sponsored posts and LinkedIn Live. As seen from the forecast, there was incremental growth month on month due to overall excitement surrounding the brand. On average for year one, there was 11% growth which totalled 40 new unique brand partnerships. The tiered subscription level prices were derived from understanding competitor pricing points. For example, Retraced a small German transparency platform, similar to that of Follow the Thread, has a tiered pricing system (Refer to appendix 11) After taking inspiration from Retraced, Follow the Thread sampled the structure with a sample pool of future partnering brands who suggested varied price points (Refer to appendix 12,14 and 15) as well as looking at the partnering brands annual turnovers on Companies House. This enabled Follow the Thread to work out the most favourable prices, tiered one to three, with three being the most expensive. Follow the Thread was able to analyse responses from the sample pool and come to the following conclusions; • 40% of brands would be interested in paying £119 for tier one. • 50% of brands opted to pay £379 for tier 2 services. • 10% of brands were willing to pay £699 for Follow the Threads’ premium service.

Investment required: £85,000

132

133

B2C COMMISSION: Based on the business objective of securing 5000 users by the end of Year One, the sales forecast was able to estimate annual gross revenue. There was an initial spike of 150 users partnering in June due to the recent launch campaign and marketing strategies, including Instagram influencer posts and sponsored Instagram advertisements. The monthly user growth is in line with the communication strategies that are happening throughout the year. As seen from the forecast, there was incremental growth month on month, on average for year one, there was 11% growth annually, which totalled 5000 new users. After speaking with a secondary competitor of Follow the Thread, Retraced, it was understood that 20% of total consumers spend 155 euros per month on average, which roughly equates to £150 (Refer to appendix 12) Taking into consideration the Retraced data, Follow the Thread implemented similar rates within their forecast. For example; • 20% of total users per month spend £150 on average. Furthermore, this was backed up by primary research, that consumers typically spend on average £150 per month on clothes (Refer to appendix 22).. Although Follow the Thread hopes to retain high levels of consumer retention rates, this is not plausible in reality. From research, it was found that you can expect to lose on average 2-5% of users per month within apps and as the company grows this can reach up to 10% (Bonnie, 2019). Follow the Thread has aggregated this over the year, which totalled 230 consumers either deleting or no longer using the app. The total revenue for B2C across year one, was totalled by adding up sales income over the year. This totalled £22,500.

YEAR 2 SALES FORECAST In order to fully comprehend the potential success of Follow the Thread, a sales forecast was created for year two. The amount of users and businesses has increased due to higher brand awareness as well as increased product offerings within the app. Furthermore, it can be assumed that more users will be drawn to the app due to the referral and reward scheme throughout year one as well as an increase in the number of brands partnered due to successful case studies from the previous years. The pricing of brand subscriptions will remain consistent whilst Follow the Thread remains operational. In year two, there was an average of 8% growth in the B2C arm of the company and a 6% increase in the B2B. In terms of revenue, B2C experienced a £53,640 turnover while B2B was £398,123.00. This totalled a gross revenue of £451,763. Furthermore, at the end of year two, Follow the Thread had a B2C consumer base of 14770 users and 136 brands subscribed to the service. These figures are in line with company growth objectives and also take into consideration consumer/brand drop off rates from previous years.

YEAR 3 SALES FORECAST In line with the company objectives and growth plan, a year three sales forecast has been developed. Year three numbers are very enticing for investors and prove the financial success that Follow the Thread can become. Predicted consumer levels for B2C are 29,730 meanwhile B2B users increased to 322. Furthermore, B2C revenue is expected to reach £133,785 and B2B £897,401. There is a predicted 44% increase of overall company growth in terms of revenue from year two. As the company user levels increase, product and brands offerings will diversify, encouraging further company growth. However, a result of growth also increases the likelihood of consumer drop offs (Bonnie, 2019) and this has been calculated for both consumers and brands.

134

135

Within the second year, net profit is projected to be £290,940 which is extremely positive. Not only does this provide confidence in Follow the Thread’s growth, but also enables Follow the Thread to pay back initial funders within the second year of business.

PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNTS Aligned with the first three years of the marketing strategy, a detailed three year profit and loss account has been calculated based on the three year sales forecast (Refer to appendix 25 for the full three year profit and loss accounts). Despite an initial loss in the first year with a net loss of -£41,007, this figure is significantly lower in comparison to that of years two and three, this is mainly due to the app and website development cost which will only be accounted for within the first year.

Finally, the third year figures show a healthy net profit of £766,086 which puts Follow the Thread in a promising financial position for future growth and will enable Follow the Thread to reinvest these profits to grow internally and externally.

136

137

SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS A sensitivity analysis was created in order to understand Follow the Thread’s financial sensitivity. A percentage of +20% and -20% was calculated against years one, two and three financials. As year one financials remain negative at the year end, a -20% or +20% addition still leaves the brand at a loss due to the high start up costs Follow the Thread incurs in the first year. However, financials proved to be less sensitive in years two and three with both figures on the -20% and +20% still remaining positive.

CASH FLOW A cash flow for year one was developed to show the income and outgoings for each month. It is apparent that without a cash investment from external sources, Follow the Thread would be in a negative balance until July. However, due to the cash injections, Follow the Thread are able to have a positive cash flow throughout their first year of trading. As seen on the cash flow projection, £10,000 was received from family and friends in March to cover early start up costs as the company would have no sales income until they go live in June. Furthermore, in April, Follow the Thread received £110,000 to cover their first quarter payment of £16,250 of the app development. Follow the Thread were able to maintain a steady monthly cash flow due to the further investor funds which were made available in April. Follow the Thread did not need to resort to further external funding due to their strong revenue streams which ensured they remained in a positive figure.

138

139

RISK ASSESSMENT The internal and external risks that Follow the Thread may encounter have been thoroughly analysed and contingency tactics have been put into place in order to prevent the following risks.

Risk

Threat

Impact

High

If initial investment can not be secured prior to launch, Follow the Thread would not be able to afford initial developments such as the creation of the app and the research and development involved.

In order to reduce the risk of a lack of funding, Follow the Thread should apply for initial funding from various different sources such as; crowdfunding, start up loans or family and friends.

High

The arrival of competitors with similar business models would threaten Follow the Thread’s market positioning. Competitors may reduce Follow the Threads’ overall market share as they will no longer be the only brand to offer a unique service.

With the brand effectively communicating their unique selling point and innovating their product offerings, Follow the Thread will ensure they will remain a market leader.

If partnering brands cancel their subscriptions, not only will Follow the Threads’ revenue deteriorate, they may struggle to attract new brands and consumers due to a lack of product offerings within the app.

Follow the Thread can reduce this risk by introducing a clause where the brand must renew or cancel their subscription by the eighth month. This ensures that if they do not renew, Follow the Thread can look to replace them with alternative brands. Moreover, there will be a penalty to the partnering brand if their desire is to cancel early.

Due to the app being Follow the Thread’s primary route to market, it is vital that the app is well maintained and does not experience any technical issues. This may impact profits as consumers are not able to purchase products and may also tarnish the brand’s reputation increasing consumer drop off rates.

By using an experienced app developer who provides 24 hour app maintenance, Follow the Thread can ensure that the app runs seamlessly. This will maintain Follow the Threads’ brand reputation.

MARKETING BUDGET The marketing budget for year one is £8,505 which is 10% of the annual gross profit. The largest marketing cost for year one is the Instagram influencer posts, costing £6000 as seen in the table below. Moreover, the total spent in year one exceeds the 10% marketing budget however, this is only due to a lower gross profit due to being a start up with slightly lower brand awareness in year one. Years two and three marketing budgets are higher due to an increase in gross profits. Furthermore, as the company grows, more investment into marketing is necessary to keep up with brand and market growth.

External Risk – Initial investment can not be secured

External Risk – Threat of similar entrants in to the market

External Risk – Partnering brands may want to end their subscription plan with Follow the Thread

Internal Risk – App Malfunction

Internal Risk – Follow the Thread does not produce its predicted Year One revenue

140

High

Low

If Follow the Thread does not make their predicted revenue in year one, this will restrict the possibility of expanding the team or adding any additional features within the app, in line with their growth strategies outlined in the years two and three marketing plan.

Prevention

By closely following the discussed communication and finance plan, Follow the Thread will be on track to generate the predicted revenues in years one, two and three. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis also shows how Follow the Thread will cope in adverse market conditions.

141

CHAPTER 12

The future

142

WHAT WILL OUR FUTURE HOLD?

143

Future growth Long term growth objectives 1 To become a worldwide recognised brand with brands and users based around the world 2

To maintain levels of profitability with incremental growth year on year

3 To diversify product offerings and create numerous revenue streams 4 Increase market share through expanded product ranges and marketing strategies 5 Increase the brands consumer base by offering innovative features within the app which attracts various consumer segments

144

In order for Follow the Thread to reach their full potential in the following years, they should focus on expanding their business in multiple ways such as through product diversification, operation in different markets and remaining consistent in onboarding more fashion brands. This has been illustrated in the Ansoff Matrix below which helped structure the future growth of Follow the Thread. By utilising the growth strategies set out, it will ensure the brand continues to develop and avoid stagnation. Furthermore, Follow the Thread must ensure that they are constantly innovating and adapting to market trends to reduce incoming pressure from competitors with similar business models as well as expanding their growing user base and increasing brand loyalty. Follow the Thread must maintain the current brand values of honesty, improvement and integrity throughout their growth expansion. Finally, Follow the Thread will look at implementing further management roles in order to support a seamless expansion into new markets while providing a consistent brand experience.

ANSOFFâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S MATRIX Existing Markets/Existing Products

Existing Markets/New Products

Follow the Thread should remain consistent in onboarding more fashion brands to partner with, especially brands with a higher market share. This will increase brand awareness for Follow the Thread and in turn, make the service and brand more popular.

Follow the Thread should work on expanding into different sustainable markets such as the footwear, swimwear, accessory markets. This will expand product offerings and also cater for a wider audience who can use the app.

New Market/Existing Products

New Markets/New Products

Within their expansion plan, Follow the Thread should consider expanding into overseas markets to target sustainable fashion brands. Tapping into overseas markets will make Follow the Thread a worldwide brand.

Within future years, Follow the Thread must look at broadening their brand into new markets at the same time as delivering new products. This includes a collaboration with a partnering brand of Follow the Thread to design a truly sustainable and ethical range of clothing. Follow the Thread also has the ability to expand into different markets with different products such as the food and beauty markets. By doing this, Follow the Thread can ensure that they do not plateau after reaching peak awareness, by constantly innovating their business.

145

CONCLUSION As demonstrated throughout this report, Follow the Thread has been able to develop a commercially viable and financially attractive business proposal that solidifies the brands place and need within the fashion market based on key insights from previous reports. Referring back to the aim and objectives set out at the start of the report, both the aim and objectives have successfully been met throughout the structured business report. However, a main limitation has been identified throughout the proposal, the financial projections. As Follow the Thread is a startup, finances are an assumption based on various strategies being successful. It is advised that if this proposal is taken commercially, the finances should be revised by an individual with financial expertise. Integrating this sustainable service within a market which requires transparency will provide an educational and immersive experience for the consumer, leading the way for a more sustainable future.

APPARELTASKER FACTORY MADE IN LONDON 100% COTTON

#LOOKBEYONDTHELABEL 146

147

REFERENCES Amed, I. (2019). The influence of ‘woke’ consumers on fashion. [online] Available at: https://www.mckinsey. com/industries/retail/our-insights/the-influence-of-woke-consumers-on-fashion [Accessed 2 April 2020] App Annie (2020). App Annie State Of Mobile 2019 Report. [online] Available at: https://www.appannie. com/en/go/state-of-mobile-2019/ [Accessed 19 March 2020] App Annie (2020). App Annie State Of Mobile 2020 Report. [online] Available at: https://www.appannie. com/en/go/state-of-mobile-2020/ [Accessed 22 March 2020] Apple (2019). News And Results. [online] Available at: https://investor.apple.com/investor-relations/default. aspx/ [Accessed 23 March 2020 Asos Report (2018) Disclaimer [online] Available at: https://www.asosplc.com/documents-disclaimer [Accessed 27 March 2020] Bonnie, E. (2019). Churn Rate: How to Define and Calculate Customer Churn. [online] Clevertap. Available at: https://clevertap.com/churn-rate/ [Accessed 19 April 2020] Briskman, J (2020). The Top Mobile Apps, Games, And Publishers of 2019: Sensor Tower’s Data Digest. [online] Available at: https://sensortower.com/blog/top-apps-games-publishers-2019/ [Accessed 24 March 2020]

References

Burns, A (2019). What Are KOLs? Why You Need Key Opinion Leaders in Your Marketing Strategy [online] Available at: https://www.activecampaign.com/blog/key-opinion-leaders [Accessed 23 April 2020] Business of Fashion (2018). The Year Ahead: The Case for Radical Transparency. [online] Available at:https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/intelligence/the-year-ahead-the-case-for-radicaltransparency[Accessed 1 April 2020] Business of Fashion. (2018). BoF and Disney on The Power of Storytelling in Fashion. [online] Available at: https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/sponsored-feature/business-of-fashion-and-disney-on-thepower-of-storytelling [Accessed 1 April 2020] Business Of Instagram (2020). Build Your Business On Instagram. [online] Available at: https://business. Instagram.com/advertising?locale=en_GB [Accessed 21 April 2020] Cahill, B. (2018). Why user-generated content can be a key differentiator for brand marketers. [online]. Available at: https://econsultancy.com/why-user-generated-content-can-be-a-key-differentaitor-for-brandmarketers/. [Accessed 8th April 2020] Campaign Monitor. (2019). What Is Email Marketing? 7 Email Benefits To Grow Your Business. [online] Available at: https://www.campaignmonitor.com/resources/guides/why-email/ [[Accessed 18 April 2020] Chitrakorn, K (2018). Can Transparency Solve the Consumer Trust Deficit? [online] Available at: https:// www.businessoffashion.com/articles/professional/consumers-are-distrusting-transparency-matters-infashion[Accessed 2 April 2020] Cliq. (2018). 3 Benefits Of Advertising On Instagram. [online] Available at: https://cliq.ie/3-benefits-ofadvertising-on-Instagram/ [Accessed 21 April 2020] Companies House. (2020) Set Up A Private Limited Company. [online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/ limited-company-formation/register-your-company [Accessed 18 March 2020]. Costa, C (2019). 3 Reasons Why Brand Storytelling Is The Future Of Marketing. [online] Available at: https:// www.forbes.com/sites/celinnedacosta/2019/01/31/3-reasons-why-brand-storytelling-is-the-future-ofmarketing/#1d92fd1f55ff [Accessed 28 March 2020]

148

149

Crane, A. (2019). Top Pop-Up Store Tips From An Experiential Design Expert | Storefront. [online] Storefront. Available at: <https://www.thestorefront.com/mag/top-pop-up-store-tips-from-anexperiential-design-expert/> [Accessed 11 April 2020].

Hanlon, A (2018). The AIDA and DRIP model. [online] Available at: https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/ www.smartinsights.com/traffic-building-strategy/offer-and-message-development/adia-model/amp [Accessed 4 April 2020]

Crane, A. (2020) Top 4 Business Benefits To Having a Pop Up Shop. [online] Available at: https://www. thestorefront.com/mag/4-business-benefits-pop-shop/ [Accessed 22 April 2020]

Jawad, I. (2014). World Top Global Mega Trends to 2025 and Implications to Business, Society and Culture. [online] Available at: https://www.thegeniusworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/ Megatrends-2025-Frost-and-Sullivan.pdf [Accessed 1 April 2020]

Deshpande, P., (2017). 6 Key Benefits Of User-Generated Content (And How You Can Achieve Them). [online] Available at: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-business/6-key-benefits-user-generatedcontent-and-how-you-can-achieve-them [Accessed 12 April 2020].

Keyhole (2019). How to Find Micro Influencers on Instagram to Boost Sales. [online]. Available at: https:// keyhole.co/blog/how-to-find-micro-influencers-on-Instagram-to-boost-sales/ [Accessed 15 April 2020]

Dopson, E. (2019). Videos vs. Images: Which Drives More Engagement in Facebook Ads? [online] Available at: https://databox.com/videos-vs-images-in-facebook-ads [Accessed 23 April 2020]

Kunsman, T (2019). Brand Advocacy: Everything Your Company Needs to Know. [online] Available at: https://everyonesocial.com/blog/brand-advocacy/ [Accessed 22 April 2020]

Label Insight (2019). Transparency ROI Study: Drive Long-Term Trust & Loyalty Through Transparency. [online] Available at: https://www.labelinsight.com/transparency-roi-study [Accessed 2 April 2020]

Ebert, G (2019). The 2019 Conscious Fashion Report [online] Available at: https://www.lyst.com/ data/20190-conscious-fashion-report/ [Accessed 21 March 2020]

Labour Exploitation Organisation. (2020). About Us. [online] Available at: <https://www. labourexploitation.org/about-us> [Accessed 21 March 2020]. LinkedIn (2020). [online] Available at: https://www.LinkedIn.com/ [Accessed 20 April 2020]

Elliott, N. (2015). How Does Your Brand Stack Up On Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram? [Blog] Forrester. Available at: https://go.forrrester.com/blog /15-09-14-how_does_your_brand_stack_up_on_facebook_ twitter_and_Instagram/ [Accessed 14 April 2020]

London Fashion Week. 2020. London Fashion Week. [online] Available at: <https://londonfashionweek. co.uk/News/LFW-Dates> [Accessed 23 April 2020].

Emmanuel, Z. (2019) Mintel Mobile App Report 2019. [online] Available at: https://store.mintel.com/ukmobile-device-apps-market-report [Accessed 26 March 2020]

Lyst. (2020). The 2020 Conscious Fashion Report. [online] Available at: https://www.lyst.com/ data/2020-conscious-fashion-report/ [Accessed 28 March 2020]

Emmanuel, Z (2019). Mobile Device Apps - UK - October 2019. [online] Available at: https://reports. mintel.com/display/983302/?highlighthit1/ [Accessed 27 March 2020]

Marketing Week (2019). 10 benefits of email. [online] Available at: pure360.com/10-benefits-of-emailmarketing/ [Accessed 15 April 2020]

Fashion Revolution (2020). We Are Fashion Revolution [online] Available at: https://www. fashionrevolution.org/about/transparency/ [Accessed 24 March 2020]

McCaskill, A (2015). Recommendations From Friends Remain Most Credible Form Of Advertising Among Consumers; Branded Websites Are The Second-Highest-Rated Form [online] Available at: https://www. nielsen.com/eu/en/press-releases/2015/recommendations-from-friends-remain-most-credible-form-ofadvertising/ [Accessed 12 April 2020]

Flurry. (2018). Flurry - Mobile App Analytics Platform For Android & IOS. [online] Available at: https// www.flurry.com [Accessed 21 March 2020] French, S; Rogers, G (2019). Understanding the LOHAS Consumer: The Rise of Ethical Consumerism. [online] Available at: http://www.fusbp.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/UNDERSTANDING-THELOHAS-CONSUMER.pdf [Accessed 9 April 2020]

150

McCue, T (2019) Mobile App â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;State of Mobile 2019 Reportâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; From App Annie. [online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tjmccue/2019/01/30/mobile-app-state-of-mobile-2019-report-from-appannie/#55a5c3a034ab [Accessed 17 March 2020]

Gabi Howarth (2020). Stage One Report; Key Insights. How can brand transparency close the gap between consumer attitudes towards sustainability and their actual buying behaviours with a focus on the fast fashion industry? Nottingham: Nottingham Trent University. pg.54

McKinsey (2016). The Global Media Report 2016. [online] Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/~/ media/McKinsey/Industries/Technology%20Media%20and%20Telecommunications/Media%20 and%20Entertainment/Our%20Insights/Global%20Media%20Report%202016/GMO%20Report_2016_ Industry%20overview_v3.ashx [Accessed 27 March 2020]

Glauninger, S (2017). Why Ratings and Reviews Matter in App Store Optimization. [online] Available at: https://medium.com/app-radar-highlights/why-ratings-and-reviews-matter-in-app-store-optimization5c93d285f029 [Accessed 22 April 2020]

McKinsey (2019). The State Of Fashion Report 2019: A Year Of Awakening. [online] Available at: <https:// www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/the-state-of-fashion-2019-a-year-of-awakening> [Accessed 12 March 2020].

Golmack, S (2019). Current Trends And Future Prospects Of The Mobile App Market - Smashing Magazine. [online] Available at: https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2019/02/current-trends-futureprospects-mobile-app-market/ [Accessed 19 March]

Mershon, P. (2017). 9 Reasons Your Company Should Use Brand Advocates: New Research. [online] Social Media Examiner. Available at: https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/9-reasons-your-companyshould-use-brand-advocates-new-research/ [Accessed 22 April 2020]

Gov UK. (2020). Guide to the General Data Protection Regulation. [online] Available at: https://www. gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation [Accessed 22 March 2020]

Mintel (2018). Attitudes Towards Sustainable Fashion Report - UK - September 2018 [online] Available at: https://reports.mintel.com display/920552/?fromSearch=%3Ffreetext% 3Dsustainability%2520and%2520fashion [Accessed 19 March 2020]

151 151

Mintel (2018). Clothing Retailing Report 2018. [online] Available at: https://reports.mintel.com/ display/919677/ [Accessed 3 April 2020]

[online] Available at: <https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/17/where-millennials-end-andgeneration-z-begins/> [Accessed 11 March 2020].

Mintel (2019). Behaviours Towards Sustainable Fashion Report - UK - August 2019 [online] Available at: https://reports.mintel.com display/920552/?fromSearch=%3F freetext%3Dsustainability%2520and%2520fashion [Accessed 18 March 2020]

Pine, J. (1999). The Experience Economy. Boston: Harvard Business School Press

Mintel (2019). Purchasing Journey for Fashion Report 2019 [online] Available at: https://reports.mintel.com/ display/919600/ [Accessed 3 April 2020] Mintel (2019). Sustainability Report - UK - 2019 [online] Available at: https://reports.mintel.com/ display/920552/?fromSearch=%3Ffreetext%3Dsustainability%2520and%2520 [Accessed 23 March 2020] Mintel (2020). UK Menswear Report - February 2020 [online] Available at: https://reports.mintel.com/ display/920511/?fromSearch=%menswearUK2520fashion [Accessed 16 April 2020]

PrettyLittleThing (2020). Tune In Every Tuesday For The Latest Episode. [online] Available at: https:// www.prettylittlething.com/the-edit/behind-closed-doors [Accessed 21 April 2020] Privacy Policies (2020). GDPR Privacy Policy. [online] Available at: https://www.privacypolicies.com/ blog/gdpr-privacy-policy/ [Accessed 21 March 2020] Pure London. (2020). Pure London Brochure [online]. Purelondon.com. Available at: https://www. purelondon.com/__media/Files,-PDF,-etc/Pure_Brochure_Spreads.pdf [Accessed 12 March 2020].

