Strategic Marketing Project by jennijla

STRATEGIC MARKETING PROJECT JENNI LIINAVUORI BA FASHION MARKETING & COMMUNICATION LEVEL 6, 2016-2017 MIED 608, MARKETING TECHNIQUES AND STRATEGY 3 STRATEGIC MARKETING CWK3 TERESA BUHIGAS

INDEX

1. The Challenge

2. THE ANALYSIS

3. STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN

Methodology Internal Analysis -Brand overview: significant milestones -Brand Key Results -Current Strategic Basis -Current Marketing Mix External Analysis -PEST Analysis -Market, Segmentation and Consumer Analysis -Competition Analysis & Positioning Map -Benchmark Opportunities SWOT

Strategic Basis -Objectives -Target -Marketing Strategies -Positioning Proposal & Map -Key Success Factors Marketing Mix -Product -Price -Distribution -Communication Launch Planning -Action Plan -Estimated Costs -Team Involved -Tools & Resources

4. Sources Appendices

1. THE CHALLENGE

The strategic marketing plan will be done for a Finnish footwear brand Minna Parikka. I decided to choose Minna Parikka because of its unique style, creativity and the brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s potential to grow and develop as a company. Furthermore I chose Minna Parikka because of my own high personal interest towards the brand and not just as for the project but also seeing it as a possible beneficial for my futureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s career path. The brand has raised a lot of awareness in the past couple years by their hit product Bunny Sneakers, which many celebrities and fashion influencers have been seen wearing. The brand has operated for 10 years and are sold in 25 countries around the world. Their shoes can be found at the infamous stores like Colette, Le Bon Marche and Harrods. The challenge of this project will be repositioning Minna Parikka on its market and creating an strategic marketing and communication plan which will determine the brands position in the current market. It will explore the challenges and opportunities that the brand might be facing. The repositioning will include product development and geographic expansion. The product development strategy will expand the product offering to other accessories like handbags and wallets. The geographic expansion which will possibly be opening a new store in a new territory or entering into new type of distribution channel. The challenge will be also trying to justify more the luxury price for the brands customers by explaining more about the product and their skills that shows the products quality and that Minna Parikka is rather a niche brand than a mass market brand.

2. THE ANALYSIS

Methodology Research objectives - Who are Minna Parikka consumers? -What is the buying behavior of them? - Minna Parikkaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s situation now? - How Minna Parikka can streghten its position in the market? Primary Research Methods -Qualitative: Interviews. Secondary Research Methods -Online artickles, research, Minnaparikka.com, WGSN In order to answer to the research questions I will be using both primary and secondary sources. The primary sources will be using qualitative research method. Primary sources are used to gather new information that could not have been found in order to create the strategy. I will be conducting interviews to understand the behavior of the target group, and helping to understand what the brand needs to do in order to create the new positiong for the brand. Most of the information for this project used will be coming from secondary sources. Information forthe internal analysis part will mostly come from the brands website and social platforms but also from many different interviews that can be found of the designer and ceo Minna Parikka. For the external analysis information will be gathered from different online artickles and researches.

INTERNAL ANALYSIS Brand overview: significant milestones 2005 Minna Parikka launches her own footwear brand in Helsinki, Finland 2006 First collection FW06 comes to the markets 2011 Companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s turnover grew by 40% 2012 Minna Parikka Universum (First flagship store) opened in Helsinki, Finland 2014 Young Designer of the Year (Design Forum Finland) 2014 Bunny Sneaks from the SS14 collection creates big buzz and awareness internationally among fashion insiders and A-listers 2014 Sold in 25 different countries 2016 Launched a kids shoes line for S/S16 Even though the brand has a quite short ,12 years, history in the fashion world it has already managed to pass some significant milestones. 2014 can probably considered to be one of the biggest years for the brand and its history so far. That is when the Bunny Sneakers were introduced to the world and since then its been a huge success for the company and it has got into one of the well-known department/multi-brand stores. Not only the Bunny Sneakers have created a bigger awareness but it also has created a clearer image and identity around the Minna Parikka brand. Futhermore it can be stated that the growth of the company with these milestones can be seen steady over these years, the company is probably not looking for just a rapid upturn. Parikka has said herself that she wants to build an empire around Minna Parikka brand and that will take some time.

Brand key results 2012/12 2013/12 2014/12 2015/12 Net Sales (EUR)

811 000

1 088 000

Change in net sales

1,9% 34,2% 22,6% 67,9%

Net profit (EUR)

-6 000

Operating Profit Margin

-0,4% 23,8% 12,8% 15,8%

188 000

1 334 000

138 000

2 240 000

286 000

Personnel 4 6 6 (finder.fi, 2015) The results of the past three years shows that the sales have been growing steady. The company is making a solid profit after the 2013 high peek from losing 6000 € in 2012 and turning of making 188 000 € profit. Also what is interesting to see is that the size of the company’s staff has been pretty much the same during the years and that the size of the company doesn’t seem to have effect on the sales. Opportunities: Threats: -Easier access to infamous fashion retailers -Expanding the bunny theme in other products -Steady growth as a company and in sales -Using celebrities for awareness

-Other brands copying the bunny sneakers -Small personnel -Short history as a fashion brand

Current strategic basis The current defined target of Minna Parikka is women between ages 20-45 from middle and upper middle class. They live in big cities or suburban areas. They arewomen who don’t take their life or style too seriously and they express their individuality through their clothes. In Minna Parikka’s own worlds she says that the ideal women who buys the shoes can really be anyone. A young student who has saved her one month’s rent money for buying the shoes or a professionally successful women. Especially now when multiple fashion influencers and celebrities have been seen wearing the brands shoes women who look up for these style icons craves for these shoes even more. Minna Parikka’s competitive strategy focuses on its differentiation in the footwear market. The brands unique design and style where the trend of playfulness, youth and nostalgia influences the larger adult market. The brand focuses using the unique design with the premium prices as their strategy to meet the needs of a certain segments. The brands identity is strongy built around its founder and chief designer Minna Parikka’s vision of feminity and bold uniqueness . When it comes to the design, Minna Parikka pushes new boundaries with childmind alike designing and combining it to the high quality materials and high-end craftmanship. Products with highend prices makes the brand positioned on the affordable luxury market sector. Key markets are Europe, USA, Japan and China. (minnaparikka.com, 2016) Opportunities: Threats: -Different from most of the shoe brands -Target too wide for a niche -Trend of youthful nostalgia brand -Focusing their target market

Current Marketing Mix Product Minna Parikka is specialized in high-end shoes for women and recently offering also a shoe line for children. Sizes for women goes from 35 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 42 and for children 21 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 33. For men they only offer the Bunny Sneaker model in two different colours. The products are focused to be high quality having a playful twist and inspiration coming from animal and fairytale world. The shoes are crafted in Spain and uses the finest leather that comes from Spain and Italy. All the material components of the shoes comes from Europe. The brand launches two seasonal collections per year. (minnaparikka.com, 2016) Women segment carries the biggest role of the collections with percentage of 76. Kids segment being the second biggest with 23%. The smallest segment is for men with only 1% of the collection. It is truly interesting to see how the segments are so radically divided. The chart truly shows that the brand is mostly focused on women. The little focus on men is probably explained by that the brand wants to test if men would be also interested of their product and then maybe expand more their product line.

