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table of contents
C HA PTE R ONE Brand History ............................6 Mission .........................................9
C HA PTE R T W O SWOT Analysis.........................12 Scope ..........................................16 Target Customers....................20 Target Category.......................24 Competitors..............................27
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C HA PT E R T HR E E Concept........................................32 Trend Forecasting.....................34 Stylistic Response.....................39
CHA PT E R FOU R Corporate Plan..........................42 Assortment Plan.......................46 Final Statment...........................48 Bibliography..............................50
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CHAP TER ONE
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chapter one
Brand History While on a shopping trip in Hong Kong, friends Carol Lim and Humberto Leon became inspired by the city’s diverse range of merchandise and designers – leaving their corporate jobs in New York City, the two founded Opening Ceremony together in 2002 with the sense of creative diversity in mind. The company gained attention after its individual collaborations with Nike and Vans in 2004; then began to grow even more rapidly as it expanded and opened stores in Los Angeles, London, and Tokyo. Leon and Lim then took the next step in their careers in 2007 when they were appointed creative directors of Kenzo. Now, the pair runs one of the trendiest fashion retail stores in the world, which carries its own collection, high-end designers, as well as up and coming designers.
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9
Mission Taking its name and mission statement from the
modern
Olympic
Games,
founded
by
Baron Pierre de Coubertin, Opening Ceremony adopts a multinational approach to retail. In addition to stocking both iconic and emerging homegrown designers, every year Opening Ceremony showcases the spirit and merchandise of a visiting country, transforming each store into a marketplace for exotic souvenirs and international talent.
CHAP TER TWO
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chapter two
swot analysis
Strengths Opening Ceremony is an omnichannel retailer where customers can shop from their physical store locations or online on their ecommerce website. They is highly involved in their social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and a company blog, engaging customers through the content they create. They are diverse in terms of bringing in new merchandise and featuring new and upcoming designers all around the world. Not only do they feature new designers, but carry well known brands and their own private label that is popular with customers. To cater to a wider customer base, Opening Ceremony has a high-low sales concept where low priced items and high priced items are provided in the same product category. Opening Ceremony is innovative with their collaborations with artists and designers outside of the fashion world to bring art and fashion together. They are trend concious but still have an eclectic style that attracts the attention of customers worldwide.
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chapter two
swot analysis
Weaknesses Although Opening Ceremony has a huge social media following, they lack traditional advertising such as ads in magazines. There are a great variety of products in stock, yet the products that are available come in limited quantities. Opening Ceremony is limited with their brick and mortar stores as they only have five stores in four countries, two of which are in the USA.
Opportunities Opening Ceremony has the opportunity to open more stores in major cities to attract more customers worldwide. They also are open to collaborate with more artists and pop culture icons for exposure. Like Kenzo and their childrens clothing, Opening Ceremony could open more opportunities for new customers by launching a children’s collection. Short films and advertisements in print material such as magazines could be a way for them to promote their locations and sale opportunities as well as feature newx designers or brands that they have in stock.
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Threats Threats to Opening Ceremony would be significantly lower priced stores such as ZARA, H&M, and Forever 21 that might knock off designer products. Other well known retailers that hold similar merchandise is also a threat to Opening Ceremony’s retail strategy. Due to Opening Ceremony‘s lack of traditional advertising, they may lose potential customers simply because they were not exposed.
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chapter two
scope
OC NEw YOrk
Opening Ceremony has two locations: one store on 35 Howard Street and the other in the Ace hotel on 1190-1192 Broadway. The store on 35 Howard Street was the first store to open, located on intersection of Soho and Chinatown. The store expanded to 33 Howard Street. The total square footage of the combined stores is approximately 3000 square feet. The Ace Hotel store is a twist on the hotel gift shop, which features all of the products Opening Ceremony is known for.
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chapter two
scope
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19
OC Los Angeles
The second addition to Opening Ceremony’s retail presence, OC LA is located on 451 North La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90048. The 10,000 square foot store is built on Charlie Chaplin’s old dance studio. The twofloor space was designed to echo the Southern California mall culture. This allows Opening Ceremony to offer customers their products on both coasts of the USA.
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chapter two
target customers
Sun-Hi Park Age: 28 Income: $45,000 Raised in Santa Monica Graduated from Pomona Works in restoration archives at the LACMA
Residing in West Hollywood with her boyfriend, Sun-Hi loves to take her French Bulldog, Louie, to the park while she eats frozen yogurt. On her free time she reads the LA Times, WWD, and the National Geographic, loves to find treasures at LA’s many designer vintage stores,
and
attends
Coachella
and
Burning Man every year. She danced ballet as a child, but now takes classes for exercise, and drives a retro standard motorcycle around town. Online shopping is her weakness, as her busy schedule keeps her away from shopping in stores, and when she gets the chance, she loves to travel all over the world - especially to visit family in South Korea and other parts of Asia.
