Fashion Buying Environments

Unit 10: Fashion Retail Buying Environment By Paige Baker-Bailey

The Role of a Buyer

A retail buyer holds the responsibility of planning and selecting a range of products to sell in their retail outlets.

Below are some considerations a fashion buyer will make before making decisions: -customer demand, including price, quality and availability; -market trends; -store policy; -financial budgets.

Buyers also review existing items to see what is selling well and how they will remain competitive, on top of sourcing new merchandise.

By fully understanding the needs of the target customer, buyers are able to maximise profits and provide a commercially viable range of merchandise at competitive prices.

Retail buyers are expected to keep up to date with market trends and react to changes in demand.

The Role of a Buyer Routine can change depending on the season. Typically February and August are known as the ‘buying seasons’ where buyers will travel (sometimes overseas) to trade shows to select and assemble a new collection of products.

Apart from travelling to trade fairs and fashion shows, throughout the year, responsibilities include: -’analysing consumer buying patterns and predicting future trends; -regularly reviewing performance indicators, such as sales and discount levels; -managing plans for stock levels; -reacting to changes in demand and logistics; -meeting suppliers and negotiating terms of contract; -maintaining relationships with existing suppliers and sourcing new suppliers for future products; -liaising with other departments within the organisation to ensure projects are completed; - Presenting new ranges to senior retail managers - Seeking merchandise feedback from customers -participating in promotional activities; -writing reports and forecasting sales levels; -presenting new ranges to senior retail managers; -liaising with shop personnel to ensure supply meets demand; -getting feedback from customers; -training and mentoring junior staff’.

The Role of a Buyer: Trend Research - B u y e r s a t t e n d s h o p p i ng t r i p s t o m a j o r f a s h i o n c i t i e s s u c h a s N e w Yo r k , T o k y o, P a r i s, M i l a n a n d L o n d o n . T h e s e t r i p s a r e k n o w n a s ‘ D i r e c t i o n a l s h o p s ’ a n d a r e s ig n i f i c a n t f o r a b u y e r to discover key trends and consumer habits - F a s h i o n b u y e r s w i l l a n a l y s i ng a n d p r e d i c t f u t u r e t r e n d s t h a t will be followe d by the c ustome r and por tr ayed by the br and - Trend prediction sites such as WGSN and Trade shows such as Pr emier e Vision help a b uyer under stand futur e p r e d i c t i o n s.

Trade shows occur twice a year as previously stated generally in February and August which are called ‘the buying season’. The show exhibit the collections for the following season, so buyers purchase products at least six months ahead.

Here are a list of some of the popular trade shows buyers will come across: Premiere Vision, Paris: Fabric & Textile trends Pure, London: Womenswear Bread & Butter, Berlin: Denim, Sportswear & Streetwear Stitch, London: Menswear Magic, Las Vegas: US Brads, menswear, womenswear and childrens-wear London+Paris+New York+ Milan Fashion Weeks

Buying for Topshop Task

Thinking in the mind of a Topshop Buyer

Topshop Customer Demand (topshop.com, 2016)

Genuine Topshop Customers

(Shenekasstreetstylebible.blogspot.co.uk, 2016)

Fashion Target Market: ‘Most of Topshop’s clothing and products are targeted primarily to young women in their 20’s and early 30’s that are fashion forward and always looking for the hottest trends.

They carry many different clothing lines that include: collections, mainline, premium, boutique, unique, designer, and emerge. They really want to drive home the idea of being able to create your own unique look and style. This would mean that many of their customers are not exactly what you would call mainstream and aren’t afraid to be a trendsetter in their own way. Aside from that however Topshop is also a great place for these girls to get their basics that are needed for everyday outfits’.

(Sites.google.com, 2016)

Product: ‘Topshop produces clothing, shoes, makeup and accessories with the target of women. It has produced trendy designed clothes and accessories that have a good quality for reasonable prices. They also have different designer brands such as Rock Coco, S, Glactica, and Scandi. Kate Moss designed a collection for Topshop in May 2007 and is currently going to reopen her collection in 2014. The customer that buys Topshop’s products “cannot be defined by her age, but instead her attitude. Style conscious and independent, she is addicted to fashion but is not dedicated to. Instead she throws away the rulebook and aims for a unique look” (Topshop, 2013).

(Sites.google.com, 2016)

Buying for Topshop Task

In order to have an accurate idea of who the Topshop customer is and what their needs are I gathered some different articles.

The Topshop website itself informed me that they are the ‘style setter’ for ‘cool girls […] in their 20’s and early 30’s’.

I also collected some genuine Topshop feedback of girls who are in this age range who said its their go to place for ‘fashionable pieces’ but also some ‘laid back normal stuff’. As a buyer this says to me that there is quite a diverse category to choose from when picking products for the Topshop customers.

Topshop Unique is also the only high street brand which features on the London Fashion Week which makes Topshop become even more established and fresh on trends.

To a buyer this would mean that you would be working in an extremely fast environment to keep up with other catwalk trends.

Topshop Recent Trends Buying for Topshop Task For Topshop there is three specific type of trends which seem to be the most popular: New Season, Boutique & Topshop Unique. All three seem to apply to the same age range of customer but are all focussed on three different type of customers and price ranging.

TOPSHOP: ‘NEW SEASON’ Stud Front Leather Skirt £95.00

**Real Shearling Biker Jacket £595.00

1/3: New Season… These products give the black, ‘rocky’ vibe that Topshop are focusing on this A/W16. These styles are for everyday wear with an edge to fashion. Using bold black studs and block heels with oversized coats achieve the rocky style for young trendy women.

It is significant for buyers to understand this customer profile in order to make the right decisions for certain seasons.

The new season seems to include basic wear with an edge which I can imagine is an ongoing theme throughout the year for Topshop customers.

ASHTON Side Zip Ankle Boots £79.00

HARMONY Facet Heel Boots £89.00

Leather ZipAround Backpack £65.00

MOTO Studded Super Rip Mom Jeans £50.00

Leopard Print Coat £85.00

Topshop Recent Trends Buying for Topshop Task 2/3: Boutique…

The boutique range similar to ‘New Season’ has a focus on black leather.

However, they also included more satin material and floor length dresses which are more suitable for evening wear.

The boutique collection is designed for a special occasion, but can be worn with an edge. It is a statement on ocoasion wear and would be suitable for young, modern women.

Insert Drape Satin Dress by Boutique £130.00

Leather Funnel Top

by Boutique £130.00

Funnel Neck Showstopper Dress by Boutique £110.00 Leather Carrot Trousers by Boutique £225.00

Topshop Recent Trends Buying for Topshop Task

3/3: Topshop Unique…

Topshop Unique does what it says- its unique and fresh from the catwalk. The trends seen here are bold and newfocused on the confident, modern dresser who wants to dive into new fashions which are not currently in other high street stores.

‘This season, our Runway To Retail initiative brings you a carefully selected edit of catwalk pieces available to shop immediately after the London Fashion Week show. With a ‘50s meets ‘80s feel, there’s statement zebra print, voluminous tailoring and heavily embellished finale dresses, straight from the runway’. **Irving Midi Dress by Unique £295.00

**VALIANT Pointed Boots by Unique £195.00

**Valiant Dress By Unique £235.00

Prices are up-market but again, this gives the catwalk feel and makes the consumer feel unique and new in their bold statement clothing.

**Crawford Mini Dress by Unique £225.00 **Lorne Dress by Unique £550.00 **BELVOIR Textured Chelsea Boots By Unique £195.00

**VALIANT Mule Pointed Court Shoes by Unique £145.00

Buying for Topshop Task

!Topshop Store Policies!

As the screenshots point out Topshop offers all customers a 28day returns guarantee. Not all items can be returned through stores so concession brands have to be returned via post. Topshop Arcadia provides a free returns label & can be returned to store for free which is easy and fair for customers.

(topshop.com, 2016)

Topshop also offer customer services via phone, email and social media. They also provide a FAQS section on the website to save customers time if their question is already on the page.

Buyers have to consider the returns policy especially when buying products such as swimwear and jewellery. They need to ensure that all packaging is processed correctly and that hygiene labels are attached to swimwear in case of need of return.

Financial Budgets

Buying for Topshop Task

Comp Shop: The benefit of doing a comp shop on the following retail stores will show a buyer what Topshop competitors are offering similar to Topshop and for how much.

Miss Selfridge-Leopard Print Coat Was £89.00 / Now £67.64 *There is currently a leopard print coat in Topshop for £87 in the same sizes which gives Miss Selfridge an advantage.*

Competitors: ‘Topshop competes on a regular basis with other companies, as it is one of consists of competition with Miss Selfridge, H&M, Debenhams, and River Island. These stores are all trendy, fast fashion retail stores that have the same target consumers.

Topshop’s sales have reduced because of heavy competition so thinking of new ways to reach more clients is key. Since Topshop and H&M especially target for the same customers domestically and internationally, they are competing with new brands and sales. Topshop is known for aiming for Indie style fashion and being peculiar with its clothing to stand out from other competitors. Internationally, Zara is another huge competitor for Topshop. This is their closest competitor because they have relatively higher prices than H&M, but is considered to be less fashionable’. (Sites.google.com, 2016)

River Island-Brown faux suede shearling aviator coat £75.00

Miss Selfridge- AXES Leather Buckle Boots Was £49.00 Now £34.00 *There Is currently similar boots in Topshop for £89 which again gives Miss Selfridge the advantage..*

Similar to Topshop, River Island are currently selling a black Aline leather skirt but for a lot cheaper. They also have a different version of an aviator jacket in faux suede which again is a lot more affordable than the grey colour in Topshop. The Suede look from River Island has had 5 star ratings from customer reviews whereas the Topshop one has received none. This could mean again that River Island have had an advantage over Topshop and that the buyers would need to consider a lower RRP.

River Island-Black leather look patch pocket mini skirt £28.00 On the 1/9/2016 Miss Selfridge have had a 24% off everything for one whole day. With them selling similar items as I have screenshotted in previous slides to Topshop this could mean that Topshop will loose out on significant sales to their competitor Miss Selfridge. In order to compete with this and boost Topshop sales back up they could consider having a weekend of 20% off everything which would be likely to generate a lot more sales than Miss Selfridge will in one day.

H&M-Satin skirt £24.99 *There is currently a burgundy satin- mid length dress available at Topshop for £130 as shown on previous slides. Giving H&M the advantage over Topshop.*

H&M- One-shoulder playsuit £29.99.

Again H&M are offering a similar material to Topshop Boutique with the satin material at a lot more of an affordable pricing.

In the long run H&M are likely to feel the benefit of sales a lot more than Topshop as the target customer is likely to want to spend less on on-off outfit than they would for everyday wear being that young.

Review Overall: All Topshop competitors seem to be a lot more affordable in price with similar products available. This is likely to effect current Topshop sales/profits as their competitors are likely to see the boost in profits from the lower RRP prices.

Things may be different if Topshop was as ‘unique’ as they would like to be but they definitely are not this season as shown.

As a buyer it is crucial to source the correct merchandise for the correct amount and then sell at a reasonable price which is going to make profits. From research it is clear that most Topshop customers are either students or young part-time workers. I believe that Topshop this season have not considered the reality of their target customers disposable income; whereas their competitors have.

Buying for Topshop Task

Trend Research Trend research is vital for every fashion buyer around the world- this is the starting point of your work- what colours are popular? What styles do your target customer like to wear? Who is the key inspiration for the next season?.... It’s always important to be at least 6 months ahead.

Where would a Topshop buyer start?

Topshop buyers would be likely to have access to leading Fashion website: WGSN. Here buyers could source all of the freshest trends and how they are going to be worn. From catwalk images, to stories of new trends and cads to give a visual idea everything you need is on WGSN. Trade fairs are significant to see what is out there and how much you are going to pay. This is where buyers can source potential products for their brand and work out the likely hood of profits.

Attending catwalks would give a topshop buyer a visual sense of what is going to be fresh on trend and give them ideas on things such as colour pallets, style and shape.

Social media is a huge influence on 21st century fashion- it is the easiest way for buyers to communicate with their target market and see exactly what they are interested in.

For example Miss Selfridge post images of potential products and receive reviews off their target customer. I believe this is a successful way of connecting with the consumer.

