Fashion Operations - Portfolio

TOPSHOP

genderless

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We should wear whatever we want, whether it’s ‘menswear’ or ‘womenswear’ and feel free to embrace the masculine and feminine within our own looks.

Report created by Tamara Bogle, Lauren Clarke, Erin Hewitt, Hannah Allgar-Parr and Harriet Edwards.

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- Virgin Xtravaganzah (I-D Magazine,2016:online)

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Introduction to Topshop Why Topshop?

The Market Situation Market Research Fashion Trends SWOT Analysis for the ‘Genderless’ trend Competitor Analysis Consumer Profile The Development the Product Range From initial idea to finalised range Shop Report Genderless Marketing Strategy Country of Origin and Supplier Budget Costings Cost sheets and Sales forecast Critical Path Product development from design to delivery

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Topshop are one of the UK’s leading high street fashion retailers. It is a popular and valued brand catering for women’s clothing, shoes, bags, beauty and accessories. Topshop (2016) explains that the brand’s clothing line ranges from collections and mainline to boutique and designer brands such as Calvin Klein, catering for a mass market. Topshop belongs to the Arcadia Group which, according to Arcadia (2016) owns a number of other high street clothing retailers such as Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridge and Topman. They target their merchandise primarily to young women aged 15-30 who are fashion forward but in actuality the company’s aim is to “target everyone who loves fashion, regardless of age or income” (Sheperdson, 2002: online).

“If Audrey Hepburn where alive today she’d be buying diamonds from Boucheron and vests-tops in Topshop” Superbrands (2004: 112)

WHY Topshop already has the Unique range that was aimed to create capsule collections for a higher end fashion trend that was showcased during Spring/Summer 2013 during London Fashion Week. Sedghi (2013) also founded that this showed real insights from their customers on what shapes and colours they desired which influenced what Topshop decided to stock in physical stores by using a market orientated approach. Therefore this was setting trends and dispelling the myth that Topshop’s sole aim was to copy the catwalk. CampaignLive (2005) explain that the Unique range was a success and soon began to build Topshop’s reputation in design to target a savvier designer led consumer. Alongside Unique Topshop also created their Boutique range that only appears in a specific area in a selection of Topshop Stores to appeal to more designer aware consumers, celebrities and industry insider. Therefore, with this information Topshop was chosen based on the current and previous market level that Topshop have achieved.

Concerning the current market situation Topshop is successfully seen as a fashion emporium that blends cutting edge style with affordability. This is the aim of achievement for Topshop’s Genderless range.

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Market Situation According to Topshop (2016) Topshop was founded during 1964 with humble beginnings in the basement of a department store, Topshop has now grown and achieved the success of having over 300 stores in the UK, shipping to over 100 countries. In addition to, Arcadia (2016) founded that Topshop has achieved success of opening over 140 stores in international territories which adds up to over 250,000 shoppers in store and online every week. With Topshop proving an affordable style with a brave irreverent approach that has endeared to fashion conscious shoppers.

The majority of Topshop’s consumers in terms of demographics that would shop online and in store would be students, as Topshop offer 10% student discount and offer further discounts for students throughout the year. However, Acorn (2016) founded that other consumers of Topshop between the ages of 15-30 would either be relying on parents for money to shop at Topshop or being in the position of a young professional with a degree and mostly work in white collar professional and managerial occupations.

Their incomes are high, typically double the national average or higher. They tend to spend freely using their credit cards and some might occasionally require the overdraft facility on their current account. However, some might still have debt from student loans.

“Officially our target market is 15-to 30-year-old women, but internally we target everyone who loves fashion, regardless of age or income. I think the biggest change is one the consumers have driven, in that they are much more fashion-savvy these days, and demand much more than they did. The impact of the media has meant that everyone knows what the celebrities are wearing, where they got it, what the designers are showing on the catwalk and so on, so they want a bit of it too” (McMinn, 2002: online).

Following on from the previous points of consumer demographics the typical customer that would shop in top shops genderless range would follow the same demographic of the typical Topshop consumer.

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Market Research

For researching into the market situation of Topshop and Genderless clothing, a survey was created to seek for primary research from potential customers of Topshop’s Genderless range. There were 64 people who did the survey with 79.41% being female and 20.59% being male. They were between the ages of 19-25 years old.

To conclude the Genderless survey that was carried out to gather primary research from potential customers and high street shoppers received positive results, with the correct target market interested in Genderless. The majority of respondents would wear genderless clothing themselves and would be interested in the new Topshop range starting in Autumn/Winter 2017. However, a promotional strategy will be taken to ensure the male population is targeted as well as the correct promotional strategies will be carried out to ensure potential shoppers are aware of the Genderless range, unlike Zara’s range which the majority of respondents had not heard about.

As you can see from Figure 1 81.25% of respondents would wear genderless clothing. This means that the range would be successful as people are interested in genderless clothing.

FIGURE 1: RESULTS FROM A SURVEY SHOWING IF PEOPLE WOULD WEAR GENDERLESS CLOTHING

76.56% of respondents agreed that Genderless clothing is an ideal approach that modern day retailers should consider stocking and branding in this generation.

This shows how open the consumer market of today are and how they do not conform to gender rules.

FIGURE 2: RESULTS FROM A SURVEY SHOWING IF PEOPLE THINK THAT GENDERLESS IS AN IDEAL APPROACH

The majority of respondents (81.25%) had not heard of Zara’s Ungendered range as shown in Figure 3.

Therefore, Genderless will take a marketing approach to certify that the public and potential customers are aware of the new fashion forward Topshop range. In addition to learning from Zara’s mistakes of not using promotional strategies to the full potential, Genderless will move forward with this primary research gathered from the public survey to ensure potential customers receive what they desire from the new range.

