Project

Evaluation of market research:

Conducting market research is not only important as a buyer, but as a consumer too. Going into Cricket allowed me to see what brands they stocked, what the price range was and the overall atmosphere of the store. Cricket played upbeat music, which makes the consumer in the mood to shop and purchase things. The music reflects on the brands too, and also with the target customer. The overall ambience of the store was relaxed, not too quiet and clean.

Doing market research enabled me to look at how staff treat their customers, which was warmingly and asked for help if I needed it, enabling me to feel welcome when I went into the store. Staff’s behaviour towards customers is vital in retail, as if you are welcoming, genuinely nice it would make the consumer more inclined to purchase products.

100% Nylon Made in Italy 100% leather

90% Polyester, 8% Viscose, 1% Cotton, 1% Elastane

100% patent calf leather Made in Italy

Saint Laurent Sneaker £550 100% calf skin leather Made In Italy

Cricket does not have a website, they rely on advertising through their Instagram page, so I took what they have on their Instagram and researched on the designers website what they priced it at, the composition and the COO. Cricket also puts £170 on to every garment price, in order to make a profit margin. This is my womens wear comparative shop. The key components of the range are elegant occasion wear, with a huge price bracket of £150 to over £1000 depending on the brand. Carrying out this comparative shop influences what I will be bringing into my range, which would be more casual wear.

Balenciaga high tops £355 100% calfskin Made in Spain

Hugo Boss suit £500 100% Virgin wool, Lining: 100% Viscose, Sleeve lining: 51% Viscose, 49% Acetate 100% cotton

Royaums sneakers £320 100% cow skin leather

Composition 82% Wool, 17% Polyamide, 1% Elastane Carrying out a comparative shop for Cricket men's wear is important to see what brands they stock, looking at the price range and the composition before I start making my range.

When looking at what Cricket sells for men's wear, it tends to be a lot of casual wear such as trainers and t shirts. I could think about bringing in more tailored pieces for my range, to broaden the target market.

CHIARA MINI £135

50% Textile glitter, 50% calf leather

Missioni dress £ 330 55% Rayon, 23% Cotton, 20% Wool, 2% Elastane

Buscemi shoes £250 100% calf leather Made in Italy

100% Cotton

100% Cotton Carrying out a Cricket kids comparative shop is important as I need to know what brands they stock.

The key components of the Reiss A/W15 range was relaxed tailoring for work wear, Reiss premium collection and party wear range as it’s party season. It’s important in a range to have a variety of pieces such as dresses, tops, skirts with additional accessories to piece them with to create an outfit. The width of the range is quite dense with a lot of garments. However, they are spilt off into trends such as ‘Black Magic’, ‘Work wear’ and ‘Party Edit’. The price range is from £70 to £895. Carrying out a Reiss comparative shop is essential for me as a buyer for Cricket, as I need to be aware of what they are currently selling, promotional events and the price range. If they offer party dresses for example that are cheaper than ones in my range for Cricket, my target customer may shop at Reiss instead, resulting in a loss of money for the company. Reiss have mens wear ranges as well as womens, but no childrens wear which is a niche in their target market.

100% Canvas Rubber

100% Cotton

Leather brogues ÂŁ295 100% cow leather Reiss menswear offers both casual wear and occasion wear, unlike Cricket who mainly focuses on a relaxed casual style.

The Reiss customer looks for original and directional design with a strong focus on quality and detail.

Reiss is a highly respected, prominent business in the global fashion arena for both men and women. Its philosophy of holding creativity at its heart will guide Reiss through its international business development.

Miss Francesca Couture is a competitor for Cricket, although it’s not designer label it’s an independent boutique. Cricket and Miss Francesca couture have a similar target market for ladies wear, however Miss Francesca Couture does not offer menswear or children swear, so it’s a niche in the market for this independent retailer. On the website there wasn’t the composition of the garments or country of origin, so I may have to do market research into Miss Francesca Couture to find this out.

Dolce & Gabanna shoes Jimmy Choo clutch £455 £355 100% leather 100% leather

Alexander McQueen Moschino dress dress £435 £330 70% triacetate, 100% cotton 30% polyester

Versus Versace Lion Head Heel Ankle Boots £395.00 100% leather 94% polyester, 6% polyamide

Flannels is one of the UK's leading luxury retailers, specialising in contemporary men’s and women’s designer clothing, footwear and accessories. With a brand portfolio including Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Moncler, Jimmy Choo, Stone Island and Kenzo, Flannels has grown rapidly with stores opening in leading UK cities including Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham, Nottingham and Cardiff.

Flannels is situated in Liverpool One, being a competitor with Cricket as they stock designer brands with similar products. Through my comp shop, I have tried to pick out similar products they sell, and look at the pricing and composition of the two different products.

Hugo Boss Polo neck ÂŁ109 100% cotton

100% cotton

100% leather

100% Polyamide

98% cotton, 2% elastane

Versace Jeans ÂŁ180 92% cotton, 7% polyester, 1% elastane

Comp shop Reflection

My comp shop has enabled me to find out the target market position for my chosen retailer. Cricket offers designer clothing for women, men and children.

From my comp shop, I could see what brands they stock, what price bracket each product falls under and what the composition the garments are in preparation for planning and creating my range.

Carrying out a comp shop also enabled me to discover what my competitors for Cricket are selling.

A few of Cricket’s competitors that I chose to look at were Reiss, Miss Francesca Couture who is another independent boutique situated in Liverpool and Flannels as they sell the same brands as cricket in store. It was interesting to see that Flannels sold glamourous party wear from designer brands, whilst Cricket buys in more casual wear such as Versace trainers.

From the last unit were I conducted building my own range, I further developed my Photoshop skills, as well as learning the mathematical equations for the financial spreadsheet. These are valuable skills that I will be using in this unit too.

There are a few areas that I still need to develop, such as my critical analysis of everything that I’m doing. Throughout this unit I will make sure I critically analyse in my conclusions as well as evaluating to ensure my written work is at the highest level possible.

Aspire is a category for edgy, vibrant casual wear. I decided to focus on the brand ‘soaked in luxury’. Soaked in Luxury collections are luxury for the eye and provide young women with a modern style that doesn’t go unnoticed. Soaked in Luxury styles are sexy, modern and feminine and allow our customer to embrace her personality and femininity in an effortless way. I feel that the garments I picked were the most edgiest I could find, so I would say this brand is a mix of Aspire and Allure as it showcased a lot of occasionwear pieces as well as edgy casual wear.

Allure is a category for contemporary classic occasion wear, from glamorous gowns to separates, feminine linens and layers. I picked the Australian brand ‘Backstage’ to focus on, which is a feminine style inspired by music and art. I think this brand fits in well with the Allure description, as most of the garments are suitable for occasion wear.

Spirit is up-to-the-minute young fashion and individual street style.

Essential short and forward order launch collections from an eclectic brand mix which includes Lavish Alice. Lavish Alice fits into the category Spirit, as it focuses on a young target market, it is directional, cutting edge and breaks the fashion rules.

Pure London has everything from stylish premium leather handbags, hats, scarves and designer jewellery to exciting limited editions by edgy young designers. Estella Bartlett is a quintessentially British jewellery brand created in 2011 by brother and sister Nick and Louise Bartlett. It is defined by its playfully chic approach.

Balmedor's range of clothing is here to blur the line between hardcore fashion and norm core dressing. The plush fabric, avantgarde design and tailoring constitute a bold and sophisticated style.

Premium quality cotton paired with sassy graphics that are simple yet complex. They add instant depth to any look.

Compare and contrast your independent retailer comp shop to similar brands in PURE. Comparative shop task.

As I chose my independent retailer to be Cricket, I carried out a comparative shop to see what brands Cricket sold, the price range and the composition of the products. Whilst I looked at the brands that are showcased at Pure London trade show, I found a few that were similar to Cricket in terms of target market. The target market for Cricket would be 18-30 year olds, mostly that of people with disposable income. The brand ‘Backstage’ that is showcased in Pure as past of the Allure trend is similar to Cricket in terms of selling elegant occasion wear.

The price range is from £100 to £350 and offers jumpsuits, dresses, skirts and dressy tops suitable for party wear. Although Cricket is a branded retailer, showcasing brands such as Balenciaga, Yves saint Laurent and Stella McCartney. The brand ‘Soaked’ which falls into the category of Aspire, is similar to Cricket in terms of being sexy, modern and feminine and allow our customer to embrace her personality and femininity. The price bracket is much lower than Cricket, ranging from £40£100. Balmedor is a menswear brand that is showcased in Pure London, which is a casual wear brand offering t-shirts and relaxed fit clothing. The price range is £4,00-£10,00, which is more in line with Cricket, as they too have high prices for their luxury clothing.

Here is a Louis Vuitton Easter window display. The technique the visual merchandiser has used is simple but effective for the customer. The symmetrical rows of whole or cracked eggs look immaculate, which reflects the brands image of being high end, and luxury. The cracked ones look like they’ve hatched a Louis Vuitton bag, making a serious brand a bit more playful and fun.

This is a Harrods window display for Christmas. The focal point for the customer is sorely the mannequin modelling an elegant dress, as the decals of the branches help to keep the focus on the mannequin as it looks like a fish eye. The dark colours of the green and brown give the impression that she is lost in a forest, clashing with the bright silver dress she is modelling, almost intriguing the customer by giving the window display a story. The use of the fairy lights are to represent that it’s a Christmas display, however the visual merchandiser has positioned the lights to make them look like cobwebs to darken the mood. The individual spotlight on the mannequin adds a glamorous effect to the eerie atmosphere from the display, as well as putting the focal point on the bag as she’s holding it up in the air.

Visual Merchandising task found on my blog: https://karabirch.wordpress.com/l

Cricket Mood Board

Here is my concept board for my womenswear range. Cricket is well known to cater the ‘WAG’ life style, so I’ve decided to create a range for Cricket being a casual wear, inspired by the rustic, re master trend I researched on WGSN. I chose a strong base for the colour palette to work on with casual-wear.

I wanted to bring in a new customer to Cricket, as the typical customer has a disposable income, likes to look glamourous in designer clothes and going out. I decided that I wanted to do a more casual range, but still buy in from designers such as Stella McCartney and YSL. The range will still have a high price bracket, starting from ÂŁ150 and ranging to ÂŁ900, which will include luxurious jumpers, jeans, trainers and winter accessories.

I chose to bring in a different to Cricket menswear, by creating a tailored mens-wear range. The concept board links to the AW/16/17 through the colour palette and choice of key materials and textiles. My concept board was influenced by the trend ‘Re-master’ on WGSN, giving a rustic feel to the concept board. The fabrics are hard wearing and patterns faded. The target customer is sophisticated with an edgy and individual style influence on the typical smart tailored look, with an age ranging from 26-32.

For my childrens-wear range, I’ve chosen to do a ‘snow princess’ range for girls aged 4-7. Faux fur combines with hemp and other fabrics to create a delicate balance between the raw and the luxurious. The colour palette I’ve chosen has cool, icy tones for the winter season. The materials I intend to use are faux fur, fleece, and wool.

Task 9

S達o Paulo Fashion Week is arguably the most anticipated event of the Brazilian fashion calendar largely due to its passionate and creative endeavours.

The bold colour block pattern on the garments are used to emphasise the sporty trend. The shapes of the garments are relaxed with the focus on comfortable garments to wear.

The models on the runway have opted to wear sneaker shoes further emphasising the sport luxe trend.

There is minimal patterns on the garments, mainly using stripes to create the sportswear vibe. The fabrics that would have been used would have been lighter materials traditionally used in sportswear such as lycra, nylon and stretch fabrics for comfort.

