Fashion Marketing Major Project - Research Report by Lotti Grace

re:lease

FASHION MARKETING MAJOR PROJECT: RESEARCH JOURNAL LOTTI MARTIN-FULLER 201038548

CONTENTS WEEK ONE

PAGES 5-8

WEEK TWO

PAGES 9-15

WEEK THREE

PAGES 16-23

WEEK FOUR

PAGES 17-32

WEEK FIVE

PAGES 33-43

WEEK SIX

PAGES 43-50

WEEK SEVEN

PAGES 51-58

WEEK EIGHT

PAGES 59-62

WEEK NINE

PAGES 63-64

WEEK TEN

PAGES 65-70

REFERENCE LIST

PAGES 71-73

IMAGE REFERENCE LIST

PAGES 74-76

APPENDICES

PAGES 77-78

WEEK ONE This journal presents my ongoing research and findings over this first semester into a chosen scope of marketing/project. It will contain my own opinions and feedback on the marketing strategy, alongside my peers and tutors feedback of my ideas and visions to assist me in my final research portfolio. At the start of this week, I was overwhelmed with the range of the project as it was possible to take this marketing assignment in any direction I wanted. Below is a list of possible directions outlined in the module handbook;

New Product/Service Launch Strategy New business Strategy Re-brand/Re-launch Strategy Brand Development/Extension Strategy Branded Content Strategy Global Brand Strategy Customer Insight Strategy Advertising Strategy Direct and Promotional Strategy New media Strategy Social Media Strategy PR Strategy Media Planning and Buying Strategy Event or Experiential Strategy B2B Strategy or Campaign B2C Strategy or Campaign Music and Entertainment Strategy.

MIND MAP

It was only in the workshop at the end of the week that I started to understand what was needed from me throughout this semester, and more importantly how to start finding the direction of my project. My tutors assured my peers and I that we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need an idea straight away, instead we were led towards investigating the current market trends and the macro market environment. From performing these brainstorming activities on a mind map (see figure 2) we were to identify an area in the market that we were interested in and believed that there was a potential gap for innovation.

BRAINSTORMING ACTIVITIES

IDEAS & FEEDBACK I walked away from this brainstorming session with two ideas for my marketing project. One being a rebrand of EBAY’s selling strategy – once an auction site, changed to ‘buy it now’. I believe that there is a gap in the market for EBAY to relaunch as an auction site with the aim of drawing in sustainably conscious millennials and generation Z who care about individuality, connectedness and staying away from large fashion corporations. My second idea, again, followed the same consumer market with the same issues and fears, yet found a gap in the market for a peer-to-peer rental fashion app. The app would consist of a digital wardrobe displayed similar to existing apps Instagram and Depop, yet the premise of the app is to rent rather than buy or view clothes from other peers with the aim of cutting down consumption levels. In this session I received feedback from tutors Sara and Maria, as well as peers on my rental fashion concept. Whilst all feedback was positive, it was brought to light by my tutors that there have been various fashion rental websites/apps that had failed to gain widespread acceptance, and if I did explore this route I would need to conduct considerable research into why these failed, what was their target market, and how I could market it differently to be successful. Furthermore, Sara suggested to be a rental service working alongside a brand such as Levis to rent out jeans for a prolonged period of time to then exchange for different styles when the consumer wanted. Adding to this, one of my friends suggested a brick-andmortar rental store in the centre of big cities, which consumers utilise when finding themselves needing a change of clothes (e.g. evening wear, outerwear) and rather than travelling home, renting a product or entire outfit for a small price. Moving forwards, I will research into the millennials and generation Z consumer market, and look at macro trends affecting them by conducting a PESTEL analysis. I will also conduct research into the success of auction and rental sites and present a competitor analysis.

THE FASHION MARKETING PLANNING PROCESS Figure 5, outlines the fashion marketing planning process as proposed by Easey (2009, p.239), with 8 particular steps in the process, which boosts ongoing activity and self-improvement (2009). An outline of each step is as follows;

Mission Statement ↓ Corporate Objectives ↓ Marketing Objectives ↓ Marketing Audit ↓ Marketing Strategy ↓ Marketing Plan ↓ Implementation ↓ Evaluation and Control

1. Mission Statement – A short statement of a company’s purpose and beliefs. They are aimed not only towards customers, but stakeholders, employees, suppliers and even competitors.

Easey argues that the most important part of the fashion marketing process is the strategic planning that brings the 4 P’s of the marketing mix together in unison (2009). Easey defines a marketing strategy as “a specification of those markets the firm wishes to target with marketing activities and how competitive advantages are to be created and achieved” (2009, p.238). In terms of my project, this suggests that EBAY or the rental fashion brand would target the Generation Z market through particular marketing activities such as social media marketing (successful with younger generations) to create a competitive advantage in the marketplace. However, strategic marketing planning is not one single rule for all markets, as Ansoff argues that there are “different environmental challenges [that] require different strategic responses, and, as a consequence, different planning approaches” (1994, cited in McDonald, 1996, p.5). Therefore, I will need to take into consideration the constantly changing landscape of the eternal market environment alongside the internal Generation Z market environment to ensure the success of the marketing strategy.

2. Corporate Objectives – A realistic goal set by the company that influences its internal strategic decisions. Includes operations such as production, personnel and safety. 3. Marketing Objectives – Clear and specific quantified data objectives, such as profit levels, number of new/existing customers and the market share. Often challenging for companies. 4. Marketing Audit – An analysis of the business marketing environment, both internal and external. A framework is the PESTLE or SWOT analysis, which helps identify areas for correction. 5. Marketing Strategy – Important long-term decisions for finding customers for the business. Assessing the competition, examining market segments and utilising the Ansoff Matrix can all aid the development of the marketing strategy. 6. Marketing Plan – A business document that outlines the marketing strategy over a specified period (often 12 months, or two seasons in the fashion calendar). It states what needs to be done, and how and when it will be implemented. 7. Implementation – The process of executing the marketing strategy/plan to ensure that the marketing objectives are achieved.

8. Evaluation and Control – Focuses on analysing both qualitative and quantitative data from implementation and strategy. It examines whether or not the company reached its goals through controls such as marketing budgets or market share. If successful they are replicated, if not, they are improved for future plans.

WEEK TWO

PESTEL ANALYSIS

POLITICAL

ECONOMIC

• Crime rose by 10 per cent last year as rape, stabbings, robbery and murder all increased • US ready to negotiate free trade deal with UK ‘as soon as’ Britain quits the EU, says Trump envoy • Theresa May says Brexit could be extended by a ‘matter of months’ amid row with Tory MPs • Britain will face £36 billion Brexit bill if it fails to agree a trade deal with EU, Chancellor warns MPs • Brexit: Eurostar services ‘could be disrupted by nodeal’ • PM warned of ‘voter backlash’ over Brexit • Manual workers are most at risk from Brexit • Japan says EU could join trade pact post-Brexit • UK trade minister rejects Saudi summit

• • • • • • • • • • • •

TECHNOLOGICAL

SOCIAL • • • • • • • • • •

Cheaper food drives UK inflation lower in September Food sales drop as barbeque summer ends Benefits error triggers £5000 refunds Pound rallies - sterling pushes back above $1.31 on positive Brexit comments UK wage growth fastest for nearly 10 years Universal credit rollout delayed again Drastic tax cuts mean tens of thousands of NHS staff are fleeing their gold-plated pensions High earners to miss out on £860 tax cut in Budget Taxman chases parents who have been overpaid child benefit Inflation-busting pay rise for pensioners as triple lock delivers £220 Cash usage continues to decline in UK as contactless surges Half of twenty-somethings have no savings

Kleenex bins ‘Mansize’ tissues Marijuana legalised in Canada Gender equality in Hollywood is still a long way off Millions of jobs at risk from global trade war, WTO warns Waitrose renames ‘sexist’ Gentleman’s Roll after complaints Patients told they’re ‘not thin enough’ for eating disorder treatment Harvard - should race count in university admissions? England is falling behind other countries on obesity, mental health and infant deaths. It predicts rising health problems by 2030 without changes in policy. Childhood sleep problems are on the rise - and phones are to blame Weight Watchers rebrands in bid to distance itself from dieting

• China to launch artificial ‘moon’ into orbit to light up city • AI-powered fashion sales company Thread raises £17 million in funding • Facebook ‘to launch camera-equipped TV streaming device’ amid privacy concerns • Tech giants to sign up to new code of conduct to reduce risk of cyber attacks • Economist who predicted financial crash warns Bitcoin is ‘mother of all scams’ • Facial recognition system to approve alcohol and cigarettes sales to be trialled by first British supermarket • Huawei launches Mate 20 Pro that can wirelessly charge other phones • Tiny companion phone released in Japan • New safety features on UBER - can call emergency services at the press of a button

ENVIRONMENTAL

LEGAL

• ‘Largest living thing’ is dying due to human impact, scientists say • Two thirds of millennials favour ‘green collar’ jobs, government study finds • Solve recycling chaos with traffic light labels on supermarket packaging, Government told • Dead dogfish found with plastic wrapper stuck in its mouth • Scottish Power to become first 100% renewable major UK energy company • Nature ‘will need 5 million years to fix man-made extinctions’ • Venice and Pisa among heritage sites threatened by sea-level rise • Climate change already negatively affecting mental health, study shows • Huge reduction in meat eating ‘vital to maintain world food supply’

• Labour pledges to end ‘cancer commute’ with travel scheme for under 25 • Labour promises free wifi in town centres and scrapping ATM charges • ‘Golden passports’ firm was consulted by government over investor visas • Racial bias in stop and search is getting worse, black people are nine times more likely to be checked for drugs than white people • UK consumers could lose EU legal rights in event of no-deal Brexit • Government considering a change in the law of full ingredient labelling on food products after teenage girl suffered nut allergy in Pret sandwich • In countries that have full bans on smacking, rates of physical fighting among adolescents are up to 69% lower

“WHY BUY THAT PRICEY NEW DRESS WHEN YOU COULD FUND A WEEKEND GETAWAY INSTEAD?”

MACRO ENVIRONMENT Following on from week 1, we were told to look into the external and internal marketing environment. By completing a PESTEL analysis of the external macro environment, it is clear that the upcoming year is one of “extremism and uncertainty” which is in turn going to bring upheaval and change (White, 2018). My rental fashion service idea has links to issues of sustainability that are outlined in the environmental section, as consumption is too high in not only the fashion industry, but the food, gas, electric, and fuel industries. If I link these environmental aspects of the concept with the technological reliance, and ever-growing interconnectedness of younger generations, and with the economic aspects - youngster’s lack of savings and surging contactless and e-commerce payments, there is clear gap in the Generation Z market for this collective consumption service.

ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS

WEAKNESSES

• Consumers are turning their back on consumption, and spending their money on experiences rather than material products • Younger generations have increasing reliance on techonology, apps and e-commerce - the brick-and-mortar stores are dying out • Despite UK wages rising at the fastest rate in 10 years, an alarming amount of teenagers/ twenty-somethings have little to no savings and are therefore demanding more for their money

• The economy is on its way back up, people have more money now than they did in the past decade • Arguably, in at period of political upheaval (concerns around Brexit), certain groups in soicety are disconnecting themselves entirely from technology - such as Lagom living

OPPORTUNITIES

THREATS

• Economically, as the ‘pound rallies’, British consumers can get more for their pound when purchasing from abroad. • Growth of VR and AR technologies opens up opportunities for the fashion industry to provide immersive experiences for consumers. Fashion and technology can grow together. • AI can be used for successful fashion sales

• Japan say the EU could join trade pact-post Brexit, leaving the UK out of trade deals, this directly affects the British apparel industry as businesses within the UK will not be able to manufacture, produce or trade within the EU • Consumers are caring more about the environment now, more so than ever, meaning the fashion companies has to change it’s structure altogether to stay afloat in the market. • Some consumers are realising consumption levels are too high and are starting to practice collective consumption

SECOND-HAND CONSUMPTION?

Furthermore, through researching macro trends, I found the macro trend “Immaterial Fashion” by LSN Global. In short, the trend declares that “As the fashion industry grapples with existential questions about supply chain and overconsumption, digitisation offers a new route for consumers still seeking to engage with clothing brands” (Stott and Piras, 2018). According to Stott and Piras, there is critical consumption that is unsustainable alongside apparel being replaced by “travel, eating out and memorable activities” (2018). Due to these mindless consumption patterns, people are hoarding clothes digitally rather than physically – such as Finery, a digital wardrobe service.

SECOND-HAND STYLE MOODBOARD

MACRO TREND: SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES

FACE THE FACTS: -ANNUALLY, 300,000 TONNES OF APPAREL ENDS UP IN LANDFILL (ELLSON, 2018) -44% OF WOMEN WANT TO ECO-FRIENDLY IN THEIR CHOICES (HALLS, 2018)

BE MORE FASHION

HOWEVER

-80% OF WOMEN ARE STILL DRIVEN ON PRICE OVER SUSTAINABILITY(MINTEL, 2017., CITED IN SANER, 2017).

The apparel industry is the second highest polluting industry after oil causing monumental problems both socially and for the environment (Sweeny, 2015). Although there are many causes for this over-pollution, mass consumption and the fast fashion cycle play a key part (Hu et al., 2014). Saner (2017) suggests that unravelling this “unbelievable mess” is almost impossible, yet there is evidence that younger generations are demanding sustainable options in a time where sustainable fashion is somewhat desirable. In industrialised countries a high level of consumption is normal, and therefore consumers are not willing to alter their consumption levels drastically (Strähle and Erhard, 2017). Therefore, to slow down the pollution and consumption levels, a sustainable consumption strategy must be put into place, such as collaborative consumption.

Three important definitions defined by Botsman (2013, cited in Strähle and Erhard, 2017, p.144). Collaborative Consumption - “An economic model based on sharing, swapping, trading, or renting products and services, enabling access over ownership. It is reinventing not just what we consumer but how we consume” Sharing Economy – “An economic model based on sharing underutilized assets from spaces to skills to stuff for monetary or non-monetary benefits. It is currently largely talked about in relation to P2P marketplaces but equal opportunity lies in B2C models”

Collaborative Economy – “An economy built on distributed networks of connected individuals and communities versus centralized institutions, transforming how we can produce, consume, finance and learn”

SUSTAINABILITY. SOCIAL. ENVIRONMENT. POLITCAL. ENVIRONMENTAL. TREES. ECONOMIC. SUSTAINABLE FASHION. LANDFILL. COLLABORATIVE CONSUMPTION. SHARING ECONOMY. ECO-FRIENDLY. ECOFASHION. ETHICAL FASHION. GREEN FASHION. POLLUTION. TREE. RENEWABLE. RECYCLABLE. UPCYCLING. SUSTAINABLE.

ANSOFF’S MATRIX EXISTING PRODUCT

NEW MARKET

MARKET PENETRATION

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

• Increase sales to the existing market • Penetrate more deeply into the existing market

• New product developed for existing markets • Product needs to be differentiated in order to remain competitive • E.g. Research and innovation, detailed insights into customer needs and being first in the market

MARKET DEVELOPMENT

DIVERSIFICATION

• E.g. Competitive pricing strategies, advertising, sales promotion

• Existing products sold to new marekts • Expand the customer base of firm or company • E.g. New geographical markets (exporting to new country) • E.g. New distribution channels (moving from selling via retail to using e-commerce)

• New products in new markets • The most risky strategy • Must have a clear idea of what it expects to gain and an honest assessment of the risks • With the right balance between risk and reward, diversification can be highly rewarding

INCREASING RISK

EXISTING MARKET

NEW PRODUCT

INCREASING RISK

ESTABLISHING STRATEGIC DIRECTION Ansoff’s Matrix is a tool that shows four potential strategies that companies can utilise when trying to achieve profitable growth. A rental fashion service provides exisiting products to a newer, digitally advanced ecommerce market. In order for success in my venture I will have to develop this market.

WEEK THREE

CUSTOMER RESEARCH There are many emerging consumer groups and therefore new market trends that arise in response. McKinsey & Company have identified 10 macro trends that will influence the European consumer-packaged-goods (CPG) market by 2030. It is predicted that there will be vast changes in consumer behaviour as a whole. A stagnating mass market means consumers will have a decreased disposable income who won’t be willing to pay higher prices for goods (Krings et al., 2016). Furthermore, due to a fragmented and niche marketplace, companies are needing to offer unique products or process of selling the products in order to attract these “small yet lucrative consumer segments” (Krings et al., 2016). Alongside this, CISCO’s report,

Consumer 2020, found that there has been a “monumental shift” in the “power of the consumer since the emergence of digital media” (2018, p.2). Consumers now have the power to redistribute control from brands to peers as “user generated content will far exceed branded content” (Brandt, 2018, p.3., cited in CISCO, 2018). CISCO argues that consumers will take on brand roles, such as ‘the consumer as a store’ where “consumers can curate, sell and purchase products and services anywhere and anytime” (2018, p.7). This proposes that peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms and collaborative consumption are major trends to be acted upon by brands in the near future – and furthermore suggests that a P2P rental fashion service could successfully stay afloat in the changing consumer landscape.

WHO ARE THE TARGET MARKET?

Fashion rental services have arisen in response to societies demands for sustainable clothing, with the sharing/ circular economy and collaborative consumption driving this. LSN Global’s macro trend, ‘Gen Viz’, highlights the importance of environmentally friendly products to the members of Generation Z who “want to buy less, not more” (Mickiewicz and Buchanan, 2016). The success of competitor Depop, is due to a key part of gen z’s characteristics - they want to be their own boss, linking to CISCOs research. According to Greene (2017, cited in Bearne, 2017), “Gen Z are generally much more entrepreneurial and creative in the way they make money. They see themselves as brands, creators, marketers and are using social media to monetise their influence”. Furthermore, as a generation they have grown up as digital natives, spending over 3 hours a day on digital media, higher than any other age group (Dogtiev, 2018). Benefitting this research, Posner (2015) found that by 2020, 40% of consumers in the US, Europe, and BRIC countries will be gen Z. In conclusion, despite millennials being the typical target market for clothing rental services, I am targeting the extremely inter-connected, experience-driven and sustainably conscious generation Z market.

The global online clothing rental market is predicted to have a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10% from 2017 to 2023, from $1,013 to $1,856 million (Allied Market Research, 2017). According to Allied Market Research (2017), if geographically segmented, North America are the market leaders accounting for 40% of the global market, with Europe being a close second. Additionally, the main consumers are fashion-conscious females that lack financial resources and are looking to rent at the luxury end of the market (Allied Market Research, 2017; Braithwaite, 2018). Fellow rental service, Rent the Runway, typically cater to the needs of a “well-educated 29-year-old female professional”, or as a whole demographic, millennials (Reuters, 2018).

/ IGEN / THUMBIES / / GENERATION SCAPEGOAT / MEME GENERATION / DELTA GENERATION / MEMELORDS / MEMENNIALS / GENERATION SNAP / HOPEFUL GENERATION / THE LAST GENERATION / THE CLEANER-UPPERS

THE XANAX

GENERATION / DOOMED / SISU GENERATION / POSTMILLENNIALS

SPIMES

GEN Z = GEN WE 19

GEN ME OR GEN WE

Delving further into generation z research, it is argued that the generation is actually “deeply divided” into two microsegments, Gen Me and Gen We (Owen, 2018, p.10). Gen Me crave competition, are follower-focused and push self-empowerment, whereas Gen We participate in collaboration, are feelings-focused and empower their peers/people (Owen, 2018). According to Owen, Gen Me represent the vast majority of Gen Z consumers reacting to their anxiety by escapism often on their “fabricated and filtered” social media outlets (2018, p.15). Gen We are community-based, bringing others out of their anxiety by being collective and sharing their struggles with one another. Sustainability is at the top of the list of issues that Gen We are trying to tackle collectively as they are conscious of the future, investing time and demanding change (Owen, 2018). As a result of this research, I think that my rental app would be more appealing to the Gen We cohort as they stand for sustainability issues, optimism for the future and collaboration – all of which my concept stands for. Despite this, it is not to say that Gen Me wouldn’t also use the service, as although it is born out of issues not close to the groups beliefs, it does provide a platform for them to filter and fabricate their lives as it could be used as another form of social media.

CUSTOMER SEGMENTATION

CONSUMER

PEN PORTRAIT

As Easey says, “a central component of the definition of fashion marketing is satisfying customers’ needs profitably” (2009b, p.64), as without customers there is no business. Many companies create their products with a certain group of consumers in mind, however in order for the company or business to target a particular consumer group, a process of customer segmentation needs to be completed. Customer segmentation is one part of the STP marketing strategy (segmentation, targeting, and positioning) that businesses’ follow in order to appeal to their specified target

audience (Posner, 2015a). Customer segmentation consists of four main variables; demographic, geographic, behavioural and psychographic segments. This segmentation deciphers who the customers are, how and where they live, how they behave and why they purchase products. The customer profile revolves around Emily, a university student who showed a lot of interest in the idea and dubbed herself as the ‘ideal customer’. After informally interviewing her, I divided the information found into customer segments in order to create a pen profile.

DEMOGRAPHIC

BEHAVIOURISTIC - Rarely buys clothes as she places little importance in having a large wardrobe - Often borrows garments from friends - If Emily does buy clothes they are from Depop, EBAY, or second-hand shops - Shops with a budget in mind, won’t pay high prices even if she really wants the item -Buys at low prices so doesn’t feel guilty wearing an item once - Living in a country that fast fashion has directly affected, she has concerns for the environment and tries to practice ‘conscious consumption’ when she can

- 20 years old - Female - Generation Z (could be argued as a Millennial) - Student at The University of Leeds reading English Literature & Film Studies - Single - Middle Class

EMILY

- Her family home is on the coast in Kenya, Africa but resides in a central London apartment when in the UK out of term time. - Lives in a shared student house in Hyde Park, Leeds with 5 other girls in term time of University. - Due to often switching between arid, hot climates to cold and rainy, Emily needs an array of clothing pieces and a versatile wardrobe at her disposal.

GEOGRAPHIC

- Spending time with friends is key to Emily’s happiness - Has travelled to far corners of the world on several occasions and deems travelling the greatest form of learning - Loves to party and let her hair down so needs a wardrobe that can suit these needs - Would rather go out and do an activity than sit in and watch TV - Loves to make new memories and documents them on social media such as Instagram

PSYCHOGRAPHIC

CUSTOMER PROFILE INTERVIEW

1. What are your favourite pastime activities? My favourite pastime activities would definitely be socialising with friends, or if it is hot, being outdoors.