FIGURE 3: RESULTS FROM A SURVEY SHOWING IF PEOPLE HAVE HEARD OF ‘UNGENDERED’

As shown in figure 4, 76.19% respondents are not fazed by shopping for themselves out of another gender category. This makes its a fashion forward approach and a unique selling point in the market for Topshop.

FIGURE 4: RESULTS FROM A SURVEY SHOWING IF PEOPLE BUY CLOTHES FROM THE OPPOSITE SEX

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genderless In this current social climate, awareness to sexuality and openness to new ideas about gender and sex are becoming more and more evident. As a result of this, ‘genderless’ clothing is becoming a new trend that has come from the trickle-down effect from the catwalk’s lenient attitude to mixing the gender of the models in catwalks to high street brands having their own unisex ranges.

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Kissane (2015) said that there are many positive of merging gender lines as it is cost-effective, allows greater freedom of personal expression for both the consumer and designers, it will make catwalks less expensive as there would only be one show and it helps brands find a way to stand out and be seen as well as creating a more cohesive brand message and image. The financial benefit means that the clothing line will be less of a loss than making two new lines for men and women and this extra money can be re-invested into the company or can be invested into the clothing quality and the promotional strategy.

The idea of gender-neutral clothing is nothing new. “Acne, Vetements, Hood by Air, Maison Margiela and most prominently J.W. Anderson […] are today among those who propose interchangeable looks, feeding into the unisex movement from the top down” (Szmydke, 2015:26). This is a strength as it shows that the unisex concept has been in catwalk fashion for years but by making it marketable to a high street consumer means that it is more accessible and more affordable.

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Looking at Zara (as they are the main competitor), a flaw of their ‘ungendered’ campaign is that it still had many sexual biases on the promotional aspect of the range. “While the pieces are modelled by both a girl and a boy in the same shot when women click through onto each product page, Zara ensures the recommended matching items are only from the women’s collection” (Mintel, 2016: online).

Also, Selfridges did an ‘Agender’ shopping concept but their creative director, Hewson (2015), said that future retailers will need to find space and sizing solutions for this trend. Competitor analysis shows that Zara has found a solution for sizing by using “Fitanalytics” (Zara, 2016: online).

Fitanalytics (2016) uses your age, weight, height, the fit you like and body shape to determine the right size for you. This may be a solution that Topshop could use for their genderless range to solve sizing problems.

O O p p o r t u n i t i e s The menswear market has seen massive growth over the last few years which may be because of the genderless trend. A report

by Fashionbi (2016) shows that as fashion goes genderless, menswear has taken over womenswear in terms of global growth. The report shows that menswear has grown by 1.9% in 2015 whereas womenswear grew by 1.6% showing that not only are men becoming more conscious of the way they dress but that women are also shopping in the menswear section. By merging menswear and womenswear, it makes it easy for women to shop in the menswear section and help grow the menswear market sales.

Zutshi (2016) said that the contribution to growth has also been to the emerging new consumers called ‘Yummies,’ which stands for young genderfluid urban males and ‘same-sex Dinks,’ which refers to samesex couples who have doubleincome and no children. Both new consumers are described as “status-hungry” (Fashionbi, 2016:16) as yummies are affluent and late to marry while same-sex dinks have a higher double income that heterosexual dinks. This is shown the Fashionbi (2016:17) report

with “same-sex DINKs have an average household income of $103,980 whereas heterosexual DINKs see an average household income of $62,857.”

Both consumers have more disposable income due to their lifestyle and both consumers are more open to gender-fluidity and care about their appearance. All of this opens up the market to the idea of unisex clothing as men are shopping more and have more open minds in today’s society.

This also links to the opportunity of marketing the genderless range to both males and females equally. When looking at competitors, according to Mintel (2016), Zara was one of the first mainstream retailers to try the unisex trend releasing their ‘Ungendered’ collection online and in 29 stores from March 2016. Their main flaw was that the recommended matching items for pieces from the collection were only from the women’s collection. This makes the range still sexually bias and not appealing to men so for the Topshop range, this is an opportunity to make sure that the ‘shop the look’ feature includes items from Topman as well as Topshop.

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The main threats for a genderless range are the retail competition.

Brands such as Zara have released an ‘Ungendered’ range but it has been highly criticised. Allwood (2016: online) said that it is “shapeless, lacking colour and outwardly masculine – there are no “feminine” colours, no skirt or dress options.”

To combat these criticisms for our collection Topshop will make the colours feminine and involved a kilt and a tunic so that the collection is not comparable to Zara’s.

Another threat is that there is not a specific market for unisex clothing. It is hard to do market research into the consumer of unisex clothes as it is still a new and emerging market so there is little research into it. We are trying to target the Topshop consumer who is open minded to gender-fluidity and is a part of the new current mindset of openness in society. There is little statistics into people’s opinions on gender-fluid clothing so it is hard to predict sales for this line. Hewson (2015:26) said that sales “exceeded expectation” when Selfridges did their Agender concept, but there is no indication on how much money is to be made with this idea.

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C o m p e t i t o r A n a l y s i s

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“In 2015, Selfridges launched its Agender concept in-store, where women and men could shop alongside each other in ‘a celebration of fashion without definition” (Mintel, 2016: online).

Streetwear makes up a big part of Agender’s stock which appears to be a lot more diverse than Zara.

The brand is trying to be subtle than ‘women in suits and men in dresses’, which can be compared to the cliche that fashion sometimes takes to mean as “androgyny” (Dazed, 2015: online). Comparing all the unisex brands, Agender appears to be the strongest and most successful. Agender can be seen as a threat, however, the collection can be used as inspiration for future design ideas, as it has been the most successful unisex campaign so far.