Mintel (2019). Sustainability and Fashion Report - UK - August 2019 . [online] Available at: https:// reports.mintel.com/display/920552/?fromSearch=%3Ffreetext%3Dsustainability%2520and%2520fashion [Accessed 14 March 2020]

Pure London. 2020. 4 reasons to exhibit at Pure Origin. Pure London. Available at : https://www. purelondon.com/pure-london-blog/4-reasons-to-exhibit-at-pure-origin [Accessed 10 April 2020]

Mintel (2019). Digital Trends Quarterly - UK - September 2019 [online] Available at: https://reports.mintel. com/display/918586/ [Accessed 17 March 2020]

Reynolds, A. (2018). Social and Media Networks â&#x20AC;&#x201C; UK [online] Mintel. Available at: http://academic.mintel. com/display/859203/ [Accessed 14 April 2020]

Moss, A (2018). Mobile Gaming - UK - October 2018. [online] Available at: https://reports.mintel.com/ display/910220/?fromSearch=%3Ffreetext%3D%2520app%25202018/ [Accessed 21 March 2020]

Salesforce. 2020. The 6 Biggest Benefits Of CRM. [online] Available at: <https://www.salesforce.com/ hub/crm/benefits-of-crm/> [Accessed 15 April 2020].

Muratovski, G., 2016. Research For Designers A Guide To Methods And Practice. London: SAGE Publications Ltd, pp.106-110.

Saunders, M, Lewis, P and Thornhill, A (2016). Research into the Advantages and Limitations for a Research Methodology. London: Pitman Publishing

National Library of Medicine National Institute of Health, 2020. How to Construct a Mixed Methods Research Design. 69(2), pp.107-131.

Saunders, M, Lewis, P and Thornhill, A. (2009). Research Methods for Business Students. London: Pitman Publishing

Nelson, R. (2020). Consumer Spending In Mobile Apps Grew 17% in 2019 to Exceed $83 Billion Globally. [online] Available at: https://sensortower.com/blog/app-revenue-and-downloads-2019/ [Accessed 20 March 2020]

Schneidmiller, C (2018). The Benefits Of Using Gamification In Your App. [online] Available at: https:// vogtorontoappdevelopers.com/the-benefits-of-using-gamification-in-your-app/ [Accessed 2 April 2020]

Nielsen. (2020). Store Observations | Shopper Motivations And Purchase Drivers [online] Available at: https://www.nielsen.com/ie/en/solutions/capabilities/store-observations/ [Accessed 17 March 2020]. Nielson. (2019). Global Trust In Advertising. [online]. Available at: https://www.nielsen.com/wp-content/ uploads/sites/3/2019/04/global-trust-in-advertising-report-sept-2019-1.pdf [Accessed 5 April 2020] Nielson. (2019). The Future of Fashion. [online]. Available at: https://www.nielson.com/content/dm/ nielsonglobal/de/images/WP-CH/Nielson_2019_the-future-of-fashion-report.pdf [Accessed 12 March 2020] Ofcom (2020). Audio on demand: the rise of podcasts. [online] Available at: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/ about-ofcom/latest/features-and-news/rise-of-podcasts [Accessed 20 April 2020] Oxford Dictionary (2020). What Is A KPI? Definition. [online] Available at: https://www.oxforddictionary. com/resources/what-is-a-key-performance-indicator/ [Accessed 28 April 2020] Petro, G. (2020). Sustainable Retail: How Gen Z Is Leading The Pack. [online] Available at: https://www. forbes.com/sites/gregpetro/2020/01/31/sustainable-retail-how-gen-z-is-leading-the-pack/#4823f2972ca3 [Accessed 5 April 2020] Pew Research Centre. (2019). Defining Generations: Where Millennials End And Generation Z Begins.

152

Plaksij, Z (2020). CRM Benefits: How CRM Improves Customer Relationships. [online] Available at: https:// www.superoffice.com/blog/crm-benefits/ [Accessed 15 April 2020]

Sharma, G. (Unknown). Local and Micro-influencers: How to Find, Approach and Engage Them for More Human Marketing. Bright Local. Available at: https://www.brightlocal.com/blog/local-influencers-microinfluencers-more-human-marketing/ [Accessed 18 April 2020] Slack, P. (2020). 2020 Will Be The Year for B2B Video Marketing. Are You Ready? VendeSocial. Available at: https://vendesocial.com/blog/2019-will-be-the-year-for-b2b-video-marketing-are-you-ready/ [Accessed 21 April 2020] Smith, K. (2019). 47 Incredible Instagram Statistics. [Blog] Brand Watch. Available at: https://brandwatch. com/blog/Instagram-stats/ [Accessed 14 April 2020] Sowads, M (2020). The Benefits of a Facebook Business Page. [online] CompuKol Communications. Available at: https://www.compukol.com/the-benefits-of-a-facebook-business-page/ [Accessed 19 April 2020] Statistica (2019). Most popular Apple App Store Categories in September 2018, by share of available apps [online] Available at: https://www.statistics.com/statistics/270291/popular/categories-in-the-appstore/ [Accessed 22 March 2020]

153 153

Stokes, D. and Bergin, R., 2006. Methodology or “methodolatry”? An evaluation of focus groups and depth interviews. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 9(1), pp.26-37.

bibliography Books

Stone, S., (2020). The 5 BIG Benefits Of User Generated Content — The Shelf. [online] Available at: <https://www.theshelf.com/the-blog/user-generated-content-benefits> [Accessed 12 April 2020]. Sweeny, G. (2015). Fast Fashion Is the Second Dirtiest Industry in the World, Next to Big Oil. [online] Available at: https://www.ecowatch.com/environmental-damage-human-diseases-2645853728.html [Accessed 10 March 2020] The Cassandra Report (2017) Millennial and Gen Z Insights. [online] Available at: https://cassandra.co/ [Accessed 4 April 2020]

Hair, J and others. (2007). Research Methods for Business. Chichester. John Wiley & Sons. McNeill, P ., Chapman, S. (2005). Research Methods. Routledge. Muratovski, G., 2016. Research For Designers A Guide To Methods And Practice. London: SAGE Publications Ltd, pp.106-110. National Library of Medicine National Institute of Health, 2020. How to Construct a Mixed Methods Research Design, pp.107-131. Pine, J. (1999). The Experience Economy. Boston: Harvard Business School Press

The Environmental Audit Committee (2019). Fixing fashion: clothing consumption and sustainability. [online]. Available at: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmenvaud/1952/ report-summary.html [Accessed 2 April 2020] The Ethical Consumer Report (2019). UK Ethical Consumer Markets Report. [online] Available at: https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/research-hub/uk-ethical-consumer-markets-report [Accessed 4 April 2020]

Saunders, M, Lewis, P and Thornhill, A (2016). Research into the Advantages and Limitations for a Research Methodology. London: Pitman Publishing Saunders, M., Lewis, P. And Thornhill, A. (2009) Research Methods for Business Students. Pearson. New York. Wood, F and Sangster, A. (2012). Business Accounting 1. Essex: Pearson Education.

The European Business Review. (2019). Sustainability: A $12 Trillion A Year Market By 2030 - The European Business Review. [online] Available at: <https://www.europeanbusinessreview.com/ sustainability-a-12-trillion-a-year-market-by-2030/> [Accessed 24 March 2020].

Journals

The Future Laboratory (2016). Fashion Futures. [online] Available at: https://www.thefuturelaboratory. com/futures-presentations/2019/fashion-futures [Accessed 26 March 2020]

Vahdat, A., Alizadeh, A., Quach, S. and Hamelin, N., 2020. Would you like to shop via mobile app technology? The technology acceptance model, social factors and purchase intention. Australasian Marketing Journal, 7(2), pp.10-14.

The Future Laboratory., (2016). Future Forecasts [online] Available at:https://www.thefuturelaboratory. com/reports/future-forecast-2016 [Accessed 16 March 2020] Veerasamy, V. (2019). Referral Program Examples – An Epic List of 79 Referral Programs [online]. Available at: https://www.referralcandy.com/blog/47-referral -programs/ [Accessed: 7th April 2020]

Stokes, D. and Bergin, R., 2006. Methodology or “methodolatry”? An evaluation of focus groups and depth interviews. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 9(1), pp.26-37

Zarley and Yan., 2016. Journal of fashion marketing and management. An exploratory study of the decision process of fast versus slow fashion consumers. [online] Volume:17, issue:2, page(s): 141-159. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/ [Accessed 12 March 2020] Websites

Wang, J (2018). The Rise Of The Pop-Up Economy. [online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ jennawang/2018/09/29/the-rise-of-the-pop-up-economy/341242982a18/ [Accessed 13 April 2020]

Airtable. (2019). Competitive Analysis. [online] Available at: https://airtable.com/universe/ expE4UujLYPaj1Md9/competitive-analysis [Accessed 24 March 2020]

Wrap (2019) Clothing. [online] Available at: http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/clothing-waste-prevention [Accessed 2 April 2020]

Ali, A (2019). Consumers Are Going Back to Basics in 2019. [online] Available at: https://blog.euromonitor. com/consumers-are-going-back-to-basics-in-2019/ [Accessed 23 March 2020]

Amed, I (2019). The influence of ‘woke’ consumers on fashion. [online] Available at: https://www.mckinsey. com/industries/retail/our-insights/the-influence-of-woke-consumers-on-fashion [Accessed 2 April 2020] App Annie (2020). App Annie State Of Mobile 2019 Report. [online] Available at: <https://www.appannie. com/en/go/state-of-mobile-2019/> [Accessed 19 March 2020] App Annie (2020). App Annie State of Mobile 2020 Report. [online] Available at: https://www.appannie. com/en/go/state-of-mobile-2020/ [Accessed 22 March 2020] Appear Here (2018). Advice From The Shopkeepers On Sustainability. [online] Available at: <https://www. appearhere.co.uk/inspire/blog/advice-from-the-shopkeepers-on-sustainability> [Accessed 24 March 2020] Apple (2019). News And Results. [online] Available at: <https://investor.apple.com/investor-relations/ default.aspx> [Accessed 23 March 2020] Arthur, R (2017). Fashion Site ASOS Launches Visual Search Tool To Aid Inspiration And Discovery For Shoppers. [online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelarthur/2017/08/10/asos-visualsearch/#3a56e16b2b32 [Accessed 2 April 2020]

154

155 155

Asos (2018) Annual Report 2018. [online] Available at: https://www.asosplc.com/media/Files/A/Asos-V2/ reports/PDF [Accessed 10 April 2020] Asos Report (2018) Disclaimer [online] Available at: https://www.asosplc.com/documents-disclaimer [Accessed 27 March 2020] Baron, K (2018). Save Your Wardrobe Fashion App Promises Double Whammy Of More Streamlined & Sustainable Living. [online] Available at: <https://www.forbes.com/sites/katiebaron/2018/05/29/ save-your-wardrobe-fashion-app-promises-double-whammy-of-more-streamlined-sustainableliving/#2bc92f3f2d73> [Accessed 30 March 2020]

Chaffey, D. (2020). SOSTAC Marketing Planning Model Guide. [online] Available at: https://www. smartinsights.com/digital-marketing-strategy/sostac-model/ [Accessed 28 March 2020] Cheng, A (2019) More Consumers Want Sustainable Fashion, But Are Brands Delivering It?. [online] Available at: <https://www.forbes.com/sites/andriacheng/2019/10/17/more-consumers-want-sustainablefashion-but-are-brands-delivering-it/#6dfd898234a5> [Accessed 27 March 2020].

Beeck, P (2018). Three sustainability trends shaping the future of the fashion industry. [online] Available at: https://www.carbontrust.com/news-and-events/insights/three-sustainability-trends-shaping-thefuture-of-the-fashion-industry [Accessed 28 March 2020]

Chitrakorn, K (2018). Can Transparency Solve the Consumer Trust Deficit? [online] Available at: https:// www.businessoffashion.com/articles/professional/consumers-are-distrusting-transparency-matters-infashion[Accessed 2 April 2020]

Benard, C (2020). Save Your Wardrobe app is live! [online] Available at: https://www.saveyourwardrobe. com/2020/03/04/save-your-wardrobe-app-is-live/ [Accessed 14 March 2020]

Cliq (2018). 3 Benefits Of Advertising On Instagram. [online] Available at: https://cliq.ie/3-benefits-ofadvertising-on-Instagram/ [Accessed 21 April 2020]

Bird, J (2018). Bricks and Clicks: How Instagram is Changing Physical Retail. [online] Available at: https:// www.forbes.com/sites/jonbird1/2018/bricks-and-clicks-how-Instagram-is-changing-physical retail [Accessed 24 March 2020]

Companies House (2020). Set Up A Private Limited Company. [online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/ limited-company-formation/register-your-company [Accessed 18 March 2020].

Blanchard, T. (2019). Who made my clothes? Stand up for workersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; rights with Fashion Revolution week [online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/commentisfree/2019/apr/22/who-made-myclothes-stand-up-for-workers-rights-with-fashion-revolution-week [Accessed 1 April 2020] Bonnie, E (2019). Churn Rate: How to Define and Calculate Customer Churn. [online] Clevertap. Available at: https://clevertap.com/churn-rate/ [Accessed 19 April 2020] Briskman, J (2020). The Top Mobile Apps, Games, And Publishers Of 2019: Sensor Towerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Data Digest. [online] Sensor Tower Blog. Available at: <https://sensortower.com/blog/top-apps-gamespublishers-2019> [Accessed 24 March 2020]. Burgess, M. (2019). What is GDPR? The summary guide to GDPR compliance in the UK [online]. Available at: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/what-is-gdpr-uk-eu-legislation-compliance-summary-fines-2018 [Accessed 23 March 2020]

Costa, C (2019) 3 Reasons Why Brand Storytelling Is The Future Of Marketing. [online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/celinnedacosta/2019/01/31/3-reasons-why-brand-storytelling-is-thefuture-of-marketing/#1d92fd1f55ff [Accessed 28 March 2020] Crane, A (2019). Top Pop-Up Store Tips From An Experiential Design Expert | Storefront. [online] Storefront. Available at: <https://www.thestorefront.com/mag/top-pop-up-store-tips-from-anexperiential-design-expert/> [Accessed 11 April 2020]. Crane, A (2020). Top 4 Business Benefits To Having a Pop Up Shop. [online] Storefront. Available at: https://www.thestorefront.com/mag/4-business-benefits-pop-shop/ [Accessed 22 April 2020] Crowdcube. (2020). Funding the wonderful. [online]. Available at: https://www.crowdcube.com/ [Accessed 8 April 2020] CrowdTwist (2018). Brand Storytelling: Using Authenticity to Build Customer Relationships. [online] Available at: https://resource-center.crowdtwist.com/blog [Accessed 9 April 2020]

Burns, A (2019). What Are KOLs? Why You Need Key Opinion Leaders in Your Marketing Strategy [online] Available at: https://www.activecampaign.com/blog/key-opinion-leaders [Accessed 23 April 2020]

CrowdTwist (2018). The 7 biggest trends driving customer loyalty. [online] Available at: https:// marketingland.com/7-big-gest-trends-driving-customer-loyalty-232618 [Accessed 9 April 2020]

Business of Fashion. (2018). BoF and Disney on The Power of Storytelling in Fashion. [online] Available at: https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/sponsored-feature/business-of-fashion-and-disney-onthe-power-of-storytelling [Accessed 1 April 2020]

CrowdTwist (2018). Why an Emotional Connection Matters in Loyalty and How to Achieve It. [online] Available at: http://resource-center.crowdtwist.com/blog/why-an-emotional-connecting-matters-inloyalty-and-how-to-achieve-it/ [Accessed 9 April 2020]

Business of Fashion (2018). The Year Ahead: The Case for Radical Transparency. [online] Available at:https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/intelligence/the-year-ahead-the-case-for-radicaltransparency [Accessed 1 April 2020]

Deshpande, P (2017). 6 Key Benefits Of User-Generated Content (And How You Can Achieve Them). [online] Social Media Today. Available at: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-business/6-keybenefits-user-generated-content-and-how-you-can-achieve-them [Accessed 12 April 2020].

Business Of Fashion (2020). The Year Ahead: Sustainability Takes Centre Stage [online] Available at: https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/intelligence/the-year-ahead-sustainability-takes-centrestage [Accessed 28 March 2020]

Dopson, E (2019). Videos vs. Images: Which Drives More Engagement in Facebook Ads? [online] Databox. Available at: https://databox.com/videos-vs-images-in-facebook-ads [Accessed 23 April 2020]

Business Of Instagram (2020). Build Your Business On Instagram. [online] Available at: https://business. Instagram.com/advertising?locale=en_GB [Accessed 21 April 2020] Cahill, B. (2018). Why user-generated content can be a key differentiator for brand marketers [online]. Available at: https://econsultancy.com/why-user-generated-content-can-be-a-key-differentaitor-forbrand-marketers/ [Accessed 12 April 2020] Campaign Monitor. (2019). What Is Email Marketing? 7 Email Benefits To Grow Your Business. [online] Available at: https://www.campaignmonitor.com/resources/guides/why-email/ [[Accessed 18 April 2020]

156

Cernansky,R (2020). The Shopping Platforms That Want To Standardise Sustainability. [online] Available at: <https://www.voguebusiness.com/sustainability/shopping-platforms-environment-sustainabilitycircular-economy-stella-mccartney-eileen-fisher> [Accessed 25 March 2020].

Dudovskiy, J. (2016). The Ultimate Guide to Writing a Research Methodology: A Step-by-Step Assistance. [online] Available at: https://www.coursehero.com/file/p5oqpg7/Dudovskiy-J-2018-The-Ultimate-Guideto-Writing-a-Dissertation-in-Business/ [Accessed 24 March 2020] Ebert, G (2019). The 2019 Conscious Fashion Report [online] Available at: https://www.lyst.com/ data/20190-conscious-fashion-report/ [Accessed 21 March 2020] Elliott, N (2015). How Does Your Brand Stack Up On Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram? [Blog] Forrester. Available at: https://go.forrrester.com/blog /15-09-14-how_does_your_brand_stack_up_on_facebook_ twitter_and_Instagram/ [Accessed 14 April 2020]

157 157

Emmanuel, Z (2019). Mobile Device Apps - UK - October 2019. [online] Available at: <https://reports. mintel.com/display/983302/?highlight#hit1> [Accessed 27 March 2020]. Fashion Revolution (2020). We Are Fashion Revolution [online] Available at: https://www fashionrevolution.org/about/transparency/ [Accessed 24 March 2020] Faull, J (2019). PrettyLittleThing wants podcasts to take it from fashion retailer to ‘entertainment brand’. [online] Available at: https://www.thedrum.com/news/2019/08/22/prettylittlething-wantspodcasts-take-it-fashion-retailer-entertainment-brand [Accessed 2 April 2020] Flurry (2018). Flurry - Mobile App Analytics Platform For Android & Ios. [online] Available at: https:// www.flurry.com/ [Accessed 21 March 2020]. French, S; Rogers, G (2019). Understanding the LOHAS Consumer: The Rise of Ethical Consumerism. [online] Available at: http://www.fusbp.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/UNDERSTANDING-THELOHAS-CONSUMER.pdf [Accessed 9 April 2020] Glauninger, S (2017). Why Ratings and Reviews Matter in App Store Optimization. [online] Available at: https://medium.com/app-radar-highlights/why-ratings-and-reviews-matter-in-app-storeoptimization-5c93d285f029 [Accessed 22 April 2020] Golmack, S (2019). Current Trends And Future Prospects Of The Mobile App Market — Smashing Magazine. [online] Smashing Magazine. Available at: <https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2017/02/ current-trends-future-prospects-mobile-app-market/> [Accessed 19 March 2020]. Gov UK. (2020). Guide to the General Data Protection Regulation. [online] Available at: https://www. gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation [Accessed 22 March 2020] Hanlon, A (2018). The AIDA and DRIP model. [online] SmartInsights. Available at: https://www.google. co.uk/amp/s/www.smartinsights.com/traffic-building-strategy/offer-and-message-development/adiamodel/amp [Accessed 4 April 2020] Having, B (2012). Let’s Get Naked: A Guide to Brand Transparency. [online] Available at: https://www. forbes.com/sites/gyro/2012/11/06/lets-get-naked-a-guide-to-brand-transparency/#511909c5293f [Accessed 17 March 2020] Jawad, I (2014). World Top Global Mega Trends to 2025 and Implications to Business, Society and Culture. [online] Thegenuiusworks.com. Available at: https://www.thegeniusworks.com/wp-content/ uploads/2016/01/Megatrends-2025-Frost-and-Sullivan.pdf [Accessed 1 April 2020] Jørgensen, H (2018). RADICAL TRANSPARENCY AFFECTS HOME CARE. [Blog] Available at: <https:// www.mintel.com/blog/household-market-news/radical-transparency-affects-home-care> [Accessed 14 March 2020]. Kaye, M (2018). Your Go-To-Guide: Instagram Influencer Pricing. [online] Available at: https://influence. bloglovin.com/your-go-to-guide-Instagram-influencer-pricing-52c3e6a60b99 [Accessed 3 April 2020]

Larizadeh, A. (2013). Eight Tips For A Successful App. [online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/ sites/avidlarizadeh/2013/07/19/eight-tips-for-a-successful-app/#3a33b3ce53e5 [Accessed 18 March 2020] LinkedIn (2020). [online] Available at: https://www.LinkedIn.com/ [Accessed 20 April 2020] London Fashion Week (2020). London Fashion Week. [online] Available at: <https:// londonfashionweek.co.uk/News/LFW-Dates> [Accessed 23 April 2020]. Lund, J. (2020). What is CRM? The Definitive Guide to CRM Success (Strategy, Process, Trends). [online] Available at: https://www.superoffice.com/blog/what-is-crm/ [Accessed 19 April 2020] Lyst. (2020). The 2020 Conscious Fashion Report. [online] Available at: https://www.lyst.com/ data/2020-conscious-fashion-report/ [Accessed 28 March 2020] Marketing Week (2019). 10 benefits of email marketing. [online] Available at: pure360.com/10benefits-of-email-marketing/ [Accessed 15 April 2020] McCaskill, A (2015). Recommendations From Friends Remain Most Credible Form Of Advertising Among Consumers; Branded Websites Are The Second-Highest-Rated Form [online] Available at: https://www.nielsen.com/eu/en/press-releases/2015/recommendations-from-friends-remain-mostcredible-form-of-advertising/ [Accessed 12 April 2020] McCue, T (2019) Mobile App ‘State of Mobile 2019 Report’ From App Annie. [online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tjmccue/2019/01/30/mobile-app-state-of-mobile-2019-report-fromapp-annie/#55a5c3a034ab [Accessed 17 March 2020] McKinsey (2016). The Global Media Report 2016. [online] Available at: https://www.mckinsey. com/~/media/McKinsey/Industries/Technology%20Media%20and%20Telecommunications/ Media%20and%20Entertainment/Our%20Insights/Global%20Media%20Report%202016/GMO%20 Report_2016_Industry%20overview_v3.ashx [Accessed 27 March 2020] McKinsey (2019). The State Of Fashion Report 2019: A Year Of Awakening. [online] Available at: <https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/the-state-of-fashion-2019-a-year-ofawakening> [Accessed 12 March 2020]. Mershon, P. (2017). 9 Reasons Your Company Should Use Brand Advocates: New Research. [online] Social Media Examiner. Available at: https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/9-reasons-yourcompany-should-use-brand-advocates-new-research/ [Accessed 22 April 2020]

Keller, C., Magnus, K., Hedrich, S., Nava, P., Tochtermann, T (2014). Succeeding in tomorrow’s global fashion market. [online] Available at: https://medium.com/app-partner-academy/how-to-write-abusiness-plan-for-your-app-startup-ab9d647e43fd [Accessed 18 March 2020]

Mintel ( 2019). Sustainability and Fashion Report - UKAugust 2019 [online] Available at: https://reports.mintel.com/ display/920552/?fromSearch=%3Ffreetext%3Dsustainability%2520and%2520fashion [Accessed 14 March 2020]

Keyhole (2019). How to Find Micro Influencers on Instagram to Boost Sales. [online]. Available at: https://keyhole.co/blog/how-to-find-micro-influencers-on-Instagram-to-boost-sales/ [Accessed 15 April 2020]

Mintel (2019). Digital Trends Quarterly - UK - September 2019 [online] Available at: https://reports. mintel.com/display/918586/ [Accessed 17 March 2020]

Kunsman, T (2019). Brand Advocacy: Everything Your Company Needs to Know. [online] Available at: https://everyonesocial.com/blog/brand-advocacy/ [Accessed 22 April 2020]

Mintel (2018). Attitudes Towards Sustainable Fashion Report - UK - September 2018 [online] Available at: https://reports.mintel.com/display/920552/?fromSearch=%3Ffreetext%3 Dsustainability%2520and%2520fashion [Accessed 19 March 2020]

Label Insight (2019). Transparency ROI Study: Drive Long-Term Trust & Loyalty Through Transparency. [online] Available at: https://www.labelinsight.com/transparency-roi-study [Accessed 2 April 2020]

158

Labour Exploitation Organisation. (2020). About Us. [online] Available at: <https://www. labourexploitation.org/about-us> [Accessed 21 March 2020].