Both Women and Mini collections are mostly focused on the infamous Bunny shoes which includes the sneakers, flats and heels. Bunnies carries 37% of women product line and 76% in the minis. When comparing the Women and Mini collections it can be seen that there is more collection lines for women than kids. Women has 7 different collections when kids have 3. What is also notable on the women collections is that it has 6 collections with a theme and then it has a seasonal collection that offers seasonal products. Some of the products offered for women has a same shoe pair for kids so the mums and their kids could wear a matching pair of shoes.

The colour charts of women and mini collections are pretty much the same despite couple options missing from the mini collections colour range. This also shows the link with the childish and playfulness touch with the adulthood. Though most of the shoes are really colourful it is interesting to see that still the most used colour for the women shoes is black with 36% and the second one metallic colours with 17% of the collection. The Mini carries pretty much the same results metallic rules the colour range with 28% and black having 21%. It is also notable that pink carries a key role on both women and mini collections colour sector.

High heels and sneakers are most important models for the women product line and the sandals the least offered model with only 4%. What is interesting to see on the women model study is that heels still carries a bigger portion though the Bunny Sneakers are one of the brands key element products to succeed in the market. The mini collection offers only sneakers and flats for the kids and the sneakers carries staggering 91% of the mini collections models.

Price The shoes are sold in a luxury price point, adults price range going from 230€ to 1000€ and children 130€ to 290€. Prices of the shoes are set by the materials, details used and the uniqueness of the shoes. The lowest price level for women goes from 230€ -325€ and it has the biggest range on products. The highest price level goes from 445€ up to 1000€ but what also needs to take into the consideration is that there is only one model with a price tag of 1000€. The medium price level of the Mini collection is close to the women lowest price level. It is interesting to notice that the shoes for kids have often same price as the shoes made for adult though for example less materials has been used for the Mini shoes

Place The company’s products are sold in 25 different countries around the world through 80 different fashion retailers’, some of the most famous stores being Colette, Le Bon Marche, Harrods and Harvey Nichols. The list of the fashion retailers is long and what is notable is that the stores selling Minna Parikka range from really high-end fashion retailers to more main stream department stores. This shows that the brand is not that focused on its image and its message send to the consumers. They should choose the retailers more carefully and take into consideration what retailers actually fits to their brand and image. Do they want to stay more niche brand or main stream? Because the price and product sets them definitely more into the niche market. So for conclusion the brand should focus on retailers that understand and are more focused on the niche market and are specialized on what they are doing. The chart on the nezt page shows that UK has the biggest amount of retailers that sell Minna Parikka and Finland coming on second. The map shows that the brand has expanded a lot in Europe and to the East. In North-America it has retailers only in Canada. Taking into consideration the big popularity in Hollywood celebrities and other trend setters and A-listers like Kylie Jenner,Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift. Cara Delevingne and Susie Bubble, it is weird that the brand hasn’t expanded to the US market yet. This could be a big possibility for the brand and its future for growth both in sales and awareness. The company has its own e-commerce on its website but the shoes can also be found from other 19 online fashion retailers. The brand also opened its own flagship store in 2012 (Called Minna Parikka Universum) in one of the busiest shopping streets in Helsinki, Finland. The store’s window displays are trying to catch the potential consumers eyes who are walking by the store with innovative and fun imaginary world creations that matches with the displayed shoe collections theme at the moment but also with the brands identity. The merchandising of the store is pretty clear and clean. There is only few products displayed on the store so the atmosphere stays spacious and more luxurious. Customers can then ask for the size of the product they are interested in from the shop assistant. Though the brand represents high-end premium fashion the atmosphere and the shopping experience of is tried to keep joyful, fun and youthful. (minnaparikka.com, 2016) 16

Promotion Right from the beginning until today the founder and designer Minna Parikka has been the voice and face of her own brand and handled the PR and the Finlands media by different channels which has helped the brand to get a lot of recognition in Finland. But now the past few years the brand has succeeded to get lot of recognition not only in Finlands magazines but also having publications abroad from Vogue Japan to Harperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bazaar. The brand relies very much on its products uniqueness and design and believes that if the consumer really likes the product they will come back getting more. Minna Parikka represents the new millenium, by not focusing that much on the traditional advertising but more on their communication through their social media platforms which the mobile era has brought to us. The brand has chose to use Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest for their social media platforms. Instagram is definetly the most important tool for them to gain awareness, communicate and market the brand. The brand Instagram account has almost 57 thousand followers when for examle Facebook, which is the brands second followed platform, has over 20 000 likes. The Instagram feed consists of pictures from new products, reposting pictures from magazine publications, celebrities and regular stylish people wearing Parikkaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and sales announcements. Everything in the Instagram is around the brand and its products. What is also noticeable is that the designer and founder Minna Parikka is rarely appearing in the Instagram feed. When usually she has been the face of the brand. Opportunities: Threats: -Possible grwoing popularity among men -Offering only shoes -More collections -Women and children shoes -More models, for example platforms almost the same price -Expanding to US market -Having retailers that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t -Growing reach in social media fit with luxury image -Opening new flagship store

The minnaparikka.com website offers the visiter to subscribe for a newsletter. Most of the newsletters are updates about the sales or new collections. Looking exactly like the webpage but in a smaller size. The website itself, minnaparikka.com, is colourful and distinctive and it was designed by collaborating with an illustration duo Craig & Karl. The layout in another hand has some technical flaws. For example the product sections is stuructured in a little bit odd way. The women, men and children should have their own sections. Also some of the search options given doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work in all shoe models. So for example if a customer looks for a specific colour of shoes she can miss it because of this error. What the site could also improve is the descrition of the products. Provide more information about the product and build a more interesting story around it. Now the descriptions of the shoes are pretty generic and plain. Also more information about the manufacturing process, working conditions, materials and the stocklist are needed. For some costumers the information currently provided on the website can be too general.

For conclusion the brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s developed marketing mix is not fully coherent yet. It looks that the brand is acting more like a mass market brand rather than a niche brand, which it is, with high end prices that most people canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really afford. The distribution has shown that the expansion of the brand has happened without further thinking the image it wants to set for the consumers. By having its products sold through fashion retailers around the world that are focused in different kind of consumers in mind it will send a misrepresentations of the brand. Also the relatively same prices with the women and children shoes are little bit questionable. The brand and its product also lacks of a good story and special skill introduced to the consumers that would make them more confident to buy the product. The vision and the creative aspects with the brands communication are good, for example the layout on their flagship store, Instagram feed and website goes perfectly with the brands product and its identity.

