Research File

Eve Fisher BA (Hons) Fashion Management with Marketing Student Number: Q7981 8099

Executive Summary
The Final Major Project will involve looking into and researching the processes of starting a t-shirt clothing enterprise business within the fashion industry. This project will be divided into three different sections; Research, Development and Final Outcomes. The modern youthful consumer wants to feel exclusive and original in the clothing they wear, yet look stylish at an affordable price. This project aims to research to an in depth and thorough level the potential of an online trend led clothing brand, aimed at a youthful 15-24 year old unisex market. The project will explore this concept, through a market, competitor, and trend analysis which then takes the idea further by developing the concept to a greater level of depth. This will involve the branding, marketing, designing, buying, merchandising, styling, photography and digital media, in order to achieve a finished brand, with potential for profit, ready for launch in the summer of 2013. Once the market has been researched intensively, this knowledge will then be applied to the development of the clothing brand in addition to personal ideas and desires to create Rise Apparel. From this, final outcomes will be produced to demonstrate visually what the finished output will look like, both visually and practically. Employability skills are a key element of the learning process involved in creating the final major project, suggesting that the overall aim of the project is to develop personal skills further, by applying research, using critical, creative and analytical thinking, as well as improving practical skills such as using software like Photoshop and Indesign.

Research File: Contents

Primary Research & Analysis Market Overview External Market Analysis (PESTLE) Market Size, Share and Potential Competitor Overview and Analysis Black Milk Petals and Peacocks Hype. Last But Won Marketing Mix Perceptual Map Trend Overview and Analysis Overview of the Grunge Trend Ready to Wear Spring/Summer 2013 High Street Spring/ Summer 2013 WGSN Analysis Consumer Analysis Consumer Definition Diffusions of Innovation ACORN Consumer Profiling Customer Relationship Management Matrix Pen Portrait Conclusion Harvard References/ Bibliography

Primary Research
The purpose of performing primary market research is to determine whether the target market of the business venture would be interested in the idea of beginning a small independent brand which accounts for grunge fashion and lifestyle values, as well as to examine what people want and expect from an online brand in terms of service, design, fit and quality. Initially the business will be based around t-shirts, so the information will be utilised within the development of the venture.

Question 1: What factors are important to you whilst consuming a clothing lifestyle brand? Affordability (83%) and Quality and Fit (80%) are the most important factors a consumer considers whilst consuming a clothing lifestyle brand. Stylishness (67%) and Comfort (60%) are also significant factors which are considered during the buyer decision making process. In order to meet the needs of the market, designs can be printed on American Apparel to give the clothing high quality and good fits, as well as ensuring the price is kept as low as possible without making a loss. Question 2: Where do you gain inspiration from in terms of personal style? This question aimed to find out what consumers felt were the most inspirational sources for their fashion sense, which would then help contribute to marketing strategy and methods of branding. 55% of participants claimed friends and peer groups were most influential, followed with particular iconic eras with 41%. 36% were influenced by magazines, and 36% were influenced by fashion blogs, which suggests both media and social media were also substantial factors of influence. Marketing the business using these sources will help influence and motivate purchases.

Sampling
Ideally the survey aims to gather responses from both male and female participants aged between 16 and 24, from a different range of cultural, economic and educational backgrounds. This is due to the target market of the business venture consisting of both genders of a young demographic. Targeting this segment will enable a realistic viewpoint of the opinions of the business venture directly from the potential consumers, with hopeful and interesting feedback as to the ideas of the business venture. Ensuring that data is from a range of different backgrounds and upbringings will help to determine the target market in more depth, allowing consumer profiling to be more accurate, which will inevitably effect the marketing strategy, branding, design and values associated with the upcoming brand. Successfully targeting the correct market will increase market potential and share and will allow the brand to excel to become as profitable and successful as possible.

Methodology
In order to gain as much information as possible, both open and closed questions will be asked in order to gain a balance in both qualitative and quantitative primary research. The method in which to gain information will consist of an online survey. Young people are very deeply involved with a variety of social media and prefer the idea of participating from the comfort of their own home. It will be a simplistic and time efficient way of gathering a large quantity of results, as well as including features to enhance the analysis of the results. The website hosting the survey will be Quick Surveys, as questions are unlimited and analysis is simplistic and visual. By conducting a survey with both open and closed questions, there will be strong data revolving around ideas and opinions, as well as strong, statistical factual information, which can be utilised in association with secondary research to gain a factual insight into the market potential and a stronger level of direction for the development stage of the entrepreneurial project. Question 3: Who are your personal favourite fashion icons/ influences and why? This question also aimed to provide answers as to young peoples favourite fashion icons, in terms of inspiration for their clothing purchases. Popular answers were Le Happy (fashion blogger), Cara Delevigne (Vogue Model of the Year), Rihanna, Alexa Chung, Olivia Palermo, Kate Moss, Coco Chanel, Audrey Hepburn, Courtney Love, Gwen Stefani, Victoria Beckham, Miranda Kerr, Fearne Cotton, Vivienne Westwood, Joan Jett which were all mentioned various amount of times by participants. There were answers which claimed friends or girlfriends were their fashion icons, which tends to be a generic male answer as it is less common for men to have obvious or researched style icons. All the icons mentioned tend to be very classical in dress, usually with a punk, indie or grunge aesthetic. These influences can be utilised during the marketing strategy, for example with look books or digital magazines, in order to attract consumers and to optimise brand loyalty and appreciation.

Primary Research
Question 4: Do you shop for clothing on the high street/ online or both?
The purpose of this question was to determine what methods of distribution were most popular amongst a youthful consumer. 15% of consumers claim they only ever shop on the high street, 5% claim they only ever shop online, with the majority at 80% claiming to shop both through e-commerce and the high street. The information suggests that only 15% of youth consumers do not shop online, therefore it can be assumed that there is still large potential for a pureplay brand.

Question 7: Would an exclusive lifestyle brand that takes inspiration from street style, music, vintage and 90s grunge culture and trends (as forecast by Elle) appeal to you?
The purpose of this question was to establish whether a lifestyle brand with grunge connotations would be popular and desired by young consumers. It was a positive and reassuring response, with 67% of people claiming they would be interested in a brand that offered this. It is definitely a trend which appeals to women more so than men, as 79% of women answered that they would be interested in the brand, compared with just 36% of men. Therefore, it is critical to deliver the elements and values of grunge to deliver the stylishness women desire, whilst giving men what they desire in a clothing brand (affordability, quality and fit and comfort was much more valued to men, whilst women desired affordability and quality and fit, yet prioritised stylishness over comfort). Using WGSN will help determine trend amongst different Europe youth styles and groups, which will help with the design element of the project, and with the positive figures, the answers to this question hold promising firm information in which to develop. Male Response, Q7 Female Response, Q7

Question 5: Why do you choose this method for shopping for clothing? (If you answered 'Both' in Question 4, please specify your favoured method)
This question was to understand how strong the online market is for youthful consumers, as well Question 6: What features would you want from an online clothing store? as gain qualitative information regarding preferred shopping methods for fashion. To conclude, the results were pretty much divided evenly between online and bricks and mortar. Key points to Technology is fast evolving and many fashion retailers and brands adopt many technologically advanced summarise high street being the preferred method were the chance to try things on and see the features to improve the realistic features offered through the high street. Asking potential consumers what product looks and feels in terms of quality and fit, the facility of browsing, the social/ hobby features they value on a website will improve the nature of the business, especially as it has originated aspect, the experience of a store in terms of aesthetic, visual merchandising and music, and the as a pureplay channel. Answers from participants included reviews, measurements, easy navigation, easy instant gaining of the physical object are all aspects favoured by high street consumers. On the returns, style guides, product specifications, visuals, catwalk to show how the garment looks on a person, other hand, online is favoured for its convenience to shop anytime, the versatility, the vast choice, 360 degree views of the product, detailed product descriptions, simplicity, to see the clothing on different the unique brands, the opportunity to get sizes not usually available on the high street, laziness, sized models, a zoom in feature, clean and professional looking layout and arrangement, outfit hectic lifestyles, researching the best deals and reading reviews. It is to be noted that participants co-ordinator, lookbooks, drop down menus, a login feature, and items saved in a basket. Of course, free usually claimed to buy basics on high street but preferred the unique and original designs the web postage and packaging and free returns are very favourable amongst the consumer. In order to create can offer them, additionally consumers said that they were more likely to buy categories such as these features, a website hosting subscription may need to be accounted for in order to improve the bags, accessories, footwear and t-shirts that have generic sizing online, whilst keeping jeans, quality of the online store environment to consumers. Optimising the website to include these features underwear and dress purchases on the high street due to an increased risk of buying a perfect will make the brand look more professional and will be far more favourable to potential consumers. fitting size. To summarise, this question justified how the online market responds to fashion, and Particular memberships are available with website hosting sites, in order to facilitate the advanced what categories and designs they are most likely to purchase without feeling the hassle of poor technology which the consumer desires, which is affordable, compared to renting a store space. fitting.

Primary Research

Question 8: What key statement pieces and products would you expect Question 10: How often do you go clothes shopping? to see from a lifestyle brand incorporating nineties grunge style?

This question provided quantitative statistical data as to how often a youth market goes clothes shopping, through all methods of distribution. The leading answer with 36% is monthly (likely to be employed, with This question intended to answer how to style a brand with grunge connotations in the designated monthly pay days), followed with 31% going shopping every three months (likely to be students, opinions and perceptions of the participants asked, as well as gaining qualitative who receive a student loan every three months approximately), which is led with 15% of consumers going information to reinforce the statistical data from question seven. To summarise, answers shopping weekly. This information suggests that new designs and products should be added monthly in order consisted of checked shirts, acid wash denim, leather, studs, band shirts, oversized tees, chunky black boots, graffiti motifs, distressed fabric, tie dye, 90s florals, denim jackets, tartan, to maintain consumer interest and to conform to the shopping frequency habits of the consumer. By failing to update the brand regularly, consumers will get bored and discouraged to buy from the brand in future. mesh and slouchy jumpers. This reinforces the powerful connotations associated with the 90s era and grunge look and style, which provides a basis of how to style a t-shirt brand if the Maintaining interest by offering different products will indeed increase the probability of pursuing high brand loyalty. However, this question fails to determine how much consumers spend per shopping trip. It is also to be purpose is to be associated with the grunge aesthetic. noted that both men and women had very similar frequencies with clothes shopping purchases.

Question 11: How much roughly do you spend per shopping trip?
Asking this question enabled a stronger quantitative understanding of youth consumer shopping habits, and would also help reinforce how much consumers averagely spent per shopping trip. The most common answer from participants with 27% were 51- 100 per shopping trip, followed by 20% spending 31- 40, 19% spending 21- 31, and 17% spending 41- 50. Answers were so widely spread across different answers, it is obviously highly dependent on frequency and budget. Male consumers (41%) dominantly spent 51- 100 and females (25%) dominantly spent between 31 and 40. Making the business affordable yet suitable for a variety of budgets will help increase the chances of consumers purchasing.

Question 9: What are your current favourite brands and why?

The purpose of this question was to determine where youthful consumers are shopping, why they shop there, and what they look for in a brand/ retailer. It would also help to conclude any competitors which can be studied in order to differentiate the Unique Selling Points of the business. The answers to this question were very mixed, yet provided interesting qualitative date; the usual high street stores were common due to affordability and ability to supply trends and variety, such as H&M, Topshop, Zara, Topman, American Apparel, Urban Outfitters, Bank, Republic, and New Look. Pureplay retailers mentioned were ASOS, Boohoo, MissGuided, and coincidently Yayer (an upcoming trend led grunge brand) and Black Milk. Classic and designer brands mentioned were Chanel, Burberry, Ralph Lauren, Fred Perry, Henry Holland and Mulberry, which were noted as being aspirational consumers due to the lack of affluence to purchase items frequently. Interesting less established brands included Wood Wood (very classic and highly fashionable), Uniqlo (for their Japanese/ European inspired designs), and American Gold (for their Western Bohemian Americana look). All these brands show how consumers are inspired by different generic looks and styles of dressing as well as how strong the branding and lifestyles have been promoted in order to attract an engaged consumer. Yayer seems like the only grunge trend led company mentioned, and seeing as there is positive reinforcement for the idea of a grunge brand in previous answers, it clearly suggests there is a lack of this look, lifestyle and aesthetics in the current market, implying there is a gap in the market for a grunge independent brand.

In 2010, the coalition government announced that university and higher education fees were set to increase up to 9000 per year, from 2012, as funding was cut due to the tough economic climate. This had a strong impact as of January 2012, where UCAS released figures suggesting that applications from UK students had shown an 8.7% decrease, with English university applications down by 9.9% (BBC, 2012). The increase for tuition fees has not only just directly affected the amount of people applying for higher education, but will also affect the economy very negatively, as a report by Andrew McGettigan states that higher university fees will add 100 billion to public debt over the next twenty years (BBC, 2012). Inflation late in 2012 also raised, from 2.2% to 2.7%, as a result of rising student fees, which also saw the cost of education rise to more than 19% in October 2012, the largest one month increase on record (The Guardian, 2012). Not only is the cost of tuition high for students, as with recent figures from the NUS showing the cost of a room in university-owned accommodation had doubled in ten years, students are struggling financially with their living costs (The Telegraph, 2012). The Guardian also claimed that the rise in tuition fees led to 15,000 fewer applicants from England, whereas students applying for Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland Universities barely dropped for 2012 (*Scotland do not charge tuition fees, Wales pay for any fees above 3465 for Welsh students attending UK institutions, and fees from Northern Ireland are capped at 3465). Of course, this will severely affect the market potential of the business venture, as research from Mintel suggested that Clothes buyers from online auction sites and online only online market is more dominated by the student market than consumers who work full time, and with the primary research survey created, affordability is perceived as an important factor for buying clothing. With students with very little disposable income for fashion, it will be important that the marketing and branding is strong for the business, in order to persuade consumers to spend their income on the products sold, as well as delivering the factors which are considered important for choosing a brand within this market. Therefore, the business venture will have to be inexpensive, and as students are likely to be the largest market for the business idea, it seems that the products sold need to meet the criteria of being affordable, as well as conforming to trends and styles which this market are interested in. However, The Guardian reported recently that applications to start in September 2013 were up by 3.5% (The Guardian, 2013) which suggests potential students are still able to afford the student living costs, and with parents helping out their children with their living costs, there could still be a sturdy market for the business venture.

Political

Market Overview: PESTLE Analysis

Increased Student Tuition Fees Rising Youth Unemployment

Youth unemployment has been a problem affecting the youth market in recent years, as in 2011 statistics announced by The Guardian claimed UK unemployment raised to 2.62 million, a 17 year high, with youth unemployment hitting one million with 21.9% of 16-24 year olds being unemployed (The Guardian, 2011). However, this has decreased slightly since, with the figures for youth unemployment amongst 16-24 year olds in January 2013 was 957000 (The BBC, 2013), which equates to 20.5% (Parliament, 2013) which is one in five young people who are unemployed. Youth unemployment can be placed to a number of reasons, including the Eurozone crisis, high market competition for jobs, a high number of graduates experiencing difficulty for the low level of jobs as businesses close in the triple dip recession, and lack of experience and qualifications mean older age groups are succeeding amongst the 16- 24 year old age group. Of course, with the business venture being much focused to the youth target market, with the ideas of captivating youth culture, high youth unemployment alongside the rising tuition fees and high household bills suggest that this market will have very little disposable income for fashion. Therefore, the brand created needs to be one which differentiates from competition and one of which this age group is interested in. Affordability is the key value that needs to be considered for the project. Evidence from Mintel, such as Clothing continues to be the number one priority for 15-24s, with over three fifths (61%) having bought new clothes in the last three months and almost half (49%) planning to purchase new garments in the next three months, (Mintel, 2012) suggests clothing is still important to this age group, considering if brand meets their needs and demands, therefore displaying the high youth unemployment is not completely destroying the market potential for this age group. Despite high youth unemployment, financial commitment amongst 15-24 year olds tends to be low, as many live with their parents, therefore clothes expenditure continues.

The Eurozone Crisis

The Eurozone crisis has affected many countries of the EU, as the recession takes a grasp on the tough economic situation. Many circumstances, such as the recession, companies going bankrupt, and debt have lead to many European countries becoming unsustainable; private loans and government lending has meant that debt has become extremely high. Spain, Greece, Germany, France and Italy have all accumulated very high levels of debt, mainly from levels of private loans. The problem rests in whether government spending is cut dramatically, as if this is executed, these countries will struggle with the recession to pay back fees, however, if government spending is continued, it will be a risk as debt could continue to grow drastically resulting in the collapse of the country financially, and getting further into debt therefore making it more difficult to manage. The Euro was introduced to these countries in 1999, to give the economy a stable and universal currency, however, the Euro is growing weaker against other currencies which is resulting in a low income. Currently, the government are currently reviewing limiting countries borrowing to 3% (BBC, 2012). Effectively, the Eurozone crisis will affect the UK, not quite to the same extent, but to some degree as Europe takes more than 50% of UK exports and so any financial crisis in Europe is bound to affect commercial business within the UK (The Guardian, 2012). This suggests that European countries borrowing and charging higher fees for imported goods will effectively make the UK recession worst. In order to ensure the business idea is successful, it will need to account for suppliers (whatever is sourced from the European Union will mean higher costs to UK customers) and their prices for cotton and materials, which would effectively make the cost price for goods higher which will then affect the selling price and profit margin, and as other political factors have indicated, affordability is essential amongst the youth market.

The Recession

The recession has hit the UK for the past decade, causing severe problems surrounding business closures, unemployment and redundancies and huge cuts to public institutions and services. In April 2012, the UK was plunged into a double dip recession, after the economy shrank by 0.2% in the first quarter of 2012, whilst before this the fourth quarter of 2011 had only shrunk by 0.03% (BBC, 2012). However, the economy seems to be getting even worst, as the UK is now forecast to be in the third recession in four years as the economy shrank by a further 0.3% in the last three months of 2012 (The Guardian, 2013). The Guardian also claimed A triple-dip recession will occur if the economy contracts again in the first quarter of 2013. The economy remains 3.5% below its peak in 2007 and is not expected to regain its previous level for at least another two years, making it the longest recovery in 100 years, which displays how tough the economy is getting. Of course, consumer habits will dramatically change as a result, as consumers look for items which are durable, long lasting, high quality, and versatile, with an emphasis on good craftsmanship and value for money. However, despite the recession affecting the UK, especially the youth market with high tuition fees and unemployment, clothes buying is still a high priority for the under 25 market, as 61% of under 25s include clothing and footwear within their top five biggest expenditures, with fashion being the ultimate spending priority of 15-19 year olds (Mintel, 2012). Mintel further suggests that despite the economic climate, consumer spending on clothing including accessories grew by 4.7% to 40.6 billion (incl. VAT) in 2011 and is set to grow further in 2012 by 3.5%, taking total clothing expenditure to 42.0 billion (Mintel, 2012). This suggests that despite the recession, the clothing market is still performing well, with value retailers leading the market due to the affordability they offer, as well as 15- 24 year olds still spending, as the majority of this market has very little financial commitments (as their parents are likely to financially help) meaning they can take a casual approach to spending money. As long as the fashion is affordable and meets the latest fashion trends, designs and styles, then this market will continue to spend despite the difficult economic situation.

Market Overview: PESTLE Analysis

Economic

Fluctuating Cotton Prices

In 2010/ 2011, cotton prices were rising dramatically, and in the month January 2011 to February 2011, cotton prices had dramatically raised by 30% (The Telegraphy, 2011) mainly due to flooding in cotton producing areas such as India, Pakistan and Australia, in a period where cotton in China was soaring. India Ratings released this statement, claiming cotton prices were decreasing as We expect domestic cotton prices to stabilise at the current low levels or decline by 510 percent in 2013. The current global cotton inventory is at a multi-decade high, with stocks to usage ratio estimated to be at 71 per cent (The Hindu, 2013). According to the same article, China currently owns approximately 50% of the worlds cotton inventory; however, as stock is high and suppliers can attain cotton cheaply, countries which supply cotton may decide to up their prices to ensure they can get a good price for the cotton, in case the growing conditions change. With the business venture looking specifically at using t-shirts as the cash cow product category, it is essential that the products provided by the business are soft, comfortable and durable, all qualities which consumers seek within their clothing due to the recession and can be achieved with cotton. However, with affordability as such a high priority for the youth market, higher cotton prices could mean less profit per product sold, which could affect the initial profit the business needs to grow and expand. Therefore, cotton prices will need to be monitored carefully to predict when the market is better for purchasing bulk orders, which of course will be difficult to achieve for a small scale upcoming t-shirt business as predicting how many t-shirts will sell in a particular design is very risky. If cotton prices rise as dramatically as 2011, it could threaten the business venture to a large extent.

Rising Transport Fees

Transport is essential to the everyday lives of people, whether it involves commuting to work, meeting peers, attending interviews, or travelling for leisure purposes, however, the rising transport fares in the UK have been rising dramatically, meaning that people will have a lower disposable income, and with inflation rising and income staying the same, it really will affect the population financially. In November 2012, fares for Londons transport network were announced to increase in January 2013 by 4.2%, much to peoples reluctance. Cycle hire within the city also doubled, with an annual membership costing 90 (BBC, 2012). Rising fuel costs have also affected bus and train fares across the countries, as they are forced to raise their prices to maintain profit levels. Recent figures indicate that fuel would be 4p more per litre, in January 2013 (BBC, 2013), which of course would influence the cost of transport fares. With a high student market for the business venture, the cost of transport will damage their already low disposable income, as in 2010, more than 310,000 students chose to apply to local universities and commute from their home, which is 19% of undergraduates compared to just 8% in 1984, as eight out of ten of these students claim they chose to live at home during their studies to save money (The Guardian, 2011). This of course, could limit the success of the business venture and threaten the purchasing decisions of this market. In order to overcome this, the business venture will need to offer competitive prices, to ensure affordability is kept as the main selling point and to sway potential consumers to shop for this brand as opposed to the alternative and costly brands. Grunge is a concept based on the philosophy that consumers do not want to spend money on self expression through clothing, so the main aim of the business will be the low cost in comparison to more expensive e-tailers.

Lower Household Disposable Income

Many modern day consumers are experiencing a lower disposable income, as rising living costs, such as fuel, energy and transport, increasing inflation and a lack of growth in salaries is meaning that more of their income is spent on the cost of their living as opposed to personal and leisure products and services. As a result, consumer buying habits will change, as more thorough research is conducted into products to determine where the consumer can get the best value for money, especially with the internet as a fantastic resource, competition is substantially high. In 2012, it was announced that in relation to inflation, disposable income has continued lowering for nine years, as families struggle to maintain savings due to rising costs (BBC, 2012). The Telegraph claimed that UK personal disposable income has fallen to its lowest since 1921, adding that the average British household will have 910 less to spend in 2009, as a result of inflation and rising living costs (The Telegraph, 2011). In 2010, Mintel published a report which displayed evidence that four in ten consumers spent less than they did for the previous year, however, the report also states that one third of 16-24 year olds intended to spend more on fashion for the following year (Mintel, 2010). This statistic shows that despite the threat of a lower disposable income, that the youth market of 15-24 in which the business aims to target, consumers are still willing to spend money as clothing is prioritised, either to appear attractive to the opposite sex, or the desire to look well dressed to peers.

Household Bills Increasing

In the tough economic climate, inflation continues to rise for such services such as household maintenance, such as electricity, gas and water. Without a significant amount of growth for peoples salaries, the rising cost of household bills could have a large negative impact on personal disposable income. According to The Telegraph, Santander discovered the cost of household bills had rose by 71% between 2001 and 2011, with gas bills trebling and electricity bills doubling in price, despite inflation only rising 38% in the same period. In the same time period, average wages rose from 16,964 to 21,093, showing a 24% increase, much lower than the increase rate of household bills (The Telegraph, 2012). In addition to this, the Office for National Statistics claimed that nine out of ten people had to make cut backs to accommodate the rising costs. In February 2013, it was announced that household water bills were also set to increase by a further 3.5%, adding an average 13 extra for the year following April 2013 (BBC, 2013). The Telegraph also claimed energy bills were set to cost the average household an additional 90 per year (The Telegraph, 2012). Of course, with many prices rising due to the bad economy, the rising cost of household bills will inevitably affect an individuals personal disposable income which could result in cutbacks in luxuries such as fashion, suggesting that the rising costs will threaten the market potential for the business venture. However, it is to be noted that many 15- 24 year olds, the ideal market for the business venture, still live at home with their parents, meaning they will bypass these rising costs, whereas the student market for the business will suffer with their university housing bills, lowering any additional income allocated to fashion. In order to overcome the threat, the business will need to ensure that the product is in high demand from plenty of trend research and innovative and desirable designs, as well as keeping costs low in order to offer the consumer the lowest prices, therefore making them the first choice out of e-tailer competitors

Market Overview: PESTLE Analysis

Social

The Rise of Social Media

Social media has become a phenomenon of recent years, especially with the creation of innovative technologies such as Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Google +, Instagram and Pinterest allowing people to express themselves creatively to many different networks. People have the opportunity to update their friends, post pictures, show interests, receive updates from companies that appeal to them, and promote themselves both visually and professionally. Facebook, possibly the most innovative and widely used social networking site globally, has 900 million active users and if it were a country, it would be the third largest country in the world following China and India (The Telegraph, 2012). In relation to influence on fashion from the youth population, Social media sites are increasingly being used to praise or criticise brands and almost half (47%) of internet users aged 16-24 become a fan or like it on Facebook when they felt positively about a fashion brand and over a quarter (27%) posted a status update, (Mintel, 2012) which displays a significant influence to both fashion and the individual. This of course presents a great opportunity to explore as a promotional tool, to boost awareness, brand loyalty and to attract new potential consumers. Twitter as well is a particularly effective social network for boosting awareness through word of mouth marketing, allowing members to hash tag comment on matters of interest and to tweet their own comments, thoughts or stories. In March 2012, Twitter had 140 million active users with an average of 340 million tweets a day (Twitter Blog, 2012), displaying evidence for how truly revolutionary the technology is for social interaction. 17% of 16- 24 year olds discuss their opinions of fashion brands (Mintel, 2012). Similarly to Facebook, the business can optimise a Twitter account in order to promote the brand and reinforce messages and connotations of youth culture through news and events. The only problem with this opportunity is that if young people have unfavourable perceptions with a brand, it is likely for them to express their opinions through social media, as research shows that 28% of 16-24 year olds have posted a negative status about a brand, which can be incredibly powerful at tainting brand image and perception. In order to prevent this from happening, designs should be visually appealing and customer service skills need to be excellent.

The Rise of Festival Popularity

Music has always been a crucial element for any trend or style, as it forms a sense of identity and mutual ground in which people connect. For young people, there has been a rise in popularity for summer musical festivals, as consumers are looking for value whilst seeing their favourite artists perform and a chance to experience the aspirational festival lifestyle of fun, partying, meeting new people and camping. According to the BBC, UK music fans spent 1.45 billion on gigs in 2009, up from 4% on the previous year, and out of this, 275 million was spent on festivals, up by 50 million, which was the sharpest increase seen for any live music event (BBC, 2010). PRS chief economist Will Page commented on the matter, saying This seems to be a UK phenomenon. I dont think anywhere else in Europe has seen the same explosion in festivals (BBC, 2010). 37% of gig money went to arenas, 21% to mid level venues, with festivals following with 19%, displaying the trend for seeing live music, as in 2008 it was announced for the first time ever that live music made more money than recorded music (BBC, 2010). As the main unique selling point for the business is the idea of youth culture, with music playing a key part in young peoples lives, it seems this could be a very interesting opportunity for the business venture to optimise, as 24% of 15-24 year olds attended music festivals in 2011 (Mintel, 2012). This could involve opening pop up shops at festivals, or promoting comfortable, durable festival clothing and styling, or even endorsement as a method to boost brand awareness. This opportunity to really tap into youth culture needs to be explored and thoroughly researched. Festivals such as Tomorrow Land really explore the ideals of youth culture and deliver a unique and enchanting experience to the customer, with creative props, lighting, and quirky style, and ideally the values of the business need to coincide with this idea and concept. Concerts will also be a vital opportunity, as 38% of 15- 24 year olds attended concerts in 2011, (Mintel, 2012) so by researching into this opportunity, the business can look at interesting marketing methods and events to really deliver the youth culture lifestyle and to reflect this in the branding.

Decreasing Youth Population

The youth population is decreasing, with the number dropping significantly in upcoming years. The 15-24 year old population is expected to fall by 6% between 2012 and 2017 to 7.7 million. The 15-19 year old population is set to fall more dramatically, with a decrease of 7.1% over the next five years which equates to 271,000 youths. The number of 20-24 year olds is predicted to drop to 231,000 which is a decline of 5.7% (All statistics from Mintel, 2012). Of course, this will severely affect the market, and will threaten the business venture quite dramatically due to the potential market share decreasing. In order to overcome this potential threat, the business venture will need to consider the 20-24 year old sector more so than the 15-19 year olds by ensuring design is more mature and relevant to the interests of this age group, as there is a lower rate of decline which suggests that by targeting the 20-24 year olds the business will be optimising and maximising the market potential.

An Increased Consciousness for Personal Appearance

With a constant surrounding of media messages to look good, be attractive, stay slim and to wear nice clothing, it is inevitable for people to be increasingly conscious over their personal appearance to others and how they are perceived to their peers and the general public. Of course, there are a number of psychological factors which cause this behavioural trait, such as maintaining a healthy level of self esteem, self worth, status to others and to build a sense of identity which other people recognise. These are usually motivations to consume fashion and cosmetics, which is an opportunity to be embraced by the business concept. 85% of 16-24 year old women wear makeup because it boosts their confidence (Mintel, 2012), which displays the solution to heighten self esteem. For young people, motivations to buying fashion correlate with appearance, as 57% of under 25 women and 55% of under 25 men believe it is important to be attractive to the opposite sex, and 68% of under 25 women believe it is important to look well dressed in comparison to 57% of under 25 men. Interestingly, 49% of under 25 women like to keep up with the latest fashions, with only 30% of under 25 men agreeing with this statement (Mintel, 2012). Of course, the business will be inspired by trends, so therefore this will be optimised within this area of the business. The consciousness for appearance within the young population will be an ideal opportunity to utilise, and of course, attractiveness and visually pleasing designs will be created in order to cater for this need from the desired market.

Market Overview: PESTLE Analysis

Technological

The Rise of Tablet Devices

Tablet computers are becoming a popular new technology amongst the UK population, due to the practicality of their size and the vast amount of functions they exhibit. According to a report conducted by Mintel in August 2012, 89% of 16-24 year olds owned a laptop/ netbook, with 25% owning a tablet computer, which is fairly significant considering their price and how recent this technology is. Out of any other age group, the 16- 24 year old bracket were the biggest market for tablet ownership (Mintel, 2012).Focusing on tablet computers, for 16- 24 year olds, 11% use it for general web browsing, 13% use it to watch short video clips, 11% listen to music, 10% play casual web based games, 8% watch television programmes whilst 6% use it for online shopping (Mintel, 2012) therefore displaying an opportunity for creating a tablet online store and utilising it with interactive features. Focusing on laptop/ netbook computers, 80% of 16-24 year olds use them for online shopping (Mintel, 2012), therefore displaying a bigger opportunity to expand into the online market. By making an interactive, exciting website which features what consumers would want, the online market for the business venture has potential.

The Rise of Smart Phones and Applications

Smart phones are becoming the dominant social technology, and have been phenomenal within the fashion market as a new channel in which to sell clothing. In 2012, 79% of 16-24 year olds owned a smart phone (Mintel, 2012). In addition to this information, IMRG predicts that m- commerce (channels of selling through tablets and mobile phones) will account for 20% of e-commerce retail sales by the end of 2012, a rise of 0.4% in 2009 (Mintel, 2012), which is significant to the contribution of sales from the online market, typically associated with a young market. Of course, this is an ideal opportunity for the business venture to explore, as with such a high proportion of 16-24 year olds using their smart phones, and purchasing from this channel set to increase dramatically, it is essential that the business venture progresses and develops to meet the markets needs. 1.5% of smart phone users utilise fashion and style applications, with 10.8% of smart phone owners using online retail (Mintel, 2012) displaying that a phone application would be used far more by consumers who have the advantage of shopping as well as browsing. Utilising this opportunity would be a long term aim, as building awareness is the first step to potentially making this a successful idea to execute.

Online Shopping

Since the internet began, online shopping has changed how consumers shop for their clothing, as the internet offers the consumer the ability to browse, view and purchase products at any time of the day with ultimate ease and convenience, perfect for consumers who struggle to have the time to go shopping and spend hours browsing different stores. Fashion is the best performing online sector, with 43.7% of 15- 24 year olds having made a clothing/ footwear purchase in 2011 (Mintel, 2012). 22% of 16-24 year old consumers claim they buy more clothing online than in store, showing a transition in preference to the online market, as well as 25% of 16-24 year olds buying from a pureplay online retailer (Mintel, 2012). Of course, this demonstrates that the online shopping market for 16-24 year olds has an incredibly high potential, with numbers of online purchases growing dramatically, especially as new technologies has enables a variety of channels in which to buy online. In addition to this, it is also important to consider how the online market is changing, as retailers offer online style guides, look books, with ideas being developed for online fitting rooms. It is important that the online store environment is as realistic as possible to the traditional bricks and mortar stores, as this will deliver an experience to the customer that compensates for the lack of the tangible products. In order to optimise the online market opportunity, features will include images of the clothing, style guides and fashion photography to convey the lifestyle of the brand, the ability to zoom in on the fabric, 360 degree rotation of the products, size specifications and measurements.

The Rise of Fashion Blogs

Fashion blogs have provided many fashion conscious individuals to write about their subject of passion as well as inspire many followers with styles, trends, and cover many different areas of the fashion spectrum, from clothes customisation, ethical fashion to general style. On Mintel, 2% of consumers admitted that their purchasing decisions were influenced by blogs (Mintel, 2010) which is likely to have increased since. The Le Happy blog, which promotes a style similar to the products the business idea, has been recognised by Teen Vogue, has 90,877 fans on Lookbook, and 39,940 likes on Facebook (Le Happy Blog, February 2013). Marc Jacobs fan, BryanBoy, achieved fame by attaining a role as a judge on Americas Next Top Model, FashionToast Rumi Neely has been featured on Teen Vogue and usually attends the largest fashion catwalk shows, and Anna Della Russo has attained a career with H&M. All of these aspects show how influential fashion bloggers can be, which demonstrates a large potential for marketing the business venture. Websites such as Lookbook allow people style themselves and upload images, as well as to label the brands and products they are wearing for their outfits, which would be an interesting viral marketing opportunity to showcase designs and build brand awareness.

Market Overview: PESTLE Analysis

Legal

Sales of Goods Act 1979

The Sales of Goods Act was introduced to regulate any selling activity which takes place between the retailer and consumer, which gives basic rights and agreements to the consumer when they choose to purchase. This law entails a variety of factors, including that a retailer cannot write a misleading product description, the products sold needs to be fit for purpose and not faulty in any way, and if the customer finds a problem with the product, they should be entitled to an exchange or refund as a result of their dissatisfaction. This gives the customers peace of mind that if a problem arises, they have the opportunity to fix the problem, which therefore makes them more likely to purchase the product initially. In order to deliver excellent customer service, the business venture should offer easy returns and refunds and deal with customer enquiries effectively and efficiently. The business venture will need to specify exactly what the products are in order to sell the product to the most accurate knowledge.

