Forever 21 analysis ...shortened

UK launch part of a massive global expansion plan
Forever 21 was largely based in its home market, the US, where it competes with the likes of H&M and Aeropostale. In the US, it is one of the leading apparel companies, with sales worth approximately US$3.0 billion, but its strong position in the US market is not enough for Forever 21. They plan to launch in other European markets. It is taking on global giants such as H&M and Inditex.
Oxford Street flagship store shows Forever 21 means business
 27 July 2011 marked the opening of Forever 21's flagship London store in the city's most popular shopping district, Oxford Street. This was a bold move considering the company has little experience of the UK market, having opened its first UK store less than a year before in November 2010 in Birmingham. The company was wise to open a store outside of the capital first to test the UK market at a lower cost but opening its first London store on Oxford Street is nevertheless a risky strategic manoeuvre. Rental costs on Oxford Street are amongst the highest rates in the world, so Forever 21 needed an exceptionally high store turnover to cover costs.
The use of social media to build hype for the brand proved successful through the turnout at the opening. What would be a good thing to learn from this is to enable constant interests to maintain social network updates. Facebook and twitter allow the brand to tell a customer about sales and new stock in advance very quickly to a massive audience with little effort and very low cost ( its only paying someone to keep on top of it ).
 Forever 21 pays slightly more attention to store layout and interior design than its UK counterparts, with quirky store features such as clothes laid out on an imitation ice cream truck. Such gimmicks may prove successful in capturing the hearts of teens and tweens as they search for a fun shopping experience. Forever 21's store interior gives it a significant advantage over Primark, its closest competitor in terms of price, which has a very plain and often messy interior.
Forever 21 have a challenge maintaining consumer interest once the buzz of a new store begins to fade. Once the company is mid way through its plans of opening 100 stores in the UK, it will no longer be a new brand but simply one amongst many in the value fashion market. It will need to continuously refresh stores, especially as this is one of its main selling points, in addition to developing strong PR and marketing campaigns. As it aims to grab attention from the public, its penchant for secrecy may have to be reserved for the US market.






Nicole Warr 

. Vogue, pop, wonderland, i-D. Don't read many books and when I do their usually factual and relate to art, fashion, beauty etc.
2. Porridge, granola or belvita. 2 glasses of water and a cuppa haha
3. Skin care products I use estee lauder. Makeup is a mixture of my faves (esteelauder, lancome, mac, nars, maybelline...) Dont use hair products apart from john fredia blonde shampoo. Use hairspray on night out.
4. Thats a hard one! Erm either piccolinos or tgis!
5. French martini or strawberry daiquri
6. white iphone 4s
7. zara, topshop, river island
8. I dont have a fave film sorry haha!
9. BGT, homeland, SATC, fringe, desp houswives, abfab haha
10. A mixture. mainly rnb
11. Dont have car
12. By favourite shoes not sure what yu mean but a good pair of black heels will dress any outfit up
13.Coco chanel or ysl bell d'opium
14. Either in a nice bar or relaxing with a glass of wine watchin tv!
15.you took a pic of it
16. oopsie i dont read newspapers haha i ocassionally wtch the news or look at it online or most of the time you find it out on twitter!
17. Tescos or m n s
18. twitter, facebook, trendland, blogs such as bryan boy, fashion toast
19. italy
20. rosie huntington whiteley hehe major girl crush or david gandy cs hes beautifulllll
21. to watch football. to play erm does shopping count?
22. the sound of eating EW EW EW, bad manners, rude people, people biting their nails, people snoring or bretahing heavily


rakhee xx

Bibliography ...so far

Bibliography of research

Websites visited :

Forever 21 . (). Company History . Available: http://www.forever21.com/UK/Company/history.aspx?br=f21. Last accessed 12 may 2012.

The BBC. (2010 ). US store Forever 21 opens first store in Birmingham.Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-11744131 . Last accessed 10 may 2012.

PETER KOENIG. (1997). Debenhams gets a brand new image. Available: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/debenhams-gets-a-brand-new-image-1288633.html. Last accessed 10 may 2012.

Hoovers. (2011). Ann Inc. . Available: http://www.hoovers.com/company/ANN_INC/rcshsi-1-1njht4-1njfaq.html. Last accessed 12 may 2012.

 Kimberly Pfaff. (2002). FOREVER 21 OFFERS JUNIORS HIGH FASHION AT LOW PRICES. Available: http://www.icsc.org/srch/sct/sct0302/page35.php. Last accessed 12 may 2012.

Nicole warr 

Survey Sumary

This is a survey we undertook in order to understand the UK potential consumer and also to see the initial reaction from the public about both brands. From this it allowed us to make a decision on which brand should be brought forward. In total we asked 30 women aged put age here amongst the high street and online questions on their general shopping behaviour and what attracts them when in store.

Also a selection of images of both Loft and Anne Taylor were shown .We received initial thought and feedback on what came to mind when shown the images. 

Nicole Warr

possible conclusion

Hopefully from all the information provided and through our designed Marketing strategy the brand are aware and will take into consideration the key facts about the UK fashion landscape. With our strategy we believe that this is the way forward in terms of expansion to the UK.

Things to remember:

That in order to make the UK consumer build a relationship with the brand they must have a figure in which they can trust and recognise.

That it is important to build a ‘hype’ or talking point in which to create a need and want.

That within the target consumer many women prefer to purchase from shop in shop stores.

That social media and apps are a great way in which to keep your consumers/ potential consumers up to date and build a relationship.

Nicole Warr

consumer profile

its just the basic written up info ..its going to be all visual and beautiful       Nicole warr

This is Rebecca she is 43 years old. She is married with two children aged four and seven. She has been married for eleven years.  Rebecca is a teacher at a Primary school in the Birmingham area. She in her spare time likes to meet up with friends, take the children out and go shopping. When shopping Rebecca like to visit Birmingham’s town centre and shop within the Bullring. She likes how a variety of shops are indoors , “Its a more enjoyable shopping experience as you don’t have to travel to far to shops you want to visit” Within the Bullring she likes to visit H&M Debenhams and Selfridges. She drinks an average of seven cups of coffee a day and her favourite place to eat is cafe rouge.

She reads such magazines as Vogue and Harpers Bazaar and on the odd occasion Grazia.

She drives a car to work each day. With her job this means early mornings and often late nights. At the weekend Rebecca likes to use public transport when going out with friends. She uses social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter. This helps her talk to friends and keep up to date with what is going on between friends and companies in which she shares an interest in. These companies in particular are H&M and Birmingham Bullring she says they update and showcase new collections online and this appears in her news feed.

Used for research doc under celeb endorsements bit?
Rakhee xx

ANN TAYLOR

Brand Identity:

Attributes – Versatile, Fit, Chic, Accessible, Quality, Inclusive

Promise – Loyal, Reliability, Wearable, Fits to real people’s lives

Personality – Feminine, Confidence, Sophisticated, Classic, Elegance  

Source of Authority – ANN INC.

Brand Essence – American, Women, Elegance, Classic

Brand Image:

Attributes – Wholesome, Elegant, Simplistic, Chic

Promise – Wearable, Fashionable but not trendy 

Personality – Classic, Mature, Dated, Feminine

Source of Authority – ANN TAYLOR : ANN INC

Brand Essence – Feminine, Elegance, Classic

Rakhee x

L'oreal Paris

L’oreal Paris- ‘Cast Yourself’

In October 2011 L’oreal Paris launched a competition to find three girls to star in the next Casting Crème Gloss advert alongside spokes model, Cheryl Cole. They were looking for a blonde, a brunette and a red head. This advert would be the first of L’oreals adverts that did include an official L’oreal Paris ambassador.

Fans were asked to 'Cast Yourself' by visiting the L’Oréal Paris Facebook page. As well as this a phone app was created and it allowed the applicants to upload their photo and complete the sentence “I love Casting Crème Gloss because...” before the voting began. ‘The Facebook app was downloaded over 21,414 times, and over 15,547 voted in just the first week alone’. This just show how people really respond to these ‘real women’ campaigns, they are a successful way of making a brand more personable.

