final major project

UAL Level 4 - Unit 3 Natasha Horsley

Action Plan Task/method

Final deadline dates

Completed

Company and brand research (inc PESTLE, SWOT, history, retailer information)

15/03/2017

Completed

Retailer mood board

16/03/2017

Completed

Current Customer profile

17/03/2017

Completed

Trend forecasting inc concept boards

23/03/2017

Completed

Produce business plan

24/03/2017

Completed

Produce Elevator Pitch

25/03/2017

Completed

New customer profile and new target market

25/03/2017

Completed

Identify competitors and produce comp shop

27/03/2017

Completed

Collection concept board

29/03/2017

Completed

Build range

01/04/2017

Completed

Discuss marketing and styling strategies

02/04/2017

Completed

Practice pitching techniques inc interview questions

Ongoing- to be completed at actual pitch on 5/04/2017

Completed

Brand History From the day Matalan started back in 1985, to today over 30 years on, our mission has always stayed the same; to provide outstanding value for modern families. (Matalan.co.uk, 2017) Over the past few years the brand has expanded into high street locations and internationally.

Matalan has over 200 stores in the UK (Matalan.jobs, 2017).

You can also shop online and through their rewards card app.

Matalan has been awarded for the third time with the Gold award at the Mumsnet Family Friendly awards (En.wikipedia.org, 2017)

Founded by Liverpool Born John Hargreaves in 1980s

Matalan

Head office location: Knowsley

Hargreaves was inspired by the ‘US concept of the out-of-town retail outlet- larger store that kept prices low by locating themselves out of the centre’ (Matalan.jobs, 2017) First store opened in Preston in 1985

Matalan Shop Report (Branding) Logo and Strapline

The Matalan logo is very simple and Identifiable. It is bold red font with the letters all in capital. By keeping the logo straightforward, it gives consumers the idea that the brand is also straight to the point. The Strapline ‘made for modern families’ also gives consumers the impression that this store will offer everything that is needed for families and therefore various customer types. The word ‘modern’ suggests the company keeps up with the latest styles and trends making it fashionable.

Models

Packaging Packaging for Matalan is also simplistic. Reusable Plastic bags are given out when a product is bought in store; the design of these bags include the Matalan logo places on a plain white bag with a simple red handle.

Store Front and Layout Matalan store are typically located in out of town locations. However in the past few years, the company has opened stores in City Centre building, for example in Liverpool. Wherever the location, Matalan stores tend to be large in size in order to accommodate each product type. The stores are organised well and spacious, meaning a product can be easily found. The front window displays usually show various product types including men's, women's, children's and home wear products.

The models used by Matalan are various ages and sizes in order to accommodate and attract various types of customers. In more recent years, Matalan have had well know models and celebrities such as Abbey Clancy, Giovani Fletcher, Billie Fairs and Ferne McCann to help build and model collections. This helps to promote the brand and increase the probability of new customers shopping with Matalan.

Staff and Uniform Staff in store are easily identifiable. They typically wear a Matalan top; this could be a red click and collect top, a black fleece with the red logo on it or Matalan T-shirts/polos.

Matalan Branding: Rewards Card Matalan offers a free rewards card scheme so that regular customers can earn rewards for shopping with the brand. They offer various rewards for being a member of Matalan rewards and these include: • A voucher for signing up • Birthday vouchers • Competitions • Exclusive offers and discounts Matalan has a large number of families who shop in store as they have everything under one roof.

Therefore the company also offer a VIP rewards scheme for very loyal customers who spend over £150 in one year. The VIP membership includes benefits such as early sale entry.

The company also offer a Rewards card app which can help customers keep track of current offers, offers style tips and can be used as a digital reward card.

Matalan Competitors

As Matalan is renown for its low price points, they are typically competing with supermarkets clothing ranges. The three main clothing ranges Matalan compete with are George at Asda, F&F at Tesco and TU at Sainsbury's.

Although they have higher price points and are typically located in city centre locations as well as out of town; Matalan still competes with Marks and Spencer's. I will look into their ranges when conducting a comparative shop.

PESTLE ‘this concept is used as a tool by companies to track the environment they’re operating in or are planning to launch a new project/product/service etc.’ (Frue et al., 2017)

Political

The get Britain working scheme is a strategy that helps young people aged between 18-24 who have been unemployed for a long period of time. The people involved in this scheme receives two- eight weeks of unpaid work experience to put on their cv. Within the media the scheme has been heavily criticised as it could be seen as ‘endorsing slave labour.’ (Jobzoo.co.uk, 2017).

This shows how Matalan are being conscious of both how they treat workers and their reputation as they do not want to be associated with this controversial scheme. However they are not involving themselves in a new government scheme which could also reflect badly on the company.

Environmental

Matalan have reduced their energy bill by introducing a new system that helps to reduce electronic waste. As the article states, the system helps to reduce energy usage in retail environments.

This shows how Matalan are being both cost and energy efficient. By reducing the waste produced in retail, the company can put more money into other parts of their business; they also promote sustainability by using this system.

PESTLE ‘this concept is used as a tool by companies to track the environment they’re operating in or are planning to launch a new project/product/service etc.’ (Frue et al., 2017)

Social

For the past few years Matalan has launched a winter/Christmas campaign to raise money for Alder Hey children's hospital and in 2016 their campaign was based around pyjamas for each member of the family; even the dog! The campaigns have raised millions for the hospital which Is located in Liverpool.

This shows how the company are socially conscious and help local causes, also showing the company's roots.

Technology

Technology is forever growing and changing and influencing the way we shop every year. The new technology retailers are investing into is omnichannel shopping. Omnichannel refers to the various ways in which consumers can shop, for example in store, online and through phone apps.

Matalan may have to consider investing money into omnichannel retailing in order to keep up with competitors. This could include investing in in store order points.

PESTLE ‘this concept is used as a tool by companies to track the environment they’re operating in or are planning to launch a new project/product/service etc’. (Frue et al., 2017)

Legal

With the minimum wage on the rise every few years, it is important that retailers bare this in mind when hiring staff and creating budgets. The wage rise increase means all of the staff will have to receive the minimum pay rise for each hour they work.

Matalan will have to read over their budgets plans as well as their requirement in order to ensure they can afford to pay the staff the legal wage required.

Economic

According to this article, Matalan have been suspected of profit loss in the past year; however the company have spoken out and admitted that they have in fact boosted their profits in 2016.

It is evident that despite their success, the media are under the impression the company is failing and therefore gives off a negative impression. Matalan will have to consider new ways to boost their profits further and make it obvious they are succeeding to competitors and the media.

SWOT Strengths: • Low Prices • Quality • Loyal customers- reward card schemes • Sells Women’s, Men's, Children's, Baby and Home wear • Delivery services- to home, store, specific time slot • Using more and more celebrity endorsements • Close to out of town shopping centres and Supermarket chains, close to competitors • Various social media accounts

•

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Opportunities: Appealing to new target markets e.g. younger • Expansion into more countries • Expansion into omni-channel retailing • More city centre stores • More add campaigns

Weakness: The company has three main weakness; in order to overcomes these I will look at my opportunities.

For example in order to appeal to new target markets, for example a younger audience I will conduct research into younger consumer habits and see how I can target that age group. In order to overcome the weakness of location I could look into more city centre locations. However I would have to ensure the rent would not be too high in order to keep the prices of garments low.

Threats: Similarly to the weaknesses, I will look to overcome threats to the retailer by using the company's strengths. For example to compete with my competitors I will monitor their products and any offers they hold. I will also try to use the reward card scheme and celebrity endorsements in order to try and persuade consumers to shop with Matalan.

I will use the SWOT analysis when constructing my range in order to try and make the range as successful as it can be and make the company enough profits.

Weaknesses: • Locations- majority of stores outside of city centre • Doesn’t typically appeal to younger target market • Doesn’t stock food like the majority of its competitors

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Threats: • EU vote- Importing goods prices and taxes are increasing • Economics/political factors • Competitors • Sourcing from overseas- issues beyond the companies control for example natural disasters

Matalan's Women’s Brands

Matalan stock various women's wear brands within their company. Each brand specialises in a specific garment line. For example, Souluxe is an active wear brand produced

by Matalan.

