Subject Specialism: Jaeger

Subject Specialism: Fashion Buying and Merchandising An Analysis of Jaeger’s Past Strategic Developments and Recommendations to Develop Product and Marketing Strategies for Future Planning Samuel Clive Jones A report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of the degree BA (Hons.) Fashion: Buying and Merchandising The London College of Fashion University of the Arts London 10th January 2014

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Contents 1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………....3 1.1 Brand History……………………………………………………………………….3 1.2 Current Financial Status………………………………………….…………...…..3 Part One: Situation Analysis 2. Environmental Analysis………………………………………………………………4-7 2.1 Political Factors……………………………………………………….……….…4-5 2.2 Economic Factors…………………………………………………..……………5-6 2.3 Social Factors………………………………………………………………………6 2.4 Technological Factors…………………………………………...………………6-7 2.5 Environmental Factors…………………………………………………………..…7 3. Current Strategic Positioning………………………………………………………..…8 4. Competitor Analysis…………………………………………………………………9-10 4.1 Reiss…………………………………………………………………………………9 4.2 Jigsaw……………………………………………………………………………….9 4.3 Whistles……………………………………………………………………….…9-10 Part Two: Analysis of Past Strategic Development 5. Concessions……………………………………………………………………..…11-13 5.1 Department Store Concessions…………………………………………..…11-12 5.2 Hosting Concessions…………………………………………………………12-13 6. London Fashion Week…………………………………………………………….13-14 7. Sub-Brand………………………………………………………………………………14 8. Core Branding………………………………………………………………………14-15 Part Three: Recommendations for Future Strategic Planning 9. Future Strategic Positioning…………………………………………………………..15 10. Target Customer Analysis…………………………………………………………16-18 10.1 Target Age Analysis………………………………………………………….16-17 10.2 Target Lifestyle Analysis…………………………………………………….17-18 11. Future Product Planning………………………………………………………..…19-23 11.1 British Sourcing………………………………………………………………19-20 11.2 Heritage Inspired Product and Marketing……………………………….…21-22 11.3 Pricing Strategy………………………………………………......................22-23

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12. Jaeger at Marks and Spencer…………………………………………………….23-24 12.1 Biba Case Study…………………………………………………………………24 13. Summary……………..……………………………………………………………..25-26 14. References……………………………………………………………………….…27-29 15. Personal and Professional Development……………………………………..…30-31

Figures Figure 1. The Business Environment (Adapted from Hines, 2004:46) Figure 2. Current Perceptual Positioning Map Figure 3. Ansoff’s product-market matrix (Adapted from Jackson and Shaw, 2001:77) Figure 4 and 5. Jaeger branding (Jaeger, 2013) Figure 6. Future Perceptual Positioning Map Figure 7. Taylor-Nelson lifestyle segmentation system (Adapted from Jackson and Shaw, 2009:66) Figure 8. The Hidden Cost of Manufacturing Fashion Offshore (Adapted from Drapers, 2012) Figure 9. The Boston Matrix (Adapted from Jackson and Shaw, 2009:305)

Total Number of Words: 4990

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1. Introduction This report is to detail the current situation and past strategic development of London based fashion brand Jaeger. Considering this, recommendations are to be made for future planning in terms of product, sourcing and marketing strategies. Jaeger houses collections for both men and women, this report however is to primarily focus on womenswear.

1.1 Brand History In 1883 Lewis Tomalin opened the Dr Jaeger’s Sanitary Woollen System store, inspired by the teachings of Dr Gustav Jaeger, a German dress reformer who believed that animal hair is the healthiest fabric to wear against human skin (Phaidon Editors, 2013). The store concept went on to become a British fashion brand, known simply as Jaeger.

The brand’s ethos was originally based on popularising the appeal of ‘healthy’ materials that the business went on to achieve through garments with style that came to represent British dependable design (Phaidon Editors, 2013). !

1.2 Financial Status The company has been running at a loss for some time, however as stated by Better Capital, the current owners of Jaeger - ‘The company now feels well positioned for the future and on the right trajectory for profitable growth’ (Better Capital, 2013). This has reflected on the business recently reducing their losses by over 50%, which after tax have declined from £35.5m to £13.1m for the full year as of 23rd February 2013.

At the same time however their sales have declined 17% to £70.7m (Neilan and Santi, 2013). This implies that Jaeger’s decreased loses have been more so reliant on decreasing costs rather than increasing sales over the past year, this combined with new strategies to increase sales intends to see the business return to profit.

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Part One: Situation Analysis 2. Environmental Analysis Hines’s ‘The Business Environment’ is a visualisation of environments affecting a business. The internal environment refers to Jaeger and their staff, the microenvironment represents Jaeger’s competitors, while the macro-environment factors political, economic, sociocultural and technological forces. The framework also visualises how they’re connected, for instance, social factors affecting conditions in consumer markets, which affect Jaeger and competing retailers (Hines, 2004:46).

Figure 1. The Business Environment (Adapted from Hines, 2004:46) 2.1 Political and Legal Factors Jaeger is based in the UK, which has a stable political scenario with no serious threats at present (Gadget, 2011). The tax system in the UK is also believed to be among the most attractive in the developed world with relatively low corporate and personal taxes (Gadget, 2011). In comparison to other countries’ taxes, the UK is an appealing location for commerce.

Job insecurity is considered to be an inhibitor to the womenswear market due to it lowering consumer confidence (Verdict, 2012). This suggests that consumers are

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! less likely to spend high amounts on fashion due to fear that they may lose their jobs and thus their main financial income.

With living costs increasing, this is counterbalanced with consumer discretionary spending becoming more limited (Verdict, 2012). This results in consumers spending a higher amount on life essentials such as rent and food, causing their disposable income to decrease and thus decreases the likelihood of spending high amounts on fashion.

If increasing the amount of labour used in the UK for head office or production purposes, the legislation involved in fulfilling legal payment laws and cost of living for employees needs to be considered (Verdict, 2012).

2.2 Economic Factors The UK has what is referred to as an open economy and is ranked the fourth largest economy in the world. Properly managed fiscal and monetary policies have produced an expanding economy in the UK with low inflation and strong government finances (Gadget, 2011), benefiting and somewhat welcoming business.

Currency exchange rates continue to fluctuate for the UK and are thus unreliable forcing consumers to spend more per item (Verdict, 2012). This encourages investment purchasing amongst consumers that they can use through several seasons. This is in contrast to highly trend-driven, seasonal garments offered by fashion retailers like Topshop or Zara.

Due to economic pressures such as high levels of youth unemployment and rising University tuition fees, the 15-24 year old age bracket are believed to be spending more carefully (Mintel, 2013a). This causes growth in the young and value fashion sectors to slow (Verdict, 2012), which increases competitiveness in this market and thus makes it a more difficult age group to target successfully.

Mintel researchers believe that in the 12 months to the beginning of 2013, the continuing tough economic climate has meant that women have become more discerning about what they buy and the prices they pay for product. This has caused women to adapt their shopping behavior, comparing prices more often and buying higher amounts of cheaper and reduced items. This means that fashion retailers

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! need to compete even more so than previously for the custom of female fashion consumers (Mintel, 2013a). Essentially retailers need to consider their worth to consumers. Why should potential customers buy their product as opposed to their competitors?

The limit on credit lending will be an inhibitor for many fashion retailers (Verdict, 2012) due to the increasing difficulty for consumers to borrow money. This decreases the likelihood that consumers will spend high amounts on apparel, due to not being able to rely as heavily on credit lending.

2.3 Social and Cultural Factors ‘In Britain today, about 11 million (16%) of the population is aged 65 or older. Put in another perspective - in 2007, for the first time in recorded history, there were more over-65s than under-18s living in the UK. There are similar figures for other industrialised nations’ (Stuart-Hamilton, 2012:19). An aging population in the UK means that fashion retailers have to consider the age bracket that they’re targeting and the figures of people existing within said bracket. Another critical consideration is the amount of competing retailers that target that age bracket and thus how saturated the area of the market is. This will affect Jaeger specifically given that the brand’s past and recommended future strategies somewhat focus on an age of the consumer that they are targeting. For instance targeting a younger clientele with subbrand Boutique by Jaeger and in contrast an older clientele with Jaeger’s core lines.

The aging population is a key driver in the womenswear market due to it increasing expenditure in the 45-plus market (Verdict, 2012), creating opportunity for fashion retailers to potentially maximise.

2.4 Technological Factors ‘E-commerce offers exciting opportunities for brands, particularly in less durable categories such as beauty, apparel, fashion accessories and footwear’ (Mintel, 2013b). This is something that Jaeger are currently benefiting from, by selling fashion and accessories on Jaeger.co.uk, as well as through various department store websites, of which especially attract a lot of online traffic, increasing the likelihood of high sales. John Lewis, one of Jaeger’s stockists, however still a competitor, had online sales that broke through the £1billion barrier as the retailer unveiled a new £40million website platform, this is especially surprising given that John Lewis

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! reached the £1billion milestone a year ahead of the retailer’s own forecast (Harrison, 2013). This demonstrates some of the opportunity that fashion retailers can gain from investing in e-commerce.

Social networking is a marketing tool that can be trialled and potentially maximised with minimal cost by fashion retailers at all levels of the industry. Fast-fashion retailers targeting a young clientele heavily use social networking to communicate their consistently changing product ranges to customers. Due to Jaeger being a more quality driven business at it’s core, it seems unnecessary to regularly communicate with consumers via social networking, however is still a useful tool worth using by Jaeger’s marketing team.

Bridging in-store and online shopping is somewhat becoming a trend amongst fashion retailers with returning in-store and click-and-collect concepts. Mintel believe that ‘retailers could further integrate online and in-store by providing customers with the option to build online shortlists of products for viewing in-store at an appointed date and time’ (Mintel, 2013b). This is something that could resonate well with the Jaeger brand who pride themselves on fabric quality rather than heavily trend-driven design, something that customers can appreciate more so in-store rather than online.

2.5 Environmental Factors Environmentalism in fashion is becoming more of an issue, with the production of approximately eighty billion garments taking place worldwide each year (Siegle, 2011). The creation of these garments heavily rely on water, air, energy and capital, while the final outcomes of garments exist as landfill, being incinerated or being shipped overseas (Fletcher, 2012). The environmental issues of high amounts of garment manufacturing has an increasing interest and thus an increasing awareness amongst fashion consumers, who are questioning where their garments came from and the levels of environmental damage that they have caused. This is something that all fashion retailers need to consider, not only from a moral perspective but also from a financial perspective, with businesses potentially losing sales if a high amount of consumers perceive the business and/or their products as being unethical.

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3. Current Strategic Positioning Aaker and McCloughlin believe that strategic positioning ‘specifies how the business aspires to be perceived by its customers, employees and partners relative to its competitors and market’ (2007).

Figure 2. Present Perceptual Positioning Map A Perceptual Positioning Map has been used to visualise a specific area of the womenswear market, positioning competing retailers against focus brand Jaeger.

Whistles, Jigsaw and Reiss all target similar maturity levels and are of similar levels of premium status. The area circled that Jaeger is currently trying to compete in is saturated and thus competitive, making it one of the potential reasons that Jaeger isn’t currently achieving high sales.

A competitive advantage that Jaeger has over it’s close competitors is that the brand has traded for a longer period, making it more of a heritage brand with an interesting story, something that is intended to be maximised in future strategies.

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4. Competitor Analysis It should be noted that Mintel define the three following competitors as being ‘uppermiddle market’, describing them as being the ‘bridge’ between high street and designer (Mintel, 2008).

4.1 Reiss Reiss is an upmarket design-led fashion-contemporary retailer of womenswear, targeting a sophisticated 25-40-year-old customer. The store and product reflect their metropolitan locations and price points reflect their upper mainstream position within womenswear (Mintel, 2008).

The brand has become recognised as being fashion-led. Individual and aspirational looks at affordable prices are offered, combining good product design and quality with value for money. Their product mix is well balanced, covering day, separates and evening appropriate garments with interesting colours pallets (Mintel, 2008).

4.2 Jigsaw Jigsaw have a broad appeal with their British, eclectic, arty collections that have distinctive design handwriting, strong on interesting fabrics, colour and print that appeals to a thirty-plus fashion-conscious woman (Mintel, 2008).

Colours and prints are on-trend but different, and provide scope for women to create their own individual look. Accessories are strong and complement the clothing (Mintel, 2008).

4.3 Whistles Whistles was originally founded in 1976, selling young designers including Gaultier and Galliano, later creating its own-brand label. This dual-strategy created a destination for over-30 women looking for something different, feminine and sophisticated (Mintel, 2008).

The dual strategy continues today, with most merchandise being own-brand while also selling external labels. The own-brand merchandise ranges from skinny jeans,

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! vintage looks and dressy festival chic as well as some core basics such as knitwear.

There is a focus on print, colour and embellishment. The Whistles style is ‘definitely not minimal’ (Mintel, 2008) especially in comparison to Jaeger’s more stripped-back aesthetic.

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Part Two: Analysis of Past Strategic Development 5. Concessions 5.1 Department Store Concessions Like competitor brands Jigsaw and Whistles, Jaeger have commissioned concessions in department stores chains House of Fraser, John Lewis and Selfridges which gives Jaeger the opportunity to benefit from the belief that ‘concessions provide a phenomenal platform for brands to grow, flourish and display their collections nationwide’ (Geoghegan, 2013).

Figure 3. Ansoff’s product-market matrix (Adapted from Jackson and Shaw, 2001:77) Referring to Ansoff’s Matrix, department store concessions can be defined as being market development, given that the strategy involves selling current Jaeger product to new markets. Market development can involve the brand expanding geographically (Aaker and McLoughlin, 2007), which is the case for Jaeger due to department store concessions allowing the brand to reach British customers and cities that their retail spaces were previously unavailable to, essentially to more of a

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! mass market. Aaker and McLoughlin mention how market development allows brands to target new market segments (2007). Each department store chain appeals to a different segment of the womenswear market, allowing Jaeger to gain higher exposure to customers who may not of considered purchasing from Jaeger prior to shopping at one of their concession outlets. Stocking garments alongside other, higher priced brands allows Jaeger to provide more cost friendly but quality driven product. At the same time however competiveness with other brands is high, therefore differentiation and unique selling points are essential to the success of department store concessions, something that Jaeger are arguably currently lacking in.

5.2 Hosting Concessions Jaeger have began hosting their own concession spaces in what they have titled Boutique Gallery, a floor in the Regent Street flagship store. The space houses a curated mix of Britain's leading emerging ready-to-wear, jewellery and accessories labels (Alexander, 2013). Shailina Parti, Jaeger brand director, told British Vogue that Boutique Gallery ‘offers innovation, pure design and a Brit ethos that demonstrates [Jaeger’s] commitment to the UK and to home-grown talent and design’ (Parti, 2013).

This helps the brand gain positive association with fashion-forward, emerging designers, ‘encouraging customer traffic and therefore sales of other merchandise’ (Varley, 2006:84) such as Jaeger’s own lines. This will attract a different clientele to the customer who may, for instance, purchase a Jaeger garment from a House of Fraser concession. The space also allows Jaeger to build on their ‘Brit ethos,’ something that is intended to be maximised in future strategies. By creating more of a destination, Jaeger can capitalise on their Regent Street location and its Britishness to attract both tourists and Londoners (Faulkner, 2013).

‘Concessions are a way of allowing a retailers to extend the product range offered within the outlet, without experiencing some of the risk associated with buying the merchandise’ (Varley, 2006:84). Risk is also minimised with this strategy due to the concept only existing in their Regent Street flagship.

Boutique Gallery introduces new product to existing customers, so is categorised as being product development by Ansoff’s matrix. This has allowed Jaeger to expand their product scope, increasing variety in their product mix which helps broaden the

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! brand’s appeal (Aaker and McLoughlin, 2007) to a higher amount of markets with the hope of achieving higher sales.

Introducing branded concessions in stores however can dilute Jaeger’s offering, suggesting that Jaeger’s own product range is not strong enough and needs to be supplemented by external labels (Gallagher, 2013). It is believed that multiples should be covering all bases their customers need with their own labels and if they feel their collection is missing something then they should try to expand their range with new product. This way the clothes they sell will carry Jaeger’s own handprint and not be diluted by other labels’ design aesthetics (Gallagher, 2013). Additionally, there’s also the risk that consumers may believe the external labels are more interesting than Jaeger’s lines, causing consumers to look elsewhere (Gallagher, 2013).

A wall of the Boutique Gallery floor has been dedicated to showcase Jaeger’s history, however is not a focal point, somewhat shadowed by the designer concessions and thus easily not noticed. It should also be noted that the branding of the showcase is confusing due it being named Boutique Gallery while the retailer already houses and distributes sub-brand Boutique by Jaeger. There is also high competition in the area with department stores Liberty and Selfridges being located so near to Jaeger’s flagship (Faulker, 2012).

6. London Fashion Week Jaeger have presented collections from their high-end label Jaeger London on the official schedule at London Fashion Week for six seasons from Autumn / Winter 2009 to Spring / Summer 2012. The Jaeger London label was to be the more directional, fashion-focus, high-end choice in Jaeger’s brand portfolio. ELLE magazine’s report on one of the Jaeger London collections, questions whether Jaeger is directional enough to sit on the fashion week schedule and whether their runway looks may ‘scare off’ their core customer base (Sells, 2011). Despite ELLE magazine stating that the brand achieves success aesthetically, it is arguable that the strategy didn’t achieve financial success. Hosting runway shows on-schedule at fashion week is a costly marketing strategy, with the venue, models, make-up artists, hair stylists and many other costs that need to be considered, that collectively amounts to a high spend for the company twice each year.

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7. Sub-Brand Jaeger introduced another strategy intended to appeal to a younger, fashionconscious clientele. Like competitors Reiss and Whistles, Jaeger somewhat followed suit by introducing lower priced sub-brand Boutique by Jaeger, which was to focus its appeal on the 20-plus woman (Oxberry, 2010). This involved developing product for a new market and thus can be defined as being product development by Ansoff’s matrix. Boutique by Jaeger aesthetically draws inspiration from archive imagery of the 1960s sub-brand Young Jaeger (Oxberry, 2010), however it is worth questioning whether the the 20-plus female customer would recognise this and find the archive inspired collections appealing? It is assumed that the sub-brand isn’t achieving a level of success that business was hoping for given that Jaeger is ‘looking to axe the brand as it looks to re-establish itself with its core customer’ (Neilan, 2013). It is expected that Boutique by Jaeger Spring / Summer 2014 is to be the sub-brand’s last collection, allowing the company to focus on its core brand and thus a core customer.

8. Core Branding Branding used by Jaeger in 2012:

Figure 4. (Jaeger, 2013)

Branding used by Jaeger in 2014:

Figure 5. (Jaeger, 2013) Jaeger has recently taken the strategy to return the company’s logo to archive branding, that has been used extensively throughout Jaeger’s history, as early as advertisements found from 1944 (Watt, 2012:310). This allows customers who are familiar with the company’s history to see Jaeger as more of heritage brand. This sets Jaeger apart from competitors who tend to use minimal branding giving the

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! perception of a fashion-driven company that is used extensively by high-end and middle market brands.

Part Three: Recommendations for Future Strategic Planning 9. Future Strategic Positioning

Figure 6. Future Perceptual Positioning Map Future strategic planning will involve repositioning Jaeger within the market by altering the level of maturity of their target customer profile, altering product strategies to find new worth for consumers and status as a premium retailer to focus on a less saturated area of the market.

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10. Target Customer Analysis 10.1 Target Age Analysis Mintel forecast a decline over the next five years in young women aged 15-24 as well as believing that this age group are the most brand loyal, with three fifths preferring to buy from the same retailers (Mintel, 2013a). This means that if these consumers are not currently shopping at Jaeger, then due to brand loyalty, they aren’t highly likely to begin buying in the future. This age group’s relative lack of financial responsibilities, such as starting a family or buying a house, means that they are able to spend their extra money on buying clothes. As mentioned in the environmental analysis however, this age bracket is facing economic pressures which discourages high spend on fashion product (Mintel, 2013a). Targeting this age group is thus not recommended for the company to pursue. Considering this, the decision to no longer produce product under the Boutique by Jaeger sub-brand seems like an intelligent strategy.

25-34 year old females are forecast to grow by 8% to reach 4.5 million, and will provide new opportunity for the fashion industry. These females are buying clothes more often with almost a ten-percentage point increase in those making purchases once a month or more. This age group, compared to the younger bracket, are more willing to pay more for a brand they like, with three fifths of females aged 25-34 agreeing with this (Mintel, 2013a). There is however high competition targeting this age group, which is likely to rise considering the declining figures in the 15-24 year old age bracket. It also needs to be considered whether this age group are familiar with Jaeger as a heritage brand and whether they’ll find the recommended new branding and company focus appealing.

The plan to appeal to a 45-60 year old customer seems like a very good one. This is something that Jaeger has already considered, creating a target customer profile that they have named ‘Mrs Jaeger’ (Holland, 2013). There’s an estimated 3% increase in 45-54s to 4.6 million by 2017 (Mintel, 2013a). This age bracket is described as being the ‘new big clothes shoppers,’ due to increasingly enjoying shopping for clothes and thus spending more compared with last year. They are shopping more frequently and there has been a six-percentage point rise in those buying clothes once a month or more (Mintel, 2013a).

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The rise in 45-54-year-olds, ‘who are spending more on clothes, as well as the trend towards an ageing population, will create challenges for a sector that has tended to focus on young consumers’ (Mintel, 2013a). This shows that there is great sales opportunity with a combination of increasing population and clothing spending in this age bracket. It implies that despite the majority of the fashion industry targeting the younger generation, Jaeger can maximise opportunity by focusing their product mix to appeal to the growing 45-54 year old market by establishing brand loyalties with high value, quality product. The market is also far less saturated compared to the 2534 year old bracket, with fewer competitors. ‘The fashion industry will need to adapt and respond to the needs of these women who are more preoccupied with quality than price. They are most inclined to state that disappointing product quality would stop them buying from a retailer (Mintel, 2013a). This is greatly beneficial to the business, given that Jaeger is a quality driven brand whom specialise in minimal wear, which when updated, can be of great appeal to the 45-54 year old customer.

10.2 Target Lifestyle Analysis The Taylor-Nelson lifestyle segmentation system helps businesses categorise consumers into three core segments: Principle, Status and Action-orientated fashion consumers, which each have sub-categories respectively.

Figure 7. Taylor-Nelson lifestyle segmentation system (Adapted from Jackson and Shaw, 2009:66)

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The consumer that has been recommended for Jaeger to focus its attention on can be defined as being principle orientated. Principle-orientated consumers as a whole are generally conservative dressers who are less likely to have purchasing decisions that are heavily influenced by media and modern fashion trends (Jackson and Shaw, 2009), when compared with status or action-orientated consumers.

Fulfilleds who are the higher-resourced principle-orientated consumers, are recommended to be Jaeger’s primary target category for future strategies. Jackson and Shaw define fulfilleds as ‘more mature, fairly responsible and likely to be welleducated consumers. They are fairly home-centred and reasonably open to moderate levels of fashionabilty. They do not mind spending on clothes provided they are quality products that will wear well and last in terms of style and durability’ (Jackson and Shaw, 2009:66). This is essential for Jaeger to consider, ensuring products selected by the buying team are of a high enough quality, that consumers can get a lot of use out of in terms of durability as well as ensuring that the design has style longevity. Due to the needs of the customer being highly durable product, this can mean that the likelihood of consumers returning to buy new products regularly is lower due to products lasting for long periods. ‘The product range therefore needs to be managed, extended, developed and/or rationalised according to the customer needs’ (Varley, 2006:15), which in Jaeger’s case may be it’s levels of fashionability. It is believed that fulfilleds are open to moderate levels of fashionabilty, which Jaeger can maximise opportunity from by introducing an edited selection of subtly on-trend product each season, encouraging customers to return to store to look at new lines.

Believers, the lower resourced counterparts to fulfilleds are recommended to be Jaeger’s secondary target category. Jackson and Shaw describe believers as very conservative consumers, who do not have a lot of money to spend on highly fashionable or expensive clothes. They especially buy from reasonable mid-market retailers, a segment of the market that Jaeger sits within. Beleivers are also likely to invest in good quality product that they will get a lot of use out of (Jackson and Shaw, 2009), making the most out of the money they spend, given that their disposable income is lower than that of fullfilleds.

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11. Future Product Planning 11.1 British Sourcing Currency exchange rates regularly fluctuate, making them unreliable and cause the cost of overseas production to soar, especially in China and India (Verdict, 2012). By avoiding this, businesses can minimise spend and increase profitability.

Labour and production costs may still be more expensive in the UK due to legislation and cost of living, however freight and import charges are eliminated which decreases cost (Verdict, 2012). Sourcing in Britain also allows ‘greater flexibility and shorter lead times for retailers – a beneficial trade off for the higher cost of UK production’ (Verdict, 2012:22) meaning that although Jaeger will initially have higher costs, it will be of benefit due to the positives including, not exclusively, more flexible, shorter lead times. This allows Jaeger to maximise best-selling design by restocking garments more rapidly, which is especially useful for a brand who offer quality driven style-staples, like Jaeger, rather than seasonal inspired fast-fashion, like Topshop.

‘Moreover, there is less risk in orders being late or delayed in import customs’ (Verdict, 2012:22) meaning that lost sales from delayed stock is less likely to occur, ‘while it is also logistically easier as the retailers can visit the manufactures and check samples in the factory without the need for international travel’ (Verdict, 2012:22), minimising cost and time.

However ‘much of the craftsmanship and factory functionality and capacity are now on a much smaller scale due to a more limited demand over the last 20 years, so many suppliers will not be capable of producing the large volumes that retailers expect from manufacturing establishments abroad’ (Verdict, 2012:22). Therefor the strategy for Jaeger to produce a high percentage of their products in Britain is highly unlikely, due to lack of capacity in Britain. Verdict believe that ‘retailers will need to choose carefully between ranges they still need to produced overseas and which would benefit from being manufactured in the UK – to get the best price and quality’ (2012:22) attempting to benefit from the positives of both British and offshore sourcing strategies.

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With increasing retailers following similar strategies, British manufacturer’s capacities can grow, with the potential for more manufacturers to open up. This in turn will make it easier for Jaeger to progressively stock more British sourced product, benefiting more so from the mentioned positives.

Figure 8. The Hidden Cost of Manufacturing Fashion Offshore (Adapted from Drapers, 2012) What Drapers refer to as ‘the hidden cost of manufacturing fashion offshore’ (Drapers, 2012) visualises a fashion buying strategy. In essence the chart explains that having a British sourced clothing line gives Jaeger the opportunity to reduce or increase production more easily, fulfilling a more accurate amount of stock to meet actual demand.

Jaeger’s buying and merchandising teams are to ‘find suppliers in a new product, market, implement information systems to achieve availability targets’ while the marketing team ‘introduce marketing campaigns to draw customers’ attention to new product offerings’ (Varley, 2006:15).

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11.2 Heritage Inspired Product and Marketing It is believed by Verdict researchers that heritage trends are making a comeback in the fashion industry, which along with a rising interest in ‘Best of British’ clothing production in the UK should resonate well with potential Jaeger consumers (Verdict, 2012), reinforcing Jaeger’s British ethos.

Figure 9. The Boston Matrix (Adapted from Jackson and Shaw, 2009:305) In reference to the Boston matrix, Jaeger’s heritage, British sourced product is to begin it’s like as a Question Mark, given that it will operate in high-growth markets however will enjoy a relatively small market share. If however through investment in product and marketing strategy, Jaeger increase market share, their product could be defined as being Stars, benefitting from having high market share of a highgrowth markets. Jaeger will hope that their Stars will later become Cash Cows, where despite the market no longer being in a growth period, will still benefit from high market share (Jackson and Shaw, 2009).

It could be argued that Jaeger aren’t currently maximising the use of the brand’s heritage, which dates back as far as 1883. With 130 years of trading the brand has a vast archive of imagery from designs, garment patterns and advertisements that can

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! be used by the design and marketing team to reinforce a certain ‘Jaeger’ style and look.

The design team can use iconic garments from Jaeger’s history as the basis to develop new product for modern custom. For instance, the Prince of Wales in the 1930s ‘championed’ the distinctive Fair Isle patterned golf pullover, that went on to become a style staple of the sporting wardrobe of that time and for years to follow (Watt, 2012:283). A Jaeger advertisement from 1944 also showcases their ready-towear utility range for women, with a distinct silhouette of wide shoulders, narrowing waists and short, flared skirts (Watt, 2012:310). Similar to how Burberry update their iconic mackintosh jacket each season, Jaeger could adopt a somewhat similar strategy by finding iconic, archive garments and updating them for the woman of today. This way the garments appeal to their core customers due to familiarity with style however the brand still update their lines with a subtle use of select trends each season to encourage customers to return to store. It should be noted however that Jaeger somewhat lack an obvious, notable design aesthetic like example fashion companies Burberry and Biba due to Jaeger’s focus through history being on qualitydriven utility clothing. Despite this, it is believed that a version of this strategy, tailored specifically to Jaeger could prove to be of success.

11.3 Pricing Strategy Analysis Businesses use ‘elasticity of demand’ during pricing strategy decision-making.

Products are defined as being inelastic ‘if the percentage change in the unit quantity sold is less than the percentage change in the price’ (Jackson and Shaw, 2009:126).

This means that even if the retailer increase the price of a product, consumers feel there is high enough worth to still make a purchase, meaning that the business will make higher profits per unit sold. Elastic product however ‘exists if the percentage change in the unit quantity sold is greater than the percentage change in the price’ (Jackson and Shaw, 2009:126). When retailers reduce selling prices it generates less profit per unit sold however the business may still receive higher profits given that the reduced price has the potential to stimulate higher sales.

If Jaeger source more British produced garments, increase product quality and reinforce their heritage branding, they may feel that higher retail prices are justifiable, with the hope of making their products more inelastic. This seems like a plausible

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! strategy, given the previously mentioned research implies that the recommended target age group are willing to spend on high-value apparel.

12. Jaeger at Marks and Spencer Marks and Spencer’s chief executive Marc Bolland considered a bid for Jaeger when it ran into difficulty in 2012/2013 (Parry, 2013), however Jaeger went on to be acquired by Better Capital. It is believed that M&S may look at the Jaeger again when its backers potentially make an exit in the next few years (Parry, 2013). If Better Capital doesn’t gain financial success while acquiring Jaeger, the decision for the brand to be sold on to M&S may be a good one, given the belief that Jaeger ‘resonates with the core M&S shopper’ (Parry, 2013). It would essentially bring the Jaeger brand to exactly the target market that has been previously mentioned and due to being acquired by M&S will be on a mass-scale, with the potential to be stocked in select M&S outlets. ‘In the UK, the company operates 731 stores, 28 of which were opened in its financial year ended 31 March 2012. On an international scale, it has a presence with 390 stores in 44 countries across Europe, Asia and the Middle East’ (Mintel, 2013a). ‘Executives identified [Jaeger] as a possible fit alongside its existing brands, including Per Una, Autograph and Twiggy for M&S’ (Craven, 2013), potentially as the better fabric quality, higher priced, design lead alternative to Marks and Spencer’s current brand portfolio.

Mintel believe that M&S ‘appears to have alienated many of its traditional customers by becoming too trend focused and by introducing too many brands that are not clearly differentiated enough’ (Mintel, 2013a), which is arguably similar to Jaeger’s situation over recent years. Jaeger being acquired by M&S may be of great benefit, allowing Jaeger to maximise an ethos of high-quality garments and M&S’s ethos of easy high-street wear. Jaeger at M&S could become the high quality, British sourced, heritage inspired, higher-priced alternative to M&S’s existing brand offering. M&S’s existing brands will be lower in price and more likely to have a higher percentage of products sourced offshore when compared with the Jaeger at M&S line.

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12.1. Biba Case Study In ‘1964 the first Biba shop, inspired by designer Barbara Hulanicki opens, selling young, creative styles at budget prices’ (Watt, 2012:350).

The brand stocked vibrantly patterned mini dresses, feather boas, hats, lingerie, and accessories (Watt, 2012). The design aesthetic is very distinctive, a ‘mix of Victoriana, Arts Nouveau, 1920s-30s Art Deco, Hollywood decadence, and pop culture’ (Watt, 2012:364).

However in 1976 the over-all business was declared bankrupt.

A collection was designed under the Biba name (Watt, 2012) that was showcased at London Fashion Week from 2006. Biba’s runway venture, like Jaeger’s didn’t become a regular strategy.

The brand went on to be acquired by British department-store chain House of Fraser in 2010, ‘the newly revitalised Biba took the ethos of original Biba and reworked it for the fashion savvy of today’ (House of Fraser, 2013). Biba quickly became one of House of Fraser’s best performing brands and saw sales exceed £1million in the first month of trading (Mintel, 2011).

Both Jaeger and Biba have contributed greatly to British fashion history, Jaeger for health conscious, dependable apparel and Biba for vibrant youth fashion of the 60s.

Despite the brands notable roles in fashion history, they suffered to keep the businesses at a profit. The success that the Biba brand has found by being acquired

by House of Fraser makes M&S purchasing Jaeger seem like a plausible strategy.

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13. Summary ‘Tailoring a product range more closely to customers who visit your outlet by removing less relevant products and expanding range of more popular categories or introducing a more powerful information system to track suppliers and therefore improve product availability increase the productivity of the outlet and maximises ‘basket values’’ (Varley, 2006:15) Considering this, the strategy for Jaeger to stop producing garments for sub-brand Boutique by Jaeger due to the range being less relevant to the intended target customer and thus focusing on the expansion of the core Jaeger product range for the stated target customer seems plausible. As well as this, the strategy to develop what Varley refers to as ‘a more powerful information system to track suppliers and therefore improve product availability’ (2006:15) can be achieved more easily with Jaeger sourcing a larger percentage of the product range in Britain, which as well as having other positives, allows the company to track suppliers more easily and improve product availability to the Jaeger buying team for product developments and ultimately the customers when product ranges are finalised.

It is recommended for Jaeger to no longer pursue the interest of a young, fashionconscious clientele and thus no longer produce sub-brand garments or show highend collections at expensive fashion week showcases. Alternatively Jaeger should focus their attention of developing heritage inspired, high quality product that is to appeal to a 45-plus female consumer, who Mintel describe as being the ‘new big clothes shoppers’ (Mintel, 2013a).

It is believed that with Better Capital as the majority owner of Jaeger, they should maximise the use of the brands heritage through product and marketing design. This, along with the strategy to source a higher percentage of garments in Britain will allow the company to heavily reinforce a British ethos, which is intended to resonate well with the 45-plus female target consumer.

If however, even with said strategies, Better Capital do not find financial success with the Jaeger brand then it worth considering selling the company on to British department-store chain Marks and Spencer. M&S could then go on to tailor the

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! brand’s appeal to their specific customer base, integrating Jaeger into their existing brand portfolio while still applying the discussed strategies of heritage inspired, British produced garments, however most likely at different price points.

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14. References Aaker, D and McCloughlin, D., (2007), Strategic Market Management European Edition. Chichester, John Wiley & Sons.

Alexander, E., (2013), ‘Jaeger To Launch Boutique Gallery,’ British Vogue, 5th April.

[Internet] Available at: http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2013/04/05/jaeger-opensboutique-gallery-at-regent-street-store [Accessed 9th December 2013] Better Capital., (2013), Quote from Nielan, C and Santi, A., ‘Jaeger may ditch Boutique to focus on core offer’ Drapers Online, 30th August. [Internet] Available at: http://www.drapersonline.com/news/multiples/womenswear/news/jaeger-may-ditchboutique-to-focus-on-core-offer/5052546.article [Accessed 20th December 2013] Craven, N., (2013), ‘Revealed: M&S boss considered making a bid for Jaeger fashion chain,’ This Is Money, 27th April. [Internet] Available at: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-2315741/Revealed-M-S-bossconsidered-making-bid-Jaeger-fashion-chain.html [Accessed 24th December] Drapers., (2012), Drapers Magazine April 14th. London, EMAP. Faulker, R., (2012), ‘Jaeger looks to brands to create London destination’ Drapers Online, 15th October. [Internet] Available at: http://www.drapersonline.com/blogs/the-drapers-daily/jaeger-looksto-brands-to-create-london-destination/5041760.article [Accessed 9th December] Fletcher, K., (2012), Fashion and Sustainability – Design for Change. London, Laurence King Publishing.

Gadget, M., (2011), ‘Marks and Spencer PEST Analysis’ Hub Page, 18th Apriil. [Internet] Available at: http://mr-gadget.hubpages.com/hub/Analyse-your-own-organisation-or-division-in-organisation [Accessed 25th December 2013] Gallagher, V., (2013), ‘Drapers Debate: Should multiple retailers be getting into the concessions game?’ Drapers Online, 8th August. [Internet] Available at: http://www.drapersonline.com/news/drapers-debate/drapers-debate-should-multiple-retailers-begetting-into-the-concessions-game/5051861.article [Accessed 9th December 2013] Geoghegan, J., (2013), ‘Drapers Debate: Should multiple retailers be getting into the concessions game?’ Drapers Online, 8th August. [Internet] Available at: http://www.drapersonline.com/news/drapers-debate/drapers-debate-should-multiple-retailers-begetting-into-the-concessions-game/5051861.article [Accessed 9th December 2013] Harrison, N., (2013), ‘John Lewis online sales reach £1bn as revamped website unveiled’ Retail Week, 22nd April. [Internet] Available at: http://www.retailweek.com/companies/john-lewis/john-lewis-online-sales-reach-1bn-as-revampedwebsite-unveiled/5048451.article [Accessed 1st December 2013] Hines, T., (2004), Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach. Checkmate Publications.

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Holland, T., (2013), ‘Jaeger outline five-year strategy to revamp brand’ Retail Week, 11th October. [Internet] Available at: http://www.retailweek.com/sectors/fashion/jaeger-outlines-five-year-strategy-to-revamp-brand-anddraw-on-heritage/5053842.article [Accessed 7th January 2014] House of Fraser., (2013), Biba at House of Fraser official website, House of Fraser, December. [Internet] Available at: http://www.houseoffraser.co.uk/Biba/BRAND_BIBA,default,sc.html [Accessed 20th December 2013] Jackson, T and Shaw, D., (2009), Mastering Fashion Marketing. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.

Jackson, T and Shaw, D., (2001), Mastering Fashion Buying and Merchandising Management. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.

Mintel., (2011), House of Fraser considers Biba roll out. London, Mintel International Group.

Jaeger., (2013), Jaeger official website, Better Capital, December. [Internet] Available at: http://www.jaeger.co.uk [Accessed 20th December 2013] Mintel., (2008), ‘Womenswear Retailing – UK – July 2008,’ Mintel Marketing report, July. London, Mintel International Group.

Mintel., (2011), House of Fraser considers Biba roll out. London, Mintel International Group.

Mintel., (2013a), ‘Womenswear – UK – April 2013,’ Mintel Marketing report, April.

London, Mintel International Group.

Mintel., (2013b), ‘Luxury Goods Retailing – International – August 2013,’ Mintel Marketing report, August. London, Mintel International Group.

Nielan, C and Santi, A., (2013), ‘Jaeger may ditch Boutique to focus on core offer’ Drapers Online, 30th August. [Internet] Available at: http://www.drapersonline.com/news/multiples/womenswear/news/jaeger-may-ditchboutique-to-focus-on-core-offer/5052546.article [Accessed 20th December 2013] Oxberry, E., (2010), ‘Jaeger muscles in on younger fashion spend,’ Drapers Online, 17th April.

[Internet] Available at: http://www.drapersonline.com/news/multiples-news/jaeger-muscles-in-onyounger-fashion-spend/5012180.article [Accessed 9th December] Parti, S., (2013), Quote from Alexander, E., ‘Jaeger To Launch Boutique Gallery,’ British Vogue, 5th April. [Internet] Available at: http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2013/04/05/jaeger-opens-boutique-gallery-at-regentstreet-store [Accessed 9th December 2013] Parry, C., (2013), ‘Marks & Spencer eyed Jaeger aquisition’ Drapers Online, 29th April. [Internet] Available at: http://www.drapersonline.com/news/multiples/news/marks-and-spencer-eyed-jaegeraquisition/5048659.article [Accessed 9th December] Phaidon Editors., (2013), The Fashion Book Second Edition. London, Phaidon Press.

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Sells, E., (2011), ‘Fashion Week Lastest: Jaeger London,’ ELLE UK, 18th September. [Internet] Available at: http://www.elleuk.com/fashion/news/fashion-week-latest-jaeger-london#image=1 [Accessed 9th December] Siegle, L., (2011), To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing Out the World? London, Harper Collins.

Stuart-Hamilton, I., (2012), The Psychology of Ageing: An Introduction. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Varley, R., (2006), Retail Product Management Second Edition. Abingdon, Routledge.

Verdict., (2012) Womenswear Retailing in the UK – Verdict Market Report.

Watt, J., (2012), Fashion: The Ultimate Book of Costume and Style. London, Dorling Kindersley.

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15. Personal and Professional Development Upon being given the project brief my first challenge was the decision of what company that I wanted to write a report on. I wanted to pick a company that would provide enough scope due to the high word count for the assignment. I also wanted to pick a brand that has a long history and an interesting story that could be discussed while considering the future of the brand.

I was initially overwhelmed by how big of a project it is, with many avenues that can be explored in terms of how the business could be developed, however after several tutorials and further reading from the reading list and online resources I felt more confident about undergoing the project.

The lectures greatly helped me understand the topic of business strategy, something that I have previously had little exposure to. I especially found the frameworks useful, given that I often struggle to understand concepts, however seeing ideas visualised in frameworks helped me understand them more clearly. I also found the seminars useful, giving me the opportunity to discuss concepts against example brands in a group environment while considering if and how it would apply to my chosen brand.

I feared that the strategies that I wanted to recommend were in someway incorrect or that they weren’t relevant to the chosen brand however discussing the basic ideas during tutorials and getting favourable feedback gave me the confidence to acquire the relevant research and finalise the recommendations.

A mix of academic and non-academic sources have been used, including trade publications, market reports, online articles and academic books. While collecting research for this project I have gained a great insight in the vast amount of resources that are available to me, resources that I that I haven’t fully maximised in my previous years at University however feel that I’ve maximised more so in this report and intend to continue doing in future projects.

Some concepts that I found while researching for the project didn’t have visual aids, however I overcame this by visualising the ideas using Powerpoint. The imagery then allowed me to understand the theories more easily and to apply them to the focus brand more accurately.

!

I enjoyed analysing the present market situation, planning for the future while considering the brand’s past, allowing me to consider the brand at various point of time rather than just it’s present.

While writing the report I suffered from lack of confidence in spelling and feared that I had made errors. To overcome this I requested my work to be proofread, making me feel more confident about the report.

My familiarity and interest in business strategy has grown greatly while writing this report, which make me feel more confident in my ability to discuss the subject. I also feel that this project has broadened my knowledge of fashion retail, which I intend to carry with me upon future opportunities.

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Number of words: 494

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14. References Aaker, D and McCloughlin, D., (2007), Strategic Market Management European Edition. Chichester, John Wiley & Sons.

Alexander, E., (2013), ‘Jaeger To Launch Boutique Gallery,’ British Vogue, 5th April.

[Internet] Available at: http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2013/04/05/jaeger-opensboutique-gallery-at-regent-street-store [Accessed 9th December 2013] Better Capital., (2013), Quote from Nielan, C and Santi, A., ‘Jaeger may ditch Boutique to focus on core offer’ Drapers Online, 30th August. [Internet] Available at: http://www.drapersonline.com/news/multiples/womenswear/news/jaeger-may-ditchboutique-to-focus-on-core-offer/5052546.article [Accessed 20th December 2013] Craven, N., (2013), ‘Revealed: M&S boss considered making a bid for Jaeger fashion chain,’ This Is Money, 27th April. [Internet] Available at: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-2315741/Revealed-M-S-bossconsidered-making-bid-Jaeger-fashion-chain.html [Accessed 24th December] Drapers., (2012), Drapers Magazine April 14th. London, EMAP. Faulker, R., (2012), ‘Jaeger looks to brands to create London destination’ Drapers Online, 15th October. [Internet] Available at: http://www.drapersonline.com/blogs/the-drapers-daily/jaeger-looksto-brands-to-create-london-destination/5041760.article [Accessed 9th December] Fletcher, K., (2012), Fashion and Sustainability – Design for Change. London, Laurence King Publishing.

