About Dr Martens The Dr Martens brand was created by the Griggs family back in 1901, in Wollaston Northamptonshire. Drmartens.com (2016). The family were known for their ‘sturdy, durable work boots’ which continued for six decades. Drmartens.com (2016). However due to Dr. Klaus Maertens suffering an injury in 1945 the original Griggs boots got altered with a more cushioned sole to help aid his recovery, and he did this with the help of a ‘mechanical engineer Dr. Herbet Funk’. Drmartens (2016). After a while the two of them created a partnership and decided to start selling the boot that they had designed for Dr, Klaus Maertens recovery, and they did this by upgrading old military boots, but surprisingly their main seller for these was women. Drmartens (2016). In 1960 the Griggs family saw the advertisements made by Maertens and Funk about their new boot, and they felt as though their original boots could do with some upgrading, and with that they made some alterations and created the famous Dr Martens boot that everyone knows and loves now. Throughout the decades the Dr Martens boot has been a symbol for change, rebelliousness and self expression, however in the 1980s it became apparent that women were buying the boots more than they had before, and this could be seen be the rise in sales of the smaller men’s boot drmartens.com (2016). Along with women buying more of the boots they also began to customise them, often with floral patterns, and from this the company began to make women’s boots. Drmartens.com (2016).
Sizing Dr Martens sizings typically run from XXS- XXL or from somewhere inbetween as they do not use size numbers, for example size 8 or 18 Dr Martens (2016). Due to this, the new range will also be sized using this method and all items of clothing will run from a size XXS to XXL, which will help encorporate the already sold items with the new ones. Pricing Dr Martens pricing is mixed with medium and high prices, for example some of their t-shirts are priced at £25.00 and their jackets at £95.00 Dr Martens (2016). Due to this the pricing for the new range is somewhere inbetween to try to fit in the price ranges. However the items online seem to change regularly, also items online seem to get reduced in price rather quickly. But their Notthingham store manager said that their prices change when the season changes to help sell stock so that there is room for the new items to be stored, which is price skimming.
Figure 2. Dr Martens clothing (Dr Martens,2016) Figure 1. The Beginnings (Dr Martens 2016)
Why a New Range? Since the 1980s Dr Martens have started to cater for their female audience which can be seen by their sales of smaller boots and also with their women’s clothing line dr martens (2016). Even though they do sell clothing for their female customers it is all very masculine, and many of the items can be worn by both men and women. drmartens (2016). The idea of the new range is to create clothing for women that is more feminine in style, stereotypically, allowing them to assert their identity. The new range will target their already exisiting custmomers but will also attract new ones with the more feminine shapes.
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Trend Research
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Garment Details Several of the garments contain buttons as fastenings, but not all of the garments will contain the same button type. The shirt and shirt dress will have the buttons shown in figure 4 image 23 as these ones are more typical for their sort of garment, and everything else will have the buttons shown in figure 4 image 25. This is because these items are more outer wear and are made of thicker material, and because of this they need to be fastened with tougher more durable buttons, as these ones are made from 100% metal and the other from 100% polyester. For each garment that contains the buttons in image 23, they will stay the colour they already are, which is a silver metal, but the items that contain the other buttons, will be a colour that matches the garment, so for example the shirt has blue buttons to match the other blue elements on the shirt. Other elements used in the range are the elastic in the high wasted skirt to help encourage stretch in the garment for easy fit, and also the thread used to stitch all garment pieces together. All of the thread used will be the same colour as the garment, a part from the short sleeved top with the pocket, this thread will be yellow or red to fit in with the Dr Martens brand to make it more of a Dr Martens themed top. Something that Dr Martens has on all of their t-shirt items is their name at the bottom left, and this is something that is also incorporated into the new range to retain consistency, and this can be seen in figure 5 image 27. Image 24
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Colours
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Figure 5. Buttons (button company, my fabrics n.d.)
The main colours that Dr Martens are currently using for their clothing is black, white and burgundy, however in store it can be seen that there is one jumper that contains brighter colours, and a range called ‘slime’ drmartens.com that can be seen in figure 5 image 26, which is why the new range colour palette is Digital Wave, as it contains both darks, lights and brights. drmartens.com (2016), WGSN (2016).The darks are close to those that Dr Martens already use and the lighter brighter colours will help make the range a bit more girly in a stereotypical kind of way and will also make them more summary than the dark colours which are usually worn in the colder months. However Dr Martens usual colour palette is darker colours, mainly blacks and reds, which is why the new range is still dark in tone even though it is a Spring/ Summer collection. However Burberry has just shown their SS 16 women’s wear range and that contains a lot of black which is because it is not warm weather in all areas of the world where their clothes are being sold, so by doing this they are targeting to a larger audience. When looking at the Digital Wave story it explains that the 80s vibe is something that features throughout, whether it be shapes or colours, and Digital Wave is one that has been created with the 80s in mind. WGSN.com (2016). The colour palette contains a range of colours, but however not all will be used in the range. A particular part of the story is called Pretty Punk, which is what the range will be focused around. This is because Dr Martens is known for its grungy look and has the ‘#StandForSomething’ drmartens.com (2016), along with its high following by Punks and Skinheads back in the 70s and 80s, which were known for their rebelliousness, and this is something Dr Martens still try to encourage, by encouraging their customers to be themselves and to ‘stand for something’. Drmartens.com (2016). The Next Look, Women SS 17 Trend book shows similar colours to WGSN when it comes to colours, especially in the Art School Inspiration and Night Fall Inspiration ranges.