159 159

Mintel (2018). Clothing Retailing Report 2018. [online] Available at: https://reports.mintel.com/ display/919677/ [Accessed 3 April 2020] Mintel (2019). Behaviours Towards Sustainable Fashion Report UK - August 2019 [online] Available at: https://reports.mintel.com/ display/920552/?fromSearch=%3Ffreetext%3Dsustainability%2520and%2520fashion [Accessed 18 March 2020] Mintel (2019). Purchasing Journey for Fashion Report 2019 [online] Available at: https://reports. mintel.com/display/919600/ [Accessed 3 April 2020] Mintel (2019). Sustainability Report - UK - 2019 [online] Available at: https://reports.mintel.com/ display/920552/?fromSearch=%3Ffreetext%3Dsustainability%2520and%2520 [Accessed 23 March 2020] Mintel (2020). UK Menswear Report - February 2020 [online] Available at: https://reports.mintel. com/display/920511/?fromSearch=%menswearUK2520fashion [Accessed 16 April 2020] Morales, A (2019). Oracle Cloud. [online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ oracle/#344157ad41fb [Accessed 26 March 2020] Moss, A (2018). Mobile Gaming - UK - October 2018. [online] Available at: <https://reports.mintel. com/display/910220/?fromSearch=%3Ffreetext%3Dmobile%2520device%2520app%25202018> [Accessed 21 March 2020]. Moutahir, H (2018). The Ultimate Guide for Creating a Successful Mobile App in 2020. [online] Available at: https://medium.com/@HichamMoutahir/the-ultimate-guide-for-creating-a-successfulmobile-app-in-2018-74f7311a85f1 [Accessed 18 March 2020] Nelson, R (2020). Consumer Spending In Mobile Apps Grew 17% In 2019 To Exceed $83 Billion Globally. [online] Sensor Tower Blog. Available at: <https://sensortower.com/blog/app-revenue-anddownloads-2019> [Accessed 20 March 2020]. Nielsen (2020). Store Observations | Shopper Motivations And Purchase Drivers [online] Available at: https://www.nielsen.com/ie/en/solutions/capabilities/store-observations/ [Accessed 17 March 2020]. Nielson (2019). Global Trust In Advertising. [online]. Available at: https://www.nielsen.com/wpcontent/uploads/sites/3/2019/04/global-trust-in-advertising-report-sept-2019-1.pdf [Accessed 5 April 2020] Nielson (2019). The Future of Fashion. [online]. Available at: https://www.nielson.com/content/dm/ nielsonglobal/de/images/WP-CH/Nielson_2019_the-future-of-fashion-report.pdf [Accessed 12 March 2020] Nite, J (2019). B2B Podcasting: 20 Stats that Make the Marketing Case. [online] Available at: https:// www.toprankblog.com/2019/11/b2b-podcast-stats/ [Accessed 1 April 2020] Ofcom (2020). Audio on demand: the rise of podcasts. [online] Available at: https://www.ofcom.org. uk/about-ofcom/latest/features-and-news/rise-of-podcasts [Accessed 20 April 2020] Oxford Dictionary (2020). What Is A KPI? Definition. [online] Available at: <https://www. oxforddictionary.com/resources/what-is-a-key-performance-indicator> [Accessed 28 April 2020].

160

Parsons, N (2020). A Complete Guide to Forecasting Sales in a SaaS Business. [online] Available at: https://articles.bplans.com/a-complete-guide-to-forecasting-sales-for-your-monthly-subscriptionbusiness/ [Accessed 10 April 2020] Partner, A (2017). Creating a Business Plan for Your App: A Template. [online] Available at: https://medium.com/app-partner-academy/how-to-write-a-business-plan-for-your-app-startupab9d647e43fd [Accessed 12 March 2020] Petro, G (2020). Sustainable Retail: How Gen Z Is Leading The Pack. [online] Available at: https:// www.forbes.com/sites/gregpetro/2020/01/31/sustainable-retail-how-gen-z-is-leading-thepack/#4823f2972ca3 [Accessed 5 April 2020] Pew Research Centre (2019). Defining Generations: Where Millennials End And Generation Z Begins. [online] Available at: <https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/17/where-millennials-endand-generation-z-begins/> [Accessed 11 March 2020]. Plaksij, Z (2020). CRM Benefits: How CRM Improves Customer Relationships. [online] CRM Blog: Articles, Tips and Strategies by SuperOffice. Available at: <https://www.superoffice.com/blog/crmbenefits/> [Accessed 15 April 2020]. Prater, M (2018). The 15 Best Crowdfunding Sites to Launch Your Business or Product [online]. Available at: https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/crowdfunding-sites. [Accessed 2 April 2020] PrettyLittleThing (2020). Tune In Every Tuesday For The Latest Episode. [online] Available at: https://www.prettylittlething.com/the-edit/behind-closed-doors [Accessed 21 April 2020] Privacy Policies (2020). GDPR Privacy Policy. [online] Available at: https://www.privacypolicies.com/ blog/gdpr-privacy-policy/ [Accessed 21 March 2020] Pure London. (2020). Pure London Brochure [online]. Purelondon.com. Available at: https://www. purelondon.com/__media/Files,-PDF,-etc/Pure_Brochure_Spreads.pdf [Accessed 12 March 2020]. Pure London (2020). 4 reasons to exhibit at Pure Origin. Pure London. Available at : https://www. purelondon.com/pure-london-blog/4-reasons-to-exhibit-at-pure-origin [Accessed 10 April 2020] Reynolds, A (2018). Social and Media Networks – UK [online] Mintel. Available at: http://academic. mintel.com/display/859203/ [Accessed 14 April 2020] Sachs, L (2020). Sustainability Experts Say There’s Actually No Such Thing As ‘Eco-Friendly’ Clothing. [online] Available at: <https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/clothing/g27154605/ sustainable-fashion-clothing/> [Accessed 21 March 2020]. Salesforce (2020). The 6 Biggest Benefits Of CRM. [online] Available at: <https://www.salesforce. com/hub/crm/benefits-of-crm/> [Accessed 15 April 2020]. Schneidmiller, C (2018). The Benefits Of Using Gamification In Your App. [online] Available at: https:// vogtorontoappdevelopers.com/the-benefits-of-using-gamification-in-your-app/ [Accessed 2 April 2020] Sender, T (2019). Womenswear - UK - May 2018 [online]. Available at: https://reports.mintel.com/ display/920511/?fromSearch=%womenswearUK2519fashion [Accessed 18 March 2020] Sharma, G (Unknown). Local and Micro-influencers: How to Find, Approach and Engage Them for More Human Marketing. Bright Local. Available at: https://www.brightlocal.com/blog/localinfluencers-micro-influencers-more-human-marketing/ [Accessed 18 April 2020]

161 161

Sharma, G (2020). 3 Benefits of Micro Influencers for Your Small Business. [online] Available at: https://thebossmagazine.com/micro-influencers-3-benefits/ [Accessed 4 April 2020]

Virgin Start Up (2020). Start Up Loans Homepage. [online] Available at: https://www.virginstartup. org/start-up-loans [Accessed 8 April 2020]

Slack, P (2020). 2020 Will Be The Year for B2B Video Marketing. Are You Ready? VendeSocial. Available at: https://vendesocial.com/blog/2019-will-be-the-year-for-b2b-video-marketing-are-youready/ [Accessed 21 April 2020]

Walker, J. and Stott, R (2018). Blockchain Fashion. [online] Available at: <https://www.lsnglobal.com/ fashion/article/22361/blockchain-fashion> [Accessed 19 March 2020].

Smith, K (2019). 47 Incredible Instagram Statistics. [Blog] Brand Watch. Available at: https:// brandwatch.com/blog/Instagram-stats/ [Accessed 14 April 2020] Sowads, M (2020). The Benefits of a Facebook Business Page. [online] CompuKol Communications. Available at: https://www.compukol.com/the-benefits-of-a-facebook-business-page/ [Accessed 19 April 2020] Statistica (2019). Most popular Apple App Store categories in September 2018, by share of available apps [online] Statistica. Available at: https://www.statistica.com/statistics/270291/popular/ categories-in-the-app-store/ [Accessed 22 March 2020] Stone, S (2020). The 5 BIG Benefits Of User Generated Content â&#x20AC;&#x201D; The Shelf. [online] The Shelf. Available at: <https://www.theshelf.com/the-blog/user-generated-content-benefits> [Accessed 12 April 2020]. Sweeny, G (2015). Fast Fashion Is the Second Dirtiest Industry in the World, Next to Big Oil. [online] EcoWatch. Available at: https://www.ecowatch.com/environmental-damage-humandiseases-2645853728.html [Accessed 10 March 2020] Tanke (2020). Instagram Engagement Rate Calculator For Instagram. [online] Available at: <https:// www.tanke.fr/en/Instagram-engagement-rate-calculator-2/> [Accessed 28 April 2020]. The Cassandra Report (2017). Millennial and Gen Z Insights. [online] Available at: https://cassandra. co/ [Accessed 4 April 2020] The Environmental Audit Committee (2019). Fixing fashion: clothing consumption and sustainability. [online]. Available at: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmenvaud/1952/ report-summary.html [Accessed 2 April 2020] The Ethical Consumer Report (2019). UK Ethical Consumer Markets Report. [online] Available at: https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/research-hub/uk-ethical-consumer-markets-report [Accessed 4 April 2020] The European Business Review (2019). Sustainability: A $12 Trillion A Year Market By 2030 - The European Business Review. [online] Available at: <https://www.europeanbusinessreview.com/ sustainability-a-12-trillion-a-year-market-by-2030/> [Accessed 24 March 2020]. The Future Laboratory (2016). Fashion Futures. [online] Available at: https://www. thefuturelaboratory.com/futures-presentations/2019/fashion-futures [Accessed 26 March 2020] The Future Laboratory (2016). Future Forecasts [online] The Future Laboratory. Available at:https:// www.thefuturelaboratory.com/reports/future-forecast-2016 [Accessed 16 March 2020]

Wang, J (2018). The Rise Of The Pop-Up Economy. [online] Forbes. Available at: <https://www. forbes.com/sites/jennawang/2018/09/29/the-rise-of-the-pop-up-economy/#341242982a18> [Accessed 13 April 2020] Wrap (2019) Clothing. [online] Available at: http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/clothing-wasteprevention [Accessed 2 April 2020] Zaczkiewicz, A (2018). Generation Z: Influential and Intuitive Fashion Shoppers. [online] Available at: https://wwd.com/business-news/marketing-promotion/generation-z-ey-advisoryinsights-1202678904/ [Accessed 29 March 2020]

Ted Talks TEDx Big Apple (2012). Turning supply chains into prosperity chains | Kavita Parmar [video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlbGNe73L74 [Accessed 3 April 2020] TEDx TALKS (2019). How supply chain transparency can help the planet | Markus Mutz [video] Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/markus_mutz_how_supply_chain_transparency_can_help_ the_planet?language=en [Accessed 3 April 2020] TEDx TALKS (2020). The next manufacturing revolution is here | Olivier Scalabre [video] Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/olivier_scalabre_the_next_manufacturing_revolution_is_here/ transcript?language=en [Accessed 28 March 2020]

Podcasts LSE Podcasts. 2020. Can Technology Deliver A Sustainable Future?. [online] Available at: <https:// soundcloud.com/lsepodcasts/can-technology-deliver-a> [Accessed 28 March 2020]. Kelley, A. 2020. Social Media Marketing For Small Business And Individuals. The Sustainable Lifestyle Podcast The Sustainable Lifestyle Podcast. 2020. Style Yourself Sustainably and Ethically.

Other Gabi Howarth. (2020). Stage One Report; Key Insights. How can brand transparency close the gap between consumer attitudes towards sustainability and their actual buying behaviours with a focus on the fast fashion industry? Nottingham: Nottingham Trent University. pg.54

Veerasamy, V. (2019). Referral Program Examples â&#x20AC;&#x201C; An Epic List of 79 Referral Programs [online]. Available at: https://www.referralcandy.com/blog/47-referral -programs/ [Accessed: 7th April 2020]

162

163 163

Lazybones. (2020). News. [online] Available at: https://lazybones.com.au/blogs/news/who-made-your-clothes [Accessed 20 April 2020]

IMAGE REFERENCES

Haazar The Bazaar. (2019). Fair Fashion: Behind the Scenes for Beginners. [online] Haazar The Bazaar. (2019). Fair Fashion: Behind the Scenes for Beginners. Available at: http://www.hazaarthebazaar.com/fair-fashion-behind-the-scenes-for[online] Available at: http://www.hazaarthebazaar.com/fair-fashion-behindbeginners/ [Accessed 20 April 2020] the-scenes-for-beginners/ [Accessed 20 April 2020]

Gabi Howarth. (2020). BrandBrand Logo.Logo. [Accessed 28 May Gabi Howarth. (2020). [Accessed 28 2020] May 2020]

Modern Knitting. (2020) Lilac wool. [online]. Available at: https://www. modernknitting.co.uk/cygnet-wool-rich-aran-lilac-233-c2x12053943 Modern Knitting. (2020) Lilac wool. [online]. Available at: [Accessed 17 April 2020] https://www.modernknitting.co.uk/cygnet-wool-rich-aran-lilac-233-c2x12053943

Eco-Age. (2020). Greenwashing Instructions. [online] Available at: https://ecoage.com/news/what-is-the-problem-with-sustainable-fashion Eco-Age. (2020). Greenwashing Instructions. [online] Available at: https:// [Accessed 28 April 2020] eco-age.com/news/what-is-the-problem-with-sustainable-fashion [Accessed 28 April 2020]

[Accessed 17 April 2020]

FlatIcon. (2020). Map the Journey [online] Available at: https://www.flaticon.com/ FlatIcon. (2020). [Accessed 1 May 2020]Map the Journey [online] Available at: https://www.flaticon. Fashion Revolution. (2020) Who made my clothes? [online] Available at: https://www.fashionrevolution.org/ [Accessed 20 April 2020]

com/ [Accessed 1 May 2020]

Fashion Revolution. (2020) Who made my clothes? [online] Available at: https://www.fashionrevolution.org/ [Accessed 20 April 2020]

FlatIcon. (2020). Lightbulb infographic. [online] Available at: https://www.

FlatIcon. (2020). Lightbulb infographic. [online] Available at: https://www.flaticon.com/ flaticon.com/ [Accessed 1 May1 2020] [Accessed May 2020] Jules Jules Van Mil. WhoWho Made YourYour Clothes? [online] Available at: at: https:// Van (2018) Mil. (2018) Made Clothes? [online] Available https://julesvanmil.com/blog/2018/5/3/who-makes-your-clothes [Accessed 20 20 April julesvanmil.com/blog/2018/5/3/who-makes-your-clothes [Accessed April 2020]2020] FlatIcon. (2020). Sustainability Infographic. [online] Available FlatIcon. (2020). Sustainability Infographic. [online] Available at: at: https:// www.flaticon.com/ [Accessed 1 May 2020] https://www.flaticon.com/ [Accessed 1 May 2020]

Jules Van Mil. (2018). Who Made Your Clothes? [online] Available at: Jules Van Mil. (2018). Who Made Your Clothes? [online] Available at: https:// https://julesvanmil.com/blog/2018/5/3/who-makes-your-clothes [Accessed 20 April julesvanmil.com/blog/2018/5/3/who-makes-your-clothes [Accessed 20 April 2020] 2020]

Farmdrop. (2019). Who Made Your Clothes? 10 Ways To Fight Fast Fashion. [online] Farmdrop. (2019). Who Made Your Clothes? 10 Ways To Fight Fast Fashion. Available at:Available https://www.farmdrop.com/blog/how-to-fight-fast-fashion/ [Accessed 20 [online] at: https://www.farmdrop.com/blog/how-to-fight-fastAprilfashion/ 2020] [Accessed 20 April 2020]

SsekoSseko Designs. (2018).Welcome To The Fashion Revolution. [online] Available at: Designs. (2018).Welcome To The Fashion Revolution. [online] Available at: http://blog.ssekodesigns.com/welcome-to-the-fashion-revolution/ http://blog.ssekodesigns.com/welcome-to-the-fashion-revolution/ [Accessed 20 April 2020][Accessed 20 April 2020]

Lazybones. (2020). News. [online] Available at: https://lazybones.com.au/ Lazybones. (2020). News. [online] Available at: blogs/news/who-made-your-clothes [Accessed 20 April 2020]

https://lazybones.com.au/blogs/news/who-made-your-clothes [Accessed 20 April 2020]

164

Haazar The Bazaar. (2019). Fair Fashion: Behind the Scenes for Beginners. [online] Available at: http://www.hazaarthebazaar.com/fair-fashion-behind-the-scenes-forbeginners/ [Accessed 20 April 2020]

FlatIcon. (2020). Shopping App Market. [online] Available at: FlatIcon. (2020). Shopping App Market. [online] Available at: https://www. https://www.flaticon.com/ [Accessed 1 May 2020] flaticon.com/ [Accessed 1 May 2020]

(2020). Grey Zipped Up Hoodie. [online] Available at: https://www. H&M.H&M. (2020). GreyZipped Zipped UpHoodie. Hoodie. [online] Available at:https://www.hm.com https://www.hm.com H&M. (2020). Grey Up [online] Available at: hm.com [Accessed [Accessed May 2020] 9 May 2020] [Accessed 99May 2020]

GabiHowarth. Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work:work: Unzipped Hoodie withimage image behind. Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop Unzipped Hoodie with image Gabi (2020). Photoshop work: Unzipped Hoodie with behind. [Accessed May 2020] 9 May 2020] behind. [Accessed [Accessed 99May 2020]

GabiHowarth. Howarth.(2020). (2020).Photoshop Photoshopwork: work:Ranking RankingExternal ExternalFactors. Factors.[Accessed [Accessed10 10May May Gabi 2020] 2020]

165 165

Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: Unzipped Hoodie with image behind. [Accessed 9 May 2020]

Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: work: Ranking External Factors. [Accessed 10 May Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop Ranking External Factors. 2020] [Accessed 10 May 2020]

Gabi Howarth. Photoshop work: Competitor Analysis. Gabi Howarth. (2020).(2020). Photoshop work: Competitor UniverseUniverse Analysis. [Accessed 10 [Accessed 10 May 2020] May 2020]

Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: Brand Positioning Map. [Accessed 10 May Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: Brand Positioning Map. [Accessed 2020] 10 May 2020]

Simon de Bruxelles. (2014). SOS notes stitched intointo Primark clothes. [online] Simon de Bruxelles. (2014). SOS notes stitched Primark clothes. [online] Available https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sos-notes-stitched-intoAvailable at: at: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sos-notes-stitched-into-primarkprimark-clothes-8jh3pw787gq 10 May 2020] clothes-8jh3pw787gq [Accessed 10[Accessed May 2020]

Facebook. Whomy made my clothes? Available at: Facebook. (2018).(2018). Who made clothes? [online][online] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/fashionrevolutionindia/photos/labelhttps://www.facebook.com/fashionrevolutionindia/photos/label-goals-this-fashiongoals-this-fashion-revolution-week-ask-your-favourite-brandsrevolution-week-ask-your-favourite-brands-whomademyclot/1520395878087303/ whomademyclot/1520395878087303/ [Accessed 10 May 2020]

Dreamstime. (2020). Girl face outline. [online] Available at: dreamstime.com Dreamstime. (2020). Girl face outline. [online] Available at: dreamstime.com [Accessed 2 May 2020] [Accessed 2 May 2020] Dreamstime. (2020). Girl face outline. [online] Available at: dreamstime.com [Accessed 2 May 2020] Dreamstime. (2020). GirlGirl faceface outline. [online] Available at: at: dreamstime.com Dreamstime. (2020). outline. [online] Available dreamstime.com [Accessed 2 May 2020] [Accessed 2 May 2020]

YayImages. (2020). Girl face outlibe. [online] Available at: YayImages. (2020). Girl face outlibe. [online] Available at: https://www.yayimages.com/28414986/abstract-woman-face-with-wavy-hair-blackhttps://www.yayimages.com/28414986/abstract-woman-face-with-wavy-hair-blackYayImages. (2020). Girl face outlibe. [online] Available at: [Accessed 2 May 2020] and-white-hand-drawn-line-art-outline-vector-illustration.html and-white-hand-drawn-line-art-outline-vector-illustration.html [Accessed 2 May 2020] https://www.yayimages.com/28414986/abstract-woman-face-with-wavy-hair-blackYayImages. (2020). Girl face outlibe. [online] Available at: https://www. YayImages. (2020). Girl face outlibe. [online] Available at: [Accessed 2 May 2020] and-white-hand-drawn-line-art-outline-vector-illustration.html yayimages.com/28414986/abstract-woman-face-with-wavy-hair-black-andhttps://www.yayimages.com/28414986/abstract-woman-face-with-wavy-hair-blackwhite-hand-drawn-line-art-outline-vector-illustration.html [Accessed 2 May and-white-hand-drawn-line-art-outline-vector-illustration.html [Accessed 2 May 2020] 2020]

Dreamstime. (2020). Girl face outline. [online] Available at: dreamstime.com Dreamstime. (2020). Girl face outline. [online] Available at: dreamstime.com Dreamstime. (2020). Girl face outline. [online] Available at: dreamstime.com [Accessed 2 May 2020] [Accessed 2 May 2020] Dreamstime. (2020). Girl face outline. [online] Available at: dreamstime.com [Accessed 2 May 2020] [Accessed 2 May 2020] Dreamstime. (2020). Girl face outline. [online] Available at: dreamstime.com [Accessed 2 May 2020] Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: App Barcode Mock up. [Accessed 9 May Gabi 2020]Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: App Barcode Mock up. [Accessed 9 May Howarth. (2020). Photoshop Barcode Mock up. [Accessed 9 2020] GabiGabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work:work: AppApp Barcode Mock up. [Accessed 9 May May 2020] 2020] Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: App Barcode Mock up. [Accessed 9 May 2020] Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: Sustainable Scoreboard App Mock up. GabiGabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: Sustainable Scoreboard App App MockMock up. Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: Sustainable Scoreboard [Accessed 9 May 2020] [Accessed 9 May 2020] up. [Accessed 9 May 2020]

[Accessed 10 May 2020]

The Times. (2016). Behind Your clothes. [online] Available at: https://www.

