Retail Management by Lilli's Portfolio

Retail Management – Section 04

Samantha Boersma Brianna Stein Kaitlyn Harris Lillianna Dorta Maggie Carbone

Vision Statement Â

Your Closet aspires to expand, reaching as many women as possible with our message. We wish to do this by maintaining excellent customer satisfaction while progressing as a leading luxury brand within the industry.

Your Closet strives to give women a personalized shopping experience within a comfortable environment. Our goal is to inspire and assist our clients in the creation of their own unique essentials. We believe every woman should have a say in how her closet basics look and fit. We sell only sustainable products made from recycled materials to lessen our effect on the environment.

Mission Statement

C onc ept Statement Your Closet is a destination for women to personalize closet basics and tailor these garments to their specific styles and needs. Our boutique will be located on North Damen Ave. in Bucktown, Chicago, IL among a variety of luxury designer and specialty shops. This location will place us within a high-end environment with access to clientele looking for quality goods that are curated more toward a personal style. We stand to be a sustainable retailer creating products made of only recycled materials. We independently produce our merchandise and partner with local artisans to give our customers the highest quality of clothing and embellishments. With a team of highly trained and innovative professionals, Your Closet will offer a personalized experience to our clients enabling guaranteed satisfaction. We strive to provide a creative and welcoming environment to for our customers. Our sophisticated and relaxing atmosphere is filled with inspiration, encouraging our customers to create with no restrictions. With the highest forms of technology, we will offer an unparalleled shopping experience. Every woman dreams of basics that perfectly suit themselves, and here at Your Closet we love to make these necessities a reality.

Your Closet employs innovative professionals who have the creative and fashion-forward mindset necessary to inspire and connect with our clients. In our store, customers have the opportunity to work directly with our specialists to create one-of-a-kind pieces. Your Closet’s goal is to provide a stimulating environment where our clients feel equally as excited as our employees throughout the creative process. At Your Closet it is all about the customers’ needs and the genuine relationships we form with them, as their creativity drives our business.

C ulture

Our C ustomer Â

Geographic

Region: Midwest City Size: 2,000,000+ Urban/rural: Urban Climate: Temperate

Demographics

Age: 30-60 Sex: Female Household size: 2-3+ Income: $60,000-$70,000 Occupation: Professional Education: College Graduate

Psychographics

Culture: American Religion: All religions National Origin: All Race: All Social Class: Upper Class Marital Status: Married Psychographics: Achievers

Consumer Behavior

Brand Loyalty: None Store Loyalty: Undivided Usage Rate: Medium User Status: Current User Payment Method: Credit Card Media Usage: Magazines, Internet, TV Usage Situation: Home and work

Your Closet is a retailer that is completely unique in our services and how we design and manufacture clothing. Our products are of the highest quality and we use 100% recycled materials to create our garments. Because of this, we have a very select few competitors, which are as follows:

• American Apparel • Gap • Michael Kors • Alexander Wang

C ompetition

Branding

Symbol

Logo

Font News Gothic MT

Sign

Camisole

Tank Top

T-Shirt

Bustier

Sleeveless Button Up Boyfriend Cardigan

Button Up

Cardigan

Available in Blazer

*Additional colors upon request

Tops $50 - $400

Produc t Assortment

Low-waist Shorts

High-waist Shorts

A-line Skirt

Trousers

Pencil Skirt

Jumpsuit

Available in

Bottoms $50 - $500 *Additional colors upon request

Dresses

Maxi Dress

$100 - $600 Fitted Dress

Shift Dress

Available in *Additional colors upon request

Tote Bag

Structured Clutch

Shoulder Bag Cross Body Bag

Slouchy Clutch

Available in

*Additional colors upon request

Bags

$75 - $1000

Alterations & Embellishments At Your Closet we are happy to make any alterations to our customers’ purchased garments to perfectly suit their needs. Our expert, in-house tailors will work alongside our associates to ensure the perfect and stylization.

Studs

Gems

Zippers

Trimmings

Buttons

Beads

Additional Applications • Monogramming Embellishments $50 for 10 pieces • Pockets Zippers $30 each • Sleeves Trimmings $20/yd. • Other requests

Loc ation Facts Cross Streets Â

West Armitage Avenue & North Damen Avenue

Dimensions

Total space 1,600 square feet (80 feet by 20 feet) Back room 400 square feet (20 feet by 20 feet) Shape long, narrow rectangle Location of entrances front of building, back of house Location of windows store front, left wall

Liabilities

Monthly rent $27/square foot/year Terms of lease triple net (nnn) Common area fees all apply Security deposit none Realtor fees n/a Expenses incurred by lease all expenses Allowable renovations any Landlord obligation/commitment none

Back Door

Clothing Racks

Bathroom with toilet, sink, and door

Warehouse Shelving Warehouse Shelving

Warehouse Shelving

Work Station

Dressing Room with bench Alteration Area with Full Mirror Clothing Rack Shelving Clothing Rack Window

Display Window

Warehouse Shelving

Dressing Room with bench

Door

Dressing Room with bench Register Storage Table

Clothing Rack

Table Chair

Chair

Storage Table Table Chair Chair Couch Table Table Couch Table Chair Chair

Shelving

Clothing Rack

Television

Shelving

Table Window

Front Door

Window

Planagram

With a focus on creating a welcoming and home-like atmosphere, we have incorporated an abundance of comfortable seating areas in the store. This was strategically done to encourage bonding between customers and associates and give customers space to create.