EXTERNAL ANALYSIS Introduction The external analysis will be gathering information about the USA market place in order to see if it would be a good idea for the brand to enter to the market which would be used for the third part of the project which is the strategic marketing plan. This part will also cover the primary sources used which was conducting interviews with target group outside and inside the market segment. PEST Analysis Political USA has the oldest democracy setup in the world but the political system is a lot different than other democracies. In 2014 USA was ranked on the democracy index 19th place and Corruption Perceptions Index on the 17th. USA has a huge influence on politics and economics over national and global policies. The EU and the US have the largest bilateral trade relationship worldwide. The EU is negotiating an trade and investment deal with the US. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) that would create new trade and investment opportunities for companies, big and small, and new jobs. For consumers, TTIP would cut prices and widen choice, while keeping the EU’s high standards for consumer protection, social rights and environmental rules. (ec.europa.eu) Economic USA has capitalist mixed economy an it is the largest national economy in the world. In 2015 its GDP was 17 947 trillion $. It carried a percentage of 28.95 of the whole worlds economy. The estimated GDP in 2016 is said to be 18 558 trillion US dollars. It is expected that the GDP annual growth rate will be 2.40% by the end of 2016 after a long term of potential 2% growth rate. USA is only advanced economy that doesn’t guarantee paid vacation for workers. Nonetheless in 2009 USA had the 3rd largest worforce productvity per person in the world. The 2008 global recession showed on the country’s high unemployment rates but it has fell now 4.9 after consumer and corporations have started spending more. (tradingeconomics.com, 2016) 24

Social The USA population is highly polarized because of the two-party system to liberals and conservatives. Many Americans believe in the three main section social class model which are the poor, middle class and rich. There is though a changing sift on the social class structure, while incomes have risen across the United States, so has the poverty rate which has lead for the growing gap between the poor and the rich. USA is also facing the problems of aging population which can lead to higher tax rates. Five most wealthiest cities in USA are New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington D.C. and San Francisco. New York: Los Angeles Number of wealthy residents: 963,100 % growth from 2013 to 2014: 7.7% Total wealth: $3.5 trillion % growth from 2013 to 2014: 8.8%

Chicago Number of wealthy residents: 282,000 % growth from 2013 to 2014: 6.7% Total wealth: $1.2 trillion % growth from 2013 to 2014: 7.8%

San Francisco

Number of wealthy residents: 221,600 % growth from 2013 to 2014: 11.2% Total wealth: $794.3 billion % growth from 2013 to 2014: 12.3%

(fortune.com, 2015)

Number of wealthy residents: 364,200 % growth from 2013 to 2014: 10.4% Total wealth: $1.3 trillion % growth from 2013 to 2014: 11.5%

Washington D.C.

Number of wealthy residents: 236,100 % growth from 2013 to 2014: 7.0% Total wealth: $957.3 billion % growth from 2013 to 2014: 8.1%

Technological USA is one of the most advanced nations in innovations and technology. It has been a leading country when it comes to adapting and applying technoogy. USA is facing the competition with rising economies but has still managed to hold its leading position. USA has been the front runner on developing nanotechnology,environmental technology, biotechnology and IT. States is also known from its nuclear weapons and space and reseach technology NASA. The USA e-commerce market has been constantly evolving over the years. Retail e-commerce sales in the U.S. are forecast to grow rapidly in the coming years, going from 396.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2016 to just over 684 billion US dollars in 2020. In 2016, 42 % of American internet users stated purchasing items via internet at least once a month, and nearly a quarter said they shopped online once or twice per week. In the e-commerce market in USA a notable growing trend has been the rise of mobile shopping. Around 136 million users made at least one purchase via web browser or mobile app with their mobile in 2016. Mobile buyer are expected to grow into 162.8 million in 2019. (statista.com, 2016) Market, Segmentation and Consumer Analysis Market in terms of size and growth The premium handbags and accessories market in the U.S. continues to grow, but what could worry retailers is the slowing growth rate for this market. Although this segment is expected to grow 3% to $11.7 billion in 2015, according to Barclays, this growth rate has declined from 8% in 2014, 11% in 2013, and 16% in 2012. (Forbes.com, 2016) On the other hand one of Minna Parikkaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main competitors Kate Spade showed impressive growth by increasing net sales by 16% year-over-year and also rising on its average revenue per square foot of 5% in the North American market. The women casual shoes and dress shoes cover together 30% of the US footwear market. The annual US consumer spending on footwear is around 30 billion US dollars. The market covers over 28 000 shoe stores and employs 163 866 people.

Segmentation Information cathered from the PEST analysis and interviews (Appendix A, B) helped to create the segment description according to their different behavior. Demographic: The age range of a Minna Parikka customer goes from 20 to 45 year old women. Women who buy Minna Parikka are either young adults starting their professional careers or more older career womens. They are well educated, independent women who have more income to spend money on their clothes meaning they are from upper middle class and upper class. They can be either single or with a family. Geographic: Women who are living in big cities with urban athmosphere and sense on fashion and culture is the best geographical factor to target Minna Parikka. People who live in big cities and enjoy social life care more what they are wearing and how they look. Also showing more their individual and unique style to others and stand out from the masses. They like shopping on their free time and doing different kind of cultural activites. Behaviour: They prefer to shop mostly online because they are living really busy lifes. But also sometimes likes to shop in brick and mortals. They look and value high quality products and good materials and are willing to pay for the quality and service. Psicographic: Minna Parikka customers are interested in music, fashion, cinema, art, travelling, going out, meeting friends. They get inspiration for their way of dressing from social media, friends and street style.

The Current Consumer Behavior Though the consumers in the US are feeling more confident about their financial situation they are still hesitant of spending too much. According to McKinsey.com Americans are not worrying about getting unemployed or concerned about their financial future compared with the rest of the world. Though many are feeling uncertain how the presidential elections result and unpredictable financial market is going to affect in the future, most US consumers are still staying loyal to their favorite brands and not changing to cheaper options. A survey made by McKinsey.com showed that in 2014 40% Americans stated that they were living from paycheck to paycheck. One year later the percentage decreased to 28%. When in 2009 48% felt it was hard for them to find their end meet. Now 65% are feeling no concern whatsoever about losing their job. For the conclusion less US consumers are feeling the economic pressure than what it was in 2008.

On the contrary only 20% of the repliers were optimistic about the US economy. Around 30% are still cutting back on their spending or delaying their consuming. However the results are now much positive than comparing to the year 2009 when the responds where twice as much, almost 60%. The survey also covered where US consumers are mostly to spend their extra money. 57% responded for everyday necessities like food and other household items. Clothing and other entertainment covered over 40%. According to the McKinsey survey 72% of women ages from 21-34 with children are looking for different ways to save money. For example shopping in many different stores finding the best deals, comparing prices, using loyalty cards and looking out sales and promotions. Like said earlier most of the US consumers are still remaining loyal to their favorite brands. But they are seeking cheaper prices, meaning they are waiting for sales or finding retailers who are selling their preferred brand for lower price or they keep buying the brand but just in lower quantities. It is also notable that only 9% said they would be most likely changing for cheaper brands. (mckinsey.com, 2016)

Interviews (Appendix A,B & C) For the research there were two different interviews conducted. The first interviews were made to cover and understand the costumers buying habits when it comes to shoes and other accessories as well as their knowledge and thoughts about the brand. The interviews were trying to find out if Minna Parikka is popular among the segmented target and compared to its competitors. Futhermore the aim was to find out the brands strong and weak point and things that could be improved. After maintaining all five personal interviews the results showed that women pay attention mostly on the materials and quality and that the product would be long lasting. Look and comfort were also big factors when it comes of buying shoes but for example price got less mentioned as a decision maker. Most of the repliers said that they prefer shoes and handbags that are made from real leather. Online shopping for shoes was said to be used only if the store didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the particular product. Otherwise multibrand stores and brands own store where the prefered places to go shopping. The majority said to think more before buying big purchases. Spontaneous buying happens mostly when purchasing small inexpensive items. Sustainability or animal free materials arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t factors that affect on their buying process. The repliers who owned Minna Parikka shoes said that they mostly use their shoes only in special occasions but would also want to buy shoes for more daily use purpose. Most of the repliers describes the brand unique and creative. Most of them also though that the brand should expand their product selection or have a collaboration with another brand. They also liked the idea of Minna Parikka having and limited edition collection which could differ a bit from the previous collections and design. Though many thought the prices are little bit expensive they still were considered to be coherent with the product because of the good materials and craftmanship. Some were still looking for more information for example about the product and working conditions. The information offered now was considered to be pretty generic and basic.

