Introduction
In this case study, a UK High Street Retailer forms the basis of study, in which case, it aims to develop a six-piece lightweight jersey collection for late SS17. It is expected that the average selling price for the collection will be £22 and needs to achieve an intake margin of 62%. The targeted customers are career women aged between 25 and 35 who enjoy an active lifestyle, beach holidays, and trendy gyms. The retailer currently has 200 stores spread across the United Kingdom including concessions. Additionally, the retailer has a growing e-commerce site. The target market is the United Kingdom although, in the long-run, the move is considered part of a strategy to develop an International wholesale brand. In this regard, other than the individual’s target market, this paper will highlight three target markets for development of wholesale clients. The chosen brand name for the collection is Strawberry Sundae. Therefore, the focus of this report is to develop a sourcing, supply, distribution, and marketing strategy that will help establish Strawberry Sundae in the UK market and also venture in the international wholesale market.
Methodology
Given the presence of the retailer in the UK market, introducing a new brand will not necessarily require any primary research. Instead, previous approaches used to push key brands by the retailer and competitors as well as literature from different research will be essential. Therefore, the report only uses secondary sources including books, journal articles, credible website publications, and other readily available material on fashion.
Product
Product Concept
The focus of this new collection is to offer a brand that is classy and unique. The brand’s unique selling proposition (USP) revolves around the needs of its narrowed target market. Strawberry Sundae Collection S/S 2017 is a feminine, urban cool, and modern collection targeting a career women (25-35) enjoying an active lifestyle, trendy gyms, and beach holidays. From Appendix 1, the collection focuses on three colors, white, red, and camel, matching them based on the customer needs.
Market position UK
The UK fashion market poses a great competition, especially for high-end products. With established retailers, including online retailers, it is vital to plan on how to increase the company’s market share. Some key competitors include Next, Primark, Marks & Spencer, Boden, Tu (Sainsbury), H&M, F+F(Tesco), Forever21, Topshop, and Zara. However, despite their presence in the market, it is possible to increase the current market share with affordable pricing that will enable the target customer spend more and purchase more products from the provided collection. Since the target customer has a spending habit, the focus should also be on differentiating the products from what competitors currently offer (Mink Rath, Bay, and Petrizzi, 2014). To develop the product and ensure its successful market penetration, the following steps will be considered.
Figure 1: Gantt Chat
Target Audience
Sex
Strawberry Sundae brand is primarily targeted at young female clients with career. In this regard, it I expect to perform better with career women than with non-career women. However, men that wish to purchase lovely wears for their female friends, sisters, or even daughters, are potential clients for this collection.
The age
The targeted client’s age ranges between 25 and 35 years. At this age, the women are believed to not only enjoy an active lifestyle but also being career women with no family at all or having small families, have a substantial disposal income that can be spent on trendy clothing (Chaffey 2015, pp. 56).
Employment
There is expectation of a strong over-representation among professionals, executives and business owners. Nonetheless, the representation is expected to be more equal across occupations.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
- International distribution network
- Known trademark.
- Several partners / producers of clothing around the world
- Strong customer loyalty
- Strong visual identity
- Narrowed target market, hence specialization (women)
- Many existing stores
Weakness
- The Offer does not stand out from the competition (too neutral)
- Creating a new brand name might make clients dissociate it from existing lines from the retailer
- Narrowed market (women aged 25 to 35 years only)
Threats
- Flooded market
- Ease of entry of new players
- Green clothing from competitors
- Price fluctuations
Opportunities
- Exploiting the niche of green clothing to enhance the image and reputation of the brand
- Broadening the range of product coverage in terms of customer demographics
Sourcing strategy
Noting that sourcing will be primarily from China, the retailer will adopt the strategy adopted by Mark & Spencer in 1999 whereby quality audit teams will be established in China to ensure that products are at par with the set standards prior to shipment (Chaffey and Ellis-Chadwick 2016, pp. 84). China is selected as a sourcing location due to the cheap labor and low costs of material. The focus is to ensure that product quality is guaranteed from the source to the retailer.
Distribution strategy
Given the target customers for this new brand, the company must focus on both physical stores and using an online platform to sell its products. The best venture would be to set-up its main distribution center in London and satellite centers in other parts of the UK. However, it is crucial to ensure all stores receive inventory on time to avoid delays and ensure better services to customers. Moreover, for the first six months, markets outside the UK can first work operate as online stores. The success of the product in the UK will then help in establishing distribution centers and channels in other countries. However, for efficiency, the main port for distribution will be the Port of London. It is crucial for the company to focus on developing a good supply chain management system that will reduce the time goods take to reach customers (Mangan, Lalwani, Butcher, and Javdpour, 2012).
International Wholesalers
Target markets for development of wholesale clients
Main target:
Young female adults that have completed university aged 25 to 35. Urban and trendy, their social life is active and fashion drives their purchasing decisions. Despite their lack of time, they still like to shop and display a trendy look. If they dress a little more chic at work, they love the “tasteful” casual style of Strawberry Sundae for their weekend clothes. They have been dressing at Strawberry Sundae for about ten years and they still remember the old campaigns, very musical, that featured celebrities. Now that their career has taken its off, they have a little more budget for their clothing, and lack of time prevents them from investing much in outings. Much of their income is invested on purchases for their children, and they spend a lot to dress their child with style. They consider that preserving the environment is important, but by their own confession they admit that they do not have much time to take concrete action.
Targeting by gender
Since the clothing market for women is almost twice as large as that of the men’s clothing market, although the campaign target both sexes the choice of media will mainly target women in a proportion of 70% against 30% for men.
Distribution strategy
The choice of the distribution method will depend on the size of the market to address, pricing policy, competition, and the quantity of products requested by the end user. In this case, selective distribution strategy is adopted (Fernie and Grant 2015; Christopher 2011). This implies that a limited number of outlets in a specific geographic area to sell your products. The difficulty of this strategy lies in the choice of credible signs that can maintain the competitive advantage of your company (Fernie and Sparks 2014, pp. 41). The advantage of this strategy is that you can be elitist about choosing the best performers in your market. However, in this case, the retailer will use its already existing line of stores, alongside some select stores such as high-end malls (Jackson and Shaw 2008; Conrad and Thompson 2016; Fletcher and Tham, 2015). Selective distribution is very attractive when customers have their preferences in terms of brand or purchase price, especially if they are prone to attend certain outlets (Gattorna, 2010; Fernie, Moore, and Maniatakis 2009). This alternative will allow focus on increasing your sales and gaining more control over your distribution network (Apendix 2).
Wholesale strategy
In a bid to expand market, wholesale strategy will be used in new markets, that is, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea. In this market, major wholesale outlets will be identified. The wholesale will then avail the products to other retailer for purposes of gaining consumer access. The wholesalers will provide a platform for entering these new markets. The high population in Hong Kong offers a great potential for the company despite having many competitors. Initially, only 15% of the products will be available for new markets. LabConnect is a great wholesaler that our company can use to venture into the Chinese market. WingTaiAsia also has a strong presence in Singapore and Hong Kong, which offers a better opportunity to venture into two markets. Finally, Lotte Department Store has a chain of outlets in South Korea, which will help venture into this market. However, as the products become more accessible in these new markets, the percentage will be considered for increment. It is, however, important to mention that entering these new geographical areas will not be without challenges.
PESTEL Analysis
Politics:
- Implementation of EU Quotas for products from China, but disagreement between countries (British and Dutch opposed to quotas)
- China’s entry into the WTO, growing weight of China
- Defense of working conditions, social law for employees in emerging countries
- Labor costs in Europe higher than in Asia due to social protection systems, which are the most important in Europe
Economic:
- Imitation of products by China
- Smaller labor costs in Asia (relocation) 60 € net per month.
- Communication budget is increasingly important.
- Development of e-commerce
- Stagnant market locally but growing internationally
- Petroleum prices upwardly impacting on products.
Socio-Cultural:
At the production level, the problem of child labor
At the consumption level:
- Women identify with celebrities
- Fashion puts pressure on products.
Technology:
- Development of e-commerce
- Diversification
- Problem of obsolescence, constantly innovating to keep a competitive advantage
- Development of production and transport technologies, particularly in China
Ecological:
- ISO 14001 standard
- Ecological standards for the distribution
- Recycling and packaging.
- Environmental protection, ISO standard for companies that want to. It is not compulsory but it brings a key factor of success related to quality and respect for customers,
- Rule of industrial protections to protect creators, fight against counterfeiting,
Marketing strategy
Seduction by awareness
Since the company has made no massive communication effort in Quebec in recent years, the brand has gradually distant consumers. The Britons, who are less exposed to the US media, are particularly underrepresented. The arrival of The company in green clothing market is a golden opportunity to attract the Briton consumer. As we have seen, the typical consumer at The company are mainly families and young students. However, the new collection targets women. Thus, the focus should be on this group while considering men who would want to buy Strawberry Sundae Collection S/S 2017 for their family members and friends.
If it was possible to coldly inform the target on the benefits of this line of clothing, seduction should be at the level of awareness. By raising awareness, there are plans to neglect the educational side to move towards a more emotional communication (Waters 2010, pp. 101). Our target has trendy women, the future of the earth interested in, because this is the future of women. The strategy will use the strong emotional bond to raise awareness of the challenges of consumption of trendy clothing (Jobber and Ellis-Chadwick, 2012). In doing so, the company projects a responsible company image and concerned about the looks.
Creative strategy
While Strawberry Sundae is a casual clothing brand and gives importance to the elegance of its lines. The creation would have a mission to make the consumption of this brand “fashionable” and classy (Gorworek and McGolderick, 2015).
Media strategy
Exploiting viral potential of new media by targeting influencers from different networks. For a creative strategy to succeed in creating a fashion, it must be supported by an effective media strategy. To do this, our media choices have to be made according to a content sharing logic. The “buzz” will always create by word of mouth and organic content sharing, but still he must plant good seeds so that the tree grows itself (Hines 2013, pp. 43). Thus, our communication should focus on media that is easy to share content and affect opinion leader’s social circles of our target. Finally, a focus on online marketing will help reach more customers, not only in the UK, but in other new markets (Ryan and Jones, 2012; Palmer, 2011).
Conclusions & recommendations
Introducing a new brand in the fashion industry requires a detailed plan given the high competition in the industry. For The company to successfully launch Strawberry Sundae Collection S/S 2017 as a classy product for career women (25-35 years) who enjoy active lifestyles. Venturing into the UK market will be easier than international markets. With more than 200 stores, it will be a great opportunity to introduce the products to the retailer’s customers. Moreover, intensive marketing will be essential in ensuring that the products perform locally and internationally. While the estimated marketing costs are expected to be in the tune of £150000, the expected 62% margin and spending habits of the target market will help improve sales. The expected sales are in the tune of £1,500,000 in the first year, which would increase gradually with partnerships with international wholesalers in China, South Korea, and Singapore. The company should also consider venturing into the US market, which would also offer high sales.
References
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