Comparative Shop Product

Details

Product

Details

Product

Details

Matalan - Ruffle Detail Vest £12.00 70% Cotton 26% Nylon 4% Elastane

Matalan - Lightweight Suit Jacket £18.00 100% Polyester

Matalan -Essential Tailored Fit Suit Dress £16.00 100% Polyester

George- Cold Shoulder Bell Sleeve Blouse £12 67% Cotton, 29% Polyamide. 4% Elastane

George- Striped Linen Blend Blazer £20.00 55% Linen, 45% Viscose

George- Flared Sleeve Shift Dress £14 90% Polyester, 10% Elastane

F&F- Washed Satin Tie Front Cold Shoulder Blouse £14 100% Polyester

F&F- Crepe Unlined Double Breasted Blazer £20.00 100% Polyester

F&F- Ruffle Bell Sleeve Tie Waist Dress £9 96% Polyester, 4% Elastane

TU- White Plain Cold Shoulder Top £8.00 100% Cotton

TU- Grey Ponte Marl Blazer £22.00 73% Polyester, 22% Viscose, 3% Elastane

TU- Black Textured Dress £18.00 No fabric composition given

Comparative Shop Product

Details

Product

Details

Product

Details

Matalan - Jacquard A-Line Mini Skirt £14.00 81% Cotton 18% Polyester 1%

Matalan - Slim Fit Trousers (31 Inch Leg) £12.00 77% Viscose 19% Nylon 4% Elastane.

Matalan - Almond Toe Court Shoe £14.00

George- Zig Zag Midi Skirt £10 58% Polyester, 28% Cotton, 11% Viscose, 3% Elastane

George- Tapered Trousers £6.00 100% Polyester

George-Block Heels £16.00

F&F- Textured Dogtooth Jacquard Mini Skirt £16 52% Polyester, 48% Cotton, Lining: 100% Cotton

F&FStraight Leg Trousers £6 100% Polyester

F&F- Sensitive Sole Wide Fit Patent Mary Jane Shoes £20.00

TU- Textured A Line Skirt £16.00 No fabric composition given

TU-Black Tapered Textured Trousers £18.00 98% Cotton 2% Elastane

TU- Black Block Heel Mary Janes £18.00

Comparative Shop Product

Details

Product

Details

Product

Details

Matalan - Compartment Tote Bag £14.00

Matalan - Split Back Blouse £14.00 100% Viscose

Matalan - Crew Neck Cardigan £12.00 80% Viscose 20% Polyamide.

George- Large Tote Bag - Black £14 100% PVC

George- Floral Tie Front Blouse £14 100% Polyester

George- Crew Neck Cardigan £8 100% Cotton

F&F- Mixed Texture Triple Compartment Tote Bag £22 100% Polyvinyl Chloride

F&F- Floral Print Shacket £22 100% Polyester

F&F- Stretch Cardigan with As New Technology £10 83% Viscose, 17% Nylon

TU-Black Multi Compartment Bag £16.00 100% Polyurethane Blend

TU- Multi-coloured Split Sleeve Printed Top £18.00 100% Viscose

TU- Black Ripple Yoke Cardigan £10.00 60% Cotton, 20% Viscose, 20% Polyamide

Comparative Shop Product

Details

Product

Details

Product

Details

Matalan -Patent Loafer £14.00

Matalan -Fluted Sleeve Swing Dress £18.00 100% Polyester

Matalan -Let Down Hem Skinny Jeans £18.00 64% Cotton 28% Polyester 6% Viscose 2% Elastane

George-Pointed Toe Patent Detail Loafers £14

George-Flared Sleeve V-neck Dress £14 90% Polyester, 10% Elastane

George-Slim Boyfriend Jeans £14 99% Cotton, 1% Elastane

F&F-Faux Suede Loafers £16

F&F-Sparkle Bell Sleeve Dress £15 92% Polyamide, 5% Elastane, 3% Metallised Fibre

TU-Chunky Sole Comfort Loafers £16.00

TU-Patterned Shift Dress £22.00 100% Viscose

F&F- Contour Distressed High Rise Super Skinny Jeans with LYCRA® BEAUTY £22 50% Cotton, 41% Modal, 6% Elastonmultiester, 3% Elastane TU-Dark Denim Authentic Skinny £16.00 73% Cotton, 25% Polyester, 2% Elastane

Existing Customer Profile- Jane Jane is a 42 year old working mum with three children. She is the head of the house hold and looks after her whole family. Her husband works long hours on a construction site and she works 9-5 Monday to Friday as an accountant.

Jane typically earns around £20,000 per year before taxes; she is very money conscious and cost effective; she spend the majority of her money on her children and their needs.

Her children are aged 19, 13 and 8; she typically buys clothing for her 13 year old daughter and 8 year old son while her 19 daughter is more independent as she has a part time job.

Jane really appreciates value and forgoes expensive names when it comes to clothing; however she is still fashion conscious. She typically shops with Matalan, supermarket brands and Marks and Spencer’s when she can afford it for herself. Her wardrobe largely consist of work wear and casual wear. For her children she typically shops in Matalan, Next and occasionally Zara. She also shops for her husband and purchases clothing he may like when out shopping for herself.

Jane only has weekends off and therefore tends to spend her weekend shopping and doing house hold jobs. When she does have free time, she likes walking in the countryside with her family, attending gym classes and meals with her friends; she also enjoys reading books and newspapers.

Business Plan ‘About two-thirds of women between ages 18 and 34 cited a high-paying career among their top life priorities’ (Forbes.com, 2017) I have decided to produce a women's work wear range for SS18. The collection will be aimed at existing Matalan customers whilst also targeting a new customer. The ranges concept will have a strong theme of transitional clothing that can be worn within the work place and then outside as casual and occasion wear. This will give the collection a good value for money feel and therefore fit in well with the Matalan brand. The collection will feature various garment types such as skirts, pants and shoes. The collection will be released in April 2018.

The collection will be called ‘career conscious’ in order to emphasises the type of clothing this range will sell. This title will also help to entice a new target market of young women who are career driven.

In order to target my new customer audience, I will execute new marketing strategies such as magazine articles. By generating a larger awareness of the collection, I will also be generating awareness about Matalan and encourage younger women to shop with the retailer.

In order to demonstrate the transitional and versatile style of the collection, I will produce a look book which will display pieces from the collection styled into various outfit types.

I will also look into how to visually merchandise the collection more effectively in store. This will include styling on mannequins and a front window display (specifically in new city centre locations).

Short Term Aims • Create new collection for Matalan • Introduce new customer to the retailer

Mid Term Aims • Boost Matalan's profits • Increase awareness of the retailer

Long Term Aims • Create more collections for the retailer • Establish a knowledge to consumers about women's work wear at Matalan • Keep appealing to new target market

New Target Market-Emma Emma is a 24-year-old law graduate from Leeds. After completing her degree in the University of Leeds, Emma moved to London for a legal assistant position. She now lives just outside of the city centre and typically earns around £21,000 a year.

Emma typically works weekdays but occasionally works weekends as Overtime in order to cover the costs of living in this expensive city. Because of her living costs; Emma is very cost conscious and is very practical with her money. A large proportion of her earnings goes to her rent, food and bills, however she keeps enough money aside each month for nights out with friends, train tickets home and clothing. She is very fashion focused and this reflects in her all aspects of her wardrobe, from casuals, dressy clothing, gym clothing and even her work wear.

Emma typically shops in Topshop, Warehouse and Zara for the majority of her clothing, however since moving to London she has found that she is having to look at the sale racks in order to keep within her budgets. She is always looking for a fashionable bargain.

In her spare time, Emma enjoys running in Victoria park, reading magazines and socialising with friends. She typically goes to bars close to her apartment in Shoreditch as she doesn’t have to spend much on travel and she prefers the atmosphere.

Emma symbolises the city girl on a budget. As a Matalan customer she would typically shop in the Oxford street London store and possibly stores in Leeds when she visits.

Why would Emma like this collection?

Its fashionable and affordable; she can wear it to work and outside of work, making it cost effective. Its cheaper than her usual retailers but still maintains the fashionable style.

New Target Market- Laura Laura is a 27 year old sales manager from Manchester. She is currently living in Maghull, Liverpool with her husband Mark and works in a home store in Aintree. Laura typically earns £28,000 a year before taxes. Her husband Mark is also a sales manager for a supermarket and earns around the same as his wife. They have been married for two years and bought their first house less than a year ago.

As a sales manager, Laura works varied hours during the week and typically works weekends as requested by her contract and takes days off during the week instead. She has been working at the home department store for three years which she thoroughly enjoys as she is passionate about her career. Laura completed a business management degree in Edge Hill University before obtaining her job with the store.

Laura and Marks combined salaries are typically spent on the mortgage, bills and house hold shopping, however Laura does enjoy shopping with her earnings. She typically shops in Next, Warehouse and Oasis as she liked the unique styles of the clothing. She particularly likes warehouse as she can buy her work clothes from the store but she can also wear the clothes outside of work. However she finds warehouse expensive and only shops in there when she can afford it.

In her spare time, Laura enjoys going for meals with her partner, attending social events with friends and getting away on holiday when she can. She also enjoys reading magazines, attending yoga classes and going for bike rides in her local park.

Laura would shop in out of town stores such as Aintree as she works and lives close to the store.

Why would Laura like this collection?

Its keeps itself fashionable but is more affordable than the stores she typically shops in.

Marketing Strategies- The Show Existing Matalan customers, New customers Increase Footfall!

‘The Show’ is a online video show produced by Matalan and presented by Denise Van Outen. ‘The Show’ discusses ‘hints and tips on current trends, fashion essentials and inspirational ideas for their homes’ (The Drum, 2017).

An advert for the video show is promoted on ITV due to the partnership Matalan entered with them. The advert is shown between popular ITV shows in order to generate further viewership.

I will use the video show in order to generate further knowledge about the range; specifically by basing the 20 second advert around the new collection during its first week of release.

(The Drum, 2017)

Marketing Strategies- Look Book Increase Awareness!

Marketing Strategies- Lorraine Part time workers, weekend workers who take days off in the week (e.g. retail managers), free lance workers Lorraine Kelly presents her morning Increase Footfall! following Good Morning Britain on ITV Monday-Friday 8:30am-9:25am.

The show discusses various subjects such as daily news headlines, health Lorraine Kelly and lifestyle and fashion.

61,861 Facebook likes As I am aware this show runs at a 93.8k followers on twitter time of day where the majority of 87.9k followers on Instagram working women are in fact in work, I will use the fashion section of the show to promote the versatility of FACTS my collection; demonstrating how •ITV is the biggest commercial channel at garments in the collection can be Breakfast worn for occasion wear and/or casual wear.

•ITV Breakfast reaches half-a-million HW+CH daily The catwalk will also target freelance and at home workers. It will also (Itvmedia.co.uk, 2017) target workers on their day off such as retail managers who take days off in the week so they can work over the weekend.

Marketing Strategies- Magazine Adverts New Target Market ‘for every £1 spent on newspaper and magazine advertising, retailers get a sales increase of £6.23’ (Andrews, 2017) Increase Footfall and Email Capture!

Cosmopolitan sold ‘more than 400,000 copies per month’ in 2016’. (Pressgazette.co.uk, 2017)

‘Glamour has been the biggest-selling women's lifestyle magazine in the UK and in Europe since its launch in 2001’ (Condenastinter national.com, 2017)

After completing some research into marketing strategies, I decided that one of the best ways to target my new target market is to invest in some magazine advertisements.

I researched into the best selling women's magazines of 2016 and decided that Conde Nast magazines ‘Glamour’ and ‘Cosmopolitan’ would be the best two magazines to promote the collection in. Not only do these magazines typically promote high fashion garments, but also high street fashionable garments from store such as warehouse, Topshop and Zara. As the new market I am targeting typically shops in these store, and I am trying to promote a more fashionable image of the company, I believe these magazines will help to drive sales.

The magazines will also feature a 10% off voucher that can be used in store and online with any purchase from the career conscious collection. This voucher can also be used when purchasing other items in store within the same purchase; this will help to promote the retailer further and push further sales.

10% off voucher in Glamour and Cosmopolitan.

I have produced an example voucher for this marketing strategy.

April issue realised in March; generate knowledge about the collection.

Marketing strategies

Increase Footfall, Email Capture and Reward Card Members!

Competition: • Customers will be given the chance to win a £100 voucher to spend in store/online by entering a competition. Customers will have to share a picture of themselves wearing a piece of clothing from the ‘Career Conscious’ collection on social media and tagging the Matalan account.

Card Holder Exclusives: • 10% off the collection • Receive £5 voucher to spend in store/online when you spend over £30 on the collection.

VIP Card Holder Exclusives: • Receive £10 voucher to spend in store/ online when you spend over £40 on the collection.

Possible Markdowns: • In case of items not selling well, 10% will be taken off the RRP in order to try to boost sales.

• If After the 8 week selling period the collection is still doing well they will remain to be sold in store. After a short period of time it will be put into an up to 30% off sale.

Glamour Magazine Voucher

Social Media Competition- Instagram Example

Marketing strategies- Visual Merchandising In order to try and entice customers who are already shopping in store to look at and purchase the collection, I will plan a visual merchandising layout for each store to layout.

The visual merchandising will be planned in the mock store located next to the head office building in Knowsley, images will be taken and sent to all store in order to help Visual Merchandising staff set out the new collection correctly.

IncreaseIn-Store Basket Price!

There will be three mannequins styled in garments from the ‘Career Conscious’ collection including footwear and accessories. The Mannequins will be located at the front of the formals section of each store.

Increase Footfall!

Front Window I will also produce a front window display example that will be sent to stores in order to try and increase store footfall. The Window will feature four outfits from the ‘Career Conscious’ Collection.

Front Window Example

Final Major Project

Action Plan Task/method

Final deadline dates

Completed

Research into Victoria Beckham

28/04/2017

Completed

company report on the Victoria Beckham label (inc SWOT, history, brand information)

02/05/2017

Completed

Research into previous designer collaborations

05/05/2017

Completed

Mood board on Victoria Beckham

05/05/2017

Completed

Directional shop between Matalan and Victoria Beckham

12/05/2017

Completed

store visits

12/05/2017

Completed

Customer profiles

12/05/2017

Completed

Conduct consumer questionnaires

12/05/2017

Completed

Trend forecasting for AW18/19 inc concept boards

17/05/2017

Completed

Produce a business plan

17/05/2017

Completed

Range building

19/05/2017

Completed

merchandising spreadsheet

21/05/2017

Completed

Key events planner

21/05/2017

Completed

Discuss marketing strategies

24/05/2017

Completed

Evaluation

24/05/2017

Completed

Business Plan ‘About two-thirds of women between ages 18 and 34 cited a high-paying career among their top life priorities’ (Forbes.com, 2017) I have decided to produce a second trend driven women's work wear range for the retailer Matalan for AW18/19. The collection will continue to be aimed at existing Matalan customers whilst also targeting the new customer brought in by the previous ‘Career Conscious’ collection . The ranges concept will be a designer collaboration with renown British fashion designer Victoria Beckham, a highly fashionable career driven family women. This range will bring a sense of exclusivity and high end trend driven fashion feel to the retailer. Similarly to the ‘Career Conscious’ collection, this designer collaboration will feature pieces that can be worn both in and out of work making it versatile and even more appealing to consumers. The collection will feature various garment types such as skirts, pants and shoes. The collection will be released in September 2018.

The collection will be called ‘Victoria Beckham For Matalan’ In order to emphasise this designer collaboration.

In order to inform consumers about this designer collaboration, I will execute various marketing strategies such as magazine articles. By generating a larger awareness of the collection, I will also be generating awareness about Matalan and encourage more younger, trend driven women to continue to shop with the retailer after the summer collection. I will produce other marketing strategies such as promotional packaging, advertisements, social media campaigns etc.

Short Term Aims: • Create a new designer collaboration collection for Matalan that appeals to the new target customer brought in by previous collection • Increase sales in formals by 25% in the first 4 weeks • Sell at least 85% of the range before going into winter sale

Mid Term Aims: • Boost Matalan profits • Increase further awareness of the retailer

Long Term Aims • Create more collections for the retailer • Establish a knowledge to consumers about the more trend driven Matalan • Continue to appeal to new target market

Victoria Beckham Victoria Beckham is a highly successful business woman infamous for her unique and beautiful designer clothing. She has been a professional designer with her own eponymous label since 2008 after years of modelling and a real love for fashion.

She is 43 years old and has worked extremely hard to establish herself within the fashion industry, despite starting out as a pop singer and footballers wife, typically dubbing her as a WAG. She is highly praised by those within the fashion industry and celebrities who wear her clothing.

Not only is she a very successful career driven woman, she is a working mum with 3 children ages ranging between 6-18. She loves her family and continuously posts about them on her social media pages.

Appeals to younger trend driven audience whilst still appealing to the busy mum.

Victoria Beckham Collections

SS17 Ready-To-Wear Collection Victoria Beckham’s design are unique and very trend driven. You can see from her Spring/Summer 2017 collection how she uses global influences in her clothing with details such as wrap belted waists inspired by historical Japanese kimono dressing. It is also evident that tailored looks mash well with oversized garments making her designs a good fit for a trend driven work wear collection for Matalan.

Victoria Beckham For Target Victoria Beckham has recently created a collection for low priced American retailor ‘Target’ which sold out within ours of the collection being released.

The collection is aimed at women and young girls with a low price range making it affordable for all.

Victoria Beckham herself has described the collection as a description of her relationship with her own daughter, Harper. Making the collection more relatable and more personal for consumers.

This is not the first designer collaboration consumers have gone crazy for, over the past few years H&M has taken part in various designer collaborations such as Balmain, Kenzo and Stella McCartney. Each time the collections are released, consumers become obsessed with getting the garments, to the extent that they camped out on the streets to purchase these limited edition garments.

The collection I will be creating will be focused on another part of Victoria’s life; her career and how she used her unique style to capitalise and create her empire. This will be reflected in the garments produced.

(Caroline Leaper, 2017)

Designer Collaborations For Matalan Matalan currently has two designer collaborations currently for women’s wear SS17; Love by Julian Macdonald and FWM by Fenn Wright Manson. Love focuses on underwear and swimwear whilst FWM focuses on occasion wear. Both collections have a slightly higher price range than usual for the retailor, however as the collaboration with Julian Macdonald has been continuous over the past few seasons, it suggest designer collaborations work wear for Matalan and a work wear collaboration could fit the gap In the market.

Victoria Beckham SWOT & analysis on the collaboration Strengths: • Large fan following • Well established name in the fashion industry • Regular clients for various events including red carpets • Good sales • She's her own style icon • Working mum- fits the profile for Matalan consumers • Well established hard working business woman- fits the profile for women's work wear • Large social media following Opportunities: • Recent collaboration with discount retailor target received good reviews and sold out in hours- possibility to make more collections like this • Expansion into more stores/concessions

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Weakness: The fact that Victoria Beckham’s garments can be quite expensive may be off putting with consumers, however her recent collaboration with discount retailor Target it gives customers the idea of a more affordable range. The website can be hard to navigate at times and the lack of stores make it difficult for customers to browse the collection. In order to correct this, I will use the opportunity to expand into more stores and collections, making it easier for consumers to shop.

Threats: In order to overcome the threats of potential range, I will use the strengths of both Victoria Beckham’s label as well as Matalan's strengths. For example, with the threat of Matalan’s consumers worrying about high prices, I will use the their strengths such as card holder offers for loyal customers and Victoria Beckham’s strength of having a large social media following to overcome the threat.

I will use this SWOT analysis when constructing my range, considering weakness’ and strengths, in order to try and make the range as successful as it can be and make the company further profits.

Weaknesses: • Expensive • Website can be hard to navigate • Limited availability on garments • Lack of stores

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Threats: • Matalan consumers concerned about higher prices might drive them away • Various political changes- price inflations, taxes etc.

• Husbands recent controversy in the press reflects badly on her

Customer Profiles As I am creating the collection with the existing Matalan customer in mind and trying to appeal to the new target market introduced to the retailor by the ‘Career Conscious’ collection; my targets markets/customers profiles remain the same.

Jane: a working mum with three children; will like the collection as it is fashionable work wear and can related to successful working mum Victoria.

Emma: a career driven city girl; trying to start the path of her own success.

Young, fashionable and seeks affordability.

Laura: successful career; prides herself on fashion. Looks for affordability as she begins to settle down in life.

Directional Shop Matalan and Victoria Beckham SS17 Matalan - Almond Toe Court Shoe £14.00

Pin Pump £580 100 lamb (lining 100% Goat)

The Matalan court shoe is a classic shape, style and heel size, made with comfort in mind, making it perfect for all day wear and is also very affordable.

The Victoria Beckham heel is a lot higher and a lot more trend driven.

They are made entirely of animal skin making them a higher quality in comparison to the Matalan heel.

Matalan - Split Back Blouse £14.00 100% Viscose

Victoria Beckham - Ruffle Sleeve Tee £195 100% Cotton

Matalan -Fluted Sleeve Swing Dress £18.00 100% Polyester

Asymmetrical Drape Flare £1495 60% VI 40% SE

Despite the difference in colour, both dresses follow the flower pattern trend path. The Matalan dress follows the trend path of bell sleeves whilst the Victoria Beckham dress follows the trend of cinched waists using a tie belt.

Both dresses are made from man made fibres.

Both blouses have a very similar colour scheme and pattern trend. The Victoria Beckham shirt is of a higher quality as it is made from entirely natural fibres. There is a large price difference between the two tops.

Directional Shop Matalan and Victoria Beckham SS17 Matalan - Ruffle Detail Vest £12.00 70% Cotton 26% Nylon 4% Elastane

Wrap Tie Shirt £585 100% Cotton

This Matalan blouse is of a lower quality due to its mixed fibre composition, therefore lowering its price. Whilst the top still follows popular trends of cold shoulder tops, the Victoria Beckham shirt is much more trend driven.

Matalan - Jacquard A-Line Mini Skirt £14.00 81% Cotton 18% Polyester 1%

Matalan - Slim Fit Trousers (31 Inch Victoria Beckham - Flare Leg) £12.00 77% Viscose 19% Nylon £265 93% Cotton, 5% Polyester, 2% Elastane.

4% Elastane.

Summer Wool Floral Print Knit Skirt £595 100% WV

Both trousers are plain black and have a mixed fibre composition, however there is a large price difference. The Victoria Beckham trousers are more trend driven due to the flared ends of the pants.

Despite the fact that the Matalan skirt is patterned like the Victoria Beckham skirt, it is slightly more dull in colour scheme in comparison to the Victoria Beckham piece. This again suggests the Victoria Beckham’s skirt is more trend driven due to its on trend colour pattern. The Victoria Beckham skirt is less fitted in comparison to the Matalan skirt.

Directional Shop Evaluation Overall, it is evident from the directional shop that there is a large difference between Matalan’s and Victoria Beckham’s clothing.

There can be different fabrics compositions, different trend paths and different prices.

I believe the main reason for the large difference in prices is due to the Victoria Beckham label.

People shopping with this brand are willing to pay a lot more for their garments than the typical Matalan customer. However the range ‘Victoria Beckham for Matalan’ will keep to the Matalan usual price range in order to the Matalan customer interested and able to shop the collection.

The collection will keep to the style of Victoria Beckham in order to best fit her style and represent her clothing correctly. This will help to keep the new customer enticed and make the retailor more trend driven.

Customer Questionnaires In order to ensure my range would target a varied audience, I conducted a questionnaire, asking 20 different people information about them and their purchasing habits. The questionnaire can be seen to the left and was given to college and work colleges, friends and family and some to people on the street; in this way I could ensure a true and varied result.

I discovered that the majority of the people asked were 18-25, within a student category, use at least one social media site (typically Instagram) and shop in trend driven high street stores such as Zara. Only a select few out of the 20 people asked shopped in Matalan despite the ,majority of them looking for quality,; a noun Matalan pride themselves on. Consumers also preferred to shop Instore and online.

From my research, it has become evident that the range I will create will need strong marketing strategies in order to target this younger customer more. This will include social media campaigns and exclusive student offers.

Store Visit In order gain an understanding of how Matalan lays out their stores, I visited the Williamson square store in Liverpool city centre. I decided to focus on the work wear section to see how they visually merchandise their collections.

When I walked into the store I noticed that they display mannequins along the escalators to display current collections. When the Victoria Beckham collection is released I will style various pieces of the collection on these mannequins so that customers can see the collection the first moment they enter the store.

At this currently time, the collection displayed at the top of the escalators is swimwear to accommodate summer shoppers. When the Victoria Beckham collection is released I will display the collection at the front of the store in order to attract customers to shop the range.

Currently work wear is located towards the back left hand side of the store in front of the underwear section. There are three mannequins styled in work wear pieces, however they are not very trend driven. I also noticed for a summer collection, the clothing is quite dull and dark.

There are a few photos of models wearing the work wear collections above the ranges, however I do not think they caught the attention of many consumers.

Overall from the store visit it became clear to me that there is a lot of potential for strong visual merchandising of the Victoria Beckham collection.

It gave me ideas for store layouts that will help to entice consumers to shop the range.

Trend Forecasting AW18

‘The Thinker’ is a concept formed by WGSN that focuses on ‘simple, functional designs’ (WGSN,2017). The idea largely follows formal styles including both tailored and relaxed work wear with ideas of ‘preppy awkwardness’ (WGSN,2017) showing through at times.

