alexander mcqueen lingerie for harvey nichols

Nicole Realmuto

London College of Fashion Product Development

Summer 2012

London College of Fashion Nicole Realmuto

Product Development Page 3

Introduction to Buying Office

My name is Nicole Realmuto and I am the buyer for Harvey Nichols at the

Knightsbridge, London location, focusing on the new line of lingerie by Alexander

McQueen. Buyers have an enormous amount of responsibilities and skills need to strive in

this field. The main responsibilities as a buyer can include developing products for the

house brand, to negotiate of product prices (delivery and payment terms), research and

evaluate markets and products that are applicable to the company one is employed by,

must communicate with suppliers, product teams and senior management of company,

work with the merchandising planning controls (over finance, available areas, historical

evidence and trends), and a senior buyer must manager the rest of the buying team. We, as

buyers, have an incredible amount of functions to make sure our job is completed fully.

Buyers must have a few key qualities to make one acceptable for the positions, these being

creative, innovative, ambitious, assertive, be proficient in mathematics, have experience

with interaction with people (customers, superiors and team) and have competent

communication skills.

The buyer is not the only one in the office. Under the buyer, there is an assistant

buyer and buying assistant. The assistant buyer can have a range of responsibilities, many

being spread through the different departs and delegating the functions of the buyer. The

buying assistant, also known as the buying clerk is the first step to becoming a buyer, they

are responsible to do whatever the buyer and assistant buyer tell the to, some things may

include organizing the office, filling swatches and doing administrative duties. There is also

the merchandising team, including the merchandiser-‐responsible to estimate sales and

plan stock levels to reach the target sales and margins, give regular analysis and report the



progress of the stock levels, sales performances and stock purchase to senior management,

to work with the buyer on range planning to maximize commercial opportunities for

products, to manage intake and commitment to accommodate stock requirements of the

business, to manage stock distributions and to manage and develop the merchandise and

distribution team. Directly under the merchandiser is the assistant merchandiser

responsible to deputize the responsibilities of the merchandiser and manage

responsibilities for junior members of the team. There is also the merchandise assistant,

which is related to the planning functions. There is also a garment technologist who is

responsible for the development of quality control. Another member of the team is the

designer, who is responsible to research trends and product ideas, create a fashion

direction and a mood, customer and product story-‐boards, present to senior management,

produce range of products, finalize product groups with buyers, develop specification

sheets, develop seasonal products styling records and accompany buyer on trip to

suppliers.

The buying department does not only interact with the merchandisers, the garment

technologist and the designer. The department also works with sourcing, marketing and

public relations departments.

The buying office has four private offices, one for the buyer, merchandiser, garment

technologist and designer, with four cubicles in the middle of the offices for the assistant

buyer, buying assistant, assistant merchandiser and merchandising assistant. See diagram

below (the doors being red rectangles).



Introduction to Harvey Nichols

Harvey Nichols is a high-‐end department store, founded in 1831. The department

store has numerous brands and types of women’s wear, menswear, beauty and food & wine

products. The first store was opened as a linen shop on the corner of Knightsbridge and

Sloane Street. Less than fifty years after the current building was built. In 1919 Harvey

Nichols was bought by Debenhams and then later became part of the Burton Group in

1985. In 1991 the store was acquired by Dickson Concepts International Ltd and

refurbished the entire food market, restaurant, bar and café. In 1996 Harvey Nichols was

listed in the London Stock Exchange and opened it’s second store in Leeds. The London-‐

based store has now expanded overseas and has stores in China, India, Ireland, Saudi

Arabia, Scotland and Turkey.

Introduction to Alexander McQueen

Alexander McQueen is a British born fashion designer, who is best known for his in-‐

depth knowledge of bespoke tailoring and his provocative shows that often had a theme of

strength and fragility and emotion power and raw energy. His final collection at Central



Saint Marten College of Art was bought entirely by Isabella Blow, which launched McQueen

into the fashion industry. Since then, he has had numerous successful shows and now is

merchandise is available all over the globe. Gucci now owns the Alexander McQueen

company. Sarah Burton has been head of women’s wear since 2000 and after Alexander

McQueen’s death in 2010 she was named the creative director for the company.

Importance of Marketing

Being a buyer for Harvey Nichols focusing on the lingerie line by Alexander McQueen

understanding the market and business is vital. I will show the importance of marketing by

using the Marketing Mix Case Study, a SWOT analysis, geo-‐demographics, market

segmentation, ACORN, fashion attitude and roger status, the innovation curve, VALS, and a

defining customer board.

Marketing Mix Case Study Harvey Nichols

Product Menswear, Women’s wear, Beauty, Food

& Wine

Price High-‐End, Luxury

Promotion In-‐store, Online, Word-‐of-‐Mouth

Place Knightsbridge, London



To continue on with the importance of marketing, customers at Harvey Nichols are

part of the A, B and C categories in the ACORN classification. Below is the diagram of

ACORN categories. Customers range from wealthy achievers to better-‐off executives.

Due to the range of ACORN classifications customers their shopping patterns and lifestyles

are much different. For instance, some customers spend a great deal and shop regularly

and on contrast many people buy one thing every once in a while.

Strengths:

• Customer interest

• Innovative product base

• High-‐end market

• Many locations in numerous

countries

• Exclusive brands

Weaknesses:

• Smaller customer base

• Not mass-‐market

Opportunities:

• Not many stores of competition

• Many people visit areas of

Harvey Nichols’ locations

Threats:

• Recession

• Consumer Purchasing



Explaining through the Rogers segmentation, customers are Early Adopters: individuals

who buy emerging trends and Early Majority: individuals who pick up on a trend when it is

established (as seen in the diagram below). Harvey Nichols customers are experimentals,

achievers, and I-‐Am-‐Me for the VALS classification.

