FMP
Kara Birch
Business Plan
My business summary is to create a gender fluid range for Forever 21. The range is inspired by the current awareness of gender fluidity in the media and in fashion. My target age range is 18-24 year olds as this is currently the target market for Forever 21. The materials I plan to use are cotton, polyester , viscose and elastane, which I found from market research these were the fabrics Forever 21 mostly use. As it’s casual wear for Autumn/Winter the range will consist of loose tops, jumpers, joggers, trainers and warm coats which are good for keeping warm.
The range is going to be available in all Forever 21 stores from the second week of September and will run for 16 weeks. I feel that this is the best time to release Autumn/ Winter range. My short term aim( one year) would be to make a successful profit for my range for Forever 21. My mid term aim(three years) would be to introduce an initiative customer credit card to use in store to attract more customers to get the clothes now and pay later. My long term business aim and potentially global aims is for expansion worldwide in the gender fluid collection. I would want it to be part of Forever 21’s labels in store to maintain the awareness.
Pestle Analysis PESTLE’s are important for companies to do as they can look at all elements that could potentially affect their company’s beliefs and goals. Numerous factors determine and affect the environment of an organization, which should be identified, understood and analysed by the company so it can achieve optimum performance. Forever 21 need to take in to consideration a few factors that could potentially effect the range their building. Copyright is huge for Forever 21, as there are many high street stores copying designers. However, it can be the other way round. Forever 21 need to be careful and aware of there designs as they have suffered from copyright infringement previously, even being sued. Forever 21 also needs to consider environmental issues such as global warming and ways to reduce making global warming worse before conducting their ranges. This warm winter in England would have had a massive impact on Forever 21, and needs to make a profit from what they sell in order to keep the stores running in England. The warm winter would have slumped all the sales in England and lost money for Forever 21. As it is an external factor, there was no way Forever 21 could have stopped it from happening.
Concept Board
Key Materials and Textiles
Key Items- Elemental An extreme highneck down coat with an oversized silhouette and wide quilted sleeves and hem. Streamline wool trousers sweep the floor in an extra-long length with a high waistband and side zip access.
A fine-gauge knitted Tshirt updated with supersoft lightweight textures and stitches.
The poncho is slowly gaining popularity as a versatile transitional layering piece alongside more commercial large blanket scarves. Contrast fabricblocking around the shoulder and hood allows for partial waterproofing and an overall sportier look
Colour trend for remaster
Key Shapes
This key shapes are from the Remaster trend. I feel these will be suitable for a gender neutral range as both men and women can wear them. The thickness of the materials would be suitable for Autumn/Winter16, and I feel they would be able to sell in Forever 21 at my age range of 18-24 year olds.
From doing my trend research, I have decided that the most influential trend for me was the Elemental trend for A/W16. I feel that the concept behind it of having ‘no middle’ and future realisation fitted well with a gender neutral range, as there is no divided men and women clothing as this is the future for fashion.
Strengths •
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Affordable, fashionable clothes as it’s a fast fashion chain Wide variety of product ranges for men, women and children Huge ecommerce reputation- good for advertisement Various format of stores such as Forever 21+, Love Forever 21,Contemporary and Maternity Strong revenues in terms of financial profit
Opportunities • Marketing penetration in Asia, Europe, Latin America by opening more stores • Research and design better so they don’t copy and replicate other designers ideas • Market development by entering into new countries of Asia such as India, Bangladesh and Pakistan • Celebrity endorsement ranges
Weaknesses • Known to have illegal copyright cases • Known to have bad working conditions • Sued on several occasions • Low wage for some employees • Limited number of stores is Asia, Europe and Latin America
Threats • Presence of strong competitors such as H&M, Urban Outfitters, Zara • Negative perception of customers due to bad press
I am critically analysing my swot using cross sections of internal factors with the external factors to see how these factors to see how these factors could potentially impact the company. One of the internal strengths was that Forever 21 is a fast fashion chain with quick lead times, with a turn around of a few weeks from design to shop floor. Although this is seen as a strength, it could affect the external threat of the recession, meaning that consumers will not be able to afford over priced clothing. Consumers shopping habits may change, and the fast fashion chain could go into turmoil if the clothes they are manufacturing so quickly are not being purchased. A business strategy that could be implemented is to have sales and promotions, which Forever 21 do frequently to shift stock they have bought in quickly, so the company doesn’t loose money. Critically analysing the swot an internal weakness of Forever 21 is that thy have had bad press in terms of copyright infringement and have been sued on several occasions. This weakness could jeopardise the external opportunity of global expansions in countries such as Asia. However looking at cross sections of the swot, a business strategy that I could implement is to advertise using celebrity endorsements, for a good brand representation as well as global recognition.
