UNIT 10- FASHION RETAIL BUYING ENVIRONMENT
RESPONSIBILITIES OF A BUYER Research:
Sourcing:
• Predicting future trends • Attending trade fairs • Attending fashion shows • Analysing consumer patterns • Reviewing performance levels • Customer feedback • Financial budgets
• Meeting suppliers/travelling worldwide • Negotiating with suppliers • Attending to trade shows (directional shops) and fashion shows • Reacting to problems with demand and logistics
Communication: • Communicating with various departments e.g. Merchandising team • Negotiating with suppliers • Taking feedback from retail stores • Presenting new lines to senior retail managers • Constructing reports
VISION FOR FUTURE TOPSHOP BUYER Customer demand: As a buyer, you have to consider a variety of issues before putting together a collection, one of these issues are customer demands. Customer demands consists of a variety of sub categories, these are: consumers wants, increase/decrease in demand and pricing. As a buyer for Topshop, I would have to know must know my customer as consumer wants are essential to producing a successful collection. When I put together a collection, I must avoid creating pieces that don’t apply to my customer profile, as this will increase the likelihood of a drop in sales, as I haven’t created pieces that will increase the consumers impulse to buy. I will also have to consider an increase/decrease in demand which will be due to the success/failure of a product. Decrease in demand usually leads to the discontinuation of a product as it not longer appeals to your consumer wants, and therefore will decrease profits and would reflect badly on me as a buyer. whereas increase in demand usually leads to the continuation of a product, a boost in sales and a good reflection on me as a buyer. Customer demand also includes a decrease in pricing. For example if a product is not doing as well as predicted, it may be put into sale, and again would reflect badly on me as a buyer. Topshop's customer demand: Jane Shepherdson, former brand manager at Topshop, reported to the guardian that their target audience is younger women, typically aged 15-30 years old, however the brand ‘targets everyone who loves fashion, regardless of age or income’ (Jonquil.myblog.arts.ac.uk, 2016). They offer 10% student discount which appeals to their younger audience as well using media sites such as Instagram to showcase their products. However their pieces stand out from other retailors and bring in a variety of different consumers. Shepherdson also stated that their customer ‘cannot be defined by her age – which can range from early teens to fifty something’s – but instead her attitude. Style conscious and independent, she is addicted to fashion but is not dictated to. Instead she throws away the rulebook and aims for a unique look.’ (Jonquil.myblog.arts.ac.uk, 2016)
Charlotte: 22 Law student Charlotte is a law student living in Leeds city centre in her student accommodation. She has always been a loyal Topshop customer as she loves their unique pieces. She prefers casual clothing, a pair of ripped jeans and an oversized jumper is her go to look this AW, paired with her brand new Topshop biker boots. She has always been interested in fashion and loves how Topshop is an affordable way to keep on trend.
Sarah:32 Team leader at insurance firm Sarah is a team leader at an insurance call centre in London. Her uniform policy does not have strict rules, she just has to look professional and smart. She has shopped in Topshop since she was a teenager and has remained loyal to the store as she can find everything she needs from there., from occasion wear to everyday necessities. She likes that with Topshop, she doesn’t have to compromise fashion for her uniform, but rather she can pick unique and fashionable pieces that she can incorporate into her uniform.
VISION FOR FUTURE TOPSHOP BUYER Market trends: Current market trends are important to analyse as a buyer in order to help in the process of trend forecasting. Buyers for Topshop may use websites such as WGSN to predict future trends as well as visit trade and fashion shows. When predicting these future trends, they have to consider what their customer would wear and a good way of predicting this is by looking at what currently sells best within the stores.
Current Topshop Collection: Featured below are some pieces from the Topshop collection. Many of them have a retro feel to them with quilted jackets and pinafore dresses, however the embroidery denim jeans have a 70s vibe to them and stand out from the other pieces. Currently many retailors are putting embroidery throughout their collection and according to WGSN this trend is due to continue through to SS18 (see right). If these embroidery items are selling well within the company, Topshop buyers may look to expand on this trend come SS18, as they known their customers like this product.
Predicted SS18 Trend
VISION FOR FUTURE TOPSHOP BUYER Store policy: each retailor has their own set of store policies, these can include refund policies and privacy policies when ordering online.
Topshop store commitments: not only does the company have store policies that they have to abide by, but they also have committed themselves to various obligations in order to improve sustainability and help charities world wide. These include: The Consumer Information Obligations (CIO)- to reduce waste produced by the company Fashion footprint- to achieve sustainable fashion through protecting the environment and the workers who produce the clothing Fashion targets Breast cancer- 30% of profits from the annual t-shirt goes to cancer charities Teenage cancer trust- every year they hold a picnic event to raise money to help the teenage cancer trust Age Uk- Pop up street soup vans, from which proceeding go to the charity. The company also held instore workshops, in which customers took part, donated money and learnt to make their own Christmas tights Age concern- to raise money for this charity, the store asked well known faces to donate some of their most fabulous pieces to be hired for £40 a night, the money raised was then given to charity. Help the ages- each year, the company sells Christmas cards designs by famous illustrators, the proceedings are then given to the charity. CenterPoint- workers at Topshop headquarters took part in a sponsored sleep out in order to raise money for the charity and the company also designed bracelets which are placed at till points with a donation box in order to raise more money. How do they affect the buyer: store policies and commitments will affect the buyer as they have to consider these subjects when creating a collection. For example, if they created a collection that included heavy embellishments, they will have to consider a warning label about the delicacy of the product, in order to reduce the amount of returns brought back to store due to mishandling by consumers. Furthermore, when creating collection for charity, they will have to try to maximise profits in order to raise money for the charity and keep profits rising.
VISION FOR FUTURE TOPSHOP BUYER Financial budgets: when putting together a collection, I would have to consider the financial budgets, I would be allocated a new budget every season. With financial budgets, I would work closely with merchandisers in order to maximise profits and stay within the budgets. When dealing with financial budgets, I would have to consider the RRP (recommended retail price) in order to ensure I would make a profit. However I would also have to consider my competitors price points so that my product competes with theirs; in order to do this I would conduct a comparative shop. As a buyer for Topshop I would conduct a comparative shop looking at a variety of retailors, this could include River Island, H&M, and online retailors such as ASOS and Misguided. Not only would I have to deal with new products being brought in, I would have to allocate a section of my budget to our Topshop classic pieces, such as our jeans, as they consistently bring in loyal costumers and therefore more sales. Other areas I could have to consider when dealing with finical budgets are import prices and taxes. As a buyer I would source products and materials from all around the world, meaning there could be extra costs for importing the items, and I would have to consider the exchange rates too.
Topshop RRP: ÂŁ50.00 River Island RRP: ÂŁ45.00
VISION FOR FUTURE TOPSHOP BUYER Trend research and analysis: keeping up to date with the latest fashion trends is key to ensuring a successful collection. As a buyer for Topshop, I would analyse current catwalks in order to predict future trends, as well as research future trend predictions, using sites such as WGSN. After conducting research, I will then use my findings in order to put my collection together. For example if a certain patterns continues to reoccur in various catwalks, I could incorporate it into my collection, so that it will be on trend.
How do Topshop find their trends: Future trends are sourced in a variety of ways, for example Topshop could use trend forecasting websites such as WGSN, which breaks down future trend predictions and goes into them in more detail, for example denim trends. Buyers could also visit fashion shows to see what designers are producing as well as visit trade shows, which is also a good way of sourcing new suppliers. Do current trends reflect in their collection well:
Topshop is renown for being a fashionable retailor and is consistently on trend with their products season after season. After looking at their current collection, I would say that their products reflect currents trends well. The burgundy velvet jumper on the right, for example fits in with the red colour palate of the season as well as the velvet material craze.
VISION FOR FUTURE TOPSHOP BUYER Trade shows: As a buyer for Topshop, I would attend a various trade and fashion shows. Examples of Trade shows are ‘Premier Vision’ in Paris, ‘Pure’ in London and ‘Bread & Butter’ in berlin. At these trade shows, I would select and purchases pieces that I believe would be successful within in my collection, in order to appeal to the customer demands. When purchasing a piece I must consider the finical budgets and predicted trends I have found from my research.
VISION FOR FUTURE TOPSHOP BUYER Sourcing and negotiation: As a buyer for Topshop, I would source products/suppliers at trade shows as well as researching online. Once I have met the supplier and found the product I am looking for, I will begin to negotiate prices with them. This is a fundamental part of the buying process and it is important to remember that I must respect the supplier and their offers, especially if I wish to maintain a relationship with them and purchase from them again. The importance of Negotiating cost prices: Negotiation is a key part of sourcing items and as a buyer, I would have to negotiate with suppliers in order to get the best cost prices. Getting the best price is extremely important in order to ensure a profitable collection, to keep within my financial budget and keeping a good relationship with suppliers by ensuring I respect their offers and offer them a respectable price.
VISION FOR FUTURE TOPSHOP BUYER Supplier relationships- communication: Creating this balance does not mean driving for the lowest possible price with no regard for the true expense incurred, but rather recognizing that the success of one partner helps the success of the other. The relationship is complicated. (Holden, 2016) As a buyer at Topshop, I will have to have a good relationships with the suppliers I am dealing with. To maintain this relationship I will communicate with the suppliers frequently and respect their positon by understanding that they have to make a profit too. Items for Topshop will be sourced from around the world, and this means the suppliers will not always be easily accessible for all meetings. For occasions where only a small amount of communication is needed, buyers and suppliers will usually email or skype call each other, in order to save time and money. But in situations when more communication is needed, buyers would fly out meet with suppliers and vice versa. However not all suppliers are from overseas. As a buyer for Topshop, I may be dealing with UK suppliers which will be much easier to keep in communication with.
Government polices- Brexit According to this recent article by the retail gazette, prices within retail are due to rise by 5% ‘across the board’ by next year, stating suppliers have upped their prices blaming the UK’s decision to vote out being the reason behind this inflation. (Retailgazette.co.uk, 2016)
The article describes how prices will rise across all areas of retail from clothing to food and stating how this is ‘something consumers will have to get used to’. (Retailgazette.co.uk, 2016) They have also stated within the article how some retailors prices may even rise to up to 8%. This affects the role of the buyer in numerous ways, the main issue they will now encounter will be negotiating with suppliers. The reason retail prices will be increasing will be due to the increase in suppliers pricing as leaving the EU means trading with other countries is more expensive. This will then in turn increase retail prices which could lead to a decrease in sales as consumers will be less likely to pay 5% more for an item they bought previously at a reasonable price. A decrease in sales will then lead to a decrease in profits which could then make the buyers budget smaller, and this suggest that this article has a negative affect on the buyer and their role.
(Retailgazette.co.uk, 2016)
Retail Market Similarly to the previous article, this report, featured on the retail gazettes website, has a negative affect on the buyer. According to the article, footfall fell ‘by 0.9% across the board in September’ suggesting that each sector of retail felt this drop in consumer spending. It also states that shopping centres lost consumers at a ‘higher rate than the high street. (Retailgazette.co.uk, 2016) Journalist are blaming the usually warm September weather as the reason behind this sudden drop in footfall across the country. This affects the buyer in a number of ways, for example less footfall within stores leads to a decrease in sales, which decreases profits and could in turn decrease financial budgets for the buyer. Furthermore, buyers will have to take a closer look at shopping centres and their customers in order to try and improve footfall in their stores within the centre.
