Marketing Plan for Liberty

LONDON COLLEGE OF FASHION

Marketing Plan for Liberty’s new jeans range

L.

Friderika Bognar

03.12.2009

BOG 08235416

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Table of Content

1. Summary 3 2. Introduction 3 3. Main Body 4

3.1. Dynamics of the Jeans Market 4

3.2. Introduction of L. Jeans 5 3.3. Values of Liberty and L. 7 3.4. Marketing L. for Liberty 7 3.5. Advertising campaign 11

4. Conclusion 13 5. Appendices 14 6. Bibliography 20

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Summary This report covers the marketing plan for Liberty’s new jeans range. Today jeans play an important role in our everyday life. They come in many different colors, fits and styles. The current market shows a demand for unique customized jeans with high added value. Liberty’s new jeans range L. is an extension of Liberty’s key values such as history and detail to each product. L. combines these values, using Liberty fabrics to refine each jeans. The end product is a high fashion jeans along with Liberty’s historic prints. The jeans will be available in different styles, fits and sizes. L. is targeting the typical Liberty customer but will also attract new customers seeking uniqueness and individuality. Loyal Liberty customers are aware of values and are willing to pay high prices. L. should be launched at Liberty during the London Fashion Week in spring, spreading a new feel along with a new jeans line. The advertising idea is to put up huge posters in the nearby underground stations, along with the information for the live broadcast of the launch party.

Introduction This report is a proposal for the marketing of a new 5 pocket western jeans range for Liberty called L.. The report tries to outline some strategic ideas for the proposal of the new jeans range. It will start with the dynamics of the jeans market covering current issues and highlighting opportunities in the market. After this part the new jeans brand for Liberty will be introduced with a view on existing company values and what L. stands for. After exploring the key elements of Liberty’s values and history, this report will discuss the main marketing points for L. the new jeans range along with a brief for an advertising campaign and costed

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campaign plan. The report then ends with a conclusion, highlighting the main parts of the marketing plan.

Dynamics of the Jeans Market

Before the 1960’s, jeans were seen as working pants and were not endured as a formal way of dressing. Women used to wear dresses and men suits with regular cotton pants. This changed during the 1960’s when Levi’s started to establish the jeans as an everyday item. Artists, musicians and actors started wearing jeans as a fashion statement and jumpstarted the rise of denim jeans. Levi’s is still one of the biggest jeans producers in the world and one of the most known jeans brand. Levi’s 501 style is probably one of the most worn jeans in the world. Jeans became an everyday pant for all occasions, for people of all ages. Today jeans are seen as a basic which can be worn in many different ways. For some consumers jeans are a high fashion product, for others still just a working pant. Jeans come in a variety of color shades, cuts, washes, stitchings and details, which determine their price at the point of sale. ‚Just-style estimates that the denim and jeans market around the world will increase in retail value to US$ 56.2bn by 2014, showing a rise of 8.9% over a seven year period‛, (Research and Markets 2007). Today, we cannot imagine fashion without great jeans. These jeans have to have the right fit and look and have to be trendy. We wear jeans in the daytime and we wear jeans in the night to go out for a nice dinner party. Today jeans are suitable for all sorts of occasions and are not seen as casual wear anymore but rather as high fashion. This issue surely affects the frequency of purchasing in a positive way.

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‚The apparel industry has been severely impacted by the global economic downturn but the state of the denim jeans industry is relatively better. The denim industry continues to hold an advantageous position over other apparel categories, owing to longer life span of jeans as compared to other apparel items. Denim defies the fundamental structure of the global economy.‛ (Research and Markets (2009).