The minimalist midi dress is a key item on the catwalk for the US. This has escalated from the 60’s, with the shape and cut of the dress. There are simple details such as mesh to accommodate the minimalistic style. The colour pallete is neutral, avoiding bold and brassy colours as they do not fit in with the minimalistic style.

Designers include Michael Kors, Jason Wu and Boss who are designing and creating the midi dress in their A/W16 range.

Luxury skins and heavyweight wools are minimally adorned for a sophisticated look.

Shanghai Fashion Week Trending across global catwalks, plush fur continues to reign at Shanghai Fashion Week. Coats and jackets are reworked with tonal or juxtaposed vivid colours and artistic collaging to make a youthful and directional statement. Fur is always in fashion in the winter season, but for AW/16 it looks like bold colours and patchwork furs are on trend.

The patchwork fur is 1970s inspired to channel a rock chick vibe. It’s a statement pattern, and usually is paired with bold colours.

Where , What Who designer clothes on the catwalk

Continuing from S/S 15, designers delve into the archives to create retro-inspired looks. Slim, elongated shapes with crisp tailoring, sharp shoulders, and flared or boot-cut pants generate 1970s-influenced apparel. Crisp raw denims in deep saturated tones create a polished finish. Winter shearling linings and furs feel luxurious. Designers who are showcasing the 1970’s trend on the catwalk are Karen Walker and Tommy Hillfiger.

To accentuate the evolving sculptural trend, technological material manipulations emerge, creating monumental 3D volume via cutting, folding, puffing and other methods of invention. Iris Van Herpen emulates honeycomb via 3D grid fabrics while Issey Miyake unfolds architectural volumes via its 3D Steam Stretch fabric technology. Designers include Chanel and Kenzo that have been seen on the catwalk.

Kenzo

Milan Fashion Week Chanel

Paris Fashion Week Wayward Western vibes among the Paris collections debut as a post-festival-season look perfect for fall dressing. Dusty neutral shades evoke an off-the-trail element showcasing cropped jackets, distressed pants and belted tunic dresses. Worn-in leather ankle boots, fedora hats and choker necklaces round out the styling.

This trend is similar to a bohemian 70’s look, with the patterns on the garments.

Designers who featured this trend on the catwalk at Paris fashion week are Kenzo, Saint Laurent and Lanvin.

Pre-Fall in New York

Clean lines, simple cuts and sculptural elements provide structure and purity for minimalist looks. These styles define the modern wardrobe as a masculine silhouette gains importance.

Wide-leg trousers, relaxed tailored jackets and long-over-long layering shape a new guise for the season.

The colour palette is neutral with no bold colours, the cut of the garments are slim line to give a masculine feel. There are no patterns, as this would take away the minimalistic clean cut of the range for Elizabeth and James.

Pre-fall Milan An eclectic mix of black-on-black lace, devorÊ velvet and guipure lace creates a dramatic, sensual, dark-romantic mood across Pre-Fall 16 collections. Lace is styled with shearling and black denim to create a more casual attitude for day and night. The Dark Romance trend looks like it’s taken inspiration from the Victorian era, with long flowing gowns. Through the use of lace, it shows elegance and class with a gothic twist through the choice of grungy accessories.

Paris Fashion Week Designers play with animal prints and create fierce statement coats for A/W 15/16. Updates include blown-out interpretations that resemble an abstract tiger print, while classic leopard patterns come in brightly coloured variations and plush textures. Zebra emerges as a bold alternative for printed outerwear.

This trend showcases not the classic brown or monochrome leopard print, but a collection of acidic shades of turquoise or lilac. Leopard print is a timeless classic, and the perfect alternative to neutral hues for adding a touch of interest to any outfit.

Combining whimsical colour with a classic print serves to emphasise the artificiality of a print that is inspired by nature.

London Fashion week Geometrics head in a new direction for A/W 15/16 as designers take inspiration from 1970s interiors. Reminiscent of retro wallpaper and upholstery fabrics, eye-catching prints in coffee brown and mustard adorn outwear and mid-length dresses.

The colour pallete consists of bold colours for A/W16. The garments are a-line dresses and mini skirts paired with over the knee boots for the 60’s vibe.

Shearling and synthetic teddy fleeces are a strong material direction for commercial outerwear, complementing the fur trend. Raw-edge cuts, a lived-in quality and pieced design development provide the go-to outdoorsy mood.

The 60s-70s nostalgia to british heritage, biker styles and some classic aviation can be seen from this A/W16 trend. Shearling can be used to pipe panels on the jackets or for hoods.

Instead of the usual black, tan and dark brown colour palette, Burberry and Richard James mixed it up, taking shearling away from the seventies and bringing it right up to date. But a colour like electric blue, while eye-catching, is also less versatile.

Designer: Behind closet Seoul Fashion Week

Used as a commercial alternative to the luxurious fur trend, plush materials such as shearling and high-pile fleeces become an important material direction for the streetwear category at Seoul Fashion Week. Items from hooded coats and biker jackets to pullovers are updated with textured panels and trims.

The proportional layering seen across athleisure and street looks evolves into a directional hybrid style, elevated with matte-leather finishes and graphic trimmings.

Key layering items include the voluminous bomber, the elongated-sleeve pullover and the cropped trouser.

This trend looks like it’s been influenced by sports wear with the relaxed jackets, loose fitting jogger pants paired with some trainers.

Designer: Zukka Pro Shanghai Fashion Week

Military-, aviator- and activeinspired items are revised with artistic hand finishes or delicate prints, while functional pockets and fastenings remain key details.

The colour palette is dark, including charcoal grey, dark green, and blues.

Designer: Whiz Limited Tokyo Fashion Week

Following on from the enduring success of the classic puffer jacket, quilted nylon constructions continue as a practical, modern update for outerwear items such as the parka, bomber or city coat. Paris designers focus on stitch patterns and constructions with a futuristic utility feel, pared back in a sophisticated palette of tinted neutrals. The quilted jacket is perfect for Winter, as it keeps you warm.

Louis Vuitton

Andrea Crews

Paris Fashion Week

Graphic colour blocking adds a deconstructed dimension to contemporary menswear for A/W 15/16, with knit and cut-and-sew panelling having an almost Futurism-inspired approach. Les Hommes and Hood By Air's complex and panelling on sweatshirts and outerwear pieces elevate the style to a premium street level.

Bottega Veneta Milan

Edmund Ooi City:Milan

Hood By Air Florence

Outdoor themes feel youthful and casual on the Paris catwalks, blending traditional country and hiking looks with active sportswear references for a contemporary eclecticism. Colourblocking and patchworking continue as key ways to rework familiar items such as the parka and flight jacket with playful contrasts of colour and texture.

Valentino Paris Fashion Week

Louis Vuitton

Tracksuits transition into leisure suits this season, with matching knitwear sets emerging as the fashion-forward look. Silhouettes range from fitted bottoms and slim, elongated tops – typically for head-to-toe knitwear – to slouched bottoms and boxier tops for cut-and-sew. Neutrals such as shades of grey emphasise this leisurely look. All top designers have showcased this look on Milan runway for AW/16.

Versace Dolce & Gabbana

Vivienne Westwood

Voluminous, wide-legged trousers respond to a need for smart and comfortable modern tailoring, and are gaining popularity thanks to a combination of vintage influences and monastic military references emerging in streetwear. Heavy winter materials such as jumbo cord, flannel and tweed emphasise the draped slouchiness of the look. Lanvin showcased at Paris Fashion Week a lot of wide leg trousers for A/W16.

The wide trouser is a classic menswear item. The wide trouser trend goes as far back as the 1920’s, were well educated men used to wear them in Oxford.

So-called Oxford bag trousers quickly became a trend, with undergrads wearing tailored sport coats above huge, cuffed trousers that ultimately grew to widths above 40" at the bottom.

Designers reinterpret the refined elegance of striped flannels with a youthful approach. The formal suiting staple, selected in commercial yet sophisticated blends of noble wool for added comfort, works increasingly well for casual silhouettes, without losing style and distinctive appeal.

Wider or misty chalk stripes and fleecy surface tactility are key.

Designers who have incorporated the chalk and pinstripe trend on the runway are Givenchy, Alexander Wang and Dior Homme.

Dior Homme Paris Fashion Week Hermes Paris Fashion Week

Alexander Wang Paris Fashion Week

Little Footwear

Styling: casual, autumnal items are teamed with playfully printed accessories, including tights and fun footwear. Cosy faux-fur coats, fleece jumpers and jersey skirts create a comfortable silhouette Colour: a statement monochrome palette makes up the familiar Dalmatian print. For added warmth, vary the traditional stark-white background with stone or beige. Same-colour dressing from head to toe looks fresh, with a flash of amber or red becoming the highlight Fabrics: faux-fur and soft-fleece surfaces replicate the snuggly comfort of soft animal skins. For footwear, consider printed ponyskin and sueded leathers. Lighter items translate in soft, stretch jerseys with a fluid drape Brands: Bobo Choses, Dior Baby, Ruby Tuesday

Dior baby & kids

Swans is a trend for kidswear for A/W16, signifying peace, love and protection. A variety of graphic placements and styling ideas take hold with textural renditions, love birds and simple outlined styles for girls. Accessories and home decor develop swan items for baby and girls.

The dark floral print theme continues from last season but has evolved into a more garden floral theme, with bold colour combinations updating blooms for A/W 16/17. Satin and silky fabrics elevate these prints. They work on signature dresses, bow blouses and, for a more directional take, blouson jackets and quilted matching sets. This trend has been seen on the kidswear runway for brands such as Fun & Fun and YCLU.

Large-gauge knits appear via an array of methods, from looped and bouclĂŠ yarns to oversized cables and exaggerated openwork qualities. Wool, alpaca, cashmere and cotton fibres, fitting with the ever-important cosiness theme seen at Playtime Paris and the New York trade shows for A/W 15/16 kidswear. These types of materials are perfect for A/W16 to keep warm. For girls, they tend to have a pastel colour palette with dusty pinks and icy blues.

Influence: sportswear themes continue to have a strong influence on boyswear, with the sweatshirt remaining an essential item. Moving away from collegiate styling, this piece adopts a streetwear approach for AW 16/17 Colour & Print: this season it's all about big and bold graphics in eye-catching colour combinations.

Grey marl remains the anchor colour, while autumnal shades and transitional pastels offer an elevated approach to this style.

Silhouette & Material: slim cuts are most prevalent. There is a focus on wash and dye technique, while fleeced-back jersey offers warmth. Denim patches, and quirky animal or masked hoodie variations refresh the basic sweatshirt.

Next

Influences: the bomber jacket has been the must-have outerwear silhouette for several seasons and continues in popularity for A/W 16/17. Sportswear themes continue to drive this item, combining with preppy cool, 1990s and vintage Americana looks.

Colour & Material: traditional collegiate tones of maroon, navy, heather grey and olive dominate this style. There is an emphasis on tactility, with new fabrics such as velour, high-pile fur and teddy fleece.

Silhouette: contemporary oversized silhouettes draw influence from the 1990s, while in contrast slim silhouettes are in the forefront of the more commercial take on bomber jackets.

Zara anaisandi

Inspiration: a key layering piece, the skirt is rejuvenated this autumn with noteworthy styling ideas, interesting fabrics and longer hemlines.

Moving forward into autumn, the metallic skirt is offered in an array of silhouettes. Pewter and deepgold shades are important, creating a sense of luxe Medieval Material & Details: scuba fabrics opulence. Luxurious brocade with feel new and are used across a variety of silhouettes. These create shimmering pearl finishes and silver-grey floral patterns offer a volume while offering a crisp, minimalist approach. Light, floaty touch of elegance. Pair with simple sweatshirts and basic tops cottons are still important, along for day-to-occasion appeal. with brocade and metallics.