This could also impact the way buyers communicate with other departments. For example, buyers will have to communicate with visual merchandiser, in particular those based in shopping centres, in order to try and make the products and the stores more appealing to their customers in order to increase footfall and boost sales/profits.
(Retailgazette.co.uk, 2016)
(BetaNews, 2016)
Technology
The article featured left, shows how technology can affect the role of the buyer, however this report has neither a positive or negative affect on the role of the buyer as the article describes how shopping apps generate more money when they are targeted at women. According to the article, women are 'more likely to make a purchase' on shopping apps and they are 'less expensive to acquire compared to their male counterparts'. (BetaNews, 2016) This suggests that male consumers are much harder audience to deal with in regards to making a profits through shopping apps, and that if companies want to make a profit they 'must target women'. (BetaNews, 2016) This will affect the role of the buyer, in particular the way the communicate to app designers. For example they will have to work with the IT department in order to come up with new ways of enticing the male consumer to purchase through their shopping app. Furthermore, buyers may want to look at another Channel of persuading male consumers to shop with their company.
(Stephanie Burns)
Consumer spending Consumer spending rebounds in September driven by online purchases: This article by retail week, contrasts drastically in comparison to retail market article as it is suggesting that despite a drop in footfall, consumer spending rose in September, suggesting a positive impact on the buyer. According to the article, consumer spending online rose by 6%, however more money was spent on leisure such as eating out and holidays. It also states that 'the troubled fashion sector continued to struggle' (Tugby et al., 2016) as clothing and footwear sales dropped significantly. This will affect the role of the buyer as they will have to try and boot sales throughout the remainder of the year in order to make a profit. They will also have to communicate with visual merchandisers within stores in order to try and make displays more exciting for customers and try to increase footfall around the country.
(Stephanie Burns)
(Stephanie Burns)
legal
environment
Political
Pestle
PESTLE
Technology
social
As a buyer, you have to consider a variety of factors that will affect your company. PESTLE is a acronym that helps buyers to ensure they consider each area, these areas are: Political, Environment, Social, Technology, Law and Environment. Political: what is happening within politics. For example tax policies, employment law and environment regulations. Economy: economic levels, for example exchange rates, inflation rates and recessions. Social: the behaviour of society Technology: how technology is advancing. Legal: new laws. Environment: ensuring your company does best by the environment.
Economy
political The minimum wage is a topic that is constantly in and out the headlines, earlier this year Britain saw a wage rise for over 25s with the national living wage of £7.20 being introduced. Certain companies chose to adopt the new wage for all ages, however some companies kept to the minimum wage meaning a lot of young people missed out. However, the government have announced that as of the 1st of October all 16-24 year olds still on the minimum wage will see an increase of up to 0.25p and hour in their pay, which is ‘up to £450 a year’ (Anon, 2016) more.
(Anon, 2016)
This will have many affects on company Marks and Spencer. Primary they will have to increase the wages of all young workers to meet the new law. This could then indirectly influence the buyer as the company will have to reconsider finical budgets. Also with a bigger pay cheque, younger people will have more money to spend on whatever they chose. Therefore buyers may start to consider their younger customers more intently in order to maximise profits. This shows how politics can impact the job of a buyer as they have to consider how new laws and regulations could change the habits and lifestyles of consumers. Potential impact: high Time frame: ongoing Type: positive Impact: increasing
This article shines a negative light on the popular British retailer as Marks and Spencer have chosen to only pay the staff who are legally entitled to the wage rise. Not all companies in the UK chose to increase everybody's hourly wage to £7.20 per hour, however as a company, which has been described to have ‘solid values’ (Anon, 2016), it is a surprise to some that they have kept hourly rates to the minimum wage. This is not the only negative story in regards to M&S and their wages, in July 2016, the company announced cuts to ‘higher pay rates for around 7,000 staff’. (This is Money, 2016) These pay cuts included premiums for working Sundays, Bank holidays and anti-social hours, and they also announced a reduction in pension contributions. This again shines a negative light on the company, which could result in them loosing customers as it appears they are treating their staff unfairly, which could lead to a loss in profits. Potential impact: medium Time frame: ongoing Type: negative Impact:
Economic Unemployment is a noun that consistently appears in the UK headlines, and in October 2016, the BBC reported that there was yet another rise in the level of unemployment in 2016. According to the article, unemployment increased to 1.66 million, which was a ‘small’ rise of 10,000. Despite the fact that the levels have dropped significantly since 2011, this increase could have impacts on British consumers and their spending habits, which will in turn effect retailers in the UK. Despite the negative news about the rise in employment, the article also reported that the number of people remaining in work reached a ‘record high of 31.8 million’, and the number of people ‘actively seeking work’ increased. (BBC News, 2016) This implies that in spite of the current rise in unemployment, British citizens are remaining positive by looking to find new jobs, and this could suggest that the unemployment levels may even decrease in the upcoming years. As a buyer, the British economy is something that has to be closely monitored as it is forever fluctuating and has a variety of affects on the daily tasks they undertake. Buyers for Marks and Spencer will have to consider the levels of employment when creating and pricing collections as well as predicting their success levels, because if there are more people out of work, there are less consumers wiling to spend.
Potential impact: high Time frame: ongoing Type: negative Impact:
Social Rosie Huntington-Whitley has been in collaboration with Marks and Spencer for over 3 years and has now recently unveiled her new make-up line. She originally introduced a lingerie range with the company, then expanded to fragrance, active wear and sleepwear and has now moved onto to make-up, something the British model has stated she has a ‘genuine love for it’. (British Vogue, 2016) Since the collaborations have continued for almost 4 years now, it is clear the model has made a positive impact with consumers. In fact according to the daily mail, the underwear collection sold almost 400,000 garments within the first three months of its release in 2015, a substantial increase on the amount of underwear sold the previous year. (Mail Online, 2015) Over the past few years Marks and Spencer has been dubbed as ‘too old’ and has been suggested as a shop with a more mature target market. (Saner, 2013) However the young fresh face of the well known British model, is an example of how the company is trying to entice younger consumers into the stores.
(British Vogue, 2016)
This collaboration will have numerous affects on the buyer. Firstly a profit increase could lead to a larger spending budget for the buyers. Furthermore, if the collaboration is again successful, they might look into more celebrity infused collections. Also if the makeup is a hit with their customers they may broaden the range of cosmetic items they sell. Finally, since the company has brought in an icon who appeals to a younger generation, Marks and Spencer could see an increase in younger consumers, and therefore will have to try to appeal to this new audience. Potential impact: high Time frame: ongoing Type: positive Impact: increasing
Alexa Chung gives a sneak peak of two coats from her upcoming winter collection for M&S- and fans are already going wild for it
Social
Marks and Spencer use a variety of celebrities to create and showcase their collections, and its no surprise that after a first successful collection, Alexa Chung has gone into collaboration with the company for the second time this year. ‘Archive by Alexa’ was a ‘sell out success’ (Marie Claire, 2016) by the well loved British Vogue editor and after ‘winning raving reviews’ from fans when giving the ‘sneakiest’ peak on Instagram (Mail Online, 2016) it seems that the AW16 collection will be a huge hit with consumers. Similarly to the Rosie-Huntington Whitley, Alexa Chung is adored by the younger generation and is one of the most stylish icons of today, proven by her continuous victories at the British fashion awards. By creating a new collection with the Vogue editor, Marks and Spencer's are again appealing to the younger generation and attempting to expand further than their current mature target audience. (Mail Online, 2016) This collection could have similar affects as the Rosie collaboration on the buyers, as they are yet again brining in a fresh face to help create and advertise their collections. Which as previously stated, could appeal to the younger generation, and bring more young consumers to M&S. Potential impact: high Time frame: ongoing Type: positive Impact: increasing
(Mail Online, 2016)
There have been many aftershocks for Britain after voting to leave the EU, not only has the pound dropped to ‘its lowest level since 1985’ (the Guardian, 2016), or have the prices of almost everything from food to houses began to increase, but now it has been announced that plans to increase the national living wage have been withdrawn. According to this article by the Daily Mail, there will still be a increase on the current £7.20 per hour wage rate, however it will be ‘lower than previously estimated’. The increase would have meant a yearly pay raise of £800 for full time workers, however now this figured has dropped and is now £200 less than anticipated. An annual wage rise of £600 does mean more money for consumers, however with the levels of inflation continuously rising, their disposable income is likely to further decline, and therefore, consumers could actually have less money to spend. This will affect retailers across the UK and buyers at Marks and Spencer's may have to consider this cut in the living wage, as well as the unreliable British economy when pricing their collections. Potential impact: high Time frame: long term Type: negative Impact: increasing
With the use of technology forever increasing, many retailers across the UK are using technology in order to maximise profits, and in September 2016, Marks and Spencer announced they have adopted ‘the click-and-collect strategy’.(Retailgazette.co.uk, 2016) The new service is being tried out in their Teddington simply food store till the end of the year and allows customers to order M&S Items such as clothing and home wear online, to be collected in the store using a unique barcode, making it easier for consumers to get access to the other products they sell. This service is available in other retailers such as John Lewis, where customers can order any John Lewis product to their local Waitrose store, making it easier to shop and buy products. If the trial is a success, the company could expand the service to all of its stores, which could help in maximising profits.it could also help to bring in new customers who only have the Marks and Spencer's food halls local to them as they would be able to order other items online and have them delivered to their local simply food stores for free of charge. This is a positive news headline for the company and could encourage consumers to shop with the retailer on a regular basis. Potential impact: undetermined Time frame: ongoing Type: positive Impact: undetermined
Technology (Conversion rate optimisation , UX & Analytics Consultancy Manchester | Digital Tonic, 2014)
Since 2014, Marks and Spencer have tried and tried again to improve their website. In 2014, the company spent a large sum of £150 million on their new website design, only to see a drop in online sales. According to this article, the new website that took two years to complete lead ‘to and 8% decrease in online sales’ (Conversion rate optimisation , UX & Analytics Consultancy Manchester | Digital Tonic, 2014) and left the company with a lot of concerning feedback from disappointed customers, regarding their ‘new look’.