The paragraphs surrounding are highlighted describing different parts of the trend. Over the next few slides I will discuss key trends within AW18/19 and produce concept boards to visually represent these trends.

Trend Forecasting AW18 Shape Big shapes restricted by straight edges...

Whilst conducting trend forecasting, it became evident to me that shapes were inflated, widen, and fanned out. Sleeves were cuffed at the elbows or wrists or both to create a ballooned effect. They were also cuffed half way up the forearm to create bell sleeves which were fanned out using ruffles and pleats. Despite this, boxed and conservative shirts peak through in AW18/19.

It was also clear that with there was a big contrast in shapes predicted for AW18/19. These big shapes in sleeves, pants and other garments are juxtaposed by having strong, straight edges and even cinched waists, using techniques such as belted and elasticated waist lines which help to restrict these big, wide shapes.

Lengths of pants. Skirts, coats, pants and other garments seem longer in length ending half way down the calf or even to the ankle. Shirts, jackets and top lengths vary from above to below the hips.

Key Shapes

Trend Forecasting AW18 Colour Autumn Transitional When looking into colour schemes under ‘The Thinker’ trend on WGSN it became apparent the colours of summer drifted into more dull tones to create an autumn transitional palate. Blues contrasted from the pale blue of colours of summer to the dark navy tones of winter. Greys and browns showed through against pale pinks, nude and yellow tones.

Overall the colour palate from ‘The Thinker’ stood out to me as the perfect palate for a September release date collection. The bright, pale colours are perfect for the summer like days in September while the darker tones attract customers in the more colder days of October.

Trend Forecasting AW18 Materials and Patterns Fashion Passes Style Remains(Quoteinvestigator.com, 2017) Above is a quote from the infamous fashion designer Coco Chanel; a women well known for her love of tweed. When trend forecasting, tweed and tufted boucle’ materials are predicted for AW18. these heavily woven materials are predicted on outerwear such as coats and jackets as well as tops and dresses.

Other materials predicted are fine knits, metallic threading's and pleats (pleats are predicted typically in shirts, see bottom right).

Whilst ‘The Thinker’ is a trend more driven by plain statements, materials provide the patterned trends, for example tweed, striped materials and checks.

Trend Forecasting AW18 Boards

Global Street Style Whilst trend forecasting I also looked into global street style trends for workwear and casual wear to see how they have influenced the future trends predicted; it became clear the current street style is already influencing what is predicted in for next autumn/winter. This is demonstrated by the images above.

Long coats-boxy shirts- slim Trousers (predicted shapes for AW18/19)

Long coats- grey colour scheme- wool materials (predicted materials, colours and shapes for AW18/19) American street style

Boxy shirt- Big Sleeves (predicted shapes AW18/19)

Boxy shoulders (predicted shapes AW18/19)

Wide leg trousers- Knit jumper (predicted shapes and materials AW18/19)

This research shows how global trends will influence my collection as global street style trends are currently influencing predicted future trends.

Inflated sleeves (predicted shapes AW18/19)

Trend Forecasting AW18 Board Evaluation In order to make sure my collection would be more trend driven, I began trend forecasting before putting my range together. When researching trends for AW18/19 on WGSN I found the trend 'the thinker' which really spoke to me for a work wear collections. The shapes, textures and colours were ideal for an Autumn transitional collection and I believe would fit in well with both the Matalan and Victoria Beckham style.

The shapes predicted for AW18/19 were very contrasting. While big, inflated sleeves and trousers legs are predicted, so are straight leg pants, boxy shirts and straighter edges. This is reflected in my concept board by the balloon bursting out of the square, demonstrating the inflated shapes and straight edges. The woman in the coat also demonstrates this due to her log straight edge coat with large sleeve being restricted by a belt. The background image is an image of fans to further demonstrate the larger, fanned out shapes. Overall I am pleased with the concept board and have decided to put this shape trend within my collection.

The colours predicted within 'The Thinker' trend are again varied, however as previously mentioned I believe the colour palette fits in well for an autumn transitional collection (released in September). There are duller colours such as blacks, browns and grey tones and contradicting pastels such as blues, pinks and yellows. This is demonstrated in the concept board I have produced. While the face resents the blue and grey tone, the background paint splatter and for represent the juxtaposing colours of dark and light. Overall I am pleased with the outcome off this concept board, however I do believe the ranges of colours is too wide for one collection, I will therefore select a few colours to make the palette more simple and suitable for the collection.

Within 'The Thinker' trend there were not many particular patterns that where trending; however textures did show through certain garments. Fine knits using wool, gathered materials and tweed were just three of the material types predicted. I decided to create a concept board based on tweed using various colour and patterns types and a background image and placing an image of coco change tailoring one of her infamous tweed suits. Overall I believe the concept within this board is clear, however, after completed the board, I do not feel that tweed material reflects the Matalan or Victoria Beckham style well and will therefore use other material types such as fine knits, wool and gathered/pleated materials.

To construct my concept board I used various tools on Photoshop, such as the magic wand tool, the blur rubber tool and the opacity tool.

Other tools included: colour balance, hue and saturation balance and ordering of layers.

From Day…

Concept Board ‘Wear sunglasses a lot. Even inside’ (British Vogue, 2017) .

After completing a trend forecasting report, I constructed the concept for my new range. I thought it was important to include an image of Victoria Beckham in order to emphasise the main theme of the range. I included an image of her in clothing that I wanted my range to follow. Despite the fact that it’s a autumn collection, I thought it was essential to include an image of Victoria Beckham wearing sunglasses as she advised in her letter to her 18 year old self for a Vogue article that she should ‘wear sunglasses a lot, even inside’ (British Vogue, 2017) . Because of this I have also decided to ensure there is a pair of sunglasses in the range; this will help to reflect the Victoria Beckham style.

To Night…

For my colour scheme, I looked at the colour palate from my colour concept board and chose six colours that I believe would best reflect Matalan and Victoria Beckham’s Style. I also wanted the colour palate to reflect the season well so I chose colours that represent an autumn transitional collection. There is a mixture of dark neutral tones with pastel colours to balance both summer and winter tones. I have also tried to ensure the background images displaying the office, bar and city environments reflect the colour scheme to reinforce the concept palate.

The background images I have used include an office environment to reinforce this work wear collection, a bar/restaurant environment to represent the versatility of the collection and a city street in autumn to reflect the season and the busy city life. The image of the notebooks again reinforces the work environment while also represent the pastel colours that will feature in my range.

Overall I am pleased with the outcome of my concept board and I believe it gives off a clear and strong idea, which will help me when creating my collection.

Range Evaluation After completing a trend forecasting report and constructing a concept board, I was able to build my range. The range consists of 14 different pieces including pants, tops, shoes and accessories and each piece has a different colour wave, making it varied and appealing to all. It was Important that the range reflected both Victoria Beckham style As previously stated I wanted this collection to be more trend driven in order to bring back the younger, more fashionable customer introduced with my previous collection 'career conscious'. It was also important that the collection still remained appealing to the current Matalan customer in order to keep that target market happy and ensure they continue to shop with Matalan. Overall I think the range appeal to both audiences well as the pieces are fashionable while still being practice and very versatile. It was clear from concept board that the collection would designed for work wear but still being fashionable and versatile enough to be worn outside the office; this was demonstrated by the office and bar images on the concept board. I believe the range reflect this due to is formal yet trend driven nature.

It was important to include garments that can be worn both in the end of summer-autumn and into the winter. For this reason I included both short and long sleeve tops, fitted and flowy trousers, light blazers and heavy coats. In this way, the collection is not only versatile to different environments such as the office or outside of work but also versatile to different seasons. I thought it was also important to include a per of sunglasses as Victoria Beckham advised in her letter to her 18 year old self for a Vogue article that she should ‘wear sunglasses a lot, even inside’ (British Vogue, 2017). The collection will range from sizes 8-20, which is currently the sizes stocked by Matalan. The order quantities per style will be determined by the sales per week figures produced and supplied by Matalan. This will be shown within my merchandising spreadsheet under sales per week charts for each item.

The RRP’s across the collection range from £14-£30, therefore the pricing architecture is different with each item. This is because each garment costs more to produce. For example real leather garments, such as the ankle boots, cost more to produce than synthetic garments such as the heels.

Overall, I am pleased with the result of my range; I think it reflects both Matalan and Victoria Beckham well. I think it is very versatile and trend driven and will appeal to the existing and new target market.