From all the products bunny sneakers and flats were the most liked ones among the repliers. The least popularity got the Ruby shoes and My little pony shoes due to their extravagant design and look. The minnaparikka.com got positive feedback of the creative and fun layout that fits also with the brand. Criticism came from the sites poor and tangled search engine and mobile page which wasn’t working properly. The repliers were also showed moodboards of the Minna Parikka’s current collections and four main competitoners collections and then asked to rank them in preferable order without knowing which moodboard was which brands. The results showed that Ted Baker and Minna Parikka were the most liked ones and by unanimous decision Mochino got the least likes. Another interview was conducted with a person who lives in the market area that the external research is covering and where the future strategy will take place. The interview was made with a local consumer who fits to the brands main target group. The interview was made to gather more information about for the possible new market where Minna Parikka would be entering on its future strategy. After conducting the interview with a local possible customer I found out that places where Minna Parikka would be expected to be sold were Saks Fifth Avenue, Barneys New York. Macy’s was also meantioned but not with as big assumption as the other stores. The interviewed also suggested that the brand could open its own store in the city. Comparing the two interviews the repliers opinions about the brand didn’t really differ from others. What though was notable was that the local responder said that she shops mostly online, due to lack of time. She also said that she is usually seeking for good deals when she is shopping but if the product that she really wants it doesn’t need to be on sale.When asked about Minna Parikka’s pricing she said they were okey but for the kids shoes she would not pay the normal price. The local interviewed considered Kate Spade and British shoe designer Sophia Webster as a similiar brands to Minna Parikka. Futhermore moodboards of Minna Parikka and and it considered main competitors moodboards where showed and the results were same as with the other respondends, Minna Parikka was preferred after Ted Baker and Moschino was the least liked one.

Competition analysis & Positioning map: comparing results, strategic basis and marketing mix performance

Positioning Map Minna Parikka

Ted Baker

Kate Spade

Moschino

Marc Jacobs

Playfulness 5 4 3 Strong community

Iconic products

1 0

Wide range of products

Quality

The positioning map above shows the main competitors of Minna Parikka in the market and measuring how the brands are performing in different sectors, which are playfulness, iconic products, quality, wide range of products and strong community. Performance is measured to be the best from column number 1 to 5. Comparing Minna Parikka to its competitors it lacks on having a strong community and with range of products, since Minna Parikka is only offering shoes. Futhermore quality, playfulness and iconic products were segments that the footwear brand is performing well and has a competitive advantage over some of the competitors. To improve the brand strong community and wide range of products are aspects that the brand could focus more in the following strategy.

Ted Baker have had stable and strong performance. The company reported sales rising 24.5 per cent year-on-year to £226.8m in the six months to August 15, with pre-tax profit increasing 14.6 per cent to £17.8m. (Financialtimes.com, 2015) The brand has 416 stores, which almost half of them are in the UK. The UK remains Ted Baker’s biggest market, but a strong US performance was singled out by the company as it reported a 24% rise in turnover between February and June. (TheGuardian.com, 2015) Ted Baker is a global lifestyle brand. Offering both men’s and women’s apparel and accessories. The brand is known of its quirky but at the same time commercial products, using a lot of patterns, colours and details with a sense of humour. The price level is affordable luxury. Shoe prices going from 55€ to 335€ and bags 41€ to 415€. Materials used are often leather on the more expensive ones and Polyvinyl Chloride on the inexpensive ones. Ted Baker’s strategy is to become a leading global lifestyle brand. The brands strategy focuses on collection expansion and reacting to trends and meeting the consumers desires. Furthermore the strategy includes their controlled distribution which covers three main channels; retail, wholesale and licensing. And for the last, carefully managing development in the overseas market. Meaning that Ted Baker tries managing the growth both in existing territories but also expanding to new ones. (tedbakerplc.com) At Ted Baker, the approach to marketing the brand remains the same as it was from day one, and that’s primarily by word of mouth and an unconventional approach. Ted Baker is one the few global brands that haven’t chosen to advertise. Due to this reason the brand has focused creating awareness and build the brand in other ways. For example creating creative and eye catching window displays, in-store giveaways and unique events. (tedbakerplc.com) 35

According to a Chief Executive Officer of Kate Spade the brand made significant progress in 2015. The brand expanded its product categories by 14 new ones and expanded geographically into 8 new countries. This resulted growth in sales with 21% in 2015. Reported net sales for the fourth quarter of 2015 were $429 million, an increase of $30 million, or 7.6%, from the comparable 2014 period. (PRNewswire. com, 2016) Kate Spade has over 80 stores in USA and over 100 stores internationally. Furthermore Kate Spade is sold over 400 stores worldwide. (katespade.co.uk) Graphic prints and playfulness combined to sophistication are key elements on Kate Spade’s products. Kate Spade is a global lifestyle brand and it offers women’s apparel, accessories, home décor and fragrances, but it is mostly known from its colourful accessories. Kate Spade also offers personalization for their bags, such as stickers, straps, tassels, initials and charms. The prices in the shoes goes from 55€ to 448€ and in bags 98€-675€. As the brands promotion strategy Kate Spade is focused on their online and social media presence which is focusing on the Kate Spade lifestyle. Facebook have been significant sales tool for the brand, not only engaging with costumers but also offering special sales and previews. According to CEO Craig Leavitt their direct email base has been the strongest because they are the most loyal customers. (mashable. com, 2011)

After naming Jeremy Scott as the fashion house’s new creative director in 2013 the brands sales grow 10 times in two years. (businessinsider.com, 2015) The Italian luxury fashion house is specialized in ready-to-wear, leather accessories, shoes and perfumes. The products are often inspired from pop culture, from fast-food to different cartoon themed collections. The bags has a common element of often having Moschino logo with golden letters. The design mentality of Moschino’s products is to see and feel humour. The prices on the shoes ranges from 459€ to 1 615 € and other accessories like handbags goes from 205€ to 3 375€. Moschino has a global retail network of mono-label stores and franchise stores, shopins-shop, corners and soft corners. Over the last few years, mono-label boutiques have been opened internationally over 20 countries to complement traditional distribution in multi-label stores. In addition, many dedicated spaces, shops-in-shops and corners have been opened in the most prestigious department stores in the world such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom in the United States, Harvey Nichols, Harrods in London, Printemps in Paris etc. (wikipedia.org/wiki/Moschino)