It was reported that when the website launched, customers came across a variety of issues when using the site, including navigation, delivery errors and problems with their accounts, which explains the drop in sales. This article portrays a negative image of the company as many customers have stated that they believe this is bad customer service from M&S. Not only will these comments from customers deter consumers from ordering with the company online, but it could also affect instore purchases too as many loyal customers were left annoyed by changes. This could affect the buyer in numerous ways, for example they will have to converse with their econ team in order to ensure their product will be available online without any technological issues. Furthermore s decline in profits could lead to a smaller finical budget and more pressure on the buying team to make up the money they have lost through new products. Potential impact: high Time frame: short term Type: negative Impact: decreasing
(Neville, 2014) In 2014, Marks and Spencer released a variety of wall print frames that designer Louise Verity claimed where a copy of the work she produced. The product featured a large message placed on top of old dictionary pages, which were quite similar to the Louise’s work. The designer has run an independent art business called ‘bookishly’ since 2009, and uses her parents business to frame the artwork. When she came across an image posted on the M&S Instagram page which resembled her own work, she sought legal advice as she believe the company had breached copyright. However a solicitor at M&S informed the small business owner that they believe she could not ‘claim a monopoly in the actual use of overlaying’ (Neville, 2014), to which verity was not surprised by. As she was concerned about the impact this would have on her small business, her lawyer suggested that she began a campaign against the company on social media, which would shine a very negative light on the well loved British company. This news story will affect the buyer in many ways. For example, they will have to thoroughly research new product the produce in order to avoid being in breach of copyright laws again. Furthermore, this negative news story could lead to a dip in sales as many people would be disappointed by the company copying a small business’ work. Finally if Louise took the complaint to the courts, the company could be involved in a legal dispute which could ending costing the company a lot of money.
Potential impact: high Time frame: short term Type: negative Impact: past
(Conn, 2014) This article gives another negative impression on the British retailer Marks and Spencer after former employee Janice Allen announced in 2014 that her deadly form of cancer was caused by the conditions of the store she worked in years previously. After being diagnosed with mesothelioma, Janice was left feeling betrayed by the company after working so hard as a young teenager for the company 36 years previously. This form of cancer is not curable and therefore the former employee will now have to undergo treatment such as surgery and chemotherapy. She stated that her ‘first reactions were to go completely into depression and extreme anxiety’ (Conn, 2014) but with the help of Macmillan nurses she has been able to function better than expected. After hearing that she was not the only former employee to suffer due to the poor working conditions, Janice decided to sue the company in order to bring attention to the issue.
This will have a variety of effects on the company as well as the buyers. For example this story gives an extremely negative image for the brand and therefore could lead to a decrease in sales. Furthermore the legal case could cost M&S a lot of money and both of these issues could intern effect the buyer as it could lead to tighter finical budgets. Potential impact: high Time frame: short term Type: negative Impact: past
(News.bbc.co.uk, 2016) This article gives a positive impression on the company as they have announced that their cafes will be the ‘first UK chain’ to now serve only Fairtrade coffee, and as the retailor with the ‘UK’s third largest number of high street coffee shops’ it is likely to make a big impact on Fairtrade dealings. Fairtrade was established in order to ensure that workers and producers of farms and factories in developing countries received a fair wage, and over the past few years, many companies such as the Co-op have sort out Fairtrade suppliers. Now that Marks and Spencer's have changed their all their coffees to Fairtrade beans, they are helping people in developing countries to improve their lives, as well as helping to achieve a sustainable future. According to the article, when the co-op began to sell Fairtrade products, their sales in store began to ‘soar’ (News.bbc.co.uk, 2016) as many people are more likely to buy a fairly sourced item. This would suggest that Marks and Spencer would also see an increase in profits from their cafes due to the switch over. It could also further enhance the positive imagery of the company and convince consumers to shop with the store more often, which again could see an increase in sales. This in turn could effect the buyer as an increase in profits could see a bigger financial budget. Buyers also may want to consider using suppliers who source their material such as cotton from Fairtrade farmers in order to further enhance the positive image.
Potential impact: high Time frame: immediate Type: positive Impact: ongoing
Environment (Kaye, 2013) In 2013, Marks and spencer released their yearly sustainably report and it was argued that the company was the most sustainable retailor world wide. The company set itself a list of targets to achieve, such as ensuring all M&S buildings from stores to office buildings were all carbon neutral, which they have achieved. They also implicated a partnership with Oxfam, in which customers could donate any unwanted items to any marks and Spencer store, which according to the article has ‘diverted almost 4 million articles of clothing out of landfills’. (Kaye, 2013) They tried to achieve suitability across all departments from food to fashion, from sourcing to distribution, and have managed to achieve them, arguing a very strong case that they could be one of the most sustainable retailors. Similarly to the previous article, this will have a positive impact on the company as consumers will see the stores as a sustainable and fair way of shopping. This could then increase profits for the company, which could then affect the buyer, as more profits could lead to higher finical budgets for their collections. Potential impact: high Time frame: long term Type: positive Impact: ongoing
JOB DESCRIPTIONS Own label retailor: In this situation, the brand/company many not have specific job description, but instead one person undertaking a variety of roles as it is their own business or they have gone into a partnership. For example, a designer on Instagram who makes garments made to measure, may be working alone or in a team of two. This would mean they would have to do a variety of different jobs such as creating and dealing with their own financial budgets, deciding how to market their label, and sourcing materials and technologies alone. Independent stores and boutiques: Boutique work a slightly bigger scale compared to own label retailors. for example, a boutique owner may employee sales assistants to work in their store, so that they can deal with other areas of the business. This means that the teams are usually larger in Boutiques compared to own label retailors, however they still may not have allocated job descriptions as the owner of the boutique may deal with the ‘head office’ roles such as buying and merchandising and the store assistants may deal with VM and selling items. High street chain: A high street chain has a much larger team and word load in comparison to Boutiques and Own label retailors. They will have a large number across a country or even world wide. A good example of this is Topshop. This company has many stores around the world and therefore it would be impossible for one person to undertake various roles, so Topshop have a head office in London. Employees such as Buyer, Merchandisers and designers will work at the head office and work closely with each department. Department store: Department stores have even bigger work load as they deal with even more stock, customers and jobs than a high street chain. Similarly to high street stores, department stores will have a head office base where the employees mentioned previously would work. As a buyer for a department store, you would be allocated a specific section to buy and source products for. For example if I were a buyer for Debenhams, I would could be allocated women's nightwear, and I would have to create collection based around this section. Branded Buying: Branded buyers have a slightly different role compared to buyer in general. For example as a Debenhams branded buyer, I would be looking for new brands to bring into the department store that I believe would be successful for my customers. Once I have sourced the brand I would then go to their head office and discuss buying in their product to sell in Debenhams. However unlike an average buyer, branded buyers are not particularly looking at trends, but rather the popular brands of today.
JOB DESCRIPTIONS This job for an assistant buyer of footwear and accessories for renown British brand Hobbs. An assistant buyer within this company has many responsibilities these include: ‘participating in critical paths meetings’, ‘checking new developments against the design specs’ and ‘Preparing for and attend fit meetings’ to mention a few (see above for all). However Hobbs described there overall duty ‘is to offer full support to the Buyer/Junior Buyer for the overall delivery of a profitable and commercial range, ensuring that strong product development reflects the creative vision of Design’. (RetailChoice.com, 2016) This job advertisement does not include a section describing what is needed for this role, however it does feature a ‘key skills’ section. This section states that candidates must be able to manage the workload, willing to develop by asking for support, be responsible for maintain data and must be able to gather information to make informed decisions; without having these key skills candidates would be unlikely to be successful in their application.
This position a permanent job is based in London in the Hobbs head office. Many but not all retail head office are based in the UK capital city. No specific figures are given in regards to salary, however it is described as competitive with ‘an excellent flexible benefits scheme’ and staff discount is available. (RetailChoice.com, 2016)
JOB DESCRIPTIONS
This advertisement is for the same positon as the previous Hobbs job and will therefore have some similarities in responsibilities. However this position is for a men's footwear assistant buyer for new look and will therefore have many differences. The location remains the same as their head office is also based in London, however no information is given in regards to salary. Responsibilities in this job include: product management, competitor and trend analysis and negotiating with suppliers, but New Look state that ‘the purpose of this role is to offer full support to the Buyer in developing a product offer that meets customer requirements and maximises sales and profit opportunities’. (Apply.newlook.jobs, 2016) Unlike the Hobbs job application, this advertisement features ‘essential and desirable skills’ (see above) this includes previous experience as an assistant buyer.
JOB DESCRIPTIONS
A buyers admin assistant is one positon lower than a assistant buyer, however this advertisement for an international buyers admin assistant has a lot more information in comparison to the assistant buyer jobs. This could be due to the fact that this advertisement is for an international positioned with a more popular brand. Some of the main responsibilities for this position include: keeping up to date with best sellers, attending production meetings and managing the buyers schedule. This is an ‘entry level’ position meaning less experience is needed in comparison to an assistant buyer. They include personal traits such as having a key eye for fashion and being motivated and driven. The advertisement also describes the job in more detail explaining who you would be communicating with on a daily basis, the types of meetings you would be attending and other various daily tasks.
JOB DESCRIPTIONS
This positon at fast fashion brand ‘Boohoo’ is one title higher than an assistant buyer and this means the job is slightly different and includes more responsibilities. The advertisement does not have a lot of information, in comparison to the Ted Baker job, however it does have a heavy focus on the responsibilities this position holds. These include: providing SWOT analysis every six weeks, supporting senior buyers and undertakes preparation for far east trips. They state that ‘As a Junior Buyer you should be highly motivated, with technical flair, excellent communication skills and a can-do attitude.’ (Boohoo Careers, 2016)
JOB DESCRIPTIONS
This position is the highest in comparison to the pervious job application. This advertisement is for head of buying within the arcadia company ‘Topman’ and provides a lot of information regrading the position. There is a large section dedicated to a description of the job (see left) which includes a breakdown of the different responsibilities this job holds. This is the position with the most responsibilities as the employee would over see each buyer
HOW DO THESE TYPES OF BUYERS JOB ROLES COMPARE AND CONTRAST THE DIFFERENT RETAIL ENVIRONMENTS As discussed previously, there are different types of job roles for buyers within the industry. This is due to the variety of different retail environments. Each role will hold responsibilities that differ from the other. Concession buyers will work within large retailor environments such as high street or department store head offices. They will be responsible for a smaller selection of products, however they will still have all the responsibilities of a buyer such as trend forecasting and negotiating with suppliers. Online buyers again have all the responsibilities of a buyer, however they will be buying products for online retailors. This means that they may have a different customer base due to the fact they are not available on the high street, however they would still have to consider high street retailors as competitors. For example ASOS is only available online, but it competes with retailors such as Topshop and River island as the competitor pool for online only stores is smaller than on the high street. They will also have to consider their price points more carefully as they will have to consider delivery charges which customers may not want to pay on top of a garments that is already quite expensive. High street retailors are big organisations and therefore there is a lot depending on all the teams within the company, this means that buyers still have many responsibilities as they have more people relying on them. Branded Buyers have a slightly different job role in comparison to the other 4 environments. Unlike other buyers, branded buyers will not only have to consider future trends, but also what will be the ‘in’ brand for the season. Branded buyers will buy in brands and therefore they will communicate with brands to source collections, rather than meet with suppliers.