The Times. (2016). Behind Your clothes.11[online] Available at: thetimes.co.uk/article/ [Accessed May 2020] https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ [Accessed 11 May 2020]

Leafcutter Designs. (2020). Ethical Care Label. [online] Available at: https:// [Accessed Leafcutterwww.pinterest.co.uk/pin/458593174542637935/ Designs. (2020). Ethical Care Label. [online] Available at: 11 May 2020]

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/458593174542637935/ [Accessed 11 May 2020]

Dreamstime. (2020). Promise Hands. [online] Available at: https://www. dreamstime.com/ [Accessed 1 May 2020]

Dreamstime. (2020). Promise Hands. [online] Available at: https://www.dreamstime.com/ [Accessed 1 May 2020]

166

Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: New Beginnings App Mock up. [Accessed 9 Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: Beginnings Mock GabiGabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: NewNew Beginnings AppApp Mock up. up. [Accessed 9 May 2020] 9 May 2020] May[Accessed 2020]

Lauren Kramrisch. (2020). Lauren Kramrisch’s Profile. [Instagram] Available at: Lauren Kramrisch. (2020). Lauren Kramrisch’s Profile. [Instagram] Available Lauren Kramrisch. (2020). Lauren Kramrisch’s Profile. [Instagram] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/ [Accessed 8 May 2020] at: https://www.Instagram.com/ [Accessed 8 May 2020] https://www.instagram.com/ [Accessed 8 May 2020]

Lauren Kramrisch. (2020). Lauren Kramrisch’s Profile. [Instagram] Available at: Lauren Kramrisch. (2020). Lauren Kramrisch’s Profile. [Instagram] Available at: Lauren Kramrisch. (2020). Lauren Kramrisch’s Profile. [Instagram] Available https://www.instagram.com/ [Accessed 8 May 2020] https://www.instagram.com/ [Accessed 8 May 2020] at: https://www.Instagram.com/ [Accessed 8 May 2020]

167 167

https://www.instagram.com/ [Accessed 8 May 2020]

Sophie Milner. (2020). Sophie Milner’s Profile [Instagram] Available at: https://www.Instagram.com/ [Accessed 8 May 2020]

Sophie Milner. (2020). Sophie Milner’s Profile [Instagram] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/ [Accessed 8 May 2020]

Lucy and Yak. (2020) Logo. [online] Available at: https://lucyandyak.com/ [Accessed Yak. (2020) Logo. [online] Available at: https://lucyandyak.com/ [Accessed 1Lucy Mayand 2020] 1 May 2020]

The Social Outfit. (2020) [online] Available at: https://thesocialoutfit. The Social Outfit. (2020) Logo.Logo. [online] Available at: https://thesocialoutfit.org/ The Social Outfit. (2020) Logo. [online] Available at: https://thesocialoutfit.org/ org/ [Accessed 1 May 2020] [Accessed 1 May 2020] [Accessed 1 May 2020]

Patagonia. (2020). Logo. [online] Available at: https://www.patagonia.com/ [Accessed Patagonia. (2020). [online] Available at: https://www.patagonia.com/ (2020). Logo.Logo. [online] Available at: https://www.patagonia.com/ [Accessed 1Patagonia. May 2020] [Accessed 1 May 2020] 1 May 2020] Sophie Milner.. (2020). Sophie Milner’s Profile. [Instagram] Available Sophie Milner.. (2020). Sophie Milner’s Profile. [Instagram] Available at: at: https://www.Instagram.com/ [Accessed May 2020] https://www.instagram.com/ [Accessed 8 May82020]

People Tree. (2020). Logo. [online] Available at: https://www.peopletree.co.uk/ People Tree. (2020). Logo. [online] Available at: https://www.peopletree.co.uk/ [Accessed 1 May 2020] People Tree. (2020). Logo. [online] Available at: https://www.peopletree. [Accessed 1 May 2020] co.uk/ [Accessed 1 May 2020]

Vildnis. (2020). Logo. [online] Available at: https://vildnis.co.uk/ [Accessed 1

Vildnis.May (2020). Logo. [online] Available at: https://vildnis.co.uk/ [Accessed 1 May 2020] 2020]

KittyKitty Ferreira. (2020). Logo. [online] Available at: at: https://vildnis.co.uk/ [Accessed 1 Ferreira. (2020). Logo. [online] Available https://vildnis.co.uk/ Kitty Ferreira. (2020). Logo. [online] Available at: https://vildnis.co.uk/ [Accessed11 May 2020] Kitty [Accessed Ferreira. (2020). Logo. [online] Available at: https://vildnis.co.uk/ [Accessed 1 May 2020] May2020] 2020] May Gung Ho. (2020). Logo. [online] Available at: https://www.gungholondon.com/ Gung Ho.(2020). (2020). Logo.[online] [online]Available Availableat: at:https://www.gungholondon.com/ https://www.gungholondon.com/ [Accessed 1 MayLogo. 2020] Gung Ho. [Accessed 1 May 2020] Gung 1Ho. (2020). [Accessed May 2020]Logo. [online] Available at: https://www.gungholondon. com/ [Accessed 1 May 2020]

Reformation. (2020). Logo. [online] Available at: https://www.thereformation.com/ Reformation. (2020). Logo. [online] Available at: https://www. Reformation. (2020). Logo. [online] Available at:https://www.thereformation.com/ https://www.thereformation.com/ [Accessed 1 (2020). May 2020] Reformation. Logo. [online] Available at: thereformation.com/ [Accessed 1 May 2020] [Accessed11May May2020] 2020] [Accessed Levis. (2020). Logo. [online] Available at:at: https://www.levi.com/GB/en_GB/ Levis. (2020). Logo. [online] Available https://www.levi.com/GB/en_GB/ Levis. (2020). Logo. [online] Available at: https://www.levi.com/GB/en_GB/ [Accessed 1 May 2020] Levis. (2020). Logo. [online] Available at: https://www.levi.com/GB/en_GB/ [Accessed 1 May 2020] [Accessed May2020] 2020] [Accessed 11May Know Origin. (2020) Logo. [online] Available at: Know thethe Origin. (2020) Logo. [online] Available at: https://knowtheorigin. Know the Origin. (2020) Logo. [online] Available at: com/ [Accessed 1 May 2020] https://knowtheorigin.com/ [Accessed May 2020] Know the Origin. (2020) Logo. [online]1 Available at:

NoNo Nasties. (2020). Logo. [online] Available Nasties. (2020). Logo. [online] Availableat: at:https://www.nonasties.in/ https://www.nonasties.in/ [Accessed 1 May 2020] 1 May 2020] No[Accessed Nasties. (2020). Logo. [online] Available at: https://www.nonasties.in/ [Accessed 1 May 2020] Birdsong. (2020). [online] Available at: https://birdsong.london/ Birdsong. (2020). Logo.Logo. [online] Available at: https://birdsong.london/ [Accessed 1 2020] May 2020] [Accessed 1 May Birdsong. (2020). Logo. [online] Available at: https://birdsong.london/ [Accessed 1 May 2020]

House of Sunny. (2020). Logo. [online] Available at: House of Sunny. (2020). Logo. [online] Available at: https://www. https://www.houseofsunny.co.uk/ [Accessed 1 May 2020] House of Sunny. (2020).[Accessed Logo. [online] houseofsunny.co.uk/ 1 MayAvailable 2020] at: https://www.houseofsunny.co.uk/ [Accessed 1 May 2020] FlatIcon. (2020). Thumbs up icon Available at: https://www.flaticon.com/ FlatIcon. (2020). Thumbs up[online] icon [online] Available at: https://www.flaticon. [Accessed 1 May 2020] com/ [Accessed 1 May FlatIcon. (2020). Thumbs up 2020] icon [online] Available at: https://www.flaticon.com/ [Accessed 1 May 2020] FlatIcon. (2020). Computer Icon. [online] Available at: https://www.flaticon.com/ FlatIcon. (2020). Icon. [online] Available at: https://www.flaticon. [Accessed 1 May 2020]Computer FlatIcon. (2020). Computer Icon. [online] Available at: https://www.flaticon.com/ com/ [Accessed 1 May 2020] [Accessed 1 May 2020] FlatIcon. (2020). Telephone Icon. [online] Available at: https://www.flaticon.com/ [Accessed 1 May Telephone 2020] FlatIcon. (2020). Icon. [online] Available at: https://www.flaticon.com/ FlatIcon. (2020). Telephone Icon. [online] Available at: https://www.flaticon. [Accessed 1 [Accessed May 2020]1 May 2020] com/

https://knowtheorigin.com/[Accessed [Accessed11May May2020] 2020] https://knowtheorigin.com/

Lucy and Yak. (2020) Logo. [online] Available at: https://lucyandyak.com/ [Accessed Lucy and Yak.Yak. (2020) Logo. [online] Available at:https://lucyandyak.com/ https://lucyandyak.com/ [Accessed Lucy and (2020) Logo. [online] Available at: https://lucyandyak.com/ 1 May 2020] Lucy and Yak. (2020) Logo. [online] Available at: [Accessed [Accessed 1 May 2020] 1 May 2020] 1 May 2020]

168

The Social Outfit. (2020) Logo. [online] Available at: https://thesocialoutfit.org/ The SocialOutfit. (2020)Logo. Logo.[online] [online]Available Availableat: at:https://thesocialoutfit.org/ https://thesocialoutfit.org/ [Accessed 1Outfit. May(2020) 2020] The Social [Accessed11May May2020] 2020] [Accessed

FlatIcon. (2020). Chart Icon. [online] Available at: https://www.flaticon.com/ [Accessed 1FlatIcon. May FlatIcon. 2020] (2020).(2020). Chart Icon. Available at: https://www.flaticon.com/ [Accessed Chart[online] Icon. [online] Available at: https://www.flaticon.com/ 1 May 2020] 1 May [Accessed 2020]

FlatIcon. (2020). App Icon. [online] Available at: https://www.flaticon.com/ [Accessed 1 May 2020] FlatIcon. (2020). App Icon. [online] Available at: https://www.flaticon.com/ [Accessed 1 May 2020]

169 169

1 May 2020]

FlatIcon. (2020). App Icon. Available at: https://www.flaticon.com/ [Accessed 1 FlatIcon. (2020). App[online] Icon. [online] Available at: https://www.flaticon.com/ May 2020] [Accessed 1 May 2020]

FlatIcon. (2020). Notepad Icon. [online] Available at: https://www.flaticon.com/ FlatIcon. (2020). Notepad Icon. [online] Available at: https://www.flaticon. [Accessed 1 May 2020] com/ [Accessed 1 May 2020]

Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: App Mock Up Review and Reward.

Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop [Accessed 9 May 2020] work: App Mock Up Review and Reward. [Accessed 9 May 2020]

Gabi Howarth, (2020). Photoshop work: Instagram Page Mock up. [Accessed 9 May Gabi (2020). Photoshop work: Instagram Page Mock up. [Accessed 9 May 2020]Howarth, Gabi Howarth, (2020). Photoshop work: Instagram Page Mock up. [Accessed 2020] 9 May 2020]

FlatIcon. (2020). Chart Icon. [online] Available at: https://www.flaticon.com/ [Accessed FlatIcon. (2020). Chart Icon. [online] Available at: https://www.flaticon.com/ [Accessed 1 May 2020] FlatIcon. 1 May 2020](2020). Chart Icon. [online] Available at: https://www.flaticon.com/ [Accessed 1 May 2020]

FlatIcon. (2020). Shaking Hands Icon. [online] Available at: https://www.flaticon.com/ FlatIcon. (2020). Shaking Hands Icon. [online] Available at: https://www.flaticon.com/ [Accessed May 2020] FlatIcon.1 (2020). Shaking Hands Icon. [online] Available at: https://www. [Accessed 1 May 2020] flaticon.com/ [Accessed 1 May 2020]

Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: App Sign Up Mock up. [Accessed 9 May 2020] Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: App Mock up. [Accessed 9 May92020] Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work:Sign AppUp Sign Up Mock up. [Accessed May 2020]

Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: App Barcode Mock up. [Accessed 9 May 2020] Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: App Barcode Mock up. [Accessed 9 May 2020] Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: App Barcode Mock up. [Accessed 9 May 2020]

Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop App Mock In Purchases. App Purchases. Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: work: App Mock Up InUp App [Accessed 9 May Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: App Mock Up In App Purchases. [Accessed 9 May [Accessed 9 May 2020] 2020] 2020]

Aditi Mayer. (2020). Aditi Mayer Profile. [Instagram] Available at: Aditi Mayer. (2020). Aditi Mayer Profile. [Instagram] at:at: https:// Aditi Mayer. (2020). Aditi Mayer Profile. [Instagram] Available https://www.instagram.com/ [Accessed 8 May 2020] Available https://www.instagram.com/ [Accessed 8 May 2020] www.Instagram.com/ [Accessed 8 May 2020]

Trashisfortossers.. (2020). Trash Trash Is ForIsTossers Profile. [Instagram] Available at: Trashisfortossers.. (2020). For Tossers Profile. [Instagram] Available Trashisfortossers.. (2020). Trash Is For Tossers Profile. [Instagram] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/ [Accessed 8 May 2020] at: https://www.Instagram.com/ [Accessed 8 May 2020] https://www.instagram.com/ [Accessed 8 May 2020]

Mariana Testino.. (2020). Mariana Testino’s Profile. [Instagram] Available at: Mariana Testino.. (2020). Mariana Testino’s Profile. [Instagram] Available at: at: https://www.instagram.com/ [Accessed 8Testino’s May 2020] Mariana Testino.. (2020). Mariana Profile. [Instagram] Available https://www.instagram.com/ [Accessed 8 May 82020] https://www.Instagram.com/ [Accessed May 2020]

Venetia Falconer. (2020). Venetia Falconer’s Profile. [Instagram] Available at Venetia Falconer. (2020). Venetia Profile. [Instagram] Available Venetia Falconer. (2020). Venetia Falconer’s [Instagram] Available at at https://www.instagram.com/ [Accessed 8Falconer’s MayProfile. 2020] https://www.Instagram.com/ [Accessed 8 May 2020] https://www.instagram.com/ [Accessed 8 May 2020]

Jasmine Hemsley. (2020). Jasmine Hemsley’s Profile. [Instagram] Available at: Jasmine Hemsley. (2020). Jasmine Hemsley’s Profile. [Instagram] Available Jasmine Hemsley. (2020). Jasmine Hemsley’s Profile. [Instagram] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/ [Accessed 8 May 2020] at: https://www.Instagram.com/ [Accessed 8 May 2020] https://www.instagram.com/ [Accessed 8 May 2020] Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: App Mock Up Sustainable Scoreboard. [Accessed 9 Gabi Howarth. Photoshop work: AppUp Mock Up Sustainable Gabi Howarth. (2020).(2020). Photoshop work: App Mock Sustainable Scoreboard. [Accessed 9 May 2020] Scoreboard. [Accessed 9 May 2020] May 2020]

Carmitivie. (2020). Carmitive’s Profile. [Instagram] Available at: https://www. Instagram.com/ [Accessed 8 May [Instagram] 2020] Carmitivie. (2020). Carmitive’s Profile. Available at:

Carmitivie. (2020). Carmitive’s Profile. 8[Instagram] https://www.instagram.com/ [Accessed May 2020]Available at: https://www.instagram.com/ [Accessed 8 May 2020] 170

171 171

[Accessed 8 May 2020]Photoshop work: LinkedIn Sponsored Post Mock up. Gabi Howarth. (2020). [Accessed 8 May 2020]

Conscious N (2020). Consciousnchic’s Profile. [Instagram] Available at: Conscious Chic. (2020). Consciousnchic’s [Instagram] Available at: Conscious N Chic. Chic. N (2020). Consciousnchic’s Profile. Profile. [Instagram] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/ [Accessed 8 May 2020] https://www.Instagram.com/ [Accessed 8 May 2020] https://www.instagram.com/ [Accessed 8 May 2020]

Gabi Howarth. (2020. Photoshop work: Website mock up B2C. [Accessed 7 Gabi Howarth. (2020. Photoshop work: Website mock up B2C. [Accessed 77 May GabiMay Howarth. (2020. Photoshop work: Website mock up B2C. [Accessed May 2020] 2020] 2020]

Gabi Howarth. (2020. Photoshop work: Website mock up B2B. [Accessed 7 May Gabi Howarth. (2020. Photoshop work: Website mock up B2B. [Accessed 7 2020] Gabi Howarth. (2020. Photoshop work: Website mock up B2B. [Accessed 7 May May 2020]

2020]

Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: Tote bag mock up. [Accessed 9 May 2020] Howarth. (2020). Photoshop Totemock bag mock up. [Accessed May Gabi Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work:work: Tote bag up. [Accessed 9 May9 2020] 2020]

Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: Twitter Page Mock up. [Accessed 77 May Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: Twitter Page Mock up. [Accessed May Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: Twitter Page Mock up. [Accessed 7 2020] 2020] May 2020] Gabi(2020). Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: up. Pen[Accessed mock up. 9 [Accessed 9 May Gabi Howarth. Photoshop work: Pen mock May 2020]

Gabi Gabi Howarth. Howarth. (2020). (2020). Photoshop Photoshop work: work: Facebook Facebook Page Page Mock Mock up. up. [Accessed [Accessed 77 May 2020] Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: Facebook Page Mock up. [Accessed May 2020]

2020]

Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: Pen mock up. [Accessed 9 May 2020]

7 May 2020]

Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: Notepad mock up. [Accessed 9 May

Gabi Howarth. 2020] (2020). Photoshop work: Notepad mock up. [Accessed 9 May 2020] Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: Notepad mock up. [Accessed 9 May 2020] Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: Podcast Mock up. 88 May Gabi Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work:work: Podcast MockMock up. [Accessed [Accessed May8 2020] 2020] Howarth. (2020). Photoshop Podcast up. [Accessed May 2020]

Clothing. Blue and Purple [online] Available PiecefulPieceful WorldsWorlds Clothing. (2020).(2020). Blue and Purple T-shirt.T-shirt. [online] Available at: at: http://www.piecefulworlds.com/?product=ladies-large-purple-and-bluehttp://www.piecefulworlds.com/?product=ladies-large-purple-and-blue-tie-dyedPieceful Worlds Clothing. (2020). Blue and Purple T-shirt. [online] Available at: tie-dyed-spiral-t-shirt 7 May 2020] spiral-t-shirt [Accessed 7 May[Accessed 2020] http://www.piecefulworlds.com/?product=ladies-large-purple-and-blue-tie-dyed-

Gabi work: Exhibition GabiHowarth. Howarth.(2020). (2020).Photoshop Photoshop work: ExhibitionStand StandMock Mockup. up.[Accessed Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: Exhibition Stand Mock up. [Accessed 88 May 2020] [Accessed May 2020] 8 May 2020]

spiral-t-shirt [Accessed 7 May 2020]

Companion. (2020). I made your clothes. [online] Available at: https://www.

FlatIcon. (2020). Thumbs Up [online] Available at: FlatIcon. (2020). Thumbs Up Icon. Icon. [online] Available at: https://www.flaticon.com/ https://www.flaticon.com/ FlatIcon. (2020). Thumbs Up Icon. [online] Available at: https://www.flaticon. [Accessed 1 May 2020] [Accessed 1 May 2020]

Companion. (2020). I made your clothes. [online] Available at:7 May 2020] companiondenim.com/i-made-your-clothes/ [Accessed https://www.companiondenim.com/i-made-your-clothes/ [Accessed 7 May 2020]

com/ [Accessed 1 May 2020]

Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: LinkedIn Sponsored Post Mock up. Gabi Howarth. (2020). Photoshop work: LinkedIn Sponsored Post Mock up. [Accessed 8 May 2020] [Accessed 8 May 2020]

172

Gabi Howarth. (2020. Photoshop work: Website mock up B2B. [Accessed 7 May 2020]

O Ecotextiles. (2020). Cotton. [online[ Available O Ecotextiles. (2020). Cotton. [online[ Available at: at: https://oecotextiles. wordpress.com/2010/06/24/cotton/ [Accessed 7 May 2020] 7 May 2020] https://oecotextiles.wordpress.com/2010/06/24/cotton/ [Accessed

173 173

APPENDIX Online Survey Appendix 1 Blank Survey Questions

174

175 175

176

177 177

Online Survey Appendix 2 Online Survey Responses

178

179 179

180

181 181

Any additional comments on this concept or ways to improve would be greatly appreciated. I think it’s a brilliant idea! Great Idea! Sounds like a great idea! I think it would be important to know where the clothing comes from and how it gets made. Worth looking into blockchain technology, this might add an additional layer to your project - lots of articles on LinkedIn and people to talk to about it. Great idea though, don’t forget to think about all the B2B opportunities here too - sustainable fashion brands hold all their value in a transparent supply chain so anything they can do to prove it is differentiating!