With a huge range of styles, Marc Jacobs footwear line for both men and women offers shoes for any kind of occasion needed. Every year he comes up with new innovative ideas that are pushing fashion boundaries. According to financial intelligence group PrivCo, Marc Jacobs revenue reached 950$ million in 2015. Marc Jacobs has over 200 retail stores in 80 countries internationally. Marc Jacobs is known from its unique designs with a hint of punk and gothic vibe combined to the ultimate New York coolness, which have become popular among young consumers. The brand offers clothes, accessories and fragrances for women. The collection structure cover products with a more creative and shocking touch and then some more sophisticated and suitable for the masses. Shoes prices range 250€-2395€ and bags with 50€ up to 3000 €. It is also notable that the more unique and special the product is the higher the price. Marc Jacobs is known from casting models for campaigns with the help of social media. Campaigns indicating freedom, edginess, underground crowd and New York lifestyle. Trying to make people feel part of a new fashion generation. (racked. com, 2015)

Benchmark opportunities: best practices the company can learn from

SWOT Strengths: Minna Parikka has created a strong brand identity around fun, adventurous and fearless mindset. This can be seen in everything the brand does, products, packaging, flagship store, e-commerce and via social media. The unique designs has brought a lot of awareness to the brand as well as making it easier to differentiate from other brands in a highly competitive field. The high quality is also considerend to be strength, this is also a big competitive factor when compared to Minna Parikkaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s competitors. Because Minna Parikka is manufacturing in Spain, using small manufacturers and not focusing of producing a mainstream product which would affect on the products quality negatively. The brand has a perceivable flagship store in Helsinki which really communicates the brands luxuriousness in its best. The Bunny sneakers which are the brands most distinct product has brought global awareness towards the brand and has helped the brand on its identity and situation where is it now. Strong presence in social media without spending huge amounts of money in advertising. Also the popularity among celebrities and other trendsetters has been a huge advantage for the brand in business wise. Weaknesses: The brand is trying to target everybody though it is more of a niche brand. They should have a more direct approach to their target market. Also the fact that the brand is offering only shoes though there clearly would be demand on other products from the brand. Also compared to its competitors the brand lacks awareness. And for the last, the website/e-commerce site has some technical flaws which can be a factor of not closing a sale.

Opportunities: One of the best opportunities Minna Parikka would have is to expand their product lines, so the brand would be creating more sales as well as reach a larger audience. Same thing can be stated if the brand would expand to new countries. Opening a new flagship store(s) somewhere else than in Finland could help creating more loyal customers abroad and also really providing the luxury experience when purchasing the brands products. Also building awareness and a strong community around the brand are opportunities for Minna Parikka to repositioning the brand. Threats: Biggest threats are either cheap knock offs or competitors with bigger awareness copying or creating similiar designs. The cheap knock offs are though easy to notice, because of the materials and quality. But compeating with companies that has already a much higher awareness and longer history and heritage has better changes to get the product out to the market which can be exploiting the customers purchasing from Minna Parikka.

3. STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN

STRATEGIC BASIS Objectives The strategic marketing plan will be implemented taking into consideration the research analyses made before. The conducted interviews showed that for some costumers the price range is too high and they find the brand being expensive. Because the product is high quality the brand canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a new pricing srategy because then the products quality would suffer and the brand would loose their customers. The strategy of Minna Parikka will be focus on creating a niche brand and creating more of an luxury brand image. Also the research covered if USA would be a good new marke place to enter, and according to the external analysis wealthy citites like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington D.C. or San Fransisco would be great options. After analysing the internal and external parts the srategic marketing plan will be covering certain objectives: -Launching Minna Parikka in USA -Expand product line into handbags, wallets, gloves and other accessories -Justifying more of the high prices of the products

Target The target group that Minna Parikka wants to reach with the new strategy will be women from upper class aged between 25-50. They are well educated and successful career women. They are either independent wealthy single women, comes from a wealthy family or they are married and have kids. Futhermore they are living in big cities and are interested about fashion and cultural activities. They enjoy social life and want to look good. For them their look is also a sign of wealth and status. High quality, look and experience are important factors when they are shopping. They want to stand out from the mainstream and look for unique designs and are also willing to pay for it. The target group uses a lot of free time on shopping. They like to shop in luxury multibrand/ department stores where all the brands are easily available. The women with own career are more busy so they like to shop more online. They are loyal to brands that they like and offer good buying experience. The inspiration for their style they get from friends, celebrities, social media and just by following fashion actively through different medias. Marketing strategies Competitive strategy The competitive strategy Minna Parikka will be using is differentiation focus meaning it will differentiate itself from the competition within a niche market. This will be done by creating new product categories in order to atrract a larger audience, and keep the customers buying more. Another thing is building a luxury brand image around Minna Parikka which the target group can identify themselves with. This will include that Minna Parikka would become more experienced and specialized in providing the products and shopping experience and service to its customers. This will be also build a better customer loyalty among customers. Stronger brand community will be built via social media and creating special events for the customers.

Growth strategy In order to grow Minna Parikkaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sale it will expand to the US market. This will done by having new fashion retailers selling Minna Parikka in their brick and mortal stores as well as in their e-commerce shops. Also an Pop-Up shop will be opened in New York in order to test if it would be profitable to open an actual flagship store in New York. To increase sales and profits the growth strategy will also include product expansion, like stated earlier. The product expansion will Positioning proposal & map, identifying the current position and the future you want to reach. Minna Parikkaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main competiors in USA are quite limited. Main competitors being Ted Baker, Kate Spade, Moschino and Marc Jacobs. Minna Parikka and Moschino are offering products on a luxury price point, Marc Jacobs and Kate Spade are on a more affordable luxury price segment and Ted Baker is offering products in a affordable price range. The current positioning map shows that Minna Parikka, compared to its competitors, is lacking of wide range of products and having a strong community. Marc Jacobs is offering the widest range of products and Ted Baker has the srongest brand community. In order to reposition the brand Minna Parikka should get inspiration from these brands and see what they are doing. Though Minna Parikka is a much smaller company as its competitors, offering only footwear and as the other brands identify themselves more as a llifestyle brands offering wide range of products. The product line expansion would still be considered to be a good thing as the brand could grow its market share. Fuhermore bulding a stronger community should be considered to be easier for a smaller brand, due to the reason that the communication can be more personal and as the strategy will be focusing on Minna Parikka being more of a niche brand than mainstream.