Design Piracy Prohibition Act 2012

The Design Piracy Prohibition Act 2012 was introduced in order to monitor the fashion industry, and has officially been named as the Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act. The act is there to protect designs for the next three years after production, as well as to encourage companies to create original and unique designs and to stop mimicking designs from competitors. Copyright laws already protect trademarks, patterns and prints, accessories and logos, however, before this law, there were no methods to protect designs which have just been produced. Of course, this will need to be taken into consideration during the business venture, as unique designs are important to the unique selling point of the company and to create original designs without plagiarising the work of other designers is critically important to the company in legal terms and morally.

Environmental

Increase of Demand for Ethical Fashion

Ethical fashion is becoming an increasingly spoken about aspect of the modern fashion industry. In 2009, Mintel estimated the market for ethical clothing was worth 175 million, up from 40 million in 2004/2005 (Mintel, 2009), which could only suggest that this figure has risen since the report was published. The same report specified that 49% of 15- 24 year olds believed it was important for a company to act ethically, whilst 38% of 15-24 year olds claimed they would refuse to buy products from a company they disapprove of ethically, whilst 18% of 15- 24 year olds would only ever buy items from a company whose ethics they agree with, showing a significant link in consumer behaviour and a companys ethics/ values/ morals (Mintel, 2009). In addition to these positive figures, sales from clothing made from organic cotton rose by 2% in 2011, against year for year figures, and is now valued at 100 million in the UK (The Guardian, 2012). This presents an opportunity for the business venture to examine and include as part of the marketing strategy. In order to pursue this opportunity, it is essential that all suppliers and wholesalers for the business all act to a high ethical standard, which is clearly presented to consumers. Supporting ethical clothing producers is important towards the morals and values, which will help the business to create favourable perceptions to potential consumers.

The Negative Press Surrounding Sweat Shop Work Conditions

Consumers are becoming increasingly aware and curious as to how their clothing reaches them, and what processes are involved in making their products. The press have been covering the issues surrounding child labour and sweatshops to an extensive degree, ensuring that companies that act ethically and morally wrong are exposed to the general public. The Department of Labor indicates that 50% of garment factories in the U.S. violate two or more basic labor laws, establishing them as sweatshops (Workers Rights in Sweat Shops, 2011). Nike, a company which has always been involved in horrific scandals as to how they treat their employees, have had The Daily Mail covering allegations into mental and physical abuse and child labour, with dominantly female staff only making 50 cents an hour (The Daily Mail, 2011). Workers claimed they have been kicked and called names for the smallest mistakes. Of course, these scandals are horrific and have a high negative impact on the companies involved. In order to tackle this problem, the business venture will thoroughly research methods in which the company can ensure that working conditions are fair and reasonable. American Apparel offer a wholesaler service and are famed for their Sweat Shop Free clothes making process, as workers make almost twice the federal minimum wage, are entitles to facilities such as parking, free on site massages, subsidised lunches, subsidised public transport, parking, a bike lending programme, paid days off programme, and guaranteed job security in addition to subsidised health insurance to the employees and their families (American Apparel, Meet Our Workers 2013). With such an extensive knowledge on the working conditions of the company and how fair and ethical their employees get treated, American Apparel is the current favoured wholesaler for the business venture, and in addition to this fact, the quality and fit of the products will provide the brand with a sense of value to the potential consumers and will display a concern for the ethical approach.

To conclude, Mintel notes that The youth fashion market is a crowded space, with lots of retailers competing for the spend of people aged 15-24. As young people continue to exercise a certain amount of caution when spending, retailer rs need to make sure they are delivering on both value and the latest fashions, combined with creative designs, in order to give them the competitive edge over other retailers. The successful retailers have upped their game during the recession and are providing credible and affordable catwalk interpretations, fresh designs and innovation.

Market Size, Share and Potential

Mintel forecasts show that the UKs total expenditure on clothing and footwear via the internet will rise 86% to 9.4 billion by 2016 The population for 15-24 year olds in 2011 was 8.4 million (ONS, accessed 2013) 43.7% of 15-24 year olds purchased clothing and footwear online in 2011. This equates to 3,670,800 consumers. (Fashion Online, Mintel 2012) Clothing continues to be the number one priority for 15-24s, with over three fifths (61%) having bought new clothes in the last three months and almost half (49%) planning to purchase new garments in the next three months. (Mintel, 2012) This then totals a market size of 293,664 for smaller business online clothing purchases for 15-24 year olds. From my primary research on a survey, 67% of people answered yes to the question asking whether an exclusive lifestyle brand that takes inspiration from street style, music, vintage and 90s grunge culture and trends (as forecast by Elle) appeal to you?.

External Opportunities
Social Media: Facebook has 900 million active users, Twitter has 140 million. Social media sites are increasingly being used to praise or criticise brands and almost half (47%) of internet users aged 16-24 become a fan or like it on Facebook when they felt positively about a fashion brand

8% of consumers shopped at pureplay online stores for clothing and footwear, excluding ASOS and Festival and Gig Popularity: 24% of 15-24 year olds attended music festivals Net-a-Porter. (Mintel, 2012)

in 2011, 38% of 15- 24 year olds attended concerts in 2011, (Mintel, 2012)

Fashion Blogs: Le Happy has 90,877 fans on Lookbook, and 39,940 likes on Facebook (Le Happy Blog, February 2013) Smart Phones: In 2012, 79% of 16-24 year olds owned a smart phone Mintel, 2012). IMRG predicts that m- commerce (channels of selling through tablets and mobile phones) will account for 20% of e-commerce retail sales by the end of 2012 Laptop and Tablet Computers: 89% of 16-24 year olds owned a laptop/ netbook, with 25% owning a tablet computer. 6% shop on tablets, 80% shop on laptops/ netbooks Online Shopping: 43.7% of 15- 24 year olds having made a clothing/ footwear purchase in 2011 (Mintel, 2012). 22% of 16-24 year old consumers claim they buy more clothing online than in store, showing a transition in preference to the online market, as well as 25% of 16-24 year olds buying from a pureplay online retailer (Mintel, 2012).

Young women are almost twice as likely as men to purchase clothes from auction sites such as eBay and from pureplayers such as ASOS. (Mintel 2012)

This then gives me a market potential of 196,753.88 UK residents aging from 15-24. This then gives a market potential size of 2.34% of 15-24 year olds.

18% of online shoppers buy dominantly online (Mintel, 2012).

39% of under 25s buy clothes from an online mixture of online auction sites, multi channel fashion retailers and online onlyretailers (Mintel, 2012)

The UK online fashion market is valued at 5.1bn, as online fashion sales grew 13.3% in the past year. In 2012, 30.7 million shoppers bought clothes online, a figure that continues to grow. (Drapers, 2013)

Almost three in ten (29%) 15-24s still agree that buying online is more convenient than buying in-store (Mintel, 2012)

Clothes buyers from online auction sites and online only retailers are inclined to be students, while customers of multichannel fashion retailers are most likely to be working full time (Mintel, 2012)

Competitor Analysis
Black Milk
Black Milk is an Australian based company started in 2009 by James Lillis. It started by the owner buying a sewing machine, discovering a passion for making clothing, before realising the designs had potential to sell. The brand uses a friendly and innocent tone of voice, making it a company with many loyal followers.

Conducting a competitor analysis is critical in order to ensure that the business venture meets the needs and desires of the market, as well as to help to distinguish a gap in the market and unique selling points which are not being met by the competing companies. It will help give the business idea some structure and ideas, as well as examining how competitors operate and what services they offer.
Demographic Black Milk typically aim their brand at affluent AB women aged between 18-25, however, the brand is far more rooted to a culture and psychographic of edgy style and quirky humour. Psychographic Black Milk is far more concentrated towards a psychographic. Cameron Parker, the marketing and operations manager, claims Black Milk is defined by attitude of mind rather than age group or social factors. The psychographic is all about the desire to stand out and be original, with elements of humour, sarcasm, youth, and a carefree relaxed personality. The Black Milk target consumer has got to be very social media aware, usually taking pictures of themselves in their outfits and being very connected to their blogs/ Lookbook accounts/ Facebook/ Twitter. They also must pursue the desire to stand out, as well as be into abstract fashion, and need to participate in the Black Milk community in order to live the aspirational youthful lifestyle the brand promotes. Behavioural The Black Milk consumer does not take life too seriously, as the second commandment of the Black Milk community states the following; Commandment # 2 - You shall not unnecessarily FREAK OUT Oooo Emmm Geeee - you sent a size S when I ordered an XS!!! Aaaaaaaaargh!!!! I was sooooooo looking forward to getting this - and now I am sooooooo disappointed. My world has gone dark. All I see is hollowness and emptyness. I feel like you just punched me in the face!!!! With a hammer!!!! My tears are spilling all over my keyboard as Im typojnd... typunbg... typing! See, I cant even see the keys through my tear stained eyes. And its all your fault! I have not experienced disappointment like this in all my years alive - now I know what it must be like for survivors of genocide. These leggings were to be the only glimmer of hope in my barren life - and you have snuffed it out. It clearly mocks consumers who panic easily, suggesting that the behaviour of the Black Milk consumer consists of not taking life too seriously, having a strong social life both online through social media and offline, having a generalised relaxed philosophy, humorous, sarcastic and engaging to the community feel the brand promotes. The Black Milk consumer will regularly post images of their outfits and styles to social media such as Twitter and Instagram, which creates word of mouth and essentially is the companys primary method of promotion. Geographic Geographically, consumers are dominantly based in Australia, however, with their overwhelming popularity; Black Milk has catered for the international market by shipping to a wide range of countries. The products appeal most to Westernised places, as the brand self admits to aiming at women who pursue a common love of tight clothing, and the experience of rocking out like a boss in some off the hook tight pants, which is commonly associated with the ideas and perceptions of sexiness and attraction, which is valued highly in Western culture.

(Black Milk Clothing Facebook Page, 2013) Mission Statement

Give me nylon or give me death

Black Milk stands for simplicity and classic fun and humour, so simply state their mission statement as Mission Impossible. Of course, this is open to interpretation, however, it seems to be reinforcing their humorous and care free attitude, as a relaxed and informal company. Brand Mythology
The story of Black Milk involved an unemployed man, living in Australia, who claimed to be bored and broke, and therefore bought a sewing machine. He began practising making clothing, before realising the general public were willing to buy his designs. He then set up an online business in which to sell his clothing, founding the company in 2009. Today, the company is highly successful, claiming to be a multimillion business.

Cultural Codes

Black Milk very much has marketed the brand as a culture and lifestyle. The culture is represented through their language and communication with their consumers, but promotes the idea of being attractive, humorous, sarcastic, care free and relaxed. It explores the ideas and concepts of Western culture, which consist of standing out, being cool, popular, and attractive without fading in and looking dull. Women need to look innovative and have the desire to stand out.

Connotations

The brand has connotations of looking good, standing out, and a sense of playfulness which youth entails. There is a strong sense of community, with consumers regularly posting images of them wearing the Black Milk products, which then displays connotations of being trendy, stylish, fun and pretty.