Merchandising Spreadsheet

Total cost: £379,817

Total Profit: £734,123

Sales Per Week (8 Week Selling Period)

Merchandising Spreadsheet Analysis In order to ensure the financial success of my range, I have produced a merchandising spreadsheet on Excel.

Along the top of the spreadsheet there is an image of each piece from my collection to make each garments financial information clear. On the left hand side of the spreadsheet in the first column there is titles for all the information on each row; for example the seventh row down is titled ‘colour’ and on that row, the colour of each garment within the range is written. COO stands for Country Of Origin, for example the tie sleeve blouse is produced in Bangladesh. Each item has a different fabric composition which determines its country of origin; for example Bangladesh is well know as a source of cotton. To generate the RRP’s from my range I looked at previous collections by Matalan from my comparative shop and based the prices for my range on this; it is clear that I have increased the prices slightly as this collection is more trend driven and has a designer collaboration aspect meaning it will be more expensive to produce. To figure out each garments cost price I divided the garments RRP by 1.2 then by 2.5 which gives the initial price to produce a garment before adding VAT for selling purposes. To find the margin of each garment, I took the cost price away from the RRP, divided the answer by the RRP and then times the outcome by 100% to give me a margin percentage; each garment had a margin of 67%. The collection will be released on the 1st of September and will be on sale for 8 weeks in two flagship stores, two high street stores, one out of town store and online. To calculate the sales per week for each garment, I used a sales data chart and added how many of each garment sold each week in each store type. I then used this information to calculate the 15% replenishment that would be needed by dividing the total quantity for 8 weeks by 100 and multiplied the answer by 15. I then added the replenishment figure and the total quantity over 8 weeks to give me the total number of garments that would need to be bought. From this figure I was able to figure out the total cost price and total RRPs. I then took the total cost price for all garments away from the total RRP for all garments and was given the total profit for the whole range.

From completing this financial spreadsheet, I feel more confident in completing this role of the merchandisers job and feel that I understand this task further and I am able to complete the task more efficiently.

Marketing Strategies- Promotional Packaging

From Day…

To Night…

Generate Exclusivity/Hype, increase footfall in stores!

Strapline: From Day…To Night…

This strapline helps to reinforce a unique selling point behind the collection; that it can be worn in the day as work wear and in the night for party's, social events and special occasions.

In order to make the collection more exclusive, I have designed promotional packaging to be given to all consumers when the purchase from the collection. This includes special swing tickets with the collections logo on the front; these will be on each garment in the collection. Reusable gift bags with the VB initials on the front, given out with every purchase from the collection and a special thankyou card written and signed by Victoria. By using promotional packaging the collection seems more special and unique than a standard formals section and may persuade customers to shop the range.

Marketing Strategies- Social Media Generate Exclusivity/Hype, increase footfall in stores, increase knowledge about collection/fashion at Matalan!

Another marketing strategy I have decided to implicate is social media; it was made evident to me during my market research that the majority of consumers use at least one form of social media (consumer questionnaire). I will use the existing Matalan social media pages as well as Victoria Beckham’s page to display and discuss the collection. By using Victoria Beckham’s page, 15.5 million around the world people will be able to see the collection styled by Victoria Beckham showing how versatile the pieces can be. (see below) This marketing strategy will help to introduce new customers to Matalan as well as persuade the existing consumers to shop the collection. It will also help to generate knowledge about the collection and Matalan.

This outfit can be worn both in and out the office! Go shop my very versatile range at Matalan.com today.

X vb

Marketing Strategies- Glamour Interview Generate Exclusivity/Hype, increase footfall in stores, increase knowledge about collection/fashion at Matalan! ‘for every £1 spent on newspaper and magazine advertising, retailers get a sales increase of £6.23’ (Andrews, 2017) From completing market research for market research for my ‘Career Conscious’ collection, I discovered that magazine advertisements can increase retailers sales figures, for this reason I have decided to show the collection in the best selling UK magazines, for example Vogue, Cosmopolitan and Glamour magazine.

I also decided to implicate a new marketing strategy of a magazine interview with the designer of the collection Victoria Beckham; the article will be released in ‘the biggest-selling women's lifestyle magazine in the UK’ (Condenastinternational.com, 2017), Glamour. This interview will focus on Victoria Beckham’s life including her successful career, family life and fashion, keeping the collection at the core of the article. In this way, consumers can read about how a busy mum works had to gain her success and how her love for fashion has lead to the creation of this collection. The article will appeal to mothers who juggle a busy lifestyle of working and running the household; the career focused women who strives for success and the younger, more trend driven consumer who loves fashion and will love a designer collaboration.

‘Glamour has been the biggest-selling women's lifestyle magazine in the UK and in Europe since its launch in 2001’ (Condenastinternational.com, 2017)

Marketing Strategies- Visual Merchandising Increase footfall in stores, increase basket price!

Similarly to the ‘Career Conscious’ collection, there will be a visual merchandising pack produced and sent out to all stores that sell the range in order to increase footfall and basket price. The visual merchandising will be planned in the mock store located next to the head office building in Knowsley, images will be taken and sent to all store in order to help Visual Merchandising staff set out the new collection correctly.

From Day…

increase basket price!

In-Store There will be multiple mannequins styled in garments from the ‘Career Conscious’ collection including footwear and accessories. The Mannequins will be located at the front of the each store. There will be images of the garments surrounding the collection on A3 posters showing styled outfits; describing how to wear the clothing both in and out of work.

Increase footfall in stores Front Window

To Night…

Mannequins will be changed every week once trading figures are received at head office. Best sellers will take focus in order to grab the attention of more consumers.

I will also produce a front window display example that will be sent to stores in order to try and increase store footfall. The Window will feature at least three outfits from the Victoria Beckham Collection.

Marketing Strategy- Advert increase footfall in stores, increase knowledge about collection/fashion at Matalan!

‘92% of shoppers said they had been exposed to an outdoor advert 30 minutes before purchasing’ (Hintmedia.co.uk, 2017)

From Day… To Night…

This image to the left will be the primary advert for the Victoria Beckham collection, it will be displayed both as an outdoor and indoor advertisement strategy.

Outdoor: billboard, bus stops, busses, posters Indoor: technological (social media, emails, internet popups, app popups) posters, articles This image is sleek and straight to the point and will grab consumers attention through the various methods stated above. This will help to increase footfall in stores, online shoppers and consumer knowledge about the collection and Matalan.

Marketing Strategies Increase footfall in stores, increase basket price, increase sales, increase rewards card memberships/email capture!

Card Holder Exclusives:

Competition:

Possible Markdowns:

10% off the collection Customers will be given the chance to win a £100 voucher to spend in store/online and Limited Edition signed copy of Victoria Beckham’s Iconic T-shirt ‘Fashion Stole My Smile’.

Customers will have to share the advert image on social media to be entered

From Day… To Night…

Receive £5 voucher to spend in store/online when you spend over £40 on the collection.

VIP Card Holder Exclusives: Receive £10 voucher to spend in store/ online when you spend over £50 on the collection.

NUS card/ Unidays: 20% off for all students between the 1/09/201830/09/2018.

In case of items not selling well, 10% will be taken off the RRP in order to try to boost sales.

If After the 8 week selling period the collection is still doing well they will remain to be sold in store. After a short period of time it will be put into an up to 30% off sale.

Lead times and Critical Path Process

Lead Time

Planning

8th September 2017 (4 weeks)

Research

6th October 2017 (4 weeks)

Design

3rd November 2017 (3 weeks)

Proto Sample & Costing

1st December 2017 (4 weeks)

Pre Range Selection Meeting

8th December 2017 (1 week)

Negotiation/ Trip To Factories

19th January 2018 (2 weeks) (plus 2 weeks for Chinese new year) (plus two weeks at Christmas

Final Range Selection Meeting

2nd February 2018 (2 weeks)

Place Order

9th February 2018 (1 week)

Garment Fittings

16th February 2018 (4 weeks)

Fabric Order

16th March 2018 (6 weeks)

Trim & Colour Approvals

27th April 2018 (4 weeks)

Bulk Production Plus Shipping

25th May 2018 (1 week production and 12 weeks shipping from China)

Warehouse – Store Allocation

25th August 2018 (1 week)

Product Launched In Store

1st September 2018

In order to ensure a collection will be ready for its release date, I have produced a lead time table to keep on track of the critical path.

