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MFM - I

!Subject : Fashion Merchandising

!Case Study : Adding Shoes to the closet

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Submitted To: Submitted By:

!Ms. Nethravathi T S

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MFM/14/40 Disha Sood

MFM/14/19 Shivani Ambikapathy

MFM/14/30 Shivam Taneja

MFM/14/188 Srishti Raut

Table Of Content

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Case Study 4

Case Background 5

Question 1 7

Question 2 10

Conclusion 12

Bibliography 13

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Case Study !!The store owners, Kirsten Matteo and Shelby Sheiner, have finally heard enough; they are going to do something about it. !Throughout the five years that they have owned My Secret Closet, their customers have repeatedly asked them why they do not carry shoes. The boutique features a beautiful selection of vintage-influenced women’s apparel, coordinating jewellery and hosiery, and a large collection of antique-looking hats and handbags. As the store’s merchandise assortment is unique with its old-fashioned twist on today’s fashions, it is difficult for their customers to locate footwear that harmonises with My Secret Closet’s apparel assortment. Kirstin and Shelby want to build their business. In fact, they are considering opening a second location in an adjacent city. And they have finally decided to add a shoe salon to their existing retail operation. If it succeeds, they intend to open the new store with a footwear department. There is one major obstacle facing them. Neither Shelby nor Kirsten have any experience with the wholesale shoe industry. They are unsure of how to locate footwear merchandise resources, when the shoe markets are scheduled, where these markets are located and whether or not the manufacturers require minimum purchases. Because their merchandise selection is unusual, Shelby and Kirstin assume that they will need to purchase a small number of styles from several vendors. They presume it is unlikely they will find a single shoe manufacturer that produces the range of styles that they will need to specifically co-ordinate with their vintage-influenced apparel lines. Shelby questions whether locating the type of footwear they prefer will be like finding a needle in a haystack. !Kirstin is concerned about integrating the shoe department within the store. Se knows that they need to determine the placement of the shoe salon and its related back stock in the boutique. They will have to purchase appropriate fixtures or have custom ones built. She recognises that there will be additional personnel requirements for staffing the new department. Additionally, Kirstin must create a plan to incorporate the shoe department into the store’s accounting procedures. Shelby and Kirstin have determined that they will add a shoe salon to the store, but they are uncertain about how to implement this expansion. !

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Case Background !Customers of ‘My Secret Closet’, a five year old boutique which has its focus on the niche market featuring beautiful selection of vintage-influenced women’s apparel, co-ordinating- jewelry and hosiery and a large collection of antique-looking hats and handbags have been pressing requirements for shoes. As the store’s merchandise assortment is unique with its old-fashioned twist on today’s fashions, it is difficult for the customers to locate footwear that harmonizes with My Secret Closet’s apparel assortment.

!The owners Kirstin Matteo and Shelby Sheiner have finally heard enough from their customers and now they’re going to do something about it as they want to build their business. So they have finally decided to add a shoe salon to their existing retail operation which if succeeds will pave its way to their new outlet which they are considering to open in an adjacent city with a focus to please their deep existing clientage.

Product line:

The Secret closet plans on expanding

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!Problems and implementations required –

Neither Shelby nor Kristin have any experience with the wholesale shoe industry. They have determined that they will add a shoe salon to the store, but they are uncertain about how to implement this expansion with respect to these aspects -

Industry related aspects:

• Location of footwear merchandise resources.

• The schedule and location of shoe markets.

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Vintage inspired designs

Apparel AccessoriesFoot wear!

(Plan to extend the merchandise to this line)

• Whether or not the manufacturers require minimum purchases.

• Both of them are unsure whether they will find a single shoe manufacturer that produces the range of styles that they will need to specifically coordinate with their vintage-influenced apparel lines.

Store related aspects:

• Integration of shoe department within the store, and its placement.

• The back stock related to their new department.

• Purchase appropriate fixtures or have custom ones built.

• Additional personnel requirements for staffing the new department.

• Incorporation of the shoe department into the store’s accounting procedures.

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Question 1 !If you were one of the owners of My secret Closet ,what plan would you implement to add the Merchandise classification of footwear to the store? !The current product line of My Secret closet includes Apparel wear and accessories with a Vintage

design which is the main theme of the boutique. As their collection is so unique and Niche in

nature , it would be a successful venture to start a Footwear merchandise in the boutique. As the

current set of their customers find it difficult to find the right pair of footwear which would match

the apparel purchase from the boutique as it is unique in is nature.

!As the case reveals the inhibitions which Shelby and Kristin have with regards to the starting a

Footwear merchandise line. As they have zilch experience within the Footwear fashion industry ,

they will face issues at various levels while creating the line for My Secret Closet. Hence, it makes

sense for Shelby and Kristin to employ a shoe merchandiser who can help them handle the various

responsibilities that come with adding a new line to a business and creating a merchandise plan.

!!Shelby and Kristin mainly need to hire a merchandiser due to these reasons:

!1) Neither Kristin nor Shelby have knowledge of the wholesale shoe industry

2) At the stage of sourcing the merchandise for the footwear line, they will require guidance to

know when the shoe markets are scheduled, where these markets are located and the minimum

purchases required for the same

3) They will also require assistance in understanding and locating a shoe manufacturer who could

fulfil their demand for the niche range of style that they plan on merchandising within their

store which is - vintage.

Therefore, in order to overcome the above obstacles it is imperative for them to employ a

merchandiser who specialises in footwear product line.