Unique Selling Points

There are many unique selling points to this company which make it especially favourable. Laid Back and Friendly Tone of Voice The company usually writes in an informal tone of voice, which makes them seem less corporate and favourable to consumers. The language is humorous and almost sarcastic, which again makes the company look less serious and very relaxed, which then conveys a whole lifestyle which incorporates the values of fun, humour, youth, and the ultimate message of not taking life too seriously. The Sense of Community Black Milk has really delved into the ideas and concepts of community and has created a Ten Commandments list for their fans, which they refer to as sharkies. The company claims that Black Milk is a community - created by a common love of tight clothing, and the experience of rocking out like a boss in some off the hook tight pants. So be sweet to each other, (Black Milk Commandments Facebook Page, 2013). The Unique Designs and Fabrics Black Milk has some intriguing designs, usually with quite bold and abstract ideas, printed onto shiny fabric. They have done collections inspired by cosmic space, marijuana, the lost city of Atlantis, Tetris, the human skeleton and have recently designed collections incorporating the iconic Lord of the Rings books/ films. The brand summarises an aspirational sense of youth culture and captivates the viewer with the pure daring and original sense of quirky style.

Competitor Analysis
Petals and Peacocks
Petals and Peacocks is a small scale company selling limited product categories, however, have recently developed an online presence with strong marketing techniques using fashion blogs, LOOKBOOK, and of course relying hugely on word of mouth and social media from existing consumers. They began in 2011 in California, and have been growing ever since. Ironically, Victoria Velasquez began the brand after graduating from The Art Institute of California, where she studied Fashion Marketing with Management. Petals and Peacocks symbolises the idea of femininity and masculinity coming together, which is a consistent theme throughout the designs. When asked what influenced the brands existence, the owner replied with The line actually started off as my senior project at The Art Institute of California Sunnyvale. From then on, it became an official business. My influences are my everyday experiences, music, art, and growing up in the 90s (FKN Famous, 2011), which actually suggests very similar idea for the business venture, except as a different geographic market.

A unisex brand inspired by anything and everything. Whatever we feel like. We'll let the label speak for itself.

Based on the owners own admission, the demographic for Petals and Peacocks is AB women, aged between 18-25. Wholesale: The company designs and makes their products and owns their own e-tail Psychographic The brand is far more about an attitude and lifestyle than the demographic of the consumer. store, however, the company offer a wholesale service and have recently wholesaled their The owner of the brand describes the psychographic of the consumer; Petals and Peacocks is products to upcoming alternative fashion pure play retailer, Dolls Kill. a womens brand comprised of unorthodox thinking and comprehensive ideas. Petals and Not Trend Led: The company claims they are inspired by anything and everything Peacocks is both brazen and cheeky but still remains grounded. This line encompasses on a whatever they feel like. This suggests that the business does not operate on a fashion cycle playful girl meets boy style; street-chic with a twist. Petals and Peacocks is targeted to women, and is not trend led, yet inspired by less mainstream concepts such as online style, youth ages 18 to 25, that have effortless style, want to be comfortable in what they wear, and dont culture and androgynous clothing. give a f-ck about trends. (FKN Famous, 2011). This is expanded to claiming that Petals and Controversial Themes: Throughout the products and designs, Petals and Peacocks Peacocks differs from other female brands out there simply because its influenced by me. Its tend to create bold and controversial designs, with swearing, marijuana leaves, and sex a brand that doesnt take itself too seriously, yet is fashionable. Petals and Peacocks is a witty, referenced in such a way which suggests the brand accounts for rebellious and sarcastic, and dark brand. Love it or leave it alone, suggesting the psychographic is women experimental youth culture. Such a bold statement will appeal to a particular consumer, who have an effortless style, a desire for comfortable, androgynous clothing, and an attitude of which makes the brand more niche market than mass market. not taking life too seriously and having a charismatic and sarcastic personality. Brand Mythology Geographic The Petals and Peacocks consumer has many behavioural traits, mainly revolving around the (Ideology and Narrative) The brand began as a university project and a passion for creating clothing with a concept of being carefree and taking risks. The consumer does not care whether their look personality and influences as opposed to the ideas of being a trend led company. The ideology is simple, as appeals to their peers and mass market; they simply want to express themselves creatively. the products are designed by the creator of the brand inspired by anything of interest. It is simplicity which The consumer has an edgy, dont care type of attitude, with the desire to have fun and an becomes fashion from the concept of the brand. As it is a new and aspiring company, it gives the brand a sense of originality and uniqueness, which demonstrates an appeal in consumers looking for exclusive eagerness for mischief and playfulness. products. Behavioural The company is based in the USA, which makes their consumer generally part of this Cultural Codes geographic. Petals and Peacocks do international shipping; however this is expensive especially The cultural codes of Petals and Peacocks consists rebellion and youth, with a sense of playful charisma. as custom fees are added. The consumer is responsible for postage and packaging prices for The branding and products give the impression that the consumer dresses quite boldly, with the visual look sending an item back, which again could jeopardise sales with international consumers. and feeling of grunge values. Ordering online for a consumer needs to be quick, simple and easy, with the reassurance that Connotations they will not have to pay if the item is not to standard, which may make this company initially The brand has strong connotations of youth and grunge culture, as symbols of marijuana printed on tees styles with big boots and slouchy beanies give off the general aesthetics of the grunge trend. unsuccessful with other geographic segments.

Unique Selling Points

Demographic

Competitor Analysis
Hype
Hype began as a small UK brand showcasing bright and bold designs, which has grown at a high rate to become one of the most popular clothing labels of 2013, wholesaling their products at large retailers such as Topman.

HYPE. are a force to be reckoned with

Mission Statement
HYPE. have quickly grown from a young, aspiring U.K. brand, into a widely supported label. With their bold prints, extravagant patterns and eye-catching designs.

(Tagline, Hype Website 2013)

Unique Selling Points

All Over Prints/ Patterns: Hype have managed to implement a difficult all over t-shirt printing process, which is known as dye sublimation, to cover their products entirely of their designs. This service is limited in the UK and is very costly or involves a high minimum order quantity. This gives Hype a unique edge, as their vibrant designs are difficult for competitors to achieve and are visually appealing for a youthful market. Youth Cultural Codes: Hype aims their products for a young demographic, which is a strong theme throughout their marketing. Their latest video campaign is a group of young people in a seaside town making their way to the beach and enjoying themselves, all wearing the distinctive hype products and logos, which delivers a message of desirable youth lifestyles. Very Vibrant/ Bright: With the sublimation prints, Hype offers many products of bright, vibrant Demographic colours which attract the attention of an audience looking to stand out. Unlike competing brands, the colours avoid looking tacky or over the top, and instead look sophisticated and good quality. Affordable: Hype is growing very quickly, and with young people desiring an affordable yet nice looking garment, the company managed to price a sublimation t-shirt for only 22.99, making it affordable amongst the youth target market. Psychographic

Brand Mythology Cultural Codes

The brand mythology for Hype began as a small company who found popularity and managed to grow quickly, based in Leicester, with a charismatic and youthful tone of voice. Cultural codes consist of youth culture from a variety of different backgrounds. The brand is exciting and vibrant, visually expressing the values of the consumer. The brand is based on the whole concept of being young, which revolves heavily on a strong social scene, music, having fun, being carefree and Behavioural enjoying yourself. The consumer is typically popular and interested in the latest fashion and trends, and has a strong desire to stand out in their dress sense.

Connotations

The simplistic yet distinctive logo is linked to the whole aesthetic of the brand, through colourful, bold designs and the idea of being perceived as stylish and trendy amongst peer groups. The brand has connotations of leading an intriguing lifestyle, whether it involves travelling, music, culture, education, or an active social life.

Geographic

From Hypes promotional videos, their target consumer is young, aged between 16 and 24. The consumer does not necessarily need to be affluent, therefore displaying that Hype are broadening their market by aiming for a variety of different social classes. The brand is unisex. Typically, the brand possibly attracts a strong student demographic, due to their dominant online presence and the affordability of their stand-out clothing. Hype does tend to focus their marketing towards a psychographic as opposed to a demographic, and have cleverly used their marketing and styling to depict a range of different youth lifestyles. They have featured promotional material that is styled towards a street style way of life, as well as then targeting rural youth communities in Cornwall who visit the beach and go surfing, in addition to gig and festival go-ers. They have also targeted back packer type youths, with scenes filmed in New York and Paris. Hype also channel different youth cultures through the music they use within their films, such as rap music to acoustic artists like Ben Howard. The Hype consumer is a typical ambitious and adventurous youth, who is extremely social and aspires to find excitement. Hype is all about spending time with friends, and simply having a good time. Dependent on the culture Hype is trying to target, different hobbies are portrayed within different youth groups. Exploring, surfing, listening to music tend to be the behaviours of the Hype consumer. Hype began geographically targeting the UK market, however, they are set to become more global as their awareness and popularity increases across different Western cultures.

Last But Won

Competitor Analysis
Unique Selling Points
Dynamic All- Over T-Shirt Prints: The company use dye sublimation and have placed their prints all over their t-shirts, with designs ranging from grunge, florals, leopard print, ombre, scenic imagery, clouds and stars. The designs are all vibrant and visually appealing, all unique to the brand. Regular Competitions/ Promotions: Last But Won regularly use social media to build awareness and boost loyalty, with competitions to reinforce these marketing aims. The competitions often involves winning products such as their t-shirts, and regular flash sales, discounts and sales promotions push sales for the products. Collaborating with Musicians/ Photographers/ Models: The brand reinforces the youthful values by collaborating with musicians, such as girl band Platonic, Quyen Mike (blogger and photographer), Lina Tesch (photographer) and Dominique N, a famed blogger on LOOKBOOK. This helps generate awareness and reinforces the cultural codes of the brand.

Last But One is a t-shirt company specialising in unique prints and patterns established in 2009. The company is growing and takes a pride of operating all areas of the business in the UK.

Live Fast // Love Strong // Forever Young

Mission Statement
Vintage Style with a Modern Twist Tees + Sweats // Designed + Printed in the UK

Brand Mythology Cultural Codes

The brand began in 2009 with the vision of producing unique and vibrant designs inspired by the latest online trends. The cultural codes of the brand revolve around the ideas of being young, educated, with strong art and musical connotations. The cultural codes are expressive and creative of the youth that conform to the brand and to those who are in tune with the latest music and artists.

Connotations

The brand has connotations of being sharp, dynamic and distinctive through the use of the logo, and has a strong presence and following of young quirky dressers and bloggers. Demographic Psychographic The consumer demographic revolves around more affluent young consumers, aged roughly between 16 and 24. The brand is unisex but is more heavily balanced towards a female fan base. The products are affordable at 28 a tee, however, less affluent markets would perceive this as an expensive price. The psychographic for Last But Won is clearly based around the ideas of youth culture, from their fashion promotion and styling, however, the brand tends to focus at a more educated and expressive market. The consumer is connected to art, culture, photography, music and other forms of expression. The consumer is typically creative, and most likely to have studied and been educated in a creative subject. This is why consumers want the bold patterns the company produces, as the products are expressive and visually dynamic in a captivating way. The consumer is creative and tends to be interested in cultural events. Behaviours include visiting museums, reading, socialising, and actively getting involved in anything of interest. The consumer is motivated, intriguing and an excellent communicator. The consumer seeks bold, expressive and energetic clothing which is visually dynamic and stands out amongst peers. The consumer hates the thought of mass merchandised products that everyone will have, and prefers shopping at small brands with individual pieces. The brand is based in the UK, and prides themselves for operating the business within the UK. The brand is growing at a fast pace and is likely to expand their market into other countries once brand awareness is higher.

Behavioural

Geographic

Competitor Analysis
Product

Marketing Mix
Last But Won
The dominant product category is t-shirts, as well as two sweatshirts and a tote bag currently. The products all have unique designs printed on them, as well as the advantage of having sublimation all over t-shirts. The brand takes inspiration from trends, with grunge, ombre and pastel designs currently dominating the product mix. Designs are completely innovative and original, making the products popular amongst online fashion conscious women.

Black Milk

Petals and Peacocks

Hype

The products are innovative and original in design, depicting the concept of making a statement and dressing bold with ease. In a recession, consumers only have a limited disposable income, so as a solution the company offer key pieces which are easy to wear and style, yet project an image of uniqueness and quirkiness into their consumers collection. Products seem to depict a sense of flamboyancy, youth, fun, carefree and innovation, a look which is quite aspirational to a youthful market.