Buying for Topshop Task

Sourcing & Negotiation

Being a buyer for Topshop means that you have to travel and meet suppliers to ensure your products are coming from the best production houses that are completely legit. The main attribute you must have is the ability to negotiate and keep up relationships with suppliers: i.e. both parties should agree on a reasonable time scale for completion of products, agree and shake on a mutual decision of payment and keep things professional but friendly.

The buyer cannot see to all things themselves, they do have to talk to other members of their own department and other departments to ensure everything is going to plan. For example: ‘quality and production concerns, for instance, should be discussed with engineers, managers and QC personnel, not salespeople. It is also better that you have your own translator, one whom you have briefed in advance about terminology and what to expect’.

(Anon, 2016) Here are some factors below that you need to be aware of before negotiating with the supplier: •’Face to face meetings are always the best way to communicate.

•Most factory representatives will not tell you "no."

•There will always be problems-you just will not know about all of them.

•Do not confuse being polite or even "yes" with agreement.

•The more time you spend in the factory, the better quality product you will get.

•You must take care of all legal issues at home’ and overseas BEFORE you do anything else.

•Contracts are rarely the final word.

•Save all phone call notes, faxes, photos and emails.

•Keep your processes and communications consistent.

•Be prepared to renegotiate everything.

Negotiating quality terms •Specify every single component and standard you can think of.

• Clearly communicate every aspect crucial to your finished product ◦How your final product should look, feel, fit and function ◦All internal, external labeling and user instructions ◦Packing instructions (quantity, assortment, packing materials) • Overcome language barriers by communicating with: ◦Photos ◦Technical drawings ◦Written, translated instructions ◦Agree in writing which language prevails •But physical samples are still best.

•Never vary from your contracted standards and dates Negotiating price and payment terms •Do your own research on prevailing prices before you start negotiating.

•Make a road map for better terms; consider a 30:40:30 payment scheme.

•Your payments, penalties and shipping dates should be contractually tied to QC reports.

•Be careful if transferring funds to a private account or a third-party trading company.

•Consider financial due diligence if worried about risk’. (Anon, 2016)

Task 1: Affects on the role of a buyer

(Home.kpmg.com, 2016) •‘In the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote, political uncertainty has led to a dampening of consumer confidence •In the medium-term, as currency hedging unwinds, the cost of goods purchased overseas will effectively become more expensive. The debate for retailers will then be whether to increase prices or absorb the loss into margins •In the long-term, key considerations will be: the retail sector’s reliance on non-UK workers; trade deals, and the potential positive opportunities for retailers.

In the short-term, key themes discussed by the RTT included: a weaker pound, fragile consumer confidence and political uncertainty. (Home.kpmg.com, 2016)

Government Changes: Effects on Fashion Buyers

Brexit: one of the UK’s largest government changes. As the country faces uncontrollable uncertainty, Buyers in particular have to consider the effects of the dropping pound when buying from overseas.

The article used is current from August 2016. The aticle talks through the retail sectors impending fears of existing the EU. The dampening of consumer confidence is one of the largest problems the fashion industry will face as consumer confidence is considered ‘the driver of the retail sector’s fortunes’.

Mike Watkins, Head of Retailer and Business Insight for Nielsen UK, stressed that the psychology of the consumer was critical, and […] that this uncertainty wasn’t likely to be viewed favourably by consumers. For continued retail growth, consumers either need to ‘feel’ or ‘be’ better off, but in the face of this uncertainty this is unlikely.’

What does this mean for Buyers? Fashion Buyers all over the retail sector will need to be extremely vigilant when making decisions to purchase goods from overseas. Things will become even more strict and communication between departments such as merchandise, retail stores and consumer feedback will be crucial. The buyers will need to pin down what their target customer specifically need rather than want for luxury as people will be crunching down on disposable income in fear of the uncertainty the country is about to face. As a result of this in the short/medium term until the government make plans on how the country will tackle the change; there will be no space for mishaps in the buying environment that is about to get even more competitive than it already is.

Task 1: Affects on the role of a buyer

Disposable Income: Effects on Fashion Buyers

(Financialreporter.co.uk, 2016)

‘4.5 million British adults, have less than £10 a month disposable income […]

With many households struggling to make ends meet, our research reveals the worryingly small amounts of disposable income people have left once they've met all their financial commitments. When questioned, a quarter of people (25%) said they had less than £50 a month to spend after bills’.

(Moneyfacts.co.uk, 2016)

‘Figures released […] have revealed a clear rise in consumer spending – particularly on non-essential items – as the improving economy begins to feed through into people's wallets. This could all mean that consumers are feeling more confident about being able to spend their cash, as the state of the economy means they shouldn't have to hoard their money for a rainy day.

This is good news for the economy, which is starting to benefit from consumers' increased propensity to spend, and bodes well for retailers.’

Disposable income is the source to the buyers choices. Fashion buyers should be aware of the current and predicted figures of their target markets. The outstanding low figure of disposable income from 2013 where 1 out of 11 people had less £10 a month after bills means that buyers would have been struggling to make potential profits on products.

The rise of disposable income in recent years (2015) is good for buyers and retail sectors as it means they are able to source more products for their target customers which will boost profits. However, buyers always need to be aware of the current economical state to have an idea on what consumers will be spending on nonessential items such as clothing and footwear.

Task 1: Affects on the role of a buyer

Technology: Effects on Fashion Buyers

(Forbes.com, 2016)

‘Retailing is undergoing a revolutionary change. Merchants are no longer the driving force for retailers.

Accepting the influence of technology is critical for the retail industry to remain vibrant.

Technology will make shopping easier. Advancements will include robotics, personal recognition, digital wallet (Apple pay), artificial intelligence, consumer analytics and other tech driven initiatives designed to make shopping exciting both in stores and on the Internet.

Merchandisers now need to be ‘a technocrat’. With the help of ‘well developed technology […] more customers will be back to spend more time selecting fashion merchandise’.

Fashion buyers are also effected by technology as they can limit their budgets by choosing products which are now ‘online only’. River Island have recently brought this into their company by having ‘Online Exclusives’ which means shopping becomes easier as it’s a click of a button away and also makes buying a little more personal if it is an ‘exclusive’.

One way Bravissimo in Liverpool have embraced technology is by placing an iPad in the waiting area for their customers to browse through online products & can also order things from the iPad if not in stock: this again makes shopping easier and informal- it can make stores seem more fun and modern. In a stragetic way it also stops customers from searching around other competitive stores to find what they were looking for- it could be online at Bravissimo where they also offer free home delivery when ordered from store.

The role of the buyer then has to find items which would appeal to online customer and how this would sell from online. This would mean communication between I.T and buyers would be increased in how they are planning to promote products on websites and social media.

Bravissimo Liverpool’s waiting area with internet access to online exclusives via iPad for customers.

Task 2: Pestle

PESTLE Political: what is happening politically in the

Economic: what is happening within the economy, for

Sociological: what is occurring socially in the markets in

environment in which you operate, including areas

example; economic growth/ decline, interest rates, exchange

which you operate or expect to operate, cultural norms

such as tax policy, employment laws, environmental

rates and inflation rate, wage rates, minimum wage, working

and expectations, health consciousness, population

regulations, trade restrictions and reform, tariffs and

hours, unemployment (local and national), credit availability, cost

political stability.

Technological: what is happening technology-wise

of living etc.

Legal: what is happening with changes to

which can impact what you do, technology is leaping

legislation. This may impact employment, access to

every two years, how will this impact your products or

materials, quotas, resources, imports/ exports,

services, things that were not possible five years ago are now mainstream, for example mobile phone technology, Web 2.0, blogs and micro-blogs (Twitter), social

networking websites. New technologies are continually being developed and the rate of change itself is increasing. There are also changes to barriers to entry in given markets, and changes to financial decisions like outsourcing and insourcing.

taxation etc.

growth rate, age distribution, career attitudes, emphasis on safety, global warming.

Environmental: what is happening with respect to ecological and environmental issues. Many of these factors will be economic or social in nature.

Task 2: Pestle

Marks & Spencer is a leading British retailer which has 800+ stores spread out over 30 countries around the world. It is one of the largest clothing retailers in the UK, as well as also being a retailer of food.

Most of the companies domestic stores sell both clothing & food, and since the year 2000 Marks & Spencer have started to expand into other departments such as home wares, furniture & technology.

Marks & Spencer became the first British retailer to make a pre-tax profit of over ÂŁ1 billion. However, in the following years the company were significantly hit by the “credit crunchâ€? which has had a dramatic effect on the company as they have struggled to cope in the current economical climate.

Task 2: Pestle, By Joy Catesby-Mccabe

Political Factors: Marks and Spencer

‘Marks & Spencer has become the latest in a string of UK companies to face criticism from tax campaigners over the way it structures its online sales to Europe – with one describing its sales operation as similar to that of the internet retail giant Amazon.The British retailer has been expanding its online operations to several countries across Europe with a new marksandspencer.eu site, hoping to grow its business in a difficult economic climate.But internal M&S documents seen by the Guardian show the firm's structure involves shipping goods from one country – the UK – while invoicing the transaction to another – Ireland.

Orders made through the site by customers from France, Germany, Ireland or other The government sets regulations for all companies to countries are shipped from M&S's UK warehouses – but the transactions are all made abide by. One of the most important regulations comes with, and charged to, Marks & Spencer (Ireland) Limited, a subsidiary located in the under health and safety which includes planning for Republic of Ireland, which has the lowest corporation tax rates in Europe. hazard identification, risk assessment and risk control.

"Given that Marks & Spencer portrays itself as a British institution, it is disgraceful that it Companies which do not follow these regulations can be is choosing to avoid paying tax in this country," said Suzy Blackwell of UK Uncut, which prosecuted or forced to closed down depending on the has pushed for changes to the law to cut down on legal tax avoidance measures.’ ("Marks severity of the situation. In this instance, Marks and & Spencer Under Fire Over Online Tax Arrangements") ‘MARKS & Spencer have been charged with neglecting health and safety rules after a door fell on top of an employee. George Blair was allegedly injured after a warehouse door in their store at Braehead, near Glasgow, was left hanging on loose fixtures. The company are alleged to have ignored repair requests, allowing the door to fall into disrepair.’ ("Marks And Spencer Face Safety Rap Over Door Injury Claim")

Spencer did not abide by these health and safety regulations which are in place to protect workers, as they did not investigate repair requests to fix the door which therefore led to a member of staff being injured. This could damage Marks & Spencer's brand image as consumers are more likely to buy from brands which have good reputations in the public eye. This negative news story could potentially damage sales. This would then directly impact the buyer if sales drop, as the quantities of products which they buy could possibly need to be reduced. Furthermore current products in the store at the time of damage to their brand image could lead to a mark down in prices to encourage customers to spend.

This article about how Marks & Spencer avoid paying some taxes in the UK through invoicing European sales to Ireland could also create a negative brand image in the UK for M&S as they do pride themselves on being a British company and market themselves on this factor. Therefore by avoiding paying some taxes in the UK, it will not uphold their good reputation as a British company. This could possibly lead to consequences similar to those I mentioned through the health and safety article.

However what M&S has done here is not illegal and allows the company to save money. This means that they will have bigger net profit (profits after tax has been deducted). This could therefore allow a buyer to competitively price products as profits would not take that much of a hit.

Economic Factors: Marks and Spencer Economical Factors for M&S : Currently the economic outlook is very uncertain from the recent Brexit referendum and this is more than likely to affect retail sales, as people are worrying about whether they will have the disposable income to spend on luxury items such as clothing.

Marks & Spencer in particular have been hit by this and have recently closed a number of stores and have had to make job cuts of 2% of their 70,000 staff.

On the run up to Christmas in 2015 Marks and Spencer took the decision to have two days of 20% discounts.

Other strategies which take place throughout the year are things such as 20% of all Wine and Champagne and dining in for £10 to feed two people.

Promotions such as this tend to be successful around events such as Valentines Day. This is a way that M&S can keep up and overcome their competitors and stay on top of profits.

Effect on Buyer: Considering the drop of the sterling pound fashion buyers will also feel the drop of budgets especially when going overseas for collections. Buyers will need to take extra consideration when buying collections- maybe buying more transitional and essential items of clothing for M&S customers.

Busy periods such as Christmas is when buyers are going to make their profits and need to ensure they are doing their best to keep costs low if 20% sale discounts are going to be applied.