Gadget, M., (2011), ‘Marks and Spencer PEST Analysis’ Hub Page, 18th Apriil. [Internet] Available at: http://mr-gadget.hubpages.com/hub/Analyse-your-own-organisation-or-division-in-organisation [Accessed 25th December 2013] Gallagher, V., (2013), ‘Drapers Debate: Should multiple retailers be getting into the concessions game?’ Drapers Online, 8th August. [Internet] Available at: http://www.drapersonline.com/news/drapers-debate/drapers-debate-should-multiple-retailers-begetting-into-the-concessions-game/5051861.article [Accessed 9th December 2013] Geoghegan, J., (2013), ‘Drapers Debate: Should multiple retailers be getting into the concessions game?’ Drapers Online, 8th August. [Internet] Available at: http://www.drapersonline.com/news/drapers-debate/drapers-debate-should-multiple-retailers-begetting-into-the-concessions-game/5051861.article [Accessed 9th December 2013] Harrison, N., (2013), ‘John Lewis online sales reach £1bn as revamped website unveiled’ Retail Week, 22nd April. [Internet] Available at: http://www.retailweek.com/companies/john-lewis/john-lewis-online-sales-reach-1bn-as-revampedwebsite-unveiled/5048451.article [Accessed 1st December 2013] Hines, T., (2004), Supply Chain Management: A Strategic Approach. Checkmate Publications.

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Holland, T., (2013), ‘Jaeger outline five-year strategy to revamp brand’ Retail Week, 11th October. [Internet] Available at: http://www.retailweek.com/sectors/fashion/jaeger-outlines-five-year-strategy-to-revamp-brand-anddraw-on-heritage/5053842.article [Accessed 7th January 2014] House of Fraser., (2013), Biba at House of Fraser official website, House of Fraser, December. [Internet] Available at: http://www.houseoffraser.co.uk/Biba/BRAND_BIBA,default,sc.html [Accessed 20th December 2013] Jackson, T and Shaw, D., (2009), Mastering Fashion Marketing. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.

Jackson, T and Shaw, D., (2001), Mastering Fashion Buying and Merchandising Management. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.

Mintel., (2011), House of Fraser considers Biba roll out. London, Mintel International Group.

Jaeger., (2013), Jaeger official website, Better Capital, December. [Internet] Available at: http://www.jaeger.co.uk [Accessed 20th December 2013] Mintel., (2008), ‘Womenswear Retailing – UK – July 2008,’ Mintel Marketing report, July. London, Mintel International Group.

Mintel., (2011), House of Fraser considers Biba roll out. London, Mintel International Group.

Mintel., (2013a), ‘Womenswear – UK – April 2013,’ Mintel Marketing report, April.

London, Mintel International Group.

Mintel., (2013b), ‘Luxury Goods Retailing – International – August 2013,’ Mintel Marketing report, August. London, Mintel International Group.

Nielan, C and Santi, A., (2013), ‘Jaeger may ditch Boutique to focus on core offer’ Drapers Online, 30th August. [Internet] Available at: http://www.drapersonline.com/news/multiples/womenswear/news/jaeger-may-ditchboutique-to-focus-on-core-offer/5052546.article [Accessed 20th December 2013] Oxberry, E., (2010), ‘Jaeger muscles in on younger fashion spend,’ Drapers Online, 17th April.

[Internet] Available at: http://www.drapersonline.com/news/multiples-news/jaeger-muscles-in-onyounger-fashion-spend/5012180.article [Accessed 9th December] Parti, S., (2013), Quote from Alexander, E., ‘Jaeger To Launch Boutique Gallery,’ British Vogue, 5th April. [Internet] Available at: http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2013/04/05/jaeger-opens-boutique-gallery-at-regentstreet-store [Accessed 9th December 2013] Parry, C., (2013), ‘Marks & Spencer eyed Jaeger aquisition’ Drapers Online, 29th April. [Internet] Available at: http://www.drapersonline.com/news/multiples/news/marks-and-spencer-eyed-jaegeraquisition/5048659.article [Accessed 9th December] Phaidon Editors., (2013), The Fashion Book Second Edition. London, Phaidon Press.

!

Sells, E., (2011), ‘Fashion Week Lastest: Jaeger London,’ ELLE UK, 18th September. [Internet] Available at: http://www.elleuk.com/fashion/news/fashion-week-latest-jaeger-london#image=1 [Accessed 9th December] Siegle, L., (2011), To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing Out the World? London, Harper Collins.

Stuart-Hamilton, I., (2012), The Psychology of Ageing: An Introduction. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Varley, R., (2006), Retail Product Management Second Edition. Abingdon, Routledge.

Verdict., (2012) Womenswear Retailing in the UK – Verdict Market Report.

Watt, J., (2012), Fashion: The Ultimate Book of Costume and Style. London, Dorling Kindersley.

!

15. Personal and Professional Development Upon being given the project brief my first challenge was the decision of what company that I wanted to write a report on. I wanted to pick a company that would provide enough scope due to the high word count for the assignment. I also wanted to pick a brand that has a long history and an interesting story that could be discussed while considering the future of the brand.

I was initially overwhelmed by how big of a project it is, with many avenues that can be explored in terms of how the business could be developed, however after several tutorials and further reading from the reading list and online resources I felt more confident about undergoing the project.

The lectures greatly helped me understand the topic of business strategy, something that I have previously had little exposure to. I especially found the frameworks useful, given that I often struggle to understand concepts, however seeing ideas visualised in frameworks helped me understand them more clearly. I also found the seminars useful, giving me the opportunity to discuss concepts against example brands in a group environment while considering if and how it would apply to my chosen brand.

I feared that the strategies that I wanted to recommend were in someway incorrect or that they weren’t relevant to the chosen brand however discussing the basic ideas during tutorials and getting favourable feedback gave me the confidence to acquire the relevant research and finalise the recommendations.

A mix of academic and non-academic sources have been used, including trade publications, market reports, online articles and academic books. While collecting research for this project I have gained a great insight in the vast amount of resources that are available to me, resources that I that I haven’t fully maximised in my previous years at University however feel that I’ve maximised more so in this report and intend to continue doing in future projects.

Some concepts that I found while researching for the project didn’t have visual aids, however I overcame this by visualising the ideas using Powerpoint. The imagery then allowed me to understand the theories more easily and to apply them to the focus brand more accurately.

!

I enjoyed analysing the present market situation, planning for the future while considering the brand’s past, allowing me to consider the brand at various point of time rather than just it’s present.

While writing the report I suffered from lack of confidence in spelling and feared that I had made errors. To overcome this I requested my work to be proofread, making me feel more confident about the report.

My familiarity and interest in business strategy has grown greatly while writing this report, which make me feel more confident in my ability to discuss the subject. I also feel that this project has broadened my knowledge of fashion retail, which I intend to carry with me upon future opportunities.

!

Number of words: 494

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