HEAD OFFICE HIERARCHY CEO IT IT manager
IT assistant manager
CUSTOMER SERVICE
BUYING/MERCHENDISING
HR
FIANANCE
Marketing director
Head buyer
manager
Financial director
Regional marketing manager
senior
Assistant manager
Financial manager
Branch marketing executive
junior
supervisor
Financial analyst
HR staff
Financial trainee
MARKETING
manager
Assistant manager
IT engineers
supervisor
IT technicians
Customer service staff
Marketing team leader
Marketing associates
Assistant
Admin assistant
IN STORE HIERARCHY CEO
Regional manager Area manager Store manager VM manager
Assistant manager
VM assistant manager
supervisors
VM supervisors VM staff
Sales assistants
Key holders
Back of house staff
Security manager
Cleaning manager
Security men
Cleaners
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BUYER ENVIRONMENTS
Buyers work closely with a number of different teams within the company to ensure a smooth process and a successful collection. Merchandisers: Buyers will work very closely with merchandisers. They will discuss figures such as financial budgets and cost prices in order to ensure that each collection remains within budget and still offers the chance of a profit. the merchandisers will then use the information provided by buyers to produce quantities and ratios of sizes which will be distributed to the stores. Merchandisers will then feedback figures from the stores to the buyers so that the buyers can see what's selling well and what needs to be discontinued. Design: Buyers will also work with the design team when creating collection for new season. Buyers will send over their research including trend forecasts, colour palates and popular textiles in order to make sure the collection on trends. They will also provide the design team with budgets in order to ensure each garment can be put into price and still offer a profit. Buyers will also supply the team with time limits in order to ensure final designs are sent off by the correct so that production can begin. Marketing: The marketing team deals with how the products will be promoted and advertised. Buyers will communicate their collections with the team and discuss their main product focuses, including best sellers. This is done so that the marketing team can advertise each product correctly which will entice customers to buy the new season products. The marketing team will be given their own budget which they will have to consider when meeting with the suppliers in order to ensure they remain within the budgets. For example, if the buyers have envisioned a celebrity to endorse their brand, marketing will have to decide whether that celebrity can be afforded within their budget. The marketing team may also work with the design team in order to ensure the concept of a collection is filtered through an advertisement, this could be done by sharing concept boards featuring colour palates and images that have inspired the collection. Retail: Stores will work closely with both buyers and merchandisers in order to ensure a successful collection. Buyers may send out look books to help visual merchandisers in the store know layouts and the story in which they believe will best present the collections. These packs may include features and benefits on products so that sales assistants can then feed this information to the customers in order to encourage sales. Store figures will be sent back to head office, usually to the merchandisers to inform them what is and isn’t selling, which can then be reported back to the buyers, buyers can then look at bestsellers and which products do not fit in with their target market.
MERCHANDISING JOB DESCRIPTIONS Even though buyers and merchandisers work closely together, there job roles do contrast to one another. Merchandisers are largely responsible for numbers such as stock allocation however each company varies. This job advertisement is for a merchandise assistant for Sports shop JD. This is a similar positon to an assistant buyer as in this company's position you would be reporting to the merchandiser, just as an assistant buyer reports to the buyer. This advertisement features five sections and one large section dedicated to explaining the merchandising team and their roles. It then goes on to explain the teamwork included in the job, they key responsibilities, the skills and knowledge required to obtain the jobs and what the company can offer you as an employee(all featured left).
MERCHANDISING JOB DESCRIPTIONS
This job is a lower position in comparison to the previous JD merchandise assistant job. This advertisement is for an entry level position within the Oasis womenswear company meaning that people who have little or no experience, however they do ask for a qualification in preferably Buying or Merchandising. The advertisement also includes daily tasks and responsibilities such as being aware of sales targets and producing analysis on previous sales. Like buyers roles, merchandisers are based in head office, and the Oasis head office is also based in London.
MERCHANDISING JOB DESCRIPTIONS
This job is the highest position out of the three. This advertisement is for a Merchandiser for arcadia brand Topshop, based in their London head office, it features a breakdown of the job, its key responsibilities and what they require for the role. Key responsibilities include planning future ranges, formulating range strategies and managing a high performing team. In order to be successful in the recruitment, applicants should be ‘currently be working at a merchandiser level’ have ‘excellent commercial awareness’ and ‘experience in range planning’. (Peoplebank.com, 2016)
THE BUYING CYCLE Monitoring sales figures: Communicate with merchandisers, they will source like for like data to see what's selling and where. This helps buyers to make informed decisions on future purchases. Review season performance: Source data from merchandisers regarding best and worst sellers. Buyers can then use this information to decide whether to re-purchase the best sellers. Budget Planning: Budget planning is essential as buyers have to ensure their collection will keep within their given budget and make enough product to classify the collection as a success. Planning & Buying Schedules and Trips: Buyers have to be very time conscious. Attending trade and fashion shows and buying trips help buyers to ensure they are aware of trends. By planning deadlines of collections, deliveries and release, buyers can ensure a smoother production process and help to make their collection successful.
The buying cycle refers to the sequence of the production, buying and selling of products. Each sector of the cycle is essential to ensuring the success of a collection.
Range Selection: Buyers have to be particular about what their range will consist of. They have to consider their customer, predicted trends and quality. For example if they buy in a coat that doesn’t fit in with the season, doesn't suit their customer and has a really poor quality, the product will not be successful in the collection. Price Negotiation and setting retail price: Negotiating with supplies is key in the role of buying. As a buyer you have to ensure you get the best possible cost price, without disrespecting suppliers and understanding they have to make money too. When setting a retail price, they will have to asses the cost price and their typical price range in order to ensure the make a big enough profit. Order Processing and Confirmation: As buyers have to be time conscious, they will have to ensure their orders are processed on time and they receive this confirmation so that they can then communicate with other departments such as marketing. Monitoring Deliveries: Similarly to order processing and confirmation, buyers will have to keep an eye on deliveries ensuring they are delivered to stores on time for the release date.
Retail Selling Period: Buyers will have make sure they have picked the correct selling period ensure a successful collection. They will have to consider the season(and it weather) and its competitors release date.
THE BUYING CYCLE Designer Designer buyers have to consider the cycle in a different way to fast fashion and branded buyers. For example when planning and buying schedules and trips, designer buyers would have to attend trade shows of fabrics in order to chose a material that will go into to production of the garments. Designer buyers have a lot more responsibilities in terms of design and production of garments in comparison to buyers in other environments.
Fast Fashion Fast fashion buyers have to be even more time conscious than a regular buyer; they have to be quick, resourceful and efficient. They will usually buy garments from wholesalers in bulk to sell on in their company rather than visit suppliers with fabrics and design ideas.
Branded Branded buyers are similar to fast fashion buyers as they will buy a product in bulk to sell on in their company. They will not have to trend forecast in order to produce a garment, but they will trend forecast up coming brands, see what different brands are producing and pick products that in with their own brand and upcoming trend predictions.
Natasha Horsley
PROPOSAL GUIDELINES
14/11/16
Brand: Miss Selfridge (arcadia) I have chosen the arcadia company as it has a variety of different brands within, I then chose Miss Selfridge as it is the smallest brand and I believe is has the biggest potential of expansion. I have decided to do a kids wear range as non of the brands within arcadia have a children's clothing section and many of the Arcadia/ Miss Selfridge competitors offer a kids wear range. As this will be the first kind of this collection for the company, and the brand only has female customers, I will keep it to a girls range. In order to ensure the range fits in with the brand I will conduct research on the company and its current trends. I have decided to create my collection for AW17 and it will be called ‘Mini Miss’.
To complete this project, I will use a variety of different methods and tasks. I will firstly conduct research on the company Arcadia to get more knowledge on the history of the company. I will then research into Miss Selfridge in order to ensure my collection will fit in with their customer profile. The research I will conduct for this will include, brand history research, target market research and I will then produce a customer profile, both for an existing customer and a new audience I hope to bring in. I will also produce a mood board of current pieces by the brand to visually describe the brand style. In order to decrease the possibilities of problems with the collection, I will produce a SWOT analysis.. I will then research predicted trends for AW17, looking particularly trends that will fit in well with the brand, using websites such as WGSN, Vogue.com and Pinterest. I will also identify my competitors and then produce a competitive shop, in order to ensure my collection will compete well against other retailors. Before completing my collection, I will construct a mood board/concept board based around AW17 trends in order to gain inspiration. I will then produce a buying cycle for my range to show how it will go into production. I will produce a range plan and evaluate it. In order to ensure a successful collection, I will produce a business plan, including market strategies such as advertisements and exclusive promotions. I will also produce a merchandising spreadsheet to keep cost and retail prices as efficient as possible. I will also create the collection and complete an in depth evaluation on the collection and the project as a whole.
Throughout this project, I will critically evaluate and analyse tasks such as my mood boards and business plans, describing how each task is helping to ensure the success of my collection. I will also complete an in depth evaluation on my collection, detailing how each task and method has helped in building this range. I will also describe how I found each task, focusing on my own strengths and weakness to improve on for the next project.
Task/method
Due date
Completed(inc evaluation)
Company and brand research
9/11/16
Completed
Target market and Customer profile
9/11/16
Completed
Mood board on current AW16 collection
18/11/16
Completed
Produce business plan
18/11/16
Completed
Trend forecasting
18/11/16
Completed
Identify competitors and produce comp shop
18/11/16
Completed
AW17 trend concept boards (6)
25/11/16
Completed
Collection concept board-Evaluate
25/11/16
Completed
Build range-Evaluate
25/11/16
Completed
Construct merchandising spreadsheet-Evaluate
02/11/16
Completed
Discuss marketing strategies
02/11/16
Completed
Produce buying cycle
06/11/16
Completed
Final evaluation SWOT analysis
07/11/16
Completed
MAJOR TASK-COMPANY The Arcadia Group is a ‘multinational’ retailor that owns a variety of well-known high street brands. (En.wikipedia.org, 2016) The company started up in the beginning of 20th century with the menswear brand Burton and has expanded largely since, acquiring brands such as Topshop, Evans and Dorothy Perkins. The company has also created brands such as Topman and principles. Other brands the company own are Miss Selfridge and Wallis. Each brand has a large quantity of free standing stores as well as many concession within department stores such as Debenhams, John Lewis and BHS(British home store). The company also run ‘OUTFIT’ stores where a selection of items from each brand is sold within store, these are usually located in out of town retail parks, such as Speke and Prescott retail park in Liverpool. Each brand has a specific target audience and in total the company provides for a variety of ages from young adults to an older generation, a variety of sizes from petite to plus size and to both male and female consumers.
MAJOR TASK- BRAND The brand I have chosen within the company to introduce a new collection for is Miss Selfridge. This brand has a smaller range in comparison to Topshop or Dorothy Perkins and therefore I believe it could have the greatest possibility of expansion. Despite this, Miss Selfridges stores and concessions are based Worldwide. At the beginning, this brand was a section of clothing in department store Selfridges, aimed at a teenage target market, and to this day still has a large portion of young consumers, however it also appeals to the older generation. From my research I have discovered that despite their variety of brands, The Arcadia Group does not have any children's wear brands or collections, and I have therefore decided to create children's wear collection for the brand Miss Selfridge. I believe this will fill their gap in the market and help them to compete with their competitors such as River Island and H&M.
AW16 Collection
Wow at any occasion… Dream dresses
Stand out
COMPANIES, PARTNERSHIPS AND SOLE TRADERS Private limited company by shares
Private unlimited company
‘Most limited companies are ‘limited by shares’. This means that the shareholders’ responsibilities for the company’s financial liabilities are limited to the value of shares that they own but haven’t paid for. Company directors aren’t personally responsible for debts the business can’t pay if it goes wrong, as long as they haven’t broken the law.’ (Gov.uk, 2016)
Directors or shareholders are liable for all debts if things go wrong. (Gov.uk, 2016)
Private limited company by guarantee ‘Directors or shareholders financially back the organisation up to a specific amount if things go wrong.’ (Gov.uk, 2016)
According to my research, private limited companies are usually ‘small business’ in which shares within the company are not sold on the stock exchange market. (Bbc.co.uk, 2016)
Public limited company The company’s shares are traded publicly on a market, such as the London Stock Exchange. (Gov.uk, 2016) Compared to private Limited companies, Public limited companies, or PLC’s are ‘large, well known- businesses’ and shares can be sold on the stock exchange market. (Bbc.co.uk, 2016)
Partnerships ‘In a business partnership, you and your business partner (or partners) personally share responsibility for your business. You can share all your business’s profits between the partners. Each partner pays tax on their share of the profits.’ (Gov.uk, 2016) Partnerships implies the business has two or more owners. This means that two people are at the top of the business making it easier to make decision. However it could also be argued that there is more likely to be issues within the business, such as ‘Disputes’ between the two or more owners. (Bbc.co.uk, 2016)
Sole traders If you start working for yourself, you’re classed as a selfemployed sole trader. As a sole trader, you run your own business as an individual. You can keep all your business’s profits after you’ve paid tax on them. You can employ staff. ‘Sole trader’ means you’re responsible for the business, not that you have to work alone. You’re personally responsible for any losses your business makes. (Gov.uk, 2016) Sole traders differ from other business mentioned previously, largely due to the fact that they are owned by a one person. According to my research, despite the fact that they are owned by one person, they are not always run alone. Manu sole traders employ staff to help them within the business.
Business aims
Business summary
Financial summary
•
Collection: children's wear collection aged 6-12
Goals:
Financial goals:
•
Company: Arcadia group brand/ subsidiary Miss Selfridge
Short term:
•
•
Target market: I aim to provide for a their pre existing target market of consumers with children, as well as inviting in a new customer.
•
To boost profits by filling the gap in their company
•
Compete well with competitors, River Island reported 70% boost in profits, in 2014 stating their profits have ‘risen to £149.1 million’. (Retailgazette.co.uk, 2016)
•
(More information on financial summary in spreadsheet and written financial spreadsheet)
•
•
Name: I have decided to call my collection ‘Mini Miss S’ as the collection will follow a similar trend path as the ‘mini me’, however since the collection will be aimed at an older children's age range, the collection will follow a ‘mini adult’ theme. The pieces will have a similar/the same look as the main Miss Selfridge collection, something which many retailors are doing nowadays. It will also be recognisable as a Miss Selfridge collection as I will use the same font and colour scheme. It will also stand out from their competitors such as Zara, as there children's wear collection is simply named ‘Zara kids’.
•
Type of Company: private limited company. (En.wikipedia.org, 2016)
•
Why have a chosen Arcadia (Miss Selfridge): I chose Arcadia because it is a large company that targets many audiences, I then noticed the company does not offer a children's wear range and decided to offer a collection within one of their smaller brands Miss Selfridge as I believe they have the most potential for expansion.
Fill arcadias gap in their market and boost their profits. Establish my name within the industry.
Long Term: • Create more collections for each season •
Possibly expand into boys wear for Topman
•
First collection will be UK based as an experiment, if successful, I want to expand the collection globally.
BUSINESS PLAN For my collection, I am creating a Girls Wear range (children's) for Arcadia company Miss Selfridge, which will maintain the Miss Selfridge identity through creating ‘feminine’ pieces that embody this brands style. The pieces will also follow a similar trend path to the ‘Mini Me’ trend, however as it aimed at an older age range of 6-12, the collection will rather be a ‘mini adult’, meaning the pieces will be similar to the main Miss Selfridge collection, but not the exact same. This is because children in this age range may not want to dress the same as their mother, but they may want to dress in clothes similar to adults. The name I have chosen is ‘Mini Miss S’ as I believe it embodies both the name and the theme of the collection. I believe the name will have a positive affect on consumers, inviting parent to shop with Miss Selfridge and will have a good impression on the company as it provides consumers with the impression that the company is family friendly. No other businesses are using this name. Kurt Geiger have a very similar brand name for children, called ‘Mini Miss KG’, which makes it easily identifiable as a Kurt Geiger brand as well as a children's collection.
This article written by Janet Wilson discuss’ the ‘Mini-adults’ trend, informing readers of the popular children's wear trend. This article discusses how children nowadays are ‘more highly stylized’ meaning retailors such as Zara and H&M (two competitors of Miss Selfridge) are ‘moving away from children-like-clothing’. This article suggest that by following the Mini adult trend, my collection will not only compete with my competitors but also appeal to consumers, and hopefully bring new shoppers to the Miss Selfridge brand as well as the Arcadia company. (JanetWilson, 2016)
What am I selling For my collection, I am producing a girls (children's) wear range for Arcadia brand Miss Selfridge for season AW17. The collection will be follow the miniadult trend whilst embodying the Miss Selfridge style, which ensure the collection will compete with the brands competitors. The collection will included clothing, shoes and accessories which will be released slowly throughout the season. As my collection will be filled with pieces that reflect the actual Miss Selfridge collection, it will keep to the same colour schemes, textiles and even some of the shapes. An example of this can bee seen below. The t-shirts are both from River Island, the one on the left it the womenswear t-shirt, and the right is the children's wear; they are both very similar showing how the embody the mini-adult trend, as well as keeping the same style of the brand. The range will consist of approximately 15 pieces; this is a small collection due to this being the first of its kind for the company, and it will be launched in all stores in the UK. This will help to get an idea about the demographics of my range and which pieces will sell best in certain locations, which will be useful for potential expansion in the future. The collection will range in age sizes from size 6-12 and will have a lower price point in comparison to the adult collection. As it follows the mini adult trend, the collection will have similar products to the adult collection and will therefore feature the trends on their collection, however I will also have to research children's wear trends in order to appeal to more customers. In order to help with sales of my collection I will also offer services to customers. These will include personal shopping and sales assistants in store, both will be informed about the collection and will be able to help customers with any queries or concerns they have.
Who are my customers My collection will have to appeal to both their existing customer and the new customer I am trying to deter away from our competitors. In order to achieve this I will conduct research into the current target market and identify which consumers they are not attracting. The clothing will haver to appeal to both the adult consumers (parents, carers, etc.) and the children. The first collection will be UK based and if successful will be expanded into boys wear and then globally in both stores.
IDENTIFYING THE CUSTOMER As Miss Selfridge already has their own target audience, I will have to try and incorporate my collection into their existing target market. In order to ensure this, I have conducted some research on the Miss Selfridge Target market. According to a blog post discussing segmentation, targeting and positioning , stated that ‘Variety, individuality and originality are key to the Miss Selfridge brand, which targets feminine and stylish, individual and self-assured customers’. (profile, 2016) When creating my collection I will produce pieces that embody femininity, style and individuality. Not only will I ensure my collection fits in with their current target market, I will also try to bring in a new audience, by introducing advertisement and social media campaigns.
Current hashtag
HOW I WILL APPEAL TO MY CUSTOMERS Current Miss Selfridge/arcadia shoppers Arcadia card holders get 10% off entire collection for the full 8 week (not including sale).
New loyalty points scheme(1 point per £1 to spend on anything in store) ‘The mother/daughter event’- card holders get free personal shopping, 15% off two full price garments and double loyalty points on this day.
New target market Social media campaigns
Advertisements ‘The mother/daughter event’- Saturday 4th November (week 44), the first Saturday of the collection, each store will hold an event whereby both the mother(or carer, sister, or other relative type) can enjoy free personal shopping for both the women and the child. They will also receive 15% off one full price garment.
In order to appeal to children also, there will be a ‘photoshoot’ opportunity in store. Each store will feature a cardboard back drop of a woodland, in which customers can take photos in front. They can also then share their image on social media using the hashtag #minimisssSelfie for a chance to win a £100 store gift card.
CUSTOMER PROFILE(EXISTING) Jenifer is a 26 year old sales advisor from Manchester; she has worked at a call centre for four years. Jenifer has always been interested in fashion and her usual shops of choice are Miss Selfridge, Zara and Topshop. She particularly loves Miss Selfridge for their fashionable yet affordable pieces, which she can wear both in and out of work.
Jenifer is also a single parent and has a six year old daughter named Erica. Jenifer works throughout the week so that she can spend time with her daughter on the weekends, taking her on a variety of day trips and to see visit her grandparents every Sunday. For her daughters clothing she typically shops in Zara and loves how the clothing are still stylish even for children.
Erica loves trying on her mothers clothing and shoes and experimenting with her makeup like many little girls. She also enjoys watching TV with her mum and going on shopping trips with her.
CUSTOMER PROFILE(NEW TARGET MARKET) Name: Paula Age: 32 From: Leeds Occupation: accountant
Paula is a 32 year old accountant from Leeds. she works 9-5 Monday-Friday and enjoys spending weekends with her family. In her spare time she socialises with work friends and enjoys visiting restaurants with her husband. Paula has a 10 year old daughter named Ellie. Paula shops in stores such as Next, oasis and River Island for both casual and work items. For Ellie, she shops is next, new look and River Island, Ellie prefers clothes from River Island and she has a real passion for fashion, as many young girls do nowadays.
Ellis is obsessed with social media platforms such as YouTube and loves watching blogger videos, particularly fashion and makeup bloggers. She also enjoys girly sleepovers with friends and trips the to cinema.
ini
This will be the first collection of its kind for the company making it compete with your competitors.
The first ever girls wear collection by the arcadia company under their brand Miss Selfridge, collaborates their feminine and individual style with the latest kids ‘Mini adult’ trend. From aged 6-12, little fashionistas can shop for stylish children's clothing, rather than the outdated ideas of what kids like to wear. Bunny tops and princess shirts that you find in next and M&S are out, fur trim coats and oversized woven knits are in. The first collection by the brand will maintain the modern ideas of what children like to wear, and she can even switch over to the Miss Selfridge collection when she is ready!!
Yes it is taking the same ideas as retailors such as Zara, River Island and New Look, however the collection will still embody the classic Miss Selfridge style and will therefore stand out from our competitors. River Island reported 70% boost in profits, in 2014 (Retailgazette.co.uk, 2016)
customer My collection will appeal to your current target market by embodying the classic Miss Selfridge style as well as inviting a new consumer market, due to this collection being the first of its kind for the company.
MARKET RESEARCH Market research is an essential part of the buying process and helps to ensure a successful collection. Different retailors conduct their market research in a variety of ways and some companies go into more detail than their competitors. There are two main types of market research, desk and field. Desk research is any research that can be done based in the head office environment, where as field research is more proactive and has to be conducted away from a desk.
Desk Research
Field Research
‘Gathering and analysing information, already available in print or published on the internet.’ (BusinessDictionary.com, 2016)
‘Any study conducted in person, possibly through interviews’ (Dictionary.com, 2016)
Desk research is any research that can be conducted at the desk. This will include online research, published documents, and data accumulated through your current sales.