Task 2: Pestle

‘In the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote, political uncertainty had led to a dampening of consumer confidence’.

(Home.kpmg.com, 2016)

Potential impact: Unknown Time frame: Next 2/3 years Type: Negative Impact: Increasing

Task 2: Pestle, By Joy Catesby-Mccabe

Social Factors: Marks and Spencer

‘Marks & Spencer’s multichannel strategy has been a leading factor in the company’s overall growth. Offering customers an integrated mobile site, app and multichannel shopping experience led to well over 1.2 million unique visitors on the M&S mobile site and over 10 million page views in the first three months after launch in 2012. Today, sales on mobile and tablet have increased by over 200% accounting for 18% of marksandspencer.com sales. * In an interview with Internet Retailing, Laura Wade-Gery, Executive Director, Multi-channel E-Commerce at Marks & Spencer said “Multichannel customers spend more, and as M&S adds channels, that spend continues to rise.” ("Marks & Spencer Case Study | Multichannel Vision | Usablenet")

‘Marks & Spencer has teamed up with fashion darling Alexa Chung in its latest bid to attract younger shoppers.

Chung has helped create a 31-piece collection, to launch in April, inspired by the retailer’s archive.

The collaboration came about after Chung helped turn a 1970s-style suede skirt into a fashion sensation for M&S last spring after she was photographed wearing it. The chain claimed demand for the suede skirt had helped sales even before it hit stores.

M&S needs to attract younger shoppers after recording just one quarterly increase in clothing sales over the past five years.’ ("M&S Teams Up With Alexa Chung For 31-Piece Fashion Collection")

Social influences impact every business as it is customers whom have the buying power, therefore it is essential that brands keep up to date with what consumers want. In an age of E-commerce, customers are increasingly wanting easier ways to shop through the use of technology to make their shopping experience faster and more convenient. Marks and Spencer have provided this and therefore online sales have increased. This would effect the buyer for M&S as they would need to ensure the quantities of their products were being distributed in the correct amounts between stores and warehouses to be sent to online customers.

Marks & Spencer used to be seen as a shop which was primarily for older women, however with the focus increasing in young fashion with the introduction of brands such as misguided and pretty little thing, M&S is no exception to this and they have bought their clothing ranges up to date to keep up with the latest trends and to keep their customers interested.

Through using fashion icon Alexa Chung to promote the brand in bringing out a new collection, Marks and Spencer have opened a new door to younger customers who would now consider shopping in their stores or online, when the company probably would never have crossed their mind before. This would effect the buyers role as they need to be aware that Marks and Spencer's target market is constantly evolving, unlike some other brands who simply target one.

This means that diverse ranges will have to be created in order to stay on top of providing for their vast customer audience.

Technological Factors: Marks and Spencer ‘In July 2012 a fully transactional iPhone app was launched with store ‘Changing in the retailing methods via internet and e-shopping , Task 2: Pestle, By Joy Catesby-Mccabe

locator, a barcode scanner which allowed customers to scan and find product information and locate items not available in-store. The app also made it possible to scan QR codes to hold “virtual baskets” for customers who started their shopping journey on another channel such as the M&S Browse and Order Point kiosks in the store. The Virtual Basket represented an early innovation at making true multichannel shopping a reality. Created

by Usablenet using its agile web services, the virtual basket allowed users the ability to create a basket of products and electronically access that basket on any M&S channel using scanable codes. Once items are placed in the basket, a QR code is generated for the customer to purchase directly on a kiosk, or by scanning the QR code using their mobile devices to purchase on their own later. The QR code could also be used at Browse & Order Points or by sales assistants carrying tablets. Orders can be home delivered or shipped to any M&S store.’ ("Marks & Spencer Case Study | Multichannel Vision |

Usablenet") Technology is increasingly becoming a larger part of everyday life for most people as it can help to improve everyday tasks, such as shopping.

Marks and Spencer creating an iPhone app makes the store more accessible for many people and therefore help to increase sales.

A buyer for Marks and Spencer would need to consider this when planning a range as not only is it going to be seen in store, but on a mobile device also therefore collections will be looked at closely by consumers in order for them to decide on which pieces they will buy. Customers shopping online are more likely to be looking at the quality of the garments than those in stores as they cannot see the garment / product before it arrives at their door. It is therefore important that the buyer selects items with good fabric compositions etc and that the details of the item are clearly listed in order to encourage a sale.

many people use this methods not only as a visitors but as a buyers , the number of customers who use this methods is significantly represents a share of the total buyers, that’s why building strong IT services can be a very good competitive advantage In M&S they are delivering new tills and point of sale software, which will speed up customer transactions and allow store colleagues to spend more time on the shop floor and less time carrying out office duties. They are also improving their trading and administration systems through investing in systems and infrastructure so that goods produced overseas can now be transported directly to all of our markets without the need to first come through the UK. This will dramatically reduce export costs and speed up distribution.’ ("Social And Technological Factors Affecting Marks & Spencer")

Newer, faster technology and administration software within the company will allow improved communications between staff and also between stores and head office. This allows information to be easily accessible and acted on swiftly. For example stock levels can be continuously monitored which helps buyers by giving them insight into what is selling and what isn’t in order for them to make any changes to current collections or simply adjust any upcoming ranges for the brand.

Task 2: Pestle

Legal Factors: Marks and Spencer ‘Marks & Spencer has become the latest in a string of UK companies to face criticism from tax campaigners over the way it structures its online sales to Europe. .

The British retailer has been expanding its online operations to several countries across Europe with a new marksandspencer.eu site, hoping to grow its business in a difficult economic climate.

But internal M&S documents seen by the Guardian show the firm's structure involves shipping goods from one country – the UK – while invoicing the transaction to another – Ireland.

Orders made through the site by customers from France, Germany, Ireland or other countries are shipped from M&S's UK warehouses – but the transactions are all made with, and charged to, Marks & Spencer (Ireland) Limited, a subsidiary located in the Republic of Ireland, which has the lowest corporation tax rates in Europe.

M&'s UK branch is paid a wholesale price for the goods it ships by M&S Ireland, and this is subject to UK corporation tax, but the rest of the retail markup is subject to Ireland's much lower corporation tax rate of 12.5%.

This process of using internal billing between countries in order to ship goods from one country when doing business in another is referred to as "transfer pricing“. However, M&S only uses this structure for sales outside of the UK: all sales in UK stores and online to UK addresses are processed through the UK and are subject to UK corporation tax’. (the Guardian, 2016)

"From a tax management perspective there may have been advantages in avoiding the UK 26% tax rate but the process and IT overhead with the additional VAT complexity may negate these advantages. Needless to say there is also the reputational damage to M&S should it be seen to be avoiding UK tax in the current climate, as seen with recent examples such as Starbucks and Amazon."

"The government must stop letting companies like Marks & Spencer dodge tax which could go towards funding vital public services. It's an outrage that the government is allowing this behaviour to continue while making devastating cuts across the country."

M&S’ Response: "These are not UK sales, these sites do not serve UK customers and there are no sales made in sterling. All tax is legally and fairly paid both in the UK and in Ireland."

Effect on Buyer: This article from the Guardian about how M&S avoid paying some taxes in the UK through invoicing European sales to Ireland is likely to create a negative brand image in the UK for M&S as they do pride themselves on being a British company and market themselves on this factor. Therefore by avoiding paying some taxes in the UK, it will not uphold their good reputation as a British company.

M&S’s response states that what they are doing is not illegal and allows the company to save money. This means that they will have bigger net profit. This could therefore allow a buyer to competitively price products as profits would not take that much of a hit.

Environmental Factors: Marks and Spencer

Task 2: Pestle

(Anon, 2016)

‘Our approach to product sustainability is a demanding one, and we don’t Effect on Buyer: Current environmental issues are voiced daily on promise that all of our products will be sustainable by 2020. But our aspiration is the television, in newspapers and on the radio. All companies, to make a systemic improvement across our entire product offer – ensuring that industries and organizations are being highly encouraged to change social and environmental principles are always taken into consideration and old habbits when it comes to the materials they're using and how inherent in individual products, most likely as multiple attributes. Achieve this, and our customers can be confident that any M&S product they buy is better they are made. Marks & Spencer as shown in the screenshot above from their own website have established their “Plan A”. Marks & for them, for the environment, and for the people who made it’.

Potential impact: High Type: Positive Time Frame: 5 years Impact: High on sales

Spencer has announced a five-year plan to re-engineer itself into becoming a carbon neutral, zero-waste-to-landfill, ethical-trading, sustainable-sourcing, health-promoting business. Buyers will consider mostly the healthy relationship between themselves and production companies which should be kept professional, equal and fair throughout the entire process to achieve this Plan A.

Task: Job Descriptions

Working Environments

Own label retailer: This particular retailer will consist of a small scale company of around 1-2 people who have the responsibility of everything from sourcing materials, to production and then to selling and advertising. Not every own label retailer will sour ce everything from in house and there could be times where some go overseas to gather material.

One example of an own label retailer is Dollie Dottie who provide personalised handbags which are all designed, sourced and d istributed from in-house. Retailers like this provide an intimate, one-to-one service that is niche and most of the time a one-off. Dollie Dottie advertise through Instagram and online-orders are made through direct message with a description of what the customer’s preferences are.

Overall own-label retailers tend to do everything online which would save money on rent for a shop. Because of this they would h ave to consider delivery charges to send out if they don’t offer a pick up service.

High street chain: Buying environments for High Street Chains are a lot more restricted compared to own-label retailers. There will be specific teams of people within the buying department and even different levels: Trainee Buyer, Junior Buyer, Buying Assistan t and the Senior Buyer.

There are also different positions for where the high street stores are placed in terms of the pricing of products: Lower End , Middle End and Higher End. River Island for example would be a middle-end retailer with reasonable pricing. Different to own label retailers and independent stores, high street chains will focus on a group of target consumers and zoom in on factors such as age, style pr eference and key trends overall. Stores such as River Island will stock huge amounts of garments in different sizes rather than just t he odd one or personalised garments. Buyers for high street chains work mostly from head offices and wouldn’t have much chance to go into s ee the ranges. They rely predominantly on figures and merchandisers to make profits. They may also see a different types of consumer s from within their target market across cities/countries and would have to consider the dominant number of sales for certain styles and trends across the spectrum on an international scale.

Department store: The buying environments from a department store differ from the rest the most; although do have one similarity to high street chains where there will be teams of buyers.

However, because of the largeness of the premises in department stores such as Selfridges who have concessions within them; i t can be the buyers of Selfridges who negotiate with brands such as Kurt Geiger on what products they want sending in to the departmen t. It will then be the Kurt Geiger team who choose where the merchandise goes within their space in the store. However, it is more than likely that the department store choose where each concession is situated to appeal to their market as a whole.

Branded buying: This particular buying environment is more to do with higher end brands. For example online retailers such as Asos and Very will have a team of buyers who go to warehouses and factories to buy and negotiate on established, popular brands su ch as Nike. The two will decide on a price to buy the stock and will then negotiate on a percentage of sales.

Independent store and boutiques: Boutique stores tend to be more personalised and niche. One example of a boutique/independent store in Liverpool is Mabel Doll. Being a customer myself I am aware that this is a partnership ran busi ness of two people who will cross over in different departments. At Mabel Doll the owners will pay for shop rent, source their own materials/fabrics from overseas and in the UK, design garments and also have the responsibility of VM & advertising. As this is a very niche and independent store, Mabel Doll use Instagram to advertise and interact with customers. They also have a one-one service as all products are bought made-to-measure and purchased from within store there is no online website to order a variety of stock from.

Task: Job Descriptions

How does these types of buyers job roles compare and contrast for the different retail environments?

HIGH STREET… CONSESSION… BRAND BUYING… WHOLESALE… ONLINE The difference between high street buying environments and branded buying is that high street chains will focus on specific trends from the catwalk that can be filtered into the high street at an extremely lower price than high end fashion. In opposition, branded buyers will focus on what brand is popular and in the public interest the minute. It is more to do with what name will sell rather than what's freshest right now. Branding buyers will look at celebrity endorsements and see what they're wearing which would influence people to then buy that item.