5. What type of clothing would you primarily rent from others?

2. How would you describe your fashion sense?

I think primarily I would rent items I would deem bold/daring and not brave enough to buy myself. Also it would be perfect for items for fancy dress occasions such as society/ sports nights out or house parties that are specific to a theme.

My fashion sense is probably a bit strange, obviously living with two fashion students for the past two years I think I’ve become more conscious about fashion and my choices. But I still don’t hold fashion and my clothes as a priority. I think I sometimes try to look ‘cooler’ rather than ‘nicer’ which sometimes doesn’t pay off!

6. What type of clothing would you rent out to others?

3. What are you favourite clothing brands/ sites to buy from?

Assuming there would be security guidelines in place, I don’t think I would have an issue renting any of my clothing out. But based on what I would rent from others, I would rent out party clothing, nicer casual wear (not basic white tees and my wardrobe staples), as well as evening wear/ballgowns that sit in my wardrobe untouched for months on end.

Depop, Urban Outfitters, charity and vintage shops (such as Blue Rinse in Leeds)

4. Why would you use the rental app (if you would)? I would definitely use the rental app. I don’t place that much importance on my clothes but I do like to look nice, especially when going out or socialising. Being able to rent clothes and then give them back is firstly cost effective and secondly, wouldn’t clog up my wardrobe.

7. How much would you be willing to pay for a simple item such as a top (for 3-4 days)?

Maybe £4-6 depending on the top and why I’m renting it – if it’s a really delicate evening top I would pay more.

WEEK FOUR MARKET TRENDS Following on from last week’s session, it was brought to my attention by my peers that I hadn’t narrowed down the consumer target market entirely. Despite targeting the generation Z age group, questions were raised - is this service working within a global, international or national market? This week I plan to look into global macro trends and competitor analysis in order to find an area for the fashion rental app to grow and succeed.

In this week’s lecture, there were three global macro trends discussed – global economic uncertainty, new consumers, and new fashion systems. The global economic uncertainty trend highlighted that globalisation is being driven by increased connectivity, as well as a growth in Asia Pacific consumption. Delving further into this, I looked at The State of Fashion 2018 report by McKinsey and Business of Fashion. This report raised ten trends that are changing the scope of fashion in 2018 (see above). Within this, there was a trend named ‘Asian Trailblazers’ which explained that Asia have two-thirds of the world’s e-commerce and over half of online retail sales whilst expanding at a far greater growth rate than anywhere else (Amed et al., 2017).

This linked with the ‘Platforms First’ trend of consumers relying on online platforms for “convenience, relevance and broad offering” and the ‘Mobile Obsessed’ trend suggesting the “end-to-end transactions of shopping will move to mobile” (Amed et al., 2017) suggests that the Asian market would utilise my proposed service. Additionally, Allied Market Research found that the Asia-Pacific region is estimated to have the highest compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the online clothing rental market from 2017-2023 having a share of 11.4% (2017). This is mainly due to the increasing economies, the increase in social acceptance of renting clothes as well as a growth in e-commerce channels (Allied Market Research, 2017).

RENTAL MARKET RESEARCH

Forecasted fashion-industry sales growth, 2018-2019 by % (McKinsey & Company, 2017)

DEVELOPED MARKETS

1-2 North America

2-3

Europe Mature

Asia-Pacific Mature

EMERGING MARKETS

5-6

Latin America

5-6

Middle East and Africa

5.5-6.5

6.5-7.5

Europe Emerging

Asia-Pacific Emerging

India online apparel shopping percentage for women (an example of Asia-Pacific reliance on e-commerce) (Allied Market Research, 2017).

45 40 35 30 25 20

15 10 5 0

2015

2020

COMPETITORS

:DIRECT

- MONTHLY SUSBSCRIPTION SERVICE - FOCUSES ON LUXURY FASHION - OFFERS PERSONAL STYLING SERVICE - CORE VALUES: SUSTAINABILITY, ONLY WORKS WITH ETHICALLY SOURCED BRANDS - CAN RENT FOR UP TO 10 DAYS - AIMED AT MILLENNIAL WOMEN WHO WANT TO ‘WEAR THE CATWALK’ & DESIGNER ITEMS - CLOTHING CATEGORIES INCLUDE: ASCOT, EVERYDAY, HOLIDAY, NIGHTS OUT, OFFICE WEAR AND WEDDING GUEST - ONLY A HANDFUL OF ITEMS UNDER £30 AS A ONE-OFF RENTAL

- MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE - RENT COUTURE FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS - DESIGNER INVENTORY IS WORTH $1 BILLION - MARKETS MILLENNIALS, TYPICAL CLIENT IS A WELL-EDUCATED 29 YEAR-OLD FEMALE PROFESSIONAL - IN-STORE AS WELL AS ONLINE - CAN CHOOSE RENTING TIME FRAMES BETWEEN 4-8 DAYS - RTR COVERS INSURANCE AND DRY-CLEANING - CAN BUY FROM CLEARANCE SECTION - USA BASED ONLY - EXPENSIVE PRICE TAGS

- RENT FEMALE CLOTHING FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS - 4000 DESIGNER PIECES OVER 150 DESIGNER BRANDS - PREDOMINANTLY RENTS OUT DRESSES - EVERYDAY WEAR ISNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T AN OPTION - OPTION TO BUY SOME ITEMS, NOT ALL - UK BASED - INSURANCE NOT INCLUDED, CAN BE ADDED FOR EXTRA - 2 NIGHT OR 7 NIGHT RENTAL PERIOD - PRE-PAID RETRUNS - DRY CLEANING IS COVERED BY BRAND

COMPETITORS

:INDIRECT

- PEER-TO-PEER BUYING AND SELLING - CONNECTS CULTURE, DESIGN, CREATIVE COMMUNITIES AROUND THE WORLD - M-COMMERCE (MOBILE APP ONLY) - CAN CONNECT WITH FRIENDS/INFLUENCERS AND SEE WHAT THEY ARE LIKING, BUYING AND SELLING - “PART-EBAY, PART-INSTAGRAM” (BRIGNALL, 2017). - CAN SELL ANY PRODUCTS YOU WANT, BUT MOST PRODOMINANTLY SELL VINTAGE, OO’S, 90’S, RAVE-WEAR, Y2K, AS WELL AS SOUGHT AFTER VINTAGE DESGINER ITEMS AND POPULAR SOLD OUT HIGH STREET ITEMS - AIMED AT GENERATION Z AND YOUNGER MILLENNIALS, FEW OVER-30S HAVE HEARD OF IT (BRIGNALL, 2017). - BRITISH SHOPPERS, 80% OF WHOM ARE AGED 1324 (BUTLER, 2018). - BUYER-SELLER PROTECTION ONLY WHEN SOLD THROUGH THE APP

- PEER-TO-PEER BUYING AND SELLING ALONGSIDE MAJOR BRANDS SELLING IN THE SAME MARKETPLACE - BOTH AUCTION AND BUY-IT-NOW OPTIONS AVAILABLE - BRANDS ITSELF AS THE WORLD’S ONLINE MARKETPLACE TO BUY OR SELL ALMOST ANYTHING - SELL BOTH NEW AND USED PRODUCTS - DOESN’T HAVE A CLEAR TARGET MARKET CONSUMER - SINCE THE EMERGENCE OF DEPOP, EBAY’S YOUNGER FASHION SELLERS AND CONSUMERS FLOODED TO THE NEW APP - SELLS HIGHER-PRICED PRODUCTS

HIGH PRICE

PRICE VS QUALITY

LOW QUALITY

HIGH QUALITY

LOW PRICE HIGH MARKET

MARKET VS AGE

YOUNGER CONSUMER

OLDER CONSUMER (50 Y/O)

MID MARKET

PERCEPTUAL POSITIONING MAPS Positioning maps are helpful when positioning a new brand or product into the market. The maps are formed by examining competitor brands and where they sit within the market, in order to correctly position the new brand (Posner, 2015). I have researched 4 different criteria: quality, price, market level and age of consumer. These are key aspects that I think will help me decide where my concept will fit into the market. From the positioning maps I conclude that the

higher the price and quality, in general, the older the consumer and higher market level of the brand. However, users of eBay often sell products of lower quality and price, yet have an older consumer base (although this may be due to the type of product being sold ie. not apparel). Depop also stands out as they have the youngest consumers buying high quality goods for low prices. This is important as this is the closest to where I will position my brand.

COMPETITOR ANALYSIS TABLE PRODUCTS

RETAIL

1500 luxury Rent online sustainable or in London products, both store. UK only everyday and occasionwear

Approx 10000+ designer items, mostly occasion wear and dresses

4000 occasion dresses. Mixture of designer dresses and high street

USA only. Onetime rental, RTR Unlimited or RTR Update. Online and instore - 5 flagship stores across 4 states (California, DC, Illinois and NY). Rent online and in London store. Rents within Europe

Any item can be sold, but the bulk are used clothing and accessories. Most popular items are vintage, designer, individual and collectable pieces.

Part-Instagram, partEbay. It is an app downloaded on iOS or Android platforms. Most active users are in the UK, US, and Italy.

Any product can be sold on eBay - it is popular for home decor & tech, and collectables amongst the second-hand fashion and accessory market.

Online only - bid in an auction or pay ‘Buy it Now’ price. Customer can barter with peers on the price point.

CONSUMERS

Millennial women who wish to wear designer outfits with sustainable credentials

PROMOTION

Press days, events & parties, popup shops, magazine articles and founder interviews 9 million Partners with female members over 500 in the brands and ‘sisterhood’ investors. of a shared Often use closet. promotion Typically ca- codes and flash ters to well- sales to draw educated 29 consumers in. year old female professional Varied, from Launched a 14 year old showroom to off to prom, showcase it’s to young products, free professionals, Uber transand an older port, and a generation of partnership ‘mothers of with W hothe bride’ tels who hire dresses on behalf of guests who wear them for free. Allows users Former CEO, from 14 years Peter old. Main Reistrup, demographstated that ic are 16-26 the growth was year olds. 70% through word female, 30% of mouth. male. Consumers promote their own stores on other social medias such as Instagram or Facebook to create traction. Baby boomers Ebay use selland Generation er promotions X are main (no. of free consumers. listings) to Younger entice generations people to sell (Milennials their items on and Gen Z) their site and more likely not their to use othcompetitors. er platforms They have also (such as partnered with Depop). branded clothing companies to sell their products new and unused (such as BooHoo).

WEEK FIVE

PRESENTATION SLIDES AND FEEDBACK Barbara expressed her confusion at my target market, explaining that she understood the generational aspect, however didn’t understand as to whether it would be implemented in the UK market or the Asian Pacific market due to my research found on rental success there. Due to this I need to do more research on the markets side by side in order to see where I think it would be the most successful, but as Barbara said, this would mean I would have to re-interview consumers from that region. This raised an issue as Barbara argued that her Asian Pacific Masters students were more designer oriented than high-street, suggesting that the business model wouldn’t work, so advised that I could take what is working over there and move it to the UK market.