Introduction of L. Jeans Brand L. is a brand extending jeans label for Liberty of London. The mission of Liberty’s premium jeans line L. is to extend the brands vision in its inimitability for value, high quality and passion for design and detail. L. jeans come in five different very comfortable fits, from skinny to straight over to wide legs, all made of high quality Italian garment. Through the new innovation of using Liberty’s own fabric collection to refine each jeans, L. has no direct competition. Depending on each season’s new fabrics, L. jeans will get a different ‚twist‛. The ‚twist‛ is the definition of Liberty using its own fabrics to make the jeans unique. Because every Liberty fabric has its own name, every L. jeans will get its name woven inside, depending on which fabric has been used to refine the jeans. The product comes from very classic to very distressed. Other than the seasonal collection there is the opportunity to buy a pair of customised jeans. These jeans would be at a higher price level than the constant collection available. The jeans come in different sizes, from skinny size 24 to bigger sizes such as 33. ‚As obsession with celebrities and what they wear pushes them towards the size zero ideal (UK size 4), in the real world the average woman’s figure is a size 16 and heading upwards‛, Mintel (2009).

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To make all women feel comfortable in their choices, the jeans will come in lengths from 30 to 36, so short and tall women will have the equal opportunity to find the right pair of jeans with the right fit. The product is very desirable, giving each customer the chance to pick the right model with the special ‚twist‛. These jeans promise high quality and the best design in comfort and fashionability. The jeans are being hand made in England with the highest quality management, making sure each pair is perfect. For customers seeking high individuality a special fabrication can be produced. The customer can pick style, fit and ‚twist‛ of its own choice, choosing out of hundreds of Liberty’s fabrics. This adventure assures each customer their very own special buying experience and high exclusivity. Orders are to be placed by appointment and consultation of each customer.

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Values of Liberty and L. Since 1875, Liberty has not just been a name above the door within the iconic Tudor building, it has been Arthur Liberty’s legacy, which still stands for value, quality and above all beautifully designed products. Today Liberty is one of the most prestigious stores, a leading destination in London (www.Liberty.co.uk) and one of the fastest growing UK Brands. L. is the perfect addition to Liberty of London design. A L. jeans is the perfection between luxury and high fashion. Like Liberty itself, L. jeans are of high quality and very exclusive. The brands specialty, besides using different fabric prints every season for their regular jeans assortment, is the possibility of customizing jeans. This adds value such as luxury and exclusivity for the customer and represents Liberty’s passion for a perfectly detailed design. According to Mintel (2009), ‚adding value by creating customized and limited edition jeans will also start to reverse the price drop caused by the entrance of own-label brands‛ and ‚using customization as a way to provide added value for established brands would also prove successful‛, Mintel (2007).

Marketing L. for Liberty Liberty is a luxury department store selling a luxurious and exclusive lifestyle along with their products. Their target customer has no specific age but all seek a sense of luxury. Liberty’s closest competitors are Harrods and Selfridges, though Liberty stands out with its history and fabrics, to which long standing customers are loyal to.

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L. is targeting young customers in their early 20’s to more mature women aged above 40. According to Kim Kitchings, Cotton Incorporated Director of Supply Chain Planning, mature customers above their 40’s have proven to be an extremely important market, (www.cottoninc.com). What no one thinks of is the fact that mostly women over their 30’s have enough money to spend on expensive jeans, while the early 20’s either don’t have money or get it from their parents, who are again above their 40’s. These customers look for customization now and desire unique products, in which they can identify themselves through the brand. ‚The growth in this sector has taken the emphasis off mass produced products, to one where there are different options for different usage occasions as well as a greater variety of choice in general‛, Mintel (2009). After all, it is not about age, it is about attitude, what one desires to wear and feels comfortable in. Every individual can be fashionable, independently of their age. According to a survey, fit and comfort of a jeans are the most important factor customers look out for when purchasing a jeans (Appendix 6, Figure 36). Customers want to be unique and stand out in the crowd, L. jeans make this possible. With each season having own fabrics for the twist, these jeans are special. Collaborations with other designers make limited editions possible, which is again high exclusivity, something every individual is looking for. Through L.’s fit everyone can feel comfortable wearing great designed jeans, either more classic or edgy. There is a jeans for everyone, the spoiled daughter seeking high fashion, the wife looking for a classic and comfortable fit with a special detail or the career driven woman seeking high fashion and comfort by designing her own jeans through customization. All share the same passion, looking for high quality and detailed design, which stands for luxury. L. stands for high value and quality, seeking best detail in fit and design ever possible. According to a survey a comfortable fit is more important than the latest design (Appendix 7, Figure 40).

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Loyal Liberty customers are aware of this and would be happy to buy a L. jeans. According to a survey done by Bognar, Focus Group (2009), customers who haven’t known Liberty before would buy a Liberty jeans after seeing the marketing plan because of the uniqueness of design and fit.

There is no direct competition in the sense of design, because of the usage of own Liberty fabrics to refine the jeans. There are few competitors by price, all promising a good fit and quality. Acne jeans cost between 100- 280 pounds, which have no detailed design. True Religion jeans compete with L. by price and fit. They start at about 160 pounds and end at about 450 pounds. True Religion is not always the best quality but has a very good fit, also their stitching is very unique and recognizable. L. jeans promises both, best quality and best fit, with a unique design detail which will be recognizable. The very classic style from the seasonal collection start at 150 pounds. The fabrication of the jeans is comparably expensive due to the guaranteed quality checks by hand, which translates into fairly high entry prices. ‚While other industries are outsourcing their work to cheaper foreign labor, high cost of manufacturing the jeans in the US is, in fact, a selling point for denim jeans industry‛, Research and Markets (2009).

64%

36%

Yes No

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Prices go upwards by detailed style, the highest price for a customized jeans would be around 400 pounds, depending on the customers wishes. According to a survey done by Bognar, Focus Group (2009), 4 out of 11 respondents would spend 200- 250 pounds on the right pair of jeans. 3 of the remaining 7 would even spend 250- 300 pounds.

This shows that customers are willing to pay a higher amount of money on a jeans that fits them perfectly, is unique and has good quality. Every customer is seeking for the right fit and a fashionable unique look. L. combines every aspect of a perfect jeans, offering these values to loyal Liberty customers as well as to new customers looking for something special. In Bognar’s survey ‘Focus Group’ we can see that 55% of the respondents, aged 18- 50, would consider buying a customized L. jeans for 380 pounds.

0

1

2

4

3

1

0

1

2

3

4

5

< € 100 € 100 - 150 € 150 - 200 € 200 - 250 € 250 - 300 > € 300

55%

45%

Yes No

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Brief for advertising campaign

The idea of the campaign for Liberty’s new jeans range L. is to reach the customer in a very special way. It would be too common to have the ad campaign printed in Vogue or Elle during the launch. Because the jeans range is so innovative and unique, so should the advertisement campaign be. The idea is to put huge creative panels in the underground stations around and near Liberty. This way a large amount of target customers can be reached. The ad should not be so obvious but tasteful like Liberty itself.

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In addition to the panels in the underground, Liberty should have their windows dressed up with the new jeans range, for every customer and person passing on the street to see. The windows should have an outrageous design, reflecting L.’s uniqueness and special design (Appendix 5 as example). In one of the windows as an example there should be a mannequin sewing a jeans on a very old labeled sewing machine. This would create Liberty’s special history feeling and at the same time show the new jeans, connecting history with something new. Having fabrics of jeans and Liberty’s prints all around her, this would a very playful but standing out way to illustrate the specialty of the jeans. It should be very eye catching. L. should be launched during the London Fashion Week in spring. The spring feeling should be felt in the new range, as a new year and a new scent: a new jeans range for Liberty. There should be a launch event at Liberty, inviting all loyal customers along with celebrities. The new jeans range should be introduced in a very creative way. The main window should be full with jeans and in the inside there should be a special design for introducing the new range. This would be the ideal marketing in order to target the fashion conscious and trend setting customers. The internet site should show the launch live, this gives all people the chance to see the launch and be excited about the new jeans range, even if they have not been invited. This happening should be advertised on the website and on the poster in the underground, so no one who is interested misses it. After people have seen the launch on the website and the new jeans are in store ready to be sold, the next morning the store should be crowded with customers who are willing to buy.