HIGH STREET

CHANEL: CONSESSION IN JOHN LEWIS

For example, H&M brought in the Balmain collection in 2015 because of the influence from the Kardashians which would have sold more primarily because of Kendal and Kylie Jenner. As stated, branded buyers are more concerned with what branded names are at the top of the list right now whereas high street chains are focused on getting the latest trends.

The main difference branded buyers have compared to different buying environments is that they will mainly travel to factories and warehouses to choose their branded merchandise. In opposition to this other buyers who work in high street chain, concession stores and online retailers will travel overseas to purchase their fabrics and meet with suppliers.

The buying environment for a concession store differs slightly to that of a high street chain buyer. For example, a buyer for John Lewis will be assigned to a certain concession such as Michael Kors where they will pick and choose items from Michael Kors’ collection and will then negotiate with Michael Kors for what products they will be receiving into John Lewis and at what percentage will go towards both parties.

BRANDED BUYING

ONLINE BUYING

Task: Job Descriptions

Also referred to as a B.A.A in the fashion industry, a Buyers Admin Assistant is a high administrative role, who provides crucial support to the buyers.

The main responsibilities of a B.A.A is to make sure that all decisions and date run smoothly throughout the cycle.

B.A.A’s will also place purchase orders, create and maintain the critical path, attend fit sessions, look up on competitive shops and the maintenance of the sample library, gather samples and produce fashion trend boards for buying meetings.

Task: Job Descriptions

The key here is to be extremely vigilant and have the ability to communicate well throughout the department. This trainee assistant buying role for Matalan menswear is fast paced and needs the right mind-set to discover falls in missed opportunities.

The candidate has to regularly observe not only sales of Matalan but also their competitors to see what works well to then make plans for the near future.

This role includes working closely with other department such as the head buyer, merchandiser team and the Retail team.

Average Salary for Trainee Assistant Buyer in Liverpool: ÂŁ17,000ÂŁ20,000

Task: Job Descriptions

Average Salary for Assistant Buyer: From ÂŁ40,000 to ÂŁ50,000 per annum.

Package, benefits and flights.

An assistant buyer helps a senior-level buyer purchase products for their organisation to use or resell. Typical responsibilities of an assistant buyer include forecasting consumer trends, meeting sales and budgetary goals, and managing inventory.

Task: Job Descriptions

(TARGETjobs, 2016)

Task: Job Descriptions

What the recruiter is looking for: An extremely experienced buyer with more than 3 years experience managing a high turnover department.

The recruiter is looking for a highly skilled analyst who knows the inside and out of retail buying.

Task: Job Descriptions

‘The job role of the Wholesale/Import Merchandiser within the fashion/retail industry is to manage the order process from the moment the sale is made, place the order with the factory, and manage the critical path through to final delivery.

A Wholesale Merchandiser's role includes customer account management, liaising with offshore suppliers, factories and customers, approving lab dips and negotiating lead times and will be based in the head office of the fashion company.

To get a job in fashion as a Wholesale Merchandiser you will need to be an experienced Administrator. The Wholesale or Import Merchandiser also needs to be highly organised, proactive, and numerate with excellent IT skills, particularly Excel.

Good written and spoken communication skills are important for dealing with overseas factories/customers of the fashion or retail company and the ability to work to tight deadlines and manage the critical path are also essential’.

(Fashionpersonnel.co.uk, 2016)

‘Visual merchandisers working at higher levels can be based within head office teams, with regional teams, or at larger or flagship stores.

In general, activities may include some or all of the following: •liaising with teams such as buying, design and marketing to create design themes and plans, often months in advance, including window and in-store displays, signage and pricing concepts; •conducting research on current and future trends in design and lifestyle, and associated target market features; •meeting with business, sales managers and retail managers to discuss sales strategies; •identifying and sourcing props, fabrics, hardware and lighting; •maintaining a budget and negotiating with suppliers of visual materials; •working with architectural features of stores to maximise the available space; •using artistic skills or computer-aided design (CAD) packages, such as AutoCAD, Mockshop or Adobe Creative Suite, to create visuals and plans; •creating visual merchandising packs to communicate visual guidelines including layout principles, visual dressings and signage - usually applies to those based in a head office; •visiting branches to coach in-store visual merchandising or sales teams to interpret the guidelines and training them in the execution of the visual concept; •assembling or dismantling visual displays in windows or in-store; •carrying out 'comp (comparison) shops' to maintain awareness of other retailers' visual merchandising concepts; •leading and motivating teams to complete displays to tight deadlines; •seeking feedback from colleagues and customers on the visual impact of displays and implementing changes’ (Prospects.ac.uk, 2016)

.

Task: Organisational Chart

Head Office Chart CEO REGIONAL MANAGER AREA MANAGER

BUYING TEAM

MERCHANDISING TEAM

MARKETING TEAM

I.T & CUSTOMER SERVICE

FINANCE

HR

HEAD BUYER

HEAD MERCHANDISER

HEAD OF MARKETING

HEAD OF IT

HEAD OF FINANCE

HEAD OF HR

SENIOR BUYER

SENIOR MERCHANDISIER

MARKETER

IT

FINANCE

HR

BUYER

MERCHANDISER

MARKETING ASSISTANT

IT ASSISTANT

FINANCE ASSISTANT

HR ASSISTANT

JUNIOR BUYER

JUNIOR MERCHANDISER

ASSISTANT BUYER

ASSISTANT MERCHANDISER

BUYING ADMIN ASSISTANT

MERCHNDISING ADMIN ASSISTANT

Head office tends to be split into different sections that the company needs to survive. All teams are assigned with a head and senior role so that the rest of the team have someone to call on.

All job roles are designed to better the company and filter company values into the store and impress the customer in order to maximise profits.

All roles above trainee level are there to advise and guide trainee roles so that they too can climb the ladder and become more successful within the company.

Task: Organisational Chart

Shop Floor Chart CEO REGIONAL MANAGER

AREA MANAGER STORE MANAGER ASSISTANT MANAGER(S)

VISUAL MERCHANDISERS

ASSISTANT MANAGER(S)

SUPERVISORS

SUPERVISORS

VISUAL MERCHANDISERS

KEY HOLDERS

STOCK ROOM ASSISTANTS

EXTRA SHOP FLOOR PEOPLE SECURITY

CLEANERS

SALES ASSISTANTS

Although the first three heads of the shop floor organisational chart are not usually seen within stores they have a strong voice and impact on the store as a whole through communication. These are the people the store manager will answer to when changes are made through the store and who will fill him/her in on updates and feedback.

A shop is made of a team who work together to promote the products its selling. However, this team does require certain positions to make sure everything is held under responsibility and the right person is assigned to the job.

The third row up from the bottom has multiple visual merchandiser and supervisor boxes- the reason for this is that most stores have multiple people who are responsible for these duties. It is likely to find the store supervisors doing the visual merchandise in store.

The extra shop floor roles at the bottom of the page have been placed away from other roles as they do not have the same vision. Security is an extra for safety and has no relevance to the selling or promoting of products. The role of the cleaner is again not relevant to the roles of in-store staff, sometimes cleaners work for cleaning companies and the shop company will hire them in to maintain shop standards.

Task: Buyers Relations

The significance of Buying Environments

Merchandising: Merchandising is split into two category's: merchandising from head office and visual merchandising which takes place in store.

It is vital that a buyer stays in constant communication with the merchandisers at head office as the merchandising team are the people who set figures and inform the buyer of what store needs what in which sizes etc. Merchandisers will analyse all figures of sales, best sellers and what isn’t selling. This way they can report back to the buyer and inform them of developments that need to change, flaws in the products which need to be investigated and also what is selling well so then the buyer has all this information when attending trade fairs and choosing new lines.

The buyer will set guidelines for visual merchandisers (instore) as to where they would like the products placed and also send shop window guidelines to draw customers in. There communication will be filtered through the regional manager who will deal with buyers at head office and shop floor employees.

As stated, all figures are sent back to the merchandisers if it was highlighted that a predicted best seller was not selling as well as originally thought it would be down to the buyers to take a visit to the store and see if the products need changing around or whether in-store employees are doing the best they can at work to sell production.

Design: When the buyers have sourced their materials and fabrics they need to discuss production with the design team.

This means sitting down and having face-face conversations and showing plans/sketches/imagery in order for the design team to receive the right image of what the buyer wants. The two departments also need to settle on a financial budget in order to try and save money and also need to agree on a time limit for when the products will be ready by. It is essential that the buyer considers when the trends are set to come out so that they can plan enough time to meet with the design team and agree on a realistic time frame.

Marketing: The marketing team are the people who will advertise collections, set up promotions and interact with the consumer through visuals. It is important that the buyer meets up face-to-face with the marketing people and discusses factors such as best sellers- what to use in things such as adverts to filter through to the consumer. They also need to take things such as trend boards in order for both parties to have the same visual idea. If the buyer failed to do this, the marketing team could promote a different audience as what the buyer anticipated which could lead to a fall in sales. Once the buyer and marketing team have agreed on how they are going to market products, it is then essential to maintain communication via email where the marketing team can send samples over to the buyer to ensure they are doing everything correctly and changes can be made before its too late.

Retail: Retail is where the products will eventually end up- buyers and merchandisers will work closely together and decide what retail stores are receiving in and at what quantities are best for the area the store is set. The buyer will send guidel ines to their regional manager who will then forward these to the retailer to inform them of what products are coming in and what the features/benefits are in order for the sales assistants to pass this on to customers when in store. It is vital that the buyer checks up with merchandisers to see what is selling well and what isn’t and why. It is vital that the buyers read through customer feedback that is logged from in-store to then make changes and developments on future collections.

Task: The Buying Cycle

‘’ ‘’ (Scribd, 2016) The significance of the buying cycle: To the right is a screenshot of how every buying cycle will work. However, this is not to say that every cycle works the same.

The buying cycle is an extreme significance for any type of fashion buyer. However, the roles do vary depending on the different types of fashion buying retailers. Fast fashion for example, works a lot quicker to design and branded buying. Where design will go to trade shows for things such as fabric and textures; fast fashion buyers will have to constantly keep up with factors such as key shapes, colours and trends and then have them ready as fast as possible to go out to the market.

One of the most vital aspects of the buying cycle for fast fashion buyers is budget planning.

Buyers will have to meet regularly with the merchandise team in order to fully understand what budgets they have for the buying season which tends to typically be every 6 weeks; which again, in comparison to design and branded buying seasons is extremely short considering design buyers work on a seasonal basis and branded buyers will tend to visit trade fairs twice a year.

Fast fashion buyers will continuously arrange trips to fulfil comparative shops and see what their competitors are offering and at what price in order for them to remain competitive and get the best results in a short space of time.

In terms of price negotiation and setting a retail price as its fast-fashion it tends to be known as ‘affordable fashion’ which would mean negotiating the lowest cost price possible in order to make profits.

Monitoring deliveries are extremely important for fast-fashion buyers as they need the stock to arrive dead on time to get it out on the market as its usually only has a short retail selling period. This again is quite different to that of branded buying as they tend to keep bulks which are transitional through seasons and more of an essential. An example of this could be Asos buying Calvin Klien underwear etc.

Major Project for Unit 10

Project Proposal The images screenshotted were taken directly from the current River Island home page. It is clear from the products and model that part of River Island’s target market is young women who required trend essentials for the cold winter.

This is where my niche would fit into the brand as there are young working women who want to go to work looking stylish but also dressed appropriately for the season. I feel that my niche would be successful as River Island already have a massive customer relationship with the same target market I will be focusing on.

Action Plan

Major Project for Unit 10

METHOD

DATE

Business Plan

14th-16th November

Customer Profile

14th November

Brand History

15th November

Inspiration board

15th November

Mini-mood board*6

16th November

Market Research

16th November

Global trend forecasting

23rd November

Concept board

28th November

Comp Shop

5th December

Range Plan

28-30th November

Merchandise Spreadsheet

29th-30th November

Existing River Island Advertising Campaign

6th December

Office to Party Advertising Campaign

6th December

Final Evaluation (including SWOT)

7th December

COMPLETED

Major Project for Unit 10

Business Plan

Office To Party for…

Before beginning my business plan I thought it was vital to research the different types of businesses to see which one my business idea would suit.

Below are all of the different types of businesses I could consider for my collection ‘From Office To Party’ for River Island.

