M&S
INDUSTRYPROJECT
M&S CAPSULE COLLECTION BY TALIA FRANCE
I have chose to focus on the sportswear department to archive gaining a younger audience for M&S ranging from 20-25 years old. M&S would plan to launch this collection on the 4th of September for 12 weeks. Within M&S' sportswear, a popular garment was growing interest on Tiktok social media, which was a leopard print set.
The Marketing idea for this capsule collection is to collaborate with a TikTok influencer who makes content about gym fashion and gym routines etc. TikTok is the best social media platform right now for younger viewers as it's so easy for trends to be created and brands to easily go viral.
INTRODUCTION
PRIMARY RESEARCH
For primary research, I decided to visit M&S initially. The current M&S activewear range consisted of 3/4 length leggings, sports bras and loose-fitting t-shirts. Personally I felt this range was targeted at a 40+ audience with very simple designs.
Next I visited the Selfridges Body Studio where I saw brands SweatyBetty, Lululemon, and Adanola.
All of these brands sold seamless leggings and sold many matching sets. I discovered that UNIQLO sold padded sports vests, which have been going viral on TikTok recently.
Finally, Nike sportswear consisted of oldschool logos across their sweatshirts. They also had bright, flattering leggings.
COMPSHOP
BRAND PRICE COLOURS
Blue, Green & Black Black Black Black, White, Navy, Blue, Pink, Purple& Green
SIZES
MATERIAL
PRODUCT ETHICAL RATINGS
Has good policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but not taking steps to ensure payment of a living wage for its workers in its supply chain.
Not taking steps to ensure payment of a living wage for its workers. No evidence of a policy to minimise the suffering of animals. Uses exotic animal hair and wool.
Has good policies to monitor suppliers in its supply chain but is not taking adequate steps to ensure payment of a living wage for its workers. Good On You reviews
Not good enough. Not taking adequate steps to manage water use in its supply chain.
£44.95
£88 £25 £55
Recycled polyester
Nylon & Lycra Polyester Polyamide
32A- 42E 30C-40D A-G 30A- 38F
SWOT
STRENGTHS
A strength for M&S is that the brand started its operations in the UK from a single store, and now has grown to 1035 stores across the UK, and 452 across the world.
In a recent survey, M&S was voted UK's favourite instore supermarket. They have been in the retail industry for over a century.
WEAKNESS
A weakness for M&S is they have observed a decrease in the number of sales. The reason for this decline is the mismanagement of Marks and Spencer. Although M&S have a large number of stores, due to the vast amount of outlets it's difficult for M&S to manage all the branches efficiently. They also didn't mechanise their operations to improve their business performance. Instead used various techniques that time, resources and man power. Resulting in an increase in cost.
OPPORTUNITY
M&S have recognised the use of labour may be effective in some conditions, however, machines can replace humans and perform tasks more effectively. They have discovered that machines can help them reduce their operation cost and maximise their profits.
THREATS
M&S have tough competition throughout all their categories, causing competitors to snatch the company's market share anytime.
Marks and Spencer observed significant losses during the pandemic. In the case of a new COVID19 M&S would suffer immensely.
CUSTOMERPROFILE
GENDER - Female
NAME - Olivia
AGE - 22
STYLE - Keeps up with Instagram trends, likes to experiment with colours and has a passion for working out and staying healthy.
JOB -Financial role, in a busy city.
LOCATION - Lives in a village outside Nottingham.
RELATIONSHIP - Single (Concentrating on career whilst she loves to focus on her mind and body.
FASHION ROLE MODEL - Takes inspiration from Tammy Hembrow and Bella Hadid's casual, effortless style.
SPARE TIME - Very organised in her career and life goals, loves pilates and yoga to keep up with her fitness. Loves cooking healthy snacks and dinners for her friends.
LIFESTYLE - Close with family and friends. Loves going out for food. Loves going for long dog walks.
SOCIAL MEDIA - Pinterest, Instagram, Tiktok and YouTube.
PURCHASING HABITS - Mainly takes inspiration from her favourite influencers. Tends to look online regularly in her spare time and go out shopping at the weekends in retail parks.
HER CLOSET IS - Casual clothes, layered items, tracksuit sets, effortless pieces, and basics such as a racerback vest.
CAPSULECOLLECTION COLOURPALETTE
I have investigated key colours for the AW 23/24 season from WGSN and recent catwalk shows to create a colour palette for our activewear capsule collection. A mixture of deep tones and pastels has been included for transseasonal appeal as this range is planned to launch in early September. Instead of including black, I have opted for navy as a timeless alternative which aligns with the sophisticated mood of the season and collection. Blue also holds the second-largest share of the colour mix at 9.3% in the UK.
HOW TO USE:
Pastels (Glacial blue, Sweet Pink and Clay) are key in head-to-toe looks e g matching sets, unitards.
HOW TO USE:
Pair jewel tones (malachite) with dusted pastels and winter brights for sophisticated colour combinations.