This week we had to present a 5 minute oral presentation to peers and tutors of our progress so far. The slides were to include: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

What you are going to do? What is your project concept? Why did you select the area of your research? Who is your target market? What do they need? Who are your main competitors? How will it get done? – Include a brief time management plan

Tutors Barbara and Maria kindly let me voice record their feedback on my phone, I have transcribed the full 6 minute conversation between us in the appendix of this journal. Before presenting I was very nervous, as I don’t like public speaking and often find myself getting flustered and inarticulate. Despite this, overall feedback on my presentation and concept was positive – both said it was an interesting route to go down. I was praised on the depth of my secondary research which was “really strong”, showing the macro and micro trends to support my idea. Furthermore, Maria said that my customer research (interview) was of good quality too, however suggested that from now on I don’t make it obvious that the interviewee is a friend of mine as it can make the research look biased. She also suggested that I delve in further into the generation as a whole as well as a detailed customer profile, looking at psychographics and behaviouristics of millennials and Gen Z side by side in order to show exactly why the concept works for the latter.

Points to improve on:

Maria said that the order of my slides and information relayed could have been restructured as it confused her – I only explained my concept in detail at the end of the presentation. My slides were not in a coherent order which meant that the viewer was left filling gaps in order to fully understand what I was saying. The slides were also overcrowded with text and little imagery, despite them being “really nice”. As well as this, I didn’t include a slide about competitors and only verbally touched on them, and I didn’t include a time management plan for the upcoming weeks. I will use this constructive criticism for my upcoming oral presentation in week 9, fulfilling all the information needed and improve the layout and order of my presentation.

On Friday morning of week 5 we also had a small group meeting with industry expert Paul Young who discussed our ideas and gave us feedback on them. After explaining my initial concept and the reasoning behind it, he argued that it was “the most sustainable idea I have heard yet” from all the meetings he had conducted. Paul argued that sustainability is a large trend and ‘buzzword’ in the fashion but people often focus on the production of clothing to be sustainable whereas my idea focuses on the life cycle and reuse of garments, often overlooked, but just as sustainable. I explained to Paul that I was planning to target this to cash-strapped Gen Z individuals, therefore the products on the app would be mainly mid-market high street garments. However, Paul criticised this, stating that the success of rental competitors such as Rent the Runway were SO successful due to their higher-priced high-end garments and suggested I merge high-street and high-end. Furthermore, he argued that for the app to make a decent sized profit margin it would have to provide both extremes of the product market. Paul also proposed that the app could be joined rental and buying together to increase the profit margin again. Additionally, Paul said that running the app on location services alone to the nearby community may not be scalable and I should look into delivery services as well. Lastly, we discussed the branding and how to present the app. Paul told me to look into Depop as main competitor as their rebranding by Design Studios (who also rebranded AirBnB) made Depop grunge and aesthetically pleasing to the consumer.

PAUL YOUNG MEETING Coming out of this meeting I was pleased with Pauls comments on my brand and idea, and felt confident that my market research had led me to an innovative concept that is needed within my target market. From the discussion in the meeting, it led me to believe that I should jump on the ‘everybody is a photographer’ bandwagon as they have digital portfolios taken on smartphone cameras (Instagram pages, Depop profiles) and make the app a social space to share photographs and build a community on top of the rental aspects.

43 44

BRANDING

1. BRAND NAME

Following the meeting with Paul, I decided to focus on the branding of my rental concept, suggested by Paul. In order to create a brand name I divided words into three categories; action, who, and what, and used these to brainstorm (see table below). The brand name is a vital section of the creative marketing strategy as it not only differentiates the product or service in the marketplace but describes the products “unique product attribute or benefit” to the customer (Yan et al., 2010, p.153). The brand name is a good way to build a brand image and help the consumer associate the positive values it represents (Bao et al., 2008). Due to this, I felt it was necessary to make the brand name as clear as possible when describing the service it delivers.

ACTION RENT HIRE LEASE BORROW LEND SECOND-HAND COLLABORATIVE USE SHARED THRIFT THRIFTY WEAR

WHO? PEER FRIEND MATE PAL

WHAT?

CLOTHES FASHION URBAN COOL EDGY GARM WEARS STYLE

List of potential brand names RETHREAD GARMLEND GARMHIRE COLLAB. SECOND STYLE BORROW STYLE SHARED STYLE BORROW SHOP RE:LEASE

WEAR AND SHARE STREETHIRE CLOTHING COLLAB COLLAB CLOTHES RENT THE STREET PEER HIRE STREET STREET PEER LEND2PEER

2. BRAND FONT/LOGO collab. ™

streethire.™

collab.™

streethire.™

collab. ™

streethire. ™

collab clothing.™ collab clothing.™ collab clothing. ™

re:lease™ re:lease™ re:lease™ Although initially liking Streethire, I decided against this name due to the suggestion that the products for hire are strictly street clothes. Furthermore, I played around with different fonts to see which fit the high-street aesthetic before ultimately deciding on re:lease as the brand name. Re:lease is a play on words between release, meaning the publication or announcement of a new product or service, and lease, a term used to describe renting or hiring out an item.

After creating a list of potential brand names, I revised this further with the help of my peers to four possible names, Collab., Collab Clothing., Streethire., and Re:lease. Collab and Collab Clothing were chosen due to their links to the term collaborative consumption – an economic model based on sharing/renting, however, ultimately I felt that Collab initially suggested a collaboration with a brand rather than linking to renting.

BRANDING

3. TAG LINE

Successful Brand Tag Lines 45

“Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline.” 46

As Paul Young suggested, a brand should be portrayed as a narrative – a story which is which is told to the consumer. In order to produce this brand narrative, I decided to create a tag line which shows exactly what the brand offers in a catchy slogan which conveys the value proposition to the buyer (Kolowich, 2018). This is an important part of the marketing strategy as tag lines are often as well known as the brand name and logo. Marketing experts argue that the best tag lines “capture the essence of the brand… in a handful of words” (Guyer, 2006, p.1).

“Just Do It.”

“Because You’re Worth It.” 48

“I’m Lovin It.” 49

“Have a break. Have a KitKat.”

re:lease tag line

“One-Stop Borrow Shop.”

4. MISSION STATEMENT According to Easey (2009), the mission statement is the first step of the fashion marketing planning process and can be defined as a short statement of a companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s purpose and beliefs. They are aimed not only towards customers, but stakeholders, employees, suppliers and even competitors. Due to being sustainable being the brands core belief and value, it is important that the brands mission statement includes caring for the environment, decreasing consumption levels and sharing products. By looking at similar brands examples, I can carve re:leases mission statement.

Competitor Mission Statements

Our mission is to make women feel empowered and self-confident every single day.

Do your bit for sustainability: close the loop on fast fashion, overconsumption and excess textiles.

Join 10 million+ users to buy, sell, discover and explore the most inspiring and unique things in the world.

At eBay, our mission is to provide a global online marketplace where practically anyone can trade practically anything, enabling economic opportunity around the world. 50

re:lease

Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.

mission statement

To give clothing a new lease of life by sharing and caring for the environment.

5. APP LOGO 51

The next step to creating the branding for re:lease is to create the app logo that it will become recognised by. By researching and examining competitors colour palettes and app logos I can therefore create re:lease’s colour palette and app button logo. Depop is the main competitor as it has the same customer demographics. With Depop’s rebranding by DesignStudio recently, brought a “bold, brash and vibrant colour palette with a loose layout” inspired by the “anti-design aesthetic” (DesignStudio, 2018). Furthermore, DesignStudio said that “we designed a logotype that embodies the playful spirit of the brand – with inverted letters it’s bold but not too serious” (2018). Although Depop has a range in their colour palette, they are recognised for their use of red against black in their app logo. When looking at other fashion app logos I have on my phone such as Asos and Pretty Little Thing, both are black and white and out of the three, Depops logo stands out the most as the colour draws attention to it. Due to this, I decided to create a colour palette that is distinctive to the brand. This led to my research about Generation Z consumers and colour. When researching I found a report on WGSN arguing that “2017 was the year of Millennial pink, [so] 2018 could well be the year that Gen Z yellow steals the spotlight” (Saunter, 2017). Saunter (2017) argues that Gen Z yellow has arisen out of younger generations connecting positive comforting feelings about brands Snapchat, Bumble and Mcdonalds with the colour. Yellow is also synonymous with happiness, bright sunshine and positivity (Stewart, 2018).

GEN Z YELLOW = BOLD, HAPPY, POSTIVE, COMFORTING

BLACK TYPE = R:L CLEARLY STANDS FOR THE BRANDS NAME

CORE COLOURBLACK

COMPLIMENTARY COLOUR- ROYAL BLUE

COMPLIMENTARY COLOUR- ‘JUICY ORANGE’ COLOUR OF 2019

]

COLOUR RANGE APPEALS TO BOTH GENDERS

CORE COLOUR MUSTARD ‘GEN Z’ YELLOW

COMPLIMENTARY COLOUR- BRIGHT GREEN LINKS TO SUSTAINABILITY VALUES

WEEK SIX

MARKETING OBJECTIVES 1.

Raise awareness of the need for sustainable consumption in the fashion industry

Gain recognition and traction for the service within the first 6 months of it being on the market

Challenge preconceptions about second-hand clothing and negative connotations surrounding renting

Aim to have 1000 app downloads in the first 6 months by tapping into the Gen Z technological reliance

THE MARKETING MIX

4P This week’s lecture focused on the 4Ps of the marketing mix in regards to marketing strategy. If implemented and blended correctly, the company will have successfully carried out their strategic goals (Posner, 2015). The 4Ps refer to product, price, place and promotion. Each company will uniquely employ a mixture of the four to make sure that the product is correct for the market, it is priced correctly for its target market, it is in the right place and it has been targeted effectively so the target consumer knows of its purpose (Posner, 2015). Firstly, I will look into the product mix of my concept in order to make sure it is innovative and will be successful in its target market. A product can be either a tangible (a physical item which can be seen or touched) or an intangible product (services and ideas,

RODUCT RICE ROMOTION LACE

with aesthetic, emotional and psychological elements). Re:lease is an intangible service that offers clothing for rental amongst peers.

Across is a diagram of my total product concept. According to Kotler et al. and Posner (2013, p.240; 2015, p.43), the core or generic product is what the consumer is really signing up for or buying. The actual or expected product is the core product with tangible attributes – it is basically the customer’s minimum expectation. The total or augmented product is the core product, tangible and intangible attributes – it represents added value of the product that may differentiate it above competitors. Lastly, the potential product represents features that are not offered yet but hopes to innovate the product in the future.

