RATIONALE Assignment 4 Around the World (Buying &Merchandising)
Katie Rafter
Executive Summary As head buyer for Asos.com, myself and the Asos team will be working along side one another to create a new range for Spring Summer 2015. The collection will be inspired by garments from the 2015 and 2016 trends and will be based on the carefree great outdoors and the stunning French Riviera. The range will consist of vintage, retro and bohemian pieces the can easily be worn by the every day woman. We want to bring the ‘old to the new’ and so will be taking classic silhouettes from eras such as the 40s, 60s and 70s. So be prepared for peplums, flares and playsuits. I will create a variety of garments that will allow customers to mix and match their chosen pieces to make an outfit that suits their style. There will also be accessories included in the range, for example, handbags, shoes and headscarves to accompany the casual and occasionwear garments. The collection will be launched online on Asos.com on 18th May 2015. If successful, the range may be expanded to include more pieces and possibly extending the length of time the range will be available for, depending on consumer demand. The collection will be fashionable, affordable and excellent quality to suit the needs of our Asos customers. Some of the garments will be versatile and could be taken fro day to night time and from core to statement pieces for all occasions. The focus throughout this range will continuously be.. ‘if its hot we’ve got it and if we’ve got it its hot’.
History of Asos 2011
2000
2004
2006
2008
Asos was launched by Nick Robertson & Quentin Griffiths.
Asos own womenswear label was introduced.
First online retailer to launch an online catwalk.
Launched the Asos outlet.
The Asos Facebook shop was launched as well as fashion finder, iPhone and iPad.
2013 Asos’ Russian and Chinese websites were launched.
2001
2005
2007
2010
2012
Asos plc holdings was admitted to AIM on London stock exchange.
Asos beauty was launched.
Introduced Asos own menswear label.
Asos mobile launched.
Opened first international office in Sydney and a second in New York.
The Asos magazine was also first produced.
American, German & French sites were set up. Asos marketplace introduced.
Mission Statement “To be the online style authority for 16-34's, selling the hottest celebrityinspired fashion at competitive prices, supported by exemplary customer service. ” Hot Fast Celebrity Fashion If it’s hot, we’ve got it; if we’ve got it, it’s hot!
Asos intend to target internet savvy, style hungry, 20-30 year olds. They have approximately 2000 lines on site at any one time, spread across womenswear, menswear, footwear, jewellery, accessories and beauty. Asos.com sell a mixture of non branded items, own label and a handful of hot brands.
Asos In-depth
The typical Asos customer – Normally a female in their early 20’s who is a fashion lover. She's internet savvy and style hungry. Someone who wants affordable, ‘fast fashion’ and has got Saturday night in mind. This is someone who wants to look good, better than their friends maybe, but also needs the products to fit their current budget.
Type of Garments – Coats Knitwear Jeans/Denim Lingerie & Nightwear Suits & Separates
Their Location – United Kingdom: Camden, London – Head Office Hemel Hempstead – Customer Care Barnsley – The Warehouse Birmingham – Technology Hub Asos also have offices in Sydney, New York City, Lille, Munich and most recently Shanghai.
Product Range –
Target Audience – Men and women aged between 16 – 34 years old. Fashion enthusiasts.
MEN/WOMEN Clothing Shoes Gifts Petite Tall Oversized Multi packs
Beauty/Grooming Accessories
Maternity Curve & Plus size Designer
Competitors –
Brands they sell –
Asos’ main competitors are fellow online retailers. These include; Missguided.co.uk BooHoo.com ShopDirect.com Isme.com Littlewoods.com Very.co.uk
Aldo Calvin Klein Eva BYC GHD Isabella Oliver Kurt Geiger Mango Oasis Quay Steve Madden Ultimo Warehouse Y.A.S
Sales History – Being such a huge online retailer, Asos attracts over 30 million viewers a month. This in turn brings in a big profit. This year alone Asos achieved 1 billion in sales. Their next turnover target is set at 2.6 billion pounds.