Focus Groups Appendix 3 Focus Group 1 Participant A - age 21 Participant B - age 19 Participant C - age 20 Participant D - age 21 Moderator: Gabi Howarth (GH)

Great idea Gabi! I would definitely use it and think it is a really important and cool idea. Which fashion brands would be included and how would app users know which products to scan? Understanding what you purchase will drive change and develop new sustainable business concepts Love the idea as an app! I think it’s a great idea and I would definitely be wanting to download it! Amazing idea! I think it sounds amazing! I would definitely use it! This sounds fantastic, I love being in touch with humanity and ecology while also looking good! Thanks Gabi, Im really really excited now Very interesting idea Great concept! Please bring this app to life! Great idea! I think it is important that an app is free as people don’t really want to pay to download apps just in case you don’t like it once it is downloaded Fab idea! Will it be on just ethical fashion brands or high street brands as well? Fabulous idea! there is an app like this already ( good on you) Good idea! Would it be all fashion brands? Great app idea! Could already see it being launched on the App store! Love the idea! When will this be launching?

GH: Hi everyone, my name is Gabi and before we start this focus group I’ll just take you through what the purpose of this is. As part of my university course I am undertaking research into a proposed business model. To complete this research project and find the answers I need your help, I will be asking you about your attitudes towards brand transparency and your thoughts on two proposed business concepts. It will last around 10 minutes. I will be taping everything and transcribing it later, and of course if any of you would like a copy of the transcript then please ask me after we have finished, and I will happily arrange one for you. Secondly, everything you say will be treated with confidence and your identities will not be disclosed as I will refer to you as participant A,B,C or D, so don ’t worry about anything you say being attributed to you as an individual. That’s it for the introduction from me, now lets get started. GH: My first question is how do you feel about brand transparency and the need for brands to tell the whole story? Participant A: I definitely think it is an important factor and it is only going to get more and more important. Participant C: Yes I agree, however, all these fast fashion brands don’t actually know themselves the ‘whole story’ of their own products as there are so many steps in their supply chains. I think though as transparency gets more and more important, brands will have to start doing their own research into their supply chains. Participant D: I think it is really necessary for brands to tell the whole story, however, at the end of the day consumers will buy what they want to buy so whether the story is bad, like it will be in the fast fashion brands, I think consumers will still buy it because they will want it. Participant B: I don’t think that because I think if brands actually show people where their clothes are coming from, it will actually shock a lot of people and then I think many consumers will change their shopping habits and attitudes. Participant D: Hmm I guess, but if you were going to order something online or going in store would you care who made it if you knew you wanted it?

Love it!

182

183 183

Participant B: I think if I was told who made it and if they were young and vulnerable, I probably would change my mind and buy something from a more ethical brand. GH: Some good points there guys, so, I have come up with two business concepts, with the first concept being an app that educates consumers on the origins of sustainable and ethical fashion garments. The consumer would be able to look into the journey of a sustainable garment by scanning a barcode and a visual journey of information would appear, showing how the product was made, the raw materials and if possible, which individual made the product. The aim of this concept would be to create absolute transparency within the supply chain and enabling consumers to feel confident within their sustainable purchases. What are your initial ideas on this concept? Participant C: I think this is an amazing concept and an app that I would definitely use! I have a question, am I ok to ask you one? GH: For sure! Go ahead!

Participant A: I definitely agree, I think both concepts would work separately, however using the incentives within the product journey app would be really beneficial to consumers and would ensure that consumers keep using the app and scanning products. Participant C: I agree with the above comment, I think it is so important to make sure consumers want to keep going back onto an app, for example my Urban Outfitters app, if I see that I am closer to a certain step and can get a £5 voucher off my next shop, I am more likely to order something through the app. GH: That’s great feedback! Thanks guys! Do you have anything else you want to add? Participant D: I think, in the second concept when you mentioned about the charity and donating to a charity, that is a really good incentive and it also matches up with the sustainable and ethical views of your app! That’s everything then guys, thank you so much for taking the time out of your day for helping me out! Your feedback and advice has been very helpful! Enjoy the rest of your day!

Participant C: How would you ensure that the information the brand is telling you is the truth? GH: It would be hard to know whether the brand is being truthful therefore within this business concept it would be important to have a brand researcher employed and get all the information researched before it would be published on the app. Participant D: Amazing idea! I think it is so important to educate the consumer on the backgrounds of the items that they are buying as I know myself I find sustainable and ethical fashion so confusing. Participant A; I really like this idea, I think it would be great for consumers and also brands to use! Have you considered if fast fashion brands would be able to use an app like this? GH: At this moment in time, I don’t think fast fashion brands are ready to be on an app like this due to their long and unknown supply chains, however, it would be something to consider within the future of the app.

Appendix 4 Focus Group 2 Participant A - age 23 Participant B - age 20 Participant C - age 19 Participant D - age 25

GH: I am now going to explain the second business concept. This would be a creation of a platform that incentivises consumers to shop sustainably. Each sustainable product that a consumer buys will equate to a certain amount of ‘sustainable points’ which will be based on several factors such as whether the item has been sourced locally, the materials used, how much CO2 was produced. Consumers can earn points by purchasing the product through the platform and as points build up, consumers can exchange them for vouchers or even contribute their points to a chosen charity which focuses on helping create a more sustainable fashion environment. Do you have any feedback regarding this concept? Participant B: Another amazing idea! How did you think of these? I think I would be more likely to use the first concept as it sounds a bit more exciting and knowledgeable! With the second concept, it might just be another app that you download but forget you have after a couple of times. Participant D: I like both ideas, I think it is very important to use incentivizing within any app to ensure consumers don’t forget about it like * mentioned. I think I prefer the first concept however, I would like it if the second concept could also incorporate the first concept.

Moderator: Gabi Howarth (GH)

184

185 185

GH: First of all I am going to start by asking you all how often you use apps on your phones?

GH: Would you be willing to share this app with family and friends for a reward?

Participant D: All the time! Let me show you my phone, look at my different folders on my phone, they’re all full of apps! *Shows phone home screen*

Participant D: Definitely I would share this with as many people as possible because I think it’s really important to ensure people know where they’re clothes are coming from!

Participant A: Sometimes, I mainly use apps if I am going to get some benefit out of them to be honest

Participant A: 100% I would definitely share this with family and friends

GH: What sort of benefits do you like to receive from using apps?

GH: Great, thanks for this!

Participant A: Erm, just like discount codes for 10 or 20% off my final basket

GH: Now onto the next section, how many of you use Instagram?

Participant B: I’m the same, I usually download an app because of the benefits for using them... I also like apps where you can compete against friends, you know in Strava, the running app, I like to use it because I can see how far I have run compared to my friends.

*Everybody says yes*

Participant C: I’m the same, I love using Strava! It makes using the app so much fun, but referring back to the question, it completely depends on the app it is, if it benefits my life then I use it quite a lot but then some apps I just use them when I need them, like for example the Asos app, I just use it when I have seen something and want to buy it through the app because it is easier than on the website.

Participant C: I think influencers are really important for brands to use because I do believe that they reach a wide audience of people

GH: Thank you for that guys! Now, I’m going to explain the business concept to you all.So it is an app that educates consumers on the origins of sustainable and ethical fashion garments. The consumer would be able to look into the journey of a sustainable garment by scanning a barcode and a visual journey of information would appear, showing how the product was made, the raw materials and if possible, which individual made the product. It will also show the sustainability rating of that specific product in stars as you scan it and the option to watch the visual journey now or later. The aim of this concept would be to create absolute transparency within the supply chain and enabling consumers to feel confident within their sustainable purchases. What are your initial ideas on this concept?

GH: What are your opinions on influencers?

Participant B: I agree, but I think a lot of the time you need to be cautious, sometimes influencers don’t believe in the product or service they are promoting and they are just doing it purely for the money Participant A: Yes, I think so too, I mainly follow micro influencers because I believe they are more authentic and genuine in what they are promoting Participant D: Me too, some of these bigger influencers from love island etc they are just promoting things for the sake of it and I think it’s at a point now where consumers actually don’t believe any of them. Participant C: I can’t stand it when influencers are promoting products they don’t believe in, which just makes consumers constantly question what the real purpose behind the post is.

Participant A: Love the idea! I think it’s really cool and definitely something I would use! Participant C: Great business concept, would it be available on like fast fashion websites as well or just sustainable fashion? GH: To start with it will be available for sustainable fashion brands only due to the complexity of fast fashion retailers supply chains at this current moment, however it would be something that the business will look into in the future, or maybe something fast fashion brands would look into in the future!

Participant B: I think it’s more important in this business case as well to get professionals to promote this on Instagram rather than influencers, professionals that know more about it and have a high following rather than influencers just for the sake of it. Participant C: I agree! There must be some really interesting topics to be spoken about with industry professionals. Participant A: I think this is really important too!

Participant D: I think it’s great! It’s something I would definitely use whenever I was shopping GH: Would you say Instagram is the best platform to promote on? Participant B: Yes definitely, me too! Participant D: Definitely, I think if your brand isn’t on Instagram it has no chance! GH: Thanks guys, how important do you think incentives are within apps? Participant A: Really important, I think it’s the best way to ensure people keep coming back to use your app.

Participant A: I think so, I find out about new brands mainly from Instagram Participant C: I think when brands use Instagram sponsored posts it really reaches out to the right people!

186

Participant B: I think by using incentives and rewarding consumers it will ensure that consumers are loyal to the app and therefore to the brand.

GH: That’s great!

Participant C: Very important! Reward schemes are really important because I think otherwise people just get really fed up of using it if they are not getting anything back!

GH: That’s everything then guys, thank you so much for taking the time out of your day for helping me out! Your feedback and advice has been very helpful! Enjoy the rest of your day!

187 187

Industry Interviews Due to external circumstances, it was not possible to receive a signed consent form from the industry experts, however, each expert has provided their consent in the conversation threads.

which factory the product was developed in, how the garments were made, the raw materials, even to the point of which individuals created the product. The goal is to create absolute transparency within the supply chain enabling consumers to feel confident in their sustainable purchases. Questions:

Appendix 5

Do you have any advice regarding the set up of an app?

Industry Interview 1 - Susan Azari, Mobile App Commercial Lead at Very.co.uk

How do you encourage your consumer to engage with the Very app? How do you ensure customer retention is high within the app?

LinkedIn Messages March 10th 2020 at 12:24pm Hi Susan... Thank you for connecting with me! I am currently in the middle of my dissertation project for my final year of university and I am focusing my research on fashion apps currently out in the market! As part of my primary research I am undertaking interviews with professionals in the fashion industry and it would be really helpful if you or anybody in your team could spare a little time to answer my questions. Please let me know if this would be possible. Thank you! 1:06pm Hi Gabi, Hope youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re well. Sure I would be happy to help you with your dissertation project, it sounds like a really interesting topic. What method are you planning to use for asking questions i.e. phone interviews, surveys etc? Best, Sue

5:36pm Hi Sue, Thank you for your reply! Would it be possible for me to email you over some questions? Looking forward to gaining some insights from yourself and the brand! Gabi

March 11th 2020 at 7:04am Hi Gabi, Sure, my email address is Susan.Azari@theverygroup.com Best, Sue

March 12th 12:58pm Hi Sue, I have sent you the email over, please let me know if you have received it! Thank you again! Gabi

Wed 11/03/2020 12:20 Hi Sue, Thank you for taking time out to answer the following questions.

Do you offer any incentives or promotions on the app? What are your extra revenue streams within your app? Do you think in-app advertisements can hinder an apps performance? How do you ensure that your app stands out in comparison to your website? How do you maintain your app to keep it relevant with current trends? I look forward to hearing your responses to my questions and please feel free to provide some feedback on my business idea. Thank you again! Kind Regards, Gabi Howarth Azari, Susan <Susan.Azari@theverygroup.com> Thu 12/03/2020 17:32 Hi Gabi, Hope youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re well. Please see below for answers to your dissertation questions, let me know if you have any follow up questions and good luck! Do you have any advice regarding the set-up of an app? When setting up an app, outside of the development of the app itself (i.e. coding) itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to completely map out the customer journey first. Wireframe the designs and journey for each individual stage, test example scenarios and ensure you get this in front of your target audience to get their feedback and refine your app experience. Ensure that you have analytics in place to track the performance of your app, and have some core metrics/targets in place such as number of installs, retention rate, push opt-in and monthly or daily active users. FYI this is a great site for mocking up interactive wireframes for apps: https://marvelapp.com/

Just to give you some context; for my final year dissertation project we were set a task to develop a business model within our chosen industry. I am in the early stages of developing a proposed business model which will focus on sustainable and ethical fashion. The idea encompasses transparency within fashion brands. The core function of the business will be app based where consumers can delve into the journey of a garment. The consumer will scan a unique barcode of an item which will open up a visual journey of information for the consumer to take in. The consumer will be able to learn about the products origins, spanning from

188

How do you encourage your consumer to engage with the Very app? Communications that are native to the app are most important here, this would be push notifications and in-app messages. These are segmented based on customer behaviours such as most shopped departments, or targeted promotional push notifications to customer who have lapsed and not shopped with the app for a certain period of time. Outside of this, the constant development of the in-app experience is important to ensure that there is ongoing development and newness to keep customers engaged. Personalisation within the app is particularly important.

189 189

How do you ensure customer retention is high within the app? Similar to the above, this can be influenced based on your contact strategy. However ultimately you will drive the highest retention if you have an app that customers enjoy using.

Wed 25/03/2020 10:57

Do you offer any incentives or promotions on the app? We do, we use these as a lever to increase retention and also as a hook to drive installs. An example of this includes a prize draw competition where customers are entered if they place an order on the app and turn on push notifications.

For some reason this email went into my junk and I have only just seen it!

What are your extra revenue streams within your app? As a cross-channel retailer selling physical products we don’t have additional revenue streams (unlike gaming apps which often provide additional paid for features).

Do you give your consent for your name and the information provided to be published in my dissertation?

Do you think in-app advertisements can hinder an apps performance? It depends on the context and customer demographic of the app. For a fashion retail app this would definitely be disruptive to the customer journey and you would not want to drive traffic outside of your app. For a free gaming app for instance, this may be necessary as the only revenue stream, however this is where additional revenue streams could be considered i.e. pay a one-off or monthly fee to not see advertisements. Also it’s important to think about placement and creative within the app, ensuring that the advertising partners you work with are relevant to your target audience. How do you ensure that your app stands out in comparison to your website? This comes down to the customer journey and experience, as well as any USP’s which the app has over the website i.e. exclusive features and personalised content. With 5G coming to the UK, speed of page loading times will be important, and an app that renders correctly on all device sizes. How do you maintain your app to keep it relevant with current trends? We look at app store reviews to monitor customer feedback which we use to inform the app development strategy. We have a UX research team who look at market trends and interview customers to get their feedback on what changes they would like to see from the app. We also keep on top of industry changes (such as iOS releasing dark mode) and factor this into our backlog of app developments. However we have a hybrid app which makes it difficult to get to market quickly with new features.

190

Hi Sue,

Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule! Just read through your responses, they’re definitely going to enhance my work!

Thanks again Gabi Azari, Susan <Susan.Azari@theverygroup.com> Wed 25/03/2020 11:05 Hi Gabi, Yes I give my consent. Not a problem at all. Best of luck with it and I hope you and your family are safe and well in these crazy times! Best, Sue

Appendix 6 Industry Interview 2 - Avi Libbert, Founder of Capri Sunglasses

I have a follow up question about the scanning of labels, is this the scanning of barcodes on newly purchased items or the care labels on the interior of a garment? An alternative option could be a visual scan of the product without a requirement for a label, you have probably seen that ASOS offer a similar app feature that allows a visual search within their app. I think this could provide a smoother customer experience. I would also consider how you can incorporate this into the online shopping experience, your idea sounds great for in-store shopping/post-purchase however with the exponential growth of online commerce it would be good to explore how you can also assist with online purchasing decisions.

On Thu, 12 Mar 2020 at 14:00

Best, Sue

Just to give you some context; for my project we were set a task to develop a business model within our chosen industry.

Susan Azari Mobile App Commercial Lead www.theverygroup.com @TheVeryGroup

I am in the early stages of developing a proposed business model which will focus on sustainable and ethical fashion. The idea encompasses transparency within fashion brands. The core function of the business will be app based where consumers can delve into the journey of a garment or accessory. The consumer will scan a unique barcode on an item which will open up a visual journey of information for the consumer to take in.

Hey Avi, Hope you’re okay! I am currently now working on my final dissertation project and I was just wondering if you would be able to help me out again with your industry knowledge!

191 191

The consumer will be able to learn about the products origins spanning from which factory the product was developed in, how the product was made, the raw materials, even to the point of which individuals created the product. The goal is to create absolute transparency within the supply chain enabling consumers to feel confident in their sustainable purchases.

5. How do you envisage the market becoming more sustainable without any external pressures such as government intervention? From what I can see, I think naturally is a growing market, with the climate issues production is following the consumer demand more than ever. From little things like removing excess plastic wrapping and replacing it with sustainable tissue paper to the raw materials used the entire market is trying to become more sustainable.

Questions: Would Capri be interested in this sort of app?

Fri 13/03/2020 13:39

Do you think your consumer is ready for this?

Hey Avi!

Would you say there is a market potential for an app like this?

Thank you so so much! Just read through your responses, they’re going to help me so much.

You have recently launched a sustainable sunglasses range, do you think an app like this would help improve sales of this range? How do you envisage the market becoming more sustainable without any external pressures such as government intervention? I look forward to hearing your responses to my questions and please feel free to provide some feedback on the business idea. Thank you again! Kind Regards, Gabi Howarth

Avi Libbert <avi@caprifashion.co.uk> Thu 12/03/2020 16:13 Hey Gabi! Love the idea - makes perfect sense - hope the answers of sufficient

I’ll keep you updated on my progress if you don’t mind. I may need some further input further down the line. Do you give your consent for your name and information provided to be published within my dissertation? Thanks again Gabi Sent from my iPhone

Fri 13/03/2020 13:42 Of course! Amazing! yeah please keep me updated - it really is a good idea! Fri 13/03/2020 14:48 Thank you!! Sent from my iPhone

Questions: 1. Would Capri be interested in this sort of app? Yes, transparency is key - there’s not enough of it when it comes to sustainability at this moment in time. 2. Do you think your consumer is ready for this? Yes, I believe the consumer is already asking for this and there’s sometimes confusion between what’s recycled and actually sustainable - anything that provides useful information the consumer is beneficial. 3. Would you say there is a market potential for an app like this? I do - if the information can be gathered and conveyed in a manner that the consumer can understand then 100% the market will react well to this app - consumers appreciate being educated on what they’re buying. 4. You have recently launched a sustainable sunglasses range, do you think an app like this would help improve sales of this range? yes, without a doubt! The biggest hurdle I encounter when selling the range is proving the sustainability and the raw materials that go into producing each pair of sunglasses even with all of our certification!

192

Appendix 7 Industry Interview 3 - Henry Young, Partnerships Associate at Dines App

LinkedIn Messages March 13th Gabi Howarth 10:31 AM Hi Henry, I am currently researching into the app market as part of my dissertation and it would be great to have a deeper insight from yourself about the Dines App! Please let me know if you would be willing to answer a few questions for me! Thank you! Gabi Howarth

193 193

March 17th What are your main revenue streams within your app? Henry Young 10:34 AM Hey Gabi, I’m not the owner of this app but I will do what I can to help. I was doing my diss a couple of years ago so anything I can do to help, I will.

Do you think in-app advertisements can hinder an apps performance? What are the running costs like within your app?

Gabi Howarth 6:42 PM Hi Henry, Thank you so much for the reply! That sounds great! Do you have an email where I would be able to send you over a few questions? Gabi

How do you ensure that consumers book a table via your app instead of your competitors such as Opentable? What would you say your unique selling point is?

Henry Young 2:54 PM henyou11@gmail.com

What are the main sources of marketing/communication Dines does in order to reach businesses (B2B) and consumers (B2C)?

Gabi Howarth 2:52 PM Thank you! I have sent you over an email! If you don’t feel comfortable answering any of the questions, feel free to leave them! Gabi

I look forward to hearing your responses to my questions and please feel free to provide some feedback on my business idea.

Email Thread

Thank you again! Kind Regards, Gabi Howarth

Thu 19/03/2020 14:51 henyou11@gmail.com Hi Henry, Hope you are keeping well! Thank you for taking the time out to answer the following questions for me. Just to give you some context; for my final year dissertation project we were set a task to develop a business model within our chosen industry. I am in the early stages of developing a proposed business model which will focus on sustainable and ethical fashion. The idea encompasses transparency within fashion brands. The core function of the business will be app based where consumers can delve into the journey of a garment. The consumer will scan a unique barcode of an item which will open up a visual journey of information for the consumer to take in. The consumer will be able to learn about the products origins, spanning from which factory the product was developed in, how the garments were made, the raw materials, even to the point of which individuals created the product. The goal is to create absolute transparency within the supply chain enabling consumers to feel confident in their sustainable purchases.

<henyou11@gmail.com> Monday 22/03/2020 Hi Gabi, Unfortunately due to CoronaVirus I will no longer be able to answer these questions for you! So sorry! Good luck with your dissertation! Henry

Appendix 8 Industry Interview 4 - Holly Wagman, Marketing Manager at Skin Academy Thu 12/03/2020 18:32

Questions: Hey Holly, Do you have any advice regarding the set up of an app? Hope you’re okay! What market are you currently operating in? How do you encourage your consumer to engage with the Dines app?

I am currently now working on my final dissertation project and I was just wondering if you would be able to help me out again with your industry knowledge as your last insights helped me massively with my first stage!

How do you ensure customer retention is high within the app?

194

195 195

Just to give you some context; for my project we were set a task to develop a business model within our chosen industry. I am in the early stages of developing a proposed business model which will focus on sustainable and ethical fashion. The idea encompasses transparency within fashion brands. The core function of the business will be app based where consumers can delve into the journey of a garment or accessory. The consumer will scan a unique barcode on an item which will open up a visual journey of information for the consumer to take in. The consumer will be able to learn about the products origins spanning from which factory the product was developed in, how the product was made, the raw materials, even to the point of which individuals created the product. The goal is to create absolute transparency within the supply chain enabling consumers to feel confident in their sustainable purchases. I understand that my idea is primarily focused on the fashion industry however it may be a possibility for the future of the app to become prevalent within the beauty industry! Questions: Would Skin Academy be interested in this sort of app?