THE TOTAL PRODUCT CONCEPT:

re:lease

CORE OR GENERIC PRODUCT: THE TOTAL OR AUGMENTED PRODUCT:

THE DOWNLAODABLE APPLICATION

ADDED VALUE OF P2P RENTING, BRAND VALUES AND INSURANCE/WARRANTY

ACTUAL OR EXPECTED PRODUCT: GARMENTS RENTED WITHIN THE APPLICATION

POTENTIAL PRODUCT: FEATURES NOT OFFERED YET SUCH AS MAKING THE APP A FORM OF SOCIAL MEDIA

PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES

ATTENTION Notice, attentiveness, perception of adversing message

The promotional mix is how the company communicates with their target consumer in order to make a sale or create a successful service. According to Lea-Greenwood (2013, p.9) there are 5 distinct types of promotion:

INTEREST Interest shown by consumers in the advertised product

DESIRE

1. Advertising 2. Sales Promotion

Desire for the advertised product

3. Personal Selling

ACTION

4. Public Relations 5. Direct Marketing

Action, purchase of the desired product

POP-UP STORES Initially, for the release of re:lease, I will focus on pop-up shop rental shops around the country in University Unions as people at University are firmly in the Generation Z target market of people who are born between mid 90s – mid 2000s. Pop-up events are a form of personal selling promotion, as personnel from the brand will get to talk directly to potential consumers in order to encourage them to try out the service. This will create a buzz around campuses, where word of mouth travels fast (competitor, Depops growth is due to word-of-mouth marketing). Pop-up shops are renowned for their success as they deliver “shock and sense of surprise” to the consumer (Cope and Maloney, 2016). Pop-up shops often drive people to make a

purchase (or rental ‘purchase’) as they are only open just as rapidly as they close (Cope and Maloney, 2016). According to Posner (2015), pop-ups satisfy consumers appetites as it attracts them in, increases interest and desire and therefore they act on this (see AIDA model). In order to attract customers and retain them as consumers of the brand, there will be a chance for the customer to win a ticket to a well-known and sought after music event in their area if they sign up to emails, download the app and create a profile. By capturing potential consumers’ emails means that further down the line the brand can practice direct marketing by communicating by email with immediate links to rent out an item (Lea-Greenwood, 2013).

re:lease CAMPAIGN Although in the past Depop has relied on word-of-mouth advertising, more recently they collaborated with DesignStudios to create their first ever global campaign. The campaign showcases their own customers labelled ‘”creatives, ‘proudly’ individual and entrepreneurial” (Feeley, 2018). The campaign features a wide array of individuals and their Depop bio next to their picture. Furthermore, it was both digital and socially launched across major international cities and in key Universities throughout the USA, as well as printed adds in cultural magazines such as PUSH (Baines, 2018). Maria Raga, chief executive officer of Depop, said: “The entire purpose of this campaign is to highlight our community - the different styles, different subcultures and vast creative expressions across our platform. Introducing our sellers in a new light was the inspiration and driving force of this campaign.” (Feeley, 2018).

Due to the success and shock of Depop’s consumer campaign, re:lease will follow in its footsteps by launching its very own campaign featuring brand ambassadors picked out at random from who attended and made a profile at the re:lease pop-up shops around the country. These brand ambassadors will be the face of the campaign each with a quote explaining their style/shop. I have chosen to use young unknown consumers rather than a celebrity for the face of the brand as it provides primarily mid-market, high-street, low-priced clothing. Moreover, by using unknown faces with a succinct quote may leave the onlooker with a sense of curiosity, leading them to look-up the brand and become part of the community themselves. The campaign pictures will be alongside billboards featuring the re:lease logo across the country, in tube stations where there is high-traffic and thousands of passersby daily (Cope and Maloney, 2017). This type of paid media will in turn create earned media as there will be a hype around the launch and increased word of mouth (Cope and Maloney, 2017).

G G GE GEN GEN GEN Z GEN Z GEN Z GEN ZG GEN Z GE GEN Z GE GEN Z GE N GEN Z GE N r:l

PAID DIGITAL ADVERTISING Alongside the pop-up shops and brand ambassador print campaign around the country, re:lease will also invest in paid digital advertising on social medias with similar user demographics. Re:leases customer demographics are generation Z individuals, particularly 16-24 year olds. Instagram is often used for advertising as it has a huge following and a large market of consumers. According to Walton, as out of their 200 million active users in 2015, 53% are between the ages 18-29 (2015). Furthermore, Instagram has a near 50:50 split between male and female users, which could help re:lease cater to both genders, much like their competitor, Depop (Walton, 2015). Paid advertising can prove to be very successful when targeting generation Z, as 96% of the generation own a smartphone, 74% of their time daily is spent online, and they are 2/3 more likely to purchase via social media directly through advertisement (Commscope, 2017).

re:lease

re:lease One-Stop Borrow Shop

r:l

re:lease

re:lease One-Stop Borrow Shop

Do you want to rent this item? Click here to download the app now!

re:lease

Is this top your style? Click here to download the app and start renting now!

GEN Z GE NZ Z GE NZG NZG EN Z GEN EN Z GEN Z G E GEN N G Z E GEN Z GE NZG N E Z NZG EN Z GEN EN Z GEN Z GE Z N G Z GE NZG EN Z NZ EN Z GEN GEN Z GE NZG Z GE NZG EN Z N G Z E GEN Z GE NZ ZG NZG EN Z GEN Z GE GEN Z GE NZG Z E G N EN Z GEN Z GE GEN Z GE NZG NZG EN Z GEN EN Z GEN Z GE G N E Z NZG EN Z GEN EN Z Z GE NZG EN Z GEN EN Z GEN Z GE Z N G Z GE NZG EN Z NZ EN Z GEN G Z E GEN ZG NZ

WEEK SEVEN PRICING

GAINS VS. COSTS This week’s lecture we looked into the financial considerations of creating our products or services. Price is a vital part of the marketing mix which has an “interactive effect on the other elements of the marketing mix” (McDonald and Wilson, 2011, p.349). Due to this, it is important to research the costs and gains that will arise from my start-up business by looking at both internal and external elements affecting pricing. Initially, I found myself a bit confused with looking at pricing of my product/service due to the nature of my app being C2C rather than B2C. After speaking to tutors I was made more confident in which finances I was to consider – the actual costs of creating and maintaining the mobile app rather than the costs of the garments featured on it. In 2017, there was 253.91 billion free app downloads in the world, rising by approximately 40 billion annually (Statista, 2018a). Furthermore, the number of paid apps available on the Google Play Store has declined in the recent years, suggesting that free apps “will continue to dominate the market in the future” (Statista, 2018a). Due to this research, alongside competitor research of apps such as Depop, I decided to make my app free for the consumer to download. However, often when apps are free, developers choose to employ a variety of other methods in order to generate revenue, such as in-app purchases or advertising (banner/pop-ups)

(Statista, 2018a). However, both of these forms of generating revenue are more successful and popular on game or information sharing mobile apps (such as Facebook or Instagram) and are rarely seen on shopping mobile apps. Despite this, free apps have value as they are easier to create a larger user base which you can later sell to (Blair, 2017). This therefore leads me into thinking about how my app will generate a profit…

My first port-of-call was to try and find pricing information about my main competitor, Depop. Depop do not use in-app advertising or product placements, they generate profit by taking a 10% commission on the total transaction amount, including shipping costs (Depop, 2018). The 10% fee is “to keep the app and running” with up-keep costs, to pay employers and make a profit (Depop, 2018). Although most of the apps start-up financial information is hidden, I found that a year after its initial funding in 2011, it received a $200K individual investment which helped towards the product development (Pitchbook, 2018). By 2015, 4 years after its release, investments were to generate revenue rather than product development suggesting it took the company several years to start making large profit margins. Through further research I discovered that their estimated annual revenue is $6.9 million suggesting that the profitability is scalable for my app after a few initial years at low costs (Owler, 2018).

re:lease PROFIT Re:lease’s profit will be generated in a similar way to Depops, following their success, by taking a 10% commission on the full transaction price (product price + delivery price). Below is an example of the profit made on one item over a period of 6 months:

EXAMPLE ONE DRESS PROFIT REVENUE IN 6 MONTHS -

PRICE: £12

SMALL PARCEL DELIVERY PRICE APPROX: £3

RENTED OUT FOR 7 DAYS (+ 2 DAYS FOR DELIVERY)

RENTED OUT TWICE A MONTH = 12 TIMES IN 6 MONTHS (MAXIMUM 3 TIMES A MONTH – 18 TIMES IN 6 MONTHS)

£12 + £3 = £15

- 15 (price of dress + delivery) x 12 (how many times rented in 6 months) = £180 -

RE:LEASE TAKE 10% = £18

Aligned to one of my marketing objectives, I plan to have 1000 users in the first 6 months. If every user rented out one item twice a month, and on AVERAGE re:lease takes £18 p/item then: 18 x 1000 = £18,000 revenue would be generated in the first 6 months. Therefore, if every user rented out two items, twice a month each, and on AVERAGE re:lease takes £18 p/item then: 18 x 1000 x 2 = £36,000 revenue would be generated in the first 6 months (and so on). With a hope to have a 150% increase in customers every 6 months in the first year, and an increase of 100% the following year, by the end of the first year (if customers rent out two items each, monthly) re:lease’s revenue is £126,000.

re:lease COSTS smaller sum of money to develop the programming.

There are various different costs to consider with creating and managing my mobile app. Costs fall under two umbrella terms; fixed costs and variable costs, added together to create the total cost. Furthermore, I found that with start-up businesses brings investigatory costs (researching the market) and pre-launch costs (advertising before launch) (Workspace, 2018).

Further fixed costs for the company are marketing and promotion fees, again which are highest at the beginning of a start-up business. Hiring an office space, paying for utilities in the office space, and providing equipment and supplies (such as tables, chairs, computers etc) all add to these fixed costs as well. Additionally, there is a moderate insurance cost covering both consumer and employee. Insurance covers when an item is damaged/lost/stolen with re:lease refunding the amount for repairs, or 70% of the original RRP of the item (as it is used and does not have 100% of the original monetary value). And finally, there is a fixed cost of the employee wages. As a start-up business, I would aim to have a small team of 3/4 people, ranging from marketing, IT support and accounting.

FIXED COSTS: Fixed costs refer to overheads and the cost of setting up operations. The largest cost of the re:lease app is the initial creation and production stage. According to BurnCallander (2016), “the average UK start-up spends £22,756 in its first year” on legal costs, accountancy, HR and the formation of the company. Burn-Callander (2016) suggests that the formation of the company costs £5,518, however this doesn’t take into context that my company needs to be developed as an app. Waracle (2014, cited in Furlan, 2018), reported that a single platform app costs between £8000-13,000, whereas a three-platform app can cost up to £50,000. Although more expensive, I would like to distribute my app on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store as both have large markets and the Gen Z user demographics are split between the two. In line with Waracle’s suggestions, this leaves me developing my app for around £30,000. Whilst this is a large cost, it is only in the first year of implementing the app, following years will need a much

VARIABLE COSTS:

Variable costs refer to costs that change depending on the level of output of the product/service. Usually variable costs include delivery and stock and product costs, however due to the products being rented on the app being a peer-to-peer platform, these do not cost the company anything. A variable cost would be PayPal fees, which depend on the total sales volume of re:lease, ranging from a 3.4% fee to 1.9% + 20p per transaction. On top of this, there is a variable cost of paying a percentage of the profits back to the initial investor.