Field research is based outside the office and is usually conducted through questionnaires with existing customers and new potential consumers.
Once the research has been completed, as a buyer, you would have to produce a report detailing your own target market. For my desk research, I have conducted research into the company Arcadia and the brand Miss Selfridge in order to get a better understanding of the store I am producing a collection for. I will also look into future trends for both women and children in order to ensure my collection will fit in with the AW17 season. I will also look into social media, as this is a big platform for most retailors including Miss Selfridge themselves, this will help me to see the reaction of consumers and see what works well. This will include looking at competitors social media accounts. For field research I will conduct customer surveys to see the feedback received on current collections and informing them about the new idea being introduced into the company, this will help when choosing the collection, particularly fabric compositions and prices. I will also conduct competitive shops and visit competitor stores, in order to see how they are showcasing/promoting their garments. Some of the research looking into promoting can be conducted online by looking at competitor websites.
Texts
Magazines/newspaper
Social media
bloggers
Online chats How will I contact my customer
leaflets
Email (email capture)
Instagram sponsor
Offers/promotions/vouchers
Pop up adds events
adverts
Identifying competitors- comparative shop Product
Shop
Description
River Island
Girls khaki green frill sleeve swing top £14.00 V-neckline Frilly short sleeve Loop back fastening 100% polyester
Zara
KNOT SHIRT Details 14.99 GBP COLOR: Light blue 55% cotton, 45% polyester
New Look
Girls Blue Check Long Sleeve Shirt £12.99 All over check pattern - Collared neck - Simple long sleeves - Button up front - Button cuffs - Single pocket front 100% Cotton
Product
Shop
Description
River Island
Girls grey print T-shirt £12.00 Jersey fabric 'Original Girl' print Relaxed fit Crew neck Rolled short sleeve 100% Cotton
Zara
Rolling Stones T-shirt Details 9.99 GBP COLOR: White 100% cotton
New Look
Teens White Squad Goals 2 Way Magic Sequin T-shirt £12.99 - Magic sequin panel front - 2 way 'Squad Goals' slogan - Rounded neckline - Rolled sleeves - Cropped hem 95% Viscose, 5% Elastane
Product
Shop
Description
River Island
Girls beige waterfall coat Was £45.00 Faux fur collar Waterfall jacket Longline Unfastened front Ribbed sleeves Zip pockets 100% Polyurethane
Zara
DOUBLE-FACED COAT Details 39.99 GBP COLOR: Grey OUTER SHELL 100% polyester LINING 51% acrylic, 49% polyester
New Look
Teens Grey Wrap Front Faux Fur Collar Coat £39.99 Contrast faux fur trim Wrap front design Belted waist Simple long sleeves 97% Polyester, 3% Elastane
Product
Shop
Description
River Island
Girls black embroidered turtleneck dress £30.00 Embroidered fabric Turtleneck Sleeveless Zip back fastening Flared skirt 8% Elastane, 92% Polyester
Zara
FLORAL EMBROIDERED DRESS Details 23.99 GBP COLOR: Black 82% viscose, 18% cotton
New Look
Teens Black Lace Skater Dress £22.99 All over lace design Square neckline Shoestring straps Zip back fastening Fit and flare design Mini length 43% Viscose, 30% Nylon, 27% Cotton
Product
Shop
Description
River Island
Girls back oriental A-line skirt £18.00 Satin fabric Embroidered fabric Oriental-influenced design A-line shape 100% Polyester
Zara
JACQUARD SKIRT Details 19.99 GBP COLOR: Black 62% polyester, 25% acrylic, 12% viscose, 1% elastane
New Look
Teens Black Floral Embroidered Skirt £17.99 Floral embroidered detail - Slim fit that is closely cut - Mini length - Zip back fastening 98% Polyester, 2% Elastane.
Product
Shop
Description
River Island
Girls black patent Chelsea boots £22.00 Patent Ankle boots Rounded toe Back zip fastening Elasticated sides Sole Plastic, Upper PU
Zara
SCALLOPED LEATHER ANKLE BOOTS Details 39.99 GBP COLOR: Black UPPER 80% cow leather, 20% goat leather LINING AND SLIPSOLE 100% cotton SOLE 100% thermoplastic rubber
New Look
Teens Grey Block Heel Chelsea Boots £24.99 - Block heel - Metal trim - Elasticated sides
COMPARATIVE SHOP For my comp shop, I looked at three of the Miss Selfridge competitors that sell children's wear, rather than including Miss Selfridge pieces as they do not sell any children's wear. I chose River Island, New Look and Zara, each store competes with Miss Selfridge in a variety of ways, including price, sizes and fabric compositions.
River Islands children's wear collection is separated into two age groups, 0-5 years is there mini girls collection and 3-12 is their girls group; this is the group I focused on as my collection will be age 6-12. From Looking at a variety of their products, I have concluded that this retailor has a heavy focus on the ‘mini-adult’ trend, as their pieces are very similar/the same as their womenswear garments. They have average price point for a high street retailor and use a variety of fabric compositions (see table). Zara also follows a similar path, producing garments that follow the ‘mini-adult’ and the ‘mini-me’, however they also sell garments that keep true to the typical children's wear design. They have similar price point to River island, however they use fabrics of a better quality, making it more desirable. They also have a larger age range, starting at 4 year, their garments increase in size up to age 14. New Looks sizes have two age ranges, 7-12 and 9-15 years, I focused on both groups in order to see the different products they sold. Most of the 9-15 garments were quite similar to their womenswear garments, however I believe they are too old for the range I will be building for Miss Selfridge. Therefore most of the products I chose for this comparative shop came from the 7-12 collection. Again they have a similar price point to Zara and River island, however they fabric compositions are still better than River Island, despite the fact that the price point can be very slightly lower. I will use the information I have collected from this research when creating my collection, keeping in mind the predicted AW17 trends. I will consider the fabric compositions and price points in order to remain competitive. I will also have to consider their target markets as this will be the first collection of its kind for the company. With my collection I will be attempting to target current consumers with young children, as well as introducing a new target market of consumers who don’t typically shop with the brand, this worked well for River Island as they recorded a 70% increase in sales since the launch of their children's wear collection. Despite the varied age ranges, a lot of the products are very similar, showing how they are trying to appeal the same customer and compete with each other.
GLOBAL TRENDS- BLOCKING ‘Colour-blocking is when a garment or outfit is composed of finite blocks of colour.’ (Corporatefashionista.com, 2016) Colour blocking brings back an element of the 60s to the AW17/18 Season. It is though to originate from Dutch painter Piet Mondrian (En.wikipedia.org, 2016), however for the current trend, designers are sourcing their inspiration from ‘building angles and architecture lines’ (Wgsn.com, 2016). Children's wear designers from around the world, such as Señorita Lemoniez and Owa Yurika have created pieces with strong themes of colour blocking with the added element of shapes, demonstrating how this trend is globally inspired.
GLOBAL TRENDS- CURVED CORNERS Similarly to colour blocking, the curved corners and edges trend is influenced by ‘building angles and architecture lines’ (Wgsn.com, 2016); this is also seen in womenswear AW17/18 predicted trends (see bottom left), demonstrating the ‘mini me’ trend. According to my research, curved edges will be integrated into ‘key items’ such as ‘miniskirts, shift dresses, and slim bottoms’. (Wgsn.com, 2016) Global designers: Paada Mode, Pitti Bimbo.
GLOBAL TRENDS- WOVEN Another mini me trend predicted for AW17/18 is woven materials. Global designers such as Omamimini and Hilda Henri are taking similar paths with their children's wear collection as womenswear designers such as Enrique Badulescu. Key items with this material include ‘boxy cape jackets, pieced pattern sweaters’ and ‘cosy knits’. (Wgsn.com, 2016)
GLOBAL TRENDS- EARTHED ‘The natural inspires the luxurious in this Autumn collection…mother nature is treasured and explored, introducing new pattern and material direction’ (Wgsn.com, 2016).
The key features of the earthed trends relate to colour, materials and fabrics, rather than shapes or edges seen in the ‘design matters’ trends. Faux fur garments provide an element of the Inuit tribes to the trend whereas the wild animals such as the fox bring a English woodland vibe. Global designers: lemon ribbon, Gucci.
GLOBAL TRENDS- PUSSYBOWS ‘soft and delicate tops with elegant details such as pussybows… Juxtapose from key structured bottoms’ (Wgsn.com, 2016)
Parisian street style
New York street style
A global trend, seen on Parisian an New York street style Pinterest pages, pussybows are now integrated into children's wear predicted trends for AW17/18. Designers such as Fun&Fun have created crisp white skirts with giant black bows, providing an example of this up an coming trend. I believe this trend would fit in with the miss Selfridge brand quite well, due to its delicacy which provided a touch of the femininity previously discussed in the customer research.
GLOBAL TRENDS-GALAXY ‘materials and print are inspired by deep space and galactic motifs for a new party direction’. (Wgsn.com, 2016) Glitters, metallic and embellishments are at the heart of this galaxy trend. Global designers such as Ermanno Scervino, oh my and Quis Quis, have created products that reflect this ‘galactic motif’ which can be seen to the left. This trend has also been seen on Paris street style pages om Pinterest, with elements of the galaxy such as planets and stars printed onto dresses and jumpers (see right).
GLOBAL TRENDS- METALLIC ‘relating to or resembling metal or metals’ (Dictionary.com, 2016)
Deriving from galaxy, metallic colours are a predicted trend for AW17/18. Designers such as little remix produced garments that provide example of key shapes and colours for the predicted trend (see top left). ‘traditional occasion fabrics such as silk, brocade jacquards and damask are updated with iridescent sheen, galactic embroideries and embedded opulence’. (Wgsn.com, 2016)
This trend has been seen in previous designer collections such as Proenza Schouler, who created pleated metallic skirts for the Spring/Summer collection in 2014 (see bottom right)
GLOBAL TRENDS- OVERSIZED ‘the bell bottom turns into wide leg trousers‌’ (Wgsn.com, 2016)
Oversized garments have been popular amongst womenswear collections from both designers and retailors. it has influenced fashion globally with oversized jumpers and tops being featured on Copenhagen street style pages on Pinterest. Designers such as petit & small and little remix have taken the trend and created wide leg trousers and long line jumpers for kids, embracing the mini adult trend.
Street style Copenhagen
GLOBAL TRENDS-TUFTED BOUCLÉ ‘a curly wool, silk, or cotton yarn that gives the knitted or woven fabric made from it a tufted or knotted texture’ (Yourdictionary.com, 2016) Heavy woven and knit fabrics are popular throughout the winter season and a predicted woven trend for AW17 is tufted boucle. ‘It is an ancient technique for making warm garments’ (En.wikipedia.org, 2016) that resembles the Chanel tweed, with a rugged edge update. This is another example of a mini adult trend as womenswear designers are using the same techniques in their garment production.