Barbour Diesel Fred Perry House of Holland Jack Wills Lavish Alice Nails Inc. Pull&Bear Ray ban Ted Baker Vans Xen Tan Zoe Karssen
So how popular is Asos? Audience demographics: The amount of males visiting the site is below average but in contrast the amount of women visiting Asos.com is well above the average. Most of these people are in university or college, generally over the age of eighteen. The most popular browsing location is shockingly the workplace, closely followed by home. Audience Geography: Where are the sites visitors located? United States – 22.8% United Kingdom – 17.0% Japan – 6.6% Russia – 5.0% Nigeria – 4.1% 1 million + unique visitors per month • 700,000 registered customers • 25,000 + new customers per month • Shipping 80,000 + orders per month • Average order value of £43 • 150- 200 new product lines per week
SWOT Analysis Strengths • •
Provides for men & women aged between 18 – 34. •
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Items can be ‘out of stock’ for long periods of time yet still appear on website.
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Their menswear range is not nearly as popular as their womenswear.
International & multi-lingual websites. •
Free returns.
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They strive to promote ethical trade, recycling & sustainable fashion.
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Currently they are one of the largest, leading online fashion retailers.
Customer care/help is slow & often delayed.
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Student discount of 10%.
They have become a multi brand store offering over 60,000 branded & own label products including clothing, shoes & beauty.
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Weaknesses
Free delivery to over 240 countries worldwide.
Considered extremely fashionable, up-to-date & affordable – ‘Fast Fashion’.
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Opportunities •
Threats
Can introduce more of their ‘own’ labels either at an affordable price range or higher end.
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• •
Strong competition with the likes of misguided.com & very.co.uk.
Expand to stock more products/ranges/labels. •
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Find new ways to attract new customers – through advertising and/or social media. Keep striving to be the best online fashion retailer.
• •
More and more online retailers emerging.
Create stronger advertising for their menswear.
•
Can be problems with worldwide delivery.
With the current state of our economy there is always that added pressure of the recession and its impact.
History of Retailers
Sourcing & Responsibility Sourcing & Manufacture
Responsibility
Asos source most of their products from Turkey, India, Romania and China. Most recently however the founder of Asos ‘Nick Robertson’ said that “with their vast margins there’s no necessity to source from the Far East and China.”
Asos boast an ethical sourcing policy. They ensure every item sold on Asos.com is produced under acceptable conditions and in a ethical way. This means they must have been produced;
Their Asos collections are mostly manufactured in the United Kingdom and Europe.
1)
Lawfully, through fair and honest dealing
Without exploiting the people who made them
2) 3)
In decent and approved working conditions 4)
Without damaging the environment
ASOS has been certified as carbon neutral by the Carbon Neutral Company since 2008. They always look for ways to reduce their emissions, particularly in the context of their rapid growth.
Sourcing around the World
MY RANGE PLAN Asos Collection Spring/Summer 2015
“To be the online style authority for 16-34’s, selling the hottest celebrity-inspired fashion at competitive prices, supported by exemplary customer service.”
Planning My Range Plan: A fun, fashionable and affordable womenswear Spring/Summer 2015 range to include casual and occasion wear pieces. It will be an eclectic mix of flirty, bohemian and feminine garments with a vintage or retro over all finish. All keeping in fitting with the ASOS mission statement.
ASOS Mission Statement My Sourcing Plan: I will strive to source mainly from Europe and China, keeping in mind ASOS’ ethical responsibilities. My range will include a variety of pieces made from various fabrics. These may include lace from Russia, silk from Romania or China, cotton from China, viscose from the UK and also polyester from Romania. I have chosen to stick with Europe and China as they are reliable, closer than America or Asia in terms of shipping and lead times and they will also be cheaper. It will also make communication easier, quicker and cheaper.