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For the underground panel advertising the ‚city gold‛ version from the company Titan would be best, reaching cash rich and high spending consumers, ideal for targeting Liberty’s high net worth audience. The cost of 50 Rail 6-sheet panels would be 35,000 pounds. These panels are backlit and eye-level. In addition the live broadcasting of the launch party would cost our website designers about 10,000 pounds. The advertising campaign would cost 45,000 pounds in total. BRAD online (2009). The average sales price of a L. jeans is planned to be 250 pounds. Gross profit is planned to be approximately 150 pounds per jeans. In a period of 6 months, 300 pairs of L. jeans would have to be sold in order to generate a gross profit equal to the advertising campaign costs.

Conclusion

Even though the general economy is in a state of recession, the jeans market is expected to increase in the coming years. Customers are willing to purchase unique clothing that has its price. Through the abundance of mass market productions customers are starting to value high quality and individuality even more. Therefore L. jeans is targeting an audience that is growing constantly. L. jeans represent a perfect addition to Liberty’s product portfolio, extending the company’s values and vision to the jeans brand. According to the marketing plan all target customers will be reached through the advertisement campaign, which would be covered by selling eleven jeans a week in a six months period.

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Appendices

Bognar, F. (2009) ‘Focus Group’ Questionnaire Appendix 1 How many pairs of jeans do you have?

Amount Percentage of responses

< 4 0% 0 0-8 18% 2 8-12 45% 5 12-16 27% 3 > 16 9% 1

Appendix 2 Age Number

< 20 1

20-30 5 30-40 2 40-50 2 > 50 1

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Appendix 3 What is the average you spend on a shopping day?

Amount # of responses Percentage < € 50 0 0% € 50-100 3 27% € 100-150 2 18% € 150-200 3 27% € 200-250 1 9% > € 250 2 18%

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Appendix 4 FOCUS GROUP LIBERTY’S TARGET CUSTOMER Name - Age - Gender - Occupation - Buying Attitudes

FASHION

How important is fashion to you?

What do you do to keep up with fashion?

How often do you go shopping?

What is the average you spend on a shopping day?

JEANS

Do you like wearing jeans?

o Where and when do you buy jeans?

Which jeans brands do you like?

o Why?

What is important to you when you go buying jeans?

o What about the fit?

o The quality?

o The Price?

o Does it have to be fashionable?

Which considerations matter most?

When do you wear your jeans?

o To which occasions?

Do you have different jeans for different times?

o How many pair of jeans do you have?

How much would you spend for the ‚right pair‛ of jeans?

Would you spend more on a jean if you knew it was hand-made in England?

Would you spend more on good quality and uniqueness?

LIBERTY

Do you like Liberty/ what is your impression?

Would you purchase anything there?

Have you known the brand before?

Do you like the way they use their fabrics to create special items?

o Would you favor to buy something typically Liberty?

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L. IBERTY PREMIUM JEANS

What is your first impression about L.?

Does it appeal to you?

o If yes, in which way?

What do you like about the new brand?

o Have you noticed that it comes in all sizes (also lengths)?

o What do you think about the ‚twist‛?

Which USP’s (unique selling proposition) are most important to you?

o Why?

Would you buy a pair of L. jeans for 380, - pounds if it was customized for you?

Would you save up for a pair of your own?

Appendix 5

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Mintel (2009) Appendix 6 It’s all about the comfort

Shoppers were asked:

“If you were to buy a pair of denim jeans for yourself, which of the following do you consider

important? Choose all applicable answers?”

