BlackSilk Clothing Label: Product Launch Portfolio - Assignment Example

? Product Launch Portfolio Part A: With the economic downturn finally on its way out and people regaining an optimistic sense of spending and purchasing to celebrate their lifestyles, the market is ripe for the introduction of brands which resonate with the consumer emotionally while keeping in touch with their value conscious needs. One of the hardest hit sectors during the recession which came after 2008 was that of the Luxury products- sales had almost doubled from $44.1 Billion in 2003 to $80.4 Billion in 2008 but afterwards many luxury retailers and clothing brands had to face steep loses in sales and revenue often averaging around 25 %-30%. Brands aimed at the high tier market moved on to defensive mechanisms like slashing prices, holding discreet sales or moving into completely new product lines even as they battled massive debts and decreasing popularity. While fashion brands like Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana and Armani were the pioneers in introducing secondary mid-priced brands for a secondary target market, others brands soon followed suit. However the diversification strategy was a double edged sword, with the perception of people being either that the brands were diluting their essence and the ‘luxury status’ that they stood for or that there are simply too many, too outrageously priced luxury brands in a market where they shouldn’t be. Cheap chic and e-shopping have become the reigning trends in the industry and as the local customer becomes more price savvy and inclined towards individual fashion choices, luxury brands have become something of a frivolous fantasy for the masses. But humans naturally gravitate towards things which sparkle and which may provide them with a kind of prestige and glamour; they just don’t want it to be a diluted version of old luxury or completely out of there budget. We are launching a new clothing label for the people who want the good things in life, want them to be available with convenience yet delivering a unique and customized experience with the purchase. BlackSilk© clothing label will carry items like cocktail dresses, semi-casual evening wear, formal wear for the work environment. The core strength of the brand will be good looking, good quality products with the option of customization and ease of availability through a completely integrated online store. The cost structure will be flexible, with a certain sum set for the template clothing and extra cost for any other additions the customer might want to make. The emphasis will be to merge the look, style and grace of the ‘roaring twenties’ with the wearablity and sensible use as required by the fast paced modern life of the 21st century. The Core Value for customers will be the affordable luxury while the Actual Products will be BlackSilk© clothes, which will have a high quality and a focus on the aesthetics along with the option of customization such as our very crucial offering of Tres grande option for customers who are sizes 14 and above. This is keeping in line with the recent trends in the American health and lifestyle which show a shift towards higher weight and body mass in the general population. We would want to offer the same style and convenience to a size 2 or size 16 customer and make them feel comfortable with the choices we have on offer. The Augmented product offering would include getting customer feedback and giving them the option of changing their customization options within 30 days of purchase (exclusive of delivery time) or having the same kind of options replicated on a different template dress for a discounted price. The market segmentation for the clothing line will be done on the basis of demographics and psychographics with a niche marketing strategy initially which would be converted to a differentiated strategy once we have reached a core group of customers and the level of recourses are feasible for that. Primary Target market: Age: 21-45 Income: Varying; $15,000+ p.a Occupations: Graduate students, social networkers, entrepreneurs, journalists, public relation workers Location: Urban dwellers Lifestyle: People with busy social lives, whose jobs require them to be seen and network widely. Cocktail parties, night outs, brunches, dinners are attended weekly and are of a varying nature. Are extremely in touch with their social media and concerned about their digital identity. Personality: could be extroverted or introverted but generally careful about their image and clothing. Ranging from the thinkers to the doers. The achievers and the aspirers are both a part of the core target audience. Part B: The Mood Board The mood board is a collage showing the elements that we want our customers to associate with our brand. The luxury aspect is described through the use of pearls, the silk and the panther- long a symbol of grace and beauty in the animal world. The palette is specifically kept in a dark hue to resonate with the customers who are tired of in-your-face and over the top fashion which has permeated the fashion scene in some aspects, the kind of fashion which promotes loud colors, textures and materials doesn’t always match with the tastes of the image conscious. Black Silk takes the clothing style back to sleek, chic and understated beauty The jute border, plus size model and buttons and frills show that the brand is for everyone and we want our customers to feel comfortable with the choices they can have. It is also an attempt to showcase that the brand is not just about the luxury and putting on a good look, its also about the natural and wholesome things in life, like feeling good about yourself and indulging in life’s little pleasures. Other elements of the mood board are designed to highlight the