Customer Profile Louisa is a 22 year old visual merchandiser for ‘Miss Selfridge’. She was born in Liverpool and still resides there currently. She studied fashion at Manchester MET and had a part time job as a sales assistant for ‘H&M’ whilst she was there. Louisa has always had a flair for fashion. When she was younger she would raid her mums wardrobe and put outfits together for her siblings, this then stemmed to starting her own fashion blog in her late teens to pursuing her dreams of studying it at university. She now has a fulltime job working for high street store ‘Miss Selfridge’ as their visual merchandiser. She also loved music growing up – mainly indie, R&B and jazz/blues so a lot of her fashion inspiration comes from this.
Louisa enjoys keeping up to date with fashion, writing her blog and reading others. She also reads fashion magazines daily like Vogue and Elle. Her favourite high street store are Topshop and River Island, but Louisa does most of her shopping online as she has a busy schedule, so she shops with the likes of ‘ASOS’ and ‘ShopDirect’ as its quick and convenient. Louisa also like shopping at more high end stores for special occasions or for work meetings at ‘French Connection’ and ‘Ted Baker’ as they suit her particular style. Her style is very chic and classic with bohemian elements and a vintage twist. Louisa loves to take inspiration from the different eras – particularly the 60s -, from her favourite bloggers and from nights out with her friends to gigs to see her favourite bands. Her style icons include Blake Lively and Vanessa Hudgens for the more boho side. For her chic and polished look, she loves Victoria Beckham, and Louisa would turn to Audrey Hepburn for her classic, vintage flair. With her job and consequently busy lifestyle and socialising with her friends, Louisa doesn’t always have a lot of time to shop so when she does she has a decent budget. Starting at £10 going up to anywhere near £250 for the right pieces. To get around Louisa drives her beloved mini and often uses public transport to and from work.
Studied Fashion BORN AND RAISED IN LIVERPOOL. Works as VM for Miss Selfridge
Loves Music
VISUAL BOARD Victoria Beckham
Blake Lively
Socialising with friends
Reads fashion magazines & blogs daily
Style Influences Vanessa Hudgens
Worked for H&M
Audrey Hepburn
Her beloved Mini
60s style
Favourite Stores
20s style
Competitor Perception Map
Fashionable
Cheap
Expensive
Unfashionable
Comp Shop: ASOS Asos is my chosen retailer that I will be working for and so it is my responsibility to choose a spring/summer range that will maximise profit for the brand. I will be looking into how Asos will compare to its competitors particularly the online retailers.
Kimono sleeve Playsuit £40.00 100% Viscose
Off the shoulder Top £30.00 100% Cotton
Orange Culottes £36.00 100% Polyester
Triple Pearl Ring £8.00 80% Brass 20% Acrylic
Prom dress (mint & white) £35.00 100% Polyester
Oversize Beach Bag £30.00 100% Leather
Polka Dot Headscarf £6.00 100% Cotton
Floral Print Co-ord £30.00 97% Polyester 3% Elastane
Comp Shop: Missguided.co.uk Missguided are a fast up and coming online fashion retail offering a range garments for women. They are often compared to Asos as they both offer fast, on trend fashion. Being one of Asos’ main competitors, I wanted to compare some of their products.
Cropped Peg Leg Trousers £25.00 Mixed Fibres
Floral Playsuit £22.99 95% Polyester 5% Elastane
Pearl Detail Necklace £7.99
Pastel Pink Shift Dress £25.00 95% Polyester 5% Elastane
Stone Shoulder Bag £18.00
Monochrome Boyfriend Shirt £25.00 100% Polyester
Contrast Rose Co-ord Top £12.99 Skirt £20.00 Both 100% Polyester
Comp Shop: Littlewoods.com Printed Cuffed Trousers £32.00 100% Viscose
Littlewoods.com is a massive online retailer that stocks everything from ladieswear and menswear to games, homewear and electricals. Similarly to Asos, it carries hundreds of different brands and it is designed for internet savvy customer and has a wide target audience. Consequently, I decided to look at Littlewoods to compare there womenswear with Asos in terms of price and quality for their customers.
