Inside this edition of A/W 15

With now over 60 years of fashion retail experience, RiverIsland is one of the most successful and growing stores on the

highstreet.River island has always been kniwn for their stylish, fashionforward yet afforable fashion and their uniquness helps themstand out from other stores on the highstreet. Our customers

love us for our great going-out looks, amazing denim and fabulousshoes and bags. we are the perfect store for our customers

to put a whole look together from head to toe.At River Island we strive to bring new and original fashion toour customers really focusing on design and current trends.

Almost everything is designed in house with one of the largestdesign teams on the highstreet.

River Island has roots in the bomb sites of post-war London andhas expanded and developed dramatically since then. With celebrities

like rihanna and stores all over the world, the companyseem to be writing their iwn sucess story. River Island is already

filmly established across Europe and Asia.Born as a tiny east london wool shop in 1948, River Ilsandstarted out as an independent clothing chain across the uk

called Lewis Seperates- which later morphed into sixties highstreet hit Chelsea Girl, selling poppy fashion to teeny-bopperswho would congregate on the Kings Road. It acquired its current

name in the early ninties.“Our customers want fashion with anadded twist, thats exactly what we

do” - Farida Kaikobad (Brand Director)

About

* About River Island * Concept banner* About the concept* Customer Profile * Pest Analysis * Swot Analysis * Comp Shop Research* Mood board * Colour Inspiration* Fabric Inspiration* Range * Outfit Build* Product Development * Price architecture * Colour Percentages* Advertisement* Social Media* Website design* Packaging * Marketing Strategy* Distribution strategy * #imwearingRI* Sourcing strategy* KPI’s* Critical path* Line detail* Costing * Final evaluation

The concept Our idea to upgrade the menswear department for River Island was to create a premium priced col-lection for the menswear custom-er. River Island X would offer the customer better quality and more fashion forward garments at a slightly higher, more premium price and would therefore live up to the ‘designer brand of the high street’ reputation the company prides itself on.

After researching into competitors and actions of other retailers we discovered that the menswear de-partment for the brand were not embracing the new found buzz and attention of which Menswear was creating as well as competitors such as Topman who were beginning to get creative and take risks with their products offering dif-ferent silhouettes, shapes, col-ours and prints. We feel River Island is not taking advantage of this and is remaining safe, only providing customers with a higher proportion of core items. River Island X would compete with com-petitors who have also created a premium collection like Topman with Topman Limited, only River Island X would regularly collab-orate with some of the biggest designers and key celebrities in terms of fashion to create a buzz about the brand. In order to get things started and create massive attention to this new concept we decided that a collaboration with Kanye West would be the perfect opportunity to be able to create a quality range of key on trend items endorsed by one of the big-gest celebrities, musicians and key person in terms of men’s fash-ion at this time. The first cap-

sule collection will experiment with higher priced fabrics like neoprene and nano weights which are predicted to be huge for the upcoming seasons according to WGSN and have also been used in similar capsule collections, like the H&M x Alexander Wang col-lection of which Neoprene (Scuba) material was used widely.

Kanye West is the best ambassador for a project like this as he has recently premiered his first collec-tion with a brand, Adidas, which has been very successful. It has earned massive media and consumer attention and we believe that for him to do a similar range at River Island would be perfect to attract a newer cus-tomer as well as excite the existing River Island ‘Guy’.

Although it is risky as The RIH-ver Island collection with Rihanna did not become as successful as was planned, we have enough evidence to further the success of this collabo-ration. Although the Kanye collabo-ration is better off as a ‘one off’ collection by keeping the premium range available means that River Island can keep this open to newer collaborations with up and coming designers (like it previously has) or other huge celebrities or de-signers to maintain a buzz about the brand, whilst also keeping people interested in what’s next.

So in detail, here is what the first River Island X capsule collection will look like with all the research and statistics we have gathered in order to be able to say we believe it will be successful. This is River Island X Kanye West!