HOW TO USE:
Core colours (Midnight blue and grey) to be used on timeless items for longevity
R U N
P O -
W A Y I N S
ADJUSTABLE
TIE DETAIL HOODIE
MATERIAL - Organic
Cotton
COO - Turkey
PRICE - £48.00
CAPSULECOLLECTION
1/4 ZIP PULLOVER WITH DRAWSTRING DETAIL
MATERIAL- Organic Cotton
COO - Turkey
PRICE - £55.00
FLARED YOGA PANTS
MATERIAL - Organic Cotton
COO - Turkey
PRICE - £45.00
HIGH NECK BACKLESS PLAYSUIT
MATERIAL - Recycled Polyester
COO - Vietnam
PRICE - £40.00
SEAMLESS SUPPORT CROSSBACK SPORTS BRA
MATERIAL - Recycled Polyester
COO - Vietnam
PRICE - £25.00
SWEETHEART NECKLINE
SCOOP BACK SCULPTING UNITARD
MATERIAL - Recycled Polyester
COO - Vietnam
PRICE - £60.00
V-NECK CROSS OVER SCULPTING SPORTS BRA
MATERIAL - Recycled Polyester
COO - Vietnam
£29.00
HIGH-WAISTED 3" SCULPTING SHORTS
MATERIAL - Recycled Polyester
COO - Vietnam
PRICE - 29.00
SEAMLESS HIGH WAISTED LEGGINGS
MATERIAL - Recycled Polyester
COO - Vietnam
PRICE - £32.00
MATERIALS
For the active wear capsule collection, I have chosen to use materials which have been recycled previously or can be recycled later.
Recycled polyester is a material that has been selected for some of the products in the sportswear range. The process begins with recycled plastic bottles, which are cleaned, shredded into flakes and converted into pellets. From there, the pellets are spun into new, high-quality yarn. In addition to reducing waste, recycled polyester produces up to 30% lower carbon emissions than virgin polyester. The range also features organic cotton as it has properties such as thickness, soft, and long-lasting.
Organic cotton uses no chemical pesticides or fertilizers, limits soil erosion and is less thirsty than normal cotton.
PropertiesofRecycledPolyester:
Strong
Flexible
High resistance
Durable
good elasticity
shape retention
wrinkle resistance
MARKETING
COLLABORATION WITH ROMA BRIGHT @ROMANALUCIABRIGHT
Our range will be launching 04/09/23 ready in time for the AW23/24 season.
In terms of marketing, M&S will launch a separate website for the activewear collaboration which will only contain the new collection in order for it to be direct for the younger target consumer if they are following the link from instagram or tiktok.
The collection will be advertised on M&S Tiktok and instagram aswell as the collaborating influencer. Items will be available to purchase through tiktok shop as this is used regularly by the target audience. Instagram posts will also include links which will take you directly to the website to make purchases.
I believe Roma bright is the perfect person to be be collaborating with m&s for this capsule collection because she has lots of experience working with brands, going to the gym and being in the target consumer age range meaning the younger generation are more likely to buy the items if they see someone of similar age wearing and styling the pieces.
SOCIALMEDIAMARKETING
RECIEVE20% OFF
Here are some ideas of marketing for the new collections including a trade in offer to influence people to bring back their old clothing and some styling reels done by Roma Bright. M&S will be able to create TikTok’s showing outfits using pieces from the collection and information on the sustainable fabrics used and the aftercare for old clothing.
Styling the V-Neck Cross Over Sports Bra with the High Waisted 3” Shorts
INTRODUCING OUR NEW RECYCLING SCHEME: When you trade in your worn M&S clothing you will receive a 20% off voucher for M&S clothing!
Collaboration with M&S - Launching 04/09/23 #active #sustainable #mymarks
@ROMANALUCIABRIGHT
SUSTAINABILITY AFTERCARE
Inspired by the brand Girlfriend collective who provide bras, leggings, and shorts, you can send their items back to the brand to be recycled into new ones. Girlfriend collective gives a $15 store credit when doing this, encouraging customers to not waste and help the brand close its loop in the supply chain to be ethical.
The new M&S collection will be marketed on social media so that customers can trade in their worn M&S items to receive a 20% voucher, and M&S will further break down and manufacture the garment into another recycled good.
This would really help M&S complete the loop within their supply chain to be a continuous ethical company.
FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES
Opportunities would be to relaunch the brand with a new and aesthetically pleasing website to the younger generation like ASOS, with colours and different fonts etc. This could be really successful for M&S to move forward with the times and become appealing to every age range consumer.
relaunch new logo example
The future plans for this project to be more appealing would be to make a spin-off website for this capsule collection. When the younger audience shop on the M&S website, they have a glimpse of only the older-styled items, making it really hard to find the items they may have been interested in, on the advertisements.
CURRENT M&S ONLINE IMAGERY
An opportunity to boost the success of this collection is to introduce a new style of photography to feature on the website to fully capture the essence of the collection and appeal to the younger demographic M&S are targeting. The bolder, brighter and more playful imagery from Adam Brazier, a photographer that Roma the chosen influencer has worked with previously, will benefit the range and be more inspiring for customers compared to current imagery used.