Business Types: Sole Trader- ‘By opting for the sole trader route, you and your business are effectively one and the same – from both a tax and legal perspective. This means that you are personally responsible for the business – and any debts it incurs. The profits you make, which are sales minus costs, until the 5th April of each year are declared on your annual self-assessment tax return and classed as your personal income that year – even if it is not paid out as salary or into to your personal bank account. You must pay income tax and national insurance on this at the standard income tax rates and you do not need to register the business as such, but you should tell HMRC that you are in operation and self-employed for tax purposes’. (Anon, 2016)

Private Company Limited By Shares- ‘When a business is incorporated as a limited by shares company, it becomes a distinct legal entity - an ‘individual’ in its own right. This means that all business assets, profits and liabilities belong to the company; therefore, shareholders are not wholly responsible for the company's debts. The personal assets and finances of the shareholders (i.e. the company owners) are protected by limited liability.

This means their financial obligation to the company is limited to what they have invested in the business through the purchase of shares. Shareholders have no legal responsibility for the debts of the business above and beyond what they pay for their shares. This type of limited company is suitable for anyone who wishes to sell goods and services as a means of generating personal income. As a business owner, a company limited by shares will provide you with financial protection and a tax-efficient alternative to the sole trader structure’. (Formationsfactory.co.uk, 2016)

Private Company Limited By Guarantee- ‘A limited by guarantee company is a type of incorporated business structure that is predominantly used by non-profit organisations, social enterprises and charities. A non-profit business is typically a community group, voluntary organisation or a type of enterprise that generates income for social, charitable or community-based objectives. Profit-making businesses can also set up this type of company, but a limited by shares company structure is more suitable for commercial businesses, because profits can be distributed to members (shareholders) as dividends’. (Formationsfactory.co.uk, 2016)

Private Unlimited company- ‘An unlimited company its shareholders (or members) have unlimited liability. This means that each member is jointly and severally liable for the debts of the company in the event of its winding-up. So if the company needs more money to settle its debts or liabilities on winding up it can call on the shareholders to contribute whatever amount is necessary to make up any shortfall’. (Jordans.co.uk, 2016)

Public Limited Company (PLC)- ‘A company whose securities are traded on a stock exchange and can be bought and sold by anyone. Public companies are strictly regulated, and are required by law to publish their complete and true financial position so that investors can determine the true worth of its stock (shares). Also called publicly held company. Public limited company and its abbreviation Plc are commonly used in the UK’.

(BusinessDictionary.com, 2016)

Major Project for Unit 10

Business Plan

Business Summary: My initial business idea was to create a range for River Island that is focussed on trendy work-wear for young women around the ages of 20-35. I have named my range ‘From Office To Party’ for A/W16 in correspondence to the Christmas season. Many young female workers will be attending social events during the working week after office hours and will need clothes and accessories that are suitable for both the workplace and for meeting friends straight from work.

As my target customer will be in the workplace right up until the run up of Christmas I thought it would be a good idea to have a range specifically suited for the events of December to make work clothes a little more festive and fun for younger women.

I plan on extending this type of collection through to spring/summer where there are outfits that are appropriate to go straight out from work rather than going home and changing. This type of collection opens up a niche for River Island as they state on their ‘About Us’ section of their site that they pride themselves on being ‘the perfect store to pick up everything you need for a brand new head-to-toe look’. (River Island, 2016) However they do not offer this collection as of yet to their target market.

What type of business is ‘From Office to Party’?

As my collection will be for River Island who are a public limited company this will be the same for my collection as it is a collection to suit the demands of the River Island customer and is not its own separate business.

Business name: ‘From Office To Party’ I have chosen this name to feature my collection in River Island stores and be used as a ‘trend’ on the River Island website this is for clear identification of what the collection is. I want to make an impression on young female workers who will be going out after office hours for social events such as drinks with friends, company socialising events or dinner with family. I have checked River Island’s competitors such as Topshop, Miss Selfridge and Asos who aim towards the same customer and fortunately none of these establishments have collections for this type of market which gives my collection a niche in the market.

This name would influence potential customers as women in this age range will regularly shop and keep up with River Island updates online for other products such as party wear. With there being a collection focused purely on trendy work-wear it would potentially stop customers from searching around different places for different clothing. Therefore re-establishing River Island’s brand identity and boosting profits and revenue.

Strapline: ‘From 9 to wine’ I have decided to add the strapline (see above) to include the element of youth and fun in my collection. It sells the key point of my range which is trendy work-wear that will see you from the office to the cocktail bar after work. It is short and catchy which would stand out to my potential customers. I plan on using this strapline on marketing campaigns as well as the website to make the collection established and modern to suit the target markets demands/needs/interests.

Office To Party for…

Major Project for Unit 10

Business Plan

Business Aims: Short term: Marketing will be something for me to consider at a short term basis every 6-12 months. It would mean that changing up different ways to keep my customer attracted and compete with competitors. Small Business’ online states: ‘Marketing is more than creating advertising and getting customer input on product changes. It is understanding consumer buying trends, being able to anticipate product distribution needs and developing business partnerships that help your organization to improve market share’. (Smallbusiness.chron.com, 2016) This to me means that it not just about creating fun marketing strategies but knowing what trendsetting statements are going to work and how to maintain relationships with existing customers whilst also enticing new customers.

Undergoing a comprehensive analysis i.e. comp shops and customer feedback is something that I would also have to see through every few months throughout the entire businesses life line.

According to small business online: ‘A comprehensive analysis of the activities of the competition should be an ongoing business objective for your organization. Understanding where your products rank in the marketplace helps you to better determine how to improve your standing among consumers and improve your revenue’. (Smallbusiness.chron.com, 2016)

Medium term: For the medium term aims for ‘From Office to Party’ for River Island I plan on introducing a loyal customer card that can be used on the website and in store. This means that when customers buy from the From Office to Party Range they receive points, once accumulated points can be used to spend on the range in store and online with their unique customer code.

Through introducing the customer loyalty card I then plan on increasing my average order value by 50%. The idea of the card offering money off products will hopefully attract new customers by existing customers sharing their experience with friends/family and this way the range branches out to more customers.

Long term: ‘At River Island we are renowned for our stylish, affordable fashion. The unique touches we bring to our collections help us standout from the rest of the High Street. Our customers can always rely on us for great going-out looks and occasion wear, amazing denim and fabulous bags and shoes. We pride ourselves on being the perfect store to pick up everything you need for a brand new head-to-toe look’. (River Island, 2016) This is River Island’s current long-term objective. They mention that customers can rely on them for ‘occasion wear, amazing denim and fabulous bags and shoes’ it doesn’t focus on trendy work-wear for their female customers and this is something I would like River Island to be recognised for globally through the Office to Party range. Eventually I would like the Office to Party range from Christmas to follow on throughout the year and go into the summer season where again collections would be created with the same values but for summer nights.

Office To Party for…

Major Project for Unit 10

Business Plan

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO SELL? My business is going to sell both a collection of styles for trendy work-wear and services on the shop floor to potential/new customers. I want my customers to have an experience they will remember from the moment they walk over to the section of where Office to Party will be located. It is important that sales assistants talk new customers through the benefits of products in order for them to make there eventual decision.

WHAT PRODUCTS WILL YOU HAVE? As my collection is primarily for everyday, long wear I want comfortable but stylish clothing. The garments will consist of tapered trousers, blouses, shirts, blazers paired with loafers and work heels. The following slide is a mood board of my ideas put into visuals to make the products realistic and imaginable.

My size range is going to be from size 6 to 16 and designed for young women around the ages of 20-35.

As is it A/W16 I will be using shades of khaki, black, burgundy, navy and glitzy accessories for the winter season.

WHEN WILL THE PRODUCTS BE SOLD? I will create a collection purely based on winter 2016. however, I want my brand to carry on into spring/summer 17 if hopefully successful. The brand name would stay the same as would the idea, although like any other change in trend and season the colours and patterns would change to suit warmer weathers. However I would use similar items such as trousers with blouses that could be worn in spring/summer with light jackets and blazers. I feel like this type of collection for River Island would be continuously throughout the year and the customer is likely to have the same job throughout the coming years.

WHAT ARE MY BUSINESS STRATAGIES? It is important that in the long term business aim I reach out to a global target market.

For the time being River Island is a UK based business. In order for me come in contact with a global market I would have to look at opening my own boutique store in European countries. This would be something I would focus on in the next 5 years once fully established and sales/profits are high enough to allow me to do this.

Major Project for Unit 10

Elevator Pitch

Office To Party for…

‘9 to Wine’

I’m creating the range ‘Office To Party’ for River Island. This range will be focussed on trendy work-wear for young women who are in search of smart, but on trend clothing that is suitable to go from the office to social events after hours. I have decided to add the strapline ‘from 9 to wine’ which adds the element of youth and fun to my collection whilst also distinguishing the collections core customer.

To bring this collection out for A/W16 will be a chance for customers to make work clothes a little more festive and fun for younger women.

With the hope of high profits and bringing in a new cliental base to River Island I plan on extending this type of collection through to spring/summer where there are outfits that are appropriate to go straight out from work rather than going home and changing. This type of collection opens up a niche for River Island as they state on their ‘About Us’ section of their site that they pride themselves on being ‘the perfect store to pick up everything you need for a brand new head-to-toe look’. (River Island, 2016) However they do not offer this collection as of yet to their target market.

This is River Island’s current search engine for womenswear. You can see that in the Featured section has a ‘Work wear’ section which doesn’t entice or really excite a potential customer. As a loyal River Island customer who is also 20 I would not find this as interesting to look in as ‘Office to Party’ as I would be looking for something younger but still on trend which is suitable for both work and socialising.

Major Project for Unit 10

River Island Brand History

(En.wikipedia.org, 2016)

Major Project for Unit 10

Inspiration for ‘Office to Party’

Here are some visuals of what my collection will be inspired from. These are all taken from high street fashion houses such as River Island, Topshop and Miss Selfridge. I have paired them with different accessories to make a work-wardrobe trendy and ready to socialise.

Key colours: khaki, green, brown, black, teal and navy.

Major Project for Unit 10

Mood Board for ‘Office to Party’

Major Project for Unit 10

Market Research

Field research Visual Merchandise: As part of my marketing research I will be going down to visit River Island Liverpool’s window display. By doing this I will see what objects/colours/styles they are currently using to attract their customer and how.

This will help me plan my range to see what they are currently stocking and how I can my range appeal to the customer.

Surveys: I plan on using surveys as a marketing stategy. To make them feel fun and not an inconvenience, I would offer the surveys at the till whilst shoppers items are being packed away. I would also add a chance of winning £100 to spend on the range which makes the surveys worthwhile to the customer.

The survey will ask basic questions such as ‘what do you like about office to party?’, ‘is there anything else you would like to see in the range?’- this way by using open questions the customer isn’t limited to certain answers and this would give me an idea of what is working and what needs developing.

Details: When customers got to the till with products from Office to Party I would want the sales assistants to take some details in order to make a personalized customer profile. This would include things such as name, address and email address. All of this information would be used to keep a track of what sizes and styles customers were taking. It would also be a benefit for the customer as if they needed to return items without the receipt all of their recent purchases would be backlogged making their experience easier.

Major Project for Unit 10

Market Research

Desk research Social media: One of the world’s biggest forms of Fashion Shows: Live videos and instant pictures can be uploaded added with tags & hashtags to link fashion and designers all over the world, almost as if the audience at home are present at the fashion houses.

(Social Media Today, 2014)

Major retailers such as Asos, River Island and Miss Selfridge all use Instagram to connect to their customer through hashtags and shared images. This is something I will also be doing once up and running so that my customers feel connected. To the right is a screenshot of the text I plan on using.

I have chosen #GETCONNECTED @office2partyRI this way customers can share pictures of themselves and tag us in so that we can see the feedback and this way word of mouth advertises the brand itself. River Island have already tested this with RIactive on Instagram which has been really successful.

To relate to my brand as a range that is designed for women looking for trendy work-wear, the use of the word ‘GET CONNECTED’ emphasises the idea of connecting with river island in a different sense by getting work clothes from a retailer you would usually shop at for casual/ocasion wear.

Look book: With Office To Party being a small range within River Island I think there would be little use in spending money on a huge advertisement campaign at least until the range went to a global success. Another way I think would advertise the collection in a more realistic way is by using a Look Book.