Customer Profile Age: 13-30

Gender: Male

Sizing: XXS -XXL (cottons), 24W- 38W (trousers), 34-48 (suit jack-ets), 5-12 (shoes)

Lifestyle: Educated/working indi-vidual who lives in suburbs. Likes to socialise at clubs/bars, res-taurants and in town. Up to date with innovations in technology receiving news from social media apps such as Facebook and Insta-gram pages. Reads ‘Lad’s Mags’ and watches TV regularly, mainly foot-ball and comedy/reality shows. Up to date with pop culture and fol-lows current social trends.

Social Economic

-Marital Status: Mainly single or dating.

-Shopping/Fashion needs: Chooses trend before price. Is a fashion forward individual who likes to be a trend-setter. Shop as and when they have money normally around a 2-3 times a month. Invest in quality products. Willing to pay a higher price for a more premium product.

-Occupation: Student/Working

-Interests: High fashion, drinks, pop culture, friends, TV, music, cinema, cars, technology, social media and girls.

Other Brands They Shop: Topman, Zara, Bank, Asos and other inde-pendent brands such as; Addidas, True Religion, Diesel, Stussy, Criminal Damage, HUF, Ragged

Priest, Bape, Just Hype.

Summary

We are targeting young fash-ion forward men, who aspire to shop within the Designer brand group. They have a keen inter-est in what’s going on in terms of trends within fashion and culture, and like to know who is wearing and doing what. As they may have a limited fund especially at the lower end of the target age range (18-21), they would rather spend their hard earned money on a high-er quality premium product. The majority of this customer base are keen to take risks which previously are not offered but as loyal customers have stayed with and embraced the brand as is. This collaboration will not only be suited for the existing River Island customer but will also enable them to experiment with newer shapes and key prod-ucts which they haven’t had ac-cess to before. This will also attract a newer River Island customer.

Pest Analysis Political:• Manufacturing in the UK has provided shorter lead times, and cheaper man-ufacturing which also means a change in how quick we can turnover. • Under the coalition government the VAT rate rose from 17.5% to 20%. This had a large impact on retailers such as River Island.• River Island like any business in the UK is subject to government policy and must therefore comply with the law.• Election of government is subject to change and this will mean that River Island may have to adapt its policies to accommodate to new legislations

Economic:• Changes in the economy, such as the recession in 2008/2009, can have an adverse affect on the retail industry.•• As a result of the recession, people had less disposable income to pur-chase River Island goods. • But as the economy has started to improve, there is a forecasted 3.2% growth for the British market.• House prices have risen in the UK, so the target market may not be so keen in spending money in the retail industry.

Social:• With a changing society comes a constant change in fashion trends and tastes.• The advancement of technology in society and the use of the Internet have enabled the world to shop online.• Based on River Island current target markets it would be essential to maintain the website and keep up to date with any social media.•• Men are starting to ‘peacock’ more in the UK and the menswear market in fashion is increasing. RTW shows are also more fashion forward at the men’s shows.

Technological:• With the development of computers and computing software, retailers such as River Island have been able to design and produce their products cheaper and more efficiently. •• River Island is very advanced in the use of social media with Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pintrest accounts.• River Island is beginning trials in RFID technology to improve stock availability data. And improve accuracy of data all across the supply chain, and also increase sales by being able to effectively get these prod-ucts to their consumer. • Due to major advancements in shipping and transportation, River Island is able to distribute its products worldwide.

SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths:• High quality fashion products that meets customers expectation• Online services, next day delivery and click and collect all available, this increases revenue and brand loyalty. • Website is well designed and attractive to use.• Social media services which includes the River Island app•• Offers a wide range of products to meet our customer needs es-pecialy with the increase in the men’s fashion market. • Beginning to take risks with new silhouettes and shapes.• Exceptional quality in departments such as footwear and denim• Stores worldwide and easy to get to• Reasonably priced

Weaknesses:• The ranges aren’t as fashion forward than competi-tors• Ranges and products are not turned over as quickly as competitors such as Zara whose turnover is every 2 weeks. As fast fashion increases we should be adapting to this change in the market. • Menswear is yet to do a collaboration, this can attract new customers with a more fashion forward and commercial range. •• Models not used on the website which makes it dif-ficult to see what it is they are investing in

