initial designs

Economic so far

Economic:

* Stage of business cycle.
* Current and projected economic growth, inflation and interest rates.
* Unemployment and labor supply.
* Labor costs.
* Levels of disposable income and income distribution.



http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=192

GPD (Gross Domestic Product ) by 0.8% in the Q3 of 2010




http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=19

Inflation

Government inflation set at 3.3


# clothing and footwear where prices, overall, rose by 2.0 per cent on the month (a record for an October to November period) compared with a rise of 0.6 per cent a year ago. The main upward pressure came from garments, particularly men’s outerwear

As an internationally comparable measure of inflation, the CPI shows that the UK inflation rate in October was above the provisional figure for the European Union. The UK rate was
3.2 per cent whereas the EU’s as a whole was 2.3 per cent.





Unemployment rate
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=12

The employment rate for those aged from 16 to 64 for the three months to September 2010 was 70.8 per cent, up 0.3 on the quarter.
The total number of unemployed people fell by 9,000 over the quarter to reach 2.45 million, although the number of people unemployed for up to six months increased by 21,000 on the quarter to reach 1.18 million.

The number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (the claimant count) fell by 3,700 between September and October 2010 to reach 1.47 million, although the number of people claiming for up to six months increased by 10,400 to reach 943,900

The inactivity rate for those aged from 16 to 64 for the three months to September 2010 was 23.2 per cent, down 0.2 on the quarter. The number of inactive people aged from 16 to 64 fell by 83,000 over the quarter to reach 9.27 million

The number of vacancies for the three months to October 2010 was 453,000, down 27,000 over the quarter. The sector showing the largest quarterly fall was education where the number of vacancies fell by 10,000 to reach 31,000.

The earnings annual growth rate for total pay (including bonuses) was 2.0 per cent for the three months to September 2010, up from 1.7 per cent for the three months to August. The earnings annual growth rate for regular pay (excluding bonuses) was 2.2 per cent for the three months to September 2010, up from 2.0 per cent for the three months to August.



Minimum wage

* £5.93 - the main rate for workers aged 21 and over
* £4.92 - the 18-20 rate
* £3.64 - the 16-17 rate for workers above school leaving age but under 18
* £2.50 - the apprentice rate, for apprentices under 19 or 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship


Levels of disposable income

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=334

riginal income, before taxes and benefits, of the top fifth of households in the UK was approximately 15 times greater than that for the bottom fifth (£73,800 per household per year compared with £5,000). After redistribution through taxes and benefits, the ratio between the top and bottom fifths is reduced to four-to-one (average final income of £53,900 compared to £13,600).


Households with lower incomes tend to receive more benefits in kind from the state (£6,300 for the bottom fifth compared with £3,900 for the top fifth). Retired households are the biggest users of health services provided by the state, while households with children are the biggest users of education services. These two groups are more likely to be in the lower income groups.

the top fifth of households paid 24 per cent of their gross income in direct tax while the bottom fifth paid 11 per cent.

Pestle - Political

Collaborative

Pestle Analysis – Political Section

The political side of Marks and Spencer could affect clothing in a vast amount of ways. When looking at the ‘Per Una’ range, some aspects that may arise could cause disruption and have an impact on the production and manufacturing stages as well as the sales in retail.

Marks and Spencer have their own strong policies when it comes to trading. Since 1999, they have been part of an organisation known as ‘Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI)’. http://www.Corporate.marksandspencer.com

M and S believe in fair partnerships with their suppliers and others within their supply chain. Providing M and S keep their prices fair and ethical as promised, the company has more of a chance of keeping things in good working order.

Marks and Spencer are becoming renowned for their political trends ensuring that they meet the criteria for the recovery of the economy. Some of these key trends are:

·         Health

·         Sustainability

·         Climate Change

·         Ethical Trading

By following government policies, M and S are able to meet the demands to encourage healthy lifestyles from schemes such as:

·         Natural enrichment

·         Nutritional enrichment

·         Healthy eating advisers

·         Health campaigns

·         Diet and health information

·         Lifestyle information

(pg 42) http://corporate.marksandspencer.com/documents/publications/2010/How_We_Do_Business_Report_2010

Other government policies that may affect Sales in the M and S ‘Per Una’ collection could be the rise in VAT; up to 20% from 17.5% from 4^th January 2011.