Colour: autumnal shades of caramel, ochre, bottle green and navy offer richness and warmth, while dusty lilacs and pale pinks are used as highlights.

Designers Remix

Styling: relaxed, with ease and comfort being the priority. A/W 16/17 sees fullness increase for statement and core silhouettes, while hemline lengths are kept either just above and below the knee, perfect for back-to-school.

Fabric: washed, premium jerseys, plush baby corduroy and lightweight floaty twills allow for layering.

Print & Pattern: look to metallic foil prints for added interest. Whimsical hand-painted animal conversationals make for distinctive statement dresses.

Colour: use soft vegetable-dyed autumnal colours such as rusty oranges, dusty blues and antique pinks. Black highlights within prints and stripes offer a modern approach.

Tulle overlays add texture and depth to skirts, which are integrated with premium jersey tops.

Spots, stars and confetti metallic foil prints add interest beneath the overlays.

Absorba

Inspiration: traditional animal prints and teddy-bear fur coats remain important. Fur moves forward in 1970s-influenced styles such as hippyinspired gilets, as well as kaleidoscope mixed colours and graduated panelling Colour: milky off-whites continue from previous seasons, along with an influx of new core neutrals such as grey and navy. Key fashion colours include a range of soft pinks and a 1970sinspired golden yellow Trim & Detail: high-collar and collarless jackets are still key for girls and tweens. The fur jacket remains a timeless classic, featuring simple, discreet fastenings. Toggles, exposed zips and leather ties bring newness, along with bold back-interest appliquĂŠs and set-in shapes

Dolce & Gabbana

Kenzo

Milk

A bright and colourful collection, Boboli’s catwalk was strongly themed with a series of tribalinspired looks. The tribal looks may have been influenced from African culture through the tribal and geometric prints. The colour palette too is bold, similar to African cultural fashion.

Dreamcatchers and modernised patchwork prints can be worn as casual wear. Texture also played a part with faux fur and feathers.

The dark coloured sheepskin jacket was an important fashion piece for winter.

Trend research Analysis

To conclude my trend research from the catwalk trends seen on WGSN, there is certain patterns, colours and garments that keep recurring for A/W16. I’ve looked on a global scale what is trending from Paris Fashion week, Milan, New York and Tokyo. For example, the fur texture is highlighted in both menswear, womenswear and childrens wear for A/W16, as it’s a warm material and never goes out of style. For the key prints and patterns, I would say that bold animal print seems to be the trend throughout menswear, womenswear and childrenswear. The animal print is bold and eye catching.

Colour blocking on garments looks like it’s trending for A/W16. It gives off a sports luxe vibe for womenswear, for menswear graphic colour blocking adds a deconstructed dimension to sweat shirts and outwear. It gives a modernistic impact to a typical knitted jumper.

Military, casual wear is popular throughout, with the 90s bomber jacket trending for both genders and childrenswear.

It’s clear to see that some trends have been heavily influenced by an era, or a culture. For example, the 1970s trend has transitioned from S/S to A/W, with flares and denim jackets been seen on the catwalk at international fashion weeks from high end designers such as Tommy Hilfiger. Geometric prints are on trend for A/W, taking inspiration from the 1960s psychedelic era.

Womenswear colour

Womenswear materials and textiles

Menswear texture

Menswear colour AW/16

Kidswear Accessories aw/16

Kidswear materials AW/16

The trend for S/S16 womenswear seems to be over scaled florals, fractured geometrics, giant silhouetted prints with grey scale roses. The colour palette is soft colours which is perfect for Spring/Summer. These images have been seen on the runway from New York, Milan, and Paris fashion week.

Here is a Pinterest board of what’s trending on the catwalk for menswear SS/16. These images are taken from Saint Laurent and JW Anderson.

The key prints and patterns that are on trend are minimal florals, as well as pinstripe. The key shapes seem to be flowing, loose fitting with use of light materials such as linen and cotton, to keep cool in the summer.

My Pinterest board shows that patchwork is a huge trend for A/W16, mainly on fur jackets. The 1970s trend has transitioned in terms of the colour palette, consisting of mustard tones and autumnal browns and oranges.

For A/W16, the 1970s trend seems to have transitioned from Spring Summer, with the midi dresses and flared pants. The prints and patterns seem to be geometric prints, and garden florals.

The colour palette is orange, dark browns and greens to further reinforce the 1970s inspired trend.

Cricket sells a lot of high end designers, and luxury pieces for a target customer with a disposable income. I’ve conducted a directional shop on what’s in stock in Cricket at the moment and compare it to similar styles in other high street stores and designers.

Converse Black Leather Hi Tops PRICE: £65.00 100% leather

Balenciaga high tops £355 100% calfskin Made in Spain

Black And Gold Dragon T-Shirt PRICE: £20.00

Red/Black Strap Boots Royaums £80.00 sneakers 100% leather £320 100% cow skin leather Polo Shirt £255 Composition 82% Wool, 17% Polyamide, 1% Elastane

Polo shirt £35 100% Cotton

Pestle Political There are a few political policies that may influence the development of my range plan for Cricket. Firstly, the shipping costs will affect my range. Cricket will have products manufactured overseas, so there will be a cost to ship them back over to the UK. When shipping a product overseas, the exporter must be aware of packing, labelling, documentation, and insurance requirements. It is very important to consider the effects of tariffs, port handling fees, and taxes when determining your product's final cost as they can be high.

Typically, the importer pays these charges. However, these costs will influence how much the Cricket as a retailer will sell there products for. Cricket needs to make a profit from the products they sell, so what they have paid for shipping costs and manufacturing, they will make up for on the RRP of products.

This article taken from the guardian, is saying that due to the living wage being so high, independent retailers can’t afford to pay their workers enough to make up for it. The government’s new national living wage will have a devastating impact on independent retailers and could lead to price rises for shoppers, analysts have warned. The bosses of major retail chains warned that any rise in basic pay for workers is likely to mean cuts in other benefits, such as annual bonuses, staff discounts or pension payments. This could effect Cricket, as they are an independent boutique, who may not be able to give their workers a higher pay rate so they could have a living wage. http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jul/09/fears-livingwage-devastate-small-retailers-budget-push-up-prices

Economic

Things happening in the economy can massively impact Cricket, when planning a range as you have to think about the consumers and what economic state the country is in at the moment.

This article addresses the global impact that the economy has on fashion. Giorgio Armani posted much slower growth in 2015 than the previous year, with revenue rising 3.7 percent to 2.64 billion euros ($2.9 billion) as Europe stagnated and expansion slowed in China.

Weaker consumer spending in China, where stellar economic growth is easing, a recession in Russia amid plummeting oil prices and global security threats hurting tourism have put a brake on growth for the luxury sector. This issue relates to Cricket, stocking similar luxury designer brands. As a buyer for Cricket, the designers who are struggling with declining sales, may reject stocking the brand in Cricket which results is less business and money for Cricket. On the other hand, the designer could keep stocking in Cricket, to widen target customer and making the brand more accessible for consumers, but it may not sell as a result of the recession from other countries.

http://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/apparelfashion/luxury/giorgio-armani-posts-much-slower-revenue-growthin-2015/50640693

Social There are many social impacts on Cricket as an independent retailer.

This can be from ethics, Fairtrade, workers rights or consumer behaviour. Cricket needs to take into consideration what’s going on globally that can affect their consumers behaviour.

For example, we have become a lot more health conscious as the years go by due to awareness of impacts on health such as global warming.

Ethical fashion has been increasingly popular, changing the way we look at ethical products. For example, Stella McCartney, which is a brand that Cricket stocks, manufactures a lot of ethical garments and shoes to show that ethical fashion can be high end and luxurious. A survey said 30,000 consumers in more than 60 nations revealed that more younger consumers are far more concerned about everything from food ingredients, genetically modified food to organic foods than previous generations. Indeed, an obsession with healthy and clean eating seems to be the order of the day. Health conscious and environmental consumers can affect a buyers job. A buyer for Cricket has to ensure that the materials used aren’t contaminated, as usually fast fashion chains use unethical materials in order to have the quick cycle in designing the garments to them being on the shop floor. As a buyer, they’d have to change the way they environmentally manufacture garments to provide for their target market.

Cricket has a reputation for their target customer being a ‘WAG’.

WAG’S have been spotted wearing Cricket and shopping there, which may put many people off as it’s branding Cricket to only be suitable for these type of people. For my range I wanted to open up a new target customer, and steer away from the WAG vibe, as that isn’t Cricket’s target customer.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elwood-d-watson/youngerconsumers-are-tre_b_6632166.html

Technology

What is trending on the social media platform has the potential to have more of an effect on what fashion will look like going forward than anything on the catwalk. So-called Insta-models – the likes of Cara Delevingne, Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner, with million-plus followers – are often paid for their frequently shared content, and can charge companies up to $300,000 (£200,000) per post.

Instagram’s influence is now directly feeding into what highfashion stores are buying – especially as the demand for smaller, niche labels grows. Lydia King, buying manager at Selfridges, calls the app a “great tool to find new labels from around the world and to instantly see how potential consumers are reacting to and interacting with these niche brands”. Cricket relies heavily on technology to advertise. They have an instagam that they frequently update on, showing you outfit stills and whats in store.

This is very beneficial, as they are reaching out to the consumer and other potential fashion hungry customers. However, due to high competition from the likes of net-a-porter, Cricket had to close down their website as they simply couldn’t keep up with their competition. This negatively impacts Cricket, as they do not have e-commerce resulting in a loss of customers, even global customers who they could ship their garments out to. Cricket is a small team, which is what usually is the case for independent retailers, and they didn’t have enough staff to do the demographics and technology of the website as well as keeping up with it. Cricket would really benefit from employing more staff for social media and their website.

In addition to Cricket being an independent retailer, they can’t keep up with the in store technology that other high street retailers have, such as M&S having an in store gadget that allows you to browse online and pay for it with a chip and pin machine besides it. If Cricket had a website they could do this but would probably struggle to fund it as they are an independent retailer. http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2016/ja n/04/instagram-how-the-hashtag-changedfashion

Legal

Legal regulations effect Cricket such as copyright. As Cricket stocks high end, luxury designers, these are very frequently plagiarised from high street stores. Counterfeits cost European brands the value of 9.7% of their total sales every year, or a staggering €26.3 billion ($28.7 billion). Those lost sales ripple outward, resulting in approximately 363,000 lost jobs across the manufacturing, retail, and wholesale sectors of Europe’s fashion industries.

This effects Cricket as sales are reduced because of counterfeiting, then resulting in buying fewer goods and services from its suppliers, causing sales declines and corresponding employment effects.

Cricket need to be careful of copyright infringement as it could severely damage the retailer, in terms of money and brand image. Isabel Marant, who is a designer that Cricket stocks, could be facing a copyright infringement case from sportswear brand Adidas. Marant's Bart low-top sneakers are being accused of imitating the brand's Stan Smiths — both styles have a distinct red heel tab. It could confuse consumers, as Adidas has a lot of collaborations, so consumers may think that it is a collaboration for Isabel Marant and Adidas as the sneakers are a similar style. Cricket need to be aware of if the designers they stock have been in trouble in the past for copyright, which will affect wether Cricket would want to stock a brand with a bad reputation. http://www.fashiontimes.com/articles/18205/20150204 /isabel-marant-accused-imitating-adidas-sneaker.htm http://qz.com/460932/fakes-are-costing-europes-fashion-industry-10-of-itssales-and-thousands-of-jobs/

Environmental Environmental issues have a huge impact on all retailers, not just independent. The awareness of global warming is affecting all countries, and fashion has to do as much as they can to keep it at a minimum. Cricket can become more caring about the environment through energy saving lights, recycling, and using materials that are biodegradable such as packaging. The infamous Cricket bags are already helping the environment as they are made out of paper. Stores globally are now charging 5p for a plastic bags, although small retailers/independent retailers are not covered by the government rules, but they can voluntarily ask customers to pay.

The article above explains how in December 2015, sale profits plummeted globally. Sales are drastically down compared with January sales last year, because buyers do not necessarily wait for the sale season as discount sales happen all the time online, fashion brands said. In Delhi, a major market for winterwear, the odd-even vehicle rationing is also hurting sales as fewer people are visiting malls. Many retailers started the sale early this year but have hardly seen much traction. This is due to having a warmer winter, so the seasonal ranges that are in store aren’t selling as it’s not cold enough for winterwear. Shoppers shunned winter clothes at the end of 2015 due to the unseasonably high temperatures: Sales of outerwear in the U.S. are down 10% this season, and sales of hats, gloves and scarfs in the U.K. plunged by 32%. That's $700 million in lost business, according to experts. This warm winter would have had a massive impact on Cricket, especially as it’s an independent boutique and needs to make a profit from what they sell in order to keep the shop running. This affects range planning, buyers plan ranges to follow the seasons, but if there isn’t any seasonal change within the weather it would be difficult for the ranges to sell. http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2016-0112/news/69704766_1_dlf-brands-dipak-agarwal-retailers

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. Cricket need to take in to consideration a few factors that could potentially effect the range their building.

Copyright is huge for Cricket, as there are many high street stores copying designers. However, it can be the other way round.

Cricket need to be careful and aware of what brands they are stocking and if they have plagiarised in the past which could affect Cricket’s reputation.

Cricket have a lot of opportunities to expand their retailer and make more money. For example, their website is shut down as they don’t have enough staff to maintain it, and they couldn’t keep up with other online retailer’s such as net-a-porter. Cricket would really benefit from having a website as it would be available to consumers on a global scale. Cricket 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 would have had a massive impact on Cricket, especially as it’s an independent boutique and needs to make a profit from what they sell in order to keep the shop running. This affects range planning, buyers plan ranges to follow the seasons, but if there isn’t any seasonal change within the weather it would be difficult for the ranges to sell.

Therefore, developing an understanding of what is PESTLE analysis is useful for organizations for analysing and understanding the ground realities of the environment they have to operate in. Realizing what is PESTLE and knowing how to take this analysis into consideration, the organization can be in a better position to analyse the challenges, environment, factors, opportunities, restrictions and incentives it faces.

Swot Analysis Strengths

Weaknesses

• Stocks high end designers that may not be accessible online • On trend • Personal customer service

• The range of garment sizes are small as there is not much stock

Opportunities • Store location(cavern quarter) could move to Liverpool one for more business • Make a website- reach out to global consumers • Advertisement campaigns and celebrity endorsement could improve selling profits • Expand to other cities within England

Threats • Competitors in Liverpoolindependent boutique and high end designer shops

SWOT Analysis I am critically analysing my swot using cross sections of internal factors with the external factors to see how these factors could potentially impact the company.

One of the internal strengths was that Cricket is an independent retailer who stocks high end designer clothes.

Cricket being in the city centre in Liverpool, is accessible for people to purchase designer clothes. Although this is seen as a strength, it could affect the external threat of the recession, meaning that the consumers could not afford the high end luxury clothing. The lack of a disposable income that the customers would have would massively impact Cricket’s sales.

A way I could overcome this issue is to implement business strategies, such as expanding Cricket to other cities. It would be ideal to place Cricket stores in richer cities, such as Richmond or Surrey, where consumers are more likely to have a disposable income to purchase from Cricket. Depending on the success of expanding Cricket in England, it would be ideal to expand on a global scale, to ensure maximum sales on designer goods.

Critically analysing the swot, an internal weakness of Cricket is that the products that they have in store does not have a wide range of sizes, as the store is of limited designer selection. The weakness could jeopardise the external opportunity of reaching out to other consumers on a global basis, if they have limited stock they simply can not expand globally. However, looking at cross sections of the swot, I could implement business strategies for the opportunities to overcome the weakness by creating an online website for Cricket. The use of the website can offer the clothes they stock to a wide range of customers, reaching out globally to other countries which would result in further expansion for Cricket. Cricket’s successful website would in turn result in manufacturing more products in a wide range of sizes, to keep up with demand from consumers.

To conclude, looking at the swot analysis, Cricket can implement business strategies for the strengths to overcome the threats and the opportunities to override the weaknesses.

Comparison between Independent retailer and multiple retailer Independent retailers PESTLE differs hugely from a chain store.

Political issues such as pension schemes aren’t offered to independent retailers, where as if you worked in a chain store they would. The John Lewis Partnership is one of the few companies that still offer a noncontributory, final salary pension scheme. Independent retailers do not have pensions schemes. There is a huge decline in independent stores due to chain stores overtaking them, especially independent clothing stores. For the first time since 2012 independent shops have gone into decline with a loss of 144 shops in the first half of 2015. "At the same time the chains have continued their retreat from high streets, which will, in part, have impacted the independent shops that were left behind through lower footfall and thus sales’ Matthew Hopkinson, director at the Local Data Company,2015. This is a negative impact on independent retailers, as chain stores popularity are overriding them. This could be an issue for Cricket in terms of other high street or multiple retailers in the city centre taking business off Cricket, resulting in plummeting sales. This could be due to constant offers, discounts and price cuts that high street/supermarket retailers have to draw in more consumers to shop in the bigger chains rather than the independent stores. Independent stores rarely have sales and offers on, as they need to make as much profit as they can on stock to keep the business running. Environmentally friendly, reduced packaging is being promoted by the Government, which is considered for both independent retailers and chain stores. With the introduction of the 5p charge for plastic bags in October 2015, it’s the governments way of trying to reuse and recycle bags. However, the government stated that independent retailers do not have to conform to this rule, if they employ 250 people or less. Independent stores leave it optional to the customers if they want to pay for a bag to reuse.

As this past holiday shopping season revealed, painfully, consumer behaviour is shifting.

Customers are more frugal, and have higher expectations when it comes to their shopping experience. Consumers behaviour has changed.

‘Consumers are seeking transparency and authenticity from the companies they do business with, from a better understanding of where and how they source products, to how they treat their employees and if they stand for the same values. In large part due to technology and social networks, they’ve become more knowledgeable about nuances in production and sourcing in everything from food to fashion. They’re rejecting anything that appears mass-produced’ Shilpa Rosenberry,2016.

Well-known brands’ sales are struggling as consumers embrace smaller or local brands that more closely align with their values. For example, LUSH products add stickers on their products telling customers who made it, when it was made, when it goes out of date AND include the face of the real person that made it.

This is the type of relationship the consumer wants with the retailer.

This may be from the awareness of child labour and horrible factory conditions that many multiple retailers manufacture their products in.

Following the collapse of a factory in Bangladesh, consumers were shocked and disgusted due to the factory conditions. They are more likely to get a personal service from independent retailers rather than fast fashion chain such as Zara. Technological advances is increasing each year, sometimes it’s beneficial to a company but for others it’s threatening. For example, in 2016, there will be new technologies on apps. You’ll start to see more click-to-call buttons embedded directly into apps to cater to directly to this quickly growing mobile minority.

When a customer has a question while shopping within an app, they can just press a button and connect instantly to a customer service rep.

However, this advance in technology will only be optional to companies with the money to fund it, and of course they will have to already have an app. This negatively affects independent retailers such as Cricket, as they do not have an app so this isn’t possible. The company can’t afford to pay for an app, making it difficult to keep up with their competitors who offer apps to customers for easy and quick shopping.

Task 14: Sourcing decisions How will factors in the PESTLE influence your sourcing decisions?

ENVIRONMENTAL When sourcing for my range plan for Cricket, I need to consider a few factors in regards to political, environmental and economic.

Firstly, there are many environmental factors that will affect sourcing for the range. Many of the clothes we wear today are made from synthetic materials such as nylon and polyester. Nylon and polyester are made from petrochemicals, which are very polluting to the environment, causing global warming. They are also nonbiodegradable, which means they don’t break down easily and so are difficult to dispose of. In order to manufacture nylon, nitrous oxide is released as part of the process. Nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas that is 310 times stronger than carbon dioxide and causes global warming.

In many parts of the world, garments are dyed or bleached using toxic chemicals without proper precautions; the chemicals used can then affect workers and flow into sewers and rivers, damaging local ecosystems. Knowing how damaging these chemicals are to manufacture clothes changes my decision in terms of sourcing. One way in which I can overcome the environmental issues raised is by implementing business strategies. Using organic fibres to make the garments, which does not involve the use of chemicals and other artificial methods.

Political Another factor to consider when sourcing is the cost to manufacture and ship the goods back to the UK. As a buyer for Cricket, I need to ensure that the product cost is at minimum in order to make a maximum profit. Tariffs and taxes increase the cost of your product to the consumers and may affect my competitiveness in the market. So knowing what the final cost is can help me price the product for that market. Some countries have very high duties and taxes; some have relatively low duties and taxes. If a product is primarily made in the U.S. of U.S. originating components it may qualify for duty-free entry into countries who have a free trade agreement (FTA). We currently have FTAs with more than 20 countries. Targeting FTA countries is a good market entry strategy for Cricket as this would mean pay less tarrif for goods made in FTA countries.The countries where most of our clothes are made, from the high street are made in are Bangladesh, India, China, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Philippines, as they are given a low working wage to make cheap clothes.

Economical Exchange rate considerations are becoming an important facet of international sourcing. Not only can volatile exchange rates impact the supplier selection decision, they can also affect the volume-timing of purchases once the supplier is selected. This massively impacts sourcing decisions. For example, the Euro has declined whilst the Indian rupee builds strength against the Euro, European buyers could suffer losses of up to 12% in exchange rates by 2016. Many Indian companies have made profits in rupees. They will ask European buyers to continue to pay for products in rupees - now at a higher price due to the falling Euro. European buyers may have to consider other low cost sourcing destination options. This can be the case for a UK buyer in Cricket, as they could opt to go to India to source, but they are paying for something that is worth less due to the currency change. This influences my buying decisions in terms of sourcing, as I need to make sure I research the currency in countries I’m looking to source from for my range.

Social As a buyer, it’s important to be aware of what’s trending in terms of consumer behaviour. It has become increasingly popular to manufacture ethical ranges, through recognition of designer Stella McCartney manufacturing the majority of her clothes ethically. A way to keep up with the ethical trend, as well as massively helping the environment is the materials used. Ethical fabrics are organic or recycled materials which don’t contain any toxins that pollute the environment. The ethical behaviour of companies and brands is relevant to consumers and, when asked in isolation, four out of five consumers regard it as important, however it becomes less so when ranked alongside other factors. Consumers say that the price is the most important factor. Unless you have a disposable income, ethical clothes are expensive due to the manufacturing and sourcing process so the average person wouldn’t be able to afford it. This consumer attitude to be more sustainable affects my sourcing decisions, as I could implement business strategies to be more environmentally friendly such as recycling and having biodegradable packaging.

Technology Social media, video conferencing such as skype and mobile applications are important to a buyer and impact my sourcing decisions massively. I can contact suppliers directly, and giving an competitive edge to find the best candidates faster at a reduced cost to the business.

Global impacts on a buyers decisions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9nDkoKpIys This video is about H&M and there factories, stating that they visit workers monthly to see that everything is legally right. I think this has a positive impact, as it’s good to see that a fast fashion chain such as H&M care about all their employees, making sure it’s safe to work there and that they are earning a living wage. H&M and other high fashion chains are under the subject of child labour, unethical working conditions, and under paying workers for manufacturing cheap and fast clothing following the Bangladesh factory collapse discovering that chains such as Primark had been using this factory. This impacts sourcing decisions, as a buyer you should inspect the factories that are manufacturing the clothes you sell, ensuring there is no underage workers and that the workers are getting paid what they should be earning.

What external impacts would affect your choice of supplier?

Reference with articles There are several external impacts that would impact the choice of supplier when sourcing. For example, the huge floods in India in November 2015 killed and injured many people. The drastic floods impact businesses that source from India, especially clothing manufactures as a lot of embellished products are produced in India. It would have put company's in turmoil, as the clothes would not have been able to be produced as people couldn’t get to work.

It would have put a massive stall and delay on the range being produced, making the buying cycle be delayed. The companys buyers also wouldn’t be able to come over and check the factories.

These external factors cannot be controlled and make it hard for the buyer, so buyers may opt to supply from other countries that aren’t as vulnerable to natural disasters.

The Bangladesh Dhaka fire killed many workers who were making clothing for Walmart and many other companies. This was due to poor construction of the building, collapsing on the workers. This disaster massively impacted the fashion industry, bringing much awareness to the consumers who are purchasing from brands that do no look after their workers. This massively impacts my choice of supplier, as it should be fully inspected considering health and safety regulations before using the factory. If you were to use a factory that is kept in poor conditions it can have a negative impact on your brands reputation, resulting in a loss of consumers trust.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/11/flooding-southern-indiakills-dozens-151114095100723.html

Another major impact of sourcing and choosing the right supplier is war/conflicts in the countries. The Anuka bombings in Turkey massively affect buyers for sourcing, as they are urging tourists to stay away from Turkey as it’s not safe. Many clothes are manufactured in Turkey, so as a buyer you may have to find other alternative suppliers who manufacture using the same fabrics and finishes. Global sourcing extends supply chains, and this increases supply chain risks including, extended lead times and exchange rate risks which give a lack of certainty to the eventual price to be paid.

There are many external factors that buyers must consider before their choice of supplier. They need to consider where the supplier is situated and if there is any potential negative impacts or current external factors such as political unrest that would affect the range. Extended pipelines impact on both time-to-market for new products, and the ability to amend supply if the demand changes. For example, a retailer, through offshore sourcing of clothing, need to determine fashions one year ahead. When the forecast demand failed to materialise, they would be faced with a pipeline full of stock for which there was little demand.

Cambodia’s factory is worth billions of dollars, employs 400,00 people with 90% of them being women. Low pay and horrible working conditions are a worldwide problem for garment workers. The workers are the only variable in the textile supply chain that can be manipulated by clothing brands for increased profit at the cost of human worth. These horrific factory conditions, working long hours for a little wage are health damaging to the workers. Cambodian factories supply for Nike, Puma, H&M and other fast fashion chains. The workers are suffering at the hands of the consumers demands and can’t survive on what little money they get, even though the clothes are getting cheaper so the company’s using these factories are getting a bigger profit. The impact this has on the fashion industry raises awareness on who is making the clothes your wearing and realising that they can’t live on the wage they get paid.

The Rana Plaza disaster has overshadowed another major accident which occurred on the outskirts of Dhaka in November 2012: the Tazreen factory fire. A multi-floor fashiongarment factory burned down, taking 112 workers' lives. The scale of these tragedies has raised awareness of issues linked to the responsibilities of Western global fashion brands, governments' and international organisations' policies, and even the individual choices of consumers. In recent resolutions, the European Parliament has raised attention to the accidents which have occurred in garment factories in Bangladesh and Pakistan, as well as to the violent repression of textile workers' protests in Cambodia. The collapse of the rana plaza affects buyers decisions to source from this area, doing monthly safety checks on the workers conditions and ensuring that workers are getting a living wage.

I think the sweatshop factories in these countries are developing awareness to the consumers, making them think about what brand they are buying their clothes from, and if they are involved in manufacturing in these factories.

What is balanced sourcing?

Balanced sourcing is when buyers are using multiple suppliers, and need to balance and maintain them in order to reduce possible risks.

Focussed sourcing means having a range of suppliers that a buyer uses. There can be many benefits from this but also disadvantages. Most of the times tasks are outsourced to suppliers who specialize in their field. The outsourced suppliers also have specific equipment and technical expertise. For example, if a buyer was looking for embellished garments, they would chose a supplier in India as they specialise in embellishment. Effectively the tasks can be completed faster and with better quality output. Outsourcing to multiple supplier eludes the need to hire individuals in-house; hence recruitment and operational costs can be minimized to a great extent. It would be difficult for a buyer to rely on just one supplier if the range needs a variety of materials, the supplier may only have a few of these.

With a single manufacturing facility with one supplier, should the facility become unavailable because of disasters such as a major, floods, earthquakes or hazardous material release, the buyers business would not be able to operate. With a second supplier they could continue to produce product.

However, the problem with focussed sourcing is that the suppliers are less likely to give the buyer a sample of the materials, as they will be supplying to other buyers as well. The rapport between the buyer and supplier would be weak, as the buyer has other suppliers to build a relationship with too.

Single sourcing is when the buyer uses just one supplier to manufacture the range. The benefit of single sourcing is that there will be a good rapport between the buyer and supplier, meaning the supplier would be happy to give samples to the buyer. The supplier would make the buyers orders a priority, meaning that the products would be of excellent quality as they would carefully manufacture the products. However, choosing single sourcing runs a lot of risks for the buyer. The dependency of one supplier puts the buyer at risk of delivery failure. For example, if the supplier was subject to a natural disaster or floods, this would put a huge delay on the lead times in the supply chain, resulting in a delay of the delivery of products. This would mean that the range for the buyer would not be on the shop floor at the time it should be. Also, if a buyer relies on one supplier, they would never see new innovations from different buyers, or think about using different buyers for different materials and textiles. For my range, I intend on focussed sourcing, as I will be using different materials and fabrics, so it would be better if I sourced these from a variety of different suppliers.

Arcadia Code of Conduct Fashion group Arcadia who owns brands such as Topshop and Miss Selfridge have the following code of conduct and ethical considerations revolving sourcing.

They do not own or operate factories ourselves and Arcadia Group is rarely dominant in an individual factory. They have strong working relationships with a network of international suppliers, 60% of which have been with them for three years or more.

Arcadia goods are manufactured in approximately 985 factories through 766 suppliers. Their top 20 suppliers provide 44% of our goods.

Arcadia products were made in 49 countries worldwide, although their top ten sourcing countries accounted for 91% and the top five for 71% of the goods sold. These top five countries were China, Turkey, Romania, India and Bangladesh.

Arcadia’s ethical trading work is wide ranging, multi-layered and involves different stakeholders. Theyhave a number of on-going areas of activity, many of which have seen progress this year.

Ethical Audit Programme Country Risk Assessments RAGS - the Responsible and Accountable Garment Sector Project Joint Turkey Project Strategic Labour Priorities Code of Conduct Guidebook HR Management Systems Prohibited Activities

https://www.arcadiagroup.co.uk/fashionfootprint/code-of-conductand-guidebook

One of Arcadia’s policies is RAGS Responsible and Accountable Garment Sector (RAGS). The project focuses on improving the management systems of garment manufacturers and for responsible and ethical production to become the norm in the garment manufacturing sector supplying the UK. Due to the awareness of the factory collapse in Bangladesh and protests in Cambodia, Arcadia aims to demonstrate the business benefits of providing better jobs through; establishing a more stable and satisfied workforce, enhancing workers’ pay, avoiding excessive hours worked; and improving productivity and quality in the longer term.

http://www.drapersonline.com/news/suppliers-hit-out-at-arcadiasunacceptable-discount-demands/5077764.fullarticle

However, this article I found on Drapers states that Arcadia are demanding discounts to suppliers. One supplier said ‘Arcadia doesn’t even give us regular, sustainable business. It’s not acceptable and they are playing us against one another, saying others have accepted it so we have to. The worst is the retrospective aspect as it’s adding costs on to contracts that have already been agreed.” This contradicts their RAGS policy, as they are exploiting their suppliers and demanding them to lower the costs, even if they have had an agreement with the supplier.

Within the code of conduct book, Arcadia states that suppliers they use need to validate their factories and provide written documents to Arcadia. However, this article shows different.

http://www.just-style.com/news/concerns-over-pakistans-garment-sectorsafety_id126184.aspx

The roof in a Pakistan garment factory collapsed and fell through on workers, killing four and injuring 16. The factory manufactures jeans for Topshop/Topman River Island and Primark. Within the code of conduct, Arcadia stated that they validate factories before using them, so here they lacked resulting in a tragedy.

This article further goes against Arcadia’s RAG policy, as Arcadia have been found using a sweatshop in Leicester for the ‘made in Britain’ range in Topshop. According to researchers at the University of Leicester, there were 11,700 employees in the sector in 2010. From this workforce 75-90% were being paid £3 per hour. This is less than half of the legal minimum wage of £6.50 and far below the UK living wage of £7.85 per hour. Speaking on condition of anonymity, one fashion designer describes working in a Leicester design studio, which had a factory attached where designs for UK high street retailers were produced within weeks. “Through talking to the workers we found out that many of them were paid less than £3 per hour,” she said.

“This factory was one of the better ones, yet it had no contracts, paid less than the minimum wage, health and safety breaches were widespread and the workforce had little or no awareness of what they were entitled to as employees.” This raises awareness of sweatshops in Britain, as many think they are just found in Eastern Europe but they are everywhere.

http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/sustainablefashion-blog/2015/feb/27/made-in-britain-uk-textile-workersearning-3-per-hour

Trade Shows- Yarn

Pitti Filati presents world-scale excellence in yarns to its audience of international buyers and designers from the biggest names in fashion who come to Florence looking for creative inspiration, in a unique atmosphere. It’s good to have a Trade Show on just Yarn, as the demand for these materials are huge. Within this Trade Show, they have a ‘Fashion at work’ floor. the Fashion At Work section of Pitti Filati brings together Italian and foreign exhibitors involved with style consulting, stitch and prototype development, printing on knits, knitting machinery, buttons and notions, trimmings, embroideries and appliqués, dyeing and finishing, trend carnets and style bureaus, color-coding systems and software for design and manufacturing.

Première Vision Paris is a Trade show for textiles. For 3 days, 2 times a year, at Paris-Nord Villepinte, the six major industries supplying materials and services to the global fashion industry, including : – Yarns, Fabrics , Leather , Designs , Accessories, Manufacturing – come together in Paris, the capital of fashion. . Première Vision Paris is an essential business hub, where 62,000 industry professionals from over 120 countries come together to share ideas, do business, work and build their new collections. This trade show is good for buyers looking for certain types of materials, or looking for new ideas or inspiration for materials. Without this trade show, buyers and designers would struggle to find out about new materials.

London Fashion Week is a clothing trade show held in London twice each year, in February and September. It is one of the "Big Four" fashion weeks, along with the New York, Milan and Paris. The current venue for most of the "on-schedule" events is Somerset House in central London, where a large marquee in the central courtyard hosts a series of catwalk shows by top designers and fashion houses, while an exhibition, housed within Somerset House itself, shows over 150 designers. London fashion week is appropriate for buyers prior to sourcing for their range, as they can look for inspiration from the catwalk, trend forecasting whilst looking for key materials and textiles that are trending.

Milan Fashion week showcases high end designers ranges on the catwalk. To attend Milan Fashion Week, you’ll need to register at the National Chamber of Italian Fashion, which organizes the shows of Milan Fashion Week. For womenswear, the Autumn/Winter shows always start in New York in February and end in Paris in March.

Spring/Summer shows start in New York in September and end in Paris in October. Menswear shows happen in January and summer months, while Paris' womenswear haute couture shows take place in Paris in January and July. It’s important for buyers to attend at least one of the fashion weeks, to look for upcoming trends, and trending fabrics to consider incorporating for the buyers range.

Pure London is a trade show that runs for 2 days in February a year, showcasing up and coming brands for buyers to discover.

They have different show sectors such as Pure Allure, Pure aspire along with menswear brands, accessories and footwear. It’s good to have trade shows that showcases unheard of brands, as it can be a new innovation to buyers and designers. Pure London is convenient for buyers within England, as the travel expenses are lower than a trade show that was in Paris. Sourcing from trade shows differ from sourcing from abroad. There are some benefits to sourcing from overseas as offshore production is generally more cost-effective, especially when producing large volumes.

Production costs will vary from country to country. However, economies of scale dictate that small volumes would not achieve favourable costs, and some factories have high production minimums. This is changing, however, and more and more overseas units are gearing up for smaller volumes. Also, you will most likely be subject to currency fluctuations which can affect your profit margin. On the other hand, sourcing in the UK would cut the costs, even if it is a higher price than what eastern Europe offer, the UK wouldn’t have any price fluctuation which will higher the profit margin for the buyer.

There has been a lack of investment in manufacturing for many years in the UK, and offshore factories are more likely to have the most up-to-date machinery and CAD/CAM systems. This is particularly applicable to accessory and shoe production.

Some countries still have a pool of skilled labour of specialists workers, particularly in craft areas and embellishment. If the process is time-consuming, with cheaper labour you are able to be far more adventurous. However it will be harder to control production. The buyer would have to factor into the production cost for travel expenses to visit the factory. It is an option to work through an agent; however, they charge a fee and it is not always easy to find an agent you can trust to adhere to high standards.

If I was to source in the UK, it would be easy to control and deal with any problems that may arise, unlike if it was overseas. The logistics are an issue for a buyer sourcing from a factory abroad, they would have to pay for courier costs to send samples back and forth. Also, I need to take into consideration the production schedule, allowing time for shipping, and preparation for goods being delayed or stuck in customs. If I was to source from a trade show, there would be no production costs in regards to shipping. For my ranges for Cricket, I think it would be more suitable to source from overseas not just trade shows, as Cricket stocks loads of designers that source from overseas. I would have to take into consideration lead times and production costs for my range, and consider the potential external impacts that could affect the production/shipping of the goods.

Analysis of Range: For my menswear range I wanted to incorporate a more tailored look for the target market of Cricket, as it usually stocks a lot of branded casualwear. The range is branded by designer Paul Smith, so I’ll be bringing a new designer into Cricket to widen the target market. As the target market may not usually buy Paul Smith and are unsure of the brand, I would bring in a few key pieces at first, see what the sales look like and then gradually bring in more. This way, it doesn’t damage the profit margin, as bringing in all the range at once may not sell as Cricket customers may be unaware of this new brand. I kept the price marketing competitive for the store in Liverpool city centre, as there are branded designers around the area. The target customer is sophisticated with an edgy and individual style influence on the typical smart tailored look, with an age ranging from 26-32, so they would have a disposable income to afford pieces from this range. I think my range fits in with my concept board as I kept in line with the colour palette and rustic fabrics for the garments as well as English heritage patterns. As Paul Smith is a British designer, I wanted to keep the English heritage represented in the range. Paul Smith collections are primarily produced in England and Italy while the fabrics used are mainly of Italian, French and British origin. I would have to manufacture in England, Italy and France to stay true to the Paul Smith brand. I would also think about sourcing in Japan, as Paul Smith is fully involved in the Japanese business; designing the clothes, choosing the fabrics, approving the shop locations and overseeing every development within the company. To source for my range, I would attend the trade show PURE in London, as it’s local so there would be little travel expenses as well as well known designers showcased there. My range has garments from jackets, suits, tailored and peg leg pants paired with brogues. Hopefully it will be successful but if I had more time, I would have added a few more key pieces in such as a fitted shirt, and smart chino pants.

Analysis of range Cricket is well known to cater the ‘WAG’ life style, so I’ve decided to create a range for Cricket being a casual wear, inspired by the rustic, re master trend I researched on WGSN. This trend is highlighted in my range through the volumous shapes with a contemporary street style edge to casual womenswear. The price market ranges from £150 to £650, which is suitable for the target market of women aged 22-30 with disposable income. The range includes a few coats, jeans, joggers , jumpers and trainers for casual wear. I chose the range to be branded for Stella McCartney who is stocked in Cricket, as she creates casual pieces as well as occasion wear pieces. The range matches with my original concept board by sticking to the colour palette and the materials used are wool, cashmere, polyester and cotton. In terms of Trade shows I would go to PURE London, Top Drawer in London also showcases designers as well as MODE in Birmingham which is suitable for ladies wear. Specific countries I would source from is Patagonia, as they use recycled materials for a lot of her collections so she would have a good relationship with the supplier. Also I would source from Italy as it’s good for knitwear as well as Bangladesh for denim pieces. However, I need to take into consideration the travel expenses for these overseas manufactures, as well as the currency rate changing. As a buyer, I would need samples from the suppliers as well. I would add more pieces to the range such as more trousers and jumpers along with some long sleeved tops if I had more time.

My kids wear range is a ‘snow princess’ range for girls aged 4-7. The range will be available in stores from November 2016 and will run through all of the Winter season until new season S/S17 arrives. The range is inspired from the Elemental trend taken from WGSN, which includes a pastel colour palette with faux fur and woollen textures. The ideal parents who would buy from Cricket would have a disposable income with an interest in fashion for their children. The prices range from £160 to £600 which is in the price bracket to match the target market, being the parents as they are the ones who are going to purchase clothes, shoes and accessories for their children. To source for this range I may go to Pittai Filati in Florence which is a trade show massive for yarn, to discover new materials and textiles for this range. As this range uses materials such as wool and hemp, I would source in Italy as it’s good for manufacturing knitwear. It matches with the Elemental trend that I forecasted through the colour palette, chosen materials and textures. The key shapes are loose fitting, comfortable clothing as it’s for children. There are 9 key pieces and 4 winter accessories in the range. If I had more time I would have created a bigger range adding more key pieces such as jumpers, skirts and tops for girls.

Task 18: Discuss and analyse the buying cycle for Cricket Firstly as a buyer, I would review the last season’s performance on sales in Cricket for mens, childrens and womens. I would also look at year to date sales, looking at what sold best and thinking about bringing it back in for a second season. This would usually happen in August/September in preparation for Autumn/Winter. It’s important to look at what competitors have to offer for consumers, and what is selling best for them to ensure that Cricket have the best customs over the competitors. In terms of financial planning, Cricket doesn’t have a head office, so a few members of the team would look at the merchandising aspects, to plan out a budget for the ranges. Once a budget is established, it’s time for Cricket to take trips to trade shows to source fabrics and see new innovations from up and coming designers for inspiration. Trade shows that I could consider is PURE in London, as it’s one of the biggest trade show for designers, for menswear and womenswear, as well as Bubble in London, which is a trade show exclusively for childrens wear. In terms of childrens wear, in trade shows I need to make sure the composition and the health and safety of the fabrics are good. There has recently been a few cases of childrens Halloween costumes being flammable, setting children on fire because the costumes were classed as ‘toys’ and not actual clothing. As my range is 4-7 year olds, I need to be cautious of choking hazards, and no halter neck styles that restrict the child. Next, I need to start trend forecasting, through fashion weeks especially London as it’s not as costly and a lot of the designers that Cricket stock showcase there, as well as WGSN, magazines and street style. Street style is important within trend forecasting, as it shows what the consumers are wearing, as they are the ones who are going to be purchasing the clothes. Also, looking at what celebrities are wearing is important for a buyer for Cricket as they heavily influence what people wear, especially young women and teenagers. As Cricket is just an independent retailer in Liverpool, I don’t have to take into consideration the ranges on a global scale. Buyers for retailers who are globally recognised would have to take into consideration the weather conditions and different styles in different countries in comparison with the season they are working on.

The price negotiation will be how much I am selling each piece of the range for in the store(RRP), I need to make sure that it’s in line with the current target market, as if there’s a fluctuation in the price it may lead to loss of loyal customers. The cost price is how much it’s going to cost me to buy from the supplier, as well as shipping costs. These need to be as low as possible to ensure maximum profit margin.

However, if the RRP is slightly higher than expected, I can overcome this by implementing business strategies such as advertising and promoting the range using celebrity endorsement. Prior to the range being manufactured, as a buyer I need to confirm the order with supplier, primarily this will be in the UK or using suppliers in Italy for the finest of qualities for my range. Meeting with the supplier, I can ensure the fabrics used are suitable, colour matches and swatches are the same as well as checking the quality. If it’s all good, the range can start to be manufactured, discussing the delivery dates for the range ensuring it’s going to arrive in store in time, taking into any external factors that may affect transportation lead times on my range. The average selling period is usually 16 weeks and will be for my womens and childrens wear but for my menswear I’m going to bring a few key pieces in store for a few weeks, monitoring the sales figures and if they are good I will gradually bring in more pieces. This is due to my branded range having a new designer, Paul Smith, he may be unheard of to current Cricket customers so it may not sell as well as current brands that Cricket stock. After every week, the Cricket team will have to conduct a merchandising report on sales figures, looking at what is selling best throughout the 3 ranges, replenishing stock to our best sellers and reducing stock. The stock management and replenishment is important because it reduces chances of producing too much stock of a garment that isn’t selling well, which will result in loss of Cricket’s money invested into the range.

Task 19: Industry professional practices and procedures 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.

The company 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.

The company 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.

Task 20: Lead times and shipping

Lead times and shipping

Task 20: 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.

For my range, I will be using UK suppliers for designers Paul Smith and Stella McCartney. However, they do source luxurious fabrics from Italy and France. I would travel by air to ensure a quicker lead time for the products. The UK was formerly a major producer of textiles but its fabric production is now limited mainly to traditional woollen cloth, such as worsted and tweed which is the materials I would be using for my menswear range branded by British designer Paul Smith. France deals mainly with the printing of a variety of natural and synthetic cloths, particularly printed cotton for children and ladies wear. Germany, Italy and Portugal are also renowned for printed fabrics. Especially on viscose base cloths. Greece and Turkey are mainly producers of jersey fabric, much of which is utilised within their local clothing industries. Most of the fabrics sold within garments in the UK are imported from the far East and Europe. China produces a wide range of cloths but is mainly known as the world's largest producer of silk in numerous weights and qualities. Japan specialises in synthetic fabrics, including polyester and polyamide.

Korea specialises in synthetic fabrics which are often cheaper, though less innovative than Japanese cloth.

Task 20: Critical Path

I want the Autumn/Winter range to arrive in store on the 23/09/2017. I will have to start my critical path beginning with planning on the 19/11/16. The planning for the ranges for Cricket 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.

I will also attend Trade shows and fashion weeks to trend forecast, as well as sourcing for materials. Trade shows I would go to is Premiere Vision for fabrics which is held in Paris. 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 model for Cricket’s standard size( usually size 12 for womenswear, size 42 for menswear and age 7/8 for childrens wear). Wherever possible the same model is used for each time as the fit may vary on different models and lead to confusion. Sometimes a representative to be actively involved in the fitting and to offer solutions to any problems with the fit. This can minimise the number of fitting sessions before approval of the 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 technologist finds a problem on which the buyer’s opinion is needed. The QC’S responsibilities include checking the quality of garments during production and after delivery. The warehouse allocation takes 2 weeks, then the products are delivered to store within a few weeks depending on how far away the warehouse is from the store.

Task 21:The Critical Path and production issues 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.

Task 22:Assess your range and amend and critically evaluate the designs to meet costs, production needs and other constraints

Fabric; Better quality means more expensive Chemical dyes cost money Organic fabrics more expensive

Warehouse; Rent/buy premises Staff Equipment Security Damage insurance

Design; Samples may be wrong colour/fabric Standardise sizes may be wrong Constructions may not be of standards

Shipping Containers Transportation Damaged goods- insurance Sample shipping's

Sourcing; Location- difficult to get to War and conflicts Natural disasters Time constraints would be a delay in lead times Communicationlanguage barrier

Warehouse: It will cost Cricket to rent/buy the premises to keep the stock in.

Cricket will also need staff, equipment and maintenance Security and damage insurance needs to be on the warehouse to ensure there is no robbed stock

Fabrics: Luxury fabrics used so will cost more to manufacture. This effects the RRP, making the budget for Cricket more expensive.

Shipping: Containers need to be paid for, along with hanging garments. I also need to consider the costs of the form of transport I will use. As I am sourcing from Italy, France and the UK it will most likely be cheaper to use air transport, to get the garments over quicker.

Sourcing: Problems I could face sourcing from Italy and France are air strikes so I could consider shipping by sea. If I do this, I need to take into consideration the packaging to ensure nothing gets damaged as this would be costly to Cricket and damage the lead time.

Design Issues: The design issues I could face are if the supplier sends me a fabric sample, it may be completely the wrong colour/texture and not be suitable for my target market.

Warehouse: It will cost Cricket to rent/buy the premises to keep the stock in.

Cricket will also need staff, equipment and maintenance Security and damage insurance needs to be on the warehouse to ensure there is no robbed stock

Shipping: Containers need to be paid for, along with hanging garments. I also need to consider the costs of the form of transport I will use.

As I am sourcing from Italy, and Florence it will most likely be cheaper to use air transport, to get the garments over quicker.

Sourcing:

Problems I could face sourcing from Italy and France are air strikes so I could consider shipping by sea. If I do this, I need to take into consideration the packaging to ensure nothing gets damaged as this would be costly to Cricket and damage the lead time.

Fabric: The fabrics for childrens wear will be sourced from Pitti Fillati in Florence for the textiles, as well as Italy for the finer, woollen textures. This better quality fabrics will be expensive to source, so will affect the RRP and the cost price for my range.

Design Issues: The design issues for childrens wear is the health and safety of the fabrics. I need to make sure they aren’t flammable, and there is no choking hazards.

These could be loose buttons or zips so these need to be embodied on instead.

Task 22:What amendments could you make to your designs to ensure faster and cheaper production?

As a buyer for Cricket, the designs are thought about carefully, and the fabrics are high quality as they are branded designers. I could make some amendments to my range to ensure faster and cheaper production, but these wouldn’t be sold in Cricket as designers have the best quality garments.

Use focussed sourcing from various suppliers to ensure faster production instead of using just single sourcing, where the lead times would be slower.

Use a different type of finishing so it’s quicker

Use cheaper fabrics, although the weave of the fabrics won’t be as high quality

Instead of cotton, which is a slightly more expensive fabric as the quality is better use a polyester mix Lower the markup of an item, so the RRP will be slightly less. If the garment isn’t selling still, I could put offers and discounts to shift stock quicker whilst still making a profit for the company.

Make packaging recyclable so its cheaper Transfer the goods in bulk so less gets spent on transportation.

Use batch production as it’s more costeffective and manufacturing costs are lower than one-off production. This may include using single sourcing for the whole range, so I could ship a batch order all at the same time to cut transportation costs.

As this children's cape has a complicated check design, it would take longer to manufacture as it’s more complex and will take longer. I could change the design and make it more simple to make the production quicker.

This is for my mens range, it’s branded by Paul Smith.

Instead of using in house British, luxurious manufactures, I could manufacture from middle eastern factories to ensure cheaper production but still using the same design.

Task 23: Identify/examine the influences on the critical path.

Some elements of the production could cause problem areas and constraints on the critical path. The sourcing location could be difficult to get to, if I was to source from the far east or America, external impacts such as natural disasters, war and conflicts may cause a delay on the lead time for range. The time constraints between sourcing would impact the critical path, if I was to single source so it would be better to use focus sourcing as a back up if any of the external factors do occur. Communications with the supplier in the far east could prove difficult as there is a time difference. I may not be able to speak to the supplier because of this so I would have to find a time that’s suitable, which could delay the critical path. Also, the language barrier between the buyer and supplier in another countries would be difficult, so a business strategy that I would implement to overcome this issue is have a translator with me. Design issues could have an impact on the critical path. For example, if the sample that’s been swatched is the wrong colour, or doesn’t fit the target customer for the retailer, this would cause a massive delay in the lead time. It could end up with the products not being in store when it was planned to be, therefore missing the seasonal trend for the consumers. Also, if the supplier has constructed the garments poorly and may not be of the retailer’s standards it would mean having to find another supplier within the planned time. A business strategy to implement to prevent this would be to study the factories quality before negotiating with the supplier.

What amendments could you make to your designs to ensure faster and cheaper production?

Task 23:Discuss the articles and evaluate.

Write your conclusions.

In this article it states that Primark has a secret to it’s success, and has taken fast fashion to the extremes. Due to the external factor of the recession in 2007, consumer habits of shopping has changed, snubbing designer labels and going for the cheaper, on trend alternatives in fast fashion labels. Like many of their competitors, Primark’s strategy is heavily rooted in using private labels.

However, unlike Zara who focuses on style, or H&M general affordability, Primark’s niche is its rock-bottom prices. Costs are kept low by making cheap garments from man-made materials, using cheap production processes. Primark also has a rapid turn over of 6 weeks from design to shop floor. Primark have received bad press over using factories in Bangladesh who enforce child labour and doesn’t pay workers a living wage, concluding why their products are so cheap. As a consumer I have realised that over the years Primark’s prices on clothing have hired, meaning that they have been using safe factories that cost a bit more to manufacture the clothes, resulting in a higher RRP. As Primark main selling point is price, the company must forgo expensive advertising almost completely, instead relying on big bags and big savings convey their message.

Primark is a fast fashion retailer who make a huge profit for their company by selling cheap clothes, accessories and homeware and save money from paper bags and not spending money on advertising. However, Primark could make a lot more money if they strived for global expansion. In Europe Primark isn’t as successful due to the different culture and shopping habits. Primark also doesn’t have online retailing, which could damage their sales through their competitors such as H&M having an online shop. They may find that being an online retailer might be unsuccessful for Primark, as they rely heavily on the shopping experience, huge stores and innovative floor layouts and colour plans to facilitate efficient shopping.

http://www.ieseinsight.com/doc.aspx?id=1274

Zara has maintained it’s stand as a leader in the apparel industry and what makes it so profitable is it’s unique supply chain strategies. Zara uses the following principles to increase their net income and maintain a standing of being a brand that is both fashion forward and affordable.

Quick response to Demand – Zara follows a pull model in their inventory and supply chain management. They create up to 1000 designs every month based on store sales and current trends. They monitor customer spending’s in the store to evaluate and understand what types of designs are being consumed and then accordingly iterate on their next designs. This is why they work as a fast fashion retailer, as the demand for new styles and trends is so high consumers rely on Zara as they know they can produce them. Most retaillers take about 4 to 12 months from designing to the supply chain, whilst Zara’s can take as little as 3 weeks.

Zara has a fast turnover, they produce small number of quantities for every product. This gives them the opportunity to quickly understand what designs are successful. It is also a great way to explore new designs and understand its acceptance rate in the market. This also heavily reduces the risk of producing large quantities of something that the customer does not want. Even though it might seem like a bad idea to invest in different designs, Zara optimizes by using the same material only in different ways. This saves the company a massive amount of money by reusing the same fabrics, meaning they can spend more money on transportation of clothes from the factories to stores.

Zara has very strong IT systems that back it’s distribution. All the clothes are shipped back to Spain, the central location. From here, it is distributed to different countries and stores is based on individual requirements and needs of the particular locality. Zara’s overarching strategy is achieving growth through diversification with and vertical integrations. It adapts couture designs, manufactures, distributes, and retails clothes within 2 weeks of the original design first appearing on catwalks.

The reason that Zara’s extremely fast supply chain works is due to inhouse productions, reserve 85 percent of their capacity for in-season adjustments. In-house production allows the organization to be flexible in the amount, frequency, and variety of new products to be launched.

There is a few risks that Zara take within their business model.

http://www.i-procure.com/zaras-supply-chainstrategies/

Just-in-time manufacturing relies heavily on production in Northern Spain. There are external factors that could massively impact their supply chain. Any weather, labour or terrorist disruption to the area will have a serious impact on production as Zara uses single sourcing to produce their clothes. They wouldn’t have many contacts for suppliers in different countries to manufacture their clothes as it’s mostly done in Spain, meaning a delay in the lead times of production. The longer lead times mean the consumer who is waiting for Zara to release the on trend clothing will have to wait and may mean that they turn to Zara’s competitors who can offer them the same.

As production is carried out in Spain where average wages are higher than low cost Asian countries, the factory wage costs will be higher than competitors such as H&M and Primark, which means they will lose out on their profit if consumers find it for cheaper elsewhere.

Zara is also exposed to financial vulnerabilities in the Euro as most of its cost-base is denominated in Euros. If there is a price fluctuation in the Euro, it may mean that when it converts to pounds it could be more expensive. Finally, any increase in oil prices will affect profits as twiceweekly deliveries means higher transportation costs. Paying out for transportation would affect the companys overall budget on manufacturing costs, meaning they may have to produce less clothing to save money to pay for the high transportation cost. If the oil prices are high, they may have to find the cheapest way to ship the items to each Zara store.

Task 24:Financial Spreadsheet

Task 25:Analysis of financial spreadsheet My range will begin on 23/09/2017 launching in Cricket in Liverpool and will run for 16 weeks. Analysing the data in my financial spreadsheet, looking at past sales of the 16 weeks, I only sold 4 of the trench coat, but sold 12 of the cigarette pants.

This means that when replenishing my stock, it would be ideal to replenish more of the cigarette pants and less of the trench coat, as the pants were one of my best sellers. I spent £182,663 on the range, gaining a profit of £364,462. The garment that made the most money was the brown leather bag, although it wasn’t an item that sold the most. This was due to the high cost price of the bag as it’s luxurious and made out of 100% leather, therefore making the RRP higher. Analysing financial spreadsheets, helps make buying and merchandising decisions to do with the range.

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.

Future buying decisions I could take into consideration when creating this range again would be to consider different sourcing for materials, as this would lower the cost price of the garment, therefore having an overall bigger profit margin for the company.

It’s important for me as a buyer to ensure that the cost price to manufacture the garment is the lowest it can be, which will mean a higher profit for the company against the original RRP price.

Task 26: Written range plan My range plan has been created with a certain customer in mind. The target customer is sophisticated with an edgy and individual style influence on the typical smart tailored look, with an age ranging from 26-32. I have created a written and visual customer profile to showcase my target customer. They are male, aged 28, have a disposable income, a keen interest in fashion through work and leisure time. This is bringing in a new customer into Cricket, as well as keeping the old customer target market. As well as bringing in a new customer to Cricket, I decided to bring in British designer Paul Smith, as he specialises in tailored garments. I have focussed on the trend ‘Re master’ for Autumn/ Winter 2016/17. I have viewed the trend in depth and highlighted key shapes and colours that have been forecasted. The range consists of 14 pieces, ranging from jackets, coats, tailoring, and accessories. The collection includes shirts, trousers, jackets and shoes with added accessories such as a belt so the customer should be able to build a few outfits. The range will enter the shops on the 27/9/17 ready for Autumn/Winter ready for the season to begin. The range varies in different colours and yarns with each garment. As it’s Autumn/Winter, there is a lot of wool and knitwear to keep warm, however as it’s a tailored range there is cotton and polyester used also. The shoes are smart business wear along with a satchel bag for work wear.

The casual jacket made with a Paul Smith British heritage check, has an RRP of £390, with a cost price of £120, making a gross profit of £260. On average each week about 5 will sell, meaning an overall quantity during the 16 weeks it’s on sale for will be 80 sold.

The sizes for jackets are done in UK mens chest sizes ranging from size 38 all the way to 44 inch. The sizes for trousers are done by waist in inches starting from 30’’ going to 38’’. Shoes sizes are in UK sizes as well starting from 7 going to 13. The prices range from an RRP of £35 for a belt to £650 RRP for a shearling jacket. The prices differentiate depending on each garment, looking at where the garments been sourced from to the composition of fabric, looking at the quality of fabric. The overall cost price of my range is £182,663, with a gross profit of £364,462.

Through my comp shop I found different outcomes. I decided to look at what Cricket currently has on the market for menswear, so I could look at the price architecture and fabric composition. I found that Cricket offers designer branded casual wear for men but little tailored garments, which is were I saw a niche in the market. The second comp shop I viewed was Reiss, as it’s a similar target market in terms of price for Cricket, as well as a luxurious brand and alternative to high end designers.

My third comp shop was on Flannels, as it’s a huge competitor for Cricket in Liverpool as it sells similar high end designers to Cricket. Flannels too focuses mainly on casual designer wear such as Balenciaga and Givenchy. This confirmed my original idea to do a designer tailored range for Cricket.

For my directional shop, I decided to look at high street alternatives that my target customer may look at instead of paying the high end designer prices. I chose to look at Top man.

The difference in prices between Cricket and Top man made it clear to emphasize how good the quality is from designers than high street quality.

As this range is bringing in a new designer to Cricket, I want it to have it’s own section in store, being central to the doorway so it’s the first thing a customer looks at. I also want it to stand out in store, so it will have signage by it highlighting that it’s new in, and designed by Paul Smith. I would also place some of the garments on the window display mannequins to catch the consumers eye, hopefully promoting the range.

Task 26: Appraise the commercial potential for success when planning the range.

Photo shoots for magazine advertisements

Billboards around, radio, bus ads

Commercial Feature in articles

Television ads

Create a website

Competitions Contact relevant bloggers to advertise- send freebies

After my range has been manufactured, it’s important to consider how I am going to promote and raise awareness of each range to draw current and new customers in. Firstly, television advertisements are crucial for advertising the range when using techniques to reach target audiences and promote products. For the television ad, I would have to look at the demographic positioning for each target market of men, women and children.

For menswear, I would promote the men’s tailored range on sports channels, as men typically watch them. For the womenswear range, with the target customer being 22-27, I would advertise on channels such as ITV, E!, E4 and MTV as these are the type of channels that my target customer of that age would watch. For my children's wear, I would advertise the range of BBC and ITV, so the parents are aware of the range as they are the people who are going to buy it for their children. Many companies have mascots or spokespeople who represent them in commercials. Some of these spokespeople are celebrities or athletes. For the menswear range, I could use David Beckham in the advert wearing the range that will be on sale in Cricket, as he is a well dressed man who is a similar age to my target customer.

For the children's wear to draw in the children to watch the advert on the television, I would use Elsa from Disney’s Frozen, as it fits in with my snow princess range.

For the children's wear to draw in the children to watch the advert on the television, I would use Elsa from Disney’s Frozen, as it fits in with my snow princess range.

To create further publicity of the range, I would contact relevant bloggers for the menswear and womenswear range. They need to be the same age of my target customer, along with a disposable income to afford the garments. I could get bloggers to review Cricket as a brand, as well as review the range. I would also give them free samples of the range to advertise and take photographs wearing them, focussing on the styling.

This is a board for how I would style my photo shoot to advertise my menswear range. I was hoping that the simplicity will draw in target customers to buy my Paul Smith tailored range. The models would be 23-30 years old, which is the target age range. I would keep to the colour palette of my range, as well as wearing tailored pieces to match the colour palette.

This is an inspiration board for my target customer. These types of natural poses, with natural makeup is something I would use for the photo shoot to attract the target customer.

Another way to engage potential customers is to do competitions. To reach out to the target customer of children, I could do competitions in girl magazines, and the winner gets a voucher to spend on the snow princess range in Cricket as well as other prizes such as tickets to see Disney on Ice and trips to the zoo. For the womenswear range I could do a similar competitions but in magazines that my target customer would buy, such as Elle and Vogue, as they have a key interest in fashion. The competition would include vouchers to spend on the new range, as well as paying for a nights stay in London, or more vouchers for Boots or Superdrug. This would fit in with Cricket’s brand reputation and identity of caring about appearance and liking to look good.

I would also advertise the range doing a look book photo shoot wearing the garments from each range. It will be in magazines that the target customer would read such as ELLE, GQ, and Cosmopolitan.

The styling for the shoot would be statutorily, tailored and sleek for the menswear, with male models having the appearance of the target market. For women's wear the styling would be casual, bare natural faced with some street style celebrity looks for inspiration.

For the children's wear the styling would be simple, using pastel wintery colours that are in line with the colour palette from the garments. As it’s a snow princess range the design of the shoot would be in a winter wonderland scene.

My choice of commercial branding should enable success for my range by reaching out to the target customers as well as potential new customers to buy my range from Cricket.

Task 28: 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 boots.

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 boots need to be tested to ensure that they are non toxic and non flammable.

As these are for children, they also need to have inside insulation to keep warm.

Need to ensure the designers work closely with the buyers to ensure the design is right for the shoe. Also need to make sure it gets the customer profile and reaches out to target market.

Need to carry out quality control for the shoes.

The shoes need to ensure they are 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 of size 8,10 etc.

Depending on global sizes, they differ 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.

Need to ensure the range is promoted in the correct way for the target market of children. 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.

As this is a children's wear jacket, it needs be tested for insulation to keep them warm as well as being waterproof.

The jacket also needs to have after care and wash instructions so

Task 28: Is my range fit for purpose?

Product

Organisational requirement

Production requirement

Fabric testing/ fit for purpose

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.

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 children's skirt needs to ensure there are no loose threads as it can be a choking hazard. The pom-poms can’t be loose and will have to hand stitched on. Any spare buttons shouldn’t pose any additional risk.

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.

This scarf needs to be fit for purpose by being tested for warmth. It also needs to have dye tests for the fabric. In quality control the pattern on the scarf should flow.

There will need to be someone within a manager role, so that any issues that are brought up within the production process, a manger can negotiate and communicate to sort out the problem

The company need to maintain a positive relationship with reliable suppliers so that they can maintain the quality of their products.

Ensure all spare buttons are attached within the jacket and trouser should they come off. Buttons should be stitched tightly. Need to check the zips are laid flat so they can unzip

Evaluation My 3 ranges for menswear, children's wear and women's wear was for my chosen independent retailer, Cricket. I wanted to bring in a new customer for the men and women.

After conducting market research online and in Liverpool city centre, I discovered that the current customer for men is young adult, street style casual designer wear and for women's it was the WAG look, with designer dresses and stiletto heels. So I decided for menswear to create a tailored range, introducing British designer Paul Smith as it’s a similar brand for tailored wear, with the age range being 23-30, with a disposable income and a keen interest in fashion. Through creating my customer profile, I then looked on WGSN to trend forecast, discovering the Re master A/W17 trend. I thought this trend fitted in well with my ideas, as it had historic influences and re inventing it to be modern. The colour palette I chose was suitable for Autumn/ Winter garments with khaki and browns. My competitors shop for mens was Flannels, who sell similar designers to Cricket and also have a store in Liverpool.

Flannels sells both casual wear designers and tailored wear which could be a potential threat to Cricket’s current customer and the target customer I want to draw in. In the competitors shop I looked at the composition of the fabrics to gather an idea of what fabrics I should use for my range as well as looking at the RRP my target customer are happy to pay for designer wear.

For my womenswear range I decided to steer away from the WAG trend for Cricket and introduce a Cricket’s own brand casual wear. The idea behind this stemmed from my market research as well as my comp shop. For the competitor shop, I looked as Reiss, as it’s slightly cheaper than Cricket’s designers, but still remains high quality and on trend. I also looked at Miss Francesca Couture, who like Cricket is an independent retailer in Liverpool selling occasion wear. Through creating my customer profile, I then decided to look at the same Remaster trend for inspiration and influence behind my range. I though it fitted in with my target customer as it offered fabrics and colour palette’s that would have been suitable for my casual wear range for women.

For my children wear range I wanted to keep the target customer the same, but design a range that I think would sell if it was advertised in the correct way. My range was for girls aged 5-7, called ‘snow princess’ using the Elemental trend on WGSN for the influences. I thought this trend matched with my target customer as it contained faux fur fabrics, pom pom’s , pastel colour palette with a winter wonderland influence. As it’s going to be the parents purchasing the garments for their child, they would need a disposable income to afford the designer wear.

Each range contains 14 pieces, ranging from apparel, accessories and shoes. My women’s range prices start from £80 for a cashmere scarf to £650 for a fur hooded parka. The sizes will be UK sizes ranging from 816. The men’s range starts from £35 for a leather belt to £650 for a 100% lamb leather shearling jacket. The prices are high for the garments due to the quality of them. Also, most of the menswear range will be made in England as I am sticking to Paul Smith’s brand values as well as the women's and children's being manufactured in England, France and Italy as they have the finest quality fabrics. For my children’s range the price starts from £40 for a 100% wool scarf to £400 for a coat, as the design is intricate and will take time. The sizes for menswear will be UK sizes and done in chest sizes for jackets ranging from 36’’ to 44’’ as well as trousers being measured by waist size of 30’’ to 38’’. For my children’s range the sizes will be done by age, from 4-7.

I am pleased with the outcomes for each of my ranges but if I had more time I would have added at least 20 pieces with some colour ways. I think the ranges work really well with my target customer, and hopefully it would sell. In terms of keeping the customer in, I would do flash sales to draw more customers in and higher sales to ensure all stock is sold and no profits are lost for what the company invested in the range. I would also create a mailing list every time a customer buy’s something from the range, to keep them updated with the current offers in store as well as giving them a discount code every now and again to keep the relationship with the customer. This would also keep my range profitable.

To advertise my range, I thought about it carefully, trying to draw in my target customer. This can be done through television ad’s, billboards, competitions and magazine’s spreads.

Looking at external factors that could affect my current range plans is environmental, political and technology. For environmental, the weather conditions could have a massive impact on my range. Last winter it was the warmest winter, so none of the winter stock sold. This could happen to me, having a huge impact on my sales, loosing profit for the company.

A political factor that could impact my range is the currency change. Currency can fluctuate which would have an impact on my transportation and manufacturing costs when in another country. A technology factor that affects Cricket, is that they don’t have a website. This puts competitors at an advantage, as they don’t have a huge team to do the website. This could mean that I couldn’t reach out on a global scale to potential customers.

To conclude my evaluation, I am pleased with outcome of my range and hope that they are successful. Throughout this unit, I have furthered my knowledge in buying, understanding the PESTLE better, as well as improving my knowledge of the critical path.