Figure 6. Dr Martens items and details (Dr Martens Blog, Primary research, 2016)
Market Research
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Competition Dr Martens is a well-known shoe brand that also makes clothes, which is similar to other brands such as Timberland, Vans and Converse. Even though they do have competition, the same as any other brand, their customers are loyal ones, as it is an image that they like to uphold. drmartens (2016). This can be seen by the fact that Dr Martens stores are typically out of the way, for example in Leeds, the store is not in the Trinity shopping centre but rather a five minute walk away next to Vans. This will be because Dr Martens is a store that is a destination for some and not for others, it is a brand that you either shop at or you do not. It is such well-known brand that does not need to rely on being on the high street or in the shopping centre as those who want to purchase something from there will go there regardless of where it is. This is similar to its competitors, for example Vans is right next to Dr Martens in Leeds, however there are places where they are on the high street or in the shopping centre, such as Vans being in Meadowhall in Sheffield. Another one of their competitors is Ark. Ark is both an online and brick and mortar store and sells a range of clothing and accessories for both men and women, ranging from grungy inspired items like Dr Martens to more stereotypically girly items like what the new range is trying to incorporate into the brand. The pricing of Ark ranges, and does have items priced similar to Dr Martens, but also has some which are a lot cheaper. Ark.com (2016). Stores that are similar in price to Dr Martens making them competitors are Topshop/ Topman, Vans, Converse, and Element, all of which, a part form Topshop/ Topman are sold under the store name, Two Seasons. Two seasons sells clothing and accessories for alternative sports such as skateboarding and snowboarding to name a few, but their clothing is typically grungier than others, therefore making them competitors to Dr Martens. Image 28
Figure 7. Store logos (Two Seasons, Vans, Ark, 2016)
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Consumer Profile Dr Martens target market are people who like to stand out from the crowd, and it has been this way since back in the 1970s with the punks who were well known for their rebellion. Their boots have been to known to carry people through their times of hard work and craft but also through excitement such as concerts and riots. Dr Martens wants this reputation and belonging to be a part of their clothing as well as their boots, making it a brand reputation, and this is something that their customers enjoy and want to be a part of. Their target market are both men and women aged between thirteen and twenty-five and are people who have a reasonably sized disposable income due to their prices being slightly higher than say the more common high street stores, such as New Look or Topman. Blogspot.co.uk (2011), Drmartens.com (2016), Newlook.com (2016), topman.com (2016) However Dr Martens do sell some items that are of similar prices to Topshop/ Topman, such as their t-shirts and a few of their dresses. Drmartens.com (2016), topshop.com (2016). When looking at the VALs psychographic segmentation process it can be worked out that Dr Martens are trying to target those who are both innovators and experiences, or those who are the people who are targeting Dr Martens as their go to brand. ‘The innovators are those who are confident enough to experiment within fashion, who are self- directed and open to new ideas. The experiences are those who like to go against the mainstream, are spontaneous and clued up on the latest fashion trends.’ Strategicbusinessinsights,com (2016). Both of these types of consumers are perfect for what Dr Martens stands for, the right to be different and to express yourself without caring about what others think. ‘#standforsomething’ drmartens.com.
Figure 8. Girls in boots (tumblr, Dr Martens Blog, n.d.)
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Dr Martens New Mini Range
WGSN (n.d.)
WGSN (n.d.)
WGSN (n.d.)
WGSN (n.d.)
Price: £35.00 Size: XXS- XXL Colourways: 4 Materials: 100% Cotton
WGSN (n.d.)
Price: £40.00 Size: XXS- XXL Colourways: 3 Materials: 100% Cotton
Price: £40.00 Size: XXS- XXL Colourways: 3 Materials: 100% Polyester
Price: £35.00 Size: XXS- XXL Colourways: 3 Materials: 100% Cotton
Price: £20.00 Size: XXS- XXL Colourways: 4 Materials: 100% Cotton
Price: £40.00 Size: XXS- XXL Colourways: 2 Materials: 100% Cotton