Katie dalton unit 11 and 12 completed by Katie Dalton

Unit 11 Katie Dalton

Independent Retailers Independent retailers are businesses owned completely by a person who is responsible for the entire business as they have built the business up from the ground itself by assessing and providing all the needs of the store, such as staffing, marketing, merchandising and sales. As independent retailers are privately owned, they are often though of as single store operations, which can come with high rewards and risks. Due to the pressure from mass retail stores, some independent retailers find it difficult to make and maintain a profit. Therefore, it is common for some independent retailers to use drastic discounts to persuade customers to buy their products. On the other hand, a lot of independent retailers make their sales by providing a variety of designer concessions in store that aren't accessible to customers elsewhere, which is how they maintain a profit. Independent retailers find new opportunities for growth through taking advantage of target marketing and social media. As they are single store operations they continue to alter and provide new services and products to customers to attract new customers as well as keep the interest of current customers. In today's society, social media is a massive obsession of the public, therefore a lot of independent retailers have social media accounts, such as, Instagram which allow them to post pictures on a daily/weekly schedule of the latest products and outfits styled in store for customers to follow. By constantly connecting with customers, this allows independent retailers to make profit as they rely on customers for business. There are a variety of independent retailers internationally that focus on customers locally as they are most likely to be single store operations. There are a number of independent retailers in Liverpool that allow locals to invest in the community, such as, Cricket, Boudoir Boutique and Resurrection. Each store is unique to their own and feature a number of different styles within store. These stores offer a unique style closer to high end designs that focus on being visually expressive.

Miss Francesca Couture is an independent fashion boutique based in the heart of Liverpool. The company was built up by miss Francesca herself in 2009 when she began designing and producing made to measure garments in an office in her fathers building yard, from then Francesca built up a loyal customer following which allowed her to showcase her designs at a fashion show dedicated to raising funds for The Lily Centre â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a local breast cancer charity the same year, this then further allowed her to open up her flagship store based in Liverpool's Met quarter shopping centre. Miss Francesca Couture's garments can be described as feminine and flirty, which fits perfect with her target customer of the party loving and glamorous women through beautiful detailing, extreme silhouettes and luxurious fabrics. At Francesca couture they understand that every girl wants to look and feel amazing and so they offer a bespoke service to all customers. Francesca couture are happy to alter any garments, from shape, colour and fabric to fit customer requirements perfectly which is what makes Miss Francesca couture such a loyal and unique boutique.

Since 1983, Oxygene has been at the leading edge of fashion by defining trends with their handpicked selections of the most coveted international designers and up and coming new designers. Based in the heart of Miami, Florida oxygene aims to bring Parisian street style to Miami by recognising fashion as luxury and a form art by introducing the latest garments and trends to customers before they hit main stream. Oxygene has become the epicentre for fashion forward hipsters, fashionistas and celebrities. Oxygene offers the opportunity for women to infuse her own unique personality through offering pieces from a variety of designers ranging from, Isabel Marant ,Mugler, Carven, to Paco Rabanne and Alexander Wang. As well as beautiful, rich garments Oxygene also extend their sense of style to jewellery and a mini me department dedicated to young fashionistas building their ultra sense of style through designers, such as, Lanvin, Fendi, Dolce and Gabbana and Roberto Cavalli.

Independent retailer customer profile

Emma aged 26, works and lives in Essex as an area manager for Kurt Geiger, which means Emma has found her self quite comfortable with money, which suits her lifestyle perfectly as she is a rather glamorous women who values her appearance a lot. Emma enjoys spoiling herself with her well earned money and she does not have a man to do so due to the fact she is very independent women, who works hard to enjoy a lifestyle she wants and has. Emma lives in a fancy apartment in Essex, where she spends her nights home from work and her weekend experimenting with cooking in her marble white kitchen. Emma loves her make up and has a huge collection, which is why she finds it important to take care of her skin s well as her hair very well, therefore Emma dedicates her Friday nights to pamper night, where she treats her skin and hair and herself with a glass of wine and a takeaway on the couch whilst watching the latest episode of desperate housewives. When Emma's not at home, she's out with her closest friends shopping for a new outfit for their weekly Saturday cocktail night, which usually ends at their local wine bar after a they've had one too many cocktails. Emma loves being original and standing out amongst others, which is why it is important she has a new outfit every weekend to show off out on the town.

About Cricket Cricket is an ultimate designer boutique based in the heart of Liverpool. The store is placed along the famous Matthew Street, home to The Beatles. This is the perfect location for the store to be based as it is in the centre of Liverpool's most popular tourist attraction, which means the store regularly attracts new customers as well as their regular customers. Cricket is an independent retailer that stocks a number of designer concessions in store. However, they do not have any of their own stock in store, apart from their promotional bags for life. Crickets carrier bags are used as promotional material for the store. The bags are square paper bags with zebra print printed on both sides of the bag with the cricket logo printed on a bright print boarder. Personally from an outside perspective I believe the bag appears quite tacky and does not fit in entirely with Crickets reputation of being the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;ultimate designer boutiqueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. However, this does work in their favour as the bag is a prominent factor in recognising the store, I believe the bag for Cricket has become pretty much the face of the store as it is used as a source of advertisement for Cricket as they are unable to afford massive forms of advertising like most high street stores due to them being an independent retailer. Due to the number of local celebrities being pictured with the bag, this has also helped crickets iconic bag become recognisable. Crickets store layout is simplistic. The store is spaced out well and showcases products in a clean and classy way rather than being cluttered within small proximity. The purpose of the layout is to prevent customers having to route through the store and allows them to continue to shop in a calm environment which reflects consumer behaviour. The cricket store layout has been cleverly thought out. As an independent retailer crickets staff structure differs completely to any other retail store. Cricket have a small in house team and do not have a lot of staff in an head office environment as all staff are based within the store. Having a small in house team puts added pressure on each member of staff , which can have a negative impact on the store overall. For example, due to only having one graphics staff member , the responsibility of drawing and posting graphics online was proven to be difficult. Due to this the Cricket online website has been down and removed from the internet for recent months, due to them not being able to keep up with online competitors. This would be different if Cricket had a big head office team. On the other hand, Cricket have a massive following on the social media app, Instagram, which allows them to use this as a replacement for their website to communicate with customers. Crickets competitors stores of a similar nature, their biggest competition being Net-A-Porter, as they are also a store that loves and stocks designer brands in store. Alongside, Net-A-Porter, competing store include department stores, such as, Debenhams and fellow independent boutiques that stocks brands Cricket donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t and the branded stores themselves as cricket may loose customers to these stores due to them being more accessible and having online stores.

Cricket customer profile Lucie is 17 years old and was born and raised in Liverpool. Lucie is currently studying Textiles, Business and Travel and Tourism In her fist year of Sixth form at St John Bosco Arts College. Lucie is popular amongst everyone at sixth form and has a huge group of friends, with whom she is social with almost every weekend. Lucie enjoys being out every weekend at parties and social events, where she can dress to impress from hair to her make up to her clothes and when Lucie is not out partying she enjoys nights spent on the couch with her best friend snuggled up watching their favourite shows, Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars. Similarly to your average teenage girl Lucie is very conscious about her appearance, which she values a lot. Therefore Lucie always ensures that she attends regular eyelash and nail appointments in time for her social events, in order to fulfil her 'perfect' appearance. Lucie enjoys the spotlight and loves being centre of attention in her social group , which is why she always the latest of everything from technology to designer garments, in order to impress her friends. Although, Lucie does not have a part time job therefore she relies on her parents to buy her all these wonderful thing. Lucies father is CEO in his own building business whilst her mother owns and runs a hairdressing salon, which makes their income together extremely high, therefore they are able to afford Lucies lavish lifestyle for designer garments.

Brands in store Womenswear

Menswear

Kidswear

Saint Laurent Charlotte Simone Stella McCartney Elizabeth & James Balenciaga Christian Louboutin Celine Kenzo Jimmy Choo Sophia Webster Off white Givenchy Isabel Marant Lanvin Victoria Beckham

Balenciaga Saint Laurent Dior True Religion Lanvin Givenchy Christian Louboutin DSquared

Stella McCartney Dsquared Juicy Sophia Webster Lanvin Ash

Market Research As part of my market research I visited the store Cricket located on Matthew street. The purpose of market research is to gain a clear perspective of a company in the retail industry as a buyer. By carrying out market research at Liverpool's ultimate designer boutique, it allowed myself to act as a consumer rather than a buyer, which was important for my project as I was able to get into the mind frame of a consumer and work out their behaviours in store and expectations of items in store, this was beneficial to my project as customers are one of the main focuses. It is important as a buyer that I carry out market research at the beginning of each project as it allows for a clear mind set on which direction I want my range to go in and the style and trends behind it. Visiting Cricket enabled myself as a buyer to get a clear feel for the brand as I was able to analyse factors from brands stocked in store to the store layout and the brands image and style. It is important as a buyer that I am able to understand what the brand is all about and what they provide and can offer to customers in order to build a range that is suitable for Cricket and can cater for customer needs in order to be a successful range. Visiting Cricket first hand acting as a consumer allowed for myself as a buyer to analyse customers and use this analysis to build a successful range for Cricket based entirely on the consumer that will attract them to the range when it is launched in store. Whilst in store, I was able to pick out the key target customer in Cricket and tailor my range to the target customer based on the customer profiles I will produce from market research conducted whilst at Cricket.

Comp Shop Womenswear

Description

Raglan Sleeve Coat

Double Breasted Trapeze Coat

Shoulder Tie Flare Mini

Cropped Top Floorlen gth

Cropped Trouser

Medium Boot

Front Tie Blouse

Pencil Skirt

Price

£1625

£1398

£1257

£2800

£477

£875

£508

£553

Fabric

Tweed, wool

wool

Silk,wool, polyester

wool

Calf leather, nylon

viscose

wool

COO

Britain

USA

Britain

Italy

USA

Britain

Simple Shopper

Small City Victoria Bag

Ruffle Peplum Jacket

£1450

£595

Python, calf

Buffalo, calf

Viscose

Italy

USA

£1850

Comp Shop Womenswear

Description

Antigona medium softgrained leather tote

I Feel Love cottonjersey tshirt

Pant booty

Capestyle crepe dress

Baby’s Breath Madonna Sweater

Frilled Hem Leather Mini Skirt

Silk Drape Detail Blouse

Peplum Crepe Wool Coat

Leather Biker Trousers

Big Fauno T-Shirt

Price

£1,465.00

£320.00

£1,125.00

£1,260.00

£825.00

£1,775.00

£799.00

£2,625.00

£1,899.00

£355.00

Fabric

Leather

cotton

Leather

Vicose, silk

cotton

Leather

Silk

Wool

Lambskin, cotton

cotton

Italy

USA

Italy

USA

COO

Italy

Comp shop menswear

Description

DENIM DETAIL, WHITE COTTON

DENIM INSERT, HOOD

STRAP ON THE FASTENING, BLACK WOOL

WHITE SNEAKER

WHITE "3D EFFECT" JACQUARD

BLEU DÉLAVÉ, STRETCH COTTON

BLACK AND NAVY BLUE LEATHER BELT

BLEU ACIER AND GREY DOUBLESIDED COTTON

GREY CHECKED SCARF

BLUE, BRAISE AND BEIGE LEATHER BACKPACK

Price

£430.00

£660.00

£1,500.00

£480.00

£790.00

£410.00

£430.00

£1,400.00

£310.00

£2,250.00

Fabric

cotton

wool

Canvas, suede

Wool, viscose, polyester

Denim

Calfskin, leather

cotton

wool

calfskin

Italy

COO

Comp shop menswear

Description

yellow goldplated and leather watch

Rottweiler backpack

Twin Monkeyprint cottonjersey sweatshirt

Horn-print cottonjersey t-shirt

Debossed College leather skate shoes

Floral-print cottonjersey sweatshirt

Sleeveless cottonjersey hoody

Slim-fit satin-stripe wool trousers

Patterned wool suit

Paisley leather sandals

Price

£1,070.00

£795.00

£455.00

£445.00

£450.00

£590.00

£570.00

£500.00

£1,115.00

£295.00

Fabric

Leather

Nylon

cotton

Leather

Cotton

Wool, vicose, cotton silk

wool

Leather

Italy

USA

Britain

Italy

COO

Italy

Comp shop Kidswear

Description

Meat Free Monday Arlo T-shirt

Blue Willow Bomber jacket

Pink and Cream Swallow Print Dress

Pink Butterfly Wing Trainer

Cream Tulle and Gold Spot Skirt

Black Stella Skull Print Tee

Navy Reversible Superhero Bomber Jacket

Green Hooded Jacket

Blue, Green and Orange Whoosh Trainers

Black Skeleton Sweatpants

Price

£ 40

£62

£49.00

£115.00

£45.00

£40.00

£105.00

£229.00

£124.00

£64.00

Fabric

cotton

Velour

cotton

Cotton, canvas

Cotton, polyester

cotton

Polyester, elastase

Polyester

Cotton, canvas

Cotton, elastase

USA

COO

Comp shop

Description

Tom Ford Leather and Suede ankle boots

Tom Ford Natalia small python shoulder bag

Tom Ford Two-tone stretchcrepe mini dress

Balmain Belted cottonblend gabardine jacket

Balmain Lace-up stretch-knit playsuit

Miu Miu Matelassé leather shoulder bag

Miu Miu Cropped printed silk crepe de chine straight-leg pants

Acne Studios Swift oversized leather biker jacket

Acne Studios Obin leather sandals

Bottega Veneta Appliquéd stretchcrepe midi skirt

Price

£ 1,220

£2,930

£2,020

£940

£2,270

£1,650

£725

£1,300

£450

£2,130

Fabric

Leather and Suede

Python, Leather and suede

Viscose and elastane

Cotton and elastane

Viscose and Polyamide

Leather

Polyester, silk and Nylon

Leather

Viscose, wool and elastase

Italy

France

Italy

COO

Comp Shop Evaluation As an ultimate designer boutique Cricket offer a number of different designer brands within store. Each designer brand is diverse in their own way and sets themselves apart from one another, this offers a variety of different styles and products for a number of target customers. I have previously carried out a comparative shop within Crickets in store brands. The purpose of the comp shop is to view Crickets main brands competing with each other in terms of style and price. When building a range it is important to carry out a comp shop as it gives myself as a buyer a clear perspective of the style and price range my range must fall within in order to compete with existing brands at Cricket. A comp shop also allows for brands to keep up with their competitors through analysing competing brands. From my comp shop it is clear that I chose a number of brands for each department, Womenswear, Menswear and Kidswear. For womenswear I analysed in store brands Victoria Beckham and Givenchy. These two brands are very diverse from one another, as Victoria Beckham is portrayed as a classic and formal brand through its classic office like garments, whilst Givenchy is created to portray an edgy and daring fashion choice due to its dark colours and odd prints. Although, both brands have formal wear options, Victoria Beckhams range reflects those of an older age whilst Givenchy presents garments for those target customers within a younger age frame. This works in both the brands favour as they have developed their own distinctive target audience, proving garments fit for a range of different customers. Both brands provide excellent quality garments for customers which is highlighted through the selling price of their garments. Both Victoria Beckham and Givenchy have a similar RRP for their garments. For Menswear at Cricket I analysed two brands again, which were Givenchy and Dior. Again, these are two brands that are quite diverse from one another. Givenchy is a dark and edgy fashion brand, that provides customers with unique statement pieces featuring original designs and prints from Rottweiler dogs to monkeys and blazing palm trees. Whilst on the other hand, Dior offer Men classic and contemporary pieces for casual wear. Although both brands present casual wear for consumers, each brand is diverse in what customer they portray through their range, which again, similar to womenswear both Menswear brands provide a range for two very different target customers, which provides something to fit each target customer induvualy to their style. The excellent quality of each brand is highlighted through the RRP and again both brands have a similar price bracket for their range, which makes them the biggest competitors of one another. For my Kidswear range I focused solely on one range in particular, Stella McCartney as Cricket only offer a small department for Kidswear, I chose to analyse the brand that appeared to be most popular amongst customers. Stella McCartney offers both a girls and boys range, which is beneficial for myself as a buyer as I aim to create both a Girls and Boys range therefore, I am able to use Stella McCartney for my comp shop in order to gain a clear idea of what I will be Competing with for my Kidswear range. Stella McCartney offer children fun and colourful pieces that feature doodles and patterns that will engage the target customer and capture the attention of children. The quality of Stella McCartney pieces is of a high quality, which is beneficial when it comes to Kidswear as they are more likely to damage clothing due to their reckless and playful lifestyle, Therefore, Stella McCartney prices her clothing at a reasonable price to fit with the quality of the clothing. As children's clothing uses less resources, such as, Materials and fabrics, the prices of clothing are not set as high as adults clothing, Making it more affordable to current customers and potential customers. Outside of Crickets In store brands, I also researched and analysed Crickets biggest competing store Net-A-Porter. I used Net-A-Porter for my comp shop as I believe they offer the biggest competition to Cricket as they stock a number of designer brands that cricket don't, which gains them an increased number of consumers in comparison to Cricket. For my comp shop I have gathered a number of garments from a number of different brands stocked within Net-APorter that are not available to Crickets consumers. Net-A-Porter stock brands, such as, Tom Ford, Miu Miu AND Balmian, which all fit in with Crickets brand image also due to their high quality, price and style.