Fashion United explains that American-based Forever 21’s biggest strength is the sheer amount of ever-shifting merchandise available at its stores across the globe. A player in the fast fashion game from its outset, Forever 21 has mastered the art of offering stylish and very low-cost clothing and accessories. It is unsurprising that the store is very popular with the teen fashion crowd. Forever 21 has a men’s line, several women’s lines (including a plus-size range of clothing), and a girl’s collection. All of these lines include clothing, accessories, and footwear. Another trait that makes Forever 21 distinct is that it only offers a single, eponymous brand.
The worldwide leader in not just fast fashion, but all fashion retail sales is Spanish-based Zara. According to Economic Times, this popular retailer embraces consumers’ fast-changing tastes, offering tens of thousands of new designs each year. Zara carries Women’s and Men’s clothing and accessories, plus they have a wide selection of Kid’s clothing.
Swedish retailer H&M lies at the other end of the price spectrum. As Fashion Spot writes, this fashion retail store is most well known for its stock of “chic but trendy runway-inspired pieces.” H&M is the second-largest fast fashion retailer in the world. According to Fashion United, by collaborating with high fashion designers, H&M is able to set itself apart from its competitors. These high-profile partnerships go a long way towards expanding the brand’s awareness as well. Past collaborators include Lanvin, Versace, Maison Martin Margiela, Isabel Marant, and Stella McCartney. H&M carries Men’s, Women’s, and Children’s clothing, and homewares for the kitchen, living room, and bedroom. H&M has expanded their offerings to include outside brands such as Monki, Cheap Monday, COS, and others.
Adidas Tee £25 S,m,l,xl 100% cotton
Commodity Stock Grey Long Sleeve Waffle Tee £20 S,m,l,xl Mixed fibres
BDG Charcoal Twist Knit Sweatpants £35 Cotton and polyester Cheap Monday Glue Blue Staple Denim Jacket £70 Mixed fibres
Nike Trainers £90 UK 6-11 Mixed materials
Competitors Evaluation In terms of competitors for Forever 21, H&M is a huge competitor as they sell similar products at the same price range, for the same target customer. As H&M does not do genderless clothes, I chose to look at tops, trousers and shoes for both men and women and see the price and fabric composition between the two. As well as H&M, Zara is another fast fashion label like Forever 21, so compete for sales as they have a lot of products that are on trend. Zara has only just recently brought out a gender neutral range, which I chose to look at for my competitors shop. Lastly, I think Urban Outfitters is a competitor for my genderless range, as Urban Outfitters is a unique, trendy but alternative indie label. I chose to look at Urban Outfitters clothes I feel are unisex, or androgenise looking. When doing Zara’s comparative shop of their new gender less range, I found a lot of the products were basic, sticking to a neutral colour palette of black, white, grey with the odd khaki piece. It consisted of casual pieces being t shirts, hoodies and joggers. There was no more than 20 pieces. The prices ranged from £9.99 to £29.99 being the highest. Most garments were made of a fabric composition of cotton with a polyester mix, with the odd product being 100% cotton. After looking at this and trend forecasting, I want my colour palette to have a wider spectrum of colours, as well as being pastel colours as I think they are suitable for A/W. H&M’s comparative shop for men and women was difficult as I tried to find pieces that could be suitable for my genderless range. The comparative shop allowed me to see the price range for H&M’S casual pieces ranging from £14.99-£44.99. I established that H&M was slightly more expensive than Forever 21 for casual pieces, especially as the fabrics that H&M use are the same as Forever 21, consisting of cotton, polyester, linen and rubber. When creating my range I am going to keep the pricing slightly cheaper than H&M, to draw in potential customers to buy from Forever 21 instead of H&M as the fabrics used in H&M are no more luxurious than the ones used in Forever 21. Finally, I chose to look at Urban Outfitters for a comparative shop, as I think this retailer is competition for my genderless range as urban Outfitters customers have an androgenise, indie alternative look. Doing my comparative shop, I tried to look at casual pieces, but it was difficult as Urban Outfitters buy in a lot of branded products as well as their own label. The outcome I found was that Urban Outfitters was a lot more expensive than Forever 21, for really similar products, ranging from £19 for a basic t shirt to £70 for Adidas trainers. It was interesting to see that the fabric composition for each product is not too dissimilar to the fabrics used in Forever 21.
The first brand I decided to carry out a directional shop for is Kenzo. I chose casual pieces similar to those sold in Forever 21.
x jungle book shere khan cottonjersey sweatshirt £180.00 XS,S,M,L,XL 100% cotton Tiger denim shirt £140 100% cotton
Tiger print trainers Leather, suede, rubber Looking at what is trending for Kenzo is casualwear pieces, which fits in well with my genderless range. Kenzo use 100% cotton on apparel, whereas Forever 21 don’t, using polyester and mixed fibres materials so the cost price of the garments are cheaper, which is what the target market want to pay. Kenzo relies on their unique tiger print, which is printed on all their garments. The colour palette for Kenzo is neutrals, black, white, grey with the occasional pop of colour. I feel that for my unisex range, I don’t want it all to be plain and simple with the colour palette, I want to inject colour to make the range stand out.
Next, I decided to look at Acne Studios. I have picked key pieces that are trending for this season for this brand, looking at both men and women.
What seemed to be trending for Ance studios was an androgynous look for the models. The males were wearing ponchos, skirts and feminine shorts whilst the women were wearing baseball tops, tailored suiting and tank tops. This has inspired me for my range, I could incorporate skirts for men, tank tops for women into my range or even branch out for suits for women.
The colours were vibrant as well which I liked, as they were eye catching in contrast to dull A/W colours. The whole ranges were minimalistic which I liked, steering away from patterned garments.
TARGET CUSTOMER PROFILE
Written range plan My genderless range plan consists of 30 products, being hoodies, lounge pants and trainers as it was casualwear. The target market is 18-24 year old men and women, and it’s a gender neutral range. Most garments designed are in different colour ways, this way garments can be mixed and matched to create lounge wear two pieces, or tracksuits suitable for both genders. The most luxurious item in my range is the knitted jumper at £28, as it contains 40% more wool, which is a luxurious fabric and more expensive to source. I had chose to use it with a polyester mix, to make the product cheaper to match the target markets budget to buy. The most expensive item in my range is at £40 which is a coat. The material is polyester, however the coat is thick, so more fabric is needed to make it, ultimately making the cost price higher. The cheapest item in my range is a basic t-shirt, available in two colours, although it does have a cotton/polyester mix, the t-shirt doesn’t use that much fabric, so the cost price is lower. The cost prices range from £4 to £13, whilst the RRP’s for my products range from £12 to £40, creating a high profit margin of at least 60% for each product. The budget for my range plan is roughly £16,000, taking into consideration an open to buy money which will be about 30%. When sizing my range, it was proven difficult if I went in UK sizes for both men and women as they would fit differently, so I kept it simple sizing them from XS-XL, for both men and women. The garments will however be fitted on a male models ranging from XSXL, and female models of XS-XL. I think my range fits in with my concept board as I kept in line with the colour palette, including key pieces and shapes that were trending for the Elemental trend. The shapes included are boxy, relaxed and comfortable garments to be suitable to casualwear. I would have to manufacture in China, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Vietnam as this is were Forever 21 usually manufacture. To source for my range, I attended the trade show PURE in London, as it’s local so there would be little travel expenses. I also branched out to Yarn trend shows such as Premiere Vision, and Pitti Imagine in Florence. For manufacturing, I chose balanced sourcing as I used different materials. The products are made in China, Bangladesh and Vietnam.
Quantity plus replen Total Cost
Analysis of financial spreadsheet
Key Events Calendar:
As my genderless range is going to be available in UK stores and all over America, it’s important to consider the different promotions and seasons between America and UK. For example, America celebrate thanksgiving, where I could use flash sales and promotions to draw customers in to shop, whereas the UK do not celebrate thanksgiving. When there is no specific key events on my calendar, I could do a student discount promotion of 20% for limited time only, or in the quieter months such as October, I could do 30% off coats/winter wear to promote selling Winter stock.
Analysis and evaluation of key events
Online development of my range plan enables expansion and success. Forever 21 is already huge online as well as in store, shipping all over the county. Promoting and advertising the range online will increase awareness of the range, as well as draw in potential customers who like the idea of a genderless range. The merchandiser will have to prepare for online sales by merchandising the products in a way that would appeal to customers. Promotional activities in retail are important to increase sales, attract new customers, and retain current customers. While most business owners would love to sell products at full price all of the time, sales promotions have proven effective at increasing the overall bottom line in many retail stores. A sales promotion technique for Forever 21 is to offer point-of-purchase items. These items are placed on the counter near the cash register. Many retail stores place items, such as jewellery and makeup, near the register. Customers often buy pointof-purchase items on an impulse. Depending on the seasonal month of my events calendar, for valentines day I could use heart shaped accessories and the colour red on jewellery. Before sales and promotions start, merchandisers will have to closely analyse sales, and pick what stock needs shifting to put into sale. This is usually done seasonally to give room for the next trend. My allocation and replenishment plans for my stores were used through my financial spreadsheet. I was able to work out on average how many replenishment of each product I would need, then I was able to replenish more of the best sellers and less of products that have low sales to prohibit items being out of stock. There are some consequences of short and long term impacts on the management of stock flow on the role of the merchandiser. A short term impact from my key events calendar is increased sales due to a celebrity endorsement. This is planned to increase sales of the products that celebrities are wearing, being beneficial to the retailer as well as having to closely monitor the sales and ensure the right stock replenishment. Another short term impact is increased/decreased sales dependent on the weather. The weather is an external impact, that cannot be controlled. Buyers work seasonally, and weather changes such as sun and warm weather in the winter will make the sales decrease rapidly as consumers won’t want to buy winter clothes when the weather is warm. The merchandiser may react to this problem by implementing discounts on winter wear to shift stock.
The external factor of the weather could turn into a long term impact on the stock flow as the economic climate may continue to have warmer winters. This would further impact sales, decreasing them, eventually leading to loss of profit for the company. Looking at PESTLE’S for Forever 21 previously shows that factors such as growing technology, and social media could in the long term affect the retailer. There could be a potential increase in the completion between retailers in the market sector because of this. Forever 21’s competitors may offer advanced technology when shopping, or online e-commerce which may damage sales by their target customer shopping elsewhere. This impacts the merchandiser, they would need to closely monitor their sales again and maybe offer promotions/sales/competitors or celebrity endorsement ranges to help sales increase.
WSSI This wssi is to show opening stock, closing stock and Stock cover is shown as well as the sales and intake. The WSSI starts with forecast sales and then updated with actual sales, mark downs, intake etc. Once actual sales are added to the WSSI merchandisers can work out if their forecast is on track and make adjustments accordingly if needed The opening stock of the hoodie was 103 with an automatic replenishment each week of 7. The average sales per week was 6. Some weeks there were poor sales, the reason being for this due to warm weather and promotions on party wear. To shift the extra stock the merchandisers had to implement promotions such as student discount and discounts of winter wear. At the end of the range there was still 31 hoodies left over. This would be due to the automatic replenishment of stock, to overcome the merchandiser should have a bigger percentage markdown or lower the replenishment number.
The opening stock for the trainers was 107, with an average of 10 sales per week, replenishing no more than 10 per week. This WSSI shows that when the merchandisers control how much gets replenished, they can shift stock and not be over/under stocked. I made sure there was maximum replenishment on the weeks that were prior to any promotions and discounts on the items. This is to make sure the items do not go out of stock. Closely monitoring the sales meant that eventually we were able to get rid of all the trainers, ensuring there is no money loss for the company.
Lead Times Lead times can impact the critical path, as a buyer needs to meet deadlines for product development and production which must be met in order for the product to be delivered to store on time. If the lead times are delayed, there will be a delay in when the products arrive in store. Lead time affects both revenue and cost. Short lead time is valuable to buyers because it reduces the time for consumption by a consumer to cash flows. Each supplier has different lead times depending on product they manufacture, location, size of factory, how busy the factory is, how quickly they can source accessories. The buyer must get to know the factory and their quality standards to be able to anticipate how long it will take to complete all the samples and approvals in time to meet delivery dates. If there is a delay within the lead times, it can massively impact the company’s profits, as the products won’t be in store when they are due to be, and it may be out of fashion or consumers go to the competitors store instead of yours. Pre-processing lead times is the planning time, it represents the time required to release a purchase order. It represents the time required to release a purchase order. This will include things such as the key dates for the season, along with meetings with merchandisers and designers, as well as planning meetings with suppliers. The schedule is usually planned in reverse chronological order, beginning with the launch date of the range and working back to the deadlines necessary to achieve delivery on time. Processing lead times is the time required to procure or manufacture an item. The buyer needs to compile a critical path for every garment in the range to be able to successfully monitor progress. This includes deadline dates for such factors as testing of the fabric quality at sample and bulk stage, approval of the colour for fabric, fastening and trims and fitting the garment. The buyer should aim to have each of these elements approved prior to the required deadline to allow for any rejections and resubmissions of fabrics, trims or fitting samples. These usually aren’t right first time, so the buyer and assistant need to be in contact with suppliers to check the production of each garment. The main responsibility for further development of the garments is passed on from the buyer to the QC department after fittings have been finalised unless the garment technologists finds a problem on which the buyer’s opinion is needed. Post processing lead times is the time needed for dispatch, transportation, customs, delivery of goods to warehouse.
When the production of the garments is complete they are delivered to the retailer’s warehouse. QC’S will often travel from head office to the warehouse to check the quality of stock which has been delivered prior to its delivery to stores. If the quality is below standard the whole delivery could be rejected and returned to the supplier, or the buyer could be consulted to see whether or not they consider the problem to be serious to end up being short stock in the stores. Once products have been delivered to the retailer’s warehouse and approved for quality they are distributed to the stores they have been allocated to by the merchandise team. Buyers then wait in anticipation for the customers’ response to the range, and sales figures are reviewed. The lead time usually from China is 4-6 weeks by sea and 1-2 weeks by air. The lead times usually from Europe is 1-2 weeks by road. Lead times vary between locations, Fabric/ trims availability, manufacturing capacity and availability of spare production, advanced booking of manufacturing, and transportation availability. External factors such as weather and natural disasters in other countries can also affect the product production and lead times.
Organisation and Production Requirements The company will need a revised business plan outlining targets, projections, short, mid and long term aims. Companies need a business plan to run by to ensure everyone knows what they are doing. Without this, they may not be able to produce what they wanted in the long term which effects the consumers. This is a production requirement as it involves the process production of the product, as well as decision making. It is also an organisational requirement as it involves strategic planning and looking at business aims. The consumer will be affected if the business aims aren’t clear as they may not know when the products are going to be arriving in store. Forever 21 will require staff who have the correct skills and abilities to fulfil the job role. Without skilled staff, the company will not be achieving their aims to their best ability overall effecting the company. This is organisational requirement as the business needs to have skilled staff who know what they are doing in their job role in order for the company to be successful. Personnel policies help implement a consistent approach to management. A good personnel policy will help match each employee in the correct position and make your company into an organized and coordinated team. Organisational requirement as it’s the company’s responsibility. The company will need to ensure it can meet production goals and health and safety requirements. Health and safety is important when working for a company, especially in the manufacturing of apparel. The effects on the company could be damaging if health and safety goals aren’t met, and consumers will not trust the brand anymore. This is both organisational and a production requirement as health and safety rules are the company’s responsibility.
Forever 21 will need a fully developed marketing plan. This is important as a marketing plan clarifies the key marketing elements of a business and maps out directions, objectives and activities for the business and its employees. Organisational requirement as the company needs to know product, price, promotion and place when conducting the marketing plan. The company will need equipped offices or premises in the correct locations. Having a business address in a premium location such gives the perception of a successful, confident and professional company. Potential customers can feel safe in the knowledge that your business is both established and trustworthy based on a recognisable location.
This is an organisational requirement as it’s the company’s responsibility to have equipped offices and head office in the correct location. The company will need experienced and reliable distributors. If the company has un reliable distributors it will impact of the products being manufactured, slowing down the lead times. This effects the consumers as they would be unable to purchase the products. This is an organisational requirement as it’s the company’s responsibility to make sure they are picking reliable suppliers. When producing the range, the buyer needs to communicate with the merchandisers about budget allocation, profit margins, and sales analysis. If un-planned the budget may be too high for the company, resulting in consumers not being able to buy the products. This is an organisation requirement as it’s a merchandiser’s role to have a combination of great product skills and being analytical to ensure that products are in the right place, at the right time, in the right quantity and at the right price. There is a communication system- For example, varied language speaking buyers and technology such as skype. It’s essential for buyers to communicate with suppliers overseas. This was they can look for global expansion too. Also using technology such as skype allows the buyer to communicate with the buyer without the travel expenses. Production requirement because the language barrier could make it difficult for communication with the buyer and supplier therefore the supplier may not be able to manufacture for the company. Managerial roles within the organisation should be clear, For example, There are clear moments of evaluation of co-ordination/leadership. Managerial roles need to be clear within the company. There is different hierarchy between management roles. If these aren’t clear for staff or consumers it can be difficult for whoever has a problem to sort it with a member of the management team. This is an organisational requirement as it’s the company’s duty to make sure job roles are clear for staff. Fabric testing should be carried out before production. Large retailers may have in-house fabric quality laboratories or use independent testing labs. Such laboratories have full documentation of the retailers requirements and are audited regularly to ensure adherence to the correct standards and procedures. Tests are carried out on a sample length of fabric to give indication of it’s performance prior to bulk production. The buyer needs to make sure the fabric and colour swatches is what they wanted before a product is manufactured, as if it is wrong it means a loss of company’s money and the lead times would be extended until it’s correct. The effect this has on the consumer is that there would be a delay in the range arriving to store.
Critical path PROCESS LEAD TIME PLANNING 4 weeks-23/12/15 RESEARCH 2 weeks-6/1/16 DESIGN 2 weeks- 20/1/16 PROTO SAMPLE & COSTINGS 2 weeks- 3/2/16 PRE RANGE SELECTION MEETING 2 weeks- 17/2/16 NEGOTATION / TRIP TO FACTORIES 2 weeks( factories in China, Bangladesh and Vietnam)- 2/3/16 FINAL RANGE SELECTION MEETING 1 week- 9/3/16 PLACE ORDER 1 week- 16/3/16 GARMENT FITTINGS 4 weeks- 23/3/16 FABRIC ORDER 6 weeks-20/5/16 TRIM & COLOUR APPROVALS 3 weeks-1/6/16 BULK PRODUCTION 1 week- 22/6/16 SHIPPING 12 weeks from China- 29/6/2016 WAREHOUSE – STORE ALLOCATION 2 weeks- 7/9/16 PRODUCT LAUNCHED IN STORE 21/9/2016
I intend that my genderless range for Forever 21 will arrive in stores on the 21/9/2016.. I will have to start my critical path beginning with planning on the 23/12/15 . The planning for the ranges for Forever 21 will roughly take about 4 weeks. The key dates for the season are usually planned by senior managers such as the buying director and merchandise manager. The schedule is usually planned in reverse chronological order, beginning with the launch date of the range and working back to the deadlines necessary to achieve delivery on time. The planning will include deadline dates for such factors as testing of the fabric quality at sample and bulk stage, approval of the colour for fabric , fastening and trims and fitting the garment. The research for the buyer will roughly take about 2 weeks. Within this time, I need to research and be in contact with suppliers, and starting to look at current and future trends. I will then meet with the designers to start looking at what designs to use and what will sell well, which will take about 3 weeks. Before designs take place, I need to forecast fashion trends to predict what the customers want to buy well in advance of the selling period.
Production of Range Production resources include factors such as transportation, industrial equipment, quality control of fabric and trims, sample room and technology such as photo shop and computers. Transportation is important as the buyer needs to ship the range, make sure the delivery gets to stores on time from the warehouse. A buyer will need shipping containers as well otherwise the garments won’t be able to be shipping overseas or packaged for air transportation. Industrial equipment is needed such as sewing machines, dyeing machinery for the fabrics and trims, embroidery machines, fibre processing and machinery. Without these the supplier would be unable to make the garments. A warehouse to store the garments before they go into stores is important otherwise there would be nowhere to place the finished products for the range. Technology is essential for production. The buyer needs a computer to use photo shop to design and create CADS to show the supplier, as well as a phone and skype to contact the supplier to see how the production of each product is going. Budgets, margins and average selling prices are essential to production. These are planned at the range direction meeting together with any proposed changes to the supply base. Without planning budgets, the ranges could be very costly for the company, making little profit. Consistent lateness on the part of the buying team, designer or manufacturer in developing and approving key stages of each garment would result in garments not being available to the customers at the right time resulting in lost profits for the company, which I want to avoid. The critical path for my range is quite fast, as Forever 21 is a fast fashion retailer so I try to get the design to shop floor as quick as possible. Most garments are manufactured in the far east, so the shipping lead times are lengthy being 12 weeks. Far East suppliers will usually send goods by container ship to UK. The supplier will deliver the goods to the port, placed in containers on large ships, which is a cost effective way to import goods. I will be using balanced sourcing but from suppliers who I already have a good relationship with and can trust to get it delivered to the warehouses on time. The proto sampling and costing will take about 3 weeks. I can then start to compile a range together, by looking at Cricket’s previous figures for the seasons, and the fashion trends that have been predicted for future seasons. Fabric sourcing and trips to factories will take 2 weeks roughly, followed by sampling. Fabric manufacturers usually produce fabric to order for customers rather than keeping it in stock as this is more economical. I will then look at fabric swatches in different colour ways until I find suitable ones for the potential customer. Once the swatches are suitable, I can then place an order which will take 1 week. Garment fittings takes about 3 weeks, and are fitted on a male model from xs-xl and a female model from xs-xl. Wherever possible the same model is used for each time as the fit may vary on different models and lead to confusion.