‘An awareness of the methodology and key indicators within the cycle of a terrorist attack is paramount to competently prepare, prevent and respond to such acts. These key concepts are delivered by Rutherford Training Consultants through a partnership of continual progressive improvement with industry stakeholders.’

http://www.rutherfordsecurity.co.uk/terror_awareness.pdfAnother aspect to consider is terrorism as terror threats become more frequent, manufacture and the importation of products from abroad could be delayed. Marks and Spencer could take action from training courses that could prepare them in extreme cases.

With stakeholder expectations on the rise for an overall eco friendly system, Marks and Spencer have pushed ahead to meet targets in their business using a ‘Plan A’ strategy; which helps to maintain their goals for sustainable society. M and S take control of their business by using the views of their stakeholders. M and S state in their report, ‘The views of our stakeholders – customers, shareholders, employees and suppliers guide our policies’.

Design specifications - Jeans, Blouse & Cardigan

New Board

Pestle – environmental

M & S make strenuous effects to make the majority of their products fair-trade, sustainable and of course environmentally friendly. Hey produce environmentally friendly textiles dyes for their clothes range as well as offering clothing lines made from fair-trade cotton.

The Plan A initiative was launched a few years ago to increase the environmental sustainability of the business within 5 years ( www.wikipedia.com ) they had 5 main aims to be successful by 2012. These were

·         Become carbon neutral

·         No waste to landfill

·         Extend sustainable sourcing

·         Improve the lives of people in the supply chain

·         Customers and employees live a healthier life cycle

On plan for the Plan A sustainable raw materials for 2012:

Sustainable textiles

·         New ways of producing fibres like cotton, linen and wool.

·         Trialling new fibres to reduce environmental impact of the textiles

Cotton

·         Launching a sustainability strategy covering all their cotton including initiatives such as fair-trade and organic.

M & S are known worldwide for being one of the largest retail users of cotton and so they want to improve its environmental and social standards in its production. They were the first major UK clothing retailer to launch organic wool and linen garments.

On this plan M & S had to achieve man made materials such as making polyester from recycled plastics rather than using oil. This has then since been achieved and they’ve increased the proportion of dyehouses covered by recent environmental and health and safety audits. (http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/business/products/roadmaps/documents/ms0910-case-study.pdf )

As they now use the recycled polyester on some of their garments from waste bottle customers have responded positively towards this and around 300,000 have been sold from these recycled bottles. (http://corporate.marksandspencer.com/howwedobusiness/our_policies/sustainable_raw_materials/sustainable_processes  )

Since launching the Plan A project in 2007, M & S are setting themselves an ambitious target of becoming the world’s most sustainable retailer by 2015. ( http://www.actionsustainability.com/news/273/MS-extends-Plan-A-sustainable-sourcing-commitments/ )

The brown, reusable bag was introduced to reduce the use of plastic carrier bags and a year later they put a charge of 5p on the plastic bags which at the time customers were not happy, but this was the only way to encourage customers to use reusable bags.

In 1999 M & S developed a set of Global Sourcing Principles which sets out requirements for suppliers to abide by. These include:

·         Working hours and conditions

·         Health and safety

·         Rates of pay

·         Minimum age of employment

per una Product Comparison

COATS PRICE FABRIC COMPOSITION

£69.50 100% Polyester

£69.50 86% Polyester, 14% Viscose

£120.00 37% Wool, 35% Acrylic, 18% Polyester, 9% Polyamide, 1% Cotton

Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Single Breasted Notch Lapel Belted Mac [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].
Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Single Breasted Water Repellent Belted Mac [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].
Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Speziale Single Breasted Ombre Coat with Wool [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].
JEANS PRICE FABRIC COMPOSITION
£29.50 98% Cotton, 2% Elastane
£29.50 99% Cotton, 1% Elastane
£29.50 76% Cotton, 21% Polyester, 3% Elastane

Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Roma Cotton Rich Straight Leg Diamante Jeans [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].
Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Cotton Rich Bootcut Jeans [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].
Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Roma Cotton Rich Bootcut Jeans with Belt [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010];.