The geo-‐demographics for a range is vital because it gives information leading to

purchasing behaviour, which ultimately leads to profits and revenue for the retail and the

brand. The region is central London, because this range will only be at the Knightsbridge

location, which is a retail area of the city. As for demographics the customers of this line are



women, with professional occupations as managers and executives. These women have a

range of incomes starting at £100,000 annually and above. The customers of this range will

be age 25 to 35 years old. Some of the customers will be married and starting families and

others will be single and focused on their career first. The sizes and heights of the target

customer will vary, but they will be between a size 6 and 12. For a further example of

customer see the pen portrait below.



Range

In fashion retail a ‘RANGE’ is an assortment of products, which is developed under

different categories to sell to customers. This range is a concession of Alexander McQueen

lingerie for the Harvey Nichols department store. This is a growth of Alexander McQueen’s

previously branded company.

The width of range is as follows. The concession has eight pieces ranging from

different styles of briefs, braziers and cami-‐knickers. All of the pieces are extremely well

made and made of quality fabrics. The range has a gothic and romantic inspiration and all

pieces are incredibly feminine.

The depth of the collection is as follows. The range is entirely fabricated of lace and

silks. There is a basic colour scheme to keep the focus of the garments on the construction

and design details. The three colours are black, deep red, and nude. There are three

different styles braziers, four brief styles and one cami-‐knicker in the capsule-‐collection.

The design details that the range focuses on are line and texture. With the colour and the

fabric choices the collection is very cohesive.

Historical Evidence vs. Trend Forecasting

Different retailers and brands use different combinations of historical evidence and

trend forecasting when planning the creation and development of a range. Stores that have

conservative merchandise and continuously sell the same products rely on historical

evidence to rationalize the range. On the opposite, some stores that are more trend



oriented focus on trend forecasting to plan a range. An example of a conservative store is

Talbots and an example of a trendy store is Topshop.

Harvey Nichols uses more trend forecasting, but also historical evidence. The ratio is

65% trend forecasting and 35% historical evidence, both being essential for the range

planning. Alexander McQueen uses 80% trend forecasting and 20% historical evidence

when designing a new collection. The mix must be right for the brand and or retailer.

Designers play a huge role in trend forecasting because must trends start at the high end

and move onto the high street.

The Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS) is technology that facilitates the collection of the

sale of goods or services to the customer. EPOS is making the collection of what is bought

easily recorded giving retailers the information of which products are selling best and by

how much. This makes the buyers job much easier because they are able to draw

relationships from previous products to current and estimate what will sell and how much

it will sell.

Seasons/Phasing

The phasing of a collection refers to when the product is put into the store. This

range will be in Harvey Nichols in the Autumn/Winter 2013 season. Buying for this

collection will occur very far in advance before the merchandise hits the sales floor. Due to

the fact that this is a luxury and because it is a concession collection this range will have a

long shelf life. The collection will be on the floor from week 37 to 52. It will act as the core



of the diagram below because of the nature of the collection.

SKU’s/Colourways

SKU (Stock Keeping Units or Single Kinetic Unit) are used to break down specific

details for both the customer and retailer. Customers use the SKU to find the right size and

style and the EPOS system can send the right information about garments. Each garment

has a specific SKU and barcode. The SKU explains the season, design, colour, size and if

needed the sub-‐category.

For this range the SKU’s are broken down as further explained.

1 -‐ BRAND MCQ-‐ McQUEEN 2 – SEASON 1 AUTUMN/WINTER 3 – DESIGN

1 BRIEF A HIGH-‐WAISTED B HIP HUGGERS

2 BRAZIER A STRAPLESS B DOUBLE STRAP C TURTLE-‐NECK D TRIANGLE SHAPED

3 CAMI-‐KNICKER



A DEEP V-‐NECK 4 – COLOUR

1 BLACK 2 DEEP RED 3 NUDE

5 – SIZE (BRA SIZE) A 6 (28) B 8 (30) C 10 (32) D 12 (34) E 14 (36) 6 – SUB-‐CATEGORY (BRA CUP SIZE)

1 A CUP 2 B CUP 3 C CUP 4 D CUP 5 DD CUP

This range has six pieces, all but one piece has three colourways. The SKU’s without

the sizes are listed below.

FRENCH BRIEFS MCQ11B3 CAMI-‐KNICKER MCQ13A1 MCQ13A2 MCQ13A3 LACE BRAZIER MCQ12B1 MCQ12B2 MCQ12B3 LACE BRIEFS MCQ11B1 MCQ11B2 MCQ11B3 HIGH-‐WAIST BRIEF MCQ11A1 MCQ11A2

MCQ11A3 TRIANGLE-‐SHAPED LACE BRAZIER

MCQ12D1 MCQ12D2 MCQ12D3



Sizing

The sizing for this range is exceptionally important especially with lingerie; if the fit

is not perfect the garments will not work properly. Sizing for this range will be as follows.

Braziers are sized A-‐DD Cup sizes and from 28-‐36 inch measurements. The cami-‐knicker

and briefs are sized from UK sizes 6-‐14. The majority of the merchandise will be bought

from the middle sizes (as seen lower), but because lingerie is so important to fit there are

multiple sizes being produced.

Sourcing

Sourcing plays a pivotal role with the quality of a garment. The sourcing of the

garment is so important also because of the labor used to make the range, for example child

labour is cheaper and looked down up, but if a garment is made by a seamstress that is well

paid it gives more value, socially and quality-‐wise, to the garment. The pro of a third-‐world

country sourcing for the garment is that the prices will be less expensive, however the

quality will suffer. