Kara Birch
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ROLE OF A BUYER HISTORY OF ZARA MISSION STATEMENT SOURCING RATIONALE SWOT ANALYSIS COMPETITIOR PERCEPTION MAP CUSTOMER PROFILE PEN PORTRAIT CUSTOMER PROFILE VISUAL BOARD ALEXA CHUNG VISUAL BOARD ALEXA CHUNG SIGNATURE STYLE TREND RESEARCH#1 PRINT AND PATTERN TREND RESEARCH#2 COLOUR
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TREND RESEARCH#3 CONTEMPORARY TREND RESEARCH#4 NATURE GIRL STREET STYLE COLOUR PALETTE #3 MOOD BOARDS COMP SHOP CHOSEN PRINTS AND PATTERNS PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT RANGE PLAN SOURCING WSSI WSSI EVALUATION
History and Values of shop direct, ASOS, John Lewis and Zara
History of Zara 5 0
Zara is a Spanish clothing and accessories retailer based in Arteixo, Galicia, and founded in 1975 by Amancio Ortega and RosalĂa Mera. It is the flagship chain store of the Inditex group, the world's largest apparel retailer. The fashion group also owns brands such as Massimo Dutti, Pull and Bear, UterqĂźe, Stradivarius, Oysho and Bershka.
During the 1980s, Ortega started changing the design, manufacturing, and distribution process to reduce lead times and react to new trends in a quicker way, in what he called "instant fashions". The company based its improvements in the use of information technologies and using groups of designers instead of individuals. Zara has resisted the industry-wide trend towards transferring fast fashion production to low-cost countries. Perhaps its most unusual strategy was its policy of zero advertising; the company preferred to invest a percentage of revenues in opening new stores instead. In 1980, the company started its international expansion through Porto, Portugal. In 1989 it entered the United States, and in 1990, France. This international expansion was increased in the 1990s, with Mexico (1992), Greece (1994), Belgium and Sweden (1994), etc. until reaching its current presence in over 88 countries.
Mission Statement
• Implementing an eco-friendly management model in our shops in order to reduce energy consumption by 20%, introducing sustainability and efficiency criteria. • Recycling hangers and alarms, which are picked up from our shops and processed into other plastic elements, is an example of our waste management policy. Millions of hangers and alarms are processed each year and both the cardboard and plastic used for packaging are also recycled. • Zara supports organic farming and makes some of its garments out of organic cotton (100% cotton, completely free of pesticides, chemicals and bleach). • Zara's fleet of lorries, which transport more than 200 million items of clothing a year, use 5% biodiesel fuel. This allows us to reduce our CO2 emissions by 500 tons. • Zara believes in ‘fast fashion’, so for this collection all sourcing will be the same as every Zara garment.
Sourcing • Zara is always striving to meet the needs of its customers at the same time as helping to inform their ideas, trends and tastes. The idea is to share responsible passion for fashion across a broad spectrum of people, cultures and ages. • There product ranges are for menswear, womenswear, childrenswear, and ‘mini’ for toddlers. • 60% of the manufacturing processes are outsourced in countries close to the Zara headquarters in Spain to help achieve a quick turnaround. • Zara hires young designers and trains them to make quick decisions. Decision-making is encouraged and bad decisions are not severely punished. Designers are trained to limit the number of reviews and changes, speeding up the development process and minimizing the number of samples made. • As were working on a SS/15 collection the garments will be woven soft ombre, pastels, superlight, and modern perspectives on traditional patterns. • The lead time for this collection will only take just 3 weeks for designs to be seen on shop floors, which is the norm for Zara.
Rationale As Head Buyer, myself and the Zara design team will be working closely alongside Alexa Chung to create a women swear collection based on her ideas and combining the garments with SS14/15trends. The collection will be named ‘Alexa Chung for Zara’ and will stay true to the Zara brand whilst simultaneously attracting Alexa Chung’s fan base. I will create a variety of garments for occassionwear, as it reflects key items that are part of Alexa Chung’s signature style alongside some statement accessories, making the target customer being 20-30s. The aim of this collection is to create a variety of garments to enable customers to mix with Alexa Chung’s classic style, as well as being in line with Zara’s clean cut, modern style. The collection is going to begin in the flagship store in London, Oxford street for 10 weeks. Based on selling profits, if it’s successful I will bring the range to Zara stores worldwide. Due to Alexa Chung walking the catwalk as part of Vivienne Westwood and modelling DKNY jeans. She’s extremely recognised and appreciated by successful designers, the designer handbag company Mulberry created the "Alexa", a much sought-after bag named after and inspired by her. She would be a strong USP for our brand with her knowledge of fashion and industry reputation. The collection will be fashionable and affordable to keep customers engaged.
My Plan
My Alexa Chung range is inspired from SS/15 trends seen at Trade shows in cities such as Paris or London. As a buyer, I got to see what colours, prints and patterns, cuts or garments and key statement pieces were on trend for the upcoming Summer.
It’s essential to carry out comp shops on the high street in cities to understand and keep up-to-date with the competition as well as allowing me to spot opportunities, which perhaps my competitors have failed to explore or Zara may be missing which we can bring to the shop floor in this collection.
• I will carry out directional shops as they are important for a buyer to find out key trends and consumer habits, which can be taken place in fashion capitals such as Paris, Milan and New York. Here, I can analyse what’s in stores, and seeing what’s popular with customers by use of cool hunting. • Also, by using websites such as WGSN I can predict future trends and incorporate current trends into my collection. Garments will be made out of cotton, silk, linen and jersey to keep cool in the summer. The lead time is as short as 3 weeks as Zara’s mission statement is forefront fast fashion. • The countries who supply the fabric I’ll use is china for silk, cotton and leather. Lace can be sourced from Russia, and polyester and viscose from England.
Swot Analysis
Strengths Short lead time- ‘fast fashion’ Strategic Location Launched approximately 11,000 new items per year in comparison to competitor such as H&M only launching 2,000 Nothing is in the warehouse for more than 72 hours Zara delivers new products twice each weeks to it’s 1,763 stores around the world( Z days)
Opportunities Could extend their multiband store and add other product lines, for example a petite section or maternity wear. Distribution centre in the US Demand for high fashion at affordable prices
Weaknesses Centralised distribution system Doesn’t spend money on advertising Zara only has one manufacturing and distribution centre in the world Brand image closely tagged with competitors
Threats Local competitors such as the Spanish brand Mango Global competitors such as H&M, River Island and other high street stores Recession could cause a threat for company due to overpriced clothing
Competitors perception Expensive
Fashionable
Un- fashionable
Cheap
Customer Profile pen portrait
Melanie is a 23 year old female graduate from The university of Manchester who studied Business living in London with her long-term boyfriend. Melanie has an internship as an advertising consultant in a large fashion and cosmetic companies in the UK. She is very aware of fashion trends and likes to keep up with them by reading ELLE magazine and VOGUE occasionally. Although she is in a busy work environment and works in advertising fashion, she loves to discover new trends before anyone else, taking vintage finds and bringing them back into fashion. Her favourite brands are Zara, River Island and Mango, sometimes splurging on some items from Reiss as she likes their good quality garments. Melanie would describe her style as being chic and elegant, wearing a lot of monochrome, wearing blouses and skinny cigarette pants and always accessories’ her outfit with a luxurious bag. At weekends she enjoys going to the cinema with friends, socialising at cocktail bars and walking her pug with her boyfriend. As she lives in the city, she eats out most nights her favourite cuisine being Italian. She loves weekends away on city breaks with her boyfriend and spends her Summer’s in Australia visiting her family.
Customer Profile visual board Drives a mini
Works in an office
Has a pug
Loves Italian food Socialises in cocktail bars
In a relationship
Uses an iPhone
Alexa Chung Visual Board
Alexa Chung signature style
2) The mini skirt Alexa is partial to a mini skirt, particularly in leather material or leopard print pattern
1) Cigarette Pants Alexa likes to add sleek sophistication to her outfit and is not afraid to dress in a suit.
4) The peter pan collar She says her inspiration was from Wednesday Addams
5) White shirt
3) Dungarees
6) Accessories Accessories are key in Alexa Chungs outfits. Her most favourable one however in a statement handbag that completes the outfit
Trend Research#1 prints and patterns
Trend Research#1 prints and patterns
1970’s Renaissance Bohemian look defined by casual cultural patterning. Naïve arts and crafts designs, ornate florals and patterns printed onto garments for a historical feel. Seen on Prada, Louis Vuitton and Valentino. Cut Paper Matisse-inspired flat colour and simple, modernist shapes have a paper cutout feel that lends itself perfectly to oversized florals, minimalist graphic palms and abstract patterns. Combinations of black and white with minimal colour pops offer a sophisticated graphic approach. Camouflage
With an abstracted jungle-like feel, important prints for this look include floral camouflage, botanical fauna and stylised palm leaves. Added interest is created with overlaying techniques including florals and traditional camo mixes. Seen on Topshop Unique and Jasper Conran.
Candy cut stripes Bright candy-store and ice-cream stripes offer a fresh, playful direction for S/S 15. Bold mixed widths and complementary colour-blocks give stripes a summer twist for relaxed silhouettes and day dresses. Diagonal stripes offer a more original, quirky feel
Trend Research#2 Colour Core colours range from traditional white, black, greys and navy to casted neutrals that are perfect for transitional palettes including burgundy, cinnamon and olive grey
Trend Research#3 Contemporary
Trend Research#3 Contemporary
Reworked classic white shirt The classic white shirt was reinvented this season with details including split backs, draped panels, boxy shapes and scalloped yokes developing new interpretations of this wardrobe staple.
Wide-leg trousers Wide-leg pants continued this season in tailored and pyjama styles. Relaxed leg openings, dropped crotches and high waists came in floor and ankle lengths, creating a silhouette alternative to the lean flare pant.
Asymmetric wrap skirts Asymmetric wrap skirts carried forward with exaggerated gaps and angles. Silhouettes ranged from slim pencils to boxy and straight with buckle and tie closures.
A-line dress The nipped A-line dress became the mini-dress of the season, with pleated or flat skirts. Summer leather and suede created more structured styles, while more delicate lace lent itself to the feminine side of dressing.
Trend Research#4- Nature girl
Trend Research#4 Nature girl
This trend is as much about decorative embellishments such as embroidery or beading as it is about print and pattern. There are simple, rustic looks in the arthouse prints, collaged and appliquĂŠd for a homespun look on natural grounds. Western styling informs embroidered yoke details and there is a mix of vivid candy stripes and workwear-inspired stripings. Placed florals have a desert bloom feel, while traditional Mexican-inspired floral embroideries have a playful vintage theme.
Fabrics are a harmonious mix of casual wovens and prettier handles such as broderie anglaise, eyelet and sheers. Washed and laundered finishes keep the look relaxed, while crochet and fringing create a handcrafted mood. Look out for authentic Western-inspired materials such as denim and suede playing into the 1970s-style
Street Style at New York and London fashion week(ss15) Pure white colour White continues to be a refreshing and elegant choice at this year's New York Fashion Week. Head-to-toe ensembles bathed in creamy winter whites produce a soft and feminine aesthetic. Basic fabrics such as crisp cotton, silk or even lace.
CONTEMPORARY FEMININE A theme emerging from London Fashion Week is a subtle contemporary take on feminine looks. Soft pinks set the tone, worn in smooth, minimalist silhouettes, with tactile fabrics, folding and layers.
Daring Stripes Pieces combine vertical and horizontal stripes for a visually striking aesthetic. THE NEW SARTORIAL Women at New York Fashion Week update the masculine look with modern details without sacrificing sartorial edge. Classic tailoring looks sharp, as long flared trousers update classic cropped cigarette trousers.
Mind maps of trends
Colour Palette
This is the colour palette the collection will take inspiration from. The palette consists of key colours that were seen on Spring Summer 15 catwalks, I have also focused on whether they suit the trends I have chosen to incorporate in the collection and also whether Alexa Chung would wear these colours.
Placid Blue,
like a pictureperfect, tranquil and reassuring sky, induces a sense of peaceful calmness
Glacier Gray is an
unobtrusive gray that contrasts and enhances.Nature’s most perfect neutral, Glacier Gray is a shade that is timeless
Lucite Green is
fresh and clarifying, cool and refreshing.Light in weight and also in tone,
A neutral, warmer white to be layered with other shades of the colour, echoing the feeling of ease for spring/summer 2014.
Sand, a
lightly toasted and amiable neutral, conjures images of the beach and the carefree days of summer.
A warm, vibrant and opulent yellow. A fashion lift for womenswear with tone-ontone layers, it is great for youth and accessories.
Bright Pink hues
with strong pigments and opaque finishes create a punchy look that's full of attitude.
Colour and Texture mood board
Concept mood board
Catwalk Images of Nature girl Trend
Comp shop- Zara As Zara is my chosen brand that I will do my range in, I decided to look in store and look at key items and compare them to high street competitors. Cigarette Pants £35.99 Xs-xl Navy 62% POLYESTER 33% VISCOSE 5% ELASTANE
Leather mini skirt £69.99 Xs-L 100% goat leather
Trench Coat £79.99 Xs-xL 48% POLYESTER, 44% COTTON, 8% NYLON
Bucket Bag £99.99 OUTER SHELL100% COW LEATHER LINING100% POLYESTER
White shirt
Floral Jacket £79.99 Xs-xL 49% COTTON, 30% ACRYLIC, 21% POLYESTER Round Sunglasses £15.99 100% POLYCARBONATE
£29.99 Xs-L 100% POLYESTER
Printed leather slipper £49.99 3-8 UPPER-95% COW FURSKIN, 5% POLYURETHANE LINING-70% POLYURETHANE, 30% POLYESTER SOLE-100% THERMOPLASTIC RUBBER
Comp shop- Mango Mango is a major competitor for Zara with them both being Spanish brands. Mango have created a multibrand store, designing women's apparel, accessories and also a men's range.
Cigarette Pants £17.00 2 colours 77% Polyester, 21% Viscose 2% Elastane 8-14
TORTOISESHELL SUNGLASSES £24.99 Frame: 80% polycarbonate,20% stainless steel Glass: 100% polycarbonate Leather look skirt £29.99 85% polyester 10% cotton 5% viscose Sizes 6-14 Country of originChina
FUR LEATHER SLIPPERS £69.99 2 colours Shoeupper: 95% bovine leather,5% polyester Lining: 100% polyester Insole: 100% goat leather 3-8
Bucket Bag £44.99 Composition: 100% polyurethane Lining: 100% polyester
Trench Coat £69.99 Xs-xL 97% cotton,3% elastane
White Shirt £34.99 100% polyester Size 8-16 2 colours COO- Vietnam
Comp shop- H&M
Loafers £9.99 3.5-8 100% polyester
Sunglasses £5.99 3 colours
Floral duster jacket £29.99 96% polyester, 4% elastane XS-L 1 colour
Trench Coat £49.99 8-20 3% elastane, 16% viscose, 81% polyester 1 colour
I decided to look at H&M due to their good quality clothing and unbeatable value. H&M are also known for their celebrity and designer collaborations which is one of Zara’s main threats.
Handbag £14.99 100% polyester
Wide-leg trousers £24.99 1 colour 8-20 100% polyester Leather skirt £69.99 2 colours 8-14 100% leather
Pussybow Blouse £19.99 1 colour 100% polyester
Comp shop- Topshop Leopard Print Pelmet Skirt £38 4-16 55% Polyester 41% Wool 4% Acrylic
Topshop is an affordable with some luxury pieces from their premium range, their unique selling point is being high end styled fashion that is affordable. Their flagship store is in Oxford Circus. TOPSHOP is in every major city in the UK. The store is always well set out so it’s easy to look round at different items. The walls and flooring are basic colours so the environment doesn’t over power the fashion.
White shirt £30 4-16 100% Polyester
Cigarette Pants £42 97% cotton 3% elastin 6-16 COO- Romania
Trench coat £85 4-16 48% Polyester 46% Viscose 6% Elastane
Leather tote bag £65 100% Leather
Floral Jacquard Duster Jacket £60 4-16 73% Viscose 27% Nylon
Sunglasses £14 80% Plastic 20% Acrylic
Leopard print slipper shoes £65 100% Leather
Comp shop- Reiss Reiss are renowned for their main focus on the quality and detail of the clothes they design. Analysing the prices and materials of the products will help me initiate the prices and how good of the quality the range I create will be. Being a premium High Street store, it was interesting to look at the difference in price and quality of the clothing to other High Street stores.
Pussybow blouse £125 4-14 2 colours 100% Silk
Cigarette pants £120 4-14 100% POLYESTER
Handbag £275
Trench Coat £245 XS-L 100% VISCOSE 2 colours
Leather Skirt £189 4-14 100% Lambleather
Chosen prints, patterns and textures
Snakeskin I decided to incorporate snakeskin pattern and texture into the range due to the Nature girl trend I have been focusing on with the garments I have chosen. I also can imagine Alexa Chung wearing snakeskin garments, as well as they grey/brown colour matching the colour palette of the trend.
Fringing
I chose to include accessories with fringing on in the range as the trend I’ve focused on gives a western vibe, with 70s inspiration and folkloric influences. Tassels and fringes also impact on the festival look.
Leopard print Alexa Chung uses this print in a lot of her outfits which shows that the range will have key aspects of Alexa’s style incorporated in it.
Leather
Suede Raw suedes add a rustic
feel to my collection. The beige suede also incorporates colour from my colour palette of the Nature girl trend.
Alexa Chung is occasionally seen wearing some form of leather garment, so I feel that leather needs to be incorporated into the collection to match Alexa’s style.
Scanned Images
Here, I coloured in my scanned images on Photoshop. I then duplicated the image and changed the opacity to create a silhouette like feel. I then placed a texturized filter over the background.
Product Development
Original cad of the dress.
I removed the hem of the dress as I took inspiration from Alexa Chung’s high leg dress to include in my collection.
I also used the warp tool to remove the collar and drag it down into the dress.
I liked this dress Alexa wore and thought it could be incorporated into my collection easily as it gives a 70’s vibe inspired from my Nature Girl trend I focused on.
Using Photoshop software, I defined the pattern from Alexa Chung’s dress so I was able to then fill the cad with the exact same pattern using the paint bucket.
Product Development
Original Cad of the top taken from WGSN.
This image was taken from the SS15 Nature girl catwalk. I felt that this could be incorporated into the Alexa Chung collection as it’s a simple crop top that could be sold in ZARA.
Using Photoshop I defined the pattern taken from the top on the runway, and used the bucket tool to fill the cad with the pattern.
Range Plan
Range Plan
Range This is a sample spreadsheet for the costs of the garments, sizes, fabrics and COO. I chose small quantities as the collection is going to begin in the flagship store in London, Oxford street. Based on selling profits, if it’s successful I will bring the range to Zara stores worldwide.
Range Spreadsheet
Range Plan
Range Sourcing
Due to the exclusivity of the Alexa Chung’s collection, the Buying team will strive to source more European suppliers. This will allow for easier communication and shorter lead times concerning the product. This will be important for the collection as it is a new concept for the company and therefore its potential success is difficult to predict. If necessary, and should the collection take off immediately, it may be required to increase the stock in the Oxford Street store at short notice, which will be possible if we have more European suppliers. However, some garments in my collection contain embellished items so I will have to source from India for those garments. I’m also using leathers and suede's which can be found manufactured in Morrocco.
WSSI SPREADSHEET
Number of opening stock for ZARA’s London store. The collection will begin here, depending on sales it may spread to other ZARA stores worldwide
The summer collection being added to the store reflected poor sales on the item as many were more interested in buying from the summer lines for the warm weather/ holiday season.
The mini skirt sold well in the week before ladies day, as it’s a skirt fit for ocassionwear.
Poor weather reflected badly on this item in the collection as less people shop in weather such as wind/rain. It’s also an item that won’t keep customers warm as it’s a mini skirt.
WSSI SPREADSHEET
The green boxes highlight the weeks were the sale of the dress was higher than the average expected. These were for reasons such as payday, warm weather and discounts on the item.
WSSI SPREADSHEET
The sales of the heels here show that they are popular for occasion wear were the customer may wear them when they are going out.
WSSI EVALUATION
I will bring 2,575 products to the store on Oxford Street to begin with. The range is starting from the 02/04/2015 and running for 10 weeks before deciding on whether to bring it to more stores across Europe depending on sales statistics. Out of the three garments in my range that I chose to do a weekly sales and stock intake sheet, the wrap dress was the best seller as it sold all 190 of them in the London Oxford street store in the 10 weeks. The leather skirt however didn’t manage to sell all of the opening stock, leaving 95 as the closing stock after 10 weeks. This was due to factors such as bad weather. In my range I did promotional activities such as 25% off occasion wear and 10% off footwear to ensure sell out of the quantity ordered.