Alexander McQueen - Retail Strategy

THE LUXURY FASHION MARKET

1.1 Luxury Fashion

The luxury fashion industry is one of the fastest growing industries, with a successful performance rate. After the 19th Century the new logic of luxury was represented through haute couture, with luxury becoming a predominantly creative industry (Cabigiosu, 2020). Luxury was synonymous with haute couture through the 19th and 20th century. The luxury industry we see today has many layers with the exclusiveness still remaining strong but paired with the need for innovation. Luxury has become more accessible for many consumers, but the real shift is the way that consumers define new luxury, which is that it is seen as an experience or feeling (Cabigiosu, 2020)

1.2 The Luxury Fashion Market in the UK

The luxury market has thrived in recent years and evolved significantly due to new technology and the rapid increase of the internet, this has meant that the barrier of entry into the luxury industry has decreased (Ryding , et al., 2016). In 2019 the UK luxury market was worth £46.1bn, and in 2020 was estimated to grow by 3.5% to £47.7bn (Dirvanauskas, 2020). After two turbulent years navigating through a global pandemic, the luxury fashion industry is surprisingly doing better than ever and the market in the UK is set to see a 3-8% growth in 2023 (McKinsey & Company , 2022). The looming economic downturn the UK is set to see will be reflected in consumers shopping habits, as they are predicted to have less disposable income. The shopping habits of low and high-income consumers are going to be significantly different, with high income consumers, who shop at luxury brands, more likely to continue spending as the they will be isolated from the impact of the economic decrease (McKinsey & Company, 2022).

Generation Z consumers are savvy when it comes to fashion, they are more conscious about their purchasing habits and the impact they are going to have on the environment. It is forecast that Gen Z and Millennial consumers will make up more than 60% of the luxury market by 2026 (McCormich & Ram, 2022). Post millennial consumers are a key target for luxury brands, the perception of luxury is represented through a somewhat virtual community, rather than who is wearing it (Batat, 2019). Gen Z crave experiences rather than the actual product or service, they are omnichannel swappers and do not tend to stay loyal to just one brand, they explore and compare luxury products, and strive to become an expert in what they are buying (Batat, 2019). They expect an enjoyable purchase experience within a strong experiential setting, whether this is online or in-store (Batat, 2019).

For Generation Z the shopping experience is seen as a collective experience and is only seen as effective if it extends beyond the place of consumption, this is seen as social shopping, which is favoured by the Gen Z consumer, interactive displays and elements when they are shopping are more likely to improve their overall shopping experience (Batat, 2019).

Focusing on consumer loyalty and retaining customers is going to be key for luxury brands in the future, as it is too easy for consumers to switch between brands.

1.4 McQueen’s Key Competitors

There is a significant lack of brand loyalty in the luxury market. Gen Z has a plethora of brands to choose from when it comes to deciding where they want to shop in the luxury segment.

McQueen sits in the market at a mid-point, with some of its key competitors being owned by the same parent company, Kering. Its key competitors and where they are placed in relation to McQueen can be seen in Figure 1, a perceptual map of the luxury market.

Gucci, one of McQueen’s competitors, (also owned by Kering), seem to get it right when they focus on targeting the Gen Z market. They made a leap into the digital space by creating a concept store ‘Gucci Vault’, curated by Alessandro Michele, it included a careful selection of vintage Gucci pieces, with the goal of educating the new Web3 community on Gucci and their heritage through gamification (Moore, 2022). The brand also has notable collaborations with celebrities that resonate with the Gen Z market, like its recent collaboration with music superstar Harry Styles. This collaboration took social media by storm and created a large hype around the brand, it allowed for strengthened relationships with its consumer.

From new technology taking over the fashion industry to revisiting brands legacies. Multiple brands are curating retrospectives to allow consumers an insight into its heritage and history. The Met Museum are dedicating their major spring exhibition to Karl Lagerfeld, showcasing his creative genius. Another example of where a fashion house has created an experience for its consumer is the Dior Museum in Paris, La Galerie Dior. This museum has a scenic narrative and showcases archived looks, accessories, and documents, and embodies the brand history and Parisian Haute Couture. This experience allows for consumers to visit and see the story of such a renowned brand, creating a more personal experience. Dior also had the ‘Designer of Dreams’ exhibition which has been on tour to the major fashion capitals, such as London and New York, and very recently was just opened in Tokyo. Suggesting how if the concept is successful, it can be roled out to new markets. This key aspect of storytelling needs to be incorporated into the proposed innovation for Alexander McQueen.