FIGURE 36: Things people look for in jeans, January 2007

Base: 2,000 respondents aged 16+

%

Fit/Comfort 64

Price 42

Quality of the fabric 27

Whatever flatters me the most 26

The cut 26

Traditional/classic style jeans 24

The colour 20

Whatever is a good bargain 18

Established jeans brand (Levi, Diesel) 17

High Street retailer brand eg River Island, Next 15

Supermarket brand eg George at Asda 11

Keeping up with the latest trends 10

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Lightweight denim 6

Designer brand (eg Armani, Louis Vuitton) 5

Celebrity jeans eg Rock & Republic (Victoria Beckham – guest designer) 1

I never wear denim jeans

8

Source: Ciao, Mintel 2009

Appendix 7

Comfort is key

Shoppers were then asked: “Still thinking about denim jeans, which of the following statements, if any do you agree with?”

FIGURE 40: Attitudes and motivations when buying jeans, January 2007 Base: 2,000 respondents aged 16+

%

A comfortable fit is more important than keeping up with the latest trend 56

Own label jeans are just as good quality as the branded ones 47

I wear different pairs of jeans for different occasions 28

Value for money is more important than the jeans styling 24

It is worth spending more on jeans as they are worn often 21

I feel attached to my jeans 21

I would never buy jeans for myself from a supermarket 14

I am quite choosy about the label of my jeans 12

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Bibliography

BRAD online available at: www.bradinsight.com ‘Out of Home, Transport, Rail & Underground’ http://www.bradinsight.com/brad/titlePage.asp?TitleID=1565 (Accessed: 2. December 2009) Jeans pictures available at: www.indidenim.com http://www.indidenim.com/blog/base/designvault (Accessed: 30.11.2009) Kitchings, K. (2007), ‘Lifestyle Monitor 2007 Denim Issue’, available at: www.cottoninc.com/lifestylemonitor (Accessed: 27. November 2009) Liberty fabric pictures available at: www.liberty.co.uk (Accessed: 02.11.2009) and www.google.com: Pictures- Liberty (Accessed: 10.11.2009) Mintel (2009) available at: http://academic.mintel.com/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=280626) (Accessed: 30. November 2009) Mintel (2007) ‘Jeans - UK- 2007’ available at: (http://academic.mintel.com/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=220121/display/id=273106#hit1) (Accessed: 22. November 2009) Mintel (2009), available at: http://academic.mintel.com/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=220121/display/id=273106/display/id=273114#atom2) (Accessed: 12. November 2009)

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Research and Markets (2007) ‘Global Market Review of the Denim and Jeanswear Industries- Forecasts to 2014’. Just-style Nov. 2007, Pages: 84. Available at: http://www.just-style.com/article.aspx?id=99156&lk=s (Accessed: 28.November 2009) Research and Markets (2009) ‘US Denim Jeans Market Report: 2009 Edition’, Koncept Analytics, Nov. 2009, Pages: 25, Available at: http://www.lexisnexis.com/uk/nexis/results/docview/docview.do?start=3&sort=BOOLEAN&format=GNBFI&risb=21_T8025949206) (Accessed: 19. November 2009) Research and Markets (2009) ‘US Denim Jeans Market Report: 2009 Edition’ Koncept Analytics, Nov. 2009, Pages: 25) available at: http://www.lexisnexis.com/uk/nexis/results/docview/docview.do?start=3&sort=BOOLEAN&format=GNBFI&risb=21_T8025949206) (Accessed: 1. December 2009) www.liberty.co.uk, ‘About Liberty’ available at: http://www.liberty.co.uk/fcp/content/AboutLiberty/content (Accessed: 27. October 2009) www.liberty.co.uk, website, ‘Liberty Plc’ available at: (http://www.liberty.co.uk/pws/images/investor/30June2009.pdf) (Accessed: 10. November 2009) Advertising campaign photos available at: www.google.com/ pictures Liberty Inside photos by Friderika Bognar (2009)