Feasibility Study Sarah Storey
Contents Introduction Aim and Objectives Background and Rationale Market Analysis Competitors Critical Path Project Outcome Conclusion References
Introduction
Comprised in this feasibility study is the evidence to support the final major project in affilia9on with the BA Hons fashion communica9on and promo9on course. Having researched different fashion labels and brands in the UK, a gap in the market has been iden9fied for the luxury high street label Jarlo to be rebranded as a stockiest of its own products and to create an in house concession comprising of high fashion clothing in order for the label to become a leading e-‐tailer brand in the online fashion market. Creden9al evidence and data shown in this report demonstrates the unique market that Jarlo is missing out on. Interest and appeal for rebranding of Jarlo has been considered in the idea and composi9on of this final major project with further aspects to be confirmed throughout to achieve the final outcome.
Aim To rebrand the label Jarlo in to a leading online fashion brand that specialises in eveningwear and high fashion clothing.
Objectives .To create an original and unique brand restructure. .To create an in house concession that will feed the fashion forward with its individual style and design. .To increase sales and awareness .To establish a loyal fan base through social media plaKorms
Executive Summary
With the popularity and growth of Jarlo through stockists such as Asos, Revolve, Dress Me, Nelly and Shopstlye, the label has a strong customer base and would benefit from being converted in to a strong brand rather than a label to increase sales and brand awareness. The online fashion industry is up by 14.5% in sales since 2013 and online clothing sales reaching £9.3 billion for 2014 (Mintel 2013) meaning Jarlo will benefit from becoming an independent fashion retailer through being able to control the brand iden9ty and improve customer and brand rela9onship. As well as becoming an independent online fashion brand, Jarlo will also introduce an in house concession consis9ng of fashion forward garments allowing the brand to appeal to customers who require eveningwear as well as high fashion clothing. A marke9ng plan will be proposed to coincide with the rebranding of Jarlo and the crea9on of the concession range, which will dis9nguish the gap in the market for Jarlo to be introduced to as well as the brands poten9al.
Background and Rationale
Carly Hallahan created Jarlo in 2008 when she started a fashion stall at London’s Portobello Road market. Jarlo became an instant hit with the fashion forward and the press, including Kiera Knightley who was spoaed wearing one of the labels dresses. Jarlo is now co-‐owned by Carly Hallahan and Joseph Bombagi who is also the company director. Since then the label has been stocked at many leading fashion plaKorms such as, Asos, Revolve, Dress Me, Nelly and Shopstlye and has created assets' worth £375,731 (Compnay Check 2013). However evolving Jarlo in to an independent retailer will increase profits and assets’ as the brand will have a stronger iden9ty and a more loyal customer base. As well as being a profitable label, Jarlo collaborated with Kylie Lawson who is blogger to Memoir Mode. Kylie used to manage the Jarlo blog making the social media aspect of Jarlo very appealing. However since then the blog has become one of the weaker aspects of Jarlo that needs improvement to really connect with its consumers.
Jarlo Now
Jarlo Future
Market Analysis
Jarlo has assets worth £375,731. However there are many leading high street retailers that are much more profitable than Jarlo as they are independent brands rather than stocked labels. Compe9tors include brands such as Asos, Topshop, Missguided, which has assets of £11,689,000, Boohoo has assets of £17,946,000, Lipsy has assets of £20,473,000 and River Island has assets of £555,900,000. The huge gap in assets between being a label and a brand is huge making it essen9al for Jarlo to become and independent label to become as profitable and as recognizable as its compe9tors. Online sales of clothing and accessories are es9mated to reach £10.7 billion in 2015, which is equivalent to around 17.5% of total spending on clothing and accessories (Mintel 2015). With the popularity and growth of the online fashion industry, which is up by 14.5% in sales since 2013 and online clothing sales reaching £9.3 billion for 2014 (Mintel 2013). Jarlo is an ideal brand to fill the gap in the market. Mintel es9mates that online sales of clothing and footwear will increase by 18% to reach £7.1bn from 2013 as fashion has outperformed all other sectors online (Mintel 2014).