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There are a number of potential competitors for the Genderless range which could be seen as a threat for Topshop. For instance, the popular fashion retailer Zara already caters for both genders with a unisex collection named ‘Ungendered’. According to Zara (2016), this consists of an eight-piece collection providing basic patterns and a baggy fit, which can be suited for either gender.

Seeing as both Zara and Topshop are major fashion retailers, this could potentially be seen as a threat to the Genderless range. However, critics have said how the brand is too simple and how “it’s clothing that, in much of the world, hasn’t really been associated with a particular gender for quite some time” (Sowray, 2016: online). With Zara’s collection not being a huge success, there is a gap in the market for Genderless, with the consideration that it should be unique and not simple.

With widespread criticism online, the collection indicates that it provides existing unisex pieces, rebranded under a new title. Written by user Courtney Jones “Do you mean masculine clothes, but for girls, but let’s call them gender neutral to make them feel better about it? Gender neutral my ass” (i-D Vice, 2016:online). “The new Zara collection has precisely nothing to do with trans and gender non-conforming people,” commented by Dazed columnist Shon Faye.

The collection appears to provide no feminine colours, shapeless, colourless garments with no skirt or dress options (Allwood, 2016). With Zara’s collection not being a huge success, there is a gap in the market for Genderless, with the consideration that it should be unique and not simple.

It is imperative to know how much about the competitors for a Genderless range to gauge an accurate price range to sell unisex products. The trousers presented in figure one are £19.99 which are a standard price for Zara. The rest of the collection are around the same price too, informing the customer that the collection is simple and affordable.

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British label, Bruta, provides men’s and women’s wear. “Focused solely on silk or viscose shirts that are printed or embroidered with hand-drawn motifs,” (Mintel, 2016: online) they entwine the clothes into both departments, as well as using both men and women to model the same items. The unisex shirts are bold, creative and unique which breaks the boundaries and is a perfect representation of how unisex should be portrayed. However, the collection is only sold online so it is less of a threat for Genderless, which will be sold online, in store and through the mobile app.

The average shirt by Bruta ranges at around £140. The collection starts from £60 and goes up to £180. The shirt in figure two is priced at £160. It is embroidered with intricate detail and inspired by the 19th-century explorer Ernest Haekel and his biological illustrations (Bruta, 2016).

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THE CONSUMER

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C o n s u m e r P r o f i l e The genderless consumer is a fashion forward individual who does not care nor follow social labels. They are extremely fashion conscious and always aim to be ahead of the trends.

They aspire to work successfully in the fashion industry, but their current focus is mainly socialising, understanding the culture, lifestyle and searching for new styles around cities such as London and New York.

They mainly do their shopping at high-street shops such as Topshop and Urban Outfitters, but you will also see them shop on quirky and edgy sites such as Etsy and Depop but are likely to also shop at more mainstream online sites such as ASOS. From Acorn (2014), it can be assumed that the consumer is a single, young adult or student aging from 18 to 23; they would be living within a modern city in a shared flat. Their income will be less than the average amount, the majority of their disposable income earned from a part time job is spent on new clothes and going out to socialise with friends. They do not have a car and use buses as their main source of transport.

They read magazines such as Vogue to keep themselves updated on the latest fashion trends and news. They are also very active on many different social media platforms such as Instagram, Tumblr and Twitter. They spend some of their spare time developing networks, creating rapports and obtaining contacts within the fashion industry using their social media as a way to edge their way in.

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genderless by

TOPSHOP

Shell Blue Shirt with Insect Embroidery around the collar

Shirt will have insect detailing around the collar

Thick gold zip with ‘Topshop’ embossed on zip handle

Black

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Culotte Trousers Sateen Material

White Cropped Oversized Shirt with Embroidery Detail

Insect embroidery in ribbed seams - more subtle but still linked to the theme

Plain White T-Shirt with Grey Bug Detail on Hemlines

Purple Navy Tunic Jumper with Ribbed Details and Emboidery

Grey Kilt with Gold Buckle Fastening

Gold Belt Buckle Fastening on Side - Leather and Metal

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White Cropped Oversized Shirt with Embroidery Detail 100% cotton cropped shirt with large print embroidery featuring bugs and butterflies in the same colours Retail Selling Price: ÂŁ65 Country of Origin: China Units: 5000 19

Shell Blue Shirt with Insect Embroidery around the collar Chiffon oversized dress shirt.

Transparent shirt with embroidered detail of bugs and flowers Retail Selling Price: ÂŁ60 Country of Origin: China Units: 6000 20

Grey Kilt with Gold Buckle Fastening Polyester Black Kilt with underskirt matching the tunic.

Retail Selling Price: ÂŁ125 Country of Origin: China Unit:3500

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Black Culotte Trousers Sateen Material Sateen material Plain culottes with zipped detail Retail Selling Price: ÂŁ85 Country of Origin: China Units: 5000

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Purple Navy Tunic Jumper with Ribbed Details and Emboidery Cotton Jersey Tunic Bug detail in hemline Retail Selling Price: ÂŁ55 Country of Origin: China Units:6000 23

Plain White T-Shirt with Grey Bug Detail on Hemlines Cotton T-Shirt with Bug Detail on hemline Retail Selling Price ÂŁ44 Country of Origin: China Units: 6000 24

The genderless range features six key pieces all revolving around insect embroidery. The original idea was to create a range designed for plus size teenagers as there is a gap in the market for that consumer and it would be a new look for Topshop. After research, it was decided that a unisex and genderless range would be much more creative and interesting point of the market to explore.

The original range featured a plain tunic and sheer shirt with a Peter-Pan collar, a pleated skirt, a ribbed crop top and bright and colourful embroidery heavily influenced by Gucci’s floral trend with colour’s of magenta, orange, red and fuchsia more intended as a summer collection.

The newly improved Genderless range consists of 6 pieces of uniquely genderless styled clothes for Topshop. The Genderless range will be for Autumn/Winter 2017 launching at the start of September and will cease sale at the end of January as it features a muted colour palette and heavier shirts and bottoms that are not usually seen in the summer season.

The range includes culottes, an embroidered long sleeve shirt, a cropped long sleeve large print shirt, an embroidered kilt, a long sleeve tunic and a basic T-shirt. All of these Genderless items can be mix and matched to be worn together as a full outfit in a neutral colour scheme of black, navy, white, blue & grey. There are more options of tops to purchase rather than bottoms in this range as due to there being more fashion freedom to mix up outfits depending on weather and occasion.

Alongside polyester cotton being the main fabric and all products will have a country of origin of China. The selling prices are between £45-£125, influenced by Topshop’s separate Unique line. Other Topshop ranges have not been as small as the Genderless range, however, the range was chosen to be small as a luxury fashion forward unique feel will be given to customers with this small Genderless range.

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The product attributes include a colour palette of plain white, black, navy, charcoal, duck egg blue with insect embroidery. Other components of the designs include buttons on two shirts in the range, a gold zipper and clasp and two buckles on the kilt as well as ribbed material on the polyester jersey.

Sizing Concerning the sizing, Genderless have taken inspiration from Zara’s Ungendered rage that uses Fit Analytics using S-XL sizes to help fulfil the desires of all customers by making sizes accessible.

This could be the way to achieve correct sizing between men and women and still have the genderless range on offer no matter what gender would like to purchase.

It is of paramount importance for Genderless to cater for all shapes and sizes in order to appeal to the masses. In turn, this will give the collection a much greater chance of increasing the revenue and profit margins of the business in order to gain a greater foothold within the clothing market, and gain more market share over our competitors. In a market that is very competitive, it is vital to be unique and innovative in order to attract a much wider customer base.

Using a ‘fit profile’ Fit Analytics use height, weight, age, body shape and even clothing history and preferences to recommend a sizing for the customer.

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Shop Report PRIMARY RESEACH

Topshop has a fairly neutral way of promoting products in store through marketing strategies, as everything is in colour order in terms of season, and is presented and organised in a well prepared structured manner. This makes a good shopping experience for customers in store to shop for what they desire.

The store pictured is in Manchester’s Arndale Centre.

A minimal colour palette was used throughout the store, with mannequins that wore current range and stood on blocks of white or slate material. They were featured at the back of the store next to the jeans, which are one of Topshop’s most popular items, and strategically placed next to the cash desk. This is how we would showcase Genderless also. The collection also had an industrial themed back light to illuminate the collection and attract the attention of costumers.

Much like the separated off denim section of Topshop, the Genderless range area would also remain separate to the rest of Topshop’s collections.

The visual merchandising surrounding the garments would be a minimalist colour tone to not detract from the colourful embroidery pieces in the collection. The lighting would also be much like the jean section of the store, a simple approach and not overbearing enough to take attention off the clothes but to simply catch the eye of the consumer who may not be specifically in store to buy the Genderless range.

The Guardian published a newspaper report stating that Burberry and Vallois (2014) says that Topshop are one of many retailers to benefit from a digital retail experience. As Topshop is another brand that’s part of a small future facing group of retailers, during 2014 when Kate Moss launched her collection within Topshop there where records of the queues following all the way down London Oxford Street full of shoppers excited to see the new famous range. Therefore, this proves that current Topshop fashion forward consumers would be interested in the new Genderless range 2017.

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When visiting the Manchester Arndale store it was clear that the current collection in Topshop centres around embroidery. Whether that be bold sweaters, cool denim and silky shirts, all of the pieces have one thing in common. Delicate and colourful stitch work, which gives the everyday wardrobe items an on trend twist. Genderless is a concept that Topshop do not market with their men and women’s ranges having their own stores, but the Topshop consumer is an edgy and open minded customer who comes to the high street to get their high fashion fix.

Genderless clothing is being slowly filtered into the catwalk and current fashion campaigns and influencing high street competitors such as Zara and now Topshop will create a more daring collection than ever seen before.

The genderless range has used this current trend to appeal to a wider audience to market the same clothing to both men and women using floral and insect embroidery with a mute and consistent colour palette to attract buyers in Topman and Topshop so that feminine and masculine clothing cannot be defined instore and blur the gender barriers.

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G e n d e r l e s s M a r k e t i n g S t r a t e g y

D i g i t a l Social Media

According to Rasmussen (2016), this generation lives in a fast paced world and individuals want to see and access the latest news via social media immediately.

Roderick (2016) believes that fashion labels take a social media approach for promotion strategies for both the brand and new collections as, throughout 2016, Instagram seemed to be the fashion industries social media platform of choice. Roderick (2016) explains that figures by digital marketing agency Greenlight show that there have been 5,602 Instagram posts on the lead up to London Fashion Week using the hashtag #LFW2016, compared to the 1,178 Twitter mentions over the same time frame.

Instagram Compared to other social media strategies the main platform that will be used for promotion methods for Genderless will be Instagram. Topshop post between 2-3 times each day showing particular items from the latest of collections that are available to purchase and use the hashtag #TopshopStyle.

Wearers of Topshop then use the hashtag on their own photo that they post on their accounts and Topshop select appropriate images to be shown on their Instagram page.

This method will also be carried out for Topshop’s Genderless range with consumers wearing Topshop’s genderless clothing using the hashtag #TOPSHOPXGENDERLESS and their images will be posted on Topshop’s Genderless Instagram.

“Instagram has worked incredibly well for younger retailers that want to communicate their brand values to a female audience.”

(Roderick, 2016: online)

This strategy will not only provide extra promotion from consumers posting their purchases from Genderless but will also encourage that consumer’s opinions and styles are important to Topshop. Celebrity endorsement will be used to attract more fashion forward individuals to Topshop’s Genderless range, the celebrities that are chosen will also promote Genderless clothing through the Genderless Instagram in addition to their own social media channels.

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Twitter Team Marketing (2015) suggest that businesses around the world are using Twitter to reach out to a bigger target audience. Over the years, Twitter has proven to be an excellent strategy, especially when concerning sales and marketing where revenue is the only thing people tend to see.

Therefore, Twitter will also be used for a key promotional method via social media. Twitter will be used to advertise the new Genderless range launching Autumn/Winter 2017, this will be done by posting key dates for consumers who are interested in the launch of Genderless. Posting links to consumer reviews and blog posts reviewing the Genderless range and providing a personal insight into the range from a consumer point of view. Topshop will be retweeting consumer tweets who have used the Genderless hashtag (#TOPSHOPXGENDERLESS) and presenting these tweets on a large digital billboard that will be located at Oxford Street circus.

Facebook According to Facebook (2016) users of Facebook acquire information as well as conveying their own comments at the same time. In doing so, this makes a large difference to the impact of social media as it effectively exchanges interactions among individuals. Facebook is also being used for building trust among target audiences via social media. Therefore, Facebook would further create a viral marketing effect as positive messages are passed around the world.

The Facebook promotional strategy will use similar methods as for how Topshop will promote Genderless on Twitter. Key dates will include launch dates (when the range is available to purchase online and in store), pop-up shops, and magazine releases. A promotional campaign video will also be shown on Topshop’s digital billboard located in Oxford Street Circus will also be released through the Genderless Facebook page, including celebrities that have been endorsed to represent the range.

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Snapchat & Instagram Stories Fujimoto (2016) explains that the latest promotional method is live streaming on both Instagram and Snapchat. The only different that sets Instagram apart from Snapchat are their audiences as on Snapchat you have to be friends with another individual for them to access your stories. However, Instagram stories can be viewed by everyone who is following your page if your account is public.

Topshop’s Genderless account will be public so Topshop can advertise prior and during the launch event, as well as encourage consumers and guests to post event images and videos on both of their Instagram and Snapchat accounts.

Giving consumers shout outs via both Instagram and Snapchat stories will encourage people to talk about Genderless to get recognition.

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P r e s s Celebrity Endorsement Bradic (2015) states that established celebrities promoting products have become a lucrative way to build brand awareness and credibility. When brands are establishing a relationship and connection with popular names in the fashion industry, there is the potential to increase sales dramatically, especially when the consumer believes the product is used by the celebrity. Olenski (2016) found that just one celebrity endorsement can increase sales for a brand by 4% almost immediately.

“Generation Z is creating a culture of openness without prejudice, and fewer young people are identifying themselves based on their gender” (Napoli, 2016: online).

Napoli (2016) stated that Louis Vuitton has broken down gender norms by casting

Jaden Smith in a Spring/Summer 2016

collection for a womenswear campaign. Smith is photographed alongside a cast of female models wearing pieces from the label’s ready to wear line. This progressive casting choice illustrates that Louis Vuitton pushing gender boundaries, therefore, Jaden Smith is an ideal celebrity to endorse to represent Genderless to a young demographic.

Willow Smith will also be used within the Genderless campaign in order to promote the range through celebrity endorsement. As Willow Smith is a teen celebrity who fits in with the consumer profile being a gender fluid individual. Equites (2016) states the Willow Smith encompasses everything about future generations which is the notion of self-expression that is not confined to labels or titles. In addition to being a Chanel brand ambassador and having the success of 2 million followers on Instagram, Willow would be an outstanding celebrity to be used in campaigns for Topshop’s Genderless range, as well as proving Topshop with social media support through the extra promotion of Willow’s social media accounts.

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WGSN (2014) reported that Willy Cartier is signed to Quest Model Management, as well as being prolific on both Twitter and Tumblr, Cartier is known for his feminine features. Ivanatarraza (2016) explained how both Jaden Smith and Willy Cartier are normalising pieces to be gender fluid. Willy Cartier would be an ideal approach to be used Topshop’s Genderless celebrity endorsement to include a model with feminine features within the Genderless campaign to represent the wide variety of consumers that are being targeted.

WGSN (2014) also reported that Andrej Pejic is an Australian model who has appeared in I-D magazine. Andre Pejic was at the centre of a recent androgyny trend and its known for modelling both menswear and womenswear. Andre will be used as celebrity endorsement throughout this strategy, as Andre is already known for representing high street brands and has already modelled for both menswear and womenswear. This will ensure the gender neutral approach that Topshop is seeking.

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C e l e b r i t y S t r a t e g y The celebrity endorsement strategy will include Willow & Jaden Smith, Willy Cartier and Andre Pejic in a short Genderless campaign video that will be published on all social media platforms and the digital display advertisements located in Picadilly Circus.

The video will consist of the celebrities wearing items from the range, and will be presented in a minimalistic approach to show the simplicity of the collection. We will be showing behind the scenes footage during the campaign shoot on both Snapchat and Instagram Stories to give consumers an insight and create excitement about the range.

Celebrities will also be encouraged to post eye-catching content of the range on their personal social media accounts, as all celebrities that have been selected have a large following on social media.

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Example of ‘Gendeerless’ ad in Picadilly Circus

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M a g a z i n e Topshop offer a free magazine instore for customers to pick us as they are shopping. The publication features an editorial, look book, beauty edits and lifestyle articles. The free zine is a great way to interact with the consumer as it is updated weekly with fashion stories and Topshop’s campaign shoots. As Genderless would be a new range for Topshop, the celebrity endorsement from Willow and Jaden Smith would be the cover stars with a beauty editorial from model Willy Cartier who is a major influence in the gender neutral look with 180k Instagram followers, a social media star who will boost the readership of Topshop’s genderless issue.

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D i s p l a y A d s Print billboards will be used to promote the Genderless range in a similar way that Ivy Park was promoted. Figure 5 shows an example of how Genderless’ billboard would look at Topshop’s Oxford Street store in London

"Whether we are giving them a look behind the scenes at the show or partnering with a global platform such as Twitter to allow them to shop the trends in real time, our aim is to create a truly inclusive experience."

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FIGURE 5: PHOTOSHOPPED ADVERT OF GENDERLESS AT TOPSHOP’S OXFORD STREET STORE

Robertson (2016) established that there are many benefits from using digital billboard as a way to advertise campaigns.

Billboards are normally located in a busy environment in popular high streets displaying the campaign on a daily basis which will show targeted audiences the content several times a day. Topshop’s Genderless Digital display advertisement will only be initially located at Picadilly Circus but if this strategy is successful more billboards in popular locations will be showing the Genderless campaign.

Tweets from consumers using the hashtag #TOPSHOPXGENDERLESS who have recently purchased items from the new range will be featured on the digital billboard.

This will encourage consumers to promote Genderless in addition to sharing their recent purchases in the chance of receiving a shout out of their tweet on a digital billboard.

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I n - S t o r e E n v i r o n m e n t

The main campaign image will be the background for the till point.

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The mannequin stands will have ‘genderless’on them and the mannequins will be wearing genderless clothing and won’t be gendered mannequins

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8m

1.3m

4.1m

Ecommerce

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Topshop uses social media to establish fashion trends with a generation of online shoppers. By leading the style conversation by posting trend reports fresh off the runway, sharing best dressed looks from the streets and creating original magazine editorial. Most importantly it leverages this coverage by consistently and directly linking back to products on its sites. In doing so, it provides shoppers with a seamless and affordable fashion fix, and the feeling of instant gratification by being able to shop trends as soon as they hit the runway.

Topshop’s presence spans all key social media platforms, with 8 million Instagram followers and 1.3 million followers on Twitter. In addition to Instagram and Twitter, Topshop also keep up to date and have a large following rate on Tumblr, Pinterest, Facebook and YouTube. Topshop encourages consumer interaction, content submission and feedback, as well as ongoing customer assistance which is the approach that will be used when publishing Genderless.

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Genderless App A Topshop Genderless would be on the Topshop app to expand their reach.

Woollaston’s (2015) study demonstrates that the average person uses their phone 85 times a day, so users having the app would surely have frequent visits. Figure 6 supports this suggestion as 86% of time spent on iOS and Android connected devices is spent on apps.

Being on the Topshop mobile app would be beneficial for Topshop Genderless as users can be provided a personal insight into the collection and can select a clothing preference according to their desired colour, size and price. There would also be discounts such as 20% off people’s first purchase from the app to encourage it to be downloaded. Having this platform would improve consumer engagement, and build brand awareness and recognition of the collection.

FIGURE 6: TIME SPENT ON IOS AND ANDRIOID CONNECTED DEVICES (HASELMAYR, 2016: ONLINE)

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M a r k e t i n g A p p r o a c h

48

Genderless will take the same approach of marketing strategies Topshop already use to appeal to customers by providing them with what fashion conscious consumers need. Genderless range is targeted mainly at individuals who believe fashion has no gender. As recent interviews and reports have claimed that gendered fashion is on the way out as fashion designers and brands are mixing menswear and womenswear on the runway. (Meltzer, 2015: Online) Alongside British department store Selfridges recently did away with a gender based shopping in a concept store called “Agender” which aims to transcended the notions of “His & Hers”. The stores experiment hints that the appeal isn’t limited to women who want to escape the stylistic confines of conventional femininity but to allow both genders to have the option to wear the same stylish items of clothing. And so far, the business has been that successful that Selfridges are considering creating a stand-alone store only stocking “Agender” Clothing.

Likewise, parents are also pushing for unisex clothing that allows both boys and girls to wear what they desire. (Banjo, 2015: online) Zara, the main competitor for Genderless, has also recently joined the gender blending movement by releasing a 16-piece collection of unisex items including jeans, shorts, sweatshirts, shirts and jumpers that all consist of neutral colours of black, white & grey. The range is modelled by both men and women and isn’t labelled by gender, proving the practicality of unisex fashion. (Sharkey, 2016: Online) In this generation we now see models of both genders strutting the catwalk along with menswear featuring skirts and dresses, in addition to 49

transgender models that continue to front designer names and fashion campaigns are becoming more androgynous too with examples of celebrity influences of Jaden Smith appearing in Louis Vuitton’s latest women wear advert. (Sharkey, 2016: Online) Topshop is sitting at the top table of fashion, being a brand and product led business that values engaging with their consumers through high fashion as a high street brand that is mainly associated with fast fashion for under 30’s. With the combination of celebrity influences to sell a range of products works extremely well for Topshop. As well as increasing profit, this strategy also increases extensive PR coverage and strategically the celebrity fashion influences are expanding dramatically in this generation. (Robertson, 2015: online) Furthermore, Topshop takes on the market-oriented approach. For one, Topshop, like other high-street fashion competitors such as Zara and H&M, are mainly based on the general fashion trends of the seasons as they need to appeal to the majority of their target market consistently. Since the trends of each season (dictated by high-end brands, bloggers, and magazines) guides the general public’s taste and preferences, Topshop will also follow the trends to attend to the current desires of their market. Topshop also tried to be innovative and resourceful with the technology they use to carry out their market research, which is proven how much Topshop values the tastes and desires of their current market. (Sedghi, 2013: online)

C o u n t r y O r i g i n

o f

China is the country of origin most suitable for the Genderless collection as all the required materials needed can be distributed from the same country. International Trade Centre (2011) explain that this is due to the fact that China is the biggest producer and exporter of textiles and clothing. China Importal (2014) state that China also has a skilled labour force and often referred to as the fabric capital of the world. The country is ideal for the Genderless collection as Texture Silk (2013) report that China is originally known for its silk and embroidery manufacturing which is a necessity for the Genderless tunics and T-shirt.