DRESSES PRICE FABRIC COMPOSITION
£160.00 50% Acetate, 30% Silk, 20% Viscose
£49.50 90% Acrylic, 8.5% Polyester, 1.5% Elastane

Lining: 100% Polyester
£175.00 48% Acrylic, 24% Wool, 15% Polyester, 7% Mohair, 6% Metallised Fibres

Lining: 100% Polyester
Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Speziale Chiffon Sequin Dress with Silk [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].
Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Slash Neck Bow Shift Dress [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].
Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Speziale Cowl Neck Shimmer Dress with Wool [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].
BLOUSES PRICE FABRIC COMPOSITION
£39.50 100% Silk

Camisole: 95% Viscose, 5% Elastane
£35.00 100% polyester
£29.50 100% Polyester

Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Speziale Pure Silk Ruffle Blouse with Camisole [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].
Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una ¾ Sleeve Appliqué Chiffon Frill Blouse [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].
Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Open Neck Leopard Print Ruffle Shirt [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].


TROUSERS PRICE FABRIC COMPOSITION
£29.50 70% Viscose, 30% Polyester
£49.50 50% Polyester, 31% Wool, 18% Viscose, 1% Elastane
£29.50 63% Polyester, 33% Viscose, 4% Elastane
Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Roma Wide Leg Diamante Trousers [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].
Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Speziale Roma Wide Leg Trousers with Wool [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].
Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Roma Double Buckle Bootcut Trousers [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].
CARDIGANS PRICE FABRIC COMPOSITION
£45.00 43% Cotton, 41% Viscose, 16% Wool

Trim: 100% Polyester
£35.00 100% Acrylic
£35.00 87% Acrylic, 13% Polyester

Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Speziale Open Front Cardigan with Wool [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].
Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Long Sleeve Open Front Cardigan [online image] Available at: [Accessed 5th December 2010].
Marks & Spencer (2010) Per Una Open Front Multi stripe Cardigan [online image] Available at: Accessed 5th December 2010].

History:

Marks and Spencer has been a major UK retailer for over 125 years, with its innovative policy of buying stock directly from the manufacturer allowed them to substantially decrease selling price and therefore become a household name throughout the UK.

A significant development for the innovative brand was the introduction of textiles in 1928; although they only started with small clothing range it progressed over the years to become one of the best known names of the high street. The rapid growth in popularity for the company meant that they had to leave their original Manchester based warehouse and head office behind and set up head office in London, it was not long after that their flagship store was opened in Marble Arch in 1930.

 In the 1953 Marks and Spencer was the first high street retailer to offer a petite women's range, this was after intense research which showed that the average height for women was 5'5, therefore Marks and Spencer thought it was necessary to cater to the needs of the customer; this was then followed by the introduction of tights in 1962. The company began to grower bigger and bigger throughout the 1970's and 1980's expanding both in the ranges and the opening in new store. In the 1990's Marks and Spencer responded to the high demand for e-commerce by allowing their customer to shop online, this was both a advantage to their customers but also was a chance to boost sales.

Whilst also providing customers with other services the companies clothing become more popular with the introduction of the limited collection, Per Una and Blue Harbour. Marks and Spencer plans to develop even further with the introduction of its Plan A policy and to fulfil their 100 point eco plan and to keep thier promise of quality, value, service, innovation and trust.

Brand Values:

Marks and Spencer is built around five core values quality, value, service, innovation and trust. Their mission is to be able to provide make "aspirational" products available to everybody with their indepth and highly innovative range of products. They also aim to provide a standard which their competitors should aim to measure towards, whilst also providing a key interest in the environment, community and the working environment for their employees.

Market Size:

Marks and Spencer is still one of the nation’s favourite, over the 12 months the womenswear market has grown to 10.7% in value which is an increase of 0.2%. Marks and Spencer believe this is due to the introduction of the Indigo collection and the response to their customer’s needs of items which are more versatile. This contributed to Marks and Spencer’s £413.3 million sales,

The company continues to try and offer their products at reasonable price points, therefore by reviewing the pricing mix within the women swear department it has allowed them to continue with their lower lead prices but also allowed an increase in 'better and 'best' pricing, this is prominent in categories such as knitwear due to the customers willingness to spend more for investment pieces.