The table to the left hand side shows the lead times for my collections when sourcing from china; product example ‘iconic glasses’. The release date for this item to be placed In store is the 1st of September 2018 to ensure this was possible, this lead time table has been constructed. The buying process of a new collection begins with planning which can start around a year before the release date; therefore the planning of this collection must have started by at least the 8th of September 2017. Because I have sourced from China for this particular item, there are certain dates I have to take into consideration, such as Christmas and Chinese new year. Over For this time of year, the factories will be closed and will set the bulk production and shipping times back by up to 4 weeks in total.

Key Events Planner Month

Event

Implications to Merchandising

August

Release of Glamour article

n/a- pre release date

August

Victoria Beckham and Matalan release social media campaigns

n/a- pre release date

August

Social media competition

n/a- pre release date

September

Collection released

Sale figures begin

This key events planner above focuses on the month previous to the collections release date; this is because the majority of the events in relation to the collection such as the Glamour article, have been constructed with building excitement about the collection amongst consumers in mind. For this reason, the events will not impact merchandising, however the idea of the events is to create a ‘hype’ about the collection and push sales on the release date. Retailors such as H&M do this with their designer collaborations, for example Balmain for H&M and consumers are then more excited about the release date.

(BibSowray, 2017)

The Buying Cycle In Matalan, each section of fashion is given their own buying and merchandising team; for example, women's essentials. Each team will monitor their own buying cycle. An example of the buying cycle for the Victoria Beckham collection can be seen below.

Monitoring sales figures: The merchandisers would have to look at how much they had made in the previous year in order to see what kind of profits they made. This will help them when budget planning.

They will also monitor weekly sales reports to see best and worst sellers, helping to make future buying decisions.

Retail Selling Period: The buyers will have to ensure they have picked the correct selling period ensure a successful collection. They will have to consider the season(and it weather) and when their competitors are releasing their new products. They will discuses this with merchandisers.

Monitoring Deliveries: the buyers and merchandisers will have to keep an eye on deliveries ensuring they are delivered to stores on time for a release date/ in keeping with trends and seasons.

Review season performance: The sales figures will be given to the merchandisers to discuss and review previous season performance. In this way, merchandisers can help buyers with making purchasing decisions.

Budget Planning: After looking at the sales figures and reviewing season performance, the budget team can then decide how much money to allocate to the buying and merchandising teams. Within Matalan each type of garment has their own team, for example ladies essentials. Because of this, each time is given an induvial budget.

Planning & Buying Schedules and Trips: The buyers will have to decide where they are going to source garments/ materials from in order to ensure they allocate enough time to visit factories, organise meeting with suppliers etc. This well help to ensure a fluid production process, helping to make their collection successful.

Range Selection: The buyers will have to be particular about what their range will consist of. Matalan is a large retailor with store expanding as far as the united Arab emirates, buyers will have to communicate with Victoria Beckham to discuss geographic and their own customer as well as the customer they're trying to introduce.

Order Processing and Confirmation: The buyers and merchandisers will monitor the order processing and confirmation from the communication with suppliers in order to ensure collections are created and delivered on time. This will help them to plan how to market their product/when to Price Negotiation and setting retail price: In order to get garments into price, with the market their product. best possible quality, the buyers and merchandisers will have to negotiate with

suppliers. By achieving the best cost price, the team can then chose an appropriate RRP in order to obtain more profits.

Matalan’s Organisational Chart CEO

‘a graphic representation of the structure of an organization showing the relationships of the positions or jobs within it.’ (Google.co.uk, 2017)

BUYING/MERCHENDISING

Head buyer

senior

junior

Assistant

Trainee assistant

Within Matalan head office there are various job roles in numerous departments. The diagram to the left hand side shows the buying structure within Matalan head office; it demonstrates how each member of the team reports to someone higher, for example the trainee assistant reports to the assistant.

However in Matalan, buyers and merchandisers work together in smaller team; for example, girl essentials (such as nightwear and underwear) are allocated their own buying and merchandising team. Each time has a similar structure; an example of an organisational chart for buying and merchandising teams in Matalan can be seen to the right hand side.

Overall I think the organisational chart for Matalan works well; having smaller, more specified teams, each with their own head buyer and merchandiser makes communication easier.

BUYING/MERCHENDISING Team

Head merchandiser

Assistant Trainee assistant

Head buyer

Assistant

Assistant

Assistant

Trainee assistant

Trainee assistant

Trainee assistant

(Information sourced from my own time at head office shadowing a buying and merchandising team.)

Influences on the Critical path- Fit for Purpose There can be issues that arise on the critical path which can influence decisions made and the time taken for different tasks.

Design issues: It is important that I consider all the issues that may arise with my designs.

For example, this collection has been designed by Victoria Beckham, a high end designer, however the range is for Matalan. It is important that Victoria Beckham and the buying team at Matalan keep low prices in mind and places to source from. Also some of the pieces have delicate features, such as the tie sleeve blouse, which, if pulled to harshly could come loose.

In order to avoid this, I will have to make sure the production team know about their delicate nature and decide on a way to make this tie stronger.

Sourcing: Sourcing fabrics can come with many complications. For example, I will have to ensure the factories I am sourcing from follow health and safety regulations so that the sourcing of garments is ethical and treat staff fairly. If the factory do not have a high regard for health and safety, I will have to source from new suppliers and this could be very time and money consuming. In order to avoid this, I will conduct extensive research into the factory. Other issues that may occur with sourcing, especially from overseas is language barriers. It is important as a buyer that I consider the language that the suppliers speak; if I cannot find a way to communicate with these suppliers I may have to consider hiring a translator or even trading with a different company.

Shipping: Shipping can be one of the largest costs in the critical path. It is important as a buyer to consider the shipping method and if there is anyway to avoid overspending. For example, it can be cheaper to ship by sea than by air, however this can take much longer. Therefore I will have to factor in the time difference to my lead times in order to remain on track with the critical path. It is also important that I consider exchange rates when shipping; these can vary from each country and I will have to plan these rates into my overall budget.

Costs: Each part of the critical path costs time and money. The biggest cost tends to be the production shortly followed by the shipping costs. For this reason, I may have to consider a more cost effective way of shipping, for example by sea rather than by air. I may even have to consider changing suppliers in order to find a better cost and shipping price.

Fabric: this collection features many different materials such a wool, cotton and polyester; each of these materials are sourced from different countries.it is important to consider the availability of a fabric as well as the cost in order to try and avoid sourcing issues with the fabric and to try to achieve the biggest profit margin.

Warehouse/stockroom: It is important to consider the warehouse space needed to contain the collection before sending the collection to each store. It is also important to consider the stockroom space needed in each store to store the collection. Merchandisers may have to communicate with each stores manager in order to decide how many units need to be sent to each store. They may have to raise store transfers to make room for the new stock.

Is you range commercially viable/ fit for use?

Fabric Testing Work wear; can be worn out the office, versatile.

Fit for Purpose?

comes in a variety of colours and can be worn by various ages/sizes.

Light enough for autumn, heavy enough for winter.

It is important that the correct fabric dyes are used, this means non toxic liquids are used to ensure customers are not at risk.

comfortable for all day wear, real leather keep feet dry from rain.

Fabric Testing

Organisation/ Productional requirement

The knit material must be durable In order to avoid snagging, leading to unnecessary returns.

Fit for Purpose?

Work wear; can be worn out the office, versatile.

The fabric will need to be washed in various ways including dry cleaning in order to see which provides the best result.it will have to be tested to ensure it is resistant to fire.

Fit for Purpose? comes in two neutral colours and can be worn by various ages/sizes.

Warm enough for winter.

Ensure real leather is a high quality.

Organisation/ Productional requirement Ensure average size fit models are used

The fabric will need to be washed in various ways.

It will have to be tested in water (rain/snow) to ensure the leather will withstand winter conditions. They will be scuff tested to ensure they are durable. They will have to be tested to ensure it they are resistant to fire. The dye will have to be tested for transfer onto other materials to ensure no colour transfer occurs.

Fabric Testing The fabric will need to be washed in various ways including dry cleaning in order to see which provides the best result.it will have to be tested to ensure it is resistant to fire.

Organisation/ Productional requirement Ensure various size fit models are used so that the length of the coat is suitable for petite, regular and tall customers.

Weekly Reflective Diary

Week 1 13/03/17 Stared my final major project this week and I haven't got a clue what to do for my range.

Week 4 3/04/17 The pitch was nerve racking!! I hope I'd be less nervous and wouldn't shake as much but I think it went well. So glad it's over now can't wait to hear the results.

Week 2 20/03/17 Done loads of research into Matalan now thinking about a work wear range for their formals section; if asked a friend who works there and she thinks it a good idea for the retailer.