1. Would Skin Academy be interested in this sort of app? It sounds so amazing!! We sell to distributors around the world and retailers both UK & global. This would be a marketing tool both us and the retailers would have to agree on first. However, from a brand point of view, we would definitely be interested in it ! Our consumer is searching for more and more information about where our products are made and even down to the tiny details of the product such as how the machines in the factories are cleaned and if these cleaning products are natural/sustainable ! 2. Do you think your consumer is ready for this? The consumer is becoming increasingly more aware of how and where their beauty and fashion brands are being produced. It is good to note that the average consumer is lazy. They pick up an item and spend a few seconds deciding on their purchase. If the product does not instantly dictate their transparency and give the consumer exactly what they are looking for upon first glance, they’re likely to put it down and choose another similar competitor brand. This app will help give them the exact I information they are looking for and could really help make their decision for them ! I do think the consumer is ready for this within the fashion world. More and more consumers are willing and able to look in to their clothing and the background behind their production. As much as we don’t like saying it, it’s also a huge trend for consumers currently. They like to be seen to be doing the right thing, regardless of their personal beliefs and values. Regardless, I do think the fashion consumer is ready for this type of transparent, open and honest app and I think it’ll help promote trust and brand loyalty for you.

Do you think your consumer is ready for this? Would you say there is a market potential for an app like this? You have recently launched a sustainable/natural skin care range, do you think an app like this would help improve sales of this range? I look forward to hearing your responses to my questions and please feel free to provide some feedback on the business idea. Thank you again! Kind Regards, Gabi Howarth

From: Holly Wagman <holly@qpcglobal.com> Sent: 13 March 2020 09:26 To: gabi howarth <gabhowarth@hotmail.co.uk> Subject: RE: Dissertation Research

3. Would you say there is a market potential for an app like this? Definitely – sounds really niche and I think it could really start to become mainstream like most ‘’green’’ ideas within the fashion world. I’m not that knowledgeable of the fashion world but even I’m aware that Zara have taken action to make their clothing sustainable so this sounds like it’s the right step for you to take! As a consumer myself I would use the app ! Sounds so beneficial, informative and convenient ! 4. You have recently launched a sustainable/natural skin care range, do you think an app like this would help improve sales of this range? Possibly! It’s hard for me to comment as I work in product development rather than sales or marketing. I do think from a personal perspective it would help me make my purchasing decision. Especially as our brand is available in Holland & Barrett which is known to be an ethically and sustainably supportive retailer. I also think it highly depends upon the consumer and their convenience. The app will help provide vital information for the conscious consumer who wants to make an informed decision. However, if the consumer is busy and wants to make a quick decision, they’re probably going to stick to that lazy purchasing mentality and buy whatever brand stands out to them ! I think the clothing industry is one step ahead here. And I really do believe this app will help improve sales for clothing. However, skincare is a little different. The formulations/actives/ consistency/ scents all impact the customers purchase decision.

Mon 16/03/2020 13:20 Hi Gabi, please see below. The idea sounds amazing and so detailed ! Hope you actually launch it I would definitely use it !! Hope my answers help- good luck I am sure you’ll get a first with this concept

Hi Holly, Thank you so so much! Just read through your responses and they are going to help me so much! Glad you like the idea! Gabi x

Holly x

196

197 197

Appendix 9 Industry Interview 5 - Mitchel White, Founder of Reward Agency

LinkedIn Messages March 23rd 2020 4:39 PM Hi Mitchel... Thank you for connecting with me! I am currently in the middle of my dissertation project for my final year of university and I am focusing my research on sustainable fashion! As part of my primary research I am undertaking interviews with professionals in the industry and it would be really helpful if you or anybody in your team could spare a little time to answer my questions. Please let me know if this would be possible. Thank you! 4:44 PM I’d be happy to help Gabi! 4:47 PM Thank you so much for your reply! Would it be possible if I could email you over some questions? Gabi 4:55 PM Of course, i’m on mitchel@rewardagency.co.uk 5:26 PM Thank you Mitchel! I have sent a couple questions over! Gabi 5:31 PM No problem when do you need the answers back by? 5:46 PM Preferably by the end of the week but don’t worry if you are unable to do so by then! Thanks again! 6:05 PM No worries, will be able to get it to you by then 24th March

Email Thread Mon 23/03/2020 17:25 Hi Mitchel, I hope you are keeping well! Thank you for taking the time out to answer the following questions. I am currently working on my final dissertation project and I was just wondering if you would be able to help me out! Just to give you some context; for my project we were set a task to develop a business model within our chosen industry. I am in the early stages of developing a proposed business model which will focus on sustainable and ethical fashion. The idea encompasses transparency within fashion brands. The core function of the business will be app based where consumers can delve into the journey of a garment or accessory. The consumer will scan a unique barcode on an item which will open up a visual journey of information for the consumer to take in. The consumer will be able to learn about the products origins spanning from which factory the product was developed in, how the product was made, the raw materials, even to the point of which individuals created the product. The goal is to create absolute transparency within the supply chain enabling consumers to feel confident in their sustainable purchases. Questions: What B2B and B2C ways would be best to market and communicate this app? From your experience do you think ethical brands would be willing to partner with an app like this? And how much do you think they would be willing to pay per month? Do you think influencers would be beneficial to promote an app like this? How would I ensure that the app retention rates would stay high? Do you have any advice for myself or the business? I look forward to hearing your responses to my questions and please feel free to provide some feedback on my business idea. Thank you again! Kind Regards, Gabi Howarth

5:01 PM That’s great! Thank you so much!

198

199 199

From: Mitchel White <mitchel@rewardagency.co.uk> Sent: 24 March 2020 18:46 To: gabi howarth <gabhowarth@hotmail.co.uk> Subject: Re: Dissertation Research

most sustainable wardrobe for example based on points for how many sustainable garments they’ve scanned in a month.

Hi Gabi,

What B2B and B2C ways would be best to market and communicate this app?

I would look at partnerships as one of your biggest acquisition channels. By partnering with a brand like Patagonia for example you would have access to a huge number of users straight away. Beyond that, I’d say make sure you protect your idea by using non disclosure agreements when you’re speaking to app developers and tech co founders, when you’re developing the product try to protect as much you can. The value of your brand in the future will be your technology which could be sold for other uses to other sustainable brands (H&M opening up it’s supply chain technology / Zalando’s tech platform for retailers).

Launch strategy will be important and using an integrated marketing strategy to mix owned, earned and paid media to make sure you’re making noise and cutting through to the right people.

I think this is a FANTASTIC idea so well done and keep up the hard work. If you need any other help, let me know or if anything I’ve written doesn’t make sense - let me know.

No problem. Firstly, I just wanted to say I think this is a fantastic idea - combining technology and storytelling is always great but using it to make supply chains more transparent is great, so well done.

Media wise I would look at PR and social as two of the most important for both B2B and B2C, they will help build trust and awareness. For B2B social, I’d look at connecting with the decision makers in the target customer accounts on LinkedIn and engage organically before reaching out with a simple introduction - have some material ready in the form of an explainer video or PDF to tell them the value you add visually. I think blog/SEO content will be handy for the consumer side too, creating a hub for people into sustainability to find and discover you. You’re ultimately a 2 sided business needed both B2B and B2C buy in so I’d look at how other brands have done it (AirBnB / Zalando). There are hundreds of tactics but I’d focus on the messaging, strategy, partnerships and co-marketing opportunities as your main priority. From your experience do you think ethical brands would be willing to partner with an app like this? And how much do you think they would be willing to pay per month? Definitely. Ethical brands are struggling to stand out in a world where everyone is saying they’re sustainable and green washing. This app would allow them to be completely transparent. It would also add to the customer experience when they’re buying products allowing them to differentiate again. On price, this is a difficult one - research would need to go into that to make sure it’s the right price point. Whatever the price point, I’d have 3 packages and a bespoke solution so you can target at different levels of your market. Do you think influencers would be beneficial to promote an app like this? Definitely. Partnering with influencers and sustainable fashion bloggers would be a great way to tap into existing audiences interested in sustainability. You build trust by using the trust they’ve earned by delivering value to their audience over time.

Do you have any advice for myself or the business?

Wed 25/03/2020 16:44 Hi Mitchel, Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer my questions! I have just read through your responses, they’re definitely going to enhance my work massively! Do you give your consent for your name and information provided to be published in my dissertation? I just have one further question which your advice would be helpful with: What would be the best way to monetize this business idea in your opinion? i.e subscription, one off payment, free for brands to use but the business takes a percentage of sales through the app? Any other recommendations would be helpful! Thanks again Gabi

Mitchel White <mitchel@rewardagency.co.uk> Thu 26/03/2020 10:14 Hi Gabi, No worries, glad it was helpful. Yes, I give my consent. :)

How would I ensure that the app retention rates would stay high? There are a few ways you can retain customers with a product like this. Retargeting advertising might be one way. Creating a community hub for people to keep coming back and consuming your content might be another. Email marketing is perhaps the easiest though - segmenting people based on app activity, for example you could have a highly engaged audience segment and ones who haven’t logged in for a while to enable you to send re-engagement emails. Trying to Gamify your offering would be good too, you could look at a leaderboard of who has the

200

I would say a subscription model would be best or or a percentage of sales. One off payments with software have gone out of favour. A percentage of sale is probably more attractive to the retailer because there is no risk involved to them but to you a subscription model would make for a more predictable revenue stream. Hope that helps.

201 201

Email Thread Thu 26/03/2020 13:56

Mon 09/03/2020 16:26

Hi Mitchel,

Hi Hasna,

Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s great! Thank you very much for your help once again!

Thank you so much for agreeing to take part in my final dissertation research! It will be very useful to gather some insights into your company as the focus of my research project is regarding sustainability within the fashion industry. I have enclosed a group of questions which when answered would benefit the overall research of my report.

Will keep in touch! Gabi

1. What motivated you to set up Save Your Wardrobe? 2. What sort of initial investment did you use to start up Save Your Wardrobe?

Appendix 10

3. Who are your current main competitors and how do you ensure that you stand out from these competitors?

Industry Interview 6 - Hasna Kourda, Founder & CEO of Save Your Wardrobe

LinkedIn Messages

4. How do you see sustainability going in fashion? How do you think the big fashion houses will respond to this trend?

March 9th 2020

5. How do you encourage your consumers to engage with the app?

2:34 PM Hi Hasna... Thank you for connecting with me! I am currently in the middle of my dissertation project for my final year of university and I am focusing my research on sustainable fashion brands currently out in the market! As part of my primary research I am undertaking interviews with professionals in the fashion industry and it would be really helpful if you or anybody in your team could spare a little time to answer my questions. Please let me know if this would be possible. Thank you!

6. What is your current target market?

2:35 PM Hi Gabi, Thank you for thinking of me for your dissertation. I am happy to help. Let me know how. Best, Hasna 2:38 PM Thank you so much for the quick reply! Looking forward to hearing what you have to say! Would it be okay if I emailed you over some questions? 2:42 PM Sure hasna@saveyourwardrobe.com 3:03 PM Thank you!

7. Did you have an identified market segment before you set up Save Your Wardrobe? 8. How do you currently market Save Your Wardrobe? 9. What is your main stream of revenue within your business? 10. Do you have any advice regarding the set up of an app? 11.Where do you see Save Your Wardrobe in the future? Thank you so much again! Gabi Howarth

Hasna Kourda <hasna@saveyourwardrobe.com> Sat 28/03/2020 20:44 Hi Gabi, I am really sorry for the delayed reply. As you probably imagine days have been very busy due to the recent developments of the Covid-19. I hope you are safe and well. Do you still need my help for your research? Let me know. Best, Hasna Hasna Kourda CEO & Co-founder at Save Your Wardrobe

202

203 203

Sun 29/03/2020 18:25 Hi Hasna, Hope you are staying safe! I completely understand! I can imagine how busy you are! If you do find any spare time in your busy schedule, if you could answer the questions in my previous email that would be great! Do you give your consent for your name and information provided to be published within my dissertation? Please don’t worry if not! Gabi

4. How do you see sustainability going in fashion? How do you think the big fashion houses will respond to this trend? Many big fashion houses are already taking action to fight climate chain. Some of them are focusing their efforts on the supply chain. Fashion For Good is an initiative backed by many big corporates. On one hand they build a framework on sustainable practices and on the other hand they support start ups and scale ups who bring innovative solutions. 5. How do you encourage your consumers to engage with the app? We spent several months beta testing our app and asking our community for feedbacks. We also did a partnership with the University of Glasgow where we followed 20 of our beta testers to understand how they traditionally manage their wardrobe and how our app is enhancing the experience. We also offer face to face meetings in order to better understand how the app could help them be more mindful of their consumption.

Mon 30/03/2020 00:28 Hi Gabi, Yes! No problem at all! Please find below my answers. If you have any questions please let me know and I’ll try to be more responsive. Best of luck for your dissertation and if there is anything else I could do feel free to shout. Kind regards, Hasna 1. What motivated you to set up Save Your Wardrobe? The idea of SYW was born when I saw how how people where disconnecting from the content of their wardrobe and the impact of their impulsive purchasing behaviour on the environment. Growing up, my grand mother taught us how to minimise waste and how purpose led designs could make the difference. I also saw a gap between the offer and the demand and an opportunity to build a digital product to help people make better decisions when it comes to fashion purchases. 2. What sort of initial investment did you use to start up Save Your Wardrobe? For the longest time we bootstrapped and validated our assumption with little to zero investment. I had to be very creative on ways to find the informations I needed when I couldn’t spend money on market research. We then got initial support from friends and family members that helped us in the early life of SYW. 3. Who are your current main competitors and how do you ensure that you stand out from these competitors? There is no direct competitor or a similar proposition but there are many digital wardrobe players who offer a library of clothes. Our competitive edge is that we curate an eco system of services like eco friendly dry cleaning, repairs, alteration, donation etc. The best way to stand out is to make sure to listen to your community and the people who you are targeting. Following the market needs and making sure to answer the problem the start up is solving. Keep a close contact with your community and listen to their feedback.

204

6. What is your current target market? We target any person who would like to see a shift in the way they consume fashion. Our main persona is a woman around 30 who is time poor and money rich who live in the city and is used to track her finance, health, activity etc thanks to a digital tool. 7. Did you have an identified market segment before you set up Save Your Wardrobe? At first we thought than women would mainly use our services but we are receiving more and more requests from men and from mums who are keen on using the app for their children’s wardrobe. 8. How do you currently market Save Your Wardrobe? So far we grew organically in our nice. We received a lot of press interest on our innovative solution. After we launched we were selected by Apple as one of the 4 greatest apps they love and got featured on their weeks favorite as well. 9. What is your main stream of revenue within your business? Our app is free for our community but whenever a service is requested we receive a commission on referral. 10. Do you have any advice regarding the set up of an app? Make sure to put out something that deliver a solution to a problem, put extra efforts on the User’s Experience and invest in tech. 11.Where do you see Save Your Wardrobe in the future? Ten years ago I was very excited about the disruptive potential of digital transformation and data based business models. In light of the current pandemic and semi global quarantine, we can see how people are relying to digital apps to keep the social bond. On the other side we can also see that people are reconnecting with themselves and with their surroundings. Investing their time in their homes and sustainable practices either when consuming or when taking care of themselves. In the future I would love to see SYW as the companion for people switching to more mindfulness.-Hasna Kourda CEO & Co-founder at Save Your Wardrobe +44 7913 983188

205 205

Tue 31/03/2020 11:16 Hi Hasna, Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer my questions! I have just read through your responses, they’re definitely going to enhance my work massively! Thanks again Gabi

Lukas Puender 12:35pm Perfect, until Tuesday! Have a nice weekend, Lukas

Gabi Howarth 12:52pm You too!

Phone Transcript: 31st March 2020 GH: Hello LP: Hi

Appendix 11 Industry Interview 8 - Lukas Puender, Co-Founder of Retraced

GH: Hi Lukas, are you okay? LP: I’m good! Sorry for the delay in calling you back! GH: No problem, it’s okay!

LinkedIn Messages 25th March 2020 2:37pm Hi Lukas, I am currently researching into the sustainable fashion app market as part of my final year dissertation and it would be great to have a deeper insight from yourself about Retraced! Please let me know if you would be willing to answer a few questions for me! Thank you! Gabi Howarth 26th March 2020 Lukas Puender 5:10pm Hi Gabi, Yeah I saw that your thesis is more or less about the business model of Retraced. Interesting stuff! Sure let’s have a chat. How about the beginning of next week? Stay well, Lukas Gabi Howarth 5:47pm Thank you for getting back to me! That sounds great!

GH: Just before we get started, do you agree to your name and business being used within my dissertation report? LP: Of course, anything I can do to help! GH: How is everything in Germany with Corona Virus? LP: I mean, I’d say rather okay compared to other countries like Italy and Spain, I think we’re still doing quite alright.For us, our whole team is a home office, except for Philip and me who are still in the office, but just the two co founders for now in the office. GH: Are you on lockdown at the moment? LP: It’s not actually called lockdown in Germany it’s called ‘you are not allowed to meet with people’ so it’s like kind of contact with other human beings is forbidden but you are not allowed to meet with more than two people at one time. GH: Ah okay! LP: That’s why we’re still allowed to go into the office just the two of us! GH: in the UK we are on lockdown here LP: Ah, completely? GH: Yes, completely it’s crazy and kind of boring!

Would you be okay to do a phone call? Thanks again! Gabi Lukas Puender 8:45pm Let’s definitely have a call. How about Tuesday afternoon? Feel free to reach out via phone +49 162 4493453 Have a nice evening. Best Lukas

206

LP: I can imagine! LP: So tell me a little bit more about your project! GH: So, as part of our dissertation we have to create a business mode; with a marketing and communication plan of three years, so I can up with the business model of an app where consumers can delve into the journey of a garment , so the consumer will scan a product barcode or search for the item online and it will open up a visual journey of information for the consumer to take in. This will tell you and show you how the product was made, the raw materials of the garment. I don’t know if it would be possible to tell you what individuals made the garment but that depends on

207 207

the partnering brand I suppose. The goal of the business is to create absolute transparency within the supply chain and enabling consumers to feel confident within their sustainable purchases. I was doing some research about competitors within the market and I came across Retraced. LP: Yes, definitely! They are similar business models however just focusing on different markets! I mean, the idea is fabulous, well it is our set up, so I wouldn’t have anything negative to say about it! Haha! GH: Does Retraced currently focus on the footwear market? LP: Yes we do, we fully focus on the footwear market, but look to expand into different markets within the future. GH: I was actually thinking as part of my three year strategy plan was to focus on the sustainable garment industry and then within three years it could evolve into further markets such as the beauty industry and the food industry. The business model has the flexibility to fit many markets. LP: Absolutely, we have this dream as well! Just remember though, there is so much to do in just one industry and so many companies that you can work with that one industry may be enough! Our first plan that we created at the beginning of last year was that we want to do food at the end of 2020, now with coronavirus we have postponed this for one year. GH: Yes, I’m sure you have enough to work with the while! How do you ensure that consumers want to use your app as part of the customer journey? LP: The first point is that it is easy accessible information, we do where the consumer can scan a barcode of the product and it takes them straight to the app, which the only downside is that it doesn’t work online, however we find that this helps consumers in store and people mainly purchase shoes in Germany in store. It just means the consumer can take their phone out, scan the QR code and the information is on your phone. GH: Some customers are very lazy! Haha! LP: Yes, I think an attention span of about 10 seconds! One thing we also learnt lately, is that we can’t just give the information offline we also have to give it online through our social media channels! You need to ensure you are influencing the person’s decision making! GH: So, I just have a couple more questions to ask you, is that okay? LP: Yeah, sure sure! GH: What market does Retraced currently operate in? LP: It’s the sustainable fashion industry, but with a main focus on footwear. We are mainly working with brands that are sustainable due to the obvious reason, their supply chains. GH: Do you think there is a future for fast fashion brands ever wanting to sign up to this sort of platform to get across their sustainable lines? LP: I can imagine, yes. I could imagine yes, we have had a few conversations with some! The issue with fast fashion brands promoting their sustainable lines themselves is the seriousness and the truthfulness because how do I ensure that the information they are telling me is correct? I think only a third party can do that! Have a look at Nike Connect, they connect their sport jerseys with NFC tags so that people can interact with the product, so if you are a fan of a certain basketball team or football team, when you wear the jersey you can scan this little NFC tag and you get the latest news

208

about your team, or training sessions etc GH: Wow, definitely going to look more into that! LP: So, this kind of shows potential marketing power behind your idea and communicating with your consumers and something fast fashion brands will look into to connect with their consumers and create additional value to the products! GH: Yes, definitely! GH: What sort of initial investment was used in order to set up Retraced? LP: Erm, we worked together with Oracle, the tech giant, as they offered us their expertise and they offered us a cloud and investment coming from a panel and some very small investments coming from friends. We were able to set up a first proof of concept but Oracle covered most of the initial costs, 50-10,00 euros. Then we had a look further into crowdfunding at the end of 2019. GH: Yes, I have been looking at some start up loans and crowdfunding, and using friends and family investment LP: I once spoke to a start up in the UK and I think there’s quite alright government support for start ups that you could maybe look at? I don’t have any details but for our development alone it was around about 200,000 euros which was partly covered by Oracle and partly by us. We currently have 7 employees working for Retraced, so we have high headcounts and you can imagine the salaries we have to pay on a monthly basis. GH: I bet! If you don’t mind me asking what is your main stream of revenue within your business? LP: It’s two things, it’s first of all the tracing, we have a subscription based revenue model, so all the brands are paying us, then we offer them our service and we sell ourselves as a marketing tool for the brand. So we say hey look, we want to be a marketing tool for you, you can communicate your sustainability efforts and we make sure that everything you communicate is true! You can market your product with the truth! Erm, that’s how we sell ourselves and we make money from these subscriptions! We use a different level subscription price for different brands. GH: Would you recommend using different subscription levels? LP: Yes definitely! When we have received feedback from brands, this is what they liked about us! We use 170 euros for the first tier, 480 euros for the second tier and 700 euros for the third tier. Our second revenue stream is the implementation itself so depending on the size of the client, we do a technical integration of our solution in their solution. You need to ensure that your system can connect with their system of the supply chain management tool. A kind of third revenue stream is sometimes we take external IT projects. GH: That sounds great! I was thinking of doing a subscription on different levels for different brands, what would be an acceptable price to charge different level brands for the subscription per year/ per month? LP: It depends on the company size right, so we start with a 170 euros a month for the smallest brands which is usually acceptable with the smaller company having a revenue of 300-500 thousand euros and then it goes of course up, to the size of the brand, we once sent out an offer for around I think 6 cents per single unit, like really product produced. GH: That’s really interesting! Just another question, do you have any competitors in Germany that do something similar to yourselves?