What Marks and Spencer sells currently

Marks and Spencer offers a wide range of products throughout their sub brands including Per Una, Autograph and the Limited collection, it aims to meet the requirements of the older customer but also providing them with younger more fashionable trends. This is especially prominent in their Per Una ranges as they offer high fashion and sophisticated style within a reasonable price bracket. Within the Per Una sub brand they offer coats, jackets, dresses, jeans, knitwear, lingerie, nightwear, shirts, blouses, shoes, skirts, tops, t-shirts, trousers, shorts and a range of accessories. This allows the customers to fully put together an outfit within the category, this an advantage to the company and the customers as it adds on sales for the company but also helps the customer shop with ease as they only have to look in one section within the hole of the high street for their full outfit. Marks and Spencer also offer a section on their website which shows a fully put together outfit idea, this could potentially mean a customer could view the outfit idea and buy the full outfit from the company. 

 The prices range from their lead price of £15 for a plain jersey top to £250 for a 100% wool coat, therefore offering products which cater to a larger scale of disposable incomes and keeping competitive amongst a wider spectrum of high street retailers. Per Una also tries to provide for the different, individual tastes of their customers by offering a range of style lines and colours for example within the tops and t-shirt category there are products available in 14 colours and also offer both plain and printed style. As well as having the categories within the sub brand they also narrow the category by splitting it into style such as tunics, plain tops, mock layers and causal.

M&S Competitors

As Marks and Spencer appeals to a broad range of customers, this means that their competitors are very broad. The company sets the prices for most companies in the high street, it is apparent in both direct and indirect competitors pricing, product, location and promotions. The main competitors for Marks and Spencer are Next, Matalan, Debenhams, and House of Fraser and in direct competitors such as Zara, Warehouse, Coast and Oasis.  

Perceptual Map of Direct and In Direct competitors

 Competitors in comparison to Marks and Spencer.

Next-

When considering the six staple products, the amount of styles and colours in both Marks and Spencer and Next are very similar, this therefore reflects onto the price and quality of fabric which are also on par with each other. An example of this is when reviewing the plain trousers in the stores, Marks and Spencer average price for the product is around £29 and Next average price are around £30. Although Marks and Spencer has a very slight price advantage it is not enough to establish a substantial difference as to why the customer should choose on retailers over the other. It is apparent that both stores are aiming for the same age group as their customer target market and also with the broad range of sizes both of the companies offer. This therefore also reflects onto location of the retailers as it means they both must have a noticeable position on any high street. Both the retailers have the availability for their customer to shop online; this will mean they can both add on potential sales even when their stores are closed.  

Matalan-

Although Matalan is cheaper than Marks &Spencer with a little black dress pricing around £18 compared to Marks and Spencer where it can be from £60 and above they should not be underestimated as a key competitor. The price is one advantage Matalan has over Marks and Spencer; however they cannot compare of the quality of the products as Matalan product decrease in both fabric quality (mainly using synthetics) and product styling ( with less components and detailing). As with the previous competitor Matalan offers a broad range of sizes and has a transactional website. The main advantage Marks and Spencer has over Matalan’s in the fact that most of the Matalan stores are mainly based on large retail parks away from the main high street and therefore they do not receive the benefit of having busy crowds pass their store as regularly as Marks and Spencer doses.

Debenhams-

Even though Debenhams is a department store is many of Marks and Spencer’s customers will also shop in department store such as Debenhams as they sell similar products at reasonable prices, this is excluding Debenhams major designer ranges which pushes the prices of their products slightly and is also used as a promotional advantage.  The quality of the products varies between each section of the department store, this is only due to the fact the products will come from different suppliers. Marks and Spencer have had a solid connection with their suppliers and are therefore certain that their products and fabric quality are to the highest standard.   As with most high street retailers Debenhams has the ability to shop online as well as having a large store on many high streets across the UK

House of Fraser

House of Fraser is another one of Marks and Spencer's department store competitors, they have a large choice of products including both designer and major brand influences. As with most of Mark and Spencer competitors they have similar prices apart from the higher prices of the desinger labels this also conveys onto the quality of the fabrics which is also of high quaility. As with the Marks and Spencer range the products come in a range of colours dependant on the brand. Like most of the current high street brands the website is transactional and has large stores on major high streets.