TOTAL COSTS: YEAR ONE

PREDICTED TURNOVER REVENUE/TARGETS

Production of App : £30,000 Employment : £50,000

(calculated on if customers/items increase at a rate of 100% every 6 months after the first year)

Marketing : £20,000

YEAR TWO: £540,000

Insurance : £10,000

YEAR THREE: £2,160,000

Office Space & Amenities : £10,000 Maintenance of App : £6,000 Paying back Investor 5% of profits : £6,300 PayPal Fees : £5,000 = £137, 300

CONCLUSION: TOTAL PROFITS: YEAR ONE (calculated on figures on average re:lease makes £18 p/item rented twice a month) 1st 6 Months - £36,000 2nd 6 Months - £90,000 = £126,000

Although the total cost outweighs the total profit in year 1 by £11,300, it is not abnormal for a start-up business to run at a loss in its first year. This is due to the pricing strategy being a customer value based pricing strategy that puts customer value and retention over initial profit. Furthermore, the largest costs are within the first year, and with a growth of 100-150% each 6 months, it is scalable. Profit is made within the years after it has been on the market for its first year, and by 5 years it will be operating at a large profit.

PLACE / DISTRIBUTION

WHAT IS A DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL? Now that I have looked into what my service/product is, how I am going to market/promote it, and how I have priced it, I now need to look at how I plan to distribute it to the consumer. The marketing channel decisions are arguably some of the most important strategic decisions made, as where and how the product/service is distributed directly affects the other segments of the marketing mix (Kotler and Armstrong, 2001). In order to get my P2P rental service to the targeted gen z market, I need to use marketing intermediary that acts as bridge between business and consumer. By using a marketing intermediary, I am forging a distribution channel – “a set of interdependent organisations involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption by the consumer or business user” (Kotler and Armstrong, 2001, p.432).

WHY A MOBILE APP? When creating my fashion rental concept, I immediately thought that it should be placed within the cyber market rather than in physical brick-and-mortar stores. Therefore, I researched the usage of mobile applications vs. websites to find which aligned more with the brand and what the consumer market demands. As my consumer market is generation Z, I looked into how they like to use their time and what their preferred method of purchasing products is. Commscopeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (2017, p.9) report on generation z found the following about their technology usage: w - 96% of Generation Z own smartphones - 74% of their time is spent online - Gen Zers aged 18-22 check their phone 30+ an hour - Smartphone usage is up 78% compared to laptops/desktops up 42%

On average in 2017, over all age groups, smartphone apps were used 50% of the time in comparison to 34% on desktop (Dogtiev, 2017). However, for younger age groups (18-24), smartphone apps usage goes up to 66%, and desktop down to 23% (Dogtiev, 2017). This suggests that overall a smartphone app is the best place for my rental service in order for it to have its best potential at infiltrating the gen z market. Re:lease One Stop Borro... Shopping

SIZE OF APP MARKET Number of app downloads worldwide, 2016, 2017 and 2021 (Statista, 2017, cited in Dogtiev, 2018) * predicted growth

App downloads in billions

400

352.9

300 197

200 149.3 100

2016

2017

2021*

Number of apps downloaded in the United Kingdom in 2013, 2018, and 2021 (Statista, 2018b) * predicted growth 20

App downloads in billions

20 15.5

10 5.8 5

2013

2018

2020*

DISTRIBUTION INTERMEDIARY - APP STORES

PRODUCT

(Rental Service App) 61

RETAILER A:

APPLE APP STORE

RETAILER B:

GOOGLE PLAY STORE

CONSUMER GROUP A CONSUMER GROUP B (iPhone users)

(Samsung & Google phone users)

After the mobile app has been coded and developed, I will employ a 1-level indirect distribution channel as I cannot directly get the service to the consumer. The intermediary utilised will be App stores for different smartphones, making the rental service accessible to the target market who use app stores frequently to get access to other services. However, re:lease will adopt a multichannel distribution system known as a hybrid marketing channel (Kotler and Armstrong, 2001). Although the service is aimed at one demographic of consumers (gen Z), these consumers can be divided further as they own different branded smartphones. According to Commscopes research in 2017, 71% of generation z individuals in London (which I suggest reflects the rest of the UK) owned an iPhone, 25% a Samsung, and thirdly, 6% owned a Google phone. This research means that the Apple App Store (iPhones) and the Google Play Store (Samsung and Google phones) should be the two main â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;retailersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; as it distributes to the majority of the target market. The budget only allows for the app to be available in the UK initially for the first couple of years, this can be a form of product testing and profit building before it is revised for the wider rental gen z market such as the Asia-Pacific market in which rental is booming.

r:l Re:lease One Stop

WEEK EIGHT

VISUAL COMMUNICATION 62

LAYOUT INSPIRATION

This week was focused on our visual communication skills and how to present our journals prior to our hand-in. On Monday of this week, I attended an InDesign tutorial with Alex Gillott, a graphic design expert and fashion management and communication lecturer. Alex reminded me of all the functions of InDesign and helped me brush up on them. The use of columns when working was discussed in order to keep pages structurally the same. There are four types of grid layouts; manuscript grids, modular girds, hierarchical grids and column grids (Samara, 2003). By reading Samara’s (2003) graphic design layout book, I decided that a column grid would work best for my journal as they are often used for fashion editorial layouts. I decided on two columns rather than three columns (often seen in magazines) as I felt that this was cleaner and allowed for pictures. After week 5, where I decided on my product branding, colour palette, logo etc., I realised that I needed to go back and redesign previous weeks work that flaunted a different colour palette (pink and girly) and somewhat messy layout. Furthermore, weeks 5-7 fit with the brand image and are likewise to a ‘clean digital’ mobile app interface.

LAYOUT

WEEK NINE

ORAL PRESENTATION

WHAT DID I INCLUDE? This week we focused on creating our oral presentations ready for the Friday session. Although we did a presentation in week 5, this weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s presentation was a concise 5 minute assessed demonstration of our final concept in front of two tutors and a few peers. Before starting to put together my presentation, I was concerned about presenting my final concept, as I felt that I still had some work to do/tweaks in order to show my idea to its full advantage. Despite my worries, I put together a presentation that included; what my concept is, why it is needed/what is it in response to, where it fits within the competitive market, analysing my key competitor, how the brand differentiates from others (USP), who is the target consumer and why, mission statement, marketing objectives, and details of the 4Ps in the marketing mix.

FEEDBACK

I have transcribed the verbal feedback I received from Eunsuk and Barbara in Appendix B of this journal. In general, the feedback was positive, I was told that it was an interesting concept and my background research that led me to my idea was very good. I identified the macro trends such as sustainability issues and linked this to the sharing economy in younger generations, clearly showing the link between my concept and my target consumer group. However, both Barbara and Eunsuk said that I needed to look further into whether the target market would rent rather than buy such cheap items of clothing. It was also suggested that I should do some more primary research, on top of the interview I conducted in week 4, in order to make sure that the target consumer would use this app. Looking ahead, I plan to do an online questionnaire targeted to gen z, in order to find solid data to back up my rental app.

WEEK TEN

QUESTIONNAIRE 42 RESPONDENTS:

1. What is your age? -

Under 18 18-24 25-30 31-40 41+

2. Would you say you are sustainably conscious regarding your consumption? -

No I don’t know I try to be Yes

3. What percentage of your wardrobe would you say are staples/necessary/wear frequently? -

Under 10% 10-30% 31-50% 51-70% Over 70%

4. On average, Brits spend over £1000 a year on clothing. Now that you know this, do you wish you could spend this money differently?

Following my feedback from my oral presentation, I decided to create an online questionnaire in order to show that the gen z consumer market would rent rather than buy mid-market clothing. Due to carrying out this primary research so late in the research process, I didn’t attain a large enough sample to represent the whole consumer market, but the replies do show how a fraction of the market act in terms of consumption. The online questionnaire had 6 questions as I wanted it to be concise and not time-consuming for the participant. I used Survey Monkey to create the questionnaire and then distributed it on my Facebook (where the majority of my friends are gen z).

- Yes - I don’t have a strong opinion either way - No 5. Do you wear second-hand clothing? If yes, how often? -

No Yes, rarely Yes, sometimes Yes, frequently

6. Would you be interested in renting an item for a small fee, or would you rather buy it for a larger sum?

- Rent - Buy

1. Under 18 3 18-24 31 25-30 6 31-40 1 41+ 1

RESULTS

No 10 I don’t know 14 I try to be 15 Yes 3

Under 10% 1 10-30% 28 31-50% 10 51-70% 3 Over 70% 0

- Yes 24 - I don’t have a strong opinion either way - No 13

5. No 6 Yes, rarely 12 Yes, sometimes 14 Yes, frequently 10

- Rent 20 - Buy 22

My sample size for this questionnaire was 42 respondents. Although the questionnaire was targeted at gen z consumers, there was 8 respondents who were not within the gen z age demographics. Despite this skewing the validity, I found that the results back up my concept. 38 out of the 42 respondents said that between 10-50% of their wardrobe are viewed as staples/necessary/wear frequently, suggesting that half, or over half, of their wardrobes sit unused or rarely worn which could be rented out to their peers. Furthermore, 24 / 42 said that they would rather have spent the average £1000+ on clothes differently. Only 6 / 42 said they didn’t wear second-hand clothing, whilst a resounding 36 people said they did, ranging from rarely to frequently, suggesting the second-hand market is booming in this generation. Lastly, 20 people said they would rather rent, whilst 22 said they would rather buy. I am not surprised that buying was more popular than renting, as renting is often viewed negatively. However, this is only a small percentage difference, with nearly a 50/50 split, resembling Owen’s (2018) argument that gen z is split into two cohorts; gen me and gen we, the latter favouring collaborative consumption. This suggests to me that there is a gap in the market for a mid-market rental service targeted towards generation z consumers.

POSTER PRESENTATION

PREPARING At the start of this week, I also started preparing for the poster presentation on Friday. The A1 poster was to illustrate our strategic final fashion marketing plan on a visual board. There were a few guidelines and instructions to go by; word count was between 200-800, use bullet points, headings and numbers as they make it easy to read, include graphics, colours and pictures to make it visually pleasing, and ideally have a consistent and clean layout. Furthermore, we were given recommendations for font sizes for titles and body of the text, to use graphs and tables to draw in viewersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; attention, use columns and avoid distracting images and patterns. Taking all of the above into consideration, I decided to divide up the information I planned to include into sections. I knew I wanted to use clear headings, so I started with Why?, What?, Where?, How?, and Who?. I also knew I

wanted to include my mission statement and my market positioning in order to give a wider context on the concept. I started my poster by creating a large space for the title of my brand/ concept as I wanted it to be clear and legible. After this I divided the remaining page up into 8 equal sections and pasted in the headings above. I knew I wanted my poster to be mainly pictures that explained the marketing plan, and I kept the colours of the titles/ background shapes a neutral grey in order to make the imagery stand out. After I had placed all my images into the design, I then began to put together a few key facts and figures I wanted to support each subject. I found that even by using the smallest font size recommended (24pt), the writing was rather large and made the poster look cluttered rather than clean. Due to this, I really had to cut back on the amount of words I used, carefully choosing the most important details to add to my poster.

POSTER EXHIBITION

PEER FEEDBACK

The posters were printed out by Carl in the School of Design ready for us to collect and display on Friday for the poster exhibition. The poster exhibition was a great way to get anonymous feedback from our peers rather than our tutors. At the poster exhibition we were to write feedback (whether positive or negative) on post-it-notes and stick it on our peers posters. As you can see, by the pictures on the next page, I got four notes of feedback. Although all were positive about my concept and design, having no constructive criticism made it hard for me refine my marketing strategy further. This is down to students feeling like they couldn’t be critical about their peers’ work. Nevertheless, it was interesting to see everybody else’s concepts and work in progress, and spurred me on to make my last changes and finalise my journal before hand-in at the end of week 11.