I would have the look book available at all River Island tills in major city stores to be placed in the bag. This way before the range was ready for sale this would make potential customers aware of the soon-coming collection.

River Island are currently doing this with kidswear with the upcoming season of Christmas.

Again, they have used Instagram as a tool to advertise there look book as its such a major connection between customers and retailers.

Major Project for Unit 10

Customer Profile Customer Pen Portrait: Katy, Aged 21

Katy is 21 and works as a trainee buyer at Matalan. Katy has recently graduated from Manchester Met where she studied Fashion Buying for 3 years.

Katy has always loved fashion and kept up with the trends she loves her new role as trainee buyer and loves to experiment with clothes but has to stick to works strict clothing conduct. Matalan like Katy to dress smart, presentable and professional.

Katy would normally shop in River Island, Topshop and Zara for her clothes but she finds herself going to Next for items such as work trousers, blouses and blazers.

For footwear Caitlin tends to match her outfits with loafers and when she has meetings with clients she will wear a work-type heel to look smart with a slim coat over in cold weather and a box type bag to fit in her papers and folders.

Katy likes to remain modern but classic at work.

At the office…

Katy works in a very busy environment where she is expected to attend meetings, trade fairs and keep up with future trends whilst working in a major team in the buying team at Matalan.

Katy drives a mini-cooper as she likes to look feminine but modern.

She drives to the gym 3 days a week after work where she meets her two friends to work out together.

At least once a week during the week and on the weekend Katy will meet up with her friends to socialise after leaving the office at 5 and will go for tea and have cocktails.

Katy’s key fashion pieces: Katy is a young woman who enjoys trying out new trends and is confident in her choices but doesn’t want to look over-done at work.

Katy like sophistication and modernisation tied into the one in her wardrobe. She likes the make an impression by the shoes she chooses and the bag she matches them with. She is youthful, stylish and a iconic figure for young girls.

After the office…

Major Project for Unit 10

Trend Forecasting The REMASTER colour pallet taken from WGSN mainly highlights outdoor greens contrasted against rustic colours and richness.

Fabrics are quite natural and ‘rustic’.

This has inspired my Office to Party collection in terms of colour shade for the autumn/winter season.

Japanese painter Hague Kawase and Spanish painter Diego Velazquez have influenced this colour scheme bringing culture into the theme. With the Japanese intense blue and the Spanish rich browns it gives an autumnal atmosphere.

(Wgsn.com, 2016)

Major Project for Unit 10

Trend Forecasting

WGSN state that influence in this seasons colour pallets have came from ‘weathered tones’ this gives the sense of autumn/winter and with this I think that rustic fabrics such as rope and wool will also give this effect.

Built with character and authenticity in mind, this palette works with denim blue, lumberjack red and woody timber tones. Khaki green and stony grey also bring hardy depth. (Wgsn.com, 2016)

Major Project for Unit 10

Trend Inspiration for Women & Young Women Fashion A/W 16

Trend Forecasting

‘Billiard Green is offset by fiery Scarlet […] and offers an update on the previous season’s flatter Machine Red. Both Billiard Green and Scarlet have been embraced by key influencers, fashion editorials, and designers such as AF Vandervost and Isabel Marant’.

(Wgsn.com, 2016)

Designer AF Vandervost had recently moved form the Paris 2016 to London 2016 Fashion week. Her collection was very British styled with garments such as tailored suit trousers, blouses with oversized coats. AF Vandervost is a big influence on my collection as this is the type of style I will be promoting in my collection for young working women.

AF Vandervost at London Fashion week 2016: ’’Today’s

collection is for a woman who wants to profit from every moment of the day. She doesn’t have time to go home, so she takes her closet with her’’. (Vogue.com, 2016) AF Vandervost’s approach for her collection is a similar aim as to what I want my collection to promote- being able to wear your outfit from day to night. I have taken a look at the styles/cuts and shapes Vandervost featured in her collection for inspiration and influence. The image to the top left is an example of what type of range I will be having in terms of colour, style and shape.

Isabel Marant’s comments on her collection for Paris Fashion Week 2016:

“It really goes back to when I would sneak out, aged 15, to punk clubs like Le Palace and Les Bains Douches,” said the designer backstage. With all the sadness that has happened in Paris, it felt like the time was right to party and have fun.” (Vogue.com, 2016)

To include a global idealisation on fashion and to focus on a trendsetting global phenomenal I have researched into the French designer Isabel Marant. Vogue in their March 2016 edition descried Marant’s A/w16 collection as ‘mannish oversize coats with ‘ruffled collars of sweet Victorian-style blouses’. Marant’s own biography on her website outlines that she ‘dresses women for their real lives’ something which I also want to achieve in my own collection. Because of this the styling of Isabel Marant will be a huge inspiration on my range.

Major Project for Unit 10

Trend Forecasting

Trend Inspiration for Women & Young Women Fashion A/W 16/17

‘Shades of vegetal green are impacted by the urban street and military undertones which are proving to be key trends for the season. New tones such as moss, mustard and deep forest green are not only seen in head-to-toe colour for a sophisticated and polished vibe, but also provide a youthful edge for layered looks’.

(Wgsn.com, 2016)

As shown in the images above lose fitted garments in colours such as vegetal green gives classic looks a youthful impression. One designer that stood out to me most out of the three was Baja East. As screenshotted, Baja East are a global inspired luxury brand based in New York. On their official website it states that designers Scott Studenberg and John Targon are known to ‘create pieces that are as elegant as they are effortless to pioneer a new kind of fashion and lifestyle concept: loose luxury’. This is something that has inspired my ideas for my own range Office to Party as I also want to create lose fitting garments that seem effortless and elegant. The new York brand Baja East are a global success who reach out to ‘the person and the life that they live’ which is a strong customer relationship in a global sense something which I would consider a long term aim for my business plan.

(BAJA EAST, 2016)

Major Project for Unit 10

Trend Forecasting

Trend Inspiration for Women & Young Women Fashion A/W 16/17

The Chinese October 16 analysis of fabric taken from WGSN makes strong detailed notes on how metallised colque and matelassĂŠ, and silky figured fabrics are a strong points for the upcoming a/w17 collections. The fabric tends to use colours such as sheer black with contrasted splashes of golds/blues and does give an oriental Chinese effect.

(Wgsn.com, 2016)

When doing some high street market trend research I found that River Island has had some similar styles in this season (A/W16) in terms of shape, fabric, texture and pattern.

The images to the right are screenshots taken from River Island’s current website. This to me means that the trends set out by WGSN for this particular fabric to be popular for a/w 17 means that the current season is selling well for this type of clothing. This has influenced me to look into these types of products for my own collection. There is hardly a difference between the designer image at the top compared to those taken from river island and I predict that to be a top selling point for the garments.

River Island Fashion A/W 16

Trend Inspiration for Women & Young Women Fashion A/W 16

Trend Forecasting Classic wool/wool blend coats have been predicted as popular for a/w17 which means I have an idea on what are the best fabrics to source for my outerwear.

Garments such as coats and jackets can be kept wintery with the softness of wool, cotton and polyester.

(Wgsn.com, 2016)

Major Project for Unit 10

Trend Inspiration for Women & Young Women Fashion A/W 16

(Wgsn.com, 2016)

Again, Chinese fabric giving a blistered, quilted-look in designs such as floral and abstract prints give a new and uplifted approach from day-to-evening glamour. Something I would find extremely useful for my range of ‘Office to Party’. I would find these types of prints suitable for garments such as blouses and handbags. Just a little goes a long way and gives the sense of sophisticated, modern day-to-night fashion.

Trend Forecasting

Major Project for Unit 10

Trend Forecasting

Major Project for Unit 10

Trend Inspiration for Women & Young Women Fashion A/W 16

These two trends: AFTER DARK and DREAM NOIR have given me influence from a different aspect from the others I have used in this document. What caught my eye was the attention to detailing in the fine lace which gives a Victorian style effect. I liked how the black and lace contrasted against the plush velvet and embroidery on strong edges of garments. This is something that will stand out and can also be used from office to evening wear which again is something I want to achieve in y range.

Trend Forecasting

Major Project for Unit 10 Gloria Coelho uses the traditional Scottish deep red tartans in her A/W 17-18 collection.

Here she stresses the modernisation of tartan whilst including traditional winter clothing. Longer length edges on the garments give an edgy/soldier effect which seems inspired by military.

With inspiration taken from Swedish folklore tales Reinaldo Lourenco styles folklore in a modern light.

Giving a new edge to fashion by playing with different shapes and contrasting reds. The theme of this runway for a/w18 see’s global traditions transformed into 21st fashion.

Trend Inspiration for Women & Young Women Fashion A/W 16

Comp shop

Major Project for Unit 10

In order to see my competition and what's already out there I am carrying out a comparative shop. This will enable me to compete with others on the same market and offer something different to the same customer to give a fresh twist on modern work-wear. I have also looked at River Island’s current ‘smart wear’ collection to see what they have on offer, how much for and if its selling well.

Cream check fall away jacket £60.00 •Checked fabric with seam detail Although River Island do already offer some ‘smart •Oversized fit wear’ for work clothing it isn’t as fun and edgy as •Fallaway collar the rest of their styles. it is also hid away in the •Long sleeve website and can be a little hard to find. There is •Unfastened front also no dedicated section within the stores which would make customers think it doesn’t even exist.

This is where Office to Party would come in and Nude split panel tote bag give a new vibe on trendy work-wear for young £35.00 working women who would like to shop in their •Horizontal panelling with black piping preferred stores for their everyday clothing. Again •Rose gold tone trim as mentioned river island state that they want to be •Structured tote design the store where you can pick up absolutely •Contrast grab handles everything and by me bringing in my range I feel •RI branding they would definitely achieve that aim

.

White lace frill contrast trim blouse £38.00 •Lace fabric with frill detail •Contrast black tied trim •Cami top underlayer •Collar with long sleeves •Hook back fastenings

Black frill hem cropped trousers £35.00 •Soft woven fabric •Cropped leg •Concealed fly fastening •Side pockets •Frill hem detail Black textured patent block heel sandals £48.00 •Textured patent upper •Peep toe design •Slim pin buckle ankle strap •Block high heel •Heel height 10cm

Comp shop

Major Project for Unit 10

These are River Island’s three major competitors in terms of target market, similar trends and RRP of garments. Al three fashion houses have a ‘work wear’ section created for the target market.

However, all three seem to be a little dull and too ‘classic’. With the colour pallets being kept to a minimal of black, white and grey I feel that my Offce to Party range gives a whole new spin on work and smart wear. It combines classic shapes and key pieces with modern trends such as khaki greens, belted robe coats and printed heels to make the work outfit a little more fun in time for ‘9 to wine’.

Product

Major Project for Unit 10

Store

Details

Topshop

Wrap Knot Front Shirt £36.00 ‘Keep the wrap trend minimal in this black short sleeved shirt in navy with a tie front. We love to wear with black trousers and ankle boots for a chic finish. 100% Cotton. Machine wash.

• Colour: NAVY BLUE • Code: 13Z24KNAV ’ (topshop.com 2016)

Topshop

Flocked Spot Cigarette Trousers £39.00 ‘A cute spin on the tailored look, these flocked spot fitted cigarette trousers are perfect for adding a dose of fun to your outfit.

Wear with a black bardot top for a trending feel. 62% Polyester, 36% Viscose, 2% Elastane. Machine wash’. (topshop.com 2016)

Topshop

Soft Tailored Blazer £59.00 ‘The ultimate casual-smart piece for your wardrobe, this soft tailored double breasted blazer can work as a jacket or dress. We love the relaxed, oversized fit and contrast collar and button detail. 100% Polyester. Machine wash’. (topshop.com 2016)

Topshop

GOLDY Slingback Court Shoes £59.00 ‘Black suede leather slingback court shoes. Heel height 4". 100% Leather. Specialist Clean Only.’ (topshop.com 2016)

Topshop

Double bar tote bag £39‘A generous size, this chic bag lets you store all your main essentials and much more. In a sleek black, it features snake pattern to the sides and handles, and is finished with luxe gold hardware detail. 100% Polyurethane. Machine wash’.