Embellished Playsuit £69.00 100% Polyester
Girls of Film Co-ord Top £32.00 Skort £30.00 100% Polyester
Metallic Duffle Bag £35.00 100% Polyurethane Lace Top £47.00 58% Polyester 42% Viscose
Lace Swing Dress £48.00 90% Polyester 5% Elastane 5% Cotton
Bow Earrings £38.00
Round Ray Ban Sunglasses £240.00
Comp Shop: H&M I wanted to look at H&M in comparison to Asos as they are a high street fashion conscious store – in terms of recycling and waste – and offer great value fashionable clothing. They are also known for their successful celebrity collaborations which is something Asos don’t have.
Sunglasses £5.99
Handbag (Cream/Black) £29.99 100% Polyurethane
Peplum Top £19.99 100% Polyester
Patterned Jumpsuit £19.99 100% Viscose
Pearl Rings (2 Pack) £3.99 Printed Dress £14.99 55% Polyester 44% Cotton 1% Elastane
Scuba Co-ord Top £24.99 100% Cotton Skirt £19.99 100% Polyester
Dusty Pink Chinos £14.99 62% Cotton 3% Elastane 35% Polyester
Comp Shop: Miss Selfridge
Embellished Gypsy Top £39.00 100% Polyester Nude Maxi Dress £55.00 100% Polyester
Lastly, I decided to look at Miss Selfridge who are known for their high fashion pieces at a slightly more expensive price then your average high street. Miss Selfridge empowers girls and women regardless of their age, take pride in who they are and to be as imaginative as possible in every aspect of their life. Miss Selfridge views fashion and style as an opportunity to express yourself. With this in mind, I thought they would be good to compare to Asos, who’s aim is also to empower fashionable women.
Cream Culottes £35.00 100% Polyester
Tea Rose Print Playsuit £45.00 92% Polyester 8% Elastane
Slouchy Shopper £29.00 100% Polyurethane
Two Part Flats £22.00 100% Polyurethane
Floral Co-ord Jacket £35.00 Shorts £30.00 93% Polyester 7% Elastane
Comp Shop: Evaluation For my comp shop, along with my chosen retailer ‘Asos’, I decided to look at ‘Missguided.co.uk’, ‘littlewoods.com’, ‘Miss Selfridge’ and ‘H&M’. The reason I chose these particular retailers was because they are all fashion focused brands and offer an extremely varied range of garments and accessories. These retailers are considered competition as they all supply on trend fashions in a range of sizes, fits, colours and prices, making them competition for Asos who is based purely online.
Unique Selling Points: Missguided.co.uk – “Vibrant catwalk trends at low prices.” Miss Selfridge – “We go all out to bring contemporary style to self-assured women looking for unique feminine fashions. Because, after all, confident self-expression is the best kind there is.” Littlewoods.com – “When it comes to famous brands, we already sell more than any other UK retailer.”
H&M – “H&M proves to be good at producing cheap products of reasonable quality, inspired by the latest catwalk trends, offering a broad range of product for a broad range of people.” The price points in these companies are mostly on the lower side. Asos, Missguided and H&M start low and can go anywhere up to around £100. where as Miss Selfridge and Littlewoods are priced slightly higher, starting at £20.00 and can go to over £200, giving Asos the edge for young women. In terms of sourcing, these can vary among the retailers. Miss Selfridge – being the younger wing of ‘Selfridges’ the department store – source fabrics from all over the world as they don’t have a small budget. Where as H&M source mostly from independent suppliers mainly in Europe and Asia. Littlewoods source from India and China. Missguided don’t display where they source from. Asos tend to source from Turkey, India, Romania and China making their products reasonably cheap for their customers. Overall, I do feel Asos has the edge over all four of these competitors. They offer the biggest range of collections for men and women at reasonable prices. H&M and Missguided may be cheaper in some areas but Asos has the upper hand with better quality garments. They are very fashion forward, taking inspiration from the latest catwalks and giving customers the best online experience.