Quality issues often occur when large quantities of clothing are being manufactured. Numbers of defects can happen such as: poor seams (loose threads), discoloration of fabric, uneven embroidery, incorrect dimensions, loose buttons and zippers, and dirt and muck on clothing.

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B u d g e t When looking for Topshop’s budget there is minimal public information about their expenses. For a comparison, Dolce and Gabbana have a similar marketing campaign to Topshop as they used a lot of press advertisements, in magazines, some outdoor advertising with pop up shops and billboards and then the rest of their advertising is digital. Mintel (2016) state that Dolce & Gabbana use 85% of their advertising expenditure on press, 8% on outdoor and 6% on digital. This is shown on figure 7.

Topshop will follow the same percentages for their market budget for Genderless.

FIGURE 7: ADVERTISING EXPENDITURE ON CLOTHING (MINTEL, 2016: ONLINE)

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FIGURE 8: ADVERTISING EXPENDITURE ON CLOTHING (MINTEL, 2016: ONLINE)

When looking at the total expenditure, figure 8 shows that on average, most brands in 2016 have a budget between £1,756,000 (River Island) and £555,000 (Dolce and Gabbana). As shown on the sales forecast, see figure 9, the total profit expected from this range is £788,502.40. Hatley (2017) stated that marketing would take up 5-10% for every £100,000 a range generated. We can take an average of 7.5% from that. If we divide £788,502.40 by £100,000 we get 7.88502 which we can multiply by 7.5 to get 59.13768%. This would be the percentage of our sales that would go into marketing and promotions. This means that £466,302.02 is the budget for marketing expenditure for the Topshop Genderless range.

This is appropriate as this range is a new range for Topshop so they are less likely to spend all their money on a range that is not guaranteed to bring in revenue. However, as this range is catered all genders which opens the range up to a bigger audience, and in turn could mean a bigger profit.

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C o s t i n g s Sales Forcast Fashion Operations Sales Forecast FIGURE 9: SALES FORECAST FOR THE GENDERLESS RANGE Size range

Cost price

Landed cost price £

Qty

Selling price £

Sales value

£ profit

Total £ profit

S-XXL

$15.02

13.76

2240

85.00

190400.00

71.24

159,577.60

Blue

Polyester S-XXL Cotton

$33.04

30.12

3360

70.00

235200.00

39.88

133,996.80

China

White

Polyester S-XXL Cotton

$22.42

20.37

2240

75.00

168000.00

54.63

122,371.20

Kilt with Embroidery Detail

China

Grey

Polyester S-XXL

$37.02

33.76

1120

125.00

140000.00

91.24

102,188.80

G5

Longlime Long Sleeve Tunic

China

Navy

Polyester S-XXL Cotton

$22.92

21.13

4480

55.00

246400.00

33.87

151,737.60

G6

Plain T-shirt

China

White

$19.22

17.52

4480

44.00

197120.00

26.48

118,630.40

1177120.00

317.34

788502.40

Style ref.

Product description

Country of origin

Colourway

Fabric

G1

Plain Black Culottes

China

Black

Polyester Sateen

G2

Blue Embroidered Long Sleeve Shirt

China

G3

Cropped Long Sleeve Shirt

G4

Totals

Jersey

S-XXL

17/01/2017

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Cost Sheet for Culottes Costing Sheet