The role that the merchandiser would have to perform include:

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The role that the merchandiser would have to perform include:

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Fashion Forecasting

Design Development

Sample Planning

Product Specification

Merchandise Planning

Buying

!A. Fashion Forecasting: The merchandiser will understand the fashion concept of Vintage. Post

understanding concept and the store‘s Merchandising approach , will present a series of fashion

trends in footwear which replicate the Vintage design concept.

B. Design development: The merchandiser will make sure that the design development is

practical, suits the current trends and is also feasible to convert into the finished product. Design

development is mainly done on the requirement of number of lines and groups that are going to

be offered by the company for the particular season.

C. Sample development: The collection of Vintage design created by the designers, will be

presented to Kristin & Shelby. The designs which have good potential will be selected and

taken for sample development.

D. Product specification: The merchandiser will share information regarding the details of the

footwear which will be useful in setting the product specification for the particular shoe style. A

product specification will guide the production vendor in developing and planning their

merchandising and production plan and organising an effective and efficient production of the

merchandise.

E. Merchandising plan or policy: a fashion merchandising plan or policy is a long – range

standard for fashion buying and selling as well as for related activities like sales promotion. The

merchandiser will be pro-active and make sure that a merchandising plan is put in place several

months before the actual selling season.

F. Assortment planning: A merchandise assortment is a collection of various types, quantities

and price of related merchandise usually grouped under one classification within a department.

The merchandiser has to make sure that the assortment is kept in a manner that appeals to the

customers. The merchandiser will also organise the back end in a way that it is easy to

manoeuvre.

G. Buying: At this crucial stage , the merchandiser’s role will be of supervising the actual process

of manufacturing of the shoes and bringing them for the sales at the Secret Closet. A

Merchandisers responsibilities include both the buying and selling aspects of retailing.

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Question 2 What alternatives are available to Kristin and Shelby if they determine that opening the new shoe department on their own is not a good option? !Shelby and Kristin want to open a new shoe department. They focus on a very niche market of

vintage clothing and accessories. Their customers are finding it difficult to find shoes to match their

apparel. To fulfil the demand of this niche target market they are looking for a line extension by

introducing a new line of vintage shoes. But they are facing a major obstacle as they do not have

any experience with the wholesale shoe industry. If they think that opening the shoe department is

not a good option they can go for the following alternatives

Made-to-measure

This technique is used by companies to create products to the exact specifications requested by a

customer. Made-to-measure clothing was first created three decades ago as a hybrid style of suit

making that is a notch above ready-to-wear. Made-to-measure is made from a pattern which has

been standardized. Made to measure products are created with exclusivity and personalization in

mind. Nowadays, made to measure is used as technique for detailed specialization of customer taste

and preferences in the shoe industry as well. Even fashion houses like Christian Louboutin use this

Made to measure technique for its shoes.

Kristin and Shelby can use Made to measure technique for their vintage shoe line. They can order

for a shoe to be made only when the customer wants it according to their taste and preferences,

which they can do by simply outsourcing it from a footwear designer or a local vendor. The

customer's measurements can be first taken by them. Then the base pattern can be selected by the

vendor that most closely corresponds with the customer’s measurements. This base pattern is

altered to match the customer’s measurements. The shoe is constructed from this altered pattern.

Advantage of Made-to-Measure:

• Specialisation- The biggest advantage to a Made-to-Measure strategy is the specialization of

each product to meet the customer's expectations. A customer will order a product with certain

specifications, and the company will manufacture this product to meet the criteria.Kristin and

Shelby can focus on the niche market by specialising the shoes the customer wants to match their

apparel. Vintage clothing is a very niche market with specialised consumers. So Kristin and

Shelby can provide them with shoes specially made for each consumer to match their outfits. The

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product can be exclusive to each customer and they can have the opportunity to customize the

fabric and the detailing. The shoe can match unparalleled taste and style of each consumer. Here,

the customer has full control over the features and fit and Kinds of fabric used.

• No Extra Inventory- The Made-to-Measure strategy eliminates unnecessary inventory from an

employer's stockroom or shelves. Instead of an employer sitting on numerous products that don't

sell, the Made-to-Measure strategy only keeps inventory specifically ordered by a customer. The

employer does not have to worry about losing money due to unsold items. It also gives

employers the ability to offer new customizations and products without having to worry about

selling old inventory.An advantage to Kristin and Shelby will be that they would not have to keep

any inventory if they want to add a shoe department. With Made to measure they don’t have to

focus on SKU’s. This will reduce their storage cost and also save them the trouble of maintaining

the stock. Also they don’t have to extend the store or add a shoe rack in the store. With made to

measure they don’t have to worry about losing money due to the products unsold. they don’t

have to worry about whether the product is selling or not. They can focus on other things like

providing better customer service.

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Conclusion !!Expansion of a merchandise line is one of the toughest decisions to make , in the apparel industry

which is ever changing. But in this case study it is wise of risen and Shelby to move towards this

direction of expansion as it will help them take their business to another level , while pleasing their

urgent set of consumers. They will also benefit from adding a new line of products as they will

expand their target market & business opportunities.

!The most effective and budget suitable approach as mentioned is to hire a Merchandiser who

understands the Footwear market , and assists them in implementing their expansion plan in a

strategic manner. At the same time the Made to measure approach is a cost effective solution which

helps them and their customers in fulfilling their needs.

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Bibliography !!• http://www.artipot.com/articles/387377/importance-of-fashion-merchandising-jobs.htm • http://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/36/3516/merchandising-in-an-apparel-

industry1.asp • Case Studies in Merchandising Apparel and Soft Goods Paperback – by Michele M. Granger • https://www.teachervision.com/measurement/resource/52437.html

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