Trend 1: Harmony
Trend 2: Graceful
Trend 3: Memory
Spring/Summer 15
Spring/Summer 16
Spring/Summer 15
HARMONY The trend Harmony is all about looking to the sanctity of nature. The incorporation of soft mellow tones act in agreement. This trend is set for Spring Summer 2015 and overall is a flowy, carefree and has been inspired by old haunts of the 60s. Mood: This theme wanders out into the great outdoors, picking up fresh florals along the way. Soft and sensitive, diluted and dreamy, Harmony is full of pretty peach tones and smudged with sultry summer skylines. This theme hangs out in the sweetness of the sixties. Rekindling visions of silver screen starlets, who once graced the French Riviera, this is retro chic fashion at its height. Garments: Hi low hemlines along with lingerie/lace detail are the centre of most of the items. Summer co-ords in the form of midi skirts and crop tops and cigarette trousers with cropped blazers also run throughout the collection. Silk dresses capture the haze of sultry summer field and pretty lace and floral peplums sit on the ribcage. Open back playsuits come in a 1960’s print with retro buttons and headscarves as accessories.
Colour Palette: The hues of baby pinks, rose golds and yellows bring the warm to the baby blues and mint shades. Mauve colours, like the purples and beiges tie the colour palette together.
GRACEFUL Graceful incorporates a palette of neutral tones tinged with a touch of vintage and the romanticism of the 1970’s. This Spring Summer 2016 trend sees minty greens nestle with dreamy creams and dusty pinks for a new romantic movement. Mood: Feminine and floaty, this trend is drawn to dreamy volume and nostalgic style, and comes washed in rose petal pink, apricot blush and mint sorbet hues. A more structured story, this theme rustles up a contemporary collection that is soft and subtle. It mixes a retro palette with a more modern approach, creating slightly sporty undertones.
Garments: Floor sweeping maxi dresses with ruffles and pleats paired with block heels takeover the trend. High-waisted cotton shorts and skirts add to the retro feel with an apricot rose tone.
MEMORY This Spring Summer 2015 trend is very much about bringing the old into the new. The fragrance of the 1940s meets the modern day 2015. a trend that suits the feels of Harmony and Graceful. Mood: Mixing it up and making it new: that is the motto. Take classic hits from the forties sports era, while toying with techy textures and fresh fabrics for an old meets new mix. Design looks to the past - to the home of timeless staples. Beckoning the ultimate forties, it brings back its signature scents that will linger beautifully through the season and beyond. Garments: Summer suiting cloth makes gorgeous pleat-front flare pants. This look masters the art of relaxed tailoring, bringing a modern edge to tailored shorts with active fabrics. Traditional brogues get given a vintage twist. Full circle midi skirts billow with volume and blossom with blooms. Vintage vanity cases echo the nuances of the past. Colour Palette: Beautiful blue hues wash with waves of purple for a sweet, summery palette. Sea spray blue and mineral green pool together, while amethyst, iris, indigo and violet stir the senses.
Primary Research
Street Style: Print & Pattern
Street Style: A touch of Vintage
Fabrics & Texture Mood Board
Concept Mood Board
Runway Board
Concept
Romanticism of the 70s
Old haunts of the 60s
Fragrance of the 40s
Violet: Not the most used but sets the undertones
Mauve: Neutral, staple piece in the palette. Nearly all the garments incorporate this colour.
Light Lavender: One of the neutral colours reinforces the feminine theme.
Rose Gold: Another favourite shade throughout the range. Seen mostly in Harmony in dresses.
Golden Yellow: Bright Spring retro colour seen in Harmony and Memory. Sets theme of the outdoors and flowiness.
Indigo: The darkest colour in the palette, seen mainly on staple pieces. Seaspray Blue: The coolest colour of the palette. Used mostly in detail, works well with the pinky tones.
My Colour Palette
Mint Green: Fresh, bright& flowy shade. Used in many of the accessories. Key colour in Harmony.
Apricot Peach: Featured throughout the Graceful trend and all over the catwalk. Sets the tone for Summer.