Product

Store

Details

Miss Selfridge

Bird Print Peplum Shirt £35.00 ‘The cutest shirt you will ever find has just landed! This pretty peplum is a must have. Bird print Peplum 100% Polyester’. (missselfridge.com, 2016)

Miss Selfridge

Khaki Knot Front Pencil Skirt Price: £22.00 ‘Add this staple item into your wardrobe this season. This khaki knot front skirt is the perfect attire to wear from day to evening.

Pair with your favourite slinky cami and heels to complete the look.

Pencil 94% Polyester,6% Elastane’ (missselfridge.com, 2016)

Miss Selfridge

Stone Trench Coat Was £59.00 ‘Be shower proof this season in our classic Stone trench coat with button and belt detailing.

Trench coat Belted 61% Cotton,39% Nylon.

Dry clean only’. (missselfridge.com, 2016)

Miss Selfridge

Contrast oversized tote £35 ‘This gorgeous camel oversized tote is a great day bag. Perfect size and super cute!

100% Polyurethane.

Wipe clean’. (missselfridge.com, 2016)

Miss Selfridge

Ivory Frill Placket shirt £35 ‘Our classic shirt with a Victorian twist! The perfect office chic look.

Product

Store

Details

Asos

Classic Trench Coat £55 ‘Lightweight, wool-mix twill Fully lined Point collar Double breasted button fastening Removable waist belt Side pockets Regular fit - true to size Dry clean Shell: 80% Polyester, 20% Cotton. Lining: 100% Polyester‘ (ASOS, 16)

Asos

Pussybow blouse, £28 ‘Lightweight woven fabric Pussy-bow neck Button fasten cuff Sizing on this product runs small It may be advisable to size up Machine wash 100% Polyester’ (ASOS, 16)

Asos

Ultimate ankle grazer trousers £25 ‘Lightweight, woven fabric Concealed closure Side pockets Ankle grazer cut Skinny fit - cut closely to the body Machine wash 100% Polyester’ (ASOS, 2016)

Asos

Quilted Chevron Tote Bag With Chain Handle £28 ‘Faux-leather outer Quilted chevron design Fully lined Twin shoulder straps Gold-tone chain detail Zip-top closure Interior zip pocket Wipe clean 100% Polyurethane H: 30cm/12" W: 40cm/16" D: 15cm/6“’ (ASOS, 16)

Major Project for Unit 10

1. Colour Concept Board

2. Material & Fabric Concept Board

3. Print/Graphics Concept board

Concept Board

Major Project for Unit 10

Concept Board

This is 1/5 concept boards that I created in order to get use to Photoshop with its tools and effects before I create my own original concept board. In this particular board I wanted to get the idea of key shapes across hence why I used such rectangle shapes and garments. WGSN’s transitional season trends for 2017 used a lot of narrow shapes and moved the A-line shape into ‘the more extreme cone shape’. They also stated that basic wear is going to be more popular than ever which is why I decided to keep the colour pallet to a minimal by using grey tones and soft earth imaging to present key shapes and designs.

Major Project for Unit 10

Concept Board

This is another concept board I created to establish colour. I read through China’s colour analysis for s/s17 on WGSN and felt that I wanted to portray the dizzing colours effect. I found that by duplicating the images on photoshop and turning the opacity down so that the images were almost faded in the background to give a dizzy effect whilst still portraying the bright colours. I choose firework-like imagery which gives the pop of bright florescent colour.

Major Project for Unit 10

Office to Party Concept Board Inspiration

These are the main features of inspiration that I have taken to create my own mood board for office to party. I feel that the trend forecasting of AW 16/17 is predominantly using earth greens and khaki shading.

The colour comes across as sleek, classic and modern as ever which is something I wish to achieve through my collection. According to WGSN one of the main advantages of the shade of green is that it is ‘season-less’ which means collections made from this colour/shade will last effortlessly throughout the year. Therefore, even though my collection is designed for a/w there will be certain garments that will be transitional and would encourage customers to return back and back buy from the range to complete their trendy work-wear wardrobe.

Major Project for Unit 10

Office to Party Concept Board To the left is an image of my Office to Party concept board. My colour pallets are stressed throughout the entire document and mainly highlight greens, turquoise and greys. I wanted my collection to be really feminine as it is targeted towards young women/women who work in offices and want some style added to their work wear collection. This is the reason why I choose such soft backgrounds by turning down the opacity on some images to give a faded effect.

The image of the face to the left was taken from WGSN and I felt this captures the colour pallet of office to party as well as makes the theme feminine and also highlights the A/W season for my collection.

I applied some cads of a trench coat, trousers and a shirt to represent standard work wear but hopefully the images of colour texture and background sent the message that this collection is modern and has its own take on work-wear.

When I pitched my concept board along with my range to the group they all agreed that it did have a strong link to my range because of factors such as colour, texture and season.

However they did comment on was the lack of text to verbally point out what my images relate to in order to give my range a voice to portray to my target market. The image to the right is my re-done concept board once I had taken on board the discussion from the group following my pitch. I had decided to add on text and the river island logo as well as my tagline to give the concept a clearer profile.

Office to Party Range

Major Project for Unit 10

Khaki Wool Blended Robe Coat £80

Black Buttoned Blazer £50

Black Shirt with printed detail RRP £32 Frill blouse RRP £35

Grey wool blended suit RRP Jacket £60 Trousers £60 Written analysis of range: I feel that my range is clear in its targeting of young women who are in need of trendy, modern but classic work wear. I have used WGSN for my trend forecasting to look up on the seasons colour analysis, texture and cut. Bottle green which I have gone into quite some detail on previous slides was my main colour use. The colour was described as ‘timeless’ which is something I want my range to create. I also looked quite deeply into key shapes for A/W17-18 which focused on the synched in waist, oversized coats and slim leg trousers. I wanted my range to make young working women feel like they are able to find work-wear in one of the leading young fashion retailers to feel comfortable and modern at work especially around the party season.

Felt Hat RRP £25 Black Pencil Skirt RRP £25 Woven blouse RRP £25

Grey sparkle clutch (with chain) £25

Printed tote RRP £40

Contrast Silver & Gold chocker £15

Trousers RRP £35

Black sparkle Ankle Boot with gold detail £42

Khaki Mules £55

Oriental texture court shoe RRP £45

Major Project for Unit 10

#WEARMEWITH

Services to customers: LOOK BOOK:As part of my services to customers the main strategy as I mentioned is to use a look book. I will pair my range with different outfits to visually show how they can work together and look like a totally new outfit from transferring from day to night. The look books will be provided in store and also sent out to customers who tick the emailing/mailing services. I think this is a good strategy to use as customers sometimes would be indecisive about choosing work-wear as they want it to ve versatile but also on trend.

Not only do look books give trend advice but they are also fun and something to take when travelling to and from work or even when on your lunch they are small and quirky to fit into your bag.

I also plan on using the hashtag ‘WEARMEWITH’ on Office to Party’s Instagram page so my target market will also have a sort of mini ‘look book’ online which again is keeping up with the age range of my target market whilst gaining more attention and establishing my range.

STYLE ASSISTANTS IN STORE & ONLINE: As I have stated it can be a difficult choice when buying clothes for work and sometimes customers will need advice. I plan on training my sales assistants in store to help choose certain outfits. For example, a customer interested in the grey wool suit could also be tempted by the mustard yellow blouse to make the outfit stand out. Depending on where she was going that day a heeled court shoe or a flat loafer can be paired with the outfit. To transform from office to party there is a large tote bag available to hold all the paper work in whereas there is a mini sparkle clutch that can be used with the same outfit for evening wear with a thin chain that can also be tucked inside the bag where then the bag becomes the clutch. Floppy hats can add any fashion statement to a young modern woman which would come in handy for pairing with suits and robe coats to make your outfit stand out.

For those who do their shopping online and don’t have time to come into store I would also have live chat available for customers to pop up and ask for some advice on the benefits/features of clothing.

How would I market this service? – I would have signs up in store that politely state that if you do need assistant/advice on purchases the team are on hand to be there. I would also have a pop up sign on a section of the website with the same information.

Major Project for Unit 10

Merchandise Spreadsheet

Major Project for Unit 10

Merchandise Spreadsheet

Major Project for Unit 10

Merchandise Spreadsheet

Major Project for Unit 10

Merchandise Spreadsheet

Major Project for Unit 10

Merchandise Spreadsheet In order to work out what each of my garments was selling and in what store each week I used EXCEL to figure out my total for the 8 week selling period. I then gathered all of this information and inserted the figures into my merchandise spreadsheet where I was then able to work out my total cost prices, total quantities sold and total RRP. By doing this I was able to figure out my best sellers and how much I was selling out of my range. This task has shown me how important it is to keep on top of stock replenishment in order to see what trends are being picked up through customer buying patterns.

Major Project for Unit 10

Merchandise Spreadsheet Analysis Merchandisers will spot best sellers and frequent trendsetters through the use of a merchandise spreadsheet which in effect develops the buyers decisions and future choices. It also gives them the chance to identify what is and isn’t going right and what needs changing. An EPOS system is used for this where the company will then decide what's best to do with failing stock. For example they could markdown the price to try and sell on the products or even sell to another company.

Doing the merchandise spreadsheet has helped me understand the importance of how sale figures impact the retail industry and profitability. Factors such as cost price and RRP to then how much it made is a big important factors for the buyers and merchandisers to get right.

Replenishment of stock is usually 15% of the overall quantity, which means the amount of stock to replace stock that has been sold if in high customer demand. During this task I discovered that it is important to have an OTB (open to buy) fund for fast purchases of fast selling stock to keep to the demand of customers. Buyers will find themselves buying fast fashion in cases like this to keep customers interested and the sales at a high figure. The OTB is usually around 30% of the budget.

Like for like data of products informed me to forecast sales of each garment which allowed me to work out how much I would need to purchase. From the data I collected I could see that one of my highest sellers was the oriental blouse which is estimated to sell 5,290 over an 8 week period. This is likely to be because of its versatile nature. It has a range of colours within the garment to pair with a number of different outfits from the range.

My lowest figure was the wool blended suit which stands at 1,760 and maybe this is because it’s a very classic piece that can still be worn with different tops but it would depend on what coat you had etc.

I would have to keep up with the merchandisers to check on levels of stock to see what we need more in of and on the other side of things what we would need to do if stock wasn’t selling as well as expected.

I found that my profit margins can differ slightly depending on the cost and manufacturer. It all depends on material, supplier and demand.

As I researched River Island the brand I discovered that it is a UK based brand and doesn’t have stores open outside of the UK. However, River Island does ship to over 100 countries. Based on this data I found it would be best to have the following store grades: A, BBB, D. I think that majority of my stock would sell well in cities such as Liverpool, London and Manchester. My main flagship store is based in Oxford Circus as my target customer is young working women in predominantly office jobs who attend social events straight from work and I feel this is more convenient for my range to fit that flagship store.

It was significant for me to see what was selling well, how much was selling and in what store grades it was selling best at. To the left are screenshots of the sales and figures of my black floppy hat. It tends to continuously sell well in all 3 store grades but predominantly has higher figures in high street stores. This is what I predicted which is why I thought it was best for me to have three grade B stores for the 8 weeks that the range was on sale for. My idea behind this is that I am targeting towards city workers who will find themselves in and around the main city on their lunch/after work etc.

Major Project for Unit 10

Existing River Island Advertisement Campaigns

When researching A/W campaigns for River Island I discovered that they don’t tend to use television adverts or billboard style posters. Instead they use snippets of items to create temptation. As shown in the first two images to the left of the screen River Island will scatter some of their collection and take pictures which are then captioned with persuading text to make customers visit the full website in order to see the full collection. This is something I would take inspiration from on my social media accounts as it looks intriguing.

River Island have also created a STYLE INSIDER look book for their customers this Christmas. It offers different styles and trends and is covered in sparkles to give the atmosphere of Christmas. As you can see below they have also created a STYLE INSIDER kidswear. I plan on collaborating with River Island to make a mini look book for Office to Party which would match the theme of River Island’s marketing strategies and also give Office to Party a chance to be established within the market. I plan on leaving these at the till in stores so that they can be put into the customers bags and also sent out with online orders.

Major Project for Unit 10

Office to Party Marketing Strategy This is the front cover of my A/W17 look book for my range Office to Party. This is part of my marketing strategy to campaign my range to my customer globally. I plan on sending my lookbook out both through mailing orders which are available in the UK and Europe as well as in UK stores when purchasing Office to Party wear.