Written by Amy xx

http://rachaelblogs.co.uk/2011/11/22/cheryl-cole-competition/

http://lbbonline.com/news/fans-cast-themselves-alongside-cheryl-cole-in-new-ad-from-loreal-paris/

http://fashionbite.co.uk/2011/11/04/competition-cast-yourself-with-l’oreal-paris-casting-creme-gloss/

Brand Identity & Image: LOFT

Brand identity: LOFT

Attributes

Wearable

Accessible

Comfortable

Fashion Forward

Promise

Practical Clothing

Versatile

For the everyday woman

Flattery

Personality

Casual

Trend aware

Loyal

Brand Essence

American

Heritage

‘Trusted personal stylist’

Source of Authority

ANN INC

Ann Taylor

Brand Image: LOFT

Attributes

Casual

Bright clothing

Embellishment

Promise

Comfortable

Easy to wear

Personality

Bright

Mothers

Clothing to fit easily into lifestyle

Busy

Brand Essence

Casual, Comfortable & Easy to wear,

Source of Authority

ANN INC

Ann Taylor

Ahhhh we WILL get this done tomorrow/tuesday! Bring lunch!

See you girls tomorrow :)

Rakhee xx

Research Doc idea?

Dove campaign stats

The study evolved out of a desire to talk to women around the world about female beauty. According to the study, “Dove knows that the relationship women have with beauty is complex: it can be powerful and inspiring, but elusive and frustrating as well. We sponsored this study in order to probe more deeply into this intricate relationship. Dove wanted to understand how women define beauty; how satisfied they are with their beauty; how they feel about female beauty’s portrayal in society; and, how beauty affects their well-being.” This was the first comprehensive study of its kind.

The following statistics are a sampling of results from the study:
• Only 2% of these women describe themselves as “beautiful”

• About 3/4 of them rate their beauty as "average"

• Almost 1/2 of them think their weight is "too high"

The previous findings are particularly the case in the U.S. (60%), Great Britain (57%) and Canada (54%).
• Almost half of all women (48%) strongly agreed (8, 9, or 10 on a 10-point scale) with the statement that: “When I feel less beautiful, I feel worse about myself in general.”

• Just 13% of all women say they are very satisfied with their beauty, 12% with their physical attractiveness, 17% with their facial attractiveness and 13% with their body weight and shape.

• The study revealed that women see beauty and physical attractiveness as increasingly socially mandated and rewarded. Almost two-thirds strongly agreed that: “Women today are expected to be more physically attractive than their mother’s generation was” (63%); and, “Society expects women to enhance their physical attractiveness” (60%).



http://psucomm473.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/dove-campaign-for-real-beauty-case.html

Real Women

Brands using "real women"

Dove

The Unilever brand’s much-copied "Campaign for Real Beauty" pioneered the use of everyday women, rather than models.

Nike

The sports brand ran a cam-paign in the US featuring women’s body parts with lines such as "My butt is big".

Pretty Polly

The tights brand was involved in ITV2's 'Coleen’s Real Women', based on a search for non-professional models to front marketing campaigns.

Ultimo

Having used celebrities in ads in the past, the underwear brand has opted for non-professional models for its latest campaign.

http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/news/1019477/LK-Bennett-roll-real-women-campaign/

• Print

More! x

EXHIBIT 2
How experts evaluate celebrity endorsers

	Relative importance of
	celebrity selection
Overall celebrity	criteria within
selection categories	overall categories	Mean values *
Celebrity	Trustworthiness	2.19
credibility	Expertise	2.67
	Uses the product	2.76
(most important	Composed	4.17
category)	Many endorsements	4.40
	Outgoing and bold	4.71
Celebrity/audience	Audience aspired to be like
match-up	the celebrity	1.88
	Values	2.40
(tied for second	Audiences see themselves as
most important	being like the celeb	2.70
category)	Appearance	3.95
	Biographical background	4.10
Celebrity/product	Image	1.53
match-up	Reputation	2.23
	Values	2.60
(tied for second	Appearance	3.77
most important
category)
Celebrity	Easy to recognize	1.60
attractiveness	Likable/friendly	2.55
	Social association	3.19
(next most	Physical attraction	3.59
important category)	Occupational association	4.00
Additional	Endorsement fee	2.00
considerations	Publicity risk	2.12
(next most	Life cycle stage of product	3.23
important category)	Probability of hiring celeb	3.71
	Exclusive representation	3.91

* The lower the mean value, the more important is a celebrity-selection criterion within a category. These means are averages of respondents' rank-ordering of items within the overall celebrity selection categories and therefore can be compared within but not across classifications.