209 209

LP: Competitors not really, there is nobody similar to what we do but we rather see ourselves as an add on service which nobody else here does. GH: Do you have a specific unique selling point? LP: Erm, I would say we see ourselves more as a communication tool from brands to consumers. We try to keep the tracing to the minimal to ensure reliability and sufficient trust. We focus on communicating all of these aspects and that’s how we differentiate ourselves. We are continually working on making our solution more attractive to consumers and of course implementing the right statistics and data tools to collect the impressions we generate with the consumers to see what the impact has been of our solution.

GH: Do you have any advice regarding the set up of an app? LP:Think about a focus, that is something that you should really consider. Think about the barriers, such as having different departments having to agree to signing up to your business and also think about the marketing side of speaking to brands. If you encourage brands to be quick to sign up, they can be the first to win the market! LP: It’s definitely a great business model to be working with especially with the growth rate of sustainable fashion being between 10-20%, which is so amazing and the pie is getting bigger. GH: Yes I know, it is growing at such a fast rate! Very exciting!

GH: Yes definitely, it is really important to collect these impressions for future growth!

GH: I just have a couple short questions just regarding finances and drop off rates? Would that be okay?

GH: How do you currently market and communicate Retraced? Do you use any specific B2B or B2C ways and if so what has really worked for you as a brand?

LP: For sure! Go ahead

LP: Do you mean like the channels that we find new brands and consumers? GH: Yes! LP: Okay, let’s start with this, it has changed since Corona, in January and February we went to a lot of fairs, fashion fairs, supply chain fairs, this is usually the right context and we write to them afterwards. Now we are starting to use a little bit of LinkedIn, ads and to get people on our website to ask for demo sessions and of course cold calling, so we really try to reach out to 5-10 brands every day and by email we can see what we get back and this usually works quite alright!

GH: How much on average do you think your users spend a month? LP: Hmmm, it’s kind of hard to know the exact figure however last year we found it to be around 155 euros a month per consumer as an estimate and we would say around 20% of our total users end up actually purchasing, with some months higher and some months less, also depending on the product offering. GH: I was thinking about that, just because sustainable fashion is more expensive! LP: Yep you’re right there!

GH: And how do you reach out to consumers?

GH: Secondly, what are your drop off rates currently?

LP: That’s a very interesting question we always ask whenever we onboard a new person on the marketing side as a question because we don’t really market at all, it’s the brand’s job!

LP: Hmm again, it’s hard to determine as it changes from month to month and year to year but we usually account for about a 5-10% drop off rate.

GH: So you kind of leave it up to the brand to kind of market you?

GH: That sounds great! It’s hard to find those sorts of figures online for a service like this! Anyway that’s the end of everything I had to ask, so thank you very much for your help and it has been very helpful!

LP: Yes we dont expect money on that, we co-create some content, we need to ensure that we educate them on how they can use Retraced to better their lives! GH: Have you thought about using Instagram influencers or Instagram? LP: Again, that is an interesting question! Should I pay for something that may not personally make me anything? However, it i s something we are going to look at in the next few months! I think advertisements for brands on Instagram are really important. I think I give the brands the right tools to attract the consumers so I don’t need to do it myself! We give the brands, visuals, and videos.

LP: NoNo, it was a pleasure! GH: Great, thank you so much and I hope you stay safe! LP: No problem, same for you! GH: Thank you!

GH: A lot going on in this market all the time!

LP: Have a good day and it was a pleasure! Keep in touch!

LP: Yes definitely, you’re right there.

GH: You too! Bye Lukas!

GH: Do you have a specific target market? B2C and B2B? LP: Not really, what we do right now is speak especially to small brands just to try and create success stories, news cases and then we can then communicate to bigger ones. Our goal is to collect as many brands as soon as we can, even if they only pay the lower tier. We need to aim to get those bigger brands to make the money, brands that make over 20 million euros every year. So the question is, is how do we get to those? We try to create success stories with the smaller ones and with these success stories we can go to the bigger ones.

210

211 211

Partnership Interviews Appendix 12

Would it be possible for you to answer a couple questions to help me out with my research? 1. What market does Pursuit the Label currently operate in?

Industry Interview 7 - Annabel Humphrey, Co-Founder & Director at Luxury Sustainable Brand PURSUIT THE LABEL

2. What sort of initial investment was used in order to set up the business?

LinkedIn Messages

from these competitors?

March 23rd 2020

4. How do you encourage your consumers to engage with the brand?

4:21 PM Hi Annabel, I am currently researching into the sustainable fashion app market as part of my dissertation and it would be great to have a deeper insight from yourself about Pursuit The Label! PLease let me know if you would be willing to answer a few questions for me! Thank you! Gabi Howarth

5. What is your current target market?

4:22 PM Hey Gabi absolutely we would love to! Please send them to info@pursuitthelabel.com :)

audience?

3. Who are your current main competitors and how do you ensure that you stand out

6. How do you currently market and communicate Pursuit the Label? 7. I can see from your Instagram that you use quite a few influencers to promote your brand, how do you ensure the influencers you are using are engaging with your target

8. Where do you see Pursuit the Label in the future? 4:36 PM Hi Annabel, Thank you so much for the reply! I have sent an email across including the questions! Gabi

Email Thread On Mon, Mar 23, 2020 at 4:33 PM gabi howarth <gabhowarth@hotmail.co.uk> wrote: Hi, I have recently been in touch with Annabel Humphrey on LinkedIn regarding my dissertation research and she kindly forwarded me on to this email address. I am currently working on my final dissertation project and I was just wondering if you would be able to help me out!

9. Do you have any advice regarding the set up of a new brand? I look forward to hearing your responses to my questions and please feel free to provide some feedback on my business idea. Thank you again! Kind Regards, Gabi Howarth

PURSUIT THE LABEL <info@pursuitthelabel.com> Sat 28/03/2020 15:54 Hi Gabi, Thank you for your email, I really love the idea behind your project.

1. Pursuit the Label is a luxury sustainable brand selling online direct to consumer.

The consumer will scan a unique barcode on an item which will open up a visual journey of information for the consumer to take in. The consumer will be able to learn about the products origins spanning from which factory the product was developed in, how the product was made, the raw materials, even to the point of which individuals created the product.

3. Our main competitors include Hunza G, Frankieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bikinis, Reformation, Jade Swim, Solid & Striped and Vitamin A. Our mission is to transform regenerated ocean waste into luxury fashion that never sacrifices style for sustainability. We feel that the fashion element can get lost in the pursuit of sustainability. Pursuit was created to infuse fashion back into sustainability, this is what sets us apart and our customers seem to love it too.

The goal is to create absolute transparency within the supply chain enabling consumers to feel confident in their sustainable purchases.

212

Please see our answers below:

2. The founders each received a personal loan from Virgin Start Up to launch the business and now work with HSBC. The Virgin Start Up loan was extremely successful for us as a brand and we would definitely recommend it to any start up businesses.

4. We use social media a lot, Instagram brings 90% of our customers to our website so we really place a lot of value on this platform. We tell our story which is quite unique to us and work with a handful of influencers to help to widen our audience.

213 213

5. Our target market is 18-35 year old Millennials. They are known as Aspirationals for their values of style, social status and sustainability. 6. As mentioned, a lot of our marketing is low cost through Instagram, which is a huge benefit for startup brands like ours to market globally on a small budget. We also hold pop ups however these are primarily for brand awareness and don’t have the same effect as when an influencer with millions of followers promotes your product.

I think an app that can scan a brands ethical practices is most definitely something that a group of consumers would use or even retailers to efficiently assess how sustainable a brand really is. I believe we are still in the early phases of this movement but it has a lot of scope to evolve from here and definitely something we would look at using in the near future! I think it really depends on product quantity etc, however our budget would probably be around £450 per month.

7. It is important to us to only work with influencers that we feel represent the empowered aspect of our brand. We design for the strong woman who wants to stand out from the crowd and we feel privileged to work with some very strong and independent women. Transparency is very important to us so we never tell them what to post, we gift our swimwear and leave the product to do the talking.

Hope this helps! Good luck! Annabel

8. Our goal is to grow Pursuit on a global scale, a large portion of our international customers are US based so if we were to expand globally, USA is the first location we would target!

Tue 31/03/2020 15:30

9. We would advise to do your research, grow your network and do something daily towards your vision. A lot of the time, it really is about who you know, so attending workshops, exhibitions, seminars, webinars will all help to connect you with people in various industries.. you never know when they will serve you! Hope this helps!! Good luck with everything, Annabel

Hi Annabel, Thank you so much again! I will keep you updated on how I get on! Stay Safe! Gabi

On Tue, Mar 31, 2020 at 11:20 AM gabi howarth <gabhowarth@hotmail.co.uk> wrote: Hi Annabel,

Appendix 13

Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer my questions! I have just read through your responses, they’re definitely going to enhance my work massively!

@notbuyingnew Sustainable Fashion Influencer

Do you provide your consent for your name and the information provided to be published within my dissertation?

10th March at 20:18

I just have one further question which your advice would be helpful with: Would Pursuit The Label be interested in using this sort of app in order to help consumers shop sustainably and ethically? Do you think your consumer is ready for an app like this? How much would Pursuit The Label be willing to pay monthly for an app like this? Thanks again Gabi

Instagram Direct Message

Hey Jade! I have just come across you on Instagram and absolutely love your page! I am currently in the middle of my dissertation project for my final year at university and I am focusing my research on whether sustainable and ethical influencers would be willing to promote my sustainable fashion app! As part of my primary research O am undertaking interviews with professionals in the industry and it would be really helpful if you could spare a little time to answer my questions. Please let me know if this would be possible. Thank you! Gabi x

11th March at 7:56am PURSUIT THE LABEL <info@pursuitthelabel.com> Tue 31/03/2020 13:59

Sure! It sounds really interesting. Email me at notbuyingnew@gmail.com

Hi Gabi, Yes, I give my consent!

214

215 215

Fri 20/03/2020 15:23 Hi Jade, Hope you are keeping well! Thank you for getting back to me and taking the time out to answer the following questions. I am currently working on my final dissertation project and I was just wondering if you would be able to help me out! Just to give you some context; for my project we were set a task to develop a business model within our chosen industry. I am in the early stages of developing a proposed business model which will focus on sustainable and ethical fashion. The idea encompasses transparency within fashion brands. The core function of the business will be app based where consumers can delve into the journey of a garment or accessory. The consumer will scan a unique barcode on an item which will open up a visual journey of information for the consumer to take in. The consumer will be able to learn about the products origins spanning from which factory the product was developed in, how the product was made, the raw materials, even to the point of which individuals created the product. The goal is to create absolute transparency within the supply chain enabling consumers to feel confident in their sustainable purchases. Questions: What inspired you to start blogging? What are the objectives on which you work? Are you a fan of my concept and would you be willing to promote the app on your page? How much would you charge for an Instagram post on your page? Who would you say your current following is? How do you evaluate if the products you are buying are truly sustainable? Do you think my app would help improve the customers journey on purchasing sustainable fashion?

I look forward to hearing your responses to my questions and please feel free to provide some feedback on my business idea. Thank you again! Kind Regards, Gabi Howarth

Sun 22/03/2020 15:23 notbuyingnew@gmail.com Hi Gabi, Thank you so much for reaching out to me on such an important topic! First of all before I get to the questions, I think this idea is great and definitely something I would personally use!

216

What inspired you to start blogging? My blog first started out about 5 years ago when i was at university and loved using Instagram and buying clothes so I thought I would merge the two together! Then about 2 years ago, I realised I wasn’t enjoying buying all these new clothes all the time and wearing them once and that would be it so I kind of changed the whole style of my blog to a sustainable style blog with the core focus on buying nothing brand new, owning less and rewearing more. A few of my followers left but it was crazy to see how many joined! I absolutely love what I do and what my page stands for! What are the objectives on which you work? So as mentioned above, the main objectives on what I work with is buying nothing brand new, owning less and rewearing more. However, I will never promote anything on my page that I don’t believe in, before I agree to collaborations I always ensure that I research the brand first, if I don’t like the brand I won’t collaborate. Are you a fan of my concept and would you be willing to promote the app on your page? I love the concept, I think it is so great and as I said at the start it definitely would be something I would use. I feel like it would be something that my followers also relate to. How much would you charge for an Instagram post on your page? I don’t usually have a fixed fee, it probably averages out to around £500 per post, but obviously the more posts a brand books in, the lower the price of a post. It is also important to consider how important Instagram stories now are as well as posts, which may be something you would want to think about. Who would you say your current following is? I would say my current following is females around 16-30 year olds who are trying to be more sustainable who are wanting inspiration. Do you think my app would help improve the customers journey on purchasing sustainable fashion? 100%, I think customers are constantly seeking information on brands and their values and the stories behind particular products. Hope my answers have helped! Sorry I haven’t gone into much detail on some, I’m just unbelievably busy at the moment (I’m a school teacher) and finding it incredibly hard to find the time to do anything at the moment! I hope you understand and please feel free to email me back if you have any further questions regarding my answers. Jade

Monday 23/03/2020 11:03am gabhowarth@hotmail.co.uk Hi Jade, Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to help me with this! Do you give your consent for your name and information provided to be published in my dissertation? Hope you stay safe and well! Gabi

217 217

Monday 23/03/2020 11:30am notbuyingnew@gmail.com Hi Gabi, Happy to help! Please feel free to email me further if you have any questions! Yes, I give my consent. Jade

Just to give you some context; for my project we were set a task to develop a business model within our chosen industry. I am in the early stages of developing a proposed business model which will focus on sustainable and ethical fashion. The idea encompasses transparency within fashion brands. The core function of the business will be app based where consumers can delve into the journey of a sustainable and ethical garment. The consumer will scan a barcode on an item or search for the item, which will open up a visual journey of information for the consumer to take in. The consumer will be able to learn about the products origins spanning from which factory the product was developed in, how the product was made, the raw materials, even to the point of which individuals created the product. The goal is to create absolute transparency within the supply chain enabling consumers to feel confident in their sustainable purchases. Questions:

Appendix 14

Would The Social Outfit be interested in using this sort of app in order to help consumers shop sustainably and ethically?

Camilla Schippa, CEO at The Social Outfit Do you think your consumer is ready for an app like this?

LinkedIn Messages Monday 13th April 12:40pm

Would you say there is a market potential for an app like this? Do you think sustainable businesses would be interested in partnering with my idea?

Hi Camilla, I am currently researching into the sustainable fashion market as part of my dissertation and it would be great to have a deeper insight from yourself! Please let me know if you would be willing to answer a few questions for me! Thank you! Gabi Howarth

How much do you think brands would be willing to pay per month for their brand to feature on this app?

Camilla Schippa 12:40 PM

I look forward to hearing your responses to my questions and please feel free to provide some feedback on my business idea.

Hi Gabi, sure, feel free to email me your questions at ceo@thesocialoutfit.org Cheers, Camilla Tuesday 14th April 10:41am Hi Camilla, thank you so much for getting back to me! I have sent you over an email with a couple questions on! Thanks again! Gabi

Do you have any advice for myself or the business venture?

Thank you again! Kind Regards, Gabi Howarth

Thur 06/05/2020 12:14 ceo@thesocialoutfit.org Hi Gabi, I have provided my answers below, hope they are of help!

Email Thread Tue 05/05/2020 10:41 Hi Camilla,

Would The Social Outfit be interested in using this sort of app in order to help consumers shop sustainably and ethically? This is definitely a service that the social outfit would want to incorporate within their business in order to help consumers with the shopping journey and to build that element of trust. This is probably one of the biggest difficulties we experience in our business, trust.

Hope you are keeping well! Thank you for taking th e time out to answer the following questions.I am currently working on my final dissertation project and I was just wondering if you would be able to help me out!

218

Do you think your consumer is ready for an app like this? Definitely! I think anything to do with technology and our consumer is ready for it!

219 219

Would you say there is a market potential for an app like this? I think definitely within the sustainable fashion market, maybe not so yet within the whole fashion market, due to the difficulty of supply chains and bad publicity for the brand!

Appendix 15

Do you think sustainable businesses would be interested in partnering with my idea? Definitely, I think any way for a sustainable business to provide trust through a third party way is valuable to their business.

LinkedIn Messages

How much do you think brands would be willing to pay per month for their brand to feature on this app? It depends on the brands budgets and the size of the brand, however, on average for a brand of similar size to The Social Outfit would be willing to pay around ÂŁ5,000-6,000 annually.

11:26 PM

Do you have any advice for myself or the business venture? Maintain consistency in your marketing and ensure that everything is transparent within your business! I think it is a great business idea! Good luck with the rest of your dissertation!

Thur 06/05/2020 15:14 gabhowarth@hotmail.co.uk

Anna Mattei, Communications Manager at People Tree

March 20th

Hi Anna, I am currently researching into the sustainable fashion market as part of my dissertation and it would be great to have a deeper insight from yourself about People Tree! PLease let me know if you would be willing to answer a few questions for me! Thank you! Gabi Howarth

April 1st 11:41 AM Hi Gabi, yeah sure Let me know what questions you have

Hi Camilla, Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions! Do you give your consent for your name and information provided to be published in my dissertation? Regards, Gabi

2:06 PM Thank you so much for your reply! Would I be able to take your email address so I can send over my questions? Thanks again! Gabi

2:14 PM Thur 06/05/2020 15:32 ceo@thesocialoutfit.org

Fine for you to send here if thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ok? Thank you

Hi Gabi, 2:30 PM Yes no problem at all! Of course! I will send them over here! Camilla 2:36 PM Just to give you some context; for my project we were set a task to develop a business model within our chosen industry. I am in the early stages of developing a proposed business model which will focus on sustainable and ethical fashion. The idea encompasses transparency within fashion brands. The core function of the business will be app based where consumers can delve into the journey of a sustainable garment. The consumer will scan a unique barcode on an item which will open up a visual journey of information for the consumer to take in. The consumer will be able to learn about the products origins spanning from which factory the product was developed in, how the product was made, the raw materials, even to the point of which individuals created the product. The goal is to create absolute transparency within

220

221 221

the supply chain enabling consumers to feel confident in their sustainable purchases.

Gabi Howarth 3:30pm

1) What market does People Tree currently operate in?

That’s great! Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to help me! Do you give your consent for your name and the informative provided to be in my project?

2) Who are your current main competitors and how do you ensure that you stand out from these competitors? 3) I can see from your social media that you have a big Instagram following, what methods did you use to gain these followers?

Gabi

4) What is your current target market?

Anna Mattei 3:45pm

5) How do you currently market and communicate People Tree? What methods are used to gain brand attention?

Yes, no problem, good luck :)

6) Would People Tree be interested in using this sort of app in order to help your consumers shop sustainably and ethically? Do you think your consumer is ready for an app like this? 7) If so, how much would a brand like yourselves be willing to pay per month? I look forward to hearing your responses to my questions and please feel free to provide some feedback on my business idea. Thank you again! Gabi Howarth April 2nd 8:34 AM 1. People Tree is a women’s fashion retailer but we also operate within the field of sustainability. 2. Our competitors would be other sustainable brands such as Thought and also women’s clothing brands with a similar price point and customer such as Boden. People Tree is almost 30 years old and we’ve been sustainable and ethical since the start. As a pioneer of Fair Trade and ethical fashion this makes us stand out. 3. We’ve gained this following on social media over time. Our founder Safia Minney is well known within sustainability which has been part of this. We also engage within the sustainable fashion movement on social media which has also helped us grow our brand awareness and therefore following.

Business Models Appendix 16 SOSTAC Model The SOSTAC model was used in order to plan this report. A situation analysis was about looking at where Follow the Thread is placed within the market and competitors of the brand. Objectives of the business, the growth of the business were created and then a three yearstrategy was created in order to achieve these objectives. A communication plan and strategy was then constructed in order to reach out to the consumers and businesses and what processes Follow the Thread are going to use in order to reach their growth plan. The performance and control of each objective was then monitored through specific KPIs.

4. We see our customer as ageless. Anyone who is a conscious consumer who shares our company values could be a customer. 5. Marketing- social media, email marketing, PR, affiliate marketing, sponsored social ads (summary) 6. This app idea seems like a great tool for sustainable brands to use to display their supply chains. Transparency is what makes us stand out from mainstream brands. It is definitely something People Tree would look into using in the near future to help get our sustainability and transparent message across to our consumers. 7) I can’t give an exact amount however after speaking with the finance team, I would suggest around £500 per month.

222

223 223

Appendix 17

Price: B2B: A subscription basis will be formed where brands will sign up for a minimum 12 month period. This enables Follow the Thread to have a strong forecast for future earnings. Three levels of subscription will be designed; for brands that turnover £50,000 - £250,000, £250,000 £750,000 and £750,000 +. Follow the Thread will also follow a tiered price plan for brands to choose from. The lowest tier will provide basic yet informative information on product origins including the visual journey, however, this tier limits to 20 products. The second tier available will provide brands with a larger product selection at 60 - 100 while also receiving a more detailed visual journey. Finally, the third tier is the most exclusive with a tailored approach offering a personalised visual journey and unlimited product offerings. Brands will be able to upgrade their plans throughout the year if necessary. Price points are as below: Lower Tier: £119 Second Tier: £379 Third Tier: Starting at £699 B2C: Follow The Thread will be free for consumers to download and use just like all apps within the shopping category. Promotion: B2B: Follow The Thread will need to ensure that they are continually targeting sustainable fashion brands, in order to accelerate new partnerships to bring to the app to help grow the business whilst also engaging and retaining current users. In order to successfully do this, Follow The Thread will use a series of different platforms such as trade shows, LinkedIn and an informative website to engage brands and encourage sign ups. The communications used will concentrate on portraying a message that is inspiring, supportive and encouraging revealing exactly why brands should participate in such a fascinating service.

Appendix 18 The 7 P’s Product B2B: The main functions of the app: • Supply Chain Tracing Tool • Consumers can purchase through the app • Brands can be rated and referred to within the app • Increased transparency for the brand B2C: The main functions of the app: • Consumers scan the barcode of a product, both online and in store, and receive a visual journey of the product and the sustainability rating of that product. • The consumer can then go on to buy this product through the app • Within the app there will be a sustainable scoreboard where consumers can compete against fellow users on how sustainable they really are, depending on how many products they scan and purchase. • Where to dispose of old clothing nearby (consumers would need to authorise location settings) • Leave reviews on brands

224

B2C: Follow the Thread will need to ensure that they are constantly creating brand awareness and generating interest around the brand in order to engage consumers, using the AIDA and DRIP approach. Follow the Thread will use both online and offline channels which have a core focus on consumers such as social media, pop-ups and podcasts. The communications across these platforms need to be encouraging, empowering and educational. Place: Follow the Threads’ service is mainly provided through an app, this is due to the high levels of users within the UK app market and the rising use of smartphones across the chosen demographic. Furthermore, there will be offline elements of the brand such as through pop ups and exhibitions. This will be an opportunity for Follow the Thread to showcase their personality through both platforms and not just through the online world. Physical Evidence: B2C: Due to the lack of physical brand appearance, consumers may find building trust with the brand difficult. For example, a consumer may feel uneasy about purchasing a product through the platform. As a result, Follow the Thread will put measures in place to create trust between the brand and consumer. Follow the Thread can ensure trust is maintained by taking consumers directly to the brands website in which they were looking to purchase from. Across all brand communication channels, Follow the Threads’ ethos will remain consistent to make the brands purpose clear and maintain levels of trust.