I have used inspiration from the current River Island 2016 look book which use minimal imagery on the front cover and only show snippets of items to entice the customer. I think this looked really successful which is why I took this on board.

River Island used more Christmassy lights on their campaign. However I didn’t want to use all of this as my collection is still work wear which will transform my customer from desk to disco.

I used Photoshop to create my look book and specifically inserted images of accessories to the left which can be used both in the office and to socialise in. I also used a young woman in a gold cami top with minimal makeup this was to say that she can get dressed up but still look appropriate for work.

The images I did use are all quite square. I done this to portray the structured key shaping that is repetitive throughout my collection.

I used a swirly font for the text Office to Party to look feminine and also placed it under the River Island title ‘STYLE INSIDER’ which gives the indication that this seasons trends and styles are all in the book to look through.

I used the River Island logo quite boldly at the bottom of the page to stand out to the customer and make the relationship between River Island and Office to Party as clear as possible.

Major Project for Unit 10

S.W.O.T Analysis

*River Island has 350 stores across the U.K. They also have 6 online websites operating in 4 currencies. River Island has located itself all around the UK and are also expanding globally through the internet. *Over 60 years of retail experience and is one of the top best known brands on the high street giving them the advantage of having a loyal customer base. *River Island has a unique selling point by being recognised for their wide range of accessories such as bags, shoes and jewellery.

‘We pride ourselves on being the perfect store to pick up everything you need for a brand new head-to-toe look.’ *Most of their products are designed in house which sets them apart from other high street retailers. *River Island also offer menswear, kidswear, RI active and also recently brought in Ridog. They are currently on top form over their main competitor Topshop by making their customers shopping experience more tailored. *In 2016 River Island have brought in a RIPLUS range and also RIPetite which again introduces more custom to the store. *In the past they had a celebrity collaboration with Rihanna which attracted Rihanna fans who may not have shopped in River Island before. *Staff morale and knowledge plays a big part towards strength as it is the staff members who work together to see things through such as V.M and customer experience. *Having as many sizes visible on the as possible.

*River Island could start up a customer loyalty card. This is something their competitors (Miss Selfridge, Topshop, Zara) haven’t thought about yet which would give them a chance to boost expansion . *Start a student discount scheme in order to win over Topshop & Miss Selfridge customers. *River Island have many international opportunities to open up more stores and expand globally. * With me bringing in office wear to the name, they could also think about offering an affordable graduation collection to truly become the store that you can ‘pick everything up from’. * Bring in a celebrity endorsement, as they did a few years back with Rhianna which was successful. Models such as Gigi Hadid or Kendal & Kylie Jenner would be the perfect type. * Bring out promotions/discounts at the end of the month near payday when people are a little more likely to spend disposable income.

*River Island only offer student discount for 2 days once a year. Other high street retailers such as. Topshop, New Look and Miss Selfridge offer this all year round. *Collections and products are not turning over as quickly as competitors such as Zara who’s turnover is every 2 weeks, they need to keep up with the change in retail. *River Island do not currently offer a maternity wear collection which competitors Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and New Look do. *A lack of eye-catching V.M is a potential weakness as the V.M is what draws the customer into the store in the first place. *Ill-trained staff who don’t know much about products can put customers off.

*IT and online stores are becoming rapidly popular and we as a 21st century population are known to online shop more than ever. This continuation can become a threat to retail stores. *Economy issues e.g. existing the e.u will put people at an uncertain perspective and people will be less likely to spend on upcoming trends. *Competitors are a big threat to River Island and other retailers, cheaper retailers such as boohoo and misguided sell similar fashions as River Island but at a much cheaper price. *A major threat is the demand of turnover. Companies such as Zara have a very quick turnover so it may threaten and place high demands on River Island to keep up with trends.

Major Project for Unit 10

S.W.O.T Evaluation

By doing a SWOT analysis on my chosen retailer River Island, I was able to visually see the frame work required to review investigative information. By seeing out the potential strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the retailer allowed me to see where I am, where I need to be and what the business overall is achieving and what needs developing.

By carrying out a full SWOT analysis I was able to determine internal and external factors that become potential threats so that I can avoid any issues and develop strategical plans to overcome any discrepancies.

One of the main weakness within the business is that River Island do not offer student discount giving their competitors Topshop, Miss Selfridge and New Look an advantage over River Island. However, my mid-term business aim was to bring in a customer loyalty card for customers of Office to Party who can accumulate points with every purchase made from the Office to Party range and can then use these points to spend on the range in store. This in a way makes shopping a little more beneficial and exiting for my customer. Also, my target customer will be shopping for essential items for work-clothes which means they wouldn’t be as tempted to go into Topshop where they wouldn’t have the benefit of student discount anyway as my target audience is young women in full time jobs.

Turnover was also a threat that is apparent through my river island swot analysis. However, my range office to party brings out ‘timeless’ items which means buying from the Office to Party section would see my customers throughout different events and occasions throughout the year. Meaning fresh trends wouldn’t be much of an issue. My range is about bringing modern styles, colours and shapes into work-wear which gives me an advantage over my competitors as they do not offer any modernisation on work-wear it tends to just be classic white, black and grey pieces.

As part of the opportunities I said that it would be good for River Island to bring out some promotions/deals at the end of the month (around payday) where people feel less guilty in spending a little disposable income. For my range in particular, I would probably introduce things such as 20% of work trousers or buy 3 for 2 on jewellery. Little incentives like these are what boost sales and keep River Island above their competitors.

Visual Merchandise is a major strength for River Island right now on the market. They always have something big, eyecatching and endorsing in the window. They also have a ‘just arrived’ section at the front of the stores and also online.

This is something I definitely think is an advantage and would be something they should continue. Even though Zara has a turnover of new trends every 2 weeks it doesn’t feel as special or unique as there is no window display to voice this. Overall, people are more interested and excited by the River Island displays as they are more personal and fun.

Take a look at the screenshots to the right and compare them. The river island merchandise shows mannequins flaunting the river island products and always have some sort of theme relating to trend, season or general best sellers.

Then take a look at Zara- only clothing is shown and there is no theme/seasonal trend that stands out. Giving River Island an advantage over their competitor.

Major Project for Unit 10

Final Evaluation

Throughout this unit I have developed strategic skills which are extremely vital for the buying industry. i have discovered how to be become critically aware of a certain niche in the market, how global influences effect fashion and the buying environment as a whole. I feel that I mostly learned about the depth of the buying team and how much work, thought and creativity goes into choosing specific ranges. Its not all about the clothes and how they look- it’s the art behind imagination and the creative skills of how garments are chosen, created and influenced.

Although I had an understanding of the buying cycle and all of its different elements. I didn’t feel I was as clear on this than everything else. I would need to improve on my awareness skills of exactly what goes into negotiating and liaising with suppliers particularly for the fast fashion buying environment. I have to research more into the whole process and have a clear idea of the buying cycle and what is a priority and what is a team/individual decision.

There are two types of organisational charts; one being a head office chart and the other being a shop floor chart. Throughout the organisational chart task I realised how significant all of the different roles were in terms of the buying environment. Communication is key between head office and shop floor- even though it is initially buyers at head office who choose and plan the range it is the merchandisers who work with the buying team to fill them in on factors such as budgets, best sellers and turnover. This then goes into play with the shop floor chart who filter through the fashions through retail and whose responsibility it is to make customers aware of items through visual merchandise and general conversation by explaining through features and benefits. It is a team decision to understand the ins and outs of best sellers which helps the buyer make future decisions and also picks up areas of development.

A branded buyer differs from other buyers as they will focus on what brands are most popular for the season. They will tend to make trips to wholesalers and buy items in bulk rather than go through the personal process other fashion buyers will go through for their individual retailer.

Branded buyers will usually work closely with the I.T team as most products will be sold from online. It tends to be that branded buyers would have more time in terms of season to promote their products. However, it is important that branded buyers work well with website companies such as WGSN to see whats freshest and most popular.

Fast fashion does exactly what it implies- its ‘fast’. Buyers will work on a 6 week period compared to high street and designer environments who work between 6-12 months in advance. The fast fashion environment would probably find themselves buying from wholesalers and the cheapest suppliers in order to get there products out and ready for the date negotiated. Fast fashion buyers do focus on seasonal aspects such as S/S and A/W but not as narrowly as high street and designer fashion buyers. It is more of what's the latest trend and how are we going to get it out ASAP- if dates are missed/re-negotiated fast fashion buyers would find themselves at a loss.

Throughout the merchandise spreadsheet task I learned how significant it is for the buying and merchandise team to work together. The merchandisers are the people who keep on top of all the sales figures, margin, OTB etc. without this information the buyers would not be as successful or knowledgable of what is working well and what isn’t well. The data provided by merchandisers shows not only the buying team but the company as a whole where they are with sales and where they would ideally like to be. Having actual figures in front of you and like for like data informs the buyer of how successful certain garments are compared to others and in what location is doing well for certain items.

Major Project for Unit 10

Final Evaluation

After spending a great depth of time researching into trend forecasts for not only key shapes but factors such as material and colour, I then looked into the materials and key shapes River Island particularly tend to focus on in order for my range to suit the identity of River Island. As my range was specifically for work-wear but also appropriate to go out and socialise in I wanted to create a fun, modern collection that was classic, sophisticated but also youthful. With this in mind I stuck to classic key shapes such as slim-tailored trousers, blazers, blouses along with robe mid-lengh coats and paired my items with heeled boots/courts and floppy hats for a modern working woman. When I put the range together I stuck to a strict colour scheme to make the range identifiable and versatile. I wanted my customer to be able to mix and match pieces which could look different every time they are worn giving the sense of individuality and good enough reason to purchase. I do like the range I created which is important. You need to be passionate about what you create as this gives you the drive to want it to appeal to your customer and sell well. I feel that your style speaks for you and shows a part of you which is something that can usually be lost in work-clothes. This way, my range gives young women at work a chance to express themselves through modern fashion and make them feel comfortable wearing their outfits from ‘9 to wine’.

As part of my marketing strategies for Office to Party for River Island I looked into current and older River Island campaigns. I found they predominantly use social media images of snippets of items to create temptation. I felt this is something that works well for the river island customer and would find influence from this myself from an Office to Party perspective. A major strategy I took on was the customer loyalty card which has not yet been introduced to River Island stores which gives my collection a niche and something new/fun for my customer. I also created a STYLE INSIDER look book which flicks through different garments to create different outfits. The reason behind this was when shopping for work-wear you want to make sure your spending your money on versatile items which with a look book- this can do it for you and also makes it a little more personal to the customer.

My Office to Party range fits into the high-street retailing environment. My competitors include others under this umbrella such as Topshop, Miss Selfridge and Zara. However, my range in particular has an advantage over my typical competitors on factors such as modern work-wear and it is focussed purely on the working class young women of all their target markets. I would probably say that Next would be another possible competitor in terms of smart/work wear and pricing. However, their target age range is quite different to mine.

I knew that my elevator pitch had to be short, memorable but enticing. This is why I got straight to the point of my business idea and wanted to express that it is predominantly aimed towards young women in full time work. I felt it was a strategical plan for me to introduce my niche early on in order to maintain the interest surrounded by my idea. I also choose to add on the strapline ‘9 to wine’ which is fun, youthful and energetic- an implication of what my range was going to be about.

I choose the name ‘Office to Party’ in order to send a clear, identifiable message. It clearly reaches out to my target market as it is purely based on young working women who would like to meet friends straight after work without the hassle of rushing home to get changed. I thought that to bring the range out in A/W17 would be the best time of year as people tend to go out more during the week as well as weekends to enjoy Christmas festivities.

Major Project for Unit 10

Final Evaluation

Throughout this unit my work ethic has definitely increased and I have found a further motivation into the different buying environments. I am really interested in the different types of buying cycles fashion retail buyers have to go through and the whole process of the buying cycle. My knowledge on buying as a whole as deepened especially with trend-forecasting and searching for the right cads to fit in with my concept and mood boards. I have developed skills in Photoshop which I did briefly use from Unit 1 however this time I created my own look book through Photoshop as well as my full range and concept board. I have became a lot more confident in pitching my ideas to the group and feeling a lot more capable of finding my own themes, concepts and range plans to bring my whole idea into something visual and strong.

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