Assessing my range and amend and critically evaluate the designs to meet costs, production needs and other constraints
Fabric; Chemical dyes cost money Buying fabrics in bulk will save money Reuse fabrics on a few different garments Shipping; Containers Transportation Damaged goods- insurance Sample shipping's
Warehouse; Rent/buy premises Staff Equipment Security Damage insurance
Sourcing Location- difficult to get to War and conflicts Natural disasters Time constraints would be a delay in lead times Communicationlanguage barrier
Design Samples may be wrong colour/fabric Standardise sizes may be wrong Constructions may not be of standards
Is my range fit for purpose? Product
Organisational requirements
Production requirements
Fit for purpose/ fabric testing
The company needs to make sure they have employed specialised workers to design and monitor sales. It’s also important that the buyer selects the right suppliers for the job, as well as liaising with them and monitoring the production of the trainers.
Need to ensure the safety of the workers in the factories. This can be done through health and safety checks carried out at least every few weeks.
Fabric testing for the boots would be ensuring they are waterproof for the winter weather. The trainers also need to be slip resistant on the sole, as well as the toe cap’s being tested and solid so they don’t break.
It’s the companies responsibility to monitor stock take, ensuring they are shipping out enough stock to allocated stores from the warehouse
Before manufacturing and investing money into production, it’s crucial that the sizes are correct for the jumper. This can be carried out by using a model of the average sizes. As my range is being sold world wide there will be a difference in sizes between European, UK, US and Russian sizes .
As this jumper is made of wool with a polyester mix, it needs to go through specialised testing to ensure they retain their shape, and withstand repeated washings. They can then label the care and washing instructions for the garment.
Responsibility to have equipped offices and head office in the correct location. The company will need experienced and reliable distributors. If the company has un reliable distributors it will impact of the products being manufactured, slowing down the lead times.
Need to ensure the manufactures for the coat have the correct designs for the coat, other wise they could make a garment wrong. This would then have an effect on the lead times making them slower.
This coat needs to be tested for insulation and if its waterproof so it’s fit for purpose. The buyer will have to have a prototype sample to ensure it’s met requirements before going into production.
Product
Organisational requirements
Production requirements
Fit for purpose/ fabric testing
Stock management needs to have plenty of staff that can keep on top of the replenishment needs of each product in order to maintain sales and gain larger profits
The company need to ensure they meet health and safety requirements.
The tassels on the hoodie need to make sure they are attached securely. The hoodie also need to provide insulation for the winter weather.
Organisation needs to trend forecast, then speak with the designers. They need to make sure what there designing is suitable for the target customer and is going to sell.
If the company doesn’t meet requirements, they could develop a bad reputation and lose current customers.
The bag needs to be tested that it’s waterproof on the exterior. The bag also has zips in the inside and outside, and need to be checked that they function properly otherwise you cannot zip the bag up, and the bag won’t fit it’s purpose.
Need to ensure the range is promoted in the correct way for the target market. This could potentially damage sales if the customer is not drawn in.
The safety of the workers is crucial and carrying out safety checks in the factories needs to take place.
The testing for this jacket is that the zips are secure and function properly, as well as the jacket providing insulation.
Photoshoot styling
Here is a Pinterest board of where I correlated images of gender fluidity. This gives me inspiration for my photoshoot, I could use the stances in the images, the makeup for styling and overall look of the shoot.
Evaluation For my final major project I decided to do a genderless range for Forever 21. My idea stemmed from looking at social media and fashion news, and how it was becoming more evident of gender fluidity. I printed off the news articles that caught my eye and made me think of conducting a genderless range. By doing my PESTLE was a way of helping me understand what is happening within the fashion industry. There was many factors in the PESTLE that would affect a buyer for Forever 21. It helps me learn different point of views and see how and if my range would be able to work within the retailer’s way of working and if there are any faults that may get in the way of what I want to achieve. The cons of conducting a PESTLE is that it was difficult to find. Many stories are on websites such as Drapers, which you are only able to read if you subscribe. Also finding stories that relate to the work I am doing is difficult to. It did take me a long time trying to find relevant stories that were up to date that I could some how relate to my work, therefore it grew very time consuming for my project, in which I had a lot to do. Research is key for my work; it helps me learn all different key shapes, styles and prints/patterns that was important for my range as it was based on this. I was able to create trend boards taking trends from WGSN and then filtering them down to trends that would fit well with my genderless range. I love trend researching and creating mood boards as I can be more creative. Also learning about the background of Forever 21 was very useful. It allowed me to see what they already had to offer and what they used in their range – something that I want to do the complete opposite to. Conducting a competitors shop allowed me to see the fabrics and pricing that Forever 21 has, which I wanted to keep more or less the same as well as allowing me to see what the competitors are offering. It is a very time consuming method – trying to find which products may appear in your range and trying to find different quality levels through three different shops is not too easy – especially when trying to gather the information for each product e.g. length, fibre content, care of product. Conducting a directional shop gives me an insight of what designer ranges are being produced – what key shapes, colours and patterns that are being shown through each piece that they create. I found it very useful and enabled me to see that the range that I want to do is suitable for the industry. It was interesting to see that some high end designers use cheap fabrics, but their RRP is still high as they know consumers will buy it. My SWOT allows me to give my own opinions and thoughts on how I think Forever 21 can improve and the strengths they have already. It allows you to really think and show your knowledge on the fashion industry and the retailer I am focusing on.
My business plan enabled me to think of business strategies that I would implement for my range. Researching and analysing my target customer helped me think of how I would market my range to my target customer, and what would be suitable. It was also important to state my short, mid and long term aims for my range. For my customer profile, I conducted two which was one male and one female. This helps me identify what I want my customer to be like, how they react to fashion, and for them to be suitable for the range I am creating. It also allows people who are viewing my work to see what type of customer I am appealing to with my range, so they can begin to see whether my range would work or not. Producing my range helps me further develop my Photoshop skills, keeping the colours used in line with my trend I chose to focus on. However it proved difficult when working on my range all day as Photoshop has a tendency to crash, delaying me on my time management plan. My written range plan helps me evaluate my range to people viewing my work, allowing them to see why and how I have created it, and what is going in my range in a lot of detail. When it came to the analytical part of my project in which I produced a financial spreadsheet with analysis on excel as well as WSSI, it was confusing at first but I eventually understood it. The merchandising aspect of this project is something that I don’t enjoy as I deem myself a more creative person. It is important to understand a WSSSI as it is essential to every range for all retailers to plan stock allocation and sales analysis. Doing the financial spreadsheet was beneficial to me for my range, for buyers and merchandisers it’s essential. Without analysing sales, buyers wouldn’t know what is selling well, and what’s selling poorly. Buyers could be at risk of replenishing too little of the best sellers, and having too much stock of what is selling poorly. Monitoring sales and analysing them reduces the chances of this occurring. It also could influence future buying decisions, for example if there was little profit made from your range, as the cost price to manufacture it was high, buyers would look to source cheaper materials to manufacture to keep cost price as low as possible and profit margins high. Lead times and production requirements were easy to write about as from my previous units, I had to understand the whole buying cycle as well as writing up about it and relating it to my range. It’s crucial that I understood production and organisation requirements so I could relate it to my range plan, which is needed in a future career for buying. I also conducted a fit for purpose chart for my range, choosing 6 garments to look at. I analysed what testing would need to be done on each product to ensure that the product is fit for what the consumer is buying it for. In terms of the branding and styling aspect of my project, I really enjoyed it. I did a photo-shoot look book, as on Photoshop. This further shows how I would advertise my range well as website design, social media design and a window display idea after it has been in production.
Throughout my project I used certain methods to keep myself organised. I kept to my time management plan which I produced on excel, making sure I wasn’t falling behind my schedule. At the end of each week I made sure I filled out my reflective log, reviewing what I had achieved and what I thought about it. As this was my FMP and I didn’t have guidelines to stick to, I wanted to do a more styling aspect as this is a career path I would like to take after finishing university. I explored more with Photography, styling my range and branding it. I really enjoy using Photoshop to edit and design my ideas as well as being creative with Photography. If I had more time I would have liked to do an outdoor photo-shoot as the studio was small and messy, meaning I had to edit the background on almost every shot I took. Overall as a range, it worked allowing me to present versatile looks and styles. I also feel that the way I created my trend boards is another strength of mine, as I have done this many times before – something I enjoy to do. If I had more time, I would have created special packaging and swing tags for the range, as I feel this would be good for my genderless range, showing my strengths in creativity and I think it would have been something I would have enjoyed. The areas I feel I need to improve in are the spreadsheets and WSSI’s. Although I have done them before I am still not used to doing them and remembering the calculations. It took me two tries to get it right. Although once I have been shown I feel that I pick it up quite quickly – however I would rather be able to do it straight away instead of not knowing at first. During my FMP I think I’ve developed my writing style to critically evaluate, avoiding describing instead evaluating it using for and against with a conclusion. I have further explored my creativity style, which is essential for my Fashion Communication degree that I will be starting in September. Another thing I have improved on is my public speaking, from pitching in front of my class and pitching my range plan for Matalan at the Head office. I am a nervous speaker, so pitching in front of my class enables me to get feedback on my voice projection and body language. I need to be a confident speaker for University as well as my future career in Fashion. My writing style needs to be intellectual and smooth in preparation for University, as I would be conducting a lot of critical analyse and evaluation within my work.