225 225

Competitor Analysis B2B: At first, brands may be weary of the success that Follow the Thread can bring to their business. Therefore, case studies are important to showcase examples and current working relationships with other brands. Furthermore, as and when brands meet with Follow the Thread, they will see the physical aspect of the brand so it is important that high levels of service are provided. Process: The process indicates the procedures involved that the customer will go through when using the app or the experience the partnering brand will receive. The processes involved will be easy to use for both brands and consumers. The app will be simple and accessible which will help ensure consumers are willing to use it throughout their shopping experience as well as the brand process condensed for a smooth partnership. People: Follow the Thread has a very small team of people to start, including the founder, a marketing intern and a brand researcher. A large team of people is not needed due to Follow the Thread being an app and not a physical consumer facing business. The Follow the Thread team will expand as the business grows. However, externally there will be brand influencers who will be responsible for delivering and maintaining the brands message and image.

226

Appendix 19 Full Competitor Analysis Posner’s Table of Differentiation, Good On You Marketing Mix Variables

Good On You’s Offering

Potential Areas for Differentiation

Competitive Advantage

Product

Good On You is an app that analyses and rates sustainable and ethical fashion brands, whilst also promoting offers within those brands at the current time.

To focus on specific fashion items instead of a brand as a whole.

Follow The Thread will provide a moving image journey which will give consumers the information they are wanting to know about a specific garment. This is more attractive to consumers as it gives them an emotional connection with the item(s) they are purchasing.

Price

Free

Free to download for consumers however there is an option to purchase the item through the app.

This provides Follow the Thread with a competitive advantage due to the ease of everything being available all in one platform.

Place

The app, social media and an informative website is Good on You’s remote route to market

App and Website

Follow the Thread’s main route to market is the app, however a website will be launched as part of the first year communication plan.

Promotion

Good On You has a significant following on social media with 135,000 followers on Instagram. The brand uses popular celebrity figures to promote the app such as Emma Watson who has 55 million followers.

As a start-up Follow the Thread will have a smaller following compared to Good On You.

Follow the Thread will have to ensure that their unique selling point will be fully communicated through their social media channels and use the relevant influencers toencourage people to visit the Instagram page.

Physical Evidence

No physical store as they only exist on an app and social media

Follow The Thread will not have a permanent store either however pop-ups may be an option as part of their communications in the first year.

As Follow The Thread has unique features within the app, these features will be communicated to consumers within the first year of launching through pop-ups, something Good on You has never considered.

Process

Good On You’s functions within the app are as follows; search for brands to see how sustainable and ethical they are, save brands to their favourites as well as searching for offers and discounts within the brands.

Follow the Thread’s functions within the app are as follows; scan a barcode or search for the item, provides in stars how sustainable the item really is, also provides a visual moving image for after the purchase, a sustainable scoreboard as well as a feature which provides consumers with the nearest place to dispose of clothing sustainably.

The fact that Follow the Thread provides a star rating instead of a large chunk of text shortens the customer journey pre-purchase but then also has the visual journey to look at post-purchase. This gives an emotional connection between the product and consumer. Follow the Thread also has features which Good on You do not have such as the nearest locations to dispose of sustainable clothing or the sustainable scoreboard.

People

No present staff

No physical store, no staff however staff on pop-ups and also a strong customer relationship management strategy will be put in place.

Follow The Thread will implement social media communication between consumers and the brand and also incorporate a CRM strategy therefore Follow The Thread will be at an advantage.

227 227

Posner’s Table of Differentiation, Fashion Revolution Marketing Mix Variables Product

Price

Potential Areas for Differentiation

Follow the Thread’s information is provided on an app rather than a website which is seen as more accessible and convenient for consumers whilst shopping.

Free access for consumers

Free for consumers to download

Competitive Advantage This provides Follow the Thread with a competitive advantage due to the ease of access for the app, rather than having to open the internet and search and scroll through the website and then the report.

Website and social media

App, website and social media

Follow the Thread will have three ways into the market; their main app, their website providing all information and their social media pages.

Promotion

Fashion Revolution uses social media to boost their brand exposure as well as creating campaigns across social media. The Transparency Index is not just promoted on the website.

Follow the Thread will use social media in order to boost their brand awareness however with the use of influencers which Fashion Revolution do not make the most of.

This provides Follow the Thread with a competitive advantage due to the fact that the influencers will draw users to the Instagram page

No physical store, however staff on pop-ups and also a strong customer relationship management strategy will be put in place.

With Follow the Thread having pop ups they are at an advantage in comparison to Avoid as they can connect with their consumerson a personal face to face level, as well as on their social media pages there will be customer and brand interaction.

Fashion Revolution does not have a physical store, they only operate on online channels such as their website, social media, a YouTube channel and a blog.

Marketing Mix Variables

Avoid

Potential Areas for Differentiation

Competitive Advantage

Product

A plug-in for consumers internet browser that runs in the background whilst shopping online. If the brands displayed have received any negative rating, the products are hidden from view.

Follow the Thread consists of an app which can be used in-store or online.

Follow the Thread has an app which is flexible to shopping online or in store. Consumers may not want to download a plug-in on to their device.

Price

Free

Free for consumers to use

Follow the Thread is free for consumers to use with the option to purchase within the app, to shorten the customer journey.

Place

Website only

App, website and social media

Follow the Thread will have three ways into the market; their main app, their website providing all information and their social media pages in comparison to Avoid with just their website.

Promotion

No social media, purely rely on word of mouth marketing and press releases

Follow the Thread will use social media in order to boost their brand awareness as well as maintaining their CRM strategy.

This provides Follow the Thread with a competitive advantage due to the fact that social media influencers will be a main platform utilized in order to reach high brand awareness.

Physical Evidence

No physical store and not much physical evidence behind the brand.

No physical store, however staff on pop-ups and also a strong customer relationship management strategy will be put in place.

Follow the Thread will not possess a physical permanent store, however, they will launch pop-ups in certain months. This gives Follow the Thread a competitive advantage as they will be able to meet their potential users.

Follow the Thread will be free for consumers to download however there will be an option to purchase within the app.

Place

Physical Evidence

228

Fashion Revolution’s Offering

Posner’s Table of Differentiation, Avoid

229 229

Instagram Polls

Appendix 21

Appendix 20

Instagram Poll Finance Justification

Instagram Poll Design and Communication Feedback

230

231 231

Appendix 22

Finance Appendix 23

Expenses

Company

Date Accessed

Office Rent

WeWork

Business Registration

App Development

Price

URL

Justification

4/4/2020

£250 pcm £3,000 pa

www.wework.com/ manchester-office

Collaborative working environment in the centre of Manchester with all necessary office facilities for a startup company. Includes Wifi, personal office space, office landline number, break out areas, cafe, meeting room and office supplies.

Gov.uk

4/4/2020

£12

https://www.gov.uk/ set-up-business

Setting up as a limited company through companies house

Howmuchto makeanapp

4/4/2020

£70,000

http://howmuchtomakeanapp.com/estimates/results

This cost includes development of a final version of the app ready for launch.

Banks Digital

10/4/2020

£65,000

https://banksdi gital.uk

App Maintenance

Banks Digital

4/04/20

£14,000

https://banksdigital.uk

Apps need ongoing maintenance to maintain performance for users. Having an app maintenance service, ensures technical glitches can be sorted straight away.

Website Development and URL set up

Banks Digital

4/04/20

Included in the app development cost

https://banksdigital.uk

As a part of the app development, the developer has offered to develop a website included within the price

Website Maintenance

Banks Digital

4/04/20

Included in the app development cost

https://banksdigital.uk

Banks Digital were willing to include the website maintenance in the app maintenance price. Regular maintenance on the website will ensure smooth running.

Business Insurance

Simply Business

4/04/20

£7 pcm // £82 pa

https://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/

Protection from risks related to day-to-day runnings of the business

4/04/20

£0

4/04/20

Brand Researcher £20,000 Marketing Intern - £8 an hour for 3 days a week £9,000

Finance Justifications

Expenses Office Rent

Business Registration

232

Company WeWork

Gov.uk

Date Accessed 4/4/2020

4/4/2020

Price

URL

Justification

£250 pcm £3,000 pa

www.wework.com/ manchester-office

£12

https://www.gov.uk/ set-up-business

Setting up as a limited company through companies house

Laptops

Wages Brand Researcher Marketing & PR Intern

Glassdoor

This cost includes the app and website development and is a more accurate quote due to the developers asking further questions.The app developer allowed a payment of £16,250 over 4 months at 0% interest (See appendix 24).

Employees will be asked to bring their own laptops in order to save on this cost and ensure that the employee is using a laptop they feel comfortable using.

https://www.glassdoor. co.uk

£29,000 pa in salaries including a permanent Brand Researcher and a part time marketing intern

233 233

Expenses

Company

Accountant

The Accountancy Partnership

Solicitor

Catalyst Law

Date Accessed 12/04/20

4/4/2020

Price

URL

Justification

Expenses

Company

£250 annual fee for smaller businesses and then it goes up to £1,000 when the business starts to grow and makes over 3500,000

https://www.theaccountancy.co.uk/quotation?gclid=Cj0 KCQjw7qn1BRDqARIsAKMbHDbme23 T_sCp79QlWe45hEKO9MinsQ1eEdHuM woIPw9HZpLDEsJtym8aAiwHEALw_wcB

Follow the Thread will need the accountant to help with monetary transactions throughout the year. Could we change the price box to: £1000 annually

Glastonbury

Virgin Start Up

Parklife Stall Pop-up

Parklife

£150

https://www.c atalystlaw.co. uk/ business-contract-review.html

A solicitor would be needed to help draw up contracts and legal reports as well as to review any disputes. The solicitor will be paid each time of use.

University Stall Pop-Up in October on Freshers Fairs

The University of Leeds/ Nottingham Trent University/ University of Nottingham

London Fashion Week Exhibition

London Fashion Week

Paris Fashion Week Exhibition

Exhibition Stand - Pure London

Pure London

27/03/20

£1899

https://www.pure london.com

After speaking with Pure London, they provided a cost for an exhibition stand that they thought would fit the service.

B2B and B2C Video Campaign

Pulse Studio

03/04/20

£1,500 for both

www.creativevideo production.co.uk

After emailing Pulse Studio they provided a quotation for both a B2C and B2B video campaign with details on what the video would include.

Miscellaneous Items

N/A

£250 pcm £3,000 pa

N/A

Includes meetings/lunches and general expenses during the weeks and months

LinkedIn Sponsored Posts

£11 per post

https://business.LinkedIn.com/marketing-sol utions/ads/pricing

This includes analysis of the posts reach after the sponsored post

Instagram Sponsored Posts

Business of Instagram

17/03/20

https://business.Instagram.com/advertising/

The cost of an Instagram sponsored post depends on how long you want it to last for, Follow the Thread opted for it to last 2 weeks per sponsored post. Aiming to do two a month.

Instagram Influencer Posts

Tinuti

15/03/20

https://tinuiti.c om/ blog/paid- social/ how-m uch-do-influe ncers-charge/

After researching how much micro influencers charge, it was seen to be roughly around £10 per 1000 followers.

4/04/20

15/03/20

£50 per post

£10 per 1000 followers £500 per post

In Appendix 13 after speaking with a sustainable influencer, who stated she charges £500 per post, but the price goes down with the more posts.

234

Date Accessed

Price

URL

Justification

01/04/20

£350 for one day

https://www.virginstartup.org/how-to/ how-sell-festivalwhenyoure-startup

The price included the rent of a stall for one day as well as free drinks and food for the staff working. (Pay a month in advance to the festival)

01/04/20

£200 per day (festival is two days)

https://parklife. uk.com/

Follow the Thread will only exhibit there for one day in order to reduce first year costs. (Pay 2 weeks in advance of the festival)

University of Leeds - £80 for half a day Nottingham Trent University - £100 for the day University of Nottingham £150 for the whole day

N/A

After speaking with each University’s student union, they provided a cost for a stand at the Freshers Fairs.

02/04/20

£2500 for a basic stand outside a main fashion show

N/A

See Appendix 24 for phone transcript with Sophie, Senior Brand Partnerships Assistant

Paris Fashion Week

08/04/20

£2500

N/A

See Appendix 24 for email transcript with Joella, Paris Fashion Week

Milan Fashion Week Exhibition

Milan Fashion Week

10/04/20

£2500

N/A

See Appendix 24 for phone transcript with Elena

Digital Strategist

Glassdoor

06/04/20

£20,000

https://www.glassdoor. co.uk/Salaries/digit al-strategist-salary-SRCH_KO0,18.htm

A yearly average salary for a digital strategist is £20,000 within the UK, therefore this is an acceptable cost for Follow the Thread in Year Two.

Influencer Manager

Influencer Marketing Hub

06/04/20

£25,000

https://influencermarketinghub.com/socialmedia-manage r-salaries-everythingyou-need-to-know/

A yearly average salary for an influencer manager is £25,000 therefore this is an acceptable cost for Follow the Thread in Year Two.

Social Media Strategist

PayScale

06/04/20

£22,000

https://www.payscale. com/research/UK/Jo b=Social_Media_Strategist/Salary

A yearly average salary for a social media strategist is £22,000, therefore this is an acceptable cost for Follow the Thread in Year Two.

Founder Dividends

FD Works

04/04/20

10% of yearly income

https://www.fd-works. co.uk/insights/direc tors-pay/

Founder will take 10% of profits from the second year in business.

Stall Pop-up

235 235

Appendix 24

6th April at 10:00pm

Finance Justification Transcripts

Banks Digital: Hey Gabi, so sorry for the late reply Monday’s are always hectic! Thank you so much for your message, I love the idea of your app.

Pure London - Phone Interview 2nd April 2020 at 14:52 Gabi: Hi, I am calling as a managing director of a brand called Follow the Thread and I was wondering if you could help me? I am wanting to know further details about how much a stand would cost at your next exhibition?

How accurate does the cost need to be? I only ask because there’s a lot I’d need to consider in order to put an accurate cost together for you. Immediate in-depth questions would be:

Pure London: Sure I can help, can i ask you a few further questions in order to know exactly what sort of stand you are looking for so I can give you an accurate quotation

How many retailers would you launch with?

Gabi: Of course!

How many products?

Pure London: What sort of business are you?

Is this focused on a few brands instead of retailers? (Might be easier)

Gabi: A business that encompasses brand transparency within sustainable fashion and helps consumers on their buying journey.

Hope to help you! Sorry for the amount of questions, it’s never straight forward I’m afraid :)

Pure London: Thank you, how new is your business and what sort of brands would you be wanting to work with? Gabi: The business is a start-up and we are looking to work with brands that have a sustainable and ethical agenda.

Gabi: Hey! Thanks so much for the reply! I did an internship at The Couture Club last year and the app you have created for them looks great! So the app would be focused on just sustainable brands for the first year of launch, so I’m looking at around 30-40 brands and they probably average out about 40 products each brand! Probably around 3 origins and it will be information from the brand and then a brand researcher researching into the information, maybe in the future looking into using blockchain.

Pure London: Okay great, just one last question, how big do you think you would want your stand? Thank you so much. Gabi: I’m thinking not too big, maybe around 3m by 3m? Pure London: Great, so your quotation is looking around £1800

Feel free to contact me on 07725816308 Looking forward to hearing back!

Gabi: That’s perfect! Thank you so much for all your help!

Phone call with Banks Digital on the 8th April at 11:02am

Pure London; No problem, we hope to see you soon!

Banks Digital: Hi Gabi, it’s Paul calling from Banks Digital Gabi: Hi Paul! Thank you for getting back to me!

Banks Digital Instagram direct message 5th April 2020 at 8:31pm Gabi: Hi, I was just wondering if you could help me… I am currently working on my final dissertation and we are having to create a business proposal! My idea is an app which will focus on sustainable and ethical fashion. The idea encompasses transparency within fashion brands. The core function of the business will be app based where consumers can delve into the journey of a sustainable garment. The consumer will scan a barcode or search an item which will open up a visual journey of information for the consumer to take in. The consumer will be able to learn about the product’s origins spanning from which factory the product was developed in, how the product was made and the raw materials. The goal is to create absolute transparency within the supply chain enabling consumers to feel confident in their sustainable purchases. I was just wondering if you would be able to help me by telling me how much an app like this would cost to develop and maintain?

236

Paul: No problem at all, happy to help! I remember a few years back now when i was doing my dissertation and I needed all the help possible! Gabi: I know, it’s so difficult to try and find the expert help, especially at times like this! Paul: I bet! Anyway, after looking over the message you sent again, I calculated a rough estimate for an app development and website development, with the price being around £65,000. This can be paid for over the course of a 4 month period. Gabi: Ahh okay! So the website development is included in that app development price? Paul: It sure is, we usually do the website development at a cheaper cost due to the high app development cost!

237 237

Gabi: That’s great! Thank you so much! Just another quick question, what do you charge for the app maintenance and website maintenance over the year?

Lucy: Hi Gabi, hope you are well! We usually charge around £100 for a stall. Gabi: And what dates is it the fair usually on?

Paul: So, usually around £14,000 a year for the website and app maintenance however this can sometimes vary slightly depending on the complexity of the app. Gabi: That’s great! Thank you so much for getting back to me and for all the help! Paul: My pleasure, feel free to message again if you need anything else!

Lucy: This year we will be holding it on the 2nd of October. Gabi: Thank you very much for your help! Lucy: No worries, have a nice day!

Gabi: Thank you! Have a good week! Paul: You too!

Nottingham Trent University 9th April 2020 at 13:45

Pulse Studio April 1st 2020 0117 911 3303 Hi, Pulse Studio speaking Hi, my name is Gabi and I was just wondering if you could help me, I am planning on creating two content videos and I was looking for the best quote you can do! Pulse Studio: Of course, no problem at all. What sort of content videos are they and how long would you want them to be? Gabi: Probably around 50 seconds to a minute and it’s a business to business video and a business to consumer video about an app and how the app can benefit either the business or consumer. We would be able to provide the footage!

Hi, you are through to Nottingham Trent’s Student Union, how can i help? Gabi: Hi, my name is Gabi and I was just wondering if you could help me! I am a current student at NTU and I am studying Fashion Marketing and Branding. As part of my dissertation I am researching into the costs of having a stall at the Freshers Fair in October and I was just wanting to know a little bit more of the pricing and what date it is being held this year. Of course! So the Freshers Fair is being held on the 3rd of October and the cost of a stand is roughly around £120 for the full day, however there is usually some negotiation within this price! Gabi: Is it possible that you can tell me the lowest the price would normally go after negotiation? Usually around £100! Gabi: That’s great! Thank you so much! No problem, good luck with your dissertation!

Pulse Studio: Okay, so for two one minute videos you are looking around £750 per video, also depending on the content within the video.

The University of Leeds

Gabi: That sounds great! Thank you so much for your help!

9th April 2020 at 15:02

Pulse Studio: No problem at all, would you like to get one of our tech guys to call you back to discuss further?

Hi Max speaking Gabi: Hi Max, am I through to the student union?

Gabi: That would be great! Thank you! Have a nice day! Max: You are indeed!

Freshers Fair Pop-ups The University of Nottingham

Gabi: Ah great! I was just wondering if you could help me, I am thinking of having a stand at your freshers fair this year, I was just wondering how much it would cost and what date does it currently fall on this year?

9th April 2020 at 14:28 Max: Could I take your name please? Hi, Lucy speaking from the student union, how can I help? Gabi: it’s Gabi Gabi: Hi Lucy my name is Gabi, I was just wondering if you could help me, I am thinking of exhibiting at your Freshers Fair in October, how much would a stand be?

238

239 239

Max: Thanks Gabi! Our freshers fair is going to be happening on the 4th of October this year, hopefully! And you would be looking around £80 for a stall for half a day and £150 for the full day! Would you like me to book you a place?

08/04/20 presse@fhcm.paris

Gabi: That sounds great! Let me have a think about it and I will get back to you!

Hi Gabi, I received this email from a member of our customer service team.

Max: Sounds good, enjoy the rest of your day Gabi

We usually charge around £2,500 an exhibition stand at our Fashion Week.

Gabi: You too! Thanks again!

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch further regarding this quote!

London Fashion Week Transcript

Thank you Joella

02/04/2020 Tel: +44 (0) 20 7759 1965

08/04/20

Hi, you are through to Sophie, how can I help?

Hi Joella, Thank you very much for your helpful response!

Gabi: Hi Sophie, I was wondering if you could help me, I am planning on exhibiting at London Fashion Week next year, how much is it for a stand? Sophie: It depends on what sort of stall you would be looking for but they range between £2500 and £5000. I can email over some more details if necessary?

Stay safe! Gabi

Milan Fashion Week Phone Transcript

Gabi: That would be great!

10th April 2020

Sophie: Can I take your email please?

P : +39 02 89 69 74 20

Gabi: Yes it’s gabhowarth@hotmail.co.uk Sophie: Perfect, thank you! Gabi: Thank you very much for your time! Have a nice day!

Paris Fashion Week Email thread

Hi, Elena speaking, how can I help? Gabi: Hi Elena, I’m looking for a quote for a stand at Milan Fashion Week? Elena: Hi Gabi, yes of course, happy to help. Our stands range from around £2500 up to £10,000. It depends on the size of stand that you would like for the day. I can email you our brochure so you can get more of an idea on stand sizes and prices? Gabi: That would be great! Thank you!

04/04/20 To whom this may concern, I was just wondering if you could help me out by giving me a quotation for an exhibition stand at Paris Fashion Week? Thank you Regards Gabi Howarth 06/04/20 federation@fhcm.paris Hi Gabi, Thank you for your email! I have passed this on to a member of our team and they will get back to you as soon as possible! Have a good day!

240

Elena: Could i take your email please? Gabi: It’s gabhowarth@hotmail.co.uk Elena: That’s great, I have sent that over to you! Gabi: Perfect, thank you so much! Elena: No problem, have a nice day Gabi Gabi: Thank you, you too!

241 241

Appendix 25 Profit and Loss Year 1

242

Profit and Loss Year 2

243 243

Appendix 26 Year 3 Profit and Loss

244

Gantt Chart

245 245

Appendix 26 Consent Forms

246

247 247

248

249 249

250

251 251

252

253 253

254