Opportunities • Technology will improve the quality of stock availa-ble• Technology to improve the lead times, which could make us a fast fashion retailer. • Aging population, higher amounts of the grey pound, should help the range be targeted at the older male. Could increase sales and make us a loss leader by en-tering a new market before competitors.• Younger generation also becoming more interested in fashion forward products, and a collaboration with a popular celebrity may help bring sales up.• Men ‘peacocking’ we could invest in an edgier range. • Due to more and more social media websites out there, just keeping up to date and make sure we are connected and getting the stock seen online.

Threats• ISIS threats can create fear within the UK, shoppers are more cautious of where they are going to shop, sales might fall as people change the way in which they shop. • Bad economy •• Mature markets are competitive. For River Island to grow in a mature market, it has to increase market share, which is difficult and expensive.

Comp Shops(research)

Denim- whats already out

there

Colour Inspiration

Fabric Inspiration

Entry Price - £18 (Accessory)Mid Price - £38 (T-Shirt’s)

Exit Price - £90 (Outerwear)

Tapered Jean - 98% Cotton 2% ElastaneCOO:Turkey£50

Panelled Jogger 100% Cotton COO:Turkey£35

Black Destroyed Skinny Fit Jean – 98% Cotton 2% Elastane COO:Turkey£40

Silver Printed T-Shirt 98% Neoprene2% Polyester, COO: China£35

Print T-Shirt 100% Cotton COO:Mauritius£25

Sport Luxe Hooded Sweatshirt 100% Cotton COO:Mauritius£38

Khaki Panel Sweatshirt 100% Cotton COO:Mauritius£38

Waterproof Mac 61% Cotton 39% Nylon COO:Mauritius £80

Reflective Padded Coat100% scotchlite COO: Mauritius£90

Black Biker Boot 100% Leather, COO: China£70

Mesh Panel Baseball Cap 95% Neoprene 5% Polyester, COO: China£25

Logo Sunglasses 100% PlasticCOO: China£18

Black Snood – 100% Acrylic COO: China£20

Bucket Hat 100% LeatherCOO: China£20

Leather Duffel Bag 100% Leather, COO:China£45

Sport Trainer 50% Leather 50%Neoprene, COO: China£45

Khaki Print Sleeve T-Shirt 100% Cotton COO:Mauritius£28

Bomber Jacket 100% Nylon COO:China£55

Baseball Top 100% NeopreneCOO:China £40

Tunic Shirt 100% Cotton COO:Mauritius £35

Outfit Build

Product Development BOMBER JACKET £18

Price Architecture£90

Entry Price - £18 (Accessory)Mid Price - £38

(T-Shirt’s)Exit Price -

£90 (Outerwear)

Advertisement

London Buses

Tube Stations

For this exclusive capsual collection we would aim to have a lot of ad-vertisement around all the major citys we will sending the product too. Bus an product too. Bus an tube adverts would be two of our key ways in which we could adverise for this exciting new collection.

Both these methods we hope would be effective to get people excited about the new col-lection and help create a river island buzz island buzz within those citys.

Social MediaSocial Media will also be another massive tool to promote and get people excited for this collab.

Instagram is a brilInstagram is a bril-liant tool for River Island to advertise and see how many people are taking interest in their posts by the number of likes they get.get.

Kanye West is not only a world famous Hip Hop artist but also a suc-cessful high fashion designer. With over 11 million followers on twitter he has the per-fect platform to pro-mote his collaboration with River Island.

Website DesignPackaging

Marketing StrategiesProduct: River Island offers different divisions of Product: River Island offers different divisions of

clothing (Womenswear, Menswear, Childrenswear, Footwear and Accessories). The Menswear Department offer a wide range of products including; cottons, formal cottons, knitwear, denim, footwear, suits (often referred to as mixers), outerwear and accessories. It excels in the

quality of the product and offers a wide range of fashion forward garments which are affordable. A bonus to River forward garments which are affordable. A bonus to River Island men’s is they also offer the smart aspect of fash-

ion such as, suits and smart shoes.