Warm Pink: Feminine colour that supports the ladylike and vintage aspects of the trends.
Edited Prints VINTAGE MAP OF FRANCE Originally I wanted to make the maps slightly more modern looking. Bringing the old to the new like in the Memory trend. However, after I had completed the transition using Photoshop I decided I preferred the map print the way it was before it was altered. I felt that it suited the entire collection better in the cream and the white was too harsh.
RETRO ROSES I edited the original picture of the peony roses inspired by the Harmony trend to give them a more cartooned look. They completely look more retro making them also fit in with the Graceful trend. Something that suited Asos and the prints they use I thought.
Product Development Step 4)
Step 2)
My completed Skirt: More Aline and short. I kept the cinched waist and got rid of the zipper down the centre however I did keep the shorter length also. I added border towards the end to add more depth to the skirt.
I decided I Preferred the shape of the skirt with the zip but I liked the over all look of the skirt with the cinched waist.
Step 1 I found two skirts that I really liked but preferred the style and shape of one to the other. I decided to alter slightly one skirt to the way I thought suited my collection best. I finished it off with a retro ‘Paris’ print to suit the vintage, ‘French Riviera’ aspect of my collection.
Step 3) I essentially collaborated with the two skirts bringing my favourite parts of each together.
MY RANGE A Touch of Vintage Asos
Image & Product Description
Size, colour & Classification
Range Plan Spreadsheet
Materials & Fabric
Profit Calculations: cost price, quantity, overall cost & profit
WSSI Spreadsheet
Range Evaluation With the range launching on 18th May 2015, we will be starting out with a total of 83,500 garments – including accessories. It will be launched on Asos.com complete with a look book featuring the different outfits put together and 20% off for students. The reason we chose to do this particular collection was for Spring Summer we wanted to do something different and not necessarily typical of Asos. So we decided on the vintage, bohemian inspired range to really and some depth and choice for our online shoppers. It is inspired by the great outdoors and staple pices from the 40s, 60s and 70s. According to my WSSI, we ordered 4000 of the pleated maxi dress to start out as it is occasionwear so therefore might not be as popular as the other items but by week 8 it had started to sell out and we would need to consider restocking. Whereas with the floral lace crop top we ordered 6000 of these and by week 9 we still had over 1000 left in stock. Proving the occasionwear might be slightly more popular. The range is something new for Asos ‘bringing the old to the new’. It is exciting to anticipate the customer response and a possible future sister line. This range is filled with top quality garments, affordable prices and on trend pieces which is exactly what Asos’ customers want and look for.
Price Architecture STATEMENT
CORE
Good, Better, Best Good: Priced at £22.00
Good: Nude Flared trousers Good: Everyday flats are
priced at £26.00 are the height of fashion for 2015. They are made up of 95% viscose & 5% elastane. They are a bargain in this range.
this Floral Lace Crop Top is made from 70% polyester and 30% polyamide. There is a lot of detail in this garment, so definitely one of Asos’ bargains.
a necessity in every range and wardrobe. These Bow Ballet flats cost £18.00 and are made of 100% other materials. Making them the cheapest shoes in the collection.
Better: This French
Better: These Floral
Better: Basic Mauve
Rose Peplum Top will cost £25.00 and is made from 97% polyester and 3% elastane. The reason it is slightly higher priced is because of the amount of polyester used.
Sandals cost £32.00 and are made entirely of 100% other materials. There is more work gone into these shoes which is what makes them pricier than the flats.
Cigarette Pants are made from 95% polyester 5% elastane making them slightly better quality than the flares. Costing £28.00 these are affordable for customers and great for the quality.
Best: At £26.00, this Lace Gypsy Blouse is the most expensive top in the range. It is made up of 50% cotton, 20% rayon & 20% lace. The lace detail is what has made this item slightly more expensive.
Best: Priced at £40.00, these Nude Block Heels are the most expensive shoes in the range. The leather look is what makes these more expensive and are suited more to the occasionwear.