Store D éc or

Our store will feature extremely contemporary pieces accompanied by simplistic and industrial fixtures. In order to maintain a sleek and open environment, a minimal amount of merchandise will be displayed on the floor.

E-Business

Twitter

Instagram

Facebook

Webpage

Marketing

Place Your Closet merchandise will be available to purchase exclusively in our bricks-and-mortar location. Our website will offer a gallery of all our merchandise in additional color options that can be ordered through the store, along with the embellishments we offer. Our products will be made and distributed to our store from our Chicago warehouse.

Price The final price of each item is wholly dependent on the quantity of embellishments used and the intricacy of the desired design. Basic alterations and monogramming services on our handbags will be complimentary with a purchase. We offer premium priced merchandise because our goods are of a luxury standard.

Promotions & Events Each month Your Closet will present our potential and existing clients with various promotions and special events that reflect our appreciation and encouragement for their continued support. Holiday Parties Themed events reflecting the overall season encouraging clients to create special pieces for these occasions. Holiday parties will take place before Valentines Day, Halloween, New Years, and Easter. Girls Night Out Your Closet will host a bi-annual GNO event welcoming all clients to include their family and friends in our unique shopping experience. Guests will be served appetizers and refreshments and be able to shop and create a piece after store hours. Blogger Event Twice a year, in the months of March and September, Your Closet will host an event welcoming all Midwest fashion and lifestyle bloggers to enjoy a night of refreshments and creativity with an exclusive look at unique pieces handmade by our designers. This event will generate publicity and brand awareness, as well as allow us to connect to the younger demographics we wish to target. Private Parties Your Closet happily offers our space to any clients wishing to book a private party or event.

Promotions cont.

We will maintain an updated website with multiple links to features including available merchandise, promotions and events, the designers, a photo gallery and much more. Your Closet will advertise three times a year in all local lifestyle publications. • TCW Magazine • Time Out Chicago • Michigan Avenue • CS Magazine Each advertisement will run during the holiday and summer season, as well as during Chicago Fashion Week attracting an array of fashionistas. Around the New Year, we will send out a calendar to each of our clients notifying them of the various promotions and events that will be taking place throughout the year. Monthly updates will also me mailed with a small sample of our newest available embellishments.

Customer Loyalty Programs

Implemented programs to encourage customer loyalty and increased sales • Gift Cards for birthday • Coupons for customers who enter their information in client book • Monthly customer loyalty events (Example: Girls Night Out after hours on Sunday) • 10% discount if you bring/donate basics to boutique • Business Women Appreciation: Receive 5% off all business wear when you provide the boutique with your business card. • Access to exclusive events held only for loyal customers who have spent $5,000 at our store

Advertising

Your Closet’s advertising strategy will focus on attracting a wide variety of creative individuals looking to invent and expand on their personal style. All ads will display the unique atmosphere of our store and the services we offer. They will be directly targeted at our niche market of women who desire and appreciate a highly creative experience and aspire to finally own perfect closet essentials.

Publicity Â

Your Closet is a high-end boutique offering a completely original service. Our fashion forward and creatively driven customers will share their personalized experience through cost free social media platforms. By frequently utilizing multiple channels including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter we will be able to interact and engage with a wide range of consumers. Upon the grand opening, a press release will be sent to all major fashion publications and blogs in the Chicago area, to generate publicity and attract fashion lovers around the city. With our high volume of satisfied customers, word of mouth will become extremely influential toward the promotion of our brand along with these networking platforms.

Advertising Calendar & Budgets Â

Organizational C ulture Your Closet is a friendly and fun environment for all employees. We strive to show our associate appreciation by providing regular incentives, bonuses, rewards, raises, and recognition. It’s our goal to make each and every employee feel excited and inspired everyday when they come to work. We love fashion and we want our associates to succeed in what they love to do. We have hired a team of new alumni from Fashion Design schools all over Chicago in order to help them get their start in this industry. We are all about creating opportunities for our employees to grow and flourish alongside the business. Your Closet also offers internship programs for any qualified college fashionista looking to gain experience.

Management Style Coaching Managers and Paternal Leaders

Motivation

Employees are motivated by the incentives and recognition driven around monthly comps, rewards based on highest customer information capture in customer book, and weekly focus contests.

Every week for the entire month (based on previous months results) store will have a contest on what needs improvement in sales (example: ADS, UPT, Comp, LY, etc.)

Goal Setting Sheet

Management

Selling Program Employees work based on a 10% commission wage if the established $10/hr. base rate is met.

Discounts

• $500 allowance received first month of employment to encourage self promotion of the boutique • Regular Employee Discount 25% off

Incentives Bonuses If you comp on your monthly goal: Part-time--$50 (added onto following paycheck) Full-time--$100 (added onto following paycheck) Raises Bi-annual raises are provided based on positive performance reviews ($1.00-$1.50 raises) Recognition Create an “Associate of the Month” board in the backroom that celebrates the employee who comped the highest in their goal. Rewards The Associate that is chosen for “Associate of the Month” receives 40% off product for the month they were recognized for.

Management S truc ture Â

Owners/ Managers Director of Finance Samantha Public Relations Director Bri Human Resources Director Lilli

Associate s

Designers

Head of Sales Kate Head of Marketing Maggie

Head Designer Leah Designer Jenna Tailor Amy

Interns Design Intern Nina Social Media Intern Claire

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