PURE trade show PURE trade show is England's number one leading trade show for fashion and is held twice a year in London depending on timings of the season and buying patterns. Pure focuses on ready-to-wear womenswear, with the additional sections for young footwear and accessories. The trade only show presents forward order collections from over 1000 collections to an audience of over 12000 UK and Worldwide retailers. PURE holds catwalks, performances and fashion talks with the additional retail advice for high street fashion retailers and independent fashion retailers. PURE works alongside WGSN to exhibit daily trend briefings for Autumn/Winter and Spring/Summer each year.

ASPIRE

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Edgy and vibrant, from urban style to contemporary casualsâ&#x20AC;?

NU Denmark is the home of Sophisticated, raw and feminine and fashion. NU means naked in French and women in Chinese which fits perfectly with the brands image of raw simplicity. Nu fashion is defined by a modern provocative and laid back design expressed in a sexy and glamourous way.

Charli is a fast growing Contemporary ready-to-wear line with broad international distribution. The brand was created with the objective of offering a collection of urban fundamentals with a contemporary edit of jerseys and knits. Charli creates an image of the signature day to night sense of chic the refines the energy of London fashion.

ALLURE

“CONTEMPORARY CLASSIC – EFFORTLESS ELEGANCE, STYLISH STAPLES FOR DAYWEAR, INSPIRATIONAL EVENING & OCCASIONWEAR”

Pauline B is a Belgian fashion brand and can be defined by a fashion trend that is basic and causal yet dynamic and feminine. Pauline B is implemented in a variety of different city's across the globe.

Mes Soeurs Et Moi is a long established, well priced, contemporary soft dressing brand from Belgium. Feminine, deconstructed shapes team up with more tailored pieces, offering the wearer versatility as well as individuality, The styling is shaped to flatter every size from 8 – 22.

PURE PREMIUM

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Coveted designer pieces, distinctive brands and diffusion collectionsâ&#x20AC;?

ELLESD is a brand formed by two friends, Flora Mascolo and Meriem Semlali-Broby, in 2014 who saw a niche in the market for a brand that focuses solely on luxury leather clothing for women. ELLESD aim to achieve confident clothing of a high quality that is timeless and exudes sex appeal.

With over 17 years of experience within the fashion industry, Vanitta Fashion use talent and imagination to turn unique ideas in to retail clothing through elegant and beautiful silhouettes. Vanitta Fashion features an excellent and recognisable balance between practical causal and formal elegant wear for women.

PURE SPIRIT

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Up-to-the-minute young fashion and individual street styleâ&#x20AC;?

Kamo is an exclusively London made label, that produces elegant garments using the finest Italian fabrics. The brand was inspired by exotic getaways and cultures as it focuses exclusively on producing holiday wear for women from the Caribbean to Miami.

Lola May create wearable and contemporary in house designs with a playful twist. Lola May reflects relaxed silhouettes and soft tailoring with feminine details. Lola may pride themselves with originality and excellent quality production.

PURE PREMIUM FOOTWEAR â&#x20AC;&#x153;An exceptional new concept showcase of international, premium footwear brands and designersâ&#x20AC;?

Imelda Secret is a hand crafted footwear brand formed in Portugal with a striking visual imagery. Imelda Secret resides in exotic designs and patterns as well as visual colours in order to reflect each individual personality.

Lola Cruz is a Spanish footwear brand inspired by modern women who love fashion. The footwear brand helps to create the perfect balance between design in the finest materials and the latest trends, to create footwear desired by women.

PURE PREMIUM ACESSORIES â&#x20AC;&#x153;Premium brand leather goods, handbags, accessories and jewelleryâ&#x20AC;?

Maison Mayshed is a luxury handbag brand that was founded in Paris to fit women with a high sense of style and unique empowering values. For Mayshed handbags are all about carrying an artistic look that embodies a mind and soul.

Prochaine is a jewellery line inspired by medieval ancient amour knitted by hand and embellished with precious gemstones. The amour is reinterpreted and placed around the neckline in tube like forms and metallic stripes.

Comparing my brand to PURE PURE consists of a number of different categories, each specialising within their own individual style. As a buyer it is important that I research and analyse each category to find the one best suited for my brand, that reflects the brand image clearly. As a buyer for Cricket, for my women's wear range I would take into consideration buying in from the brand Vanitta Fashion, featured under PURE premium as I believe it reflects clearly my range, which is finding the balance between comfortable casual wear and elegant formal wear. The unique and elegant clothing from Vanitta Fashion also reflects Crickets brand image and fits in with their diverse branded style. Therefore, as a buyer I believe this would be suitable for Crickets target audience, which would encourage sales in order to maximise profits for the store. Overall, buying in from Vanitta Fashion would be a huge success for Cricket. Each category at PURE offer a different outlook on fashion and portray their own unique image and style, from classic and formal to street and contemporary to dark and edgy. Below are some images taken from both Cricket and Vanitta fashion used to show the clear comparisons between the brands. The image highlights how both the brand work to create unique and original designs that are on trend and provide consumers with a fresh and new sense of style.

Visual Merchandising Visual merchandising is the activity and profession for some of arranging floor plans, store layouts and window displays to portray and highlight the story or benefit of the product to potential customers, in order to maximise sales and profits. The main focus for a visual merchandiser is to deliver and communicate visual concepts and strategies to again boost the sales of a retail company. Window displays are the main source of inspiration for potential customers as it entices them into the store to look further at the products. https://katieannedalton.wordpress.com/2016/01/14/visual-merchandising/

Jett. 2 Jett is your typical cheeky two year old. Jett has platinum blonde her and bright blue eyes. Jett is quite the mischievous little boy and loves mayhem and giggling. Jett is very playful and loves playing with his sister Aspyn and their bulldog Freddie. Jett is a mummy's boy and always has his parents in fits of giggles with the cheeky few words he picks up from others. Jettâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s favourite food is spaghetti as he can make a mess, which is a nightmare for his mum as Jett isn't the cleanest little boy in the world. Mum loves dressing Jett up in the latest clothes to bring out his cute and handsome personality.

Aspyn. 6

Aspyn is 6 years old and has bright green eyes with tatty brown hair that flows with natural waves down to her mid back. Aspyn always wears bold hair accessories that coordinate with each outfit perfectly, as her mum is a perfectionist of course. Aspyn is a daddy's girl and loves to be spoilt by him whether its with material items or just cuddles. Aspyn is a very confident child and partakes in gymnastics classes every Wednesday and Saturday. Aspyn loves being silly and outrages and often dresses herself as she is being to find her own little personality. Aspyn is obsessed with all thing enchanted and fairy tales, which she loves her parents reading to her before bed. Aspyn enjoys playing with her little brother Jett the most, she enjoys making him giggle while she prances round with the family bulldog Freddie.

Womenswear

COLOUR When it comes to trends in fashion, colour palettes are a huge focus. There are three different categories within colour trends which are, Core, Fashion and Accents. Core colours are the key colour trends for the season. A/W 16 shows that outdoor greens and dark espresso are a key core trend on the streets of Paris and Milan this season along with sandstone and off white which have been combined with aqua and stone grey to refresh femininity this autumn/winter season. In addition to these cool tone core colours intense blue is also been a focus of core key trends this season, the colour delivers a sophisticated and commercial statement for women. Overall, the core colour trends for A/W16 appear to based around cool tones and offer the classic winter colours with a upbeat modern twist. The fashion and accent colours for the season feature more upbeat and playful tones, which is way they are accent colours as they compliment the core colours very well as they also have an under laying cool tone. Both Prada and Dolce and Gabbana have taken fashion and accent colours of antique peach and soda pink to bring to life through their A/W15/16 collections that where showcased during Milan fashion week.

For A/W16 women's textile choices are all about volume and creating a comforting sanctuary. Multi layered honey combs and cashmere ribs have been embedded with silver yarns to create a sense of luxury for women's wear. For this season classic winter fabrics have been combined with a variety of different materials to create a fresh new winter look. This seasons tweeds have been created with raw and natural fabrics . Humble woollens have been combined with silk to portray a refined and rugged contrast. Away from thick winter materials, defined cotton and silk are a key fabric this A/W season in order to create the misty shadow winter effect for women's wear. This seasons textiles forecast focuses on natural fibres such as, Alpaca and Yak again combine with various materials such as rugged shearing and velvet cord for comfort and warmth. A final textile forecast for A/W16 is a gentle luminescence with jacquard structures and lunex yarn incisions to enhance the luminescent affect of the fabric. Overall, the textiles forecast shows that key fabrics include classic winter fabrics, However they have been given a modern twist to give them a fresh new look this season.

Graphics & PatternsWOMEN/MEN

A huge pattern trend for both Women and Men for A/W16 is weathered florals. Weathered florals are a part of the elemental trend forecast for this season. Elemental is immersed in the eye of the storm and draws inspiration from the power of nature. These weathered florals have been given a rugged look with heavy distressing techniques to echo the effect of a winter storm. Weathered florals include raw prints in dark moody tones with layers of texture and water colours to add depth and distress to prints.

Another pattern trend forecast for A/W16 is the Artisan spray can texture. The spray can texture takes influence from the well used work overalls of artists and makers. The artisan trend inspires new painterly surface prints. The spray can texture creates abstract textures and organic spattered patterns. Masking and overlay spray paint gradient is used for this particular pattern to create an unexpected multi layered pattern that resemble hand crafted abstract camouflage.

Duvet Dressing The long line puffa coat is a huge statement piece and trend for A/W16. The quilted and voluminous coat takes on a duvet form, ranging from off white to grey portraying a modern sporty finish, which has become a more accepted look in the world of fashion. Referred to as duvet dressing, the modern quilting is being updated with sumptuous textures, depth and volume. Duvet dressing was triggered by Maison Martin Margielas collaboration with H&M last year. As designers look to the cosy comfort of the duvet for inspiration for this A/W season softly quilted and puffy proportions are only set to grow. The duvet inspired coat was featured in a number of collections showcased at Milan fashion week, including designers such as, Fendi and Moschino.

Psychedelic block Psychedelic block is an offbeat trend that refines 1960s in the collection of physcedelic geometrics with a three dimensional update. These patterns are influential, pumped with bright colour clashes and extruded shapes. The collection features retro geometrics with an uncomfortable colour combination which work excellent together to create an impactful physcedellic look. Mary Katrantzouâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pre A/W 2016-17 ready to wear collection represents physcedelic block in a classic way. The tree dimensional update for occasion wear has complimented her collection wonderfully. There is a clear representation of this trend shown through the collection, even through the three dimensional shaping of particular garments.

Mary Katrantzou

Smokey Luminescence As previously mentioned textile forecast for A/W16 is a gentle luminescence with jacquard structures and lunex yarn incisions to enhance the luminescent affect of the fabric. Smokey Luminescence is a A/W trend inspired by the watery glow of winter lights. The Smokey luminescence adds a dimensional effect to garments due to the pearlescent finish which appears quite enchanting. This particular remaster trend provides textural update for metallic leathers. Smokey luminescence uses true metal colours to maintain a luxe quality through the geometric patterns used.

Paco Rabanne- Pre fall 2016 For Paco Rabanne modernity is the heart and soul for the company, therefore it was only fitting that his A/W pre fall collection showcased at Paris fashion week had a modern athletic theme. The key items for this collection includes a destructed dress, tailored jumpsuit and a windbreaker jacket. The colours selected for garments within the collection fit in perfectly with the forecasted colour palette for A/W 2016-17. The collection seamlessly combines active wear elements with impeccable tailoring and modern finishing's, Tailored pants suits come unzipped to reveal a sporty mesh insert on the underlay which helps create the tone for the overall collection. Mongolian fur has also been added to the windbreaker to place an excellent spin on the leisure luxe theme and make the season more distinct for the collection.

Valentino Red- Pre fall 2016 At Paris fashion week Valentino Red presented a pre fall collection that screamed sweet and carefree. The collection showcases a nostalgic journey that bares all the resemblances of a late seventies California dreaming. The Californian dreamscape collection clearly portrays a painterly portrait of a young girl were her looks change from day to day, whether it be romantic or sensual, fragile or daring, which gives the collection a wide variety of looks as there is an ensemble to suit every mood. Girly blouses and little dresses are juxtaposed against down to earth stitches which included trench coats and cropped trousers. Many pieces in the collection are appliqued with flowers. The psychedelic florals have been printed perfectly and blended two of the top pattern trends for A/W16 perfectly to give a hand made appeal to the garments. In this collection Valentino Red have played faded pastels perfectly against the rust and burgundy earth tones. This whole line up holds a street savvy ambience.

Chanel Pre fall 2016 Chanel's pre fall 2016 collection showcased at Paris fashion week was inspired by the film nior set in Paris in Rome. The collection appears quite grunge to consumers although it has an underlaying late 60s erotica that pervaded the collection in the form of lingerie details, such as, lace stockings and fingerless gloves, topped of with beehive hair dos to complement the underlaying era. Through this there was a sharp discipline in masculine overcoats draped nonchalantly across shoulders and worn over flirtatious lace slip dresses which created a nice contrast between masculinity and femininity. Chanel suits were cut in nubby textiles and generous proportion, that refined classic winter materials, through the collection Chanel demonstrates glamour through winter garments. Key pieces for the collection include slip dresses and oversized sweaters. Chanel feature dark moody tones through out the collection with a feminine accent pink accent colour used for particular garments.

Menswear A/W16-17

Outdoor and peacock green emphasise the importance of green hues this season, supported by a shot of bold dark espresso, these beautiful tones translate into rich textural knits. Along with these dark tones lumberjack red is an essential fashion colour message this A/W16. They have strong presence on the streets of Milan and Paris as well as features in collections of Ernest Alexander, as these rich colours process a grounding and refined character. In addition to lumberjack red, burnt orange is a significant colour trend as it allows for garments to appear much warmer through the season due to its rich colour. Overall the menswear colour palette for A/W16 appears to be based around woodland colours which appear masculine and warm due to its earthy tone, which is perfect for the season. These colours also build character and authenticity in mind whilst also bringing hardly depth. In addition to this colour palette, Red adobe and Olive Khaki are reoccurring colours across most trends proving to be two of the most popular colours for this A/W season.

A massive theme across WGSN for trend forecasting is elemental. Elemental has been designed to represent winters journey through the darkest months. The textiles used for this particular theme for Menswear allow the rugged outdoor to meet calm indoor serenity. Natural impressions is evoked by textural classics, micro waffle structure wools and milled twills have a softened density and refined simplicity, to give an overall natural winter look. In reference to traditional sailor attire which a main influence, new surface finishes are inspired by classic oilskins. Casual denim and cotton bases have been given a subtle wash to create an oiled finish which ages the garment to show wear and tear, which gives a masculine appearance to the garments. Mineral texture is a key textile for A/W16 menswear. Soft tailoring fabrics have a nipped appearance with broken twills and distorted satin structures. These mineral cross sections inspire pattern and colour to contribute to the feminine elements of menswear that continue to pop up throughout the season.

Menswear A/W16-17 A massive key trend for Menswear A/W16-17 is layering. Layering is a favourite amongst most people during the winter and this season Tourne De Transmission hit the nail on the head perfectly during London Fashion week. The images above illustrate how men can layer up this season and still look cool and casual using key pieces, such as, scarves, knit sweaters, wool coats and even oversized t-shirts.

Menswear A/W16-17 Matthew Miller

Matthew Miller likes to make his voice heard and uses his collections as an outlet for his rebellious outbursts. For A/W16 Miller has created a collection that portrays his idea of intelligent rebellion rather than rebellion through ripped jeans, to illustrate a cry of anarchy, also to contribute to this miller also designed a canvas t-shirt printed with a David Goliath painting on the chest as well as raw edged coats still keeping to his rebellious concept as well as still keeping the masculine element of the overall collection. Miller has updated wardrobe staples with his signature flare. Miller has extenuated the waistlines of men's by adding leather belts to ribbed suits and pulling in satin scarves at the waist to highlight that there are no boundaries between what is regarded as Men and Women's fashion. Again adding to the theme of feminine clothing for men which seems to be a reoccurring trend this A/W. Miller also added Women to his line up to again highlight this statement. London

Menswear A/W16-17 Topman Design This collection had the pulse of the fashion world racing at London fashion week. This A/W16 collection resembles a few references, including early 90s grunge glamour. This collection builds an electric aesthetic from begging to end, from boxy brushed wool suits paired with floral flocked shirts cheekily emerging from overcoats to slouchy tailored suits cut from velvet. Again this collection designed by Gordon Richardson highlights the feminine element in menswear for this A/W season. As well as incorporating the weathered floral pattern trend for the season, the collection also dips into the smoky luminescence using metallic shades of silver and copper for particular garments. This collection covers a variety of different personality's for menswear this season for the less flamboyant man. Away from the velvet the collection also offers washed denim that is oversized and destroyed for a punkish feel, stepping away from femininity and keeping it truly masculine for parts.

Menswear A/W17-18 Hardware and Details Elastic toggles have gained a monument for men's footwear due to wet weather and extreme performance footwear continuing to inspire. Drawstring and elastic toggle closures adorn utility and sports styles when combined with the outdoor themes of the earth trend.

Elastic straps takeover as a new fastening option for Men's sneakers and formal shoes. The wide elastic bands will be placed across the upper half of the shoe, incorporating a more technical lacing system.

Kidswear A/W16-17

For A/W16-17 Kidswear for girls has been inspired by the ice kingdom. The key elements for girls this season is to wrap up warm with soft furs and princess layers and create cushion depths an knit quilting that add an element of magic with pearlescent trims and story telling prints. Similar to he massive womenswear trend that is duvet dressing, the cacoon puffa jacket is a huge statement piece for girlswear for A/W16-17. The rounded jacket has a soft quilting and a furry interior. This jacket offers a decent amount of protection with covered zip pockets and a centre front fastening whilst having a luxurious finish. Tulle layered skirts are a key statement piece for girls A/W16-17 to complete the magical snow princess theme. The tulle skirt is layered with furry bobbles placed delicately around the top layer to complete the wintery feel for the collection, whilst still keeping it light for the princess look.

Kidswear A/W16-17 Textiles

An overview of trending fabrics for both boys and girls kidswear for A/W16-17 shows that warm and cosy cocooning fabrics that provide shelter from outdoor elements are a favourite. Also Using nature as inspiration, felted wools and faux furs over soft and luxurious knitwear are key textiles this season. An ethereal quality is explored through subtle metallics to add an element of magic. For both boys and girls, Chunky cables are a massive statement textile for A/W16-17. Knitwear this season becomes oversized with exaggerated cables, thick chains and moss stiches for further dimension. Key pieces produced from this textile include, Jumpers, cardigans and socks. In addition to chunky cables, two toned knitwear is also a favourite, to create a snowy and atmospheric effect. Magical metallics are a favourite textile this A/W16-17 for girls. Soft jersey fabrics feature a subtle lurex thread that adds shimmer and depth to any jersey or knitwear piece this season. Experimenting with multi-coloured metallic yarn gives a full ethereal effect. For boys this A/W protective padding is a key trend that focuses on geometric stitch designs and soft and quilted jersey that creates a sense of protection. The key items for this particular textile include, trousers, joggers and mid layer items.

Kidswear A/W16-17 Colour

For girls A/W16-17 the colour palettes vary for boys and girls, although they share quite a few similar colour schemes. Layers of green are used to create a stormy atmosphere , which represents a winters forest. Gold moss has been added to add strength and contrast, which serves to liven up a tonal panel. For boys A/W16-17 the colour palette is a striking outdoor palette that mixes lumberjack red with blue tones of denim and Indian, with a hint of metallic black and grey to add a crisp edge to this gender neutral palette.

Kidswear A/W16-17 Megatrend

Beliefism is a megatrend that aims to reboot our imaginations through a magical twist created where the unbelievable becomes believable, from mermaids to mystical animals, this theme moves seamlessly through to casualwear. Patchwork is a megatrend for boys wear for A/W16-17. The nostalgic familiarity of patch working returns with flawed, disorderly and imperfect finishes. Designers have lent familiar warmth to garments that are made to look old and jumbled.

Trend Forecasting Analysis Trend forecasting is task carried out by buyers when building a range. Trend forecasting allows for buyers to have insight into what the latest and up coming trends are for each season proving them with inspiration for their next range. It is important that buyers carry out trend forecasting before producing a range as the customers want and needs lay within the latest trends. Trend forecasting can be a long process depending on what you're looking for exactly as it may be difficult to pinpoint the most popular trends at times due to the number of designers setting inspirations amongst catwalks shows for buyers, although trend forecasting is a fun and exciting process. When trend forecasting there are a number of different methods buyers can part take in, in order to receive insight into the latest trends. WGSN is the most iconic and popular website which buyers can access to research and analysis the number of different trends each season across the globe. Outside the office Buyers will be invited to trade shows and fashion week ect. To explore the latest trends visually and physically. Buyers can also take inspiration from the street when searching for the latest trends through street style, which most often is posted amongst social media apps and blogs. After analysing the womenswear, Menswear and Kidswear trends for AW16/17 I gathered from trend forecasting, I came up with an analysis of what are apparent as the top 10 trends for each market this season. From my research it is clear that for womenswear AW16/17 the megatrends lay with designer catwalk pieces, from Masion Martin Marielasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; duvet dressing to Valentino Reds interpretation of the trending prints of weathered floral and physcadellic block. The catwalk sets the tone for trends each season and filters down through high street stores. Overall, for my women's wear trend forecasting it is clear that this AW16/17 it is all about making a statement through masculine garments printed with feminine prints and bold statements. Weathered floral is a massive trending print for women this season. Weathered floral takes a dark twist on flowers and gives the wintery, stormy effect. Weathered floral is also a massive trend for Menswear AW16/17, that has been interpreted by designers, such as, Topman design. Overall from trend forecasting it is clear that Menswear AW16/17 is all about being oversized and feminine, along with layering garments, which has created a clear contrast between Men's and Women's trend this season whilst bringing them together as it apparent that designers are aiming to cross over femininity with masculinity through drawling the lines on tight fitted clothes as a lot of garments for both men and women lack fitted measurements making them oversized for both Men and Women. For AW16/17 there a number of trends for women's and men's, however I found during trend forecasting that kidswear trends focuses clearly on the mega trend that is â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Make believeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. For kidswear this season it is all about letting your child project their imaginations through their fashion choices. Make believe allows for the unimaginable to happen. For kidswear this mega trend is making a different approach towards children's fashion, designers have aimed to take a risk with kidswear collections this season by stepping away from your basics from kidswear and introducing collections that allow children to develop their personality through fashion by creating a trend that appeals to both children and parents. Aside from this megatrend for kidswear, certain textiles, such as, chunky cable knit are also a popular trend for AW16/17 kidswear, providing a little practicality and warmth to kidswear this season whilst allowing other trends to experiment amongst kidswear.

AW16 Trends- Duvet Dressing

AW16 Trends- Weathered Florals

AW16 Trends- Layering

AW16 Trends- Khaki colour palette

AW16 Trends- Belifism

AW16 Trends- Chunky cable knit

AW16 Womenswear

From researching AW16 trends through the Pinterest app, it is clear that certain and significant trends are beginning to stand out as the biggest trends of AW16. From the screen shot inserted above it is clear that floral and fur are two of the most significant trends for AW16. Weathered floral are a popular choice of pattern for most designers this AW season. Weathered floral are the idea of beautiful flowers that have been destroyed within a storm like situation, making for the perfect winter floral pattern. Alongside, weathered floral fur has been used to compliment these beautiful and abstract patterns, in the form of coats and gillets etc. These AW trends are deemed as feminine, however, the dull colours used and oversized coats, inspired by duvet dressing, take this trend down a different road, leading to appear more masculine and neutral.

SS16 Womenswear

From researching SS16 trends for Womenswear it is clear that designers have aimed to portray a very girly and feminine style for women this SS season, which reflects the stereotypical image of a women. This has been portrayed through floral, sequins and metallic fringe garments, which is highlighted through the screen shot above. Designers have used pastel colors this season which is a color palette that usually makes an appearance every SS season. However, this SS pastel colors have been used to create a physcadellic block pattern on garments, setting the colors apart from every other SS season in the past.

AW16 Menswear

For AW16 Menswear designers have portrayed a tailored image with a modern and contemporary twist by making garments appear oversized through loose fitting garments. Oversized garments appear to be a massive trend for this AW season for Men as it is no longer about defining your masculinity through fashion choices. Layering also appears to be a popular trend for AW16 for Menswear, this is highlighted in the screen shot above through the layering of a number of garments. The color palette for men this season appear to be neutral with occasional burnt orange.

SS16 Menswear

SS16 Menswear has developed from the previous AW season by appearing more feminine with floral patterns. Floral is always a popular trend each SS season and this season flora patterns have influenced Menswear heavily. Similarly, to AW16 Menswear appears quite oversized again. In addition to floral patterns menswear has also featured lots of block patterns and block colors bring the vibrant SS season to life.

Directional Shop A direction shop is a term used to describe the process of buyers taking pre planed visits to competing stores across the globe in order to collect inspiration on the pricing, quality and style for their upcoming ranges. The directional shop is carried out amongst retailers that appear to be the most effective form of competition for the brand the buyer is working for. Directional shops allow for buyers to present feedback to the production and manufacturing teams in order for them to include trending styles within the latest ranges. It is important as a buyer when producing a directional shop that your company can provide you with the budget to visit the fashion capital countries of the world which are, New York,London,Paris and Milan as they can provide the most effective form of feedback for Buyers. If buyers do not have the budget to take these trips then their directional shop can become limited. It is important as a buyer to produce a direction shop as it allows us to stay on trend with the global market, which gives us insight into key colours, fabrics and styles for the current season. Also, carrying out direction shops in various cities globally introduces us as buyers to a whole new concept of style for each specific country, proving us with inspiration for an upcoming range. As cricket stock brands only, for my directional shop I decided to look into high street stores to compare the designer pieces stocked in cricket to cheaper and similar versions stocked on the high street to get a clear understanding of competitive prices. I have decided produce a directional shop on the high street stores Zara, H&M,Topman and Next due to these stores being favoured amongst typical high street consumers across the globe due to their pricing being affordable in comparison to the prices at Cricket, which is deemed by most as expensive due to the designer labels. Therefore I felt it would be more beneficial to use my directional shop to compare store with a cheap price bracket for similar garments to crickets price bracket in order to view my competition and develop ideas on how to compete with these stores.

Directional Shop-High street Womenswear

Victoria Beckham is on of the many brands stocked at Cricket and this A/W16 Victoria Beckham has adapted to the more masculine appearance for her recent collection whilst still appearing feminine, her latest collection features the iconic double breasted coat. Double breasted coats have been a statement key piece throughout both women's and men's trends for A/W16. During my directional shop I found that Zara stocked a lot of items similar to Victoria Beckham collections. Browsing through Zara I found a double breasted coat similar to Victoria Beckhamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only differentiating in colour for the small price of 69.99 which is huge difference in price compared to the Victoria Beckham one. In addition to this I also found similar items of the Givenchy womenswear items stocked at cricket also stocked in Zara, again for less than half the price. The faux leather biker trousers from Givenchy were similar to Zara's only Zara's had a lot more detail and where a lot cheaper, this allows myself as a buyer to be aware that other shops may replicate my stock for cheaper prices, therefore I need to keep on top of competing prices.

DOUBLE BREASTED FUNNEL COLLAR COAT 69.99 ZARA 80% wool, 20% polyamide

HEELED RAIN BOOTIES 69.99 ZARA 100% vulcanized rubber

FAUX LEATHER BIKER TROUSERS 39.99 ZARA BASE FABRIC: 100% polyester COATING: 100% polyurethane

TIE NECK BLOUSE 25.99 ZARA 100% viscose

WOOL CAPE 49.99 ZARA 80% wool, 20% polyamide

Directional shop- High Street menswear

For A/W16 Oilskin is a massive key trend for textiles, which has been inspired by sailor and fisherman attire , which is one of the biggest influences for menswear this season. Dior is one of the many menswear brands stocked by Cricket. This season Dior have acknowledged the sailor attire trend in their collection by featuring a sea blue fisherman's rain jacket in their A/W16 collection. During my directional shop I discovered a similar jacket at TOPMAN, only differing from the Dior Jacket in colour, for a lot cheaper, again as I have decided to use my directional shop for high street stores due to the prices of cricket being extremely expensive anyway as they only stock designer brands. Therefore I felt it would be more beneficial to use my directional shop to compare the prices of cricket to the prices of your average high street store to gain an overall perspective of what my potential customers could find alternatives for. Also, during my directional shop I discovered key pieces from Dior that had been used as inspiration for TOPMAN pieces, again for less than half the price, such as the sleeveless hooded cardigan and checked scarf, alongside the wool suit , which fits in perfectly with the famous sophisticated heritage trend. Also for menswear at Cricket, Givenchy is a favourite. Cricket stock Givenchyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s famous black leather pumps, which I found a similar pair in H&M , with a graphic print which is similar to those used by Givenchy.

Black sleeveless cardigan 35.00 TOPMAN 100% Cotton

Sand short jacket by rains 75.00 TOPMAN 100% WATERPROOF. 100% Polyester.

Black and white check scarf 18.00 TOPMAN 100% Acrylic

Grey textured wool blend slim fit suit 160.00 TOPMAN 46% Wool, 23% Acrylic, 20% Polyester, 7% Nylon, 4% Other

Trainers with a print 19.99 H&M Upper: Cotton 100% Lining and sock: Cotton 100% Outer sole: Rubber 100%

Directional Shop- High Street Kidswear For A/w16 kidswear a lot of influences/inspiration have developed from the idea of make believe and cartoon doodles etc. A lot of kidswear this season has a lot of fun print ranging from adorable animal prints to fun and edgy skulls, which has been proven this season through Stella McCartney's A/W16 kidswear collection. For Stella McCartney the collection was all about colour and prints that resembled those of make believe falling in sync with the A/W kidswear trend for 2016. In her girls wear A/W16 collection Stella McCartney presented a baby doll dress with swallow prints. At Next I found a similar dress with swallow prints during my directional shop for less than half the price. Due to this I am aware of who my competing stores for kidswear will be offering similar garments for cheaper prices. Also, at Next I found a fisherman attire style coat, similar to the one from Stella McCartney's boys wear collection at Cricket, again for less than half the price. From my direction shop it is clear that Next are one of the biggest competitors for Cricket when it comes to kidswear as they can provide similar items those of Stella McCartney, which is stocked at Cricket, which may lead to a decrease in kidswear customers for Cricket as they have a strong competitor.

Tulle skirt 7.99 H&M Polyester 100%

Navy Budgie Bird Print Shift Dress 17.00-19.00 NEXT 100% cotton.

Chop Out Touch Fastening Shoes 16.00-22.00 NEXT Lining Textile, Sock Textile , Sole Other Materials

Green Anorak 29.00-35.00 NEXT 100% Nylon.

Grey Skull And Stripe T-Shirts Two Pack 12.00-18.00 NEXT 100% Cotton

Political The national minimum wage rate depends on your age and whether you are an apprentice, in order to receive national minimum wage you must be of a leaving school age. The table below shows the minimum wage for each age for 2015, that is also the current wage as of now. However, the national minimum wage is expected to rise as of April 2016 to ÂŁ7.20 for those aged 25 and above and will still remain for those 24 and under. As an independent retailer I will be expected to conform to the minimum wage policy and provide my workers with their expected wage according to the government guidelines as shown on the table below in order to avoid any legal issues as Cricket is only a small company it would be more damaging to their reputation and business as a whole if they were to run into any legal issues. Therefore I would have to ensure all staff are above school leaving age and are being paid the correct amount per hour for their age. Unlike most retail company's, as an independent retailer Cricket may find it to be difficult to employee full time staff as they are unable to provide pensions for workers due to the fact they do not make as much as a high street store to be able to provide each employee with a pension. Therefore, they would need to offer workers some sort of motivation scheme to keep them employed and motivated and happy to work for the store, such as, commission, which Cricket do offer to employees.

Economic When importing goods, there is a specific process that must be followed thoroughly and correctly to ensure company's don’t run into any legal issues. As Cricket is an independent retailer, they have a small inner house team, and unfortunately don’t have a massive HR team/head office team to deal with legal issues and manage the import of goods for the store. Therefore cricket are solely responsible for this process. It is important that cricket follow all rules and regulations when it comes to importing goods. They must be aware of tax and duty charges. The amount of tax and duty paid depends on what the goods come under on the UK trade tariff and how they’ll be used. Therefore it is important that cricket ensure their finances have been delegated correctly in a financial spreadsheet, so they are aware of what money is coming in and what money is going out each season. On top of the cost of importing goods, cricket will also be expected to pay VAT on the whole importing process from commission, packing and transport to insurance. Also, cricket must be aware that they need have a special licence when importing specific goods, such as, fur. If cricket do not have possession of this licence then it becomes illegal for them to important items made from fur, which may cause a lot of issues for the company. In order to complete the process of importing goods, cricket must be registered to ‘CHEIF’ to register importing information electronically. Most business use a freight forwarding agent or a tax advisor to help them with the import of goods, however this may be a problem for cricket as they are such a small business they may not be able to afford to hire any extra employees and solely have to rely on themselves to carry out this process correctly. Whenever exchange rates change it has a double effect on import and export taxes which will lead to changes in import and export volumes. Changes in exchange rates initially work there way into an economy through their effect on prices The increase/decrease of exchange rates has both a negative and positive effect on cricket as an independent retailer it decides whether their overall profit increase or decreases each year. Overall, if you are importing and your local currency becomes strong then your products become more expensive for your buyers. If you are importing and your local currency becomes weak then the products you are importing become more expensive. Cricket must be aware of current prices when important products so they are aware of their selling price clearly in order to make a profit from garments. Also, Cricket must be aware that competitors pricing may vary to yours depending on the exchange rate at the time of importing, as you do not want to loose customers to your competitors due to better pricing. In some incidences as a retailer you would be expected to price math with competitors due to changes in exchange rate, which means as a retailer you would then loose out on money.

Social Cricket is targeted at high earners with disposable income alongside students with student loans who can afford to splash out on luxury clothing. The location of a retail store has a massive impact on the overall success of the company. The location of the store should be thought out through surrounding areas, the local residents and if it is accessible to the target customer. Cricket is an independent boutique based on Matthew Street, Liverpool. The store is located at the heart of the city centre on famous night life strip, amongst competing store of the same nature. By neighbouring other high end stores, Cricket have introduced themselves to a community of high earners, which is exactly who Cricket are aimed at. This indicates that Cricket are aware of their target customers around the area and have specifically placed their store in an area of higher end shops to receive the greatest success for the store. Cricket are able to target customers easily due to their location as this specific area is where there target customer is most likely to shop. However, the only downside to the location of the store is that it is out of place for new potential customers, which makes it difficult for Cricket to build a new target customer as the store is not alongside the main strip of high street stores so potential customers are unlikely to walk in to browse whilst shopping in the city centre. A massive external social factor when it comes to retail is consumer spending. Consumer spending is the amount of money spent on goods in an household depending on the satisfaction of wants and needs. Consumer spending differs depending on an increase and decrease in economy and financial stability. Since 2012 there has been quite the decrease in consumer spending due to the recession, which means individuals and household families are finding it difficult to live comfortably and also treat themselves every now and then to luxurious goods, as the cost of living and the minimum wage do not balance one another out. However, due to technology and social media a lot of individuals and household families are spending money they do not have to impress others. Due to social media apps, such as, Instagram consumers are now investing money into luxury goods they have seen on Instagram pages of celebrities, Therefore they are being influenced by celebrities to spend money they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have on designer goods. This works massively in Crickets favour as independent retailer who stock designer brands. For cricket they are making an increase in profit due to consumer spending habits influenced by social media. There are a variety of ethical standards within the retail community. All retail companies must work to ensure they reach the best ethical standards possible and work to ensure suppliers operate according to principles within the ethical sourcing policy. Ethical sourcing means to ensure that products are produced in safe facilities by workers who are being treated and paid fairly. This has a huge impact on the business overall as it helps dictate customer loyalty. If customers are aware that a store has a bad reputation regarding sourcing, then they are less likely to shop at the store. For cricket this means they will have to ensure customers are aware of their sourcing and ensure that all workers are being paid and treated fairly, in order to earn a good reputation for the store.

Technological

As Cricket are an independent retailer they have less disposable income for advertisements than any other high street store, which means they solely rely on social media to advertise the store and products to customers. Cricket have a huge following on Instagram which is where they post daily pictures of their latest products, who's wearing what and how to style their pieces for customers to follow. For cricket it is a very beneficial platform for personal interaction with customers as it allows them to post direct pictures to their feed within seconds to gain feedback from customer instantly through commenting on pictures. This gives them a quick response from customers directly for them to take the feedback positively or negatively to adjust their service/products to fit customers wants and needs. For example, posting images of the latest garments allows Cricket to analyse which garments customers are loving most and which ones are the least favourite through the amount of likes on the picture they receive. Cricket can then use these statistics to figure out which stock they need to prioritise due to customer demand. This type of social media works best for cricket as they are unable to run a website efficiently due to all the investments running a website requires. As Cricket only have a small inner house team it is difficult for them to run a website efficiently as the process of styling, shooting and editing pictures with descriptions to post online is far too time consuming for a team of very little people, unlike a head office team. Therefore, Cricket must ensure they put hard work into building up their social media accounts by continuing to post images to gain the interest of new customers and keep current customers updated. As of recently many retail stores, including House of Fraser and Marks and Spencer's have installed various technology to create a personal shopping experience for customers that cannot be found anywhere else. Whilst Marks and Spencer's have invested in an in store technical device that can find exactly what customers are looking for within seconds and gives them the option to buy products on the spot. However, Cricket could invest in some form of technology for their store, whether it be a mobile app or an in in store IPad that allows them to browse through stock, similar to without having to fight for a place in the queue, House of Fraser have created a body scanner that scans customers and provides them with the correct information of what shape, size and colour etc. suits them best to make shopping just that little bit easier. Unfortunately, Cricket does not have any technology in store apart from the basic till Marks and Spencer's. I believe an investment into technology for Cricket would be a huge success as their target customers, Mainly women aged 16-25 are obsessed with technology and their phones, therefore by introducing something they are very familiar with in store would allow them to feel more in their comfort zone when visiting the store and would be something they find enjoyable. Also the idea of having a mobile app for the store could help Cricket to build up their company name and customer numbers as the app allows for customers to shop on the go without having to physically visit the store, which could possibly boost sales as people will be able to shop in the comfort of their own home as it provides a quick and easy process for shopping. However, for customers who are not into technology cricket could offer other alternative services,

Legal The law protects your consumer rights when purchasing goods or services. Each retail store dictates their consumer rights differently depending on how they run their store and their personal rules and regulations. Each retail store must follow the basic consumer right law presented by the government, such as, the ability to return faulty and counterfeit goods as well as providing a customer service team to deal with the complaints of consumers. As cricket are an independent retailer they do not have a customer service team to deal with complaints which leaves them solely responsible for customer complaints and making sure they are addressed correctly. Due to Cricket being an independent retailer they have a smaller inner house team which means they are most likely to become vulnerable when dealing with consumers and consumer rights as they may find it difficult to deal with unhappy customers without a bigger management team to back them up, which consumers may take advantage of when returning goods. On the other hand, due to cricket being an independent retailer they may find that they provide customers with less rights than a flagship store. As cricket have a small inner house team they may find that they adjust rules and policies within store for customers as there is no big management team to inforce laws otherwise. For Cricket when dealing with returns it can be a very time consuming process, as an independent retailer before Cricket can replace goods for consumers they must contact the brand with images and information as to way the consumer would like to return the good, it is then solely down to the brand to make the decision as to weather the reason is valid. This can cause major issues for Cricket as customers may come upset and rowdy with the situation. As a buyer for an independent retailer situations like this that occur may want you to look at sourcing and reconsider buying decisions. Copy right is a law originated in the UK that gives artistic workers the right to control how their material may be used. Copy right is one of the most common laws broken within retail and causes a lot of issues for both the Buyer for the company and the company themselves. In regards to Cricket as an independent retailer that stocks designer labels only, they must ensure that all garments they are buying in to the store are legit and not copy righted, Cricket must be aware of the sourcing and supplier of garments other wise they could run into legal issues as they would be selling a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;knock offâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; item for a designer price. This would give Cricket a bad reputation. To the right is a similar article about Primark, who ripped off a superdry Jacket to sell for a lot cheaper. This is an occasion where the copyright law has been broken.

Environmental Global warming has a huge impact as a buyer as buyers work season to season, due to global warming the weather has become unpredictable, which then leads to an impact on the decisions buyers have to make regarding stock and what type of clothes buyers should consider buying for the store. Clearly the importance of a buyer is focuses on bringing all the latest trends for each season into store, however during the summer in England the weather usually isn't as warm as summer clothes cater for therefore buyers need to offer an alternative to customers, which they mind find difficult to do as the weather has been unpredictable in recent years. This applies to Cricket as they are based in Liverpool where the weather is most unpredictable. It is important that retail company's do their bit for the environment, by making carrier bags recyclable and disposing of their cardboard in a way that will benefit the environment to help to reduce their carbon footprint. By caring for the environment, this helps build a good reputation for the company. Cricket provide their customers with a cardboard bag printed with a bold pattern for customers to reuse in order to cut down on the amount of bags passed on to customers. This allows Cricket to follow the rules of the environment and take care of their carbon footprint. Cricket are an independent retailer that stock a variety of designer labels in store. This means they must ship stock from various countries around the world, whether it be by boat or plane. As Cricket should aim to be an eco friendly company in order to take care of the environment and reduce their carbon footprint, it is down to cricket to reduce the amount of fuel they use when shipping stock over to the UK. One way cricket can do this is by choosing which form of transportation uses the less fuel and admits less CO2 admissions into the air. Greener saving is a company that has been created with the aim to help companies importing to prevent rising fuel costs with their specialty fuel treatment designed specifically for the global shipping industry. I have inserted a print screen of the Green Saver website.

How will factors in the PESTLE influence your sourcing decisions? Political There are a number of Trade restrictions and regulations that have been put into place by the government regarding the retail industry. As I buyer, must ensure that I follow all trade restrictions and regulations, and ensure that I am aware of any changes to prevent myself coming into any legal issues with the law and make careful decisions as a buyer. Trading with international countries is a huge political importance as well as an economic and social importance. When trading with international countries it is important that I am aware of what countries It is acceptable for me to liaise with and what countries I am unable to use as supplies. Also, as buyer I must be aware of what countries I can supply certain products from, in case any laws change and my current suppliers are no longer allowed to liaise with my company, therefore I would have to find another country capable of producing the same goods. As a buyer, when it comes to sourcing fabrics there are a number of rules and regulations that must be followed in order to prevent issues with both the law and consumers. Materials such as wool and leathers are sourced from wildlife, which may cause issues with many activists across the globe. Therefore, as a buyer when sourcing fabrics I must be mindful of where the materials are coming from and if it possible to source these materials with wildlife conservation in mind. Otherwise, this may lead to government coupes, such as, protests will cause an erupt of angry outbursts from activists that do not condone my sourcing of materials, which will then lead to bad media coverage for my brand, gaining it an overall bad reputation which will not be good for business. Below I have inserted a screen shot of an article covered by Xenya Cherny-Scanlon about conserve wildlife whilst sourcing fabrics.

How will factors in the PESTLE influence your sourcing decisions? Economic A lot of economic factors within the retail industry are concerned with poverty wages, unfair and unsafe working conditions for garment workers that continue to be widespread. Due to the average wage being so low for Garment workers they have no choice but to work over time which takes them until 2 or 3am each morning, very exhausted they then continue an average 12 hour shift each day, with one small lunch break. Clearly, this is unfair treatment as garment workers in Indonesia have shared their experiences, stating that as well as poor working conditions and environments they also receive mental abuse from managers who use words such as, ‘stupid’ and ‘useless’ to describe workers. There have been numerous occasions that have been covered in the media where production factories in poor working countries have collapsed and injured workers. In 2013 a garment factory in Bangladesh collapsed killing 1,129 innocent works and leaving a total of 2,515 injured, after being described as the deadliest garment factory accident in history. As a buyer, this factor has a massive impact on my buying decisions. As a buyer, I must ensure that I take a personal trip to the factories I am working with in order to check they follow all health and safety laws and have a stable working environment and acceptable working conditions for workers. It is important as a buyer that I carry this out as I don’t want any negativity on my back as it will have a negative impact on the company overall as consumers will not be willing to support a company who encourages poor working conditions and poverty wages. Below is an image taken of the scene after the factory collapsed in Bangladesh.

How will factors in the PESTLE influence your sourcing decisions? Social Consumer behaviour is based on consumer buying behaviour. Research shows that consumer behaviour is difficult to predict, even for experts in the field as it is based upon various elements such as, political, economic and demographic factors as well as environmental and social. Consumer spending is a massive external factor that may effect my decisions made as a buyer. Consumer behaviour may influence my sourcing decisions as a buyer through their behaviour and attitude towards ethical clothing. Ethical clothing is the idea that clothing is made with ethics in mind, and covers a range of issues such as working conditions, exploitation, fair trade, sustainable production, the environment, and animal welfare. It is important as a buyer that I ensure I am working alongside companies and suppliers that offer ethical clothing to consumers as it may cause issues with activists otherwise. After incidents that have occurred when ethical clothing is disregarded it is important as a buyer that I can ensure to customers that ethical clothing has been a major consideration throughout the buying season and that the company I am buying for can offer this to customers to achieve excellent customer satisfaction. As a buyer, I will have to thoroughly check the background of suppliers and where my clothing is coming from to avoid any issues, this includes travelling first hand to various locations across the globe where garment factories are located and look into their health and safety regime, working conditions and exploitation etc. As of today consumers invest more time and money into their clothes more than ever, therefore they need to ensure what they are asking for is exactly what they are getting in order for them to continue spending money on clothing. As a buyer this is another important reason as to why I must ensure ethical clothing is taken into consideration as I do not want my company to suffer from a loss in consumers due to the company not following the ethical clothing law.

How will factors in the PESTLE influence your sourcing decisions?

Technological As a buyer technology is a massive importance when contacting suppliers in different locations across the globe. Technology allows myself as a buyer to connect with suppliers in a quick and easy format, where information can be passed across clearly and efficiently. The ability to communicate with suppliers is the biggest importance as a buyer as you must be able to build relationships with buyers in order to get what you want for the company to be a huge success. In todays society technology is massive, everyone has the latest gadgets and as humans we have conformed to smart phones and find comfort within having some sort of technical device at arms length that allows us quick and easy access to the internet and other forms of communication. For buyers, this has a positive influence on the decision we make regarding the buying process. As a buyer, a smart phone allows myself to have easy access to suppliers through mobile apps as such as, skype, which allow myself to video call suppliers across the other side of the world fast and easy in the comfort of my work place, rather than travelling back and forth to different countries around the world. Having technology at arms length as a buyer saves a lot of time when trying to negotiate with suppliers, which decreases the amount of pressure and stress a buyer has to deal with during a buying process. However, using technology to connect with suppliers may have a downfall, as technology's do develop a lot of issues and as a buyer it may become difficult to reach a supplier across the world.

How will factors in the PESTLE influence your sourcing decisions? Legal As a buyer there are a number of various legal issues that will have to be taken into consideration during the buying process. As a buyer it is important that I take legal factors into consideration when making important decisions about sourcing. A massive factor that will be taken into consideration as a buyer when supplying garments from factories is the working conditions of those factories. The working conditions of a factory have a huge effect on sourcing decisions as a buyer as it is important as a buyer that I am liaising with factories that have excellent working conditions for their employees and treat them fairly, as a negative working place could have an effect on both the employees and the company I am buying for. For example if employees aren't being treated fairly then they may pursue their anger on the garments and not produce them to the best of their ability. Also, on the other hand, if a factory has negative working conditions then they will receive bad publicity and as a buyer I want to ensure that my company is not associated with any bad publicity, especially through sourcing as it will have a huge success on the business. In order to avoid any issues as a buyer it would be vital that i travel a lot to countries to visit factories, to ensure first hand that the working conditions are excellent as well as the performance of the employees. However this could have a negative outcome as it effects budgets massively due to the cost of travelling. As I am buying in for an independent boutique it is more than likely that the budget may not be big enough to fund travelling, therefore I would have to thoroughly research factories and ensure that I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t use factories that donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have excellent working conditions and standards, I would then proceed to carry out regular check ins with factories to ensure they are following all legal regulations before keeping line of production.

How will factors in the PESTLE influence your sourcing decisions? Environment As a buyer there are various environmental factors that must be taken into consideration when making sourcing decisions. The environment is an important element of the PESTLE analysis and has a huge effect on sourcing throughout the buying process. As a buyer I must consider ways of transportation to get garments to and from countries across the globe. I must ensure my chosen method of transportation is less damaging to the environment in order to reduce the carbon footprint of my company. Although I must consider using an aeroplane as a form of transportation, as a buyer I am more than likely to use a ship as a method of transport as it is more eco friendly. Although, during the journey the ship will of course pollute their with ammunitions, by making one big trip it is polluting the air less than if it was to make a number of short haul trips, just like the aeroplane would. Although using a plane would be beneficial for time efficiency, as a buyer it is best to make the decision of shipping the stock over via ship as it complies more with the environmental factor of PESTLE and reduces any issues of pollution and the environment. However, as a buyer I would need to ensure production time was efficient and that all deadlines are met within a reasonable time by all suppliers to ensure there was enough time for stock to shipped over and delivered to the store in time for its debut.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1mvcFuiTts

These screen shots capture some of the heart felt and shocking moments of an undercover buyer visiting a manufacturing factory in Bangladesh, where she discovers child labour, blocked fire exists and unfair working conditions.

What external aspects would impact your choice of supplier? Natural Disasters An important environmental factor that would have to be taken into consideration as a buyer when making sourcing decisions is the location of suppliers and their factories. As most factories will be located abroad, in poor working countries it is import as a buyer that I consider natural disasters that may occur as it may effect production. If a natural disaster was to occur as a buyer I must ensure that I have suppliers as back up, in case production is prevented. This is why it is more of an advantage to have focused sourcing rather than single sourcing. In the case of a natural disaster crops that produce materials, such as, cotton and silk may be destroyed, if a natural disaster, such as, floods or earthquakes where to occur. Therefore as a buyer it is important that I have a good relationship with several buyers who can either source this material or offer something different so the line of production is not completely effected.

Local Disasters As well as natural disasters there are a number of local disasters that occur each year within manufacturing factories that effect the fashion industry and impact the buyers choice of supplier. Taken from the article, screen printed to the right, it was reported that in the last 12 months over 800 deaths have occurred due to unreported fires in the textile and garment factories in Bangladesh. As a buyer this has a huge impact on my sourcing decisions as I will have to ensure I avoid production within these factories in Bangladesh as I do not want to put my production nor the brand at risk of loosing garments. Also, this has a huge impact on my sourcing decisions as a buyer in regards to the supplier as I will have to thoroughly check each supplier to ensure there are no fire hazards within the factory and that they are following all rules and code of conduct to prevent any local disasters from occurring.

What external aspects would impact your choice of supplier? Cost It is important as buyer that when shipping orders from overseas that the current exchange rate for the specified currency, which may be euros or dollars is considered during the time as this may cause issues when shipping . It is important as a buyer to ensure that you are receiving the best price possible, which is why it is important to have excellent negotiating skills as a buyer. During shipping times it will be required that buyers keep a close eye on currency exchanges, if the euro or dollar for example were to decrease then there will be a higher selling price for consumers which will be set at the time the stock reaches the store. This may cause issues amongst consumers as competing stores may have shipped the same products within a week or two later when the currency has increased, meaning they can sell their products for cheaper to consumers. This would lead to a decrease in sales which will effect the overall profit as consumers will be putting their money in to the competing store. One way the independent retailer could compete with this is buy price matching the product, however, this would again lead to a loss in profit for the store as they will be loosing out on money due to the cost price being higher than the RRP.

Child labour As a buyer it is important that you work along side the audit team to ensure back ground check is carried out on all suppliers as well as planned visits to the manufacturing factories to ensure they are not participating in child labour. As a buyer you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to use a supplier who participates in child labour as it is an unfair process that will effect the reputation of the store. When consumers find out the store they purchase garments from participates in child labour then this will prevent them from continuing to shop at the store.

Workers right and wages Another external factor that may effect a buyer when making decisions is workers rights and ranges. As a buyer you must ensure suppliers as well as in store staff are being treated fairly and are entitled to all the workers rights to ensure working is a fair and pleasurable experience for them. As a buyer you want to ensure that staff are not being taken advantage of and having their employee rights taken away from them as this will effect their working ethics. Workers must ensure that they are being paid the required minimum wage for their working age and nothing below so they are able to keep up with the cost of living, otherwise this may cause issues within the work place as workers may feel personally victimised as they are being treated unfairly, which may effect production in manufacturing factories and workers may possibly leave, leaving production with less staff. If workers right and wages are not being followed correctly then this may lead to legal issues, which buyers will be looking to avoid as they do not want anything to effect their range launching.

Cambodia video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTehggY29Xg

After watching the video above about the poor working conditions of factory workers in Cambodia, I have analysed the effects of these working conditions on both the workers and the fashion industry. The low salaries earned by workers in Cambodia, forces workers to live in small shared rooms with a number of other workers. Due to this workers have no personal space and no personal hygiene. This means if one worker was to develop an illness then it wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be long for another to also develop the same illness as they are sharing the same air in a close proximity also due to the low salaries, workers are unable to afford medical care to treat any illness , therefore illness continue to passed around workers, infecting one another constantly without having the time to recover, like a form of dominos. Due to such low salaries, factory workers in Cambodia are expected to work overtime in order to receive a half decent wage, which requires them to work 12+ hour shift every day. This links with the above stamen, leaving no time for sick workers to recover as they have no time to rest and get over their illness, instead they are forced into work as they cant afford time off as not only does it effect themselves but also the fashion industry. Factory workers in Cambodia are under malnourished due to having to work through illnesses and not being able to afford medication or remedies to recover. The low salary also means workers are unable to afford food to feed themselves and their families, which again leads to workers being under malnourished and lacking nutrition in their bodies as they are being starved. This again leads to workers becoming ill and having no energy to work. However, they are unable to take the time off as they rely on the work and overtime to support them, which has lead to mass fainting's at various factories. If workers are unable to work then they will have no income, again this is a continuous cycle for factory workers on Cambodia. The low salaries have a huge effect on a number of different factors for workers. Not only do the poor working conditions effect workers, they also effect the fashion industry. Due to workers suffering constantly from various illness as a result of poor working conditions this effects production. If workers are unable to work, then production suffers a time loss which has an overall effect on the deadline of the production and pieces being stocked within store, which means consumers are receiving the latest pieces later than expected, which may result in the brand suffering a loss of profit for the delayed time. Also, the poor working conditions have an effect on the fashion industry through the quality of garments. As factory workers in Cambodia are being treated so unfairly they do not have any motivation to perform as workers to the best of their ability as they have nothing to strive for. Workers in Cambodia have become so depressed due to working conditions so they have no interest in the garments they are producing and just â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;get on with itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; rather than putting all their time and effort into each piece. This has a huge effect on the fashion industry as poor quality garments persuade customers to not purchase the garment and give an overall negative opinion on the rest of the range, which can again result in a loss of profit for the brand. If bad quality from suppliers continued to occur then the buyer would be forced to leave the supplier and find a new one, leaving factory workers in Cambodia with no work. Bad publicity is a massive negative effect created by supplying factories for a brand, such as, the factory in Cambodia. Due to the very poor working conditions that have been exposed to the press, the factory in Cambodia and all brands associated with the factory receive negative publicity. This has a massive effect on the fashion industry as consumers do not want to be associated with any brand that supplies clothes

Balanced Sourcing Balanced sourcing is when a buyer balances orders between two or more suppliers to reduce dependency and minimise risks. Balanced sourcing stems from a desire to avoid excessive dependence and opportunistic behaviour on the part of wholesalers, among others. There are six organisational skills that enable balanced sourcing. The first three are the core processes for developing the supply base in any type of organisations. These are, modelling total costs, creating sourcing strategies and building sustainable relationships. The other three skills include the supply web, leveraging supplier interrogation and evolving a global supply base. There are two different types of sourcing, single sourcing and focused sourcing, each form of sourcing has developed its own advantage and disadvantages. Single Sourcing Single sourcing is the idea of using one main supplier. With single sourcing an advantage of using this type of sourcing is that it allows for buyer to build up an excellent relationship with suppliers as they are loyal to the supplier, therefore this can lead to the buyer negotiating a good fixed term deal with the supplier as they have continued to use them to supply products throughout due to consistent quality. On the other hand, this could be a disadvantage as they are limited in the methods of production that can be used, this would mean if the supplier cannot provide what a buyer is looking for then the buyer will be forced to look elsewhere. Also, another disadvantage of single sourcing is that the buyer is dependant on the supplier, which will have a huge effect on production if any external threats, such as, a natural or local disaster were to occur, as a again the production would be prevented and the buyer would be forced to look elsewhere, which will effect the time line of production as the production will be set back. Focused Sourcing Focused sourcing is the idea of having a variety of suppliers. An advantage that comes along with focused sourcing is that unlike single sourcing, if an external problem was to occur with the suppliers, such as natural or local disasters it will not have as much of an effect on product production as the buyer will already have a number of suppliers lined up to help solve the problem. However, a disadvantage of focused sourcing is shipping time. As there will be a number of suppliers in a number of different locations shipping could possibly take a lot longer than usual as it will all be shipped at different times. This could have a huge effect on production as some piece may not be finished and shipped within time. Another advantage of focused sourcing is that a buyer could negotiate cheaper prices as there are more than one supplier, therefore, you could negotiate prices cheaper in one area so you could have a bigger budget in another area. On the other hand, a disadvantage of using a number of suppliers is that the quality will not be consistent due to being made my different suppliers, this could effect specific pieces within the range and decrease their chance of selling well.

Arcadia Arcadia are one of the largest fashion retailers , with over 500 stores in more than 35 markets. Arcadia are a modern, fast moving business compromising 8 of the high streets best know and most exciting fashion brands, which are, Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Miss Selfridge, Outfit, Topshop, Topman and Wallis. Arcadia do not operate nor own any factories themselves and are rarely dominant in any individual factories. Arcadia have a strong working relationship with international suppliers, 60% of whom have been liaising with arcadia for more than 3 years. Arcadia goods are manufactured approximately in 985 factories globally. As of 2015 Arcadia products were made in 49 countries worldwide, there top 5 being, China, Turkey, Romania, India and Bangladesh. Ethical Audit Programme Arcadia have employed a colour coding system fro audits with 3 categories, Red, Orange and Green. If an audit is red the brand is not permitted to use this factory until issues have been resolved. Red flags include serious breaches of arcadia code of conduct and local laws, such as non payment of minimum wages. Orange rated issues are often quite complex. Arcadia recognise that the previous time scale for redemption of 3 months has resulted in multiple interventions. Due to this Arcadia have opted to align with industry good practise and provide suppliers with a more realistic goal of 6 months for a chance at redemption. Orange means arcadia expect that non compliances should be resolved quickly as possible. Green grade suppliers are audited annually as they are the top rated, best performance suppliers. As a group Arcadia carefully prioritise to monitor and respond to issues in all sourcing countries. Arcadia have a team of workers who visit Bangladesh regularly as part of their standard ethical programme, due to it being the focus of efforts to improve worker safety and bring greater protection for textile workers. Along with a number of retailers Arcadia have signed an accord which agrees to establish a fire and building safety programme in Bangladesh for a period of five years. This is an excellent step forward for both Arcadia and Bangladesh factories as it is seeking to improve working conditions for factory workers. Arcadia have 4 strategic labour priorities, which are living wage, freedom of association, purchasing practices and vulnerable workers. Arcadia have joined the multi retailer initiative ACT which was formed specifically with the intensive to address the issue of working wages in the textile supply chain. The initiative aims to improve wages for textile workers in poor developing countries and is supported by Arcadia. Arcadia believe worker representation and dialogue with management is fundamental to empowering workers to improve their working conditions. Arcadia aim to ensure freedom of association is guaranteed and as a minimum they expect suppliers to ensure that functions give workers the right to organise. As a group Arcadia believe that by improving the way they design and buy goods as well as raising awareness of the potential effects on factor workers they can have a positive impact on how suppliers factories manage their workers and working environments. In recent years Arcadia have been active in the area of improving the recruitment and working conditions of migrant workers who leave their home country to gain employment in another as migrant workers may be at risk of being exploited by agents. In order to over come this Arcadia have developed a migrant worker guideline.

Trade Shows What is a trade show? A trade show is an event where suppliers and buyers attend to trade a variety of fashion components from textiles, to accessories to garments. Traditionally trade shows occur twice year, usually throughout February and August. This allows for shows to exhibit collections for the following season as buyers must purchase garments at least six months ahead. As of today, trade show calendars have extended so buyers are able to attend shows throughout the year. There are three type of trade shows that occur, Yarn, Textile and branded. YARN Pitti Immagine Filati is an exhibition of a yarn trade show specialising in knitwear that occurs through a few selected days in January and throughout June to July. Pitti Immagine Filati is held in Florence, Italy at fortezza de basso. The international trade show main sector is exhibiting natural manmade fibres for the knitwear industry. Along side knitwear, the show also showcases trends in colour and yarn development as well as new and upcoming designers for knitwear. Textile PremiĂ¨re vision is at the forefront of textile trade shows with a total of over 2000 and showcase twice a year, generally through February and September. Premiere vision is a trade show that occurs internationally, in a variety of different countries, which include, New York, Paris, Istanbul and Barcelona. Premiere vison showcases products that are destined for the apparel market, leather goods, shoe and accessories. PremiĂ¨re vision hold a number of shows through out their event from, yarn, fabrics and leather goods to designs, accessories and manufacturing. Branded A branded trade show usually occurs twice a year, traditionally through February and August. A branded trade show showcases ready to wear/ couture collections for Autumn/winter and Spring/Summer. Within a branded trade show there are a number of mini events, including, Catwalk Shows, Industry Talks, Buying Tips and Season highlights. There are a number of different branded trade shows that occur across the globe, ranging from, PURE London, Stitch London, MAGIC Las Vegas, Bread and Butter, Berlin. Each of these trade shows focus on different sectors, from Menswear, Womenswear and Childrenswear. As a buyer it is important to attend trade shows as it is the main event where buyers can meet with suppliers and build new and personal relationships with buyers in order to negotiate prices. Also attending Trade shows is an import event for a buyer as it allows for buyers to gain overall perspective first hand of the garments that will be entering the stores each season, as well as allowing buyers to feel and analyse fabrics, in order for them to make successful decisions about their ranges and make forward orders at the event.

Kidswear The world of Childrenswear meets in Florence at Pitti Immagine Bimbo, the place where buyers can have a complete overview of children's fashions. Pitti Immagine Bimbo is an extraordinary platform for showcasing the new lifestyle trends for children. This trade show occurs twice a year, generally in January and July.

Magic Trade show, Las Vegas offers a contemporary childrenswear collection for boys, girls and infants at their playground event. Playground offers contemporary childrenswear for buyers that meet the needs of the exciting burgeoning market.. As well as playground, Magic trade shoe also offers a show department, FN Platform that showcases many of the worlds leading footwear brands for children and infants. This event occurs usually throughout February.

Womenswear PURE trade show is England's number one leading trade show for fashion and is held twice a year in London depending on timings of the season and buying patterns. Pure focuses on ready-to-wear womenswear, with the additional sections for young footwear and accessories.

Magic Trade show, Las Vegas offers the most acclaimed sort of women's collections ranging from designer brands and boutique ready fashion to active wear, swimwear and lingerie. Magic's merchandised market place holds six women's aligned destinations that are sure to exceed a buyers expectations. Magic trade show usually occurs throughout February.

Menswear

Magic Trade show, Las Vegas is home to the leading menswear trade show for brands. Magic is the driving force for menswear in the fashion industry. Magic offers designer brands, contemporary collections and lifestyle focused apparel alongside boutique ready fashion and footwear for men. This trade show usually occurs through out February.

Based in Florence alongside the pitti family of trade shows, Pitti Uomo is the world most important platform for men's clothing and accessory collections as well as an excellent platform for new and upcoming designers to present themselves. This trade show occurs twice a year on selected days through January and July.

Fashion Week Fashion week is a fashion industry event that last approximately one week, hence the name. Fashion week allows for designers to showcase their latest collections each season on the runway to buyers and the media, as well as, fellow designers. Fashion week gives designers the opportunity to prove themselves and push their designs and collections to be the next big thing. Most importantly fashion week sets the tone for the fashion industry and highlights what is considered ‘in’ and ‘out’ each season. The most prominent fashion weeks are held in the fashion capitals, such as, New York, Paris, London and Milan, with places like Tokyo and Shanghai becoming popular. Fashion week has a massive following and is the most popular way of sourcing the latest trends and styles for fashionistas and bloggers each season. Fashion week provides a different dynamic for fashionistas and buyers etc. than trade shows as it provides a more fun and exciting energy as it is filled with designer catwalk shows from the top designers in the world to new and up coming designers that provide a fresh and unique vibe to fashion week. Fashion week is all about international designers showcasing collections to buyers, press and the general public. Fashion weeks are held a season ahead of time in order to allow buyers and press to preview fashion designs for the following season, in order for them to buy in ranges that reflect designs and trends from the catwalk. All four major fashion cities, New York, London, Milan and Paris hold a womenswear fashion week twice a year, with New York beginning each season, with other cities following behind. London, Paris and Milan also host menswear showcases as well as Florence in the form of Pitti Immagine Uomo.

2.1: Compare and contrast appropriate sources of fabrics and garments. Are these appropriate? There are a number of different countries that are available to buyers in order for them to source fabrics and garments from depending on the type of fabrics they are looking for as each supplying country specialises in a specific type of fabric. Sourcing basic fabrics such as, cotton will be sourced from Bangladesh which requires a longer lead time in comparison to sourcing fabrics from the UK. This fabric sourcing would be more appropriate for a bigger range with a longer lead time as the quality will reflect the lead time given for the fabric to be shipped. If a shorter lead time is given to a sourcing factory in Bangladesh then they are more likely to produce the fabric at a fast pace with out the appropriate care as they do not want to loose out on a deal. Therefore as a buyer it would be more appropriate to consider sourcing from the UK as the lead time will be shorter and the quality will be there for consumers.

Compare and contrast sourcing from trade shows in the UK to factories abroad. The are a number of benefits for sourcing from trade shows in the UK in comparison to factories abroad. Trade shows showcase high end garments to buyers which consist of a high quality in comparison to garments made at factories abroad. Attending trade shows as a buyer helps to encourage building contacts and relationships with a number of people within industry which will be beneficial in the role of the buyer as you will have a number of suppliers to liaise with. However, this could also be a benefit of visiting factories abroad as it provides you with the chance to again build relationships with suppliers. Building relationships with suppliers allow for buyers to receive the best deals possible. The main benefit of sourcing abroad is that it is cheaper in comparison to sourcing from the UK due to the high volume abroad.

Where will you choose to source your fabrics and garments for your ranges? In regards to sourcing garments, As a buyer for Cricket , I would source my garments mainly from branded Trade Shows. For womenswear I would attend PURE trade show in London, which is one of the most iconic and well loved shows for branded womenswear. Also, as a buyer for an ultimate designer I would also have to attend fashion weeks and catwalk shows as the latest trends filter down from these type of shows and set the tone for retail stores. In addition to PURE, as they only tend to showcase womenswear, it would be necessary to travel overseas to Las Vegas and Italy to attend Menswear Trade shows, Magic and Pitti Immagine Uomo to source garments for my menswear range. For my kidswear range I would again have to travel outside of the UK to Italy to attend Pitti Immagine Bimbo trade show in order to source garments for my kidswear range. Pitti Immagine Bimbo is one of the most popular trade shows for Kids clothing, therefore it would be beneficial to attend and source garments from the trade show. As a buyer it is important that I am willing to travel in order to build successful ranges as trade shows usually specify in a specific department. Therefore I must be willing to attend various trade shows across the globe to find exactly what I am looking for. Overall the range will require myself as a buyer attending various trade shows. In regards to fabric sourcing, there are a number of different countries overseas I will be sourcing from as each country specializes in their own fabric. I will be sourcing Fabric from the UK,Bangladesh,Italy, India and China. Due to having four ranges that feature a number of different fabrics and materials.

Inspired by the glow of winter light, and the rose gold, silver and copper effect.

Womenswear A/W16- Metallic Glow

Inspired by the fires that burn through the dusk in winters forest.

MENSWEAR A/W16- Walk in the Woods

MENSWEAR A/W16- Walk in the woods

BOYS A/W16-BLUE JAY

GIRLS A/W16-ENCHANTMENT

Girls AW16- Enchanted Forest

Analysis As cricket are an ultimate designer boutique, I have chosen to build a branded range to fit in with crickets reputation of stocking brands only. As my range will be branded and stocked at cricket, the marketing position will be high due to the high pricing, my range will be priced between £50 up to £2,000 , this is due to the kidswear being at a lower price to Men's and Womenswear. The market position for my range is of a reasonable price for my target market as they have a disposable income , which is previously known due to customers already being previous customers at cricket. From my range you can make clear links with the concept boards previously created prior to building my range. The links between the two show clearly that I am capable of transferring ideas and concepts from the board into my range, as it is reflected clearly through garments. The links have been made through colours, patterns and objects , which make each of the ranges distinct from one another. In addition to creating concept boards I also carried out trend forecasting before building my range , as it is vital when building a range as a buyer as trend forecasting provides buyers with ideas and inspiration of new and upcoming trends for them to include in their range. From trend forecasting I gathered various trends that could be inspired and transferred into my ranges. For my womenswear range I interpreted the ‘smoky luminesque’ trend which inspired the metallic fabrics and printed patterns on garments. This megatrend for womenswear has created a beautiful theme for my womenswear range. The range includes several key pieces for winter, such as feathered jumpers and cardigans, paired with dressy pieces such as skirts and dress. The idea for this range was to create night time/occasion wear for women that still allows them to be warm and comfortable, which is why each piece in the range can be paired with classic winter garments. For menswear, layering was a massive trend for A/W16, which has greatly inspired my range for menswear. For my menswear range I have included a number of pieces ranging from turtle neck jumpers to Gillet's and parker coats, all open for the option of layering. This allows for numerous garments to be worn and showcased at once, whilst allowing the consumer to look stylish yet warm for the winter weather. The colour palette for my menswear range was inspired by the fiery light that surrounds a campfire in the forest, which can be recognised through the burnt orange tones compliment by the forest greens. These colours allow for different colour waves throughout the whole collection that can be paired with one another to again give the effect of layering. The whole range together projects an urban and sporty style, which fits perfectly with the customer profile. For Kidswear, both boys and girls, a megatrend was ‘make believe’ for A/W16. The megatrend allows for fashion to run wild alongside children's imagination. For my girls range I transformed this trend into a range fit for an ‘Enchanted Forest’. The theme behind my range was an enchanted forest as I felt this fit best with the trending colour palette for girls, which included shades of green and clean cut cream colours. The range features a number of patterns including the iconic peacock print, which makes the range diverse and allows it to stand out against competing ranges. The peacock also allows for a modern twist on the concept of ‘make believe’. The range has a total of 22 pieces, including accessories and footwear, which include classic winter boots and scarves etc. as well as various colour waves. A key piece from this range is the tulle skirt which is also a distinctive girls wear trend for A/W16 as well as the deep green fur coat and printed feather dress as they piece the range together completely. For Boyswear A/W16 a massive trend in textiles was chunky cable knit as well as quilted flannel. Chunky cable knit has been a popular textile used throughout my Boyswear range, featured on a number of garments, especially the chunky cable knit jumper that is an essential piece in the winter collection. The inspiration behind the Boyswear collection is the classic blue jay winter bird as it highlights the trending colour palette for buys wear as well as it being an excellent muse for myself to work with as a buyer, as using objects usually offers a tough challenge and provides myself with the opportunity to think outside the box and create something unique. The blue Jay image taken from the concept board has been printed onto several pieces in the range, including T-shirts and sweaters which are the key pieces of the range as they tell the overall theme/story of the range, as prints and doodles are a massive trend for Boyswear. The Boyswear range includes a total of 17 pieces, including accessories and footwear, which include classic winter hats and scarves etc. as well as various colour waves.

The Buying Cycle

The buying cycle refers to key events and processes in which the fashion buyer is involved in order to buy a garment range. As part of the buying cycle as a buyer the first two importance's are to monitor sales figures and review the season performance from the pervious season. Usually buyers would be expected alongside merchandisers in head office as they are responsible for conducting a review of the whole previous sales in order to identify best and poor sales. As cricket are an independent boutique unfortunately they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have an head office, but a small in house team instead. Therefore, buyers must work alongside in store staff closely to review the season sales first hand, rather than have the information passes through other departments. As buyers are conducting sales reviews first hand there will be no misses communication as buyers work in a small in house team, so they deal with customer sales first hand and conduct an accurate review. However, due to the small staff structure this could cause a lot of stress and pressure which may effect accuracy and reviews being completed on time. As a buyer for cricket I will be expected to conduct a review of sales for the season through analyzed sales figures to figure out which products are best sellers to ensure I am buying in popular products that are likely to sell again. As cricket are an independent retailer they have less of a budget than your average retail store, therefore it is important that as a buyer best sellers are made clear so I am able to delegate my budget for this correctly. This links to another important key factor in the buying cycle, which is budget planning. As previously mentioned as an independent retailer cricket only have a small budget. As a buyer it is important that I pencil in a rough idea of the new range to gain a clear idea of where it will fit into the budget alongside best sellers that I may choose to run again through the next season. As there is less of a budget than your average high street store, as a buyer for Cricket I must ensure that I consider not buying in best sellers again as they may just be a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;fadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; for the previous season, which will allow for a bigger budget when buying in a new range. As cricket stock designer brands buying in garment will be expensive, as a buyer I must ensure quality matches prices as money is too precious to waste. As well as using the budget to buy garments, as a buyer I must ensure the budget can also fund trips to trade shows and factories during production. As cricket is a designer boutique it is important that I am able to attend branded trade shows each season in order to meet with suppliers , as these trade shows typically only occur twice a year it is important that I plan these trips thoroughly in order for them to be successful. Also, as a buyer for a designer boutique that stocks brands only it is important that I plan trips to production factories in order to ensure the quality of garments is excellent and worth the cost price., as well as, to ensure factories are treating workers fairly and provide them with excellent working conditions as I do not want production to be effected. Range planning and range selection is a huge importance in the buying cycle. Range planning and range selection is the stage when buyers define the detail of the new seasons range. As cricket is the ultimate designer boutique, it is important as a buyer that during pre selection I am able to identify key shapes, colors and styles etc. from the catwalk in order to transfer them into my chosen range. Also, as a buyer for cricket I could possibly produce a comp shop in order to view what rival stores are stocking and how cricket can compete against them with their range selection. Price negotiation is a key factor within the buying cycle for any buyer. As cricket stocks designer brands only it is important that as a buyer that I am able to negotiate the retail price of products with both the brands/designers and suppliers to ensure they are selling at a correct price of their worth, that will also ensure a good profit for Cricket. As cricket is an independent retailer that stocks brands only , their biggest competition are department stores such as Debenhams, who also stock designer brands. Therefore as a buyer for Cricket I must take into consideration the pricing of competitors in order to negotiate with suppliers a better retail selling price to prevent customers shopping elsewhere. As a buyer for cricket I will ship products from abroad, therefore I must be aware of currency changes at the time of production as I will have to convert prices in regards to the current exchange rates as this has a huge effect on pricing. The order and conformation process for a branded buyer is important. As a buyer I want to ensure that I do not miss my window for products as it will alter the time of my selling point, which means I will be prevented from maximizing profits for Cricket. Therefore I must ensure as a buyer that I am completely organized in regards to order processing and conformation. Also, as a branded buyer in addition to the order and conformation process it is important that I monitor deliveries of products. Usually the invoice will be delivered and received by the buyer before the expected delivery date, this is to ensure that the

Industry professional practices and procedures Requirement: The company will need a revised business plan, outlining targets, projections, short, mid and log term aims. Having a business plan will allow companies to meet deadlines in order to achieve the company goals each year. All businesses have targets set to achieve each upcoming season, which include long, mid and short term aims. A long term aim for the business would be to become a global company by opening up to a global market, which will help provide future opportunities for the business. This allows for the business to expand on a further field in order to gain fresh and new customers globally within five years to maximise profits/ Mid term aims are to fulfil customers needs by having stock bin stores on time as the company donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to miss the product launch or window time as it may effect profit. The short term aim for the business would be to figure out best sellers in order to ensure the correct stock is replenished using the budget. This is an organisational requirement as it focuses on business and financial aspects of the business plan in order to ensure profits are maximised each year. Requirement: The company will require staff who have the correct skills and abilities to fulfil the job role. Having staff in store with the required skills of the company allows for the store to offer the best service to customers and also provides a professional and good reputation. It is important for employees to have the correct skills and abilities to fulfil the job role as it is ensured they have the right product knowledge and the ability to approach customers confidently as it keeps customers coming back to the store due to the excellent service. If staff are employed without the correct skills then this could have an effect on the buyers as it could possibly jeopardise the range, as they are unable to sell it across to consumers. Also, within head office, if the required skills are not includes in the role of a buyer then somebody with the wrong skills may be hired which again may jeopardise the range as well as the profit. This is an organisational requirement as it works with business in order to ensure the right type of person is hired for the job role in order to witness a rise in profits. Also, buyers should be expected to engage with floor staff in order to discuss the seasons range and how it should be showcased within store. Requirement: There is an internal personnel policy put in place.(recruitment, introduction, training) Having a store policy allows for a business to develop by providing new ways to ensure the business growth in the UK and globally. In order to expand a business, businesses will be required to recruit new members of staff. This also requires training for new members of staff. Staff are vital when working in retail as they help to encourage sales and promotions which will ensure a maximised profit for the business. It is important that after recruitment the business ensures staff are given an introduction to the business. The introduction generally should give staff an idea of how the business works and its policy as well as a tour of the store to make sure staff are comfortable with the store layout. Once staff have completed their introduction they will then be trained on all equipment in store and will become fully experienced on what is required from the business. This is an organisational requirement as the business is organising new staff and providing them with the knowledge of the store to ensure they can contribute to the growth of the store and the increase in profits. Requirement: The company will need to ensure it can meet production goals and health and safety requirements. Meeting production gaols and health and safety requirements are an importance for any company. The company must ensure all production goals and health and safety requirements are met to encourage customers to continue to shop within store. For example, if the company were to disgard requirements during production and a bad incident were to occur then this would reflect negatively in the company through publicity and prevent current and potential customers from shopping in the store. This is both an organisational and production requirement as it is the companies responsibility to ensure all health and safety requirements are being met by suppliers. As part of the organisational requirement suppliers must follow guidelines of the company as well as buyers visiting factories to follow out check ups on the working environment.

Industry professional practices and procedures Requirement: The company will need a fully developed marketing plan. A fully developed marketing plan will distract positive attention towards the business. There are a number of marketing plans that work excellently in favour of a business. A popular marketing plan amongst retail stores is celebrity endorsements, which in most cases has been proven to help maximise profits. Celebrity endorsement attracts a lot of attention from consumers, which makes them an extremely persuasive form of marketing. However, companies must choose celebrity endorsements wisely as they do not want a celebrity with a bad reputation as the face of their brand, as it may jeopardise sales. On the other hand, celebrity endorsement will help to ensure customer loyalty due to the idea of relating to a celebrity. This Is an organisational requirement as the company must ensure they are using the correct marketing plan that is most suitable for their company in order to promote their range to the correct target market. Requirement: The company will need equipped offices or premises in the correct locations. Businesses must have the correct required equipment in store in order to compete with rival companies to prevent their profit from being effected. Also, if the store is located in an area not suitable for the store and not accessible to customers this could have a huge effect on the businesses overall profit. The demographics of the store are an important factor that should be thought out thoroughly when building a business as the location of the store determines sales each year. If the store is placed in an area that does not target the correct target customers then this will prevent potential customers from coming into the store, which may lead to an impact on the profit. It is important that the business can insure they are equipped with all the correct equipment in order for the business to run smoothly without any issues, including head office, warehouses and the stores themselves. It is important warehouses have the correct equipment that allows them to transfer products to the store. Also, within head office it is vital that they have computers and access to the internet as well as the skills needed to use Photoshop to produce concept boards etc. This is an organisational requirement as it focuses on equipment within store and the actual demographics of the store. Requirement: The company will need experienced and reliable distributors. It is important that distributors are experienced and reliable when working with the company to ensure delivery is on time. In order to ensure this happens, deadlines for delivery are set. If the delivery window is missed then this has a huge effect on sales as the business looses out on trades and consumer spending. In regards to branded buying, for example, this has an even bigger negative effect as certain pieces are provided with are selling windows, which means a later delivery means a shorter selling window and again this effects profit and calls for unhappy customer due to stock not being available in store, customers will then go elsewhere to spend their money. This is both an organisational and production requirement due to the companies responsibility to ensure production is carried out within the given time frame and delivery meets the deadline. Requirement: There is clarity about finances.(accounting, policy, merchandising and sales reports). An important requirement as data and figures from given reports will help determine the success of the range as well as analyse previous sales and predict future sales. To ensure correct data is received from the reports, it is important that all figures are accurate to ensure the best results from the reports. Buyers will work alongside accountants then will analyse these figures and produce the reports to ensure buyers are aware of their overall budget and how to delegate it out to their range and stock they need to replenish. It is important that buyers use their budget fairly as a lack of stock in certain departments may lead to unhappy customers and a loss in profit. This is an organisational requirement as the company must be aware of how much stock they need and where it needs to be placed regarding replenishments. This shows clearly that financial planning is vital.

Industry professional practices and procedures Requirement: There is a communication system- for example, varied language speaking buyers, For example, Skype, Telephone, Internet, emails. Communication is vital within the role of a buyer as you must be able to communicate clearly with suppliers and potential business partners. Companies must have employees who are capable of speaking in various languages in order to communicate with suppliers and workers to receive their feedback etc. Negotiation is a massive importance for a buyer. In order to negotiate with suppliers as a buyer you must have excellent communication skills to discuss the best deals to make profits. Communicating with buyers allows for relationships to be built and develop, which will benefit the company in the future through discounts etc. It is important as a buyer that you are capable of learning languages in order to speak to the supplier, or have someone with you who can translate for you. If this becomes a difficult task then this could lead to the company having to look elsewhere for a new supplier, which may be time consuming and loss of relationship would occur which may affect quality of production. In regards to the customer, having a language barrier may prevent from receiving the correct feedback when conducting field research. This is both an organisational and production requirement due to the fact as a buyer it is vital that we are able to communicate with suppliers on various levels when processing orders and passing information onwards to head office. Requirement: There should be a clear decision making structure within the company's business plan. It is important that there is a clear decision making structure with a companies business plan due to the idea within the board room everyone becomes involved and presents numerous opportunities and ideas to the director. The director will then analyse all the points given and have the final say on what they believe is suitable for the company and will lead it to success. The director must ensure that all decisions made meet the needs of the consumer for the range each season. This is important as the range needs to meet customers needs in order for the range to sell. If consumers donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t purchase any of the range then this will lead to a loss in profit for the company. This is an organisational requirement as the company must be aware of who there customers are in order to make decisions based on their needs. Requirement: Managerial roles within the organisation should be clear. For example, moments of evaluation of co-ordination/leadership. Each department within head office needs to be able to communicate with one another in order for the business to be a success. If certain departments are unable to communicate with one another then this will cause a problem in the chain and will have a major effect on other departments. From this it is clear that leadership is a big importance within the work place, as they provide a sense of direction to other workers, in order for them to succeed with their work. Disagreements in a work place along with no direction could possibly affect customers as workers will be focusing on the negativity in the work place rather than the consumer. This both an organisational and production requirement as they have to report to all leaders including both in head office and production factories. Requirement: Fabric testing should be carried out before production. It is important that fabric testing should be carried out before production to ensure each product is made with the most suitable fabric. Having good quality fabric will ensure sales with consumers. If fabric testing is not carried out this effect sales as certain fabrics may cause irritations with customers and without fabric testing companies will not be aware of this, which would back fire on the company and cause a decrease in sales and a loss in profits as well as losing out on money they would be required to refund to customers. This is a production requirement due to the company having the responsibility of checking out all fabrics used to ensure they are safe and suitable for consumers to avoid complaints.

Industry professional practices and procedures Requirement: All sample garment development is carried out in a centralized product development centre and dedicated sample room. Sample garment development is another important procedure that must be carried out. The company will need to try and test garments to ensure the supplier is doing their job correctly and producing garments of an excellent quality. Otherwise, the company may have to find another supplier, which may affect production time. If any problems occur with the garments once production is complete then the company will be expected to revisit the supplier to solve the problem, which again will be time consuming. Also, if a product has a problem after production, this means products will have to be recalled, which will affect consumers loyalty to the company. This is a production requirement as it requires the company to ensure there are no faults within the range. Requirement: Technical knowledge and international experience is integral. All companies have plans pf growth globally and so they must have the ability to reach out globally to the global market, which means they must trend forecast for each global market to build a range that can relate and cater to the global market consumers. In addition to this, businesses must also be aware of how garments are produced in factories to ensure the garments are worth their cost price. In order to ensure these points are met, a buying cycle will be put into place and the company will aim to meet all demands of the buying cycle., in order to direct the business to a successful path of growth, as well as, follow requirements to prevent the company from being sued. This is an organisational requirement as buyers must put into place a scheme.

Lead Times and Shipping Costs

As a buyer I found it to be more beneficial to ship both formal and casual shirts in boxes rather than one container as it was of a lower cost, which is what I am negotiating for as a buyer as it helps maximise profits.

Lead Times and Shipping Costs

A lead time is the time between the initiation and completion of a production process. Lead times set a date for processes within production to be complete. Leads times have huge effect on the critical path, as they decided whether the critical path is followed and completed within the time frame or if it needs to be pushed back for particular reasons. Lead times can impact the critical path in a number of ways, beginning with design, suppliers must design several garments within a given time frame and then must forward designs to buyers for them to approve. If buyers were to disapprove any designs they would then be resent to the designers in order for them to adjust the designs according to the buyers preferences, this would then set back the design process, which would have an effect on all other aspects of the critical path by pushing them further back or giving other aspects of the critical path a shorter time frame for processes to be completed. In regards to proto sampling and garment fittings a similar situation may also occur, as buyers may disapprove and find various issues with the sample garments, which means suppliers would then have to take time out of the critical path to re conduct samples that match the buyers descriptions for the garment. Away from production, shipping is a huge factor of the critical path were lead times may have an impact on the critical path overall. Shipping from overseas may become difficult at times due to technical issues that may occur with the form of transport or bad weather conditions etc. When shipping overseas via sea transportation there are a number of issues that may prevent the lead times and shipping reaching the warehouse/store on time, if a storm were to occur then the boat may be stopped from travelling across the sea until it was clear and safe for the boat to travel, this would mean the time frame for shipping on the critical path would be effected and buyers would be expected to push back the launch date for the range if possible, if not then stock would not be delivered to the store in time., which would effect profits for the company as there would be no sales. The same issues could also occur with air transport as planes are more liable to be at risk of suffering from technical difficulties which would prevent the plane from flying out goods on time. Usually the lead time to ship stock from china is 24 days, which was last measures as of 2014, it is more than likely that buyers will ship goods from china as they specialise in a number of particular fabrics and garment making. Whereas the usual lead time to ship stock from India is 17 days, again which was last measured as of 2014, this proves to be a lot quicker than shipping stock from china, which will be more beneficial for buyers if they only have a shorter lead time to work with. Another, for of shipping stock which occurs in Europe is trucks. Trucks are able to drive to and across Europe to ship stock, which can usually take between 3 to 5 days depending on which location in Europe it is coming fro, in some cases it an take up to 28 days. Therefore, as a buyer if possible it Is more beneficial to ship stock from Europe as it has the smallest lead time. As a buyer for cricket I will be shipping stock from overseas via air transportation as it will provide a quick and easy service. Due to cricket being an ultimate designer boutique, they need to be constantly on top of all the latest trends, therefore as a buyer I cannot afford to have stock shipped any later than the lead time provided as it will lead to sales and profit being effected if garments are not shipped and stocked within store on time.

Critical Path Process

Lead Times

Date

PLANNING

4 WEEKS

October 12th 2015

RESEARCH

2-4 WEEKS

November 9th 2015

DESIGN

3 WEEKS

November 30th 2015

PROTO SAMPLES & COSTINGS

2-4 WEEKS

December 28th 2015

PRE RANGE SELCTION MEETING

3 DAYS TO FLY OUT AND VISIT FACTORIES

January 1st 2016

NEGOTIATION / TRIP TO FACTORIES

2 WEEKS

January 15th 2016

FINAL RANGE SELCTION MEETINGS

ACESSORIE APPROVALS- 4 WEEKS

February 12th 2016

PLACE ORDER

2 DAYS TO FLYING OUT TO PLACE ORDER

February 14th 2016

GARMENT FITTINGS

4 WEEKS

March 14th 2016

FABRIC ORDER

6 WEEKS

April 25th 2016

TRIM AND COLOUR APPROVALS

2 DAYS GOING TO TRADE SHOWS

April 27th 2016

BUL PRODUCTION PLUS SHIPPING

SHIPPING LEAD TIME- 12 WEEKS

July 18th 2016

WAREHOUSE-STORE ALLOCATION

2 WEEKS TO BREAK ALL THE STOCK DOWN

August 1st 2016

PRODUCT LAUNCHED IN STORE

16 WEEKS

November 21st 2016

This shows that my critical path will run from the October 12th 2015 and will follow through to the in store launch date which is predicted to be November 21st 2016. This shows that the critical path will run for 46 weeks in total before the launch. The range will then be stored in store for approximately 16 weeks. This shows the break down of each task I will complete throughout the year and the time it will take to do each process.

The critical path and production issues Evaluate the resources required for production and their availability

Resources required for production: oFabric trims oTransport- Planes, boats, truck and shipping etc. oIndustrial equipment- sewing machiences,dyes and chemicals etc. oStaff-Training and Job roles oQuality control team oPremises- factories, warehouses and head office etc. oComputers- internet, Photoshop skills etc. oCommunication methods- internet, skype etc. oMoney and overall budget The main resources required involving production are staff, money, premises and resources in terms of fabric and transport etc. Fabric Fabric sourcing is a number one priority for a buyer when building a range as buyers must ensure the right fabric is used for each individual garment. Fabrics must be suitable for the shape and colour of a garment as well as reflect certain trends on the catwalk. Therefore, as a buyer you must ensure you are sourcing various pieces of fabrics and exploring your options as well as delegating the most suitable fabrics to each garment. As a buyer you must produce a critical path and ensure you have selected a time frame to sourcing fabrics as well as fabric sampling in order prevent the range from launching using bad quality materials and fabric as this would lead to a loss in sales. Transport Transport is a method of delivering goods from the production factory to the warehouse or store. Transport is important as without it goods would not reach the store for sale. There are various ways of transport, which are, Planes, Boats and Trucks etc. and it is down to the buyer to make the decision about which transportation method is more beneficial for the store. Boat transportation is a beneficial way of shipping heavy and bulk orders overseas as well as goods with long lead times, as boat transportation can take up to a good few weeks. Therefore as a buyer, if you were to choose to transport your goods via boat then you need to provide a long lead time on your critical path to ensure there is enough time for goods to arrive. However, using a boat as a form of transportation may be rather costly for the buyer, which could effect the overall budget, therefore buyers would have to consider this when choosing a transportation method. Also, using a boat to transfer goods may be at risk in bad weather conditions, which could lead to the shipping date being pushed back which would effect the lead time and throw the critical path of course. Using planes to transfer goods is the fastest for of transport when shipping overseas. This would be more beneficial for a buyer when the lead time provided is only short. Air transportation is considered the best form of transportation in regards to shipping goods as it is quick, easy and efficient. However air transportation does not hold as many goods as a boat, therefore using a plane as transportation would be more beneficial for the transportation of small goods. Using air transportation can become rather risky when shipping goods as planes are more liable to run into a minor accident, which may result in a loss of goods or even pushing back delivery date, which again would have an overall effect on the critical path as lead times are effected. When delivering goods from one part of the UK to another, there is no sea or air transportation needed as Trucks become the most efficient form of transportation. Trucks can drive long distances via roads and motorways in order to deliver goods as it is a highly flexible form of transport. Using trucks for transporting goods provides a door to door service and can be cheaper than most forms of transportation for short hauls and small shipments. However, a disadvantage of truck transportation is that goods are limited due to the size of the vehicle and so buyers would be restricted as to what goods they can transport. In regards to shipping another resource that is required is the shipping contents as such as, containers and boxers that will be used to package and ship goods. Containers and boxes cost a certain amount of money each and only hold a certain amount of goods, therefore as a buyer you would have to produce and lead times and shipping costs table that will provide you will all the information about how many containers and boxes you will need and how much they will cost in total. You can see an example of the table on a previous slide.

Industrial equipment â&#x20AC;&#x2039; Another resource required for production is industrial equipment. Without industrial equipment it would be difficult to produce a range, as each piece of equipment are essential during production. Industrial equipment includes, sewing machines, over lockers and chemical dyes, etc. Sewing machines are the main and most important piece of industrial equipment when conducting a garment as the sewing machine pieces the garment completely together whilst over lockers are used to add finishing touches etc. Chemicals and dyes are used to dye any fabrics that require a change in color etc. It is important that industrial staff are equipt fully to use dye and aware of the risks that may occur during the procedure. When dying fabrics this adds additional costs on to the original cost price of the fabric, this means buyers must ensure they have the budget to fund this process. When dealing with industrial equipment, there comes the risk of them breaking, which means buyers must be able to place money from their budget aside to pay for any damages and broken equipment, as it may affect production times. Staffâ&#x20AC;&#x2039;

Staff is one of the most important requirements for production as without staff production would not occur. There are a number of different staff members within the production environment that are equally important within their job role. At the top of the staff pyramid is the Manager/Director. Within production, a Manager/Director is vital as they are the staff member that provides order and direction to all staff members, a Manager/Director is needed in order for staff to seek advice and someone they are able to approach with any problems in order to receive guidance. The Manager/Director is needed in order to approve all jobs completed within production, the Manager/Director seeks out employees to ensure they are doing their job correctly in order for production to be a success. Without the Manager/Director employees would have no orders and so production would suffer as they would have nothing to go by. As staff are an important requirement for production, it is important that the most suitable employees are hired for each particular Job role. Therefore, when hiring it is important that all required skills are highlighted to applicants in order for the right applicants to apply for the job, which makes it easier for employers to hire the correct applicant for the job. If an employee with the incorrect skills for the job was hired then production would suffer as the job would not be completed properly and to the best of its ability, which means sales and profit for the company would suffer as products would be poorly made and unable to sell, which could also lead to a set back in production time as products may need to be discarded and reconstructed. Therefore, when hiring employees it is also important that they complete and introduction of the company and training, in order to develop their current skills and provide them with the skills necessary to work within production. As, this applies to the buying role. As a buyer you must have excellent communication and negotiation skills, as well as the ability to pick out key trends and transfer them into a successful range each season, without these skills both the range and production would suffer which would affect the sales and overall profit for the sore you are buying in for, which would call for an unsuccessful range and an unhappy customer.

Quality control team â&#x20AC;&#x2039; Having a quality control team on site during production is a huge importance as they need to approve garments and ensure the quality of each garment is excellent, in order for buyers to put garments in store. If the quality control team were not available then the quality of garments would be dismissed and it would be more likely for garments of a bad quality to be sold in store, which would call for an unhappy customer and a loss in profit. My chosen range will be stocked in Cricket. Cricket is an ultimate designer boutique that stocks designer brands only, which means due to the expensive RRPs within store, the quality of the clothes will be of a high standard. Therefore, quality control teams are required to test the quality of all fabrics used for my range to ensure the quality of the fabric sits amongst crickets standards as well as match the RRP. If the quality of the fabrics chosen were to suffer from bad quality then they would not be stocked in store all together. However in particular incidents were the quality control team have lacked in testing the quality of fabrics, bad quality fabrics will then be stocked in store. Due to the bad quality of garments and a high RRP customers are most likely to complain to the store about the bad quality, which would then lead to cricket reconsidering myself as a buyer and my skills and decisions as it will affect their overall sales and profit, if I were to buy in an unsuccessful range.

Computers and communication methods Communication is one of the most important skills a buyer must have in order to be successful within their job role. Communication allows for buyers to liaise with suppliers and build relationships with business partners, that will benefit them in future operations. As a buyer you must have the suitable skills and confidence in order to communicate with a number of suppliers globally, this includes being comfortable with different languages, in order to communicate with international suppliers, which will be most likely as most production factories are based overseas. In the case of liaising with suppliers overseas, language barriers might occur and prevent buyers from communicating clearly with suppliers. In this case buyers must require a translator present in order to ensure that the correct information is passed on to suppliers clearly, to prevent any missed communication and orders being passed on incorrectly. In order to communicate with suppliers, computers are a vital piece of equipment. Computers allow for buyers to communicate with suppliers using a number of fast and easy communication methods, such as, Email and Skype. Emails are fast and easy messages sent across worldwide to suppliers for them to respond efficiently. However, emails may take some time to respond to as they can become lost within junk mail, which makes it hard for suppliers to find. Emails, are more beneficial for buyers to pass little information on to suppliers rather than an important load, due to the fact it could become lost or take a number of days to respond to. On the other hand, Skype is an excellent form of communication for buyers to use in order to make contact with suppliers. Skype is a video messaging system that allows buyers to communicate face to face with suppliers via webcam. This is more beneficial, as it allows buyers and suppliers to communicate personally all important information without the chance of it being lost or miss communicated, again whilst using skype to communicate with suppliers, buyers will have to have a translator present when communicating with international suppliers, who do not use English as a first language. Also, due to suppliers being located in different time zones, it may become difficult for buyers to communicate as they would have

to consider time differences.

Premises Premises are important when it comes to manufacturing as buyers will have to pay for a warehouse to store garments in that have been shipped by suppliers, before they are launched within store. Therefore, as a buyer it may be wise to own a premises in a tax free country in order to save on paying out rent money. This will be more affordable for buyers as they have to use less money out of their financial budget which will contribute to a higher profit. Due to the warehouse being in a different country it may become difficult for buyers and other team members to visit, although it is beneficial in regards to the financial aspect it may be wise to locate the warehouse within a reasonable distance of head office.

4.1 Asses your range and amend and critically evaluate the designs to meet costs, production needs and other constraints

There are number of issues that could occur with design during production. There could be a possible number of issues that may occur with sampling, such as, fabric, colour and sizing etc. The sizing could be a major issues regarding womenswear as women's body shapes vary massively, therefore sizes must be standardized for each size.

DESIGN ISSUES

As a buyer it is also important that I consider the cost of sample shipping before the range is put into production. As a buyer if I avoid sample shipping then this may have future impacts as without sampling the products before production could lead to problems with the final range which weren't acknowledged before hand. This could possibly mean that the range may have to be shipped back and forth until the problem is solved. Therefore it is beneficial to sample ship before production. As a buyer it is important that shipping is organised in time to meet deadlines. As a buyer it is in your biggest interest to ensure you have excellent negotiation skills to SHIPPING ensure you receive the cheapest deal possible when shipping golds, but also reliable to meet the deadline. If shipping does not meet the deadline then the store release will have a set back which will lead to an impact on sales and profit.

PROBLEM AREAS AND CONSTRAINTS

COSTS

Warehouses are an important cost buyers must fit into their overall budget as the premises costs to buy or rent. As well as pay for the premises it also costs to supply all equipment within the warehouse as well as maintain the equipment and replacing it each time it brakes.

SOURCING

Natural disasters may occur which may lead to destroying crops used to source materials such as, silk and cotton, as well as organic materials. With crops being destroyed this puts production behind and as a buyer will struggle to find suppliers who can provide these materials, which causes a time constraint on production which leads to an overall effect on the critical path. Sourcing from countries across the globe, such as china and the far east may become a problem for buyers due to the time difference as well as language barriers, which makes communication difficult. Buyers would have to use methods such as skype and emails to communicate with suppliers globally, also buyers would need another person alongside them who are able to translate languages to help the buyer.

In terms of my womenswear range as I have patterns/prints on a number of garments, Therefore I will have to consider additional costs on top fabrics as they will require being dyed to gain the print effect, which will again have an impact on the RRP.

WAREHOUSE

FABRIC

Warehouse costs also include insurance and security costs. It is important that buyers include insurance costs within their overall budget in regards to products being damaged due to natural disasters that may occur or manmade disasters, such as, fires. As well as stolen products, which would effect production as it will add added time on to the critical path. The cost price of the fabric is also influenced from the location where products are sourced from. For example, sourcing fabric from the UK would mean even though the cost price of fabric is high, the shipping cost price is low, which balances the overall cost price out, making it a lot to cheaper to source from the UK. On the other hand, sourcing fabrics from china would cost more due to distance of shipping in addition to a higher cost price for quality.

4.1 Asses your range and amend and critically evaluate the designs to meet costs, production needs and other constraints

The location of sourcing is important when sourcing products as each garment or range requires sourcing from different countries for specific details. As a buyer problems that may occur with sourcing locations is that it may be too difficult for the buyer to reach in order to carry out health and safety trips. Also, there may be possible global issues that may be occurring in specific locations in terms of war and conflicts, if suppliers are locate din these places then this would effect production.

SOURCING

Sourcing from countries across the globe, such as china and the far east may become a problem for buyers due to the time difference as well as language barriers, which makes communication difficult. Buyers would have to use methods such as skype and emails to communicate with suppliers globally, also buyers would need another person alongside them who are able to translate languages to help the buyer.

PROBLEM AREAS AND CONSTRAINTS

DESIGN ISSUES There are number of issues that could occur with design during production. There could be a possible number of issues that may occur with sampling, such as, fabric, colour and sizing etc. In regards to menswear the fabric and colour may be a major issue. With the menswear range it is important that the fabric is stable and does not wear and tear so easily due to it being made for active people who enjoy the out doors Also, with the colour palette it is important that it fits with the general taste of men as most men stick to their basic colours.

Technical standers may not be constructed correctly during production or the way required which may effect the quality of products.

COSTS When sourcing fabrics it is important to consider each garment individually in order to choose the exact fabrics that each garments require and which fabrics will be suited best to them. For example, as my menswear range includes a parker coat, I will have to consider using numerous fabrics in order to keep the coat layered and padded to control warmth during the winter weather. As I am expecting to sell this for a high retail price the cost price will have to match up this ensuring good quality fabrics are used.

FABRIC

The quality of fabric is the most important aspect that needs to be thought about when sourcing fabric. It is important that fabric used for garments is of the best possible quality. The quality of the fabric effects the total cost price for the buyer. The better quality the fabric then the high the cost price, which has an overall effect on the RRP as buyers will be expected to rise the price of garments in order to make a profit. For my menswear range specifically, it is import that the quality of fabric is excellent as my range is a range targeted at an active and sporty person, therefore consumers will be looking for clothes that donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wear and tear so quickly and easily.

SHIPPING

It is important that buyers are able to use their budget to cater for the cost of packaging for garments. Packaging will help to prevent garments from being damaged during shipping. Damaged products will have a huge impact on the sales of the range as products will be unable to sell as customers will be unhappy I regards to receiving damaged goods.

WAREHOUSES

At the warehouse staff are required to monitor stock, this includes security, buyers will be required to use their budget to pay wages to staff which again as an impact on the overall budget. If more money is spent on the range, this leaves a small bracket of money for staff which means they would have to employee less staff.

4.1 Asses your range and amend and critically evaluate the designs to meet costs, production needs and other constraints Using single sourcing means you supply from one supplier rather than a number of suppliers. Single sourcing were to effect you more in the incident of a supplier possibly letting you down. This means the relationship built between the supplier and the buyer would become damaged as the buyer will need to go else where. Therefore, it is more beneficial to use focused sourcing, which is the idea of having a number of suppliers for back ups.

SOURCING

Healthy and safety trips are a vital procedure that must be carried out by buyers before production as buyers must ensure the factory has excellent work conditions and is following all important health and safety WAREHOUSES regulations. Therefore, the costing price of each trip must be fitted into the budget, the more trips the buyer must take the more of impact it has on the overall budget.

SHIPPING

PROBLEM AREAS AND CONSTRAINTS

COSTS DESIGN ISSUE For my kidswear range a lot of print and images have been used in both the boys and girls range on various pieces, which may become a design issue as I would have to ensure I have the right legalisation to print these images and ensure copy right is accepted before the garments go into production. Another design issue that may occur in regards to kidswear is health and safety issues regarding certain pieces. Buttons, fastening and trimmings must be child friendly on childrenswear especially as well as ensuring it is not flammable.

The amount of containers and boxes used to package products cost individually. The more containers and boxes used to ship each item from each range adds up costing a high overall amount depending on how may garments you choose to include in your range. As my kidswear ranges both only have a small number of garments, less forms of packaging will be used which saves money on shipping. As I only have a small number of garments it may be cheaper to package them all in a small number of boxes rather than one big container that costs more.

For my kidswear range specifically, various garments have printed images on the fabrics. Therefore, as a buyer it is important that when sourcing fabric I choose fabric that is capable of transferring prints on easily without any issues. Adding prints onto fabrics will FABRIC also add additional costs onto the fabric which will higher the cost price for the fabric, this will then impact the RRP for the For my kidswear range it is important garments with printed images. that I use a small amount of my budget to sample fabrics before production as I must be aware of any fabrics that I must be aware of any fabrics that cause any irritations for children as this may cause future issues with consumers.

As a buyer it is also important that I consider the cost of sample shipping before the range is put into production. As a buyer if I avoid sample shipping then this may have future impacts as without sampling the products before production could lead to problems with the final range which weren't acknowledged before hand. This could possibly mean that the range may have to be shipped back and forth until the problem is solved. Therefore it is beneficial to sample ship before production. The quality of fabric is the most important aspect that needs to be thought about when sourcing fabric. It is important that fabric used for garments is of the best possible quality. The quality of the fabric effects the total cost price for the buyer. The better quality the fabric then the high the cost price, which has an overall effect on the RRP as buyers will be expected to rise the price of garments in order to make a profit. As my kidswear range will be expensive due to it being stocked in Cricket which stocks designer brands I will have to ensure quality of fabric meets the cost and RRP.

1.1 identify and examine the influence on critical path After analysing costs and problems and constraints in regards to production it is clear that both factors have a huge impact on the critical path. The critical path provides a schedule including weeks and dates for production as a direction for the launch date of a range. Costs, such as, shipping, warehouses and fabrics which have been previously listed are the main focuses of costs that impact the critical path massively. The additional touches to fabric, such as, dying, chemicals and prints leads to an increased price on the original fabric, which then has an impact on the cost price of the garment overall. The more money spent on fabrics for garments, means there is less fabric for other sourcing elements. However, the increased of fabrics means the RRP for each garment will be increased, meaning profits will be made on each garment, which will benefit the store overall. As all three of my ranges will be stocked in cricket it will be deemed as acceptable to charge of a high price for each garment as they will be sold amongst designer brands. Therefore, quality of the fabric must be ensured in garments, which again will lead to an impact in cost price as more money will need to be distributed on fabrics due to the excellent quality as the better the quality, the high the price. Shipping has a bigger impact on the critical path than costs as shipping products may be at risk of disrupting the time scale of the critical path. By missing shipping deadlines, your critical path suffers as you will need to add additional time to the critical path, which will then throw everything of schedule. It is important as a buyer that you source a reliable supplier that can promise a reliable source of shipping. If shipping is unreliable then this could mean goods are not shipped on time. If goods are not shipped on time for the deadline then this will effect product launch. By missing the product launch, products will then have to be put on hold and released in shops a few days/weeks later, which will disrupt the sales of the range as customers will be unhappy and less sales will be made due to the products being delivered late, which again has an overall impact on the profits made. In regards to products being shipped after the deadline, this also effects the store promotions as stock will not be at the store in time for product launch to also be apart of promotions, which again means the range will have a loss in sales which has an impact on the overall profit. Warehouse equipment may also have an effect on the critical path through equipment braking and preventing production from being carried out within the given time. Problems and constraints, such as, sourcing and design issues may effect the critical path in a number of ways. In regards to sourcing, sourcing globally may cause a time constraint on production, due to natural disasters and wars and conflicts as well as distance. The further away the sourcing location then the longer it may take to be shipped to warehouses and retail stores. If natural disasters where to occur and ruin crops, this would prevent suppliers from sourcing certain fabrics, such as, cotton and silk, which will effect time and production as buyers will be forced to look elsewhere for a supplier who is able to provide these materials. If the buyer uses single sourcing, then this would add time on to the critical path as the buyer only uses one supplier and has no back up options, therefore the buyer would be pressured to find a new supplier within a certain time frame in hopes the production can be completed for the deadline. In most cases, finding a supplier may find a number of days/weeks therefore this would effect the critical path as production would have to be set back which means the product launch may possibly suffer also if it is unable to be set back along with production. Again, this issue would have an overall effect on sales and profit. Design issues will also influence the critical path being followed within the time schedule given. Problems may occur with certain designs during sampling which buyers may disagree with. Therefore, samples will then have to be disapproved and sent back to supplier sin order for them to re design and correct problems as well as re sample products and deliver them back to buyers in hopes they will then be approved. If sample are disapproved, this adds extra time on to the critical path as samples will need to be sent back and forth and reconstructed, which means the time frame for designing and Sampling will need to be extend, which leads to either another window in the critical path being shortened or the over all critical path being made longer, which again effects the launch date leading to an overall effect on sales and profit. All these points of issues that may occur all help to prevent the critical path target from being achieved, which has an overall negative impact on retailers as they have to deal with the problems caused by the critical path not being followed on time. This has an overall impact on sales and profits for the retailer.

Examine and evaluate different supply chains A typical manufacturing supply chain has a number of areas of the business involved in the workflow. The supply chain begins with the customer who identify to the sales department their wants and needs for a product. The sales department the pass this information on to the marketing department in order for them to kick start research and conduct and analyse research to help produce a business plan in order to implement the manufacturing process. After all areas of manufacturing processes are complete the product is then delivered to the store and back to the starting point of the supply chain, the customer. This is a brief description of a supply chain for a retail company. â&#x20AC;&#x2039; Zara are a retail company founded in Spain in 1975 by the founder, Amancio Ortega. Zara was created in order for Amancio Ortega to better understand world markets for his fashion merchandise. Zara originated in Spain and currently holds stores in 86 countries, including Europe, America, The Middle East and Asia. Various articles have stated the reason behind Zara's success stems from their supply chain. For Zara, speed and responsiveness is more important that cost. This highlights that customers needs and wants are the top importance for Zara as a company. Zara aims to deliver goods to customers in store on demand, which indicates that they have a responsive supply chain. As a brand Zara are celebrated for their ability to deliver goods to stores quickly and in small batches based upon customer demand. Store managers regularly place orders at least twice a week In order for new garments to arrive on a schedule. Zara's ability to act quick and responsive to customer demands and upcoming trend plays a huge part in their success as they are able to deliver to customers what other stores cant in regards to goods and trends. In order to achieve a fast and responsive customer service in regards to producing and delivering goods to the store Zara for customers, Zara control more of its manufacturing and supply chain than most retailers. Zara use their supply chain as a competitive advantage. Zara fall under the fast fashion bracket due to their ability to adapt, manufacture and distribute couture designs into retail clothing within two weeks of the original design first appearing on catwalks. As Zara own their own supply chain they have the ability to compete on the speed market, which indicates their fast fashion label. A significant amount of Zara's production happens in house. In house production allows for flexibility for the company in regards to amount, frequency and a variety of new products to be launched. This p-lays a huge part in their supply chain as in house production allows for them to offer a speedy and responsive delivery for customers needs. The specific facilities the company require, such as, Sophisticated fabric cutting and sewing facilities are all closely located near the company's headquarters in Spain. This presents a shorter shipping time overseas for the company which means goods can be delivered in store within a short time frame in order for purchase. Zara pay their manufacturing employees a higher wage than most retail company's overseas. Paying employees a higher working wage pushers workers to work harder and more efficient within the given time frame as they are more motivated. The higher wage benefits Zara as they need to ensure goods are produced quickly to meet demand. Zara are able to afford to pay workers high wages due to them receiving 85% of the full price on clothes due to the exclusiveness Zara projects. This is down to their frequent shipping of garments which helps encourage customers to visit their store. 50% of Zara's clothes are designed and manufactured in the middle of a season due to Zara's ability to react quickly and create new designs and styles that can be placed in store quickly if a certain design becomes a new rage for customers. This helps make Zara a huge success with customers as they are able to fit the supply to the demand. The data received from customer feedback is instantly communicated through Zara's store managers to designers in order for them to begin sketching new designs. The fast pace communication system with the in store staff and the production team benefits Zara greatly as they are able to build up relationships with customers and react quickly to what they are asking for from Zara. As the stock delivered at Zara is strictly limited this helps to ensure each Zara store is receiving exactly what they need to make sales, which contributes to Zara's brand image of exclusiveness. If Zara attempts to chase the latest trend by designing a new garment that does not in fact sell well then Zara will not be effected as much as any other high street store. Zara are less likely to suffer from a build up of unpopular stock . Due to Zara's production facilities being closely located to Zara's distribution headquarters, this allows for Zara to ship often in smaller batches. This means the determined quantity of stock is delivered to every Zara store as shipment occurs twice a week. Centralization is a huge part of the supply chain for Zara that has played a huge part in their success. Zara are able to make decisions in a very coordinated manner, which allows them to stick to a deep, predictable and fast rhythm based around order fulfillment to stores in order to fulfill customers wants and needs. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Each Zara outlet sends in two orders per week on specific days and timing. Trucks leave at specific times and shipments arrive in stores at specific times. Garments are already labelled and priced upon destinationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; This clearly defined rhythm allows for Zara's given timeline to be fulfilled completely, allowing for happy customers as they are also in sync with the Zara timeframe for new garments. Zara customers know exactly when to visit stores for new garments. Zara have a strong distribution network which enables the company to deliver goods top its European stores within 24 hours and any other international store within 40 hours. Any change to this system would not disrupt Zara in any way shape or form as they are able to adapt and conform to any changes as the brands success shows exactly their strength of opportunity.

Examine and evaluate different supply chains H&M are a globally recognised for being a successful and expansive retail company in terms of market. H&M’s supply chain strategy is a continuous search for promising markets, cost efficiency in production of goods and reduction in lead times. H&M have recently ranked at Number 3 on ‘Gartner's supply chain Top 15’. H&M is the worlds second largest retailer and owe their success to their low cost, high fashion supply chain. H&M are famous for offering chic and trendy styles to consumers whilst maintaining rapid turnarounds, which acknowledge them as a fast fashion retailer. The head designer at H&M works alongside a design and production team of 100 plus people who create and coordinate each collection more than a year in advance. This is able to happen due to H&M’s two fold design process, which consists of a real time design response rooted in customer driven production strategy. As a fast fashion retailer, H&M use an innovative direction in determining customer interests., through customer driven reports in order to create a consumer driven collection that creates a balance between trends and basics, taking inspiration from street style and haute couture to determine what trends are the basis of each collection. Moving further on in H&M’s supply chain is where manufacturing begins. 80% of H&M’s retail stock is manufactured in advance, leaving 20% of stock to be later manufactured based upon current market trends. H&M collaborate with over 700 partner companies within 20 different countries. The company's ability to collaborate efficiently with global companies allows for H&M to rely on external manufacturing suppliers to manage buying and production for the company, which leads to H&M buying garments from a number of global places, such as, Europe and Asia. Due to excellent manufacturing strategies that lead to reduced lead times in addition to strong supplier relationships. H&M are able to offer affordably priced garments to consumers. Alongside manufacturing factories, H&M have located over 30 overseeing offices, to help to ensure quality of clothing is excellent and the pricing of garments fits in with the stores code of conduct. These offices are purposely located in order to play a significant role in quality control checks on garments to test fabric and sample garments. Communication is a huge importance within any supply chain, especially with manufacturing and production. As of modern day all communication is passed through electronically between national offices and production offices in regards to design and product development. As H&M does not secure their own fabrics in advance they rely on partners to secure fabrics for them, which they then place orders for electronically. These manufacturing strategies within the H&M supply chain have helped the company to reduce their lead times by 20% through the conscious developments used within the supply chain during the buying process. Due to the short lead times this has allowed for H&M to re stock stores quickly with affordable garments and without buying in the wrong item. This insightful analysis of the H&M supply chain highlights their success simply through working together as part of a team within the production and manufacturing department in order to produce the worlds second largest retail store. Overall, three of the biggest fast fashion companies across the globe are Zara, Primark and H&M. Each store owe their complete success to their individual supply chain, which offers each company with the basis of running an efficient and successful company. Whilst Zara's supply chain focuses solely on producing collections featuring the latest trends at a fast pace, Primark focuses on producing garments as a cheap as possible. Zara hold the quality Primark lack, although there prices are more pricey than Primark they're still affordable to consumers. In addition to Zara and Primark H&M are also affordable for consumers, However unlike Zara and Primark their supply chain focuses upon working globally with partners to produce global garments that consumers require.

Examine and evaluate different supply chains The fast fashion model has been taken a step further by Irish founded retail store, Primark in recent years. Consumer habits over recent years have changed considerably due to the reoccurring financial crisis. Value has began take over brands and labels amongst consumer attitude. This development has been previously labelled â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Primark Effectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; due to their well known and well loved reputation of bargain shopping. The reason behind Primark's success is down to three specific key factors. Primark is known for having a efficient supply chain due to having a rapid turnover. Primark strategize in buying in private labels for their store that offer the niche of rock bottom prices that are affordable to a wide range of consumers. Unlike competitors, Zara and H&M who also use private labels, Primark do not focus solely on style or general affordability, they ensure with the labels they use they are able to sell garments for cheap prices, which they are able to do as their costs are kept low by making cheap garments from man made materials and cheap production processes. Primark also save money and keep profits at a high by avoiding the reordering of products as they operate on a one chance basis for consumers, meaning when stock is gone its gone. Due to the average stock turnover for Primark being six weeks, which again highlights, its fast fashion company this results in customers returning to the store on a frequent basis. The second key factor contributing to Primark's huge success story is the fact they have limited operating costs. The cheap product prices at Primark are used as their main selling point, which means the company must completely avoid using expensive advertisements, in order to save money and avoid loss of profits. In replacement of advertisements the company rely on word of mouth advertisement as they are renowned for being cheap. Primark encourage this form of advertisement through product placement at the store in order to persuade potential consumers to spend money within store, in hopes for them to discuss products in store with other potential consumers on the outside. At Primark staff service is mainly focused towards managing checkout lines and ensuring customers are served at a fast pace. It appears Primark's aim is to serve as many customers at a fast pace within the stores opening time, rather than ensuring an excellent customer service. The lack of customer service at Primark is overlooked by most consumers due to the cheap prices within store. In addition to cheap prices, Primark also place the location of there store in an area outside of the main shopping mall due to lower rent prices, this is another way the company save money in order for the cheap selling products to make a big enough profit, without the company loosing out on money. The final key factor of the supply chain that plays a huge role in Primarkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s success is having large stores. Primark focuses predominantly on building up large stores in order to encourage volume shopping, the result in floor space will hopefully result in a higher sales density. Although it does come with a cost as Primark must high interior designers to design and decorate each floor as well as an innovative floor layout in order to encourage consumer spending. Overall, Primark are labelled a fast fashion retailer due to their ability to renew stock every six weeks in order to continue to increase sales and maximise profits. In comparison to Zara and H&M, who also renew stock within a short time frame in order to keep on top of current trends, Primark dismiss trends and focus on renewing stock to sell more stock at a cheap price to make up the profit.

Financial Spreadsheet

3.2 Appraise the finacial potential for success when planning the range As a buyer it is important that I analyse my financial spreadsheet to ensure that my financial planning will enable success for my range. The financial spreadsheet displays the costing price of garments and their RRP price, theses figures help figure out the margin percentage of the range overall which is a huge importance as they also add up together to produce the total cost for the overall range, as well as, dictating how much money each garment will make during its 16 week selling period. From this information as a buyer I am able to analyse best sellers from each range which will indicate which garments will need to be replenished. Replenishment decisions will be made by analysing sales figures from each week during the 16 week selling period. From the financial spreadsheet produced for my womenswear range it is clear that the best seller amongst consumers is the Eyelet lace up skirt as the figures show 12 skirts were sold within one week, therefore in order to keep up with sales per week, I must ensure further units for the quantity of replenishment for this garment are added to continue the sales increasing in order to keep up with consumer demand for the garment I must take 15% of the overall number of products and divide the figures out across the replenishment for the range. I must add more units of quantity to replenishing the skirt as it is the best seller, in order to balance the replenishment out I will deduct units from the least popular items which is the cable knit sweater according to figures taken from my financial spreadsheet. Overall, financial spreadsheets ensure a buyer is aware of how many pieces need to be stocked in store, replenishment figures and the overall cost of the range, which encourages any future decisions made by the buyer.

3.2 Appraise the commercial potential for success when planning the range

Billboards

Radio

Buses

Newspaper

Social Media eg; Instagram and Facebook