Best: These Vintage Print Shorts are £35.00 and made up of 100% viscose. On trend and a staple in the range these are perfect to take from day to night.
Sourcing Strategy As a brand, Asos source mainly from Turkey, India, Romania and China. Their Asos collections are mainly manufactured in Europe and the United Kingdom. For this new range, as the buyer for Asos I will strive to source mainly from Europe, India and China. Also keeping as much of the manufacturing in the United Kingdom as possible. This will allow for much easier communication and shorter lead times with regards to the garments. This will be important as for an online retailer its all about fast fashion and keeping what's hot and current on the website and quickly available for the customer. If this range proves to be popular, and starts to sell out quickly, it may be necessary to alter the stock levels, and this will be easier if I'm sourcing from mainly Europe and the UK. To avoid any complications during the sourcing process, myself and the buying team will keep close contact with the suppliers to ensure our garments are being made correctly, the quality is maintained and factory workers are being treated fairly and with respect. Again this will be easier with are manufacturers being mainly in the UK. Following the success of the range launch online on 18th May 2015 , there will then be potential to expand the range, with help from good relationships with the suppliers and manufacturers who will enable us to achieve our goals efficiently and rapidly. Also, possibly allowing us to order more stock if needed quicker than usual and extending the length of time the range will be available if the demand is there.
My Sourcing Strategy
Marketing the Range To market this new collection, their will be an online look book featuring the garments and how we – at Asos – would style them. Giving the customers and idea of how the garments will look on. We will have a promotion in the weeks leading up to the launch of the range with a banner at the top of the website where customers will see it when opening Asos.com. We will also offer students 20% off for a 2 week promotion too encourage sales of the new range. Snippets of the new vintage inspired range will feature in the Asos magazine which will be distributed to customers.
FINAL EVALUATION Assignment 4 Around the World (Buying & Merchandising)
Katie Rafter
Final Evaluation I have thoroughly enjoyed this Around the World: Buying and Merchandising assignment. I have found it to be at times quite difficult and time consuming but I’ve enjoyed spending my extra time on it and putting the final touches onto each element to create something I'm proud of. Task one was all about learning the role of a buyer. This set the tone of the whole assignment and allowed me understand what ‘my role’ was going to be and helped me to understand the rest of the assignment a lot easier as I was in the mind set of a buyer. Moving on I started my rationale, this involved researching different retailers such as John Lewis, Shop direct and Zara. This gave me an understanding of their product ranges, competitors, sales history and their sourcing strategies. This was quite time consuming but without it would have been a lot harder to research for my own brand and range. I also provided a customer profile and did some comparative shops which really started to bring my range ideas to life. I really enjoyed the first few tasks as I got a good understanding of the importance sourcing, competitors and online retailing. This set me up for the rest of the assignment. The next part of the assignment was creating the mood boards for my range. I looked into different 2015/2016 Spring Summer trends and based my range on what I felt would suit my company – Asos. Then the concept boards allowed me to look into different trends and I did some sketches, mind maps and more mood boards so that I really understood what my range theme was going to be and what I wanted it to include and why. Actually creating the range was extremely thrilling and rewarding to see ‘my range’ completed at the end. Learning how to use Photoshop was something I know I needed to learn and I wanted to. It was however, frustrating at time and a slow learning curve for me. Unfortunately I feel I got better at the end when I really need it at the start. It is something I will continue to work on and strive to use more and more throughout my work. If I was to do this assignment again, I would of read through the actually tasks more in depth and really understood what was being asked of me and how much detail was actually needed. Rather than what ended up, going back to add more things in when I needed that time spent elsewhere. I also would of spent more time getting used to Photoshop and exploring the different facilities on practice images, instead of launching straight into my actual work and ‘learning it as I go’. I have learned a lot from this assignment and have a much better understanding of what goes into a buyers role. Its not all just about the travelling. I am considering buying now for my final major project as I enjoyed this and found it both challenging and rewarding.