The increased online fashion market has been elevated by the fact that 87% of UK households have a broadband connec9on according to Eurostat and 71% of online shopper own a smart phone or tablet meaning that access to online fashion has rapidly increased over the past few years allowing consumers constant and fast connec9on to the latest fashions. All of Jarlo’s profits have come from being stocked by other fashion plaKorms proving for the con9nua9on of this to be logical even though the label will be turned in to an independent brand. Thus increasing profits and brand recogni9on for Jarlo. The majority of Jarlo’s clothing is eveningwear making the label very niche. The introduc9on of a high fashion concession will aaract more consumers than before allowing a more luxurious and whole shopping experience. Providing a range of products will increase the consumer base and success of the brand.
Target Consumer
The Jarlo consumer is fun, out to party and loves life. She aspires to a fashion and celebrity lifestyle. She loves glamor and dressing up for a special occasion, or just because she feels like it. The Jarlo customer takes pride in her appearance and likes to stand out from the crowd through the clothes she wears and her ahtude. Jarlo clothing features bold, colourful styles, vibrant prints, vintage silhoueaes and luxurious lace Within the luxury goods market, 82% of consumers are aged between 16-‐25 and are in full 9me educa9on or employment (Mintel 2011). Considering this sta9s9c Jarlo must endeavor to appeal to this target market.
Competitors
Jarlo is a des9na9on for women seeking out fashionable and unique clothing at a luxury high street price point, making it accessible to a wide range of consumers. Compe9tors include Asos, Topshop, Missguided, River Island and Lipsy as they feature clothes at a similar pricing. Jarlo will compete with these brands through its innova9ve style, unique products and customer interac9vity with mid range price points. It will provide its customers with luxury garments at an affordable cost.
Critical Path
To ensure the successful comple9on of this project and its aims a Gana chart has been used to outline the 9me frame of start and finish of each task involved in the comple9on of this project. Jarlo will be ready to launch independently in May 2015. Within the early stages of this project research and concept progression are essen9al for development of the brand. To reach the final outcome of Jarlo a marke9ng report will be completed, a look book will be designed for customers a long with adver9sements, the website and social media pages will be created for the brand and finally a launch event will be planned to celebrate this next step for Jarlo and to gain the aaen9on and interest of the media and poten9al customers.
Project Outcome
The ever increasingly successful era of online trade will be the basis for the success of Jarlo. Jarlo will thrive on individuality and unique designs. The brand is an innova9ve concept that will be supported by social networking through bloggers and will aaract the interest of the fashion forward crea9ng an aspiring look for others to achieve. With focus being held on website design and being accessible to customers that reflects the uniquely stylish ethos of the brand. The website will include a range of products mostly consis9ng of eveningwear and smart casual clothing with a focus on original design. The site will also have its own blog that will post behind the scenes images, fashion trends, inspira9on, ways to wear and styling 9ps making the site extremely interac9ve for customers allowing them to get involved and feel a part of the brand. Jarlo will provide a stronger presence on all social media plaKorms such as Facebook, Twiaer, Instagram and Pinterest to remain in the customer’s aaen9on, with compe99ons, and Q and A’s to interact with customers.
Social media has a key role to play with communica9ng with consumers, Heart Breaker wants is customers to interact and feel a part of the brand as 33% of consumers use social media for style advice and inspira9on (Mintel 2015). An adver9sement campaign will play a huge part in the success of brand and customer awareness with the brand featuring heavily in fashion magazines and televised commercials. It will be impera9ve for in the early days of the brand re-‐launch for it to be seen extensively in public. PR will have a huge part to play in this with celebri9es and bloggers been seen in the brands clothes. An event will publicize the re-‐launch of the brand invi9ng the media, celebri9es, bloggers and the public to get to know the Jarlo brand. This event will be highly stylish and sophis9cated represen9ng the personality of the brand. The publicity from the event will provide the brand with broad media coverage increasing brand awareness.
Conclusion
This feasibility study has been put together by researching books, sta9sts and online ar9cles in the online fashion market in order to support and give evidence behind the reasoning of this proposal. Each proposed strategy put toward re-‐launching Jarlo will help establish the online brand making it a credible source for unique fashion for its customers. The use of social media and adver9sing will help the brand to become profitable in the online market and become a memorable and resourceful loca9on for Heart Breakers Customers. The planned cri9cal path of this proposal will help keep the 9ming of the project to a strict schedule in order to complete each task sufficiently and to its specific deadline. The passion and interest behind this subject area will drive this project to its completed outcome.
References
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