Week 5 10/04/17 Struggling to come up with a concept for my final major project, think I want to stick with work wear because I think it works well for Matalan.

Week 3 27/03/17 Definitely doing work wear now, got my concept and everything just a few marketing strategies to do and then pitch next week!!

Week 6 17/04/17 Seen Victoria Beckham on the front of Elle magazine and thinking about doing a Victoria Beckham work wear designer collaboration. She's just done one for target in American a few months ago and it sold out in minutes. Plus she's a successful business women, who screams style and has kids.

Weekly Reflective Diary Week 7 24/04/17 Began researching into Victoria Beckham and this is definitely the direction for my new collection. 'Victoria Beckham for Matalan' I'm quite excited about it now. Going to keep the same concept, versatile work wear that's more trend driven and appeals to the existing Matalan customer as well as the new customers my 'career conscious' collection brought in.

Week 8 1/05/17 Started my market research this week including store visits, consumer questionnaires and directional shops between Victoria Beckham and Matalan products. After completing the market research I have a positive feeling that the collection will fit in well with Matalan and my existing range.

Week 10 15/05/17 Completed a team work project this week shooting my own collection. It went really well and can't wait to see the final result. Managed to finish my marketing strategies this week too. Just got a few little bits to finish before deadline next week.

Week 9 8/05/17 Trend forecasting this week and managed to get my concept 'the thinner' and range completed including merchandising spreadsheet. I am quite happy with my range and think it does reflect the September fashion really well; accommodating for both the end of summer the beginning of autumn and the coming winter months.

Week 11 22/05/17 Handed in my final major project this week, can't believe if finished it! It's gone over so fast.

Really happy with my work overall and ready to relax now.

Evaluation After completing this unit, I feel that my confidence in presenting has grown and my level of work has increased.

At the beginning of this unit, I was working towards a presentation pitch for a brand new concept and range. The purpose of this unit was to create a range for the retailor Matalan from the details given to us by a buying team from their head office; the brief given to all of us was to create a women’s wear collection for SS18. From this small brief, we were presented with the opportunity to create a collection of our choosing. Before constructing a business idea, I decided to complete some market research to see if there was any gaps in Matalan’s market that I could capitalise on. The brand research I conducted included: a brand history report, a shop report (specified to branding), research into competitors, Existing consumers, a PESTLE and SWOT analysis. This brand research came naturally to me and I could complete the tasks at a much faster I rate in comparison to when I began the course. It also helped me when constructing my business plan.

After completing the brand research tasks listed above, I constructed my business plan and decide to construct a women's work wear range for the retailor. The business plan discussed short, mid and long terms aims for my range and the different ideas behind my collection. As the collection had the purpose to be more trend driven and attract a new, younger customer, I decided to create two new customer profiles to show who the collection would be aimed at. Constructing a customer profile in unit one took me much longer In comparison to this unit; I previously found this task quite challenging, however now I find the task much easier to complete.

After completing the customer profiles, I began to look into the predicted trends for SS18, I discovered that the colours contrasted greatly from bold, deep colours to bright and pastel colours. Shapes were bigger and more inflated and print and patterns where more angular and unique. From the trend forecasting reports I then constructed three concept boards demonstrating colour, Prints and Patterns and Shape. Overall I am pleased with the concept boards and I think they show their themes really well. Concept boards are another task I have found that over the past few units that I have found easier to complete. As my Photoshop skills advanced over the months, so did my concept boards. From the colour, shape and prints and patterns board I then created the concept for my range. I took parts from all three previous boards such as the butterfly from the colour board and added these details to ranges concept board. I also added images of the lifestyle the range provides, such as the working and socialising environment in order to further empathises the ‘day to night’ versatility of the collection. From the concept board I constructed my range, the range consisted of 15 pieces including shirts, pants jackets and accessories that could all be worn both and out of the office.

Overall I think the link between my concept board and my collection is very strong; I believe that the ideas about the collection are clear and I believe my range would appeal to both the existing customer at Matalan as well as the new consumer the range is trying to bring in.

Once I had completed the range, I had decided to construct some strong and varied marketing strategies in order to target both the new and existing Matalan customer. In order to ensure I was using the correct marketing strategies I conducted in-depth research which can be seen on the marketing strategy slide. These strategies included: a look book, a magazine article, a social media campaign, a card holder/ NUS discount exclusive and many more. All of the marketing strategies had different purposes such as to increase footfall, increase basket price and increase sales. Overall I think my in-depth research into marketing strategies and the marketing strategies I produce work well for Matalan and would help to ensure the success of my range.

Once this section of the unit was completed, I pitched my idea to two buyers and the head of recruitment at Matalan’s head office; at first I was really nervous about this experience, however after producing an elevator pitch and practising the pitch several times I felt confident in my presentation skills and my business idea. I was pleased with the pitch and managed to impress the three professionals I presented too. They gave me good feedback, including an internship opportunity and from this I then created a new collection.

Evaluation Because Matalan liked my original business idea; I decided to continue the versatile work wear concept into my new range. The purpose of the new range would now be to continue to appeal to the younger more trend driven customer. I also wanted to make my portfolio for this course more varied and decided to do a new type of collection I had not done before. I produced a business plan stating how I would be creating a new women’s work wear collection; the collection would be a designer collaboration with infamous British designer Victoria Beckham as she is a working mum who is career driven and creates trend driven collections. I think my choice to use Victoria Beckham works well with Matalan and would appeal to both the existing and new target markets. After writing up my business plan, I began research into Victoria Beckham, her company/collections, previous collaborations with discount retailers and completed a SWOT analysis of her company and the proposed range. After completing this research it became more evident that she was the ideal candidate for this collaboration.

To show the similarities and differences between Matalan and Victoria Beckham I produced a directional shop. This helped me to understand the type of clothing Victoria Beckham creates and helped me when creating my collection. I looked back on my directional shop in order to ensure in didn’t stray too far from the Matalan style or the Victoria Beckham style.

To make sure my collection would target a varied audience, I conducted a consumer questionnaire. This was a task I had never completed before however despite this I found the task quite easy; the answers given from the questionnaires helped me when deciding on which marketing strategies would be most suitable. Another market research task I have produced is a store visit; after visiting Matalan’s store in Williamson Square Liverpool it became clear to me where my collection could be set out in store and helped me to make visual merchandising decisions when discussing marketing strategies.

Once I had completed my market research I began my trend forecasting report; this is a task I have completed for every unit within this course. At the beginning of the course I found this task quite challenging, however during my final major project, spotting trends and concepts became easier to me and I found I could complete the task more efficiently. From the trend forecasting report I produced three visual mood boards, much like I did in the first part of this unit and from my three trend concept boards I created my collections concept and the final range. Constructing a range is another task that I believe my skills have developed in. Using Photoshop to fill cads at the beginning of this course proved quite difficult to me however now after completing my final range I find using Photoshop easier and more efficient.

Once I had completed my range I constructed a merchandising spreadsheet. This task involves many figures and calculations; it is quite time consuming due to the volume of numbers.

However when constructing this final merchandising spreadsheet I found the sums came more naturally to me and working the figures out took less time.

Once the financial spreadsheet was completed I began to construct marketing strategies. I used my market research, such as the consumer questionnaires and store visit to help me when deciding which marketing techniques I would use. I decided to create multiple and varied marketing ideas in order to ensure the collection would be well known and to try to persuade consumers to shop both the collection and with Matalan. Overall I believe my marketing strategies work well with the range and would appeal to both the existing and new target markets. I believe the standard of my marketing strategies has increased since the beginning of this course due to my developed skills in Photoshop. For example at the beginning of the course I would have found it difficult to construct a visual merchandising layout plan on Photoshop, however now I find the task easier.

To ensure my collection would be ready for its release date I constructed a buying cycle, a lead times and key events planner for the range. Both charts discussed which tasks would be performed at which time, for example shipping from china takes a minimum of 12 weeks and therefore the process would have to start by the 19th of January 2018. The key events planner shows how the marketing strategies will be released before the range in order to generate ‘hype’ around the collection. Overall I think my knowledge of the role of the buyer has increased since starting the course in September due to completing various tasks, such as the ones mentioned above.

Before writing this evaluation, I looked back at my reflective diaries which discussed my experiences and thoughts since the start of this final major project. After 11 intense weeks of creating two business ideas and ranges, I feel happy with the work I have produced and I am confident that the work best reflect my skills and talents. I feel I know more about this area of the fashion industry and feel more confident in the role of the buyer.

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