social and lifestyle aspects of the brands clothing. Parties and social gatherings are a natural place to wear our clothes and even those who love their digital lives can attest to the fact that occasionally dressing and going out with friends or on a date can be extremely refreshing- and a good dress or suit can really set you apart from your peers. Promotion Mix: Our major emphasis is going to be generating interest, changing people’s expectation from a premium brand in terms of service and cost and promoting our online website. As the initial strategy is for niche marketing and due to budget constraints mass media like cable and public TV will not be a part of our campaign, even when taking into account geographical distributions television ads will not be an effective way for us to communicate our message. The focus will be on: Print ads: Small ads promoting our name and website with a single graphic or background will be placed strategically in the local and niche magazines in the urban centers where we would be located. Selected magazines will have ideally a loyal (maybe small) following of readers who fit our target audience. Online Media: Marketing on social networking sites will be priority and these will be tied in with our website and other promotional pages like on facebook, once the audience has gotten interested we can start Buzz marketing and word of mouth promotion of our sales exhibits etc. We would also be placing ads with popular premium networks like HBO to be played along with their certain ads which would resonate with our core values. One good example would be ‘Mad Men’ episodes, a show renowned for its vintage fashions. BTL activities: In order to reach our target audience we would have to capture their attention in their natural habitat. We would select a few candidates from a pool of prospective customers; offer them free samples in return for wearing them at social gatherings. It would be a form of real life Buzz Marketing. Activities like hosting a small cocktail party in store for limited invitees, and generating word of mouth interest and getting feedback about our clothes. Billboards: In a location near our store to promote the brand, would be in the same theme as our print ads. Part C In designing the price points of the clothing line consideration have to be given to the customer perception and the price of the competitors Banana Republic Price ranges As the price ranges suggest there is a lot of variation with the product line prices within the luxury clothing brands themselves. However the lower ranges are catered towards the lower income segment of the target audience and at times this approach can not only hurt the brand perception but also feel like a patronizing attitude towards the target market. BlackSilk® will provide a pricing based on the more-for-more and same-for-less value propositions, depending on whether customers opt for our pre designed clothes or chose to go with the customization options. There is no differing range line; every item of clothing is catered to our whole niche market. The basic pricing would be something similar to: Product category Pricing Customization Options Pricing Dress template 1 (various colors) $69 Stitching, cutting, embroidery, Size fittings $ 80-110 Dress template 2 (various colors) $110 Stitching, cutting, embroidery, frills and add-ons, Size fittings $130-160 Dress template 3 (various colors) $150 Stitching, cutting, embroidery, frills and add-ons, Size fittings, Material changes $ 170-200 Men’s Dress Shirts $60 Stitching, Resizing, Monogramming $ 80-110 Men’s Semi Formal Pants $80 Stiching, resizing, Color or Material changes $ 90-110 Three Piece Suits $300 Stiching, resizing, Color or Material changes, Specific Designing $ 360- 500 These prices are based on preliminary analysis and maybe changed in order to fit with the changing external factors, strategy or launch of new products. The distribution channels adopted by the bigger names in luxury or casual-luxury clothes brand are either through trusted distributers supplying to whole sale retailers (account for 70% of sales) and through brand outlets and independent merchants ( around 30 % ). Others like Banana Republic initially went with the three tier personal distribution channel of brand retail outlets, mail orders and e-retailing. Our product line will be promoted and sold primarily through our registered online website. The customers will be able to view our offerings via the online catalogue, communicate with the in house designers who can help them design the perfect outfit and then order through the website. We will be using private transport companies to be in charge of the deliveries to assure safe, reliable and timely delivery for our customers. The other part of our distribution network would be out retail outlets, two of them to be opened in two major cities. These outlets will be a chance for our customers to experience our merchandise for themselves and try out new products. A central office will handle the distribution for both the online purchases and to our outlets. Our long term strategy would be to open more retail outlets but the locations selected will have to be strictly within certain perimeters such as a locality where the social life is a priority and people want to be pioneers of new fashion. Bibliography Anton, 2011. The four Ps of Marketing: Place.[Online]. Available at: < http://essays24.com/print/Four-P039S-Marketing--Place/40564.html> [accessed 18 April 2012].  Morrissey, J. 2009. Luxury retailers Rush to Adapt: Chic goes cheap. Time Business Online, Sept. 17th. Available at: < http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1924242,00.html> [accessed 17 April 2012].  2010, Introduction to retail industry [Online]. 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