In direct competitors

Zara also basis their style on elegance, sophistication and well tailored products. However Zara is considered to be more fashionable this therefore reflects onto the price and quality of fabric which are also on par with each other. When considering the pricing compared to the styling of the products, Zara’s prices are in some ways a cheaper alternative and as they are more fashionable it could be a destination which Marks and Spencer customers may consider. The size range for Zara is not as broad as they use the XS- XL sizing measurement scale, Marks and Spencer offers a UK based sizing measurement which means the customer will already know their size. Zara also has the ability to shop online, this will mean they can both add on potential sales even when their stores are closed. 

Warehouse products similarly priced to Marks and Spencer there is a lot more embellishment and detail. The quality of the products are similar, this is due to the fact they are made from similar fabrics. This also means that the target customer identical to the Marks and Spencer customer, however it is more than likely that the customer will only shop at warehouse when buying one particular product or a product for a special occasion, Marks and Spencer and Per una is considered more of a casual brand and therefore is not in direct competition with warehouse. As with the majority of companies Warehouse customers have to ability to shop online.

Mood Board ?

questionaire

Please circle the number that represnts how you feel about the Marks and Spencer sub brand 'per una'.

Disagree 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 Agree

1. The age range of 25-35 is too young, despite this being their target customer.
     1    2    3    4    5

2. The clothes range is fashionable enough for their target customer.
     1    2    3    4    5

3. They appeal to their target customer.
     1    2    3    4    5

4. It corresponds to its tagline. ( feminine, sophisticated & confident, the difference is in the detail )
     1    2    3    4    5

5. They have a suitable range of designs for their target customer.
     1    2    3    4    5

6. They have a suitable colour palette.
     1    2    3    4    5

7. They have marketed the 'Per Una' brand effectively e.g through advertising, promotions.
     1    2    3    4    5

Meeting 03/12/10

Present: Beka, Hannah, Roxy, Danielle

• Selected final designs
• Clarified report
• Decided on presentation of boards

Boards will be approx. A2 size. One showing ALL 18 designs, one showing just the final designs. Fabric swatches etc can be attatched if necessary. Danielle and Cheryl will need to communicate to synchronise the design formats (can do on monday?).

Hannah, can you bring in what you've done of the moodboards on Monday and we'll try to complete them then?

Have emailed Pammi about a tutorial due to cancelled lecture on Friday and also to clarify if just one person really does present the entire thing (doesn't make sense to do it this way so have asked if we can do it the correct way). If Pammi is adament that this is how she wants it done, then does everyone want me (Beka) to do it? At least I'll be drafting the essay so will (hopefully) kind of have a really good understanding?


Next meeting: Monday 6th December to hand in sections of report so Beka can do final draft.

Meeting 17/11/10

Present: Beka, Roxy, Hannah, Danielle, Cheryl

Broke down the report into sections for each person (Beka - Yellow, Roxy - Red, Hannah - Blue, Danielle - Green, Cheryl - Pink) TO BE DONE BY MONDAY 6TH DECEMBER

Executive Summary
M&S Case Study (History, Size of Market etc)
PESTEL:
Political
Economic
Social
Technological
Environmental
Legislative (Legal)
PESTEL Summary
SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)
Typical Consumers (picture?)
Market Trends a/w 2011/12 - Fabric, Performance etc
M&S Product Offering (What they already have)
M&S Competitors - Perceptual Map - Direct AND Indirect
Fashionability of M&S - Questionnaire (Likert scale)  Roxy can't do this fully until Danielle uploads hers.
Target customers - see Typical Consumers
Competitive Comparison (Marketing Mix?)
Product / Price comparison Table
Our new trend - Italian (taking per una back to Italian roots)
Conclusion
Design specification sheets, technical details
Our prices
Potential Manufacturing / Supply chain process
Potential Target Dates for activities (Gantt chart / critical path)

Hope this is ok? Get hold of me if confused. :)

 

First set of design ideas - sketches

design specification examples