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Luke Harrison Age: 25 Income: $60,000 Graduate of UC Berkely Works at Uber corporate HQ in San Francisco
Luke lives in Silver Lake, Los Angeles with two roommates, whom he enjoys taking weekend road trips with on his
grandfather’s
1985
Mercedes-
Benz to various destinations around California. He enjoys spending time in the mountains - hiking in the summer and snowboarding in the winter - bur he also enjoys his early morning beach runs with his black lab Poppy. On his free time he follows professional soccer, reads the New Yorker and The Onion, and goes out on the weekends to hear local bands play. As Luke is young, Luke has a total bachelor mindset - he is not interested getting into a serious relationship.
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chapter two
target customers
Taylor Stein Age: 35 Income: $105,000 Graduate of Dartmouth Senior Editor at Random House Publishing
A mother of one three year old named Harper, Taylor lives in a townhouse on the Upper East Side in New York. As a successful career woman, she drives an Audi Q7, but usually takes cabs around the city. Taylor is a well-cultured woman as she holds membership to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and travels with her daughter and husband to various parts of Europe and Asia. She practices yoga daily and buys herself a bouquet of fresh flowers every week, absolutely loves Sunday brunch, and bakes cookies with her daughter for the Children’s hospital every Saturday morning.
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Morgan Johnson Age: 20 Income: $6,000 Raised in New York Student at FIT
Born and raised in New York City, Morgan knows the subway system like the back of his hand. Although he lives at home with his parents and yonger brother in Tribeca, and eats organically, as his mother is a personal chef to celebrities, Morgan is independent by juggling school and part-time work as a tailor’s apprentice during the weekdays. Morgan loves to immerse himself in culture; he attends Comic Con every year as a comic book enthusiast, loves to watch foreign films, and travels to a new country every summer with his family. On the weekends he skateboards around the Village with his friends.
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chapter two
category
/
25
Target Category Shoes were chosen based on a number of unique properties worth considering: Footwear straddles in between the “accessory” and “clothing” category. A shoe can be worn more often - similar to a bag or belt, than a pant or shirt- meaning more interaction with the brand and more percieved return on investment for the customer. But unlike a purse, there’s a desire to own many shoes - not just a one or two for all occasions. This leads to more sales, as seen from Opening Ceremony’s confidence in the category from the 33 Howard basement dedicated entirely to shoes. Good footwear is ultimately about confidence, elevation, movement.
These feelings
should be touched on in the range, extrapolated through a vareity of materials and shapes in ways that are individually unique, but together tell a cohesive story.
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chapter two
competitors
Dover Street Market Owned by the Japanese fashion brand Comme des Garçons, Dover Street Market is a multi-brand experience ‘rooted in beautiful chaos’ that offers some of the world’s most avant-garde garments. The store uses its seven floors of retail space as an opportunity to showcase its strong emphasis on visual merchandising, curating each level just like a museum. Dover Street Market is located on Lexington Avenue in New York City, but also has stores in London and Tokyo, Japan. Merchandise is also available to purchase online.
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OAK NYC OAK NYC is a forward thinking retailer that specializes in contemporary men’s and women’s apparel, accessories, footwear. On top of contemporary apparel, OAK NYC sells its own private label. The store epitomizes downtown NYC and caters to the HENRY generation, which describes those who are ‘high earners, not rich yet’. They have two stores in New York City, two stores in Los Angeles, and a well-designed online shop.
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chapter two
competitors
OTTE NY OTTE NY is a womenswear boutique with a strong presence in NYC – there are stores located in the Upper East Side, Tribeca, West Village, Madison Avenue, and Nolita. The store offer a unique, curated mix of merchandise that evokes the vibe of the neighborhood with the best from both established and emerging designers’ collections. OTTE NY sells its own private label collection in its physical stores as well as online, and is popular in China.
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29
Fred Segal Fred Segal is an iconic shopping destination known internationally for curating the trendiest merchandise and introducing the world to the latest fashions. The retailer offers a creatively mixed selection of products that varies from designer shoes and bags, to jeans and tees. Fred Segal’s brand history is deep, starting with jeans only in 1960, and developing an expansion store in 1985. Fred Segal offers a full shopping and lifestyle experience with three store locations in Los Angeles and a store in Tokyo.