There was a retrospective of McQueen’s work, at the V&A museum in 2015 titled ‘Savage Beauties’ with more than 493,000 people visiting (Sutherland, 2020). Showing the true consumers have for the brand. These experiences that luxury fashion houses can create for consumers suggest that consumers are after a full experience when they are shopping and not just the product

MAP

ALEXANDER McQUEEN

@Alexander McQueen

2.1 The Rise of McQueen

Alexander McQueen and his brand were the epitome of British fashion when in its prime. A man who came from humble beginnings, leaving school with just two qualifications and taking a job on Saville Row to train as a tailor (1984-7), who then turned into one of the worlds most renowned fashion designers (Polan & Tredre, 2020). His work reflected historic garments and featured tailored construction throughout. Seen as a fashion disruptor in the industry, his work was not always welcomed by the public (English & Munroe, 2022). His graduate show in the 1990’s inspired by Jack the Ripper, which inevitably lead him to meet his mentor Isabella Blow, was a turning point for McQueen (Anderson, 2021). In 1996 McQueen started his role as head designer at Givenchy, a pivotal position which he stayed in until 2001 (Anderson, 2021).

With McQueen being seen as a fashion disruptor, and his earlier runways highlighting this, they were not always well received, especially from a female audience. Featured are some of his key runways, when he was in the peak of his career, these will play a vital role in the proposed concept.

SPRING/SUMMER 1995

This collection paid homage to Hitchcock’s 1963 thriller. Bird prints appeared throughout the show combined with intricate details and corsetry. After birds, the secondary theme was roadkill, hence why McQueen chose to interpret this theme through tyre marks on the clothes, he asked his long-time friend Simon Ungless to design a tyre track print (Thomas , 2015). The renowned bird print is still used in ready-to-wear collections today, highlighting its significance.

AUTUMN/WINTER 1995

This collection was not received well. McQueen used his family’s Scottish tartan which was mixed with leather to create ripped up items of clothing, this was paired with the models that had makeup insinuating that they had been attacked (English & Munroe, 2022). After facing backlash McQueen insisted that the title was actually in relation to the ‘rape’ of the Scottish Highlands by the English who took over the land for many years (English & Munroe, 2022).

SPRING 1999

This collection seemed somewhat lighter that other work McQueen has presented. The runway featured two robotic arms which only came to life at the end of the show, when Shalom Harlow appeared in a strapless dress, she spun on a circular platform and the robots then sprayed her with paint, to what appeared to be a carefully choreographed routine. It was described as performance art, something which was seen rarely on the runway at the time. It will remain culturally significant in the fashion industry.

AUTUMN 2006

This runway featured a digital element that was well ahead of its time, a state-of-the-art hologram that appeared from nowhere and spun in the air. It formed slowly into the shape of a women, wearing an elegant white gown, which was revealed to be Kate Moss, the hologram was there for a mere few seconds, before it dissipated (Mower, 2006). The combined workmanship of the clothes and the performance art reinforced the true creative genius of McQueen.

@Vogue Runway @Vogue Runway

@Vogue Runway @Vogue Runway

@Vogue Runway @Vogue Runway

@Vogue Runway @Vogue Runway

2.2 The Death of Lee Alexander McQueen and What Came Next...

Lee Alexander McQueen’s death came as a shock to not only the UK but globally. His suicide in 2010 came after severe anxiety, depression, and addiction due to extreme stress, which is not unheard of in the global luxury fashion industry (Thomas, 2020). Following his tragic death, his long-time colleague and friend, Sarah Burton, was tasked with continuing the designer’s immense legacy. She had worked with McQueen for 14 years, so when taking over the at the helm of the brand she quietly and subtly shifted the aesthetic whilst trying to uphold the iconic name and brand image (Business Of Fashion, n.d.). Her long-standing history with the brand meant that she was entirely suitable for the role. Today the house tries to remain synonymous with modern British culture. The understanding of British history are key inspirations for the house, Burton tries to celebrate values of English tradition through rural heritage and a sense of community, whilst creating a juxtaposition between both feminine and masculine elements (Kering, n.d.).

@Alexander McQueen

2.3 Currently at McQueen

In early October 2022 Sarah Burton showed her latest collection for Alexander McQueen, in a huge bubble dome in Greenwich. The collection somewhat put the brand back on the fashion map and paid homage to the late designer. It was a body centric and a clean tailored collection (Bromley, 2022). The dome was designed by Smiljan Radic, who is the architect behind the flagship store in London. The runway show featured high profile models, wearing clothes which Burton herself referred to as being ‘designed to empower and stripped back to focus on cut silhouette’ (Chitrakorn, 2022).

In 2021 the division which Alexander McQueen sits in at Kering, which also includes Balenciaga, generated €3.26 billion in sales. Suggesting that the brand is still continuing to grow at a steady rate, in an unpredictable market. This is shown in Figure 2, which is FY21 revenue for other houses at Kering.