Price

Place

Their products are trend led, and come from very basic simplistic designs with just the logo, to very vibrant and colourful prints. They offer t-shirts, beanie hats, ear plugs, lighters, baseball caps, lanyards, iPhone cases, socks, sweatshirts and jackets. The Hype logo is usually printed large and bold onto every product. The products currently in stock include cosmic, tie dyes, scenic, floral and leopard print designs, which are all highly popular amongst a youthful market. They have recently introduced a leggings collection, which includes their iconic prints. The price is only measured in Australian dollars For an initial company and little information available about the Hype targets a young market and display a low based on the geographic location of the company. quality and sourcing of the products, it seems to be quite affordable price. Tees range from 16.99 to 24.99 Leggings are roughly $70- $75, shoes are expensive, potentially a strategy to give a sense of value and depending on colours, print and dye sublimation, $200- $260, dresses are $80- $130, with tops worth to the brand. Vests and t-shirts are priced at roughly hoodies are 34.99, hats range from 9.99 to 24.99 ranging from $40- $75. Despite the innovative and $44, sweatshirts at $54, and beanie hats are $30 each. These depending on style/ fabric/ print, sweatshirts are unique designs, this is considered expensive for prices tend to be more premium than products seen on the high 29.99 and accessories range from 2.49 to 29.99. most youths, therefore hints for a more mature streets, and due to the simplistic nature, it tends to be aimed at These prices are competitive to both high street target market or more affluent and upmarket a more affluent target customer. retailers and small scale t-shirt companies, and consumers. appeal to a younger market due to the low cost verses the intriguing designs. The company is a pureplay retailer, only selling The company is placed as a pureplay company using the online Hype began as an online business, using Big Cartel (a online. The company is based in Australia, channel only, however, as they offer a wholesaler service, it is clothing store website setup company) and an meaning shipping costs and delivery times will be possible that their products will be featured in bricks and mortar online website, to now operating a wholesale longer for consumers in other geographic stores or m-commerce, from more well established fashion business which supplies Topshop, Topman, Foot locations. The company really utilises the online boutiques sourcing small scale unique brands. This is quite Asylum, Two Seasons and NSP, therefore expanding place by having Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, popular, as young consumers tend to look for products that are their business into bricks and mortar retail stores Pinterest and a blog, which is regularly updated niche to give a sense of originality and differentiation from the and online wholesale at these retailers websites. with humorous anecdotes and the informal products their peers wear. This enables the consumer to shop in a multitude language, in which their market really connects of channels, therefore delivering convenience and too. The overall vibe is to not take life so seriously, choice to the young consumer. which is done very convincingly and creates a huge sense of community for the brand. approach with Black Milk. In order to maintain a sense of originality, the brand often advertises limited edition products to create a buzz and to generate fast sales. The brand opts for subtle promotion, and tends to rely on fashion bloggers and Lookbook members to post images of their products, which helps to generate brand awareness and to create favourable perceptions of the brand. Petals and Peacocks use more subtle modern ways to communicate and promote the brand to their consumers. They have a mailing list, a strong social media presence amongst Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as well as a blog which consists of aspirational photography of their latest products and images of influential fashion bloggers wearing and tagging themselves in the products. The brand tends to promote the sense of culture with young models posing in a stereotypical teenage bedroom, with notable posters of bands and lyrics to The Vaccines, and the Arctic Monkeys which again causes a connection and promotes the lifestyle of the brand of indie grunge. Sales also help the products sell as consumers look for bargains in the tough economic climate. Competitions on social media also help the brand to connect to the consumer. Hype strongly promotes the brand through social media such as Instagram, Twitter, Vimeo, Tumblr and Facebook. They regularly generate a buzz by posting new and upcoming products on these sites, as well as offering limited time sales promotions and posting aspirational videos of their target consumers endorsing the brand. The company also regularly post a blog, and update this with images of their consumers in interesting places wearing the brand.

The products Petals and Peacocks offer are quite small and limited collections. It is quite clear that the company is a new and developing one, trying to grow their business. They currently offer a small selection of t-shirts, vest tops, sweatshirt jumpers and beanie hats, which will be quite similar to the initial collections of the business venture. The products are simplistic, either with captions, imagery, or controversial slogans. Colours are basic, as they are dominantly black, grey and white, making them quite versatile simplistic clothing. The products have connotations of those associated with the grunge, goth, and a sense of rebellion.

A t-shirt ranges from 28- 32, whilst a sweatshirt is 45. The price is slightly more expensive than competitors, however, the company offer high quality t-shirts with unique patterns. The dye sublimation prints are quite costly to create, meaning that the price can be justified as the company needs a significant mark up of profit. Managing low orders as a growing company is difficult to achieve. Last But Won began as a pureplay brand, selling online through their own website and Big Cartel. However, as they are growing and getting increasingly recognised, they are able to extend their distribution channels. The brand is now supplied in bricks and mortar by Foot Asylum, as well as collaborating with UK band, KOVEN, by exclusively producing tees with their album artwork and selling these as band merchandise through their website.

Promotion Promotion through social media is the optimum

Promotion is implemented through collaborations with influential people such as bloggers, photographers and musicians, which helps build awareness amongst the target market, dominantly with endorsement. Regular sales promotions such as discounts, price cuts and limited edition pieces also help boost orders. Interactive promotion includes hosting competitions for consumers to share their thoughts of the brand on the social media pages, as well as allowing consumers to post and tag their pictures on Instagram.

Competitor Analysis
Perceptual Maps
Looking at the perceptual map gives an awareness of the current positioning of similar companies in the market in which the business venture is entering. From conducting primary research it has been clarified that young people want to look good and have nice, original, unique clothing which is affordable and good quality. The business venture aims to be both creative in design, with simplistic alternatives for more subtle desiring consumers, as well as high quality and affordable.
High Quality

High Quality

Business Venture

Simplicity

Creativity

Business Venture

Some small scale t-shirt brands cater for a market which prefer their designs simplistic, whilst contrasting brands are more about making a statement and impact through their designs, whether this be colour, imagery, print or graphics.

Low Price

High Price
Black Milk are the most expensive, but are made to an extremely high quality, using luxurious and thck long lasting fabrics within their garments.

Petals and Peacocks are simplistic in terms of how the t-shirt looks, however, tend to use text and imagery to make an impacting statement such as marijuana leaves. It is rebelious, edgy, yet simplistic and minimal.

Low Quality

Last But Won are unique, yet slightly expensive, which is justified through their interesting imagery and designs. A t-shirt costs between 28- 32, and quality is fairly good. Hype are very affordable for a youth market, charging between 18- 26 per t-shirt. Their colour and design quality is high, however, due to their printing process, white patches are apparent on the underarms of the garment. Petals and Peacocks are expensive, but their t-shirt quality cannot justify the high prices; it is an aspirational affluent brand. T- Shirts are roughly $44- $48.

Last But Won create bold all over print t-shirts of imagery such as skylines and scenery. The all over prints make them bold, yet the colours are subtle, making it suitable for consumers who like interesting t-shirts but do not want to be too vibrant. Hype create all over t-shirt prints, yet their colours are hugely bright and saturated, perfect for consumers looking for vibrancy and energetic clothing in order to stand out. Black Milk are simplistic with their tops, sticking to a basic neutral colour scheme, yet make their leggings an ultimate and creative style statement. Their clothes are designed for people who want to make an impression.

Low Quality

Trend Analysis
Origins of the Grunge Trend
According to The Free Dictionary, grunge is...
1. US slang dirt or rubbish 2. (Music, other) a style of rock music originating in the US in the late 1980s, featuring a distorted guitar sound 3. (Clothing & Fashion) a deliberately untidy and uncoordinated fashion style

According to Wise Geek, grunge is...

Grunge fashion is believed to have originated in the United States in the early 1990s. Likely beginning in Seattle, Washington, the fashion came out of the financial hardships of the times, combined with the regional growth of alternative rock music made popular by bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam. The style combines elements of punk mixed with inexpensive working class clothing, like jeans and plaid fabrics. The development of grunge also brought back the ripped and shredded clothing popular during the early 1980s. At its height, grunge was in many ways a rejection of the capitalist excesses of the 1980s, but the style was quickly picked up by designers and turned into a well-known fashion trend. Perhaps the main element to this style is an unkempt look, and in many cases, pieces of clothing are paired together that don't match. The look often has a thrift store vibe, with lots of layering. For instance, a long-sleeved T-shirt might be worn under a tank top, topped off with a baggy cardigan sweater or hoodie jacket. A plaid shirt or sweater might be tied around the waist.

90s Influences
Nirvana Pearl Jam Soundgarden Alice in Chains Hole

Recent Influences
The Vaccines Kings of Leon Muse Incubus Audioslave

James Truman, an editor of a mens style magazine Detail, recalled the 90s grunge trend as:

To me the thing about grunge is its not anti-fashion, its Key Designers un fashion. Punk was anti-fashion. It made a statement. Marc Jacobs for Perry Ellis Grunge is about not making a statement, which is why its crazy for it to become a fashion statement. (New York As the grunge trend, originating within Seattle, grew and became a popular look for the youth inspired by an attitude of rebelling against fashion and musical influences Times, 1992) such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam, Marc Jacobs created an iconic collection in 1992. The collection was based and influenced by the grunge look, of simply throwing together
The idea of grunge is very much based on music, youth culture and fashion and is far more of a lifestyle and psychographic concept. The look is simplistic, casual and easy to style. The look tends to be dressed up with accessories to give it an edgy attitude. Researching the history of the trend will help towards the understanding of how the trend has evolved and adapted in modern day, which will help to develop ideas for the business concept. This trend followed the bubble up theory, in which the trend began as an expression against fashion, which then was imitated by designer and luxury brands. simple items and styling them to give them an attitude. Marc Jacobs, creative director of Perry Ellis, wanted to design clothes for the 1992 grunge collection that looked a little bit fucked up (NY Magazine), and was soon fired as a result as the executives of the company believed the collection was wrong for a luxury market. Marc Jacobs summarised his collection as "A hippied romantic version of punk" (New York Times, 1992). Womens Wear Daily also labelled him as The Guru of Grunge (New York Times, 1992). Anna Sui In the Spring/ Summer 1993 collection, Anna Sui explored the concept of a grunge inspired collection. She used plenty of colour, dark makeup, greasy hair and beanie hats to present the trend. Anna Sui claims that Nirvana and the whole grunge fashion movement influenced the designs within the collection. Hippie influences, also a dominant inspiration for Anna Sui, filtered through with the silhouettes, with the bell shaped trousers and layers slung over to create a casual, easy to wear look.

Trend Analysis- Ready to Wear S/S 2013

Spring/ Summer 2013 Ready to Wear
Spring/ Summer 2013 has seen a rise of statement t-shirts throughout the spectrum of fashion. Ready to wear, usually associated with affluence and luxury, have also been associated with the statement t-shirt trend. Prints, graphics and slogans are hugely popular, whether it be feminine florals or grungy tie-dyes. Slogan tees, inspired by the designs of Katherine Hamnett, seem to be in trend for the season, possibly influenced strongly from political changes within society. Matthew Williamson The look and feel of these t-shirts Printed modal T-shirt seem to be egdy, playful or 195 rebellious, with intensions to make a statement and to stand out.
Moschino Cheap and Chic Printed silk-chiffon T-shirt $425 Mulberry Cotton-blend lace top 495 McQ Alexander McQueen Butterfly-print cottonjersey T-shirt 160

3.1 Phillip Lim

Acne

Christopher Kane Rose-print cotton-jersey T-shirt 180

3.1 Phillip Lim Get It Girl cotton-appliqud silk-chiffon top $175

Proenza Schouler Tie-dye cotton-jersey top $245

Alexander McQueen Printed cotton T-shirt 220

Trend Analysis-High Street S/S 2013

The target market of the business venture will consist of both males and females aged between 16 and 24, therefore researching high street t-shirts who target a youthful market will help determine what trends are in terms of pattern, print, graphics and silhouettes.