After purchase, products are folded and put into branded carrier bags to provide the consumer a better customer

experience. Our products are high quality and if the cus-tomer is not satisfied with the products after purchase we offer a 30 day returns policy allowing them a full

refund if need be.

Promotion: River Island use social media to evolve the company. Having an Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest ac-count allows them to showcase and promote their latest products online, as well as having a direct online web-

site. We believe this is where our target market is situ-ation. We advertise new ranges providing to showcase the new styles, which makes it easier for our customer to keep up with the new trends. We also issue a ‘Style In-sider’ magazine, which is available in store. We pride

ourselves by appearing and offering discount in magazines such as Elle and use billboards and small boards outside

of store to promote our brand and image.

Place: As stated above, products are available to custom-ers online as well as in store. You can also buy River Island’s product in other stores such as Selfridges and online such as Asos. Most of River Island’s outlets are

localised in inner cities, however they also have outlets in suburban areas.

Price: The River Island product is always priced to the nearest pound. e.g a men’s t-shirt = £18.00 as opposed to other retailers who offer a similar product at £17.99.

Distribution Strategy The River Island range is available online as well as in The River Island range is available online as well as in

stores, but these stores will be flagship stores only. The flagship stores include: Oxford Street 213 & 301, White City Westfield, Blue Water, Birmingham Bullring, Brent

Cross, Cardiff, Cardiff St Davids, Dudley Merryhill, Gate-shead, Glasgow Argyle Street, Glasgow Braehead, Leeds

Trinity, Leeds White Rose, Leicester Fosse Park, Liverpool Church Street, Manchester Arndale, Manchester Trafford Church Street, Manchester Arndale, Manchester Trafford Park, Marble Arch Park House, Milton Keynes, MK1 Fashion Park, Newcastle, Nottingham Listergate, Sheffield Meadow-hall, Stratford, Thurrock, Watford. The main places we

intend to distribute this too include large cities in the UK, like London, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield and into shopping centres across the UK and Ireland. These stores have been chosen as they are classified as ‘Superstores’ stocking everything from womenswear to menswear, kids,

Chelsea girl and Holloway road, so adding our River Island X collection into these stores will provide the customer

with everything they expect from these stores.The range is going to be distributed to some of these

flagship stores as it is an exclusive range and we want to keep it limited. However in the smaller stores and conces-

sions such as Asos, we will maintain promotion of the range recommending the customer to either visit one of

these stores or shop online. And as we provide click and collect this will allow the customer to shop online but collect the product on their schedule also enabling them collect the product on their schedule also enabling them to order this product in from a store that does not stock this to be collected from any store or to their own home.River Island also provide international stores throughout Asia, the Middle East, Ireland and Europe. We will also

distribute some of the range to the main flagship interna-tional stores. The website also operates in four curren-cies ensuring the range is widely accessible to River

Island customers across the globe.Each store will have access to sell either the whole range

or a few garments from the range in small quantities making it extremely exclusive. Flagship stores like Oxford Street and Stratford will be the kinds of stores to have the whole range as they are the biggest money makers and

draw the highest footfall.

China

Mauritius

Turkey

Sourcing Strategy

Turkey

We have selected Turkey as the country to source are denim garments from. Turkey are specialist and known for their quali-ty in Denim produc-tion. We are also using them as they are a short lead time and allow us more time for designing the jeans. We will be going direct to turkey and not using a Agent to not using a Agent to help with designing as we have our own design team. This will also save us costs by not paying a percentage for a agent. By using turkey we can make turkey we can make sure that the jeans are the best quality and on trend to help are range come togeth-er and have a high end look.

Pro’s and Con’s

Pro’s:*Shorter time differ-ence*Experts in certain materials*Shorter lead time

Cons’s:*Language difference/ communication issues*Religious holidays*Current events in Syria

We will be using sup-pliers in Mauritius to product are sweat gar-ments which will in-clude a lot of cotton and polyester materi-als. We will being going direct with the suppliers and not using a agent to help with designs. Mauritius have state of the art facto-ries and will be able to produce the shapes and styles we require in this range, they also have high quality produce which is what we want are range to resemble. Although we will be paying more as we have to Freight the we have to Freight the items over due to the large shipping boats not stopping at the tiny Island. Although are goods will arrive quicker they will be slightly more expensive slightly more expensive to get to the DC.