GLOBAL TRENDS- HERITAGE PLAIDS ‘Cloth, often made of wool, with a tartan or checked pattern.’ (TheFreeDictionary.com, 2016) With a twist on the classic Scottish tartan, AW17 uses earth and monochrome tones to create the timeless plaid pattern. This fabric is in year after year and is due to be a big trend within children's wear for this season. The fabric is predicted to be placed upon skirts, coats and accessories such as scarfs.
TREND ANALYSIS Overall, from my trend research, I have discovered that many of the predicted trends for children's wear AW17 follow a similar path to the womenswear predicted trends, which proves my research into the ‘mini-adult’ and how children's clothing is becoming more fashionable. From my research I have discovered key shapes, colour materials and themes which well help when building my collection. From this research I will construct concept boards in order to visually demonstrate predicted trends, which will help when sourcing inspiration. From using websites such as WGSN and Pinterest, I also discovered how many of the trends are very global/ inspired by countries around the world. For example the PussyBow Detail is inspired by Parisian street style. I believe some of the predicted trends fit in well with the Miss Selfridge brand and I will therefor try to interpret these into my collection.
Autumn transitional, autumn, mid autumn
Mid winter, holiday party wear and winter transitional
Curved edges
Boxy shapes
Heritage Plaids
Galaxy Goals
CONCEPT BOARD After completing a trend forecast for Autumn/Winter 2017 I constructed concept boards in order to visually demonstrate the predicted paths for the season. From this and my written reports I gained inspiration for my collection and constructed a more focused concept board on the trend my pieces would follow. I decided to keep a tight focus on the ‘earthed’ trend, using its colour and fabric palates as well as its predicted patterns. As displayed on the board, my collection will feature tartan prints in varied colours, wool fabric and fur trims. I have also included some blank cad images in order to demonstrate the key shapes of the collection, which includes boxy capes and curved edge skirts. In the bottom right hand corner, I have placed an image of a young girl who I believes fits the customer profile I have described; she is a young girl aged between 6-12 who is very up to date with modern trends and is clearly following the ‘mini-adult’ dressing trend. I will now use this board to help build my collection, making sure I refer back to it for inspiration and guidance.
COLLECTION EVALUATION After completing my concept board, I then went on to complete my collection. Like my concept board, I constructed my collection in photoshop using a variety of techniques such as the fill bucket and the define pattern tool. To ensure my collection linked well to my concept, I added the collections name ‘wonderland’ as well as the age range of the collection. I also added a leaf border to represent the earth/natural themes of the pieces. I sourced my cad images from trend forecasting website WGSN, using the refining tool bar at the left hand side in order to find the key shapes predicted in AW17. To fill the cads, I sourced fabric images from the internet such as knits and wools, making sure the colours chosen linked back to my concept board. I also added piece names and prices in order to provide more information about the pieces of the collection.(pricing information sourced from spreadsheet, see next slide). Overall I am pleased with the outcome of my collection as I believe it links well to my concept; I have used a variety of different colours by creating colour waves of the same garments and different patterns, including the tartan from the ‘heritage plaids’ predicted trends. Furthermore I believe the shapes of the garment reflect my trend forecasting. For example the cape has a box structure to it which is featured in ‘woven’ trend forecasting report. There is also the curved edges of the tartan skirt as well as the fur trims on the coat and cardigan and pussybow detailing on the dusty pink dress.
MERCHANDISING SPREADSHEET
MERCHANDISING SPREADSHEET
8 WEEK SALES FIGURES- 4 EXAMPLES (FOR 8 WEEK SALES FIGURES FOR EACH GARMENT SEE MERCH SPREADSHEET )
Box tartan cape
Tartan skirt
Frill neck blouse
Bobble tie boots
MERCHANDISING SPREADSHEET In order to ensure my collection will be successful financially, I have constructed a merchandising spreadsheet. This is typically a task performed by a merchandisers, however buyers may also have to complete this depending on the type of business they work for. Merchandisers are responsible for a variety of jobs, such as stock allocation and pricing which is demonstrated through my spreadsheet. To construct the spreadsheet, I used excel, a spreadsheet typically used by merchandisers due to its mathematical programming. The left hand side of the spreadsheet features descriptions such as classification and colour which provides more details about each product in this collection. COO stands for Country Of Origin, for example the tartan pieces come from the UK as the print originates from Scotland and the UK have many tartan suppliers. From completing my Comparative Shop I was able to see the typical RRP for a variety of children's wear garments, which helped when deciding on the prices my garments would be sold at in stores. To find the cost price, I had to calculate how much the VAT (value added tax) would be on each garment. To work the cost price out I divided my RRP by 1.2 and then 2.5. Once I had my RRP and my cost price I could then figure out the margin each garment would produce, to find this I took my cost price away from my RRP, divided the outcome by my RRP and then times the answer by 100% to give me a percentage; each garment was typically 66-67%. My collection will be on sale for 8 weeks.
MERCHANDISING SPREADSHEET As the garments have a heavy focus on warm fabrics such as woollen knits and fur trimmings, I decided the collection should run from the start of winter running up to Christmas, rather than the beginning of Autumn as the weather would be too warm at that period. I then had to decided the different types of stores my collection would feature in. Each store is defined by grade starting at A and ending in D. I decided to feature my collection in all four types of stores in order to gain information of the demographics of my collection as it will be the first of its kind for the company. In order to find out the sales per week of each garment, I constructed a new spreadsheet for each pieces In the collection.(see example on following slide) From those separate spreadsheets, I was able to work out the 15% replen figures, the total quantity, the total cost and RRP price and the gross profit. The data created in these spreadsheets help to inform the buying and merchandising decisions, such as how much replen Is needed and how much the collections profit margin will be. It also helps them to decided what their OTB budget figure will be. Their OTB (open to buy) budget is a section of the overall collection budget which is set aside for repurchasing best selling items. Typically, the OTB is 30-40% of the overall budget. From completing this task, I have a better understanding of the role of the merchandiser as well as more information regarding my collection, which will help to ensure its success.
MARKETING STRATEGIES
ini
I decided to keep my logo quite basic and original. I kept the font black and the original Miss Selfridge logo cropping out the remaining unwanted letters so that it will be easily recognisable as a Miss Selfridge collection. For the word ‘mini’ I chose a slightly different font in order stand out from the rest of the logo and ensure customers know the collection is for children.
‘Our Fashion Footprint vision provides us with a mission statement that we can all get behind: to produce fashionable products in an ethical way and demonstrate a responsible attitude towards people and the environment.’ (missselfridge.com, 2016) The arcadias company mission statement relates to their responsibility of maintaining their fashion footprint. They produce their products in an ‘ethical way’ meaning they’re produced ‘under acceptable conditions’. For example, all products are made in ‘decent working conditions’, ‘without exploiting’ any employers/the people who make the products and they cause no damage to the environment. (missselfridge.com, 2016) This gives a positive impression of the brand and company as the statement projects enthusiasm and dedication to improving the way in which clothing is produced, without compromising quality. I believe that projecting this mission statement to consumers will both improve sales and awareness of the brand, so I will attempt to incorporate this into my collection and its advertising. The mission statement will be printed onto a separate label with each garment so that customers can read and understand how their garments are produced. I believe this will encourage more customers to shop with the brand, especially parents for their children, as they are receiving the guarantee the clothing is produced responsibly. I will also ensure social media advertisements mention that all products are produced in an ethical way.
MARKETING STRATEGIES- ADVERTISEMENT CAMPAIGNS Miss Selfridge advertisements are of a smaller scale in comparison to its competitors and sister company Topshop, they typically feature in magazines, popups, on social media, in store and through emails. They generally do not feature celebrities in their campaigns any more, but rather unknown models, examples of these advertisements can be seen to the left. I will follow this example with my advertisement campaigns using unknown child models to feature in the images which will be displayed through all the platforms mentioned previously. The models will be places in a woodland area; there will be approximately 3 girls aged between 6-12 and they will be wearing different garments from the range. The add will also feature the ‘mini miss s’ logo and the hashtag #minimissSelfie in order to attempt to generate more awareness through social media.
MARKETING STRATEGIESADVERTISEMENT CAMPAIGNS
VISUAL MERCHANDISING Store grade A (flagships and FSS) Flagships and Free standing stores will have the largest scale of Visual Merchandising. A whole back wall will be dedicated to the collection, featuring mannequins, shelving and advertisement images (example top image). The will also have a section of the front window dedicated to the collection, with mannequins styles in the collection pieces with a woodland themed back drop of a woodland; this will be similar to the bottom right hand image of a previous window display produced by the shop with an Alice in wonderland theme.
Store grade B (high street) Some high street Miss Selfridge stores are not free standing, but rather within other arcadia stores such as Topshop. Therefore the Visual Merchandising will be on a slightly smaller scale, in comparison to A grade stores. It will be displayed on a back wall or corner of the store with less mannequins, but it will still feature a window display following the same theme.
Store grade C(concessions) As the smallest retailor, concessions within departments stores/outfit stores will follow a similar theme to the bottom left image. Medium and small clothing rails will be used to display products. As there will be less wall space to place advertisement images on, I will use poster boards featuring the image in front of the brands mat, ensuring it does not block any products.
Strengths • •
Personal shopping experience(the dressing room) Miss Selfridge have hundreds of stores both nation and world wide Customer service(good reviews) Run by successful parent company arcadia who mange serval successful brands Frequent promotions/sales Student discount Clear layout/VM in stores and concessions Easy to use/access website Social media accounts
• • • • • • •
Weaknesses •
Since they ‘found major success’ (Wikipedia,2016) the brand doesn’t take part in major advertisement campaigns Quality can be unpredictable Some stores are crowed (e.g. in store shop/concessions) Customer service online is weak Currently only sells womenswear
• • • •
Opportunities • • • • • • •
More add campaigns Celebrity endorsements Collection collaborations More stores across the globe More FSS in place of ‘in store’ shops, carefully considering its location Offer more services for example loyalty points scheme Expansion of product types
Threats •
• • •
Competitors- what are they selling at what price, what are their release, promotion and sale dates. What are their marketing techniques Celebrity endorsements can pose a threat if the celebrity is/ acts controversially. Quick changes in trends Uncontrollable economic/political/environmental factors e.g. BREXIT, natural disasters, recessions
Services
Stores
Customer Service Reviews
Advertisements Store Layout
SWOT ANALYSIS
SWOT analysis is a process that identifies the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of an organization. (Investopedia, 2016)
SWOT analysis’ are used to determine in the internal and external factors that affect a company. The acronym stands for strengths and weaknesses(internal factors); opportunities and threats (external factors) and can be used to help overcome any problems within a retailor. I have produced a SWOT analysis for Miss Selfridge in order to show I can take advantage of the company's strengths and possible opportunities and overcome its weaknesses and threats, in order to make my collection more successful. Buyers typically produce SWOT analysis in order to ensure they can increase their chances of a successful and smooth running collection. As a buyer you would analyse the four components of a SWOT and attempt to capitalize on each section. For example, because the brand currently only sales womenswear; a collection of a different product type such as my collection of children's wear fills a niche in their market. This shows how I have overcome a weakness in the retailor. You would also cross reference the section to show how you will use the company's strengths and opportunities to overcome its weaknesses and threats. In order to capitalize on the possible opportunities, Miss Selfridge must asses its internal strengths. For example they have the opportunity to create more advertisements campaigns and celebrity endorsements. In order to take advantage of this, the brand can use their strength of having social media accounts and an easily accessible website to advertise their campaigns across the globe. I will use both their social media accounts and their website the promote my collection which shows how I have capitalized this opportunity.