Vibrant and Grunge Tie- Dyes

Tie dye is a massive high street t-shirt trend for Spring/ Summer 2013, which has been spotted in Topshop, Topman, River Island New Look and Urban Outfitters. It has a strong dominance within pureplay online brands such as Hype, Last But Won, High, ASOS and Miss Guided. The trend is unisex and ranges from very bright colours, to pastels, to dark grungy colours. It is a versatile trend as there are so many different looks and techniques applied to garments to fulfil the markets individual preferences. The trend is bold and makes a statement, and is easily styled to bring attention and focus to a basic outfit.

Photographic Traveller
Photographic designs have been in trend for a while, which provides positive reassurance that this trend would be good to investigate for the business venture. As a start-up business it will be essential to provide products which have a long period of maturity to avoid stock going out of trend and therefore not selling or being placed in high discount sales. Photographic prints which are in trend at the moment are musicians and artists, as well as scenic imagery and current youth interests. Scenic photography appeals to a large youth demographic inspired by the world, as it fulfils natural exploring interests from this market as well as inspiring travelling and adventures. When the photography is visually appealing or interesting, a comfortable t-shirt can be a bold and vibrant method of attracting attention. Regularly, youth consumers of t-shirts will analyse whether their t-shirt will be admired by their peers and whether the t-shirt serves the purpose of standing out, as a youth market tends to dress with these aspects in mind.T-shirts from both high street and online brands are using photography as part of their design agenda, whether it is simply printing an image onto a t-shirt or covering a t-shirt in a scenic design. By using creative imagery, the brand is allowing an expressive and creative agenda which is desired and admired by a youthful market. A brand needs to meet the criteria of expressing the values of their consumer, which can be done through all mediums of photography, whether it be a hobbie the consumer is passionate about, or an influential figure of the consumer.

Statement Slogans

Tribal
Tribal was a large trend in both 2010 to 2012 and still looks set to remain stylish in 2013, especially for men. The trend works well because designs are vibrant, bold, interesting, and hold connotations for African and South American countries. Tribal patterns appeal to youths and aspiring travellers who are attracted by bright colours and creative patterns, mainly used as a method of styling a usually basic outfit. The business could utilise this trend in order to make a statement and to build sales, however, as the idea has been around for quite a while, the designs would need to be innovative and completely unique in order to be successful.

Slogan t-shirts became high in popularity in the eighties, due to Katherine Hamnetts politically charged controversial statements. The designs became popular amongst a youthful market, and ever since have been a concept for t-shirt design. Statement t-shirts are in trend for Spring/ Summer 2013, inspired by youthful sayings, jokes and sayings. For example, the acronym Yolo refers to You only live once and has become a popular slogan.

Trend Analysis-High Street S/S 2013

Cosmic Galaxy Floral
A fairly new trend is galactic/ cosmic inspired designs in 2012. This could be due to the death of Neil Armstrong in the summer of 2012, as a tribute to his services to NASA, as well as the deep purple and blue colours which have been dominant in Autumn/ Winter 2012. The trend is vibrant, colourful and energetic, which creates a sense of standing out and allows a fashion conscious consumer to brighten an outfit without being too extravagant. The trend revolves around both photographic imagery and sublimation, with the colours being highly saturated and exaggerated in order to achieve the deep vibrant designs which people are visually attracted to.

Animals
Animals are proving to be a popular trend for Spring/ Summer 2013 and will potentially continue being a desired trend for Autumn/ Winter 2013. The trend has existed for a long time, but has adapted and evolved to consumer needs, for example, owls on t-shirts and jewellery became a popular trend in 2010 due to the connotations of wisdom and the 70s bohemian trend, which has ideology relating to nature and the outdoors. The trend of 2013 involves repeat prints and sublimation designs, and ranges from domestic animals, through to birds and sharks. Different animals are linked to different traits, for example, birds are symbolic of freedom whilst cats are symbolic of elegance. In terms of design, bright colours are strong for the upcoming season and repeating the pattern on a t-shirt is vast becoming a popular look.

Floral is another trend which has been circulating different levels of fashion for some time, similarly due to the vibrant colours and visually appealing graphics. Any patterns which are colourful, vibrant, and attract the attention of others appear to be the overall trend of this decade. However, many high street and online brands have been experimenting with the idea of brightening up the floral trend, such as Hype combining a leopard print design with florals, and River Island has used triangles to give florals a renovated look. Florals tend to be associated with womenswear more so than men, due to the feminine connotations are associated to flowers; however, the trend has been growing with men and would still work effectively as a unisex design.

90s Grunge

Grunge is a trend which began in the nineties, which was heavily based around the concepts of melancholic rock music. The look began as a rebellion against fashion, as people just wanted simplicity and comfort within their clothing. This quickly caught on to become a subculture, heavily influenced by bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam with the ideas and values of freedom and simplicity. The grunge trend today is associated with baggy clothing, big black boots, dark colours, and slouchy jumpers. Trends usually involves dark tie-dyed t-shirts, ombre t-shirts, musician merchandise, acid wash and marbled prints. The business venture is focusing on quality and comfort with interesting designs, which suggests that using aspects of the grunge trend would be highly appropriate for the nature of the business. With large demand, it should be simplistic to implement.

Trend Analysis-WGSN

WGSN manages to capture the trends and generic look of youths globally, and this report for indie youth in Europe demonstrates the current dress styles adopted by the market the business will be aimed for. Indie Youth Europe is the market that the business venture will expand into. A key look, 90s Pretty Pop Grunge is a massive look, with many girls opting for pastel hair colours and teaming this with dark make-up and accessories, with aspects of goth dress combined through skulls, crosses, studs and romantic vintage accessories. 90s Hipster Grunge is the key look for menswear. The silhouettes within this style are very similar to womenswear, as long baggy tops and jumpers are teamed with skinny fit jeans and platform style shoes (such as the popular Creepers trend). This look is also considered to have an indie hipster element. These looks are familiarly published through social media such as Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram and Pinterest. As the youth that are attracted to this trend were brought up in the 90s, it brings a refreshing and updated look of which many conformists of the trend experienced growing up. Variating the 90s nostalgia look with modern day looks and styles is a method in which to evolve and recycle the trend, which has been a trend in itself in the past decade due to economic circumstances such as the recession. The whole modern day pretty grunge look also combines a baggy t-shirt silhouette combined with skinny fit leggings/ jeans or tights, with large black boots such as Doc Martens. Like grunge values, it is a comfortable slouchy look which is both attractive yet practical, making it a popular trend for daring, adventurous youths. Similarly to definitions of grunge, it is unfashion; it combines the element of being uncoordinated whilst being highly fashionable.The business venture will take into account the attitudes and desires in terms of design using key apparel trends produced by WGSN.

Trend Analysis-WGSN

These trends are set to be in for Spring/ Summer 2013 amongst the Europe Indie Youth market for womenswear. The Indie Youth trends are versatile, but have been appearing on both the high street and independent small online brands, such as the competitiors.

Incorporating these graphics, imagery and motifs into the design process and development will demonstrate an awareness of trends, and will effectively deliver what the market desires. With the strong grunge connotations, it will be interesting working with these ideas within the design aspect, as well as providing experience as to how trends from WGSN work effectively within a small scale online business. Accuracy of these trend predictions is unknown, of course, until sales patterns emerge and consumers are purchasing these designs.

Trend Analysis-WGSN

The key apparel trends for Indie Youth Europe is Hipster Grunge, a combination of hipster styles mixed with key graphics and silhouettes reminiscent of 90s grunge aesthetics. Delving into this subculture in more depth shows trends similar to that of womenswear, with bold vibrant prints mixed with illustrations. As the business venture will be aimed at a unisex market, it is more than likely to have a more dominant male consumer base, suggesting that these trends should be incorporated into the design element more so than the womenswear trends. Ensuring the business understands the target consumer and delivering what they want in terms of the branded lifestyle and design is crucial for the success, especially to build awareness and gain popularity amongst potential consumers.

Consumer Analysis
Defining The Customer
Demographic Diffusions of Innovation (1962) Psychographic
The demographic for the business venture will consist of 15-24 year olds. The brand will be unisex so will be designed to appeal to both males and females, but will typically be dominantly male based. The brand will appeal to a wide range of socio economic groups and will be popular amongst a student demographic, especially as this group has a tendency to prefer online shopping. The brand, similarly to competitors, aims to target a psychographic more so than a demographic. Consumers will tend to be quite exciting, adventurous, free spirited people who have a desire to have fun. Friends and peer groups are highly valued and influential in terms of personal style (primary research indicated that friends were considered most influential in terms of personal style, with 55% agreeing with this). Consumers are yet to establish themselves, meaning that they are not affluent however clothing spending is still a high priority (Mintel claims that clothing is the number one spending priority in 15-24 year olds, with 61% of consumers buying clothes in the past three months). The consumer enjoys being active, chilling out with their friends on the beach, in the pub or at the local park, drinking socially, exploring, going to gigs, travelling, attending festivals, attending house parties, and clubbing. The consumer is typically popular, funny, kind natured, chatty, friendly and intelligent, and is perceived as an innovator who has quirky, original and charismatic style. The brand has intensions to promote a desirable and aspirational youth culture, and therefore will be representing a favourable lifestyle. Initially, the brand will be relying on support from peers to increase brand awareness, suggesting initially the geographic segmentation will be the South East of England. Typically, the brand will be aiming for UK consumers, with long term aims to attract a larger geographic segment. WGSN publishes European and Western trends, which will help to cater for international markets. The target consumer of the brand will have behavioural traits which consist of not taking life to seriously, having a light hearted and mischievous sense of humour, and being spontaneous and living in the moment. The consumer will always seeking excitement and fun in their day to day lives. There is a strong sense of charming immaturity within the consumer, and a general free spirited, outgoing and carefree attitude.

Knowing the target consumer is significant to developing the project in terms of branding, marketing, and the marketing mix.

Rogers model, Diffusions of Innovation, examines consumer behaviour regarding trends, and is particularly relevant to the fashion industry. The model defines five different consumer categories, and divides them into percentages, to give an accurate account of the proportion of the consumer category. The model can easily be related to product lifecycles for example, innovators correlate to introduction, growth correlates to early adaptors, early and late majority correlates to maturity and decline correlates to laggards. Within of the business venture, the brand aims to attract the attention of innovators, early adopters and early majority. In terms of the product lifecycle, the products will be profitable to their maximum potential during introduction, growth and maturity, which translates to innovators, early adopters and laggards, however, when the product begins to decline and the brand attracts the late majority and laggards, this is when the product loses selling potential and sales promotions and sales bring the profit potential down, therefore it is critical to attract quite a trendy and original market. The strategy to do this is to simply conduct thorough and well advanced trend research using youth reports on WGSN and conducting a regular external analysis, as well as monitor the market and ensure the business venture offers something new, unique, and different to competitors, without straying too much from the consumers interest. The trends need to appeal to the youth cultures identified on WGSN trend research, which is currently Pretty Pop Grunge for women, and Hipster Grunge for men, however, this will alternate and change over time as demands differ, therefore making it important to always stay informed on the youth market. Regularly interacting with consumers and knowing what they look for in terms of design and trend will also help to stay ahead and prepare for upcoming fads, which will also help maintain the interest of the innovators, early adopters and early majority.