In luxury fashion there is key emphasis on the need for brands to reinforce its heritage as it incorporates an element of authenticity (Cabigiosu, 2020). Since Sarah Burton became creative director at McQueen it could be argued that the brand lost its sense of heritage, there has not been as many memorable moments since she took over, so this poses the question of whether the sense of brand identity has been lost. Brand identity is a critical distinctive feature for luxury brands and that the aspect of fashion needs to pair with brand values (Cabigiosu, 2020). The rebranding process which has been seen in so many of the iconic luxury fashion houses over the years has been driven by the rise of young and talented designers and raises the question of whether the brand or the designer comes first. This blurring of lines is what has appeared to happen at McQueen, his legacy seems to have dissipated over the years. To maintain this new type of consumers, luxury brands, like McQueen, need to tell a story to its consumer, and constantly reinforce the brand heritage, not only through the products they are selling, but also through the incorporation of new technology, to create one-of-a-kind experiences.

@Alexander McQueen

@Alexander McQueen

@Alexander McQueen

THE INNOVATION

3.1 Gap in The Market

Gen Z luxury consumers are chasing the need for an experience when they are shopping, not just products. Many luxury brands are tapping into this and creating fully immersive experiences combining digital and physical elements. Gen Z consumers are considered the future of luxury with a high spending power but minimal brand loyalty (Nanda, 2020).

Gen Z are seen as the future of luxury, in this post pandemic society the need for interactions and experiences are taking over, as it has been lacking in the past two years. There is a key gap in the market for new innovations, which luxury brands are tapping into. New technology is being incorporated into innovations, in 2021 40% of sales were expected to be digital (Balchandani & Berg , 2021). For new ideas proposed by brands, there needs to be a seamless transition between bricks and mortar stores and the online presence, as this is what the new wave of Gen Z luxury consumers want.

3.2 The Innovation

The innovation proposed for McQueen is based off the concept of a flagship store, a flagship store becomes a home for the brand, it allows for a showcase of products and encourages new spending among the consumers (Moore , et al., 2010). For the McQueen to encourage that new level of spending with Gen Z consumers, it needs to reevoke a better level of interaction, especially Gen Z who have high spending power. The combination of these elements with a fully immersive experience for the consumer will enhance brand awareness and hopefully regain brand loyalty. The retail space will be a large-scale flagship store different to anything the brand has done before. McQueen currently have a flagship store in London, that space will remain open, as that is purely a retail space. The new space will be a full retail experience, with the chance for consumers to shop the brand but also experience multiple interactive elements, combined with a large-scale archival feature. It will be located on Saville Row to reaffirm the brand heritage and take it back to its roots, as this is where Lee Alexander McQueen first started his career. The ideal space will have multiple floors, allowing for each floor to tell a different part of McQueen’s story.

When you first walk into the space, you are going to start at the beginning of Lee Alexander McQueen’s story, with key archived pieces of his early work. This part of the experience will feature a timeline of his career, up until his death, then which direction the brand has gone after his passing. There will be a feature from McQueen’s early mentor Isabella Blow, with a hologram of her discussing memoirs.

As you make your way through to the second floor, this is where his work from the 90’s will be showcased in an archived style, at this period of McQueen’s life he had developed a name and strong brand that was known for bringing the shock factor. There will be clips playing from each runway performance that will be projected onto the walls, featuring key information and history behind ‘the why’ of each runway. A key digital element will be sound bites of McQueen himself speaking about the collections and other friends and industry specialists talking about his legacy, allowing for a more immersive experience and incorporating elements of a retrospective. As you walk through you will be able to experience different digital elements, where you can scan QR codes that are strategical placed, which will take you to a specially curated app, where you can access unseen content and shop items from a one-off collection designed and inspired by McQueen’s early work in the late 90’s and early 2000’s.

At different points of the store consumers will also be able to digitally try on archived items of clothing that are not available for sale. On the final floor there will be a showroom with some of the most popular items from over the years and the new limited-edition collection, all available to buy, featuring clothing, accessories, and handbags. If the consumer purchases an item, they automatically receive an invite to a special auction, where archived items will be sold. All the proceeds will go to his foundation which he set up, Sarabande, which offers support to creatives in the industry, through offering scholarships to top institutions in London, a studio space scheme with exclusive mentoring and a public programme for wider creatives in the industry. This will help to push the heritage of the brand and reinforce the influence McQueen continues to have in the industry.

SWOT ANALYSIS S W O T

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSESS OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

- Builds brand loyalty among consumers.

- Allows for strong brand recognition.