SWOT ANALYSIS
SWOT analysis is a process that identifies the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of an organization. (Investopedia, 2016)
In order to overcome their threats, Miss Selfridge must again look at their strengths in order to prevent stated threats from becoming an issue. For example in order to overcome the threat of competitors, Miss Selfridge must monitor them and use their strength of having frequent promotions to persuade consumers to shop with them. In order to encourage more consumers to shop with them, Miss Selfridge can also use their strength of having social media accounts to advertise current promotions and sales. I will monitor my collections competitors, for example, River Island, to see when they begin their promotions and how they market them in order to use the company's strength of having multiple social media accounts to advertise my own promotions. To decrease the amount of internal weakness the company has, Miss Selfridge must look at their opportunities. For example the retailor only sells womenswear but they have the opportunity to expand into more markets. My children's wear collection overcomes this weakness as I have discovered a gap in their market and capitalized it by creating a collection of this kind. Weaknesses and threats fall under a negative category in a SWOT analysis. The weaknesses of Miss Selfridge can be exploited by its competitors, therefore, the retailors must combine the two sections and see how they can use their strengths and opportunities to overcome them. For example River Island currently has a children's wear collection, which persuades more consumers to shop with them, showing how the company has capitalized on its competitors weakness. In order to overcome this, I have created a children’s wear collection (opportunity) and will use their Miss Selfridge social media accounts (strength) to market my collection. In conclusion, constructing a SWOT analysis has helped me to understand how as a buyer, you must analyse your company's strengths and opportunities in order to overcome your weaknesses and threats, which will help to ensure that your collection will be successful and a stress free process.
FINAL EVALUATION After completing unit 10, I have learnt more about the role of the buyer and the various tasks they undertake in order to fulfil their role. Whilst completing this unit, I researched and discussed how there are many different retail environments for a buyer to work in and how depending on the environment they work in, they may have a different job role. For example own label retailors will have to undertake more job roles as they are usually an independent or a partnership business, therefore they will have to take on the role of a buyer as well as a merchandiser, designer, etc. Buyers for a high street retailor will not have to undertake as many roles as a own label retailor as each role will be fulfilled by each department. For example Topshop is a high street retailor that has a head office in London. This office will have separate teams for each different job roles. Buyers within this company will only hold the responsibilities of a buyer. The different environments are significant to the buyer because as a buyer, you would need to understand the role you are undertaking in order to be successful in this role. In order to demonstrate the hierarchy in head office and retail environments, I constructed a organisational chart. This shows who is in charge of who and who each person communicates with In the business. From constructing this, I learnt how each different team in both environments communicate with each other in order to achieve success within the business and how each different environment will have a different organisation chart. For example own label retailors will have a smaller chart in comparison to department stores as they have a much smaller team therefore have less people to report to. Not only did I lean about the different environments a buyer can work in, but also the different types of buyer you can be. Whilst researching job descriptions, I discovered various job roles and then researched into four different types of buyers. These were concession online, branded and high street retailor buyers. I discussed how each role has task that are performed differently to the other, which I further expanded on in my buying cycle evaluation. For example I discussed how branded buyers will perform trend forecasting in a different way. This is because branded buyers purchase braded good in bulk from the brands themselves rather than producing CADS and visiting suppliers, like a high street buyer would. Branded buyers can be found within a variety of different retail environments. For example, online retailors such as ASOS and high street retailors such as Topshop will employ branded buyers. Another example of this would be a fast fashion buyer who again has a different role to a high street and designer buyer. Similarly to branded buyer, buyers in a fast fashion environments such as boohoo or Primark typically buy products In bulk from suppliers rather than constructing CADS and creating deigns as this is a quicker process and therefore easier for their environment.
FINAL EVALUATION From completing this unit I have learnt a variety of new skills as well as developing upon my existing skills. For example I have learnt new techniques on Photoshop and developed my existing skills on the programme which helped me to construct concept boards and my collection more easily. After completing my major project for this unit, I have discovered that despite these development in skills, there is still a few areas I need to improve upon in order to better that quality of my work. I believe that despite my development with my Photoshop skills, that I need to improve upon them and work faster in the programme as it takes me a while to find and use all the tools I need. In order to improve on this I will challenge myself more in the programme which will help me to discover more of its tools and help me to improve the quality of my work. I also need to improve upon my accuracy when creating collections, specifically maintaining a close link from my concept to my collection. Whilst creating my collection for Miss Selfridge, I lost the link between my concept and what I had created, I therefore had to revisit my collection in order to ensure that the link was clear. This was very time consuming and I therefore need to improve upon this. Despite finding the task challenging at times, I found the major project to be interesting and enjoyable. I undertook many tasks in order to complete this project including trend forecasting, comparative shops and concept board building. With this project, I discussed in detail the different types of business strategies I would use to ensure I would fulfil my customers needs. This included, a business plan, discussing short term and long term aims, such as taking the collection global, marketing strategies such as add campaigns and special event days. In order to put my collection together, I produced a trend forecasting report discussing in detail the different shapes, colours and features predicted for AW17. From this I constructed concept board which help to inspire my collection. I particularly took interest in the ‘earthed’ and ‘heritage plaids’ trend and focused my collection around these themes. I then looked at cads images on WGSN finding different garments that featured the key shapes from my trend forecasting report. Overall I am pleased with how my collection has turned out as I believe it links well to my concept, despite my struggles with task at first. If I had to change the collection I would chose a more challenging theme such as the galaxy trend in order to try and further improve my Photoshop skills. In order to present my concept and collection to the class, I constructed an elevator pitch which included my business plan and my target customers. I discussed to the class how my children’s wear collection will fill both Miss Selfridge and the Arcadia company’s niche in the market and informed them of my short term and long term aims for my collection. I talked about how I want to increase the companies profit by building a successful collection and how if I were to succeed, how I would take my collection global. I also examined the different global business strategies I would use such as social media campaigns in order to ensure the success of my collection.
FINAL EVALUATION As my collection is a children’s wear collection that follows the ‘mini adult trend’, I decided to name my collection ‘Mini Miss Selfridge’ as it would be clear to consumers the type of garments this collection would feature. This relates to my target customer as the collection is aimed at both children who want to be more fashionable and follow the Miss Selfridge style, as well as parents who still chose clothing for their children and want them to be fashionable at an affordable price.
My collection fits into both the high street and online retailor environments as my collection will feature on both. This helps me to compete with my competitors such as River Island and Zara as they feature their collection on both environments. My collection will also have the advantage of releasing my collection in concessions in department stores, something my competitors do not have. Whilst completing the job descriptions task I also looked into the role of the merchandiser which I further developed when completing my major task by constructing a financial spreadsheet. From these task I learned that despite the fact both teams work very closely together, the two roles are very different. Buyers typically have a more creative jobs, researching trends, visiting fashion shows and constructing cads, whereas merchandisers have a more factual and mathematical job. They look at like for like data and budget plans in order to help buyers when creating and repurchasing garments. I found both looking into the job role and taking on the role of the merchandiser quite enjoyable. I found it interesting to see what the role entails and enjoyed analysing the data I produced in the spreadsheet. Overall I found the unit to be extremely interesting and enjoyable as I learnt about the different roles of a buyer and how each team work closely together to ensure a successful collection. I also enjoyed creating an in depth business plan and its strategies which I hope to further develop with the next unit. Despite enjoying completing the unit on a whole, there are a few areas I still wish to improve upon. As mentioned previously, I would like to further develop my skills on Photoshop in order to construct concept boards and collections more quickly and efficiently. I would also like to strengthen my knowledge of the role of the buyer by creating more collections for various different types of retail environments.
BIBLIOGRAPHY Topshop task http://smallbusiness.chron.com/customer-demand-theory-37253.html http://www.logisticsit.com/articles/2007/10/03/3103-supplier-relationship-management-steps-to-successful-supplier-buyer http://www.citethisforme.com/
Newspaper articles http://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2016/10/retail-footfall-drops-across-the-board-with-shopping-centres-hit-hardest http://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2016/10/retail-prices-set-to-rise-5-percent-across-the-board-in-2017 http://betanews.com/2016/10/11/shopping-apps-women/ https://www.retail-week.com/analysis/data/consumer-spending-rebounds-in-september-driven-by-onlinepurchases/7012820.article
Pestle http://www.mirror.co.uk/money/younger-workers-minimum-wage-450-8949064 https://craftivist-collective.com/Why+don%27t+Marks+%26+Spencers+pay+staff+a+Living+Wage http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-3686395/Marks-Spencer-cutting-extra-pay-7-000-staff-workingSundays-anti-social-hours.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-3833720/Brexit-cut-10p-increase-national-living-wage.htm https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/oct/07/confusion-as-pound-falls-10-in-insane-asian-trading-and-no-oneknows-why http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37701672 http://www.vogue.co.uk/gallery/rosie-huntington-whiteley-ms-make-up-interview http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3090142/How-suede-skirt-Rosie-s-undies-M-S-profit-Company-recordsincrease-four-years-thanks-strong-fashion-sales.html#ixzz4NX8Scub6 https://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/apr/19/why-marks-spencer-lose-edge http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3797988/Alexa-Chung-reveals-coats-winter-range-M-S.html https://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/jun/25/marks-and-spencer-asbestos-case-i-feel-angry-betrayed http://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2016/09/m-and-s-the-latest-to-adopt-click-and-collect# http://www.digital-tonic.co.uk/digital-tonic-blog/went-wrong-marks-spencer-website-redesign-made-lose-sales/ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3637876.stm http://www.triplepundit.com/2013/06/marks-and-spencer-2013-plan-a-update/ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/designer-says-marks-spencer-copied-her-work-9146890.html
Job descriptions https://www.retailchoice.com/job/buyer-accessories/hobbs-job67022675?WT.mc_id=A_RE_IDPPC_RET1d_HP_13 http://www.indeed.co.uk/cmp/Ted-Baker/jobs/International-Buyer-Admin-Assistant56610bf06269e955?q=Assistant+Buyer https://careers.boohoo.com/vacancies/442/junior-buyer.html http://www.peoplebank.com/pbank/owa/pbk24w12.main?p=becknZoljln3ouxLrrLnaodbgecidn&r=XMLFEED https://apply.newlook.jobs/vacancies/11550/IND/?utm_source=Indeed&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=Indeed
Merchandisers job descriptions http://www.drapersjobs.com/job/2756983/merchandise-assistant/ https://www.retailchoice.com/job/entry-level-merchandising/oasis-job66998046?WT.mc_id=A_RE_IDORG_MP0_ORG_0 http://www.peoplebank.com/pbank/owa/pbk24w12.main?p=belknZoljln3oEDEwt:naodgfeldfn&r=INDEED
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Selfridge http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/swot.asp#ixzz4S9PK0vBN