CHAP TER THREE
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chapter three
CONCEPT When thinking of how Opening Ceremony would do a unique, curated footwear line, it was important to maintain the level of creativity and relevancy the brand has built their business on. Often times these two variables work against each other; nothing too relevant can be unique to one brand for long, and something too unique may have too small an audience to be appreciated. Opening Ceremony has distinguished itself by offering compelling, in-house concepts created from a variety of product pricepoints and brand identities. This comes from an understanding of what their customers are wanting from an Opening Ceremony experience; but also an understanding of trends in the industry. Knowing what disparate elements to combine in order to create a unique outlook is what draws people to Opening Ceremony. For this line, keeping the feelings of “confidence, elevation and movement� in mind were key to formulating a solid look.
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chapter three
trend forecasting
Futuristic
The modern world seems to have a fascination with space and finding life beyond Earth – with the recent discovery of water on Mars – the possibility of inhabiting another planet is becoming far more real. The Futuristic Fashionista is ready for a lunar rave, a meteor shower, or to slide down Saturn’s rings – in platforms or sneakers, gravity has no effect on this woman.
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35
apocalyptic
With popular films such as The Hunger Games and Divergent, it seems as if everyone is preparing for the end of the world. Clad in a pair of gladiator sandals, any woman would be able to survive whatever the world throws at her. The color story remains cool yet calm, with notable hints of grey as Mother Nature takes over.
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chapter three
trend forecasting
romantic rebellion
This woman loves the classic elements of past fashion translated into contemporary styles. Maintaining the soft colors and romance, but updating the functionality – she is drawn to one-of-a-kind pieces that will most definitely make a statement.
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37
Girl Gang
In touch with her feminine side, this female rebel is not afraid of color. Always sporting a street style chic look, she is constantly ready for a spontaneous adventure. She opts for platforms because she likes the height without the pain of wearing heels. A member of the Girl Gang has a very personalized style that is enhanced further by her daring footwear of choice.
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STYLISTIC RESPONSE From analyzing the previous trends, the conclusion was to build a line that brought to mind the frontiers of space. This touches on a number of foundational consumer styles, from retro to minimalism to athletic. These items could serve as bridge garments, allowing a customer to transition between styles and seasons with greater ease. The ideas of form and function resonate here, as the consumer is increasingly demanding more from their garments. Thick, heavily treaded soles, with waterproofing materials give a feel of confident preparedness, while an oxidized palette of Martian neutrals allows for a high degree of stylistic versatility.
CHAP TER Four
42
chapter four
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spring buying plan
CorPorate Plan Spring 2016 Corporate Buying Plan Focus Product Category: Women’s Shoes Plan Net Sales Spring 2016
$ 2,000,000
Est. Net Sales Spring 2015
$ 1,600,000 25%
Plan % Last Year Average Stock, Retail
800,000
Inventory Turnover
2.5 $500,000
Planned Reductions, $ Reductions % Sales
25%
Plan IMU%
60%
February
March
April
May
June
July
Spring 2016
360,000
360,000
320,000
340,000
380,000
240,000
2,000,000
18%
18%
16%
17%
19%
12%
100%
1,044,000
1,008,000
928,000
884,000
798,000
528,000
812,900
Stock/Sales Ratio
2.9
2.8
2.9
2.6
2.1
2.2
2.5
Plan EOM Stock
1,008,000
928,000
884,000
798,000
528,000
500,000
Plan Reductions
50,000
60,000
65,000
110,000
115,000
100,000
500,000
10%
12%
13%
22%
23%
20%
100%
Purchases, Retail
374,000
340,000
341,000
364,000
225,000
312,000
1,956,000
Purchases, Cost
149,600
136,000
136,400
145,600
90,000
124,800
782,400
Net Sales % Fall Plan BOM Stock
% Fall
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chapter four
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spring buying plan