- Pays tribute to McQueen and his work, reminding consumers of his legacy.

- Multiple opportunites for technology to be intergrated.

- Expensive to create.

- Have to consider the time-frame of how long to keep the experience opne for.

- Large scale marketing opportunity.

- Can be developed in a global market

- Raise money for charity.

-Strong retail strategy that can increase revenue.

- Other brands could create similar experiences.

-Economic downturn means consumers may visit the experience, but not actually spend large amounts of money.

3.3 The Store

The retail space, or the ‘servicescape’ is important, it essentially refers to the design of the building, the layout, the décor, anything that the consumer and even the employees can see, as the surroundings influence all parties (Bitner, 1992). Store atmospherics are important and allow the brand to step away from what is deemed as the norms of retailing, overall creating a more immersive and interactive experience for the consumer, significant outcomes of this mean customer enjoyment and higher levels of spending. McQueen need to create this well-rounded experience for this to happen.

The store design will be clean and minimal with pops of colour. The lighting will be darker to create ambience and there will be spotlights on certain archived pieces to highlight their significance. The store experience on the top level will take inspiration from an old-style tailor shop, highlighting where McQueen first started out. This constant reinforcement of the brand history is important, as it resonates to the consumer and creates and emotional connection.

The top level will feature interactive fitting rooms, where consumers can try on the clothes virtually and they can be altered to their specific measurements, when they are finished shopping, they scan a QR code, and the clothes are ready for them to collect and pay for at the end of the experience. The global virtual fitting room market is expected to grow to $6.5 million by 2025 (Dietmar, 2021), suggesting that there is a niche gap in the market for technology like this. By incorporating this digital element, it also allows for McQueen to gather data and gain rich detailed insights into their consumers preferences, for them to tailor future releases and collections to the wants and needs of its consumer.

Images Source: Pinterest

3.4 Marketing the Innovation

Gen Z consumers are tech savvy and spend the majority of their time on social media and interacting with different technology. Three out of four luxury consumers carry their phone with them, and millions of consumers are interacting with a brand digitally first which then influences their purchase decision (Dauriz, et al., 2014). For this reason alone, McQueen would need to have a big push online to market the experience. There is significant need to develop brand loyalty so that the consumer has more trust, if the consumer has more trust, they are going to be more likely to want to have a part in the proposed experience.

One way of marketing the proposed experience would be through a large online campaign, which would create hype. First the website and social media would need to correlate, for cross platform convergence. There would be a large build up on social media, through scheduled posts and the use of influencer marketing, something which more brands are tapping into. There will also be an exclusive launch, which will be hosted by the brand, invited will be celebrities and friends of McQueen, this will be pushed on social media and in the press, to drive hype before the experience opens to the public. Influencer marketing is used by multiple fashion brands and may be looked down on by some luxury brands, however it should not be shunned. It is a strategic tool for brands to access a wider audience and allows for a strong relationship to be developed between an influencer and a brand, it makes it easier for brands to reach their desired target audience (Mathew, 2018).. If McQueen want to reach a larger pool of Gen Z consumers, this could be an inroad. When a consumer chooses to buy an item from a luxury brand it is not just for functionality, it is so that they can have a sense of exclusivity, they are buying into what they see as a ‘members club’, therefore large scale social media campaigns may be seen as diminishing the exclusivity of the brand, but social media is a good tool to strengthen relationships between the brand and the consumers (Vinerean & Opreana, 2019).

4.The Future of McQueen

The concept for McQueen has large potential for mass market distribution. The initial focus is on the luxury market in the UK, as it is a British brand, and the concept is built off reinforcing the brand heritage and strengthening relationships with Gen Z UK luxury consumers, if McQueen is able to do this, sales and revenue generated will be reflective of how well the new retail space/experience does.

However, as a brand it has strong relationships with other global markets, hence there is potential for it to be roled out to some of the major fashion capitals. By having it in the UK initially highlights the exclusivity, however the continuation of the concept is important as it emphasises to the consumer that it is not just a one off. Some elements will remain exclusive to the UK market, such as the proposed charity auction. However, the main bulk of the concept, the retrospective flagship store, would be easy to replicate, certain aspects of it would have to be tailored to accommodate different markets, as consumers in global markets have different wants and needs.

The future of McQueen looks promising, as the brand continues to grow under the watchful eye of Sarah Burton. A new concept, like what is presented in this report would be important for the brand, so that the new wave of Gen Z luxury consumers have a strong relationship with the brand and are therefore more likely to remain a loyal consumer with frequent spending. The proposed concept allows for McQueen to become relevant once again, in the fierce market, that is luxury fashion, all whilst paying homage to one of the most influential designers to ever exist and the legacy he left behind.

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