Current Positioning Map Minna Parikka

Ted Baker

Moschino

Marc Jacobs

Strong community

Playfulness 5 4 3 2 1 0

Wide range of products

Kate Spade

Iconic products

Quality

Future Positioning Map Minna Parikka

Ted Baker

Moschino

Marc Jacobs

Strong community

Playfulness 5 4 3 2 1 0

Wide range of products

Kate Spade

Iconic products

Quality

Key Success Factors The key success factors will be making USA customers aware of the brand in order of succeeding the launch of Minna Parikka in the new market. After the conducted research Minna Parikka will be launched in New York which showed to have best potential target market for the brand. The launch in New York will include of trying to enter in the best luxury department stores in New York as well as opening an pop-up store in the city. Both of these selling places are used for creating awareness about the brand for the target and also testing a future possibile brick and mortal store opening in New York. Before the brand would enter to the new market place Minna Parikka will be doing marketing and pr for three months and continue with three more months after the brand has been launched in the new market. The conducted interviews in Appendix A showed that there is a demand for other Minna Parikka products than just shoes. So the best strategy will be introducing new products to the market. This will be done by expanding the Minna Parikkaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s product line which currently offers only shoes. The new product line will be including handbags, wallets, gloves and phone cases. The new product line is for creating more sales and attracting an larger audience and react to the customers demand. Marketing mix Product Like stated before Minna Parikka will be expanding its product line. Both of the spring/summer 17 and fall/winter 17 collections will be including 90 shoes, 30 handbags, 20 wallets, and 15 phone cases. The designs will be as fun, adventorous and playfull as the Minna Parikka products are known to be. Because the bunny sneakers have brought huge awareness for the brand and is still the most sold products the bunny features will be compouded in many of the new products also. The products of the collection would look something following:

Price The price range of the shoes will be remaining the same, from 230€ to 510€. The one exception is cutting one shoe model out from the collection that was priced 1000€. The handbags will be priced from 310€ to 650€, wallets 120€-290€, gloves 120€-200€ and phone cases from 35€ to 50€. Distribution Minna Parikka will be launched in New York in spring 2017. The research results showed that the best options for the brand will be trying to enter some of the best luxury department stores like Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s and Barneys New York where the target group is shopping. This would also include getting on their e-commerce sites also. Furthermore a moving pop-up shop will be going around New York for two weeks. The location will change twice, the locations for the bus will be Upper East Side for the first week and Soho for the second week. The pop up shop will be open from monday to saturday 10am until 8pm. The shop will be sell the spring/summer 17 collection, including all the new products from handbags to phone cases. And the mini collection for children. The pop up shop will be created inside a bus. The bus will be painted in pink and looking like a bunny featuring bunny ears and face painted infront of the bus. The interior of the buss will be imitating the look and feel of the Minna Parikka flagship store in Helsinki. The shop’s purpose is to give luxurious experience as visiting in the actual store. Outside the bus will be a stand serving pink lemonade for the customers. A ittle are of seats and tables will be also created for the customers to stay and enjoy their lemonades.

Communication In order to create awareness before Minna Parikka would be entering the market the brand would create media pitch which will be sent to different fashion magazines and online magazines based in US and New York region like InStyle, Ny Times T Magazine, Vogue US, Cosmopolitan, and Harper’s Bazaar. The media pitch will be about the upcoming Minna Parikka’s SS17 collection and highlighting the background of the brand. Furthermore there will be created a press release which will be sent to different member of the media, mostly to the same magazines mentioned before. The press release will be about the pop up shop opened in New York in spring 2017. Minna Parikka will be creating two lookbooks, for both spring/summer 17 and fall/ winter 17 collections. The lookbooks will be sent to 8 different press member in purpose to pitch for an (free) editorial in magazines. One lookbook’s cost to make is 10€ so in total for both seasons collections lookbooks cost will be 160€. Photographer, model, and makeup artists will also be included to the cost, so in total the lookbooks will be costing 3960 €. SS 17 lookbooks will be shot in the beginning of the year 2017 so the editorial pitching can be started before entering to the US market and it will be easier to tailor and fit according to the magazine’s editorial calendars and what they are going to be working on during out the year. The FW editorial will be also shot months before it will be presented to the audience and also being able to pitch it to the magazines on a early stage.

Media Pitch:

Press Release:

Dear, editor’s name My name is Jenni and I head up PR at Minna Parikka (more info: minnaparikka.com). I think your readers would be interested about knowing that one of the Finnish fashion leaders, Minna Parikka is launching their Spring/Summer 17 collection next month. Minna Parikka is a fashion brand from Finland that is specialized on affordable luxury shoes and accessories for women and just last year the brand also launched their first footwear collection for children. All the products are made in Spain using small manufacturers. All the components from sole to shoe lace come from best European suppliers. The products are focused to be high quality having a playful twist and inspiration coming from animal and fairy tale world. Minna Parikka has raised a lot of awareness in the past couple years with their hit product Bunny Sneakers, which many celebrities and fashion influencers have been seen wearing. Our products are sold in 25 countries around the world. Our products can be found at the infamous stores like Colette, Le Bon Marche and Harrods.

Minna Parikka Announces Pop Up Shop opening in Soho and Upper East Side, New York in spring 2017 Released on March 4, 2017, 9.30 am Press Release Author: Minna Parikka Press Office Industry: Footwear, accessories & fashion Press Release Summary: Minna Parikka announces its pop up shop to be opened in New York during May 2017 Press Release Body: Minna Parikka,a Finnish footwear & accessories brand has announced new details and confirmed the pop up shop rumoured to be opened in New York. Minna Parikka is a fashion brand based in Helsinki, offering affordable luxury footwear and accessories for women and children. Inspired by Asia, pop culture, nature related and all kind of girly things. Minna Parikka is all about having with fashion without any limits or rules.

I would be happy to send you some samples from our new upcom- The pop up shop will be inside of a bus that looks like a bunny. The bus will be in situated one week in Upper East Side and another ing collection so you can prove to your readers the high-quality week in Soho. The bus will be similiar to the Minna Parikka’s flagand functionality of our designs.

ship store in Helsinki but with a touch of the big apples magic.

Appreciating your time and consideration. Let me know if you would be interested so we can talk more! Please email Jenni Liina- The pop up shop will be selling the Minna Parikka’s SS17 collection. vuori The designer and CEO Minna Parikka wants to follow the same jenni.liinavuori@minnaparikka.com or call me +358 458 458. principles in the stores decoration and aesthetic as in her designs.

Be ready to explore yourself and become desired of the adventurous and magical world of Minna Parikka. 55

Lookbook:

Summer/Spring 17 Lookbook

FALL/WINTER 17 LOOKBOOK

Minna Parikka will be using their social media platforms and news letters for informing the opening of the pop up shop and about getting inside the luxury department store(s). Minna Parikka will be also creating an contest via Instagram. The price will be winnig favorite Minna Parikka product. In order to enter to the contest the participant has to post the Minna Parikka Instagram picture about the contest on their own Instagram account. Minna Parikka will be also using their social media platforms for informing more their audience about the fact that the shoes are made in Spain using small manufacturers and that all the materials are also coming inside Europe. To do so Minna Parikka will be publishing photos and videos from the actual design and manufacturing process giving the audience also a little glimpse of what is happening behind the scenes. This will help to justify their audience why the products are considered to be a high quality and why the products prices are high. Minna Parikka will be collaborating with New York based fashion blogger Christina Caradona from Trop Rouge. Christina Caradona was chosen because her aesthetics fits with the brand and her following base is the type of audience Minna Parikka will want to reach. Collaborating with blogger is an efficient and pretty cheap way to, especially to a small company like Minna Parikka, to gain more awareness. Minna Parikka will send couple samples from their SS17 collection and from FW 17 collection in the fall and expect for a blog and Instagram post at least one of the product.