Good info given [I] like [the] concept Innovative

Easy to read Good Layout

Looks professional Very clear

Like the branding/logo

REFERENCE LIST Allied Market Research. 2017. Online Clothing Rental Market is Expected to Reach $ 1,856 Million, Globally, by 2023 - Allied Market Research. [Online]. [Accessed October 19th 2018]. Available from: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/online-clothing-rental-market-is-expectedto-reach--1856-million-globally-by-2023---allied-market-research-618522543.html Amed, I., Andersson, J., Berg, A., Drageset, M., Hedrich, S, and Kappelmark, S. 2017. The State of Fashion 2018 Report: Renewed optimism for the fashion industry. McKinsey and Business of Fashion. [Online]. [Accessed 29th October 2018]. Available from: https://www.mckinsey. com/industries/retail/our-insights/renewed-optimism-for-the-fashion-industry Baines, J. 2018. DesignStudio crafts Depop’s first global ad campaign alongside internal team. It’s Nice That. [Online]. [Accessed on 10th November 2018]. Available from: https://www.itsnicethat.com/news/depop-designstudio-global-campaign-graphic-design-110918 Bao, Y., A.T. Shao, and D. Rivers. 2008. Creating new brand names: Effects of relevance, connotation, and pronunciation. Journal of Advertising Research. 4(1), pp. 148–62 Bearne, S. 2017. Meet the teens making thousands from selling online. The Guardian. [Online]. [Accessed October 23rd 2018]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2017/oct/23/ teens-selling-online-depop-ebay Blair, I. 2017. How Much Does It Cost to Build a Mobile App? (You’ll be surprised!). Buildfire. [Online]. [Accessed 28th November 2018]. Available from: https://buildfire.com/does-cost-buildmobile-app/ Braithwaite, N. 2018. Is clothing rental the secret to making fashion sustainable? The Independent. [Online]. [Accessed 19th October 2018]. Available from: https://www.independent.co.uk/lifestyle/fashion/fast-fashion-waste-sustainable-climate-change-pollution-circular-economy-clothing-rental-a8490251.html Brignall, M. 2017. It’s part-eBay, part-Instagram, but is Depop safe for your teenagers? The Guardian. [Online]. [Accessed 25th October 2018]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/ money/2017/jun/03/depop-ebay-instagram-teenagers-buy-sell-risks-fraud Burn-Callander, R. 2016. How much money does your start-up need to survive the first year? The Telegraph. [Online]. [Accessed 1st December 2018]. Available from: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/ business/sme-home/start-up-costs/ CISCO. 2018. Consumer 2020. [Online]. [Accessed 18th October 2018]. Available from: https://www. cisco.com/c/dam/en_us/solutions/industries/retail/consumer-2020-final.pdf Commscope. 2017. The Generation Z Study of Tech Intimates Report. [Online]. [Accessed 10th November 2018]. Available from: https://www.commscope.com/Insights/uploads/2017/09/Generation-Z-Report.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2in4nEtYMQij0DhnSBqZsgjpiK1pFvUyEy2zawtibgFy6d9aj_-9e1Nbo Depop. 2018. What about the fees? [Online]. [Accessed 28th November 2018]. Available from: https://depophelp.zendesk.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360001791127-What-about-feesDesignStudio. 2018. Work: Depop. [Online]. [Accessed 5th November 2018]. Available from: https:// design.studio/work/depop Dogtiev, A. 2018. App download and usage statistics (2018). Business of Apps. [Online]. [Accessed 20th November 2018]. Available from: http://www.businessofapps.com/data/app-statistics/ Easey, M. ed., 2009. Fashion Marketing. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Ellson, A. 2018. Clothes worth £12.5bn are thrown in bin. The Times. [Online]. [Accessed 10th October 2018]. Available from: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/clothes-worth-12-5bn-are-thrown-in-bin-b8rqfrcg2

Feeley, M. 2018. Social marketplace Depop launches first global campaign with DesignStudio. The Drum. [Online]. [Accessed 10th November 2018]. Available from: https://www.thedrum.com/ news/2018/09/14/social-marketplace-depop-launches-first-global-campaign-with-designstudio Furlan, A. 2018. Top UK App Developers (2018). Business of Apps. [Online]. [Accessed 3rd December 2018]. Available from: http://www.businessofapps.com/guide/uk-app-developers/ Guyer, L. 2006. Best tag line defines brand for consumers, company alike. Journal of Automative News. 80(6192), pp.1-3 Halls, E. 2018. Welcome To Hirestreet: Every Fresher’s Answer To Sustainable Fast Fashion. VOGUE. [Online]. [Accessed 10th October 2018]. Available from: https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/hirestreet-high-street-rent-clothes-website Hu, Z.H., Li, Q., Chen, X.J. and Wang, Y.F. 2014. Sustainable Rent-Based Closed-Loop Supply Chain for Fashion Products. Journal of Sustainability. 6(10), pp.7063-7088 Kolowich, L. 2018. 27 Companies With Really Catchy Slogans & Brand Taglines. Hubspot. [Online]. [Accessed 3rd November 2018]. Available from: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/brand-slogansand-taglines Kotler, P., and Armstrong, G. 2001. Principles of Marketing. 9th Edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Kotler, P., Armstrong, G., Harris, L.C., and Piercy, N. 2013. Principles of Marketing. 6th Edition. London: Pearson Krings,B., Küpper, J., Schmid, M., and Thiel, A. 2016. Western Europe’s consumer-goods industry in 2030. McKinsey & Company. [Online]. [Accessed 18th October 2018]. Available from: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/western-europes-consumer-goods-industry-in-2030 Mickiewicz, M. F., and Buchanan, V. 2016. GEN VIZ. LSN Global. [Online]. [Accessed 19th October 2018]. Available from: https://www.lsnglobal.com/macro-trends/article/19109/gen-viz McDonald, M. 1996. Strategic marketing planning: Theory, practice and research agendas. Journal of Marketing Management. 12(1), pp.4-27 McDonald, M., and Wilson, H. 2011. Marketing plans: how to prepare them, how to use them. 7th Edition. West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons Owen, S. 2018. The Gen Z Equation Report. WGSN. [Online]. [Accessed 19th October 2018]. Available from: https://www.wgsn.com/assets/marketing/toprightbox_assets/images/Gen_Z_Equation.pdf Owler. 2018. Depop’s Competitors, Revenue, Number of Employees, Funding and Acquisitions. [Online]. [Accessed 1st December 2018]. Available from: https://www.owler.com/company/depop Pitchbook. 2018. Profile Previews – DEPOP. [Online]. [Accessed 28th November 2018]. Available from: https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/56718-91 Posner, H. 2015. Marketing Fashion. 2nd Edition. London: Laurence King Reuters. 2018. Millennials Follow Uber with New Fashion Trading Model. Business Of Fashion. [Online]. [Accessed 19th October 2018]. Available from: https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/millennials-follow-uber-with-new-fashion-trading-model Samara, T. 2003. Making and breaking the grid : a layout design workshop. Gloucester: Rockport Publishers

REFERENCE LIST Saner, E. 2017. Sustainable style: will Gen Z help the fashion industry clean up its act? The Guardian.[Online]. [Accessed 10th October 2018]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/ fashion/2017/apr/25/sustainable-clothing-fashion-revolution-week-rana-plazaemma-Watson Saunter, L. 2017. Gen Z Yellow: Store Design and VM Trend. WGSN. [Online]. [Accessed 10th November 2018]. Available from: https://www.wgsn.com/content/board_viewer/#/75762/page/2 Statista. 2018a. Number of free mobile app downloads worldwide from 2012 to 2017 (in billions). [Online]. [Accessed 28th November 2018]. Available from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/241587/number-of-free-mobile-app-downloads-worldwide/ Statista. 2018b. Number of apps downloaded in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2013, 2018 and 2020 (in billion apps). [Online]. [Accessed 3rd December 2018]. Available from: https://www.statista.com/ statistics/323740/number-of-apps-downloaded-uk-forecast/ Stewart, H. Bright Yellow, The Colour Which Has Come To Define Gen Z. ELLE. [Online]. [Accessed 10th November 2018]. Available from: https://www.elle.com/uk/fashion/trends/a20895002/brightyellow-the-colour-which-has-come-to-define-gen-z/ Stott, R., and Piras, L. 2018. Immaterial Fashion. LS:N Global. [Online]. [Accessed 24th October 2018]. Available from: https://www.lsnglobal.com/macro-trends/article/22930/immaterial-fashion Strähle, J., and Erhard, C. 2017. Collaborative Consumption 2.0: An Alternative to Fast Fashion Consumption. In: Strähle, J. ed. Green Fashion Retail. Singapore: Springer Sweeny, G. 2015. It’s the second dirtiest thing in the world – and you’re wearing it. Alternet. [Online]. [Accessed 6th November 2018]. Available from: https://www.alternet.org/environment/ its-second-dirtiest-thing-world-and-youre-wearingWalton, J. 2015. Twitter Vs. Facebook Vs. Instagram: Who Is the Target Audience? (TWTR, FB). Investopedia. [Online]. [Accessed 10th November 2018]. Available from: https://www.investopedia. com/articles/markets/100215/twitter-vs-facebook-vs-instagram-who-target-audience.asp White, L. 2018. The most influential macro trends for next year. WGSN. [Online]. [Accessed 12th October 2018]. Available from: https://www.wgsn.com/blogs/vision-2019-influential-macro-trendsnext-year/ Workspace. 2018. Business Start Up Costs: The Must-Read Guide. [Online]. [Accessed 1st December 2018]. Available from: https://www.workspace.co.uk/community/homework/business-finance/projecting-start-up-costs-for-a-new-business Yan, R-N., Hyllegard, K.H., Blaesi, L.F. 2012. Marketing eco-fashion: The influence of brand name and message explicitness. Journal of Marketing Communications. 18(2), pp.151-168

IMAGE REFERENCE LIST Figure 1: WGSN. 2018. The Message 2020, Part 1: Fix the Future. [Online]. [Accessed 17 October 2018]. Available from: https://www.wgsn.com/content/board_viewer/#/78337/page/4 Figure 2: Bell, A. 2015. Generation Z. WGSN. [Online]. [Accessed 5th December 2018]. Available from: https://www.wgsn.com/content/board_viewer/#/59313/page/2 Figure 3: Halls, E. 2018. Welcome To Hirestreet: Every Fresher’s Answer To Sustainable Fast Fashion. VOGUE. [Online]. [Accessed 5th December 2018]. Available from: https://www.vogue.co.uk/ article/hire-street-high-street-rent-clothes-website Figure 4: Pinterest. 2018. Gen Z Fashion. [Online]. [Accessed 10th December 2018]. Available from: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/lottimartinfull/major-project-research/gen-z-fashion/ Figure 5: Easey, M. ed., 2009. Fashion Marketing. P.239. John Wiley & Sons: New Jersey Figure 6: Nuckles, S. 2017. Could you stop shopping for a year? The Reveal. [Online]. [Accessed 11th December 2018]. Figures 7-11: Pinterest. 2018. Major Project Research. [Online]. [Accessed 10th December 2018]. Available from: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/lottimartinfull/major-project-research/ Figure 12: WGSN. 2018. Trashcode. [Online]. [Accessed 10th December 2018]. Available from: https://www.wgsn.com/library/results/ids/29917101%7C29917104%7C299170 Figure 13: Pinterest. 2018. Major Project Research. [Online]. [Accessed 10th December 2018]. Available from: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/lottimartinfull/major-project-research/ Figures 14-15: WGSN. 2017. Gen Z: YouTube Marketing. [Online]. [Accessed 11th December 2018]. Available from: https://www.wgsn.com/content/board_viewer/#/71586/page/1 Figure 16: Owen, S. 2018. The Gen Z Equation. WGSN. [Online]. [Accessed 11th December 2018]. Available from: https://www.wgsn.com/content/board_viewer/#/79358/page/1 Figures 17-21: Instagram. 2018. Emily Willis. [Accessed 20th October 2018]. Available from: https://www.instagram.com/emilywillis97/ Figure 22: Depop. 2018. Emily Willis. [Accessed 20th October 2018]. Available from: https://www. depop.com/search/?q=emilywillis97 Figures 23-28: Instagram. 2018. Emily Willis. [Accessed 20th October 2018]. Available from: https://www.instagram.com/emilywillis97/ Figure 29: Krings,B., Küpper, J., Schmid, M., and Thiel, A. 2016. Western Europe’s consumer-goods industry in 2030. McKinsey & Company. [Online]. [Accessed 18th October 2018]. Available from: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/western-europes-consumer-goods-industry-in-2030 Figures 30-31: Wear the Walk. 2018. Home. [Online]. [Accessed 20th October 2018]. Available from: https://www.wearthewalk.co.uk Figures 32-33: Rent The Runway. 2018. Plans. [Online]. [Accessed 20th October 2018]. Available from: https://www.renttherunway.com/plans?nav_location=mainmenu&action=click_ways_to_rent&object_type=top_nav Figures 34-35: Girl Meets Dress. 2018. How It Works. [Online]. [Accessed 20th October 2018]. Available from: https://hire.girlmeetsdress.com/pages/how-it-works Figure 36: Wikimedia Commons. 2018. Depop Logo. [Online]. [Accessed 25th October 2018]. Available from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Depop_logo.svg

IMAGE REFERENCE LIST Figure 37: Twitter. 2018. TempoCap. [Online]. [Accessed 30th October 2018]. Available from: https://twitter.com/TempoCap/status/955781908998352897 Figure 38: Depop. 2018. Home. [Online]. [Accessed 30th October 2018]. Available from: https:// www.depop.com Figures 39-40: Ebay. 2018. Fashion. [Online]. [Accessed 30th October 2018]. Available from: https://www.ebay.co.uk/b/Fashion/bn_7000259675 Figures 41-42: Dawood, S. 2017. Online shop Depop rebrands to take on “f*ck it” attitude. Design Week. [Online]. [Accessed 2nd December 2018]. Available from: https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/24-30-july-2017/online-shop-depop-rebrands-take-fck-attitude/ Figure 43: King In Exile. 2018. 6 ways to turn a brand into a household name. [Online]. [Accessed 13th December 2018]. Available from: https://www.kinginexile.com/6-ways-to-turn-a-brand-into-ahousehold-name/ Figure 44: DesignStudio. 2018. [Online]. [Accessed 11th December 2018]. Available from: https:// design.studio Figure 45: Wikimedia Commons. 2018. Maybelline Logo. [Online]. [Accessed 7th December 2018]. Available from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maybelline_logo.png Figure 46: Festisite. 2018. Nike Logo. [Online]. [Accessed 7th December 2018]. Available from: https://www.festisite.com/logo/nike/ Figure 47: Mediaroom. 2018. L’Oreal Paris Logo. [Online]. [Accessed 7th December 2018]. Available from: https://mediaroom.loreal.com/en/official-resources/official-logos-gallery/ Figure 48: Wikimedia Commons. 2018. McDonalds Logo. [Online]. [Accessed 7th December 2018]. Available from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:McDonald%27s_Golden_Arches.svg Figure 49: 1000 logos. 2018. Kit Kat Logo. [Online]. [Accessed 7th December 2018]. Available from: https://1000logos.net/kit-kat-logo/ Figure 50: Lift Economy. 2018. Case Study: Patagonia. [Online]. [Accessed 7th December 2018]. Available from: https://www.lifteconomy.com/patagonia/ Figures 51-53: DesignStudio. 2018. Depop. [Online]. [Accessed 10th December 2018]. Available from: https://design.studio/work/depop Figure 54: [edited by author] GrandJen. 2018. Pop Up Shop in Rivertown Crossings Mall. [Online]. [Accessed 9th December 2018]. Available from: http://grandjen.com/pop-up-shop-in-rivertowncrossings-mall/ Figure 55: [edited by author] DesignStudio. 2018. Depop. [Online]. [Accessed 10th December 2018]. Available from: https://design.studio/work/depop Figure 56: [edited by author] Behance. 2018. London Underground Advertising Screen Mock-up. [Accessed 10th December 2018]. Available from: https://www.behance.net/gallery/28951737/Free-London-Underground-Ad-Screen-Mockup Figure 57: Curalate. 2015. 6 Examples and Best Practices for Creating Instagram Ads. [Online]. [Accessed 5th December 2018]. Available from: https://www.curalate.com/blog/6-examples-and-best-practices-for-creating-instagram-ads/ Figure 58: Pinterest. 2018. Gen Z Fashion. [Online]. [Accessed 10th December 2018]. Available from: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/lottimartinfull/major-project-research/gen-z-fashion/

Figure 59: I Download Blog. 2017. 330 fraudulent trading apps culled from App Store and Play Store globally. [Online]. [Accessed 1st December 2018]. Available from: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2017/08/01/330-fraudulent-trading-apps-culled-from-app-store-and-play-store/ Figure 60: Agrinavia. 2017. Agrinavia MOBILE in Google Play and App Store. [Online]. [Accessed 1st December 2018]. Available from: http://agrinavia.com/agrinavia-mobile-google-play-og-appstore/ Figure 61: App Kosmos. 2017. [Online]. [Accessed 8th December 2018]. Available from: https:// appkosmos.de/magazin/neue-google-play-ui/ Figures 62-64: Design Bundles. 2018. Graphic Design Portfolio Template. [Online]. [Accessed 12th December 2018]. Available from: https://designbundles.net/tujuhbenua/82404-graphic-design-portfolio-template

APPENDIX

WEEK FIVE ORAL PRESENTATION FEEDBACK TRANSCRIBED

BARBARA: okay I thought it was really good, I think it’s an interesting idea, I think your slides are really nice, but I think on some of them there is too much text. Looking at the brief, you haven’t come up with the timeline of what you’re going to do and how you’re going to do it. But I thought you’ve done a lot of research clearly to justify your concept, and I think it’s quite an interesting idea. I wasn’t sure..you talked quite a bit about the Asian pacific market, is that a market you think this would work in? Or are you just taking what is working there and moving it elsewhere?

LOTTI:

MARIA:

I was originally just going in the UK, but actually into how that market is especially in rental services, marketing it over there – but I’m

So I looked at Rent the Runway and brands that are a lot more higher end, and that is why I was going to look at high street because I don’t think it’s really been done, or done successfully.

to do it based when I looked really growing, I thought about unsure right now.

You don’t think, or you haven’t really found one? LOTTI: Well I haven’t found one so far, which was why I was aiming to do that, but then there is such a success in higher end, and with my meeting with Paul just before, he said I should look at doing a mixture because obviously people do want to rent more expensive products and there is really a market for that still.

BARBARA: If that is the case, then you would have to re-interview people in that demographic from China, and there are plenty around here. Just because they are a bit more designer orientated, judging by my masters class, they walk in with Prada and Burberry on. So I’m not sure the high street model would work over there cos that’s just not what they’re into – so you might have to rethink that. But yeah, generally, I thought there was some good ideas in there.

MARIA: You did some consumer research as well, and it is really good. It is okay to get your family and friends and do a focus group, but when you present it don’t say that it is your friend. You can say that I decided to interview one person that actually has all the characteristics of my target segment, and this person said this and that, and use it as evidence. But don’t say that it was your friend because automatically it makes all the research quite biased. Even about your target consumer, say a few more information about who really is your target consumer. Don’t forget all the traditional segmentation criteria we have used before. So why Gen Z over Millennials? What are these behavioural characteristics that this generation has, and will make this idea more applicable for them. Use more than just say this generation. Tell me how they think, how they behave, how they buy, what kind of peer pressure they have for example. Tell me all of this information, behavioural, psychographic information that I need to know as your customer. If I was a company that wanted to work with you, I would like to know all this information about the potential consumer. Just saying generation Z is not enough! The idea is good, the presentation is good, the structure needs to be restructured in the slides like I said before, and you need a detailed plan!

MARIA: Thank you for the presentation, you had another minute to carry on if you wanted. This is because you had to include a bit more information – about your competitors and future plan (how you are planning to gather all the information you need for this semester at least. The idea is good. The secondary research behind the idea is really good and really strong. At the very beginning you presented all the information we needed to understand the macro trends and the micro trends that really support this idea. It was well referenced, but the slides were a little bit crowded, so just put the most important information there in each bullet point, and the rest that you want to say you are here to tell us. However, in one point, I totally lost the idea, I needed you to explain your idea a little bit earlier rather than explaining at the end. I felt that I was needing more information about your competitors, so are they brands that are doing pretty much the same?

APPENDIX

WEEK NINE ORAL PRESENTATION FEEDBACK TRANSCRIBED

EUNSUK:

LOTTI:

Thank you for your presentation. It is an interesting concept and I think that your background research is very good, you identified why sharing economy is very popular amongst younger generations and you connected it with the issues of sustainability and consumption, which is good. Maybe you can also think more about the pricing strategy for example, how much are the consumers going to pay for renting the cheap clothing? So, especially renting services predominantly concentrate on the high-end clothing ranges, the reason is because people are going to rent the occasional garment for a certain situation. When you are selling low cost product ranges, or offering renting services, people tend to just purchase rather than borrow these products. So you may need to think about whether renting services would be the best option for the target consumer group. Or maybe sharing, creating a community where people use it to share. Like, Depop is a buying and selling platform, because their business model is targeting a younger consumer group, and selling relatively affordable with various ranges of products. The rest of your concept is all logically presented, but this part, the pricing element connected with the whole business model, I think you may need to consider again.

I did an interview of a girl who is a target consumer BARBARA: Okay, it might be useful to do a tiny bit more primary research on consumers, just to see whether that Eunsuk’s idea that people buy into lost cost clothing rather than renting. If in fast fashion if people are really willing to rent something that is a few months old? Also, maybe going forward, looking into next semester is looking into the logistics of it all. If somebody rents an item of clothing, how does it get from the owner to the renter? How long do they have it for? What happens if they don’t send it back or they damage it? Is the app going to underwrite that or is there some legalities that need to be put into place? LOTTI: Yes, so I plan for the app to cover insurance, as I don’t think anybody would want to rent out their clothes without knowing that they are going to come back safely. EUNSUK:

BARBARA: Did you do any primary research for the consumers?

Okay, so I think it’s an interesting concept, but especially with the business model you need to consider lots of different aftercare services and the logistics. Thank you!

re:lease

One Stop Borrow-Shop