OC NY CorPorate Plan Turnover rate is faster for OC NY due to its accessibility by foot. Also, more people are likely to visit OC NY as it is the main location. Plan Net Sales Spring 2016
$630,000
Est. Net Sales Spring 2015
$ 525,000 25%
Plan % Last Year Average Stock, Retail
$227,300
Inventory Turnover
2.8 $157,000
Planned Reductions, $ Reductions % Sales
25%
Plan IMU%
60%
February
March
April
May
June
July
Spring 2016
113,400
113,400
100,800
107,100
119,700
75,600
630,000
18%
18%
16%
17%
19%
12%
100%
294,800
283,500
262,100
246,300
215,500
143,600
227,300
Stock/Sales Ratio
2.6
2.5
2.6
2.3
1.8
1.9
2.8
Plan EOM Stock
283,500
262,100
246,300
215,500
143,600
145,000
Plan Reductions
15,800
18,900
20,500
34,700
36,200
31,500
157,500
10%
12%
13%
22%
23%
20%
100%
Purchases, Retail
117,800
110,900
105,500
110,900
84,100
108,500
637,700
Purchases, Cost
47,120
44,350
42,210
44,350
33,640
43,380
255,060
Net Sales % Fall Plan BOM Stock
% Fall
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OC La CorPorate Plan OC LA’s turnover rate is slower than OC NY due to LA’s environmental culture of needing a car to go places, and larger square footage. Plan Net Sales Spring 2016
$1,260,000
Est. Net Sales Spring 2015
$1,050,000 25%
Plan % Last Year Average Stock, Retail
$556,000
Inventory Turnover
2.3 $315,000
Planned Reductions, $ Reductions % Sales
25%
Plan IMU%
60%
February
March
April
May
June
July
Spring 2016
226,800
226,800
201,600
214,200
239,400
151,200
1,260,000
18%
18%
16%
17%
19%
12%
100%
703,100
680,400
625,000
599,800
550,600
393,100
556,000
Stock/Sales Ratio
3.1
3.0
3.1
2.8
2.3
2.6
2.3
Plan EOM Stock
680,400
625,000
599,800
550,600
393,100
340,000
Plan Reductions
31,500
37,800
41,000
69,300
72,500
63,000
315,000
10%
12%
13%
22%
23%
20%
100%
Purchases, Retail
235,600
209,200
217,400
234,400
154,400
161,100
1,211,900
Purchases, Cost
94,250
83,660
86,940
93,740
61,740
64,430
484,770
Net Sales % Fall Plan BOM Stock
% Fall
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chapter four
spring buying plan
Assortment Plan Spring 2016 Opening Ceremony Assortment Plan Focus Product Category: Women’s Shoes Planned Purchases at Retail
$ 1,956,000
When constructing the assortment plan, the team took into consideration that the LA store was considerably larger in square footage than the two NY locations combined. Therefore, from the total $1,956,000, OC LA took $1,260,000 of the purchases where as OC NY and ACE hotel took $630,000. The purchases were also slightly different between the two stores. Considering climate differences between LA and NY, OC LA would stock more sandals and platforms than OC NY and ACE hotel, while OC NY would stock more boots and sneakers.
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OC NEW YORK $ 630,000
Planned Purchases at Retail Sizes
% Total
$ Purchases
Types
5
8%
$50,400
Boots
15%
$94,500
6
18%
$113,400
Platforms
30%
$189,000
7
20%
$126,000
Sandals
30%
$189,000
8
20%
$126,000
Sneakers
25%
$157,000
9
14%
$88,200
100%
$630,000
10
12%
$75,600
11
8%
$50,400
100%
$630,000
% Total $ Purchases
OC LOS ANGELES Planned Purchases at Retail
$ 1,260,000
% Total
$ Purchases
Types
% Total
$ Purchases
5
8%
$100,800
Boots
10%
$126,000
6
18%
$226,800
Platforms
35%
$441,000
7
20%
$252,000
Sandals
35%
$441,000
8
20%
$252,000
Sneakers
20%
$252,000
9
14%
$176,000
100%
$1,260,000
10
12%
$151,000
11
8%
$100,800
100%
$1,260,000
Sizes
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chapter four
statement
Final Statement As a retailer, Opening Ceremony satisfies its customers’ needs with cutting edge merchandise developed by innovative designers at all price points. Always looking at pop culture as a guide, it is apparent that the public’s fascination with space has grown – making the futuristic-inspired Buying Plan a significant opportunity. The aspects that are particularly appealing from this trend are the ideas of exploration and preparedness – which is crucial in the life of Opening Ceremony’s target customers. The modern woman has no time to be hindered by her shoes and refuses to compromise on style – so Opening Ceremony’s collection of functional yet chic footwear will please any fashion-forward woman on the go.
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Bibliography
http://openingceremony.us http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/ http://www.wgsn.com/home/ https://www.pinterest.com http://designspiration.net https://www.modaoperandi.com https://www.tumblr.com https://unsplash.com https://www.fredsegal.com http://www.oaknyc.com http://www.doverstreetmarket.com http://otteny.com/en/