Description

Black cullotes

Country of Origin

China

MATERIAL MAIN FABRIC

COST $ PER UNIT

CONSUMPTION

TOTAL

Garment Image

ACCESSORIES WOVEN LABELS SWING TICKETS

COST $ PER UNIT PIECES PER GMT TOTAL 0.03 2 0.02 1

ZIPS TRANSPORT PACKAGING

HANGER

7

0.08 0.7 0.3

DIRECT LABOUR COST OVERHEADS

SELLING PRICE

1

0.06 0.02 0.08 0.05 0.3 7.51 3

15.02

FREIGHT

DUTY & CLEARACNE LANDED PRICE

1

7

4.5

FOB GARMENT COST

RATE OF EXCHANGE

1

0.13 1.26 14.50% £13.76 £85 MARGIN%

80.00%

54

Cost Sheet for Long Sleeve Shirt Costing Sheet

Description

MATERIAL MAIN FABRIC

COST $ PER UNIT CONSUMPTION 7

ACCESSORIES WOVEN LABELS SWING TICKETS EMBROIDERY

COST $ PER UNIT PIECES PER GMT 0.03 0.02 1.4

TRANSPORT PACKAGING

HANGER

0.7 0.3

DIRECT LABOUR COST OVERHEADS

SELLING PRICE

55

2 1 4

1

TOTAL

TOTAL

10.5

Garment Image

0.06 0.02 5.6 0.04 0.3 16.52 6.6

33.04

FREIGHT

DUTY & CLEARACNE LANDED PRICE

1.5

9.9

FOB GARMENT COST

RATE OF EXCHANGE

Country of Origin China

Embroidered long sleeve shirt

0.12 1.26 14.50% £30.12 £70 Margin%

48.00%

Cost

Sheet for Shirt

Costing Sheet

Description

MATERIAL MAIN FABRIC

COST $ PER UNIT

ACCESSORIES WOVEN LABELS SWING TICKETS EMBROIDERY BUTTONS

COST $ PER UNIT PIECES PER GMT 0.03 0.02 1.4 0.2 0.6 0.3

TRANSPORT PACKAGING

HANGER

DIRECT LABOUR COST OVERHEADS

SELLING PRICE

1

2 1 4 6 1

TOTAL

TOTAL

4

Garment Image

0.06 0.02 5.6 1.2 0.03 0.3 11.21 4.48

22.42

FREIGHT

DUTY & CLEARACNE LANDED PRICE

CONSUMPTION

6.72

FOB GARMENT COST

RATE OF EXCHANGE

Country of Origin China

Embroidered, cropped shirt

4

Cropped

0.1 1.26 14.50% £20.37 £75 MARGIN%

67.00%

56

Cost Sheet for Kilt Costing Sheet

Description

MATERIAL MAIN FABRIC SECOND FABRIC

COST $ PER UNIT CONSUMPTION 6.8 3.62

ACCESSORIES WOVEN LABELS SWING TICKETS EMBROIDERY BUCKLE

COST $ PER UNIT PIECES PER GMT 0.03 0.02 1.4 1.2 0.7 0.3

TRANSPORT PACKAGING

HANGER

Kilt with embroidery detail

DIRECT LABOUR COST OVERHEADS

SELLING PRICE

57

1

TOTAL

Garment Image

TOTAL

7.48 4

0.06 0.02 4.2 2.4 0.05 0.3 18.51 7.4

37.02

FREIGHT

DUTY & CLEARACNE LANDED PRICE

2 1 3 2

China

11.1

FOB GARMENT COST

RATE OF EXCHANGE

1.1 1.1

Country of Origin

0.14 1.26 14.50% £33.76 £125 MARGIN%

67.58%

Cost Sheet for Tunic Costing Sheet

Description

MATERIAL MAIN FABRIC

COST $ PER UNIT

ACCESSORIES WOVEN LABELS SWING TICKETS EMBROIDERY

COST $ PER UNIT PIECES PER GMT 0.03 0.02 1

TRANSPORT PACKAGING

HANGER

6

0.7 0.3

DIRECT LABOUR COST OVERHEADS

SELLING PRICE

1

2 1 5

1

TOTAL

TOTAL

6

Garment Image

0.06 0.02 5 0.08 0.3 11.46 4.6

22.92

FREIGHT

DUTY & CLEARACNE LANDED PRICE

CONSUMPTION

China

6.9

FOB GARMENT COST

RATE OF EXCHANGE

Country of Origin

Longline, long sleeve tunic

0.24 1.26 14.50% £21.13 £55 MARGIN%

53.00%

58

Cost Sheet for T-Shirt Costing Sheet

Description

MATERIAL MAIN FABRIC

COST $ PER UNIT

ACCESSORIES WOVEN LABELS SWING TICKETS EMBROIDERY

COST $ PER UNIT PIECES PER GMT 0.03 0.02 1.4

Country of Origin

T-shirt

5

1

2 1 3

TOTAL

TOTAL

5

DIRECT LABOUR COST OVERHEADS

5.76

HANGER

FOB GARMENT COST

19.22

FREIGHT RATE OF EXCHANGE DUTY & CLEARACNE LANDED PRICE SELLING PRICE

59

1

Garment Image

0.06 0.02 4.2 0.03 0.3 9.61 3.84

TRANSPORT PACKAGING

0.7 0.3

CONSUMPTION

China

0.07 1.26 14.50% £17.52 £44 MARGIN%

52.00%

C r i t i c a l P a t h

Critical Path for Range Production Pre-Production

ACTIVITY

Creating and designing the range

Weeks 1

2

3

4

Production

5

6

7

8

9

10

Post Production

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

Sign off meetings Budget Meetings Product Sampling Sourcing Trips Samples Approved Comparative Shopping Production Shipment Products on sale

The critical path for the range production will be the duration of 20 weeks as Hatley (2017) says that the leading times for China are longer, between 16 to 20 weeks. The pre-production stages will involve creating and designing the range.

This will overlap with the signing off meetings that will confirm the designs and finalised range. After that, there would have to be a budget meeting which will be finalised early on so that the company can go sourcing trips to find the right factory as well as comparative shopping for the right fabrics and materials. The products will be trialled and tested during the sampling stage before they are approved and go into production. There will be 7 weeks of production which will overlap with the shipment and deliveries that last for 6 weeks. On the final week, week 20, the products will go on sale instore and online.

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19

20

Critical Path for Marketing Campaign Pre-Production

ACTIVITY

Weeks 1

2

3

4

Production

5

6

7

8

9

10

Post Production

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

Market Research Identfy Target Consumer

Campaign Planning Budget Confirmation Social Media Hashtag Campaign Video Press Event Display Ad Launch Products on sale

The critical path for the marketing strategy for the Genderless range will start with market research during the pre-production. Identifying the target consumer and market will help to plan the campaign for the next following 4 weeks. After this, the budget will be discussed and confirmed to see if it will allow the campaign plans. As the range is being put in production, the social media hashtag will start to surface on the Topshop social media platforms and remain constantly for the following weeks to bring awareness to the range. Towards the end of production, the campaign video will be launched to showcase the celebrity endorsements as well as show a sneak peak of the range. The press event will happen at the very end of production weeks before the product launch. The display advertisements will be launched in major cities, mainly in London postproduction and finally, the products will be put on sale.

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20

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