Mauritius

Pro’s and Con’sPro’s:*Advance and newly built factories*High quality prod-ucts

Con’s:*Only transports is freight due to ex-cluded small island*Language barrier/ communication issues*Religious Holidays*Time difference

China

We are sourcing are acces-sories products and new up-coming fabrics from China. China are good suppliers for new materials as they are fashion forward hence the long lead times. A material which has recently come onto the fashion scene is Neoprene which we are incorporating into are range. We will be going direct to China suppliers and not using an Agent as we have are own designers. we have are own designers. Although the lead time will be longer we want to make sure are fabrics are 100% up to scratch so we want to use a reliable COO which is able to deal with unfamil-iar fabrics without prob-lems. A lot of are accesso-ries are also going to be produced in China. These are also thing China are renowned for producing.

Pro’s and Con’sPro’s:*Adapt to trends fast*New materials and fabrics can be sourced *Cheaper to produce

Con’s:*Religious Holidays*Religious Holidays*Time difference*Language barrier*Long lead time

KPI`s1) On time delivery be-cause Jeans have such a

high demand 2) Quality because River Island have a reputation to uphold and their tops are known for being good

quality yet affordable and fashion forward.

3) compliance with codes 3) compliance with codes of conduct/ethical stance because River Island is a huge world-known retailer who cannot be to condone

unethical processes.   

Critical Path

Line Detail

Costing

We are aiming for a margin of 71%

EvaluationTo conclude the overall concept for this project was to recreate an increasing inTo conclude the overall concept for this project was to recreate an increasing in-terest into the River Island Menswear department by creating a premium range that

helped boost the brands image and maintain the ‘designer on the high street’ label. By also using a launch collaboration with one of the most influential men

in menswear fashion at the moment, a huge buzz and massive media attention will be drawn to this new range of products and help to make a wider range of consumer

aware in this premium range. As this will be a one off collaboration with Kanye, purely because he is a controversial character who says and does silly things that purely because he is a controversial character who says and does silly things that may affect how the customer perceives the range, it also enables the brand to keep the premium range dedicated to collaborating with the latest celebrities, up and coming and already established designers. This will keep the menswear reputation current and the customer base will always be interested in what they can expect

from the company after each collaboration is done, keeping the brand relevant and competitive.

The range we have presented is a higher priced, higher quality River Island prod-uct that is priced slightly lower than the Womenswear Rihanna for River Island

range as this seemed to struggle in sales due to the pricing. River Island X has the competitive edge over its main competition of Topman Limited as it offers

better shapes, silhouettes and key items for the season in better and more innova-tive fabrics such as neoprene, at a lower and more competitive prices. As the

River Island menswear department does lack a little fashion forwardness and competitiveness River Island X would be the perfect opportunity to revive and refresh

itself as a brand.As we have seen an increase and rapid growth in the sportswear market, we plan to use this in our advantage to play around with sports shapes and fabrics. River

Island has already embraced the sportswear market releasing a range of lightweight sports trainers, however River Island X intends to take this further for the River Island customer who is more daring and willing to embrace this sportswear look. The key innovative fabrics we are using will be perfect for this intention and price range and will therefore make the customer feel the product is worth the

extra money purely because the products are of better quality and look more premiextra money purely because the products are of better quality and look more premi-um.

We believe this idea is the perfect way in which River Island can help to upgrade its menswear department, and to ensure the success of this collaborating with

Kanye West would be the perfect way in which to do so combining the pre-existing customer base with the fan base of Kanye, generating a huge media buzz and media attention will help in the success of this ensuring that the range is known about

worldwide!

Ben Scanlon, Monica Federici, Georgia Collins, Beth Tutin, Harriet Strauss