Behavioural

Geographic

Consumer Analysis
ACORN Consumer Profiling
ACORN consumer profiling is a system which analyses consumer types and behaviour. The system is divided into six categories, which are then divided into groups before being divided again into types, which allows businesses to be specific and determine their target consumers shopping habits, behaviour and consumption. For the business venture, categories one (Affluent Achievers) and four (Financially Stretched) are relevant. Category One (Affluent Achievers) is divided into six groups, in which Group B (Executive Wealth) applies. The two types, type six (Financially Comfortable Families) and type nine (Well-Off Edge of Towners) are relevant to young people living with their parents, typically teenagers. Financially Comfortable Families tend to have professional, white collar managerial careers with an above average household income. This consumer type takes an interest in fashion and tends to consume expensive technological products such as iPads and tablet devices, and claims that The teenage children in these families are particularly likely to use the internet for their school or university work, therefore making it likely that the target market engages in social media and facilitates online shopping, therefore making this market ideal for the business venture. Long established and frequent users of the internet, they will research and purchase a variety of goods online, suggests that this consumer will research a variety of fashion brands before coming to a decision of the products they seek, suggesting that the business venture needs to be very competitive against similar independent online brands to High be successful. Therefore a competitive pricing strategy should be adopted, as well as engaging and interesting marketing methods. Type Nine (Well-Off Edge of Towners) of Group B, in category Affluent Achievers are relevant for older children living with their parents, roughly 18-24 year olds. These are wealthy couples whose children have either left home or still live with them, with their household income being significantly higher than the national average. These families tend to have high car ownership, and potentially have invested their money in either a second home or shares, often based in newly built estates on the outskirts of town. They are more likely to respond to marketing such as social media and advertising, with ACORN suggesting that Online shopping is fairly popular across all kinds of goods although they may prefer the personal approach to buying items such as furniture or cosmetics. However fewer people will use the internet as a tool to research their purchases. This suggests that this consumer type is fairly engaged with online brands and is willing to use this distribution channel to shop for their clothing goods. As this group is more inclined to do less research, it is vital to capture the awareness of the adult children living in these households, in order to generate sales and create brand loyalty. The strategy in which to do this will be friendly, chatty tone of voice directed to them via social media, as well as creating favourable perceptions of the brand through mini gifts, events, competitions, and any other engaging relationship based marketing actions. Category Four (Financially Stretched), Group K (Student Life) is equally as significant. Type 34, Student Flats and Hall of Residents, tend to be young people who have very little income, usually suffering with debt, who do not earn enough to pay taxes. Ownership of tablet devices and smart phones is very high compared to the national average, which suggests these consumers are very technologically engaged, which shows opportunities for creating an interesting website, apps, and demonstrates a strategy which focuses on relationship marketing via social media and search engine optimisation. Type 35, Term Time Terraces, refers to a typical student house for second and third year students. This type of consumer has usually Low dipped into a significant overdraft, has little income, however, this consumer is very comfortable online and spend many hours each week accessing the web. Ownership of recent technology is particularly high. Their mobile is likely to access the internet, iPhones, Profit android and Blackberry devices are all popular. Many will own some form of hand held computer, tablet or iPad, and some form of portable media player, which suggests again that methods of marketing should be heavily internet based. It is also to be noted that this consumer responds well to email and text promotions, as this allows direct contact straight to their tablet, laptop or smart phone. This type of consumer shops at New Look, Topshop, TX Maxx, Topman and Hollister, therefore implementing a competitive strategy is crucial for success. Type 36, Educated Young People in Flats and Tenements tends to relate to graduates easing into their careers. They typically live in urban cosmopolitan areas, with various bank accounts with overdrafts. These young people spend more time online than many, while also having active social lives. They are more likely to have smart phones, portable media players, and perhaps tablet computers, through which they my access the internet, which suggests that the business venture has potential as a pureplay online channel and can use technology dominantly as part of the marketing strategy.

Customer Relationship Management Matrix 2002

The Customer Relationship Management Matrix can be used to identify consumer relations and brand loyalty, and helps distinguish what type of consumer will have the most potential. This can then be developed into a strategy to target the desired consumer, by identifying their buying habits and needs. Reinartz and Kumar (2002) defined four categories and consumer types. Recognising these key consumers will make it simple to truly identify the optimum consumer type, therefore a relevant and effective marketing strategy can be undertaken as well as research into trends this audience desires.

High Loyalty

Low Loyalty

Profit

True friends are the consumers who are both Butterflies are consumers who are not loyal and highly profitable, so are likely to be particularly profitable, however they have young people in full time work or wealthy low loyalty. These consumers in terms of students, who lead exciting lives and are highly the brand would probably be graduates and sociable, with a particular interest and young professionals, who have a well involvement with fashion. These consumers are established first career and are willing to very involved with the online environment and spend a fair amount on goods such as are familiar with this concept. These clothing. However, these people will lead consumers respond well to online and text busy lives, working in their days and keen to methods of communication, so to ensure that socialise on their days off, meaning shopping the brand communicates with them effectively, and online activity with these brands is low, the strategy will be highly based around social and they are likely to get excited by media. Ensuring regular research into loyal competing brands. Therefore, it is essential consumers will deliver design and trend to ensure that relationship marketing tactics inspiration of what this market desires. are implemented, and the brand engages and communicates to this type of consumer effectively, in order to increase the profitability that this consumer will offer the brand. The Barnacle consumer is loyal to the brand, The Stranger consumer is neither loyal nor yet not very profitable. This type of consumer profitable; they will simply never show will be frequent to the brand, but due to lack of interest in a particular brand. In terms of the affluence, will not be profitable. This consumer business venture, these consumers will may be, for example, a poor student who is potentially be older, married, obese, inspired and interested by the brand, yet does pensioners, or young consumers who have a not have the profit potential due to their lack very particular fashion style, such as gothic, of disposable income, or potentially a teenager in which the brand does not offer as a style. that relies on their parents household income These consumers will fail to engage with the for clothing and very occasionally will get their brand; therefore it would not be appropriate clothing bought for them on the high street. to direct a marketing strategy or different These consumers are aspirational, and despite t-shirt designs at them, as this could not being profitable, are very important in terms potentially alienate the butterflies/ true of influence in their peer groups. Favoured friends of the brand. brands will be spoken of, a form of buzz or word of mouth marketing, which is very effective for building brand awareness, creating favourable perceptions of the brand, and therefore boosting sales. The strategy will consist of building a relationship with these consumers, and engaging and exciting them on a regular basis.

Consumer Analysis
Adam

Pen Portrait
Knowing the target consumer is significant to developing the project in terms of branding, marketing, design and the marketing mix. A pen portrait can be used to really visualise the consumer, which helps depict lifestyle, looks, interests, hobbies, career and fashion sense.

Rosie

19 years old Studying Music at Southampton Solent Funny, charismatic, charming, popular Socialising, drinking clubbing, plays in a band Short brown hair, good looking, medium build Parents are divorced, has one younger sibling Originally comes from Bristol Quirky, hipster grunge dress sense Lives in a student house with four other men Single Innovator

Adam is very sociable and popular amongst his peers. He is currently a student studying music and enjoys an active social life on the nightlife scene. He is looked up to by friends and is always admired for his strong sense of fun. Adam has an urban background from the suburbs of Bristol, and tends to dress in a hipster grunge style. He listens to a mixture of Indie and House music, and plays guitar in a four piece indie grunge band. Adam is not from an affluent family, but has high ambitions to gain a prosperous career in music. Adam enjoys bright vibrant fashions and is perceived as an innovator. He buys from small online brands to gain individual and creative fashions, and has tattoo sleeves and piercings.

16 years old Has a part time weekend job at Topshop and has recently finished her GCSEs. Socialising with friends, going to gigs, fashion blogging Quirky, playful, bubbly, optimistic From a middle class family, two older siblings Lives in Eastbourne, East Sussex Long, wavy coloured hair and dark make-up Pretty pop grunge dress sense Lives in a semi detached four bedroom house with her parents and siblings Has a boyfriend of six months she met at school Innovator Rosie has just finished school and is about to start college, studying Art, Sociology, English and Business whilst maintaining a Saturday job at Topshop. Rosie is very interested in trends and fashion, and writes a fashion blog in her spare time. Rosie is very social and adventurous, and has a close group of both male and female friends, whilst maintaining a sense of playful fun. Her style can be described as girly grunge, as she often teams bright feminine colours with dark tones, and wears Creepers, Doc Martens and Converse. Rosie is very attractive, and wears her hair long and straight often opting for bright colours, with dark smoky makeup. She is usually admired for her bold style, and is an innovator amongst peers.

Molly
20 years old Studying English at Falmouth University Athletic- Surfing, Tennis, Jogging Kind Natured, Popular, Chatty, Friendly, Ambitious Comes from a middle class family, with an older brother and younger sister. Originally from a small rural town in Somerset Long blonde hair, very naturally pretty Simplistic yet fashionable dress sense Lives in a mixed gender student house Single Early Majority

Harry

23 years old Has a full time job working at a PR company, Marketing Graduate Surfing, rock climbing, kayaking Adventurous, outgoing, spontaneous, fun Lives with his parents in a spacious flat in Brighton Messy light brown hair, stubble, average build. Cultured, vibrant dress sense. Single Early Adopter

Harry recently graduated with a marketing degree from university, and has since acquired a job in his hometown of Brighton in a PR agency. He is very intelligent, cultured and intriguing, and tends to be very creative in Molly is free spirited, active, and energetic and has a close peer group in which she his work. He is adventurous and enjoys extreme sports, in which he has is admired. Molly is very naturally pretty, and wears minimal makeup. Molly enjoys made many friends. Harry has a strong sense of ambition and is intending being social, but has a wide range of hobbies and regularly goes surfing. She has to take a gap year to travel the world, before settling down and moving been brought up in a stable and loving family, and regularly attends family events and out from his parents. Harry dresses with a strong vibrant style, often gatherings. Molly has always had a simplistic dress sense, and always looks good and collaborating tribal and ethnic trends into his dress sense whilst still well groomed in whatever she wears. She likes to be comfortable in the clothing she remaining stylish. He usually receives plenty of female attention, but does wears, so usually shops at online unisex brands to get some interesting and unique not want the commitment as he is free spirited and care free. designs.

Conclusion of Research
The research process has demonstrated an analytical in depth knowledge of the market, which can be adapted and expanded more accurately through the development process. Research has determined that there is a significant market for an online unisex t-shirt brand; primary research indicated a strong desire for clothing which was affordable, stylish, comfortable and high quality. The youth market wants clothes that are durable and improve their perception amongst their peers in terms of style and originality. The external market analysis also indicated that the youth market is very threatened, through economic and political issues which as a result leave them with a low disposable income; despite this, the youth market prioritise fashion and maintain spending within this industry. In recent years, there are companies that are reputable and credible, basing their brand entirely online. These companies are well known amongst the youth segment that search for originality and dominantly shop online brands, therefore an analysis of successful key competitors was executed in order to determine why they were popular and how they did meet the needs of their consumers so efficiently. The products the competitors offered were unusual and different from basic high street products, however, they did conform to the same trends that the high street offered; it became clear that these brands wanted to appeal to a consumer who wanted to stand out and make a statement, yet also wanted credibility and admiration from their peers for their style. Youth consumers who dress in a manner which is quite loud struggle to find this on the high street, therefore they spend time and apply their research to find unique and innovative brands that can fulfil their desire for eccentric clothing. Knowing what competitors offer their consumers will be used in development to create a competitive business and marketing strategy, in order to boost the brands market share and deliver products the target market desires. In order to further this, trend research from a variety of sources was analysed; this information can be utilised within the design process in the development file to create and explore the unique selling points of the brand in terms of the product design offered. The WGSN Indie Europe Youth reports helped to determine exactly what trends appeal to very specific consumer segments, which can be used to expand on a consumer analysis. Understanding the consumer is a key aspect to a successful business, from knowing their purchasing behaviour to knowing what type of products captivate their attention and create a passion for a brand. The consumer analysis, broken down by a variety of models and resources, proved to be extremely useful in creating a visual representation of the consumer; this strong image of the typical desired target consumer will be incredibly useful whilst developing the branding and designs. To summarise, research has determined and justified that the business venture has potential to do well, with the condition that the development meets the criteria of a particular youth segments wants and needs. With the knowledge learnt and the analysis complete from the research, this can now be expanded, applied and adapted to the development process in order to efficiently produce a credible and likable brand.

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