Launch Planning

Teams involved The brand will be using its own personnel when creating the press release, media pitch and content for social media channels. The lookbooks created will be needed to hire photographer, model and an makeup artist. The art direction will be done by the designer and CEO herself, Minna Parikka. For the pop up shop opening the brand will be using its own most trusted sales persons because they know already so well what itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the brands history and what the brand wants to message. And being able to provide the best customer service. The look and feel of the pop up will be using Minna Parikkaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s creativity and visuals but actual making of the pop up shop will be done by professionals.

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APPENDICES Appendix A: Interview I 1. HOW OLD ARE YOU? I1: 51 I2: 21 I3: 22 I4: 22 I5: 21 2. WHERE ARE YOU FROM? I1: Finland. I2: Finland, living in Berlin. I3: Finland, living in Barcelona. I4: Finland. I5: Lithuania, living in Barcelona. 3. HOW DID YOU BECAME AWARE OF MINNA PARIKKA? I1: From Finnish fashion magazines (interviews, fashion editorials). I2: Read an article about Lady Gaga wearing MINNA PARIKKA shoes. I3: Read from a Finnish fashion magazine about the Bunny Ballerinas. I4: Saw an interview on TV of Minna Parikka and about the JODIE heart shoes. I5: Through social media. 4. HAVE YOU BOUGHT ANYTHING FROM THE BRAND? I1: Yes. I2: No. I3: No. I4: Yes. I5: No.

5. IF YES, WHAT HAVE YOU BOUGHT AND FROM WHERE? (STORE/ONLINE/OTHER RETAILER) I1: Two pairs of JODIE high heels black and red ones. From Minna Parikka Universum (flagship store in Helsinki). I4: I have a pair of Bunny Sneakers with leopard canvas. From Minna Parikka Universum. 6. IF YOU HAVE BEEN IN THEIR STORE WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT IT (MERCHANDISING/CUSTOMER SERVICE) I1: The store is really stylish and all the products are displayed very nicely. And the customer service was really good. Youthful and welcoming atmosphere. I3: Window display is really eye catching, layout is simple, clean, interesting, not too many products displayed, clear, contemporary and unique. Customer service is also good. I4: Friendly customer service, clean and creative store. Especially the shopping windows. 7. IN WHAT OCCASSIONS YOU USE YOUR MINNA PARIKKA SHOES? (EVERYDAY LIFE/SPECIAL OCCASSIONS) I1: Special occasions, parties. Because of the high heel and platform. I4: Not every day, depends of the weather and what I am wearing. 8. IF NO, WOULD YOU WANT TO BUY THEIR PRODUCTS? / WOULD WANT TO BUY MORE OF THEIR PRODUCTS. I1: Yes, I would want to buy a more casual shoe model for example Mousey loafers. I2: Yes if I would afford on them. I3: At the moment no, but depending on the collection. I have had in the past products that I would have liked to buy. I4: Yes I would want to buy another pair of sneakers. I5: Yeah.

9. WHY HAVEN’T YOU BOUGHT THEIR PRODUCTS YET? I2: Because I haven’t been able to afford on their products. I3: There hasn’t been a product that I would have liked so much that I would have liked to buy. I5: Price and haven’t found the perfect model. 10. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE? I1: Classic, black, red, beige, white. Accessories like scarfs, shoes and bags bring the colours to my outfit. I2: Often wearing black, minimalistic, black, white and grey. I3: Simple, minimalistic, black, grey, white colours. But I like to buy colourful accessories to play with my outfit. Good materials and quality. I4: Versatile, casual sometimes more chic. I5: Black, versatile. 11. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE BRAND? I1: Creative, happy, classy. I2: Bunny Sneaks, curious. I3: Playful, unique and girly. I4: Unique, creative and colorful. I5: Playful, colorful and unique. 12. WHAT DO YOU LIKE/DON’T LIKE ABOUT THE BRAND? I1: LIKE: Finnish brand. Designer is a big part of the brands identity. Shoes are well made. DON’T LIKE: high prices. I2: LIKE: Finnish brand, differentiates from other brands. DON’T LIKE: expensive price. I3: LIKE: spirit, they have their own thing, store display, window displays of the store. I DON’T LIKE: the products doesn’t go with my personal style. The combination between adulthood and childhood doesn’t appeal to me. I4: LIKE: That the brand is unique and manufacturing happens in Europe. DON’T LIKE: High prices and not offering other products than shoes. I5: LIKE: Made in Europe, unique product. Communication in social media. DON’T LIKE: Prices.

13. HOW DO YOU THINK THE BRAND COULD BE BETTER? I1: Collaboration with another famous brand. They should have other accessories that could be combined with the shoes. So if you don’t have money for the shoes you could buy a cheaper product from the brand. I2: They should create more ads, and collaborate with celebrities to get more awareness. I3: They should have bigger production selection. For example wallets or other accessories. They have focused only on shoes so they should have more products. One-sided. They should also tell more about the manufacturing process and conditions. I4: They should make a collaboration and expand their product segments to other accessories. I5: Expanding product line and creating more shoes. 14. DO YOU THINK THE PRICE IS CORRECT/COHERENT WITH THE PRODUCT? I1: Yes, because of the good materials and with the good work/ craftsman ship. I2: Though the prices are high its understandable because the shoes are made in Europe. I3: Yes, production conditions and material goes with the price. I4: Yes, quality product and unique design. I5: Could be less expensive on the more basic models. 15. WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR FOR YOU WHEN YOU ARE BUYING SHOES AND OTHER ACCESSORIES? (PRICE/LOOK/TRENDINESS/ETC…) I1: Materials, look and comfort. The product can’t also look cheap. Can be playful but not over the top. I2: Quality and materials. Also trendiness and comfort are important factors. I3: Materials. Shoes: needs to be real leather, comfort, and style. Accessories: big bags need to be real leather, small ones doesn’t necessary need to be real leather. I4: Look and materials. I5: Style, price and quality-price level is coherent.

16. HOW MUCH YOU NORMALLY PAY FOR A PAIR OF SHOES? I1: 100-150 € I usually shop shoes from discount sales. I2: 100 € I3: Boots 100€, sneakers 60-100€. I4: Around 70-200€. I5: 60 € if it’s above it has to be really special and unique that I want really much. 17. WOULD YOU BE INTERESTED IF MINNA PARIKKA WOULD OFFER OTHER ACCESSORIES LIKE BAGS, SCARFS, ETC…? I1: Bags yes. I2: Yes, for example wallets would be nice. I3: Wallets yes. I4: Yes maybe bags and wallets. I5: Yeah bags, for example with the bunny. And wallets. 18. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PRODUCT(S) FROM MINNA PARIKKA? I1: Mousey loafers. I2: Bunny Sneaks: All ears rose gold. I3: Bunny Loafer powder patent. I4: All their sneakers. Also liking their flats. I5: Bunny sneakers, 19. WHAT PRODUCT(S) YOU DON’T LIKE? I1: Glitter products. I2: My little pony shoes and the Ruby shoes. Jacky black patent. I3: Rubys and Harlequin Black Knee High Boots. I4: My Little Pony Shoes. I5: Harlequin Knee High Boots. 20. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THEIR WEBSITE? I1: Little bit confusing. Takes a little bit time to find what you are searching. I2: Basic simple site. MINNA PARIKKA logo is boring. Font of the site is too basic.

I3: They should have a search by category/ collection/ colours. Bad mobile page: links not working. I4: Website design looks cool, the links could be organized better. I5: I like it its pretty cool, layout, colours goes with the shoes/brand. 21. DO YOU PREFER BUYING LIMITED EDITION COLLECTIONS? I1: NO it’s not important for me. I2: No, I prefer buying classic products than the more trendy limited edition collections. I3: Yes, I like the idea. But I often think longer time buying some product so doesn’t really work for me. But like the idea of limited edition products, that not so many have the same product. I4: Yes, but usually the prices are too high for my wallet. I5: Yeah. 22. WOULD BE INTERESTED IF MINNA PARIKKA WOULD DO A LIMITED EDITION COLLECTION(S)? I1: Doesn’t have a bigger value on my buying decision. I2: No. I3: Depends of the style of the collection. For example a collaboration with some other brand and the products would be simpler. I4: Would be interesting, and if the collection would be little bit different from what they usually do. I5: Yeah, they could do something ‘‘darker’’ and different. 23. DOES IT MATTER TO YOU IF ANIMAL MATERIALS LIKE LEATHER/WOOL ETC. ARE USED IN THE PRODUCTS YOU BUY? I1: I only buy bags and shoes made from real leather. I2: I prefer buying shoes made from real leather. Bags can be made from other materials. I3: I prefer that the leather comes from food production/ ethical condition/ and inside Europe. Because I think there is not yet a fake leather material that is proofed to be as good material as the real material. Ethical behavior towards animals is important to me still.

I4: Yes, I nowadays try to choose products that are not made from leather or other materials from animals. I5: No. 24. WOULD YOU BE INTERESTED IF MINNA PARIKKA WOULD DO ANIMAL FREE MATERIAL PRODUCTS? I1: No. I2: No. I3: YES/NO, I am little bit sceptic with the fake leather, that how good it will work. I4: Yes why not if the quality is good. I5: No. 25. WHERE DO YOU BUY YOUR SHOES? I1: From department store/multibrand store/ from the brands own store. (Brick and mortal stores) I2: If they don’t have the product in the store I buy them from online. I3: Brands own store or multibrand. For example I like to buy from & Another Stories, Nilsson, Vagabond’s own store, Nike’s own store. I4: Usually from multibrand stores. I5: Online (multibrand), brands own stores. 26. DOES THE BRAND JUSTIFY THE PRICE WELL ENOUGH? I1: Yes. I2: Yes, manufacturing and materials inside Europe. The information is pretty general though. I3: Yes, I like that they say in right away that the product is made in Spain. They should have more information about the factory where they manufacture the product. I4: Yes and no. They tell all the basic things and it sounds good but more information could be better. I5: It’s okey, designer shoe made in Spain and made from good materials like leather.

27. HOW MUCH YOU USUALLY PAY FOR A BAG. I1: 300-500 € I2: 20-150 € I3: 130-150 € from brands like COS/ & Another Stories Clutch 40€. 100300€. I4: I don’t really buy designer bags. Just canvas bags that costs around 1020 €. I5: I don’t pay a lot for a bags because I like to change them a lot 30-40 €. I don’t want to buy designer bags yet at a so young age. 28. BRANDS YOU PREFER TO BUY. I1: Furla. I2: Nike, Vagabond. I3: & Another Stories , COS, Bimba Y Lola, Vagabond, Nike, Acne Studios. I4: Vans, Nike, Stella McCartney. I5: Inditex. 29. Are you interested in eco collections using for example synthetic materials/ recycling? I1: Recycling materials/ideas fascinates me. I2: No. Turn off for me. I3: Yes. Respect the ecologic solutions but ethics goes first. Good quality but have a sense of eco-friendliness. I4: Recycling interests me and everything that would be better for the environment. Look is though more important. I5: I don’t care. 30. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR LIFESTYLE/ BUYING HABITS/ WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO ON YOUR FREE TIME? I1: Like going to art exhibitions, movies, read books, travel. Less is more. Conscious buyer. I2: I like going to art museums, movies, social beers, Berghaim on Sundays. Clear vision what I want to buy. Clear own style.

I3: I am interested about fashion, art, music, movies, beauty, travelling. Hanging with friends, trying out new restaurants and cafes, reading fashion magazines and articles online, art exhibitions and different music/ food/art events. I go with my own style, conscious buyer, 70/80% of my closet is long lasting and sustainable, 20% more impulsive purchases are mostly accessories or jewellery. I4: Interested about style, beauty, music and art. I like going to cafes and hanging with friends. Choosing quality over price. I5: I like hanging out with my friends, going out, shopping, concerts, bars, restaurants. I am mostly an spontaneous buyer. 31. HOW MUCH MONEY APPROX YOU SPEND ON SHOES/ACCESSORIES IN A YEAR? I1: 1000€. I2: 300-400€. I3: 300 € shoes. Around 500€ in all accessories. I4: 400 €. I5: 200-300 €. 32. HOW OFTEN YOU BUY SHOES/ACCESSORIES IN A YEAR? I1: 4X a year. I2: 2-5X a year. I3: 4-5X a year. I4: 3x a year. I5: Every one /two months. 33. Put these moodboards in preferred order from favorite to less preferred one. I1: 1, 3, 2, 5, 4 I2: 1, 5, 2, 3, 4 I3: 1, 2, 5, 3, 4 I4: 5, 3, 1, 2, 4 I5: 5, 3, 1, 2, 4

Appendix B: Interview II 1. How old are you? I6: 49 years old. 2. Where do you live? I6: New Jersey, USA. 3. How would you describe the brand, Minna Parikka? I6: Playful, colorful and innovative. 4. Would you be interested of buying any Minna Parikka’s products? I6: Yes! I would love to buy the bunny sneakers for my daughter. And I would maybe be interested of their heartbeat high heels. 5. What store(s)/where would you expect to see selling Minna Parikka’s products in the States? I6: In the luxury department stores like Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s, Barneys New York, Nordstrom and maybe in Macy’s. 6. Do you ever go to these stores? I6: Yes, sometimes but pretty rarely. I don’t go that often to the City to shop. But I do shop from their e-commerce. 7. How often you buy from their e-commerce? I6: Probably around 2-5 times a year. 8. Who do you think would buy Minna Parikka’s products? I6: Upper class women, who prefer buying quality luxury products. 9. Please put these moodboards in preferred order from favorite to less preferred order. I6: 1, 5, 2, 3, 4. 10. Where do you usually shop? I6: Macy’s most of the time. I mostly shop online because I have no time to go to the stores. 11. How often do you shop online? Every week. 12. Do you shop more during the sales or when prices are normal? Depends what I am buying. But usually I look for good discounts and deals. 13.Would you be more likely to wait for the sales of Minna Parikka or buy the shoes with normal pricing? I6: Would not matter for me if the product is something I really want. But probably for the kids shoes I would wait for the sales. 14. What brand you would say to be similiar to Minna Parikka? I6: I would say Kate Spade and Sophia Webster.

Appendix C: Moodboards

1. Ted Baker, 2. Kate Spade, 3. Marc Jacobs, 4. Moschino, 5. Minna Parikka