Jennifer Twumasi Market Research
Marketing is a fundamental part of any industry. It is used to communicate the value of a product to its audience. Marketing a product is achieved through various methods such as word of mouth, advertisement and leaflet distribution. As technology has advanced, it is easier to market a product via the internet and popular social networking sites such as facebook, twitter and instagram. The most common form of marketing used in fashion PR are mainly blogs, collaborations, celebrity association and frequently publicity stunts. Brand identity and Competitors
Fragility, innocence and purity symbolises Twumasi house of fashion A/W15 capsule collection ‘Clarity’. One influence of this collection is the cut out of lace. The collection features a lot of cuts and slits into fabrics. The cuts in the fabrics represent the fragility associated to the collection. The core value of the brand is to introduce new and exciting fashion on the high street. Twumasi house of fashion will be located in the heart of London to attract fashionable consumers. As a new brand it may be difficult to be marketed in a department store. Therefore, to begin with, we will want to be marketed in Dover street market. Dover street market celebrates new designers and we believe this would be a brilliant location for our brand. When the brand becomes established, we hope to then relocate onto the high street.
-Fig. 1, Dover Street market, Google search http://cdn.ltstatic.com/2007/September/RS206236_942long.jpg
When the collection eventually evolves onto the high street, research indicate our competitors will be the likes of Cos and Reiss. These retailers stock their products for a much higher price compared to other retailers on the high street. Twumasi house of fashion (THF) will have a similar price range to these retailers.
- Fig 2, Cos Official Website.
- Fig 3, Reiss Official Website.
From the images above it is evidential that Reiss and Cos can be classed as a luxury high street brand which is reflected in their price range. Dresses shown on the Cos website was retailed at £55 and £79. On the Reiss website garments were priced at £100+. Compared to Reiss and Cos, whose styles are sophisticated, our brand is more contemporary which will be a strength. Our competitor’s market position is a weakness to our growth. The length of the establishment of our competitors has generated loyal customers. Aiming to attract these set of loyal customers towards Twumasi House of Fashion will be an obstacle due to being a new brand. Another weakness is Reiss and Cos stock both women’s wear and men’s wear, whereas Twumasi House of Fashion caters to just women. This could be reflected as a weakness and a threat. An advantage for Twumasi House of Fashion will be the location (London). The capital city (London) of the United Kingdom attracts lots of tourists who are receptive and willing to indulge in the city`s fashion.
The table below highlights trends in inbound tourism in the UK between the years 2003-2013. The survey is based on the office for national statistics international passenger. The table shows that in 2013 tourist visits reached a record breaking 32.8 million. The average spend per continues to increase in number. This verifies that starting a business in a city that attracts tourist would be beneficial.
Fig 4, inbound tourism - http://www.visitbritain.org/insightsandstatistics/inboundtourismfacts/ Demographics of consumers (capsule collection- Clarity) •
Age – 25-45
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Gender – Female
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Marital status – Single
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Income Level - £25,00- £40,000
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Employment – Fashion; buyer, marketing, designer, stylist, journalist.
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Housing – Own apartment.
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Location – London.
Psychographic of consumers •
Sociable
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Fashionable
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Shopping
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Travelling
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Blogging
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Reading
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Yoga
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Dancing
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Photography
- Fig 5, image from author’s PowerPoint presentation on market research.
Our ideal customer will include the likes of the Oslens twins, Victoria Beckham and Jennifer Lopez. These celebrities’ attributes in style is very feminine and contemporary. Their styles reflect our brand’s image.
- Fig 6, image from author’s PowerPoint presentation on market research.
Our real customer is a lady who is very fashion conscious, has a street style and is also very feminine.
Promotion and Campaigning brand Most famous fashion brands regularly use various techniques to promote their brands such as look books, press releases, leaflets etc. The first collection from Twumasi house of fashion ‘Clarity’ will use social media in raising the awareness of the brand. We will be mainly targeting online forums for our campaigns. The age group of our customers (young adults) regularly use social media to socialise, be informed on the latest fashion etc. Using social media as a tool for advertising will enable us (THF) communicate with our customer audience effectively. Twumasi House of Fashion will have an official website, twitter, instagram and facebook page. This will enable customers following these pages to gain access to the latest release dates, promotions etc…
As part of our advertising strategy, we are aiming for an influential fashion personality to model an outfit from the collection. This will occur at an event with the media`s presence. Emily Weiss, former vogue assistant will assist in promoting the collection. Weiss is the author of fashion blog ‘Into the gloss.’ Emily Weiss conducts interviews with models, makeup artist and female fashion icons on her blog. Emily Weiss`s blog postings has gained her a strong dedicated readers from all over the world. She has also starred in a Sephora campaign. Based on the above rationales, we believe she will be a great iconic representative. Following the promotional strategies, Twumasi House of Fashion will also have a press release to the public. A press release would be effective as it can inform the public in regards to the launch of the brand prior to its release date. Press release Twumasi House of Fashion is pleased to announce their first collection ‘Clarity’ launching on the 4th of August 2015. After months of preparations, researching and collaborating with top fashion buyers, we have now discovered our niche market. This has led to us (THF) creating the prefect brand to fit this Twumasi House of Fashion niche market. Our first store will display gorgeous fabric manipulation and detailing within cuts and drapes. Twumasi House of Fashion will be collaborating with some famous faces. We will also provide customers with exciting and contemporary fashion on the high street. With a new store location and collection, we grantee our customers the best shopping experience. We look forward to starting our new relationship with sponsors, designers, press and all our followers.
Budget Plan Item Suppliers (Warehouse providing fabrics)
Costing Estimation £1,400
Notes Fabrics to be used to create the garments for Twumasi House of Fashion “Clarity” collection were supplied by Fabric UK. We used 50 metre rolls to achieve each garment
with 5x different fabrics. The estimated costing will also include rent on a monthly basis where the garments will be sewn and distributed to the retail outlet. Rent (Office/Retail Shop)
£72,000
The office will be situated in the outskirts of London (Romford). This allowed Twumasi House of Fashion to decrease the expenditure on office rent (£12,000). Due to the location of the shop (central London), the annual rent through a private landlord cost £60,000.
Employee Costing (Celebrities, Models, Manufactures)
£17,000
Twumasi House of Fashion will be aiming to offer the celebrities £3000 for appearance and representing the collection. This offer will also include freebies of outfits modeled in. We will be using “EKA Modeling Agency” to supplier models for the collection. This will be at a cost of £2000. We will also be using 10x manufacturers to produce the garments at a
cost of £11,200 (40hrs a week over a period of 4 weeks). There will be no requirement for studio expenditure as the office in Romford will be converted on the day to a studio for photo shoot purposes. The only expenditure to factor will be the photographer (£800). Marketing Cost (Magazine Ads/Fashion Shows)
£1,200
The magazine adverts will cost £300 per full page. Twumasi House of Fashion will also reveal “Clarity” collection at two different fashion shows (NEC Birmingham & Pure London) costing an estimation of £900.
Total
£91,600
This is a total of all expenditure taken into account. This is estimation and therefore actual figures could decrease or increase.
The funding for the above costing in regards to Twumasi House of Fashion will be financed through various options. I will be using my savings of £51,600 as part of the startup cost. I will also be approaching family members to raise £20,000 which will bring a total of £71,600. The rationale to utilize my savings and family members to fund my startup cost is due to the lack or no interest on the sum borrowed. I will then aim to seek a bank loan of £20,000 to meet the
budget calculated above. The bank loan will be borrowed with a repayment over a period of 24 months.
Events to showcase brand Twumasi House of Fashion will showcase their first collection at various fashion events to raise awareness. We will showcase at clothes show live and pure London. The clothes show live is a consumer exhibition brand held annually in December at the Birmingham’s National Exhibition centre. The event showcases the latest fashion, beauty and music trends on large and often interactive features and stands. Pure London is the UK's largest and most influential fashion buying event, presenting 1,000+ brands offering contemporary womenswear, young fashion, lingerie, swimwear, children’s wear, footwear and accessories. Pure London is held at London Olympia Grand and National Halls twice a year during spring/summer and autumn/winter. We believe targeting these two fashion events would be good for our brand. Pure London and Clothes Show Live are interactive which will give us the opportunity to interact with target audience. As well as these events being interactive they celebrate new brands. Therefore, showcasing at both these events would be a great form of campaigning Twumasi House of Fashion. Summary Marketing a new brand is essential in order to raise awareness of the brand. It is important to establish the company’s values, location, price range, customer and possible competitors. This enables the brand to have an understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. Promotional strategies are also vital to start a new business. Campaigning a brand shows which methods you intend on using and why to gain recognition and customer loyalty. As an upcoming brand it is also crucial to have a budget plan. A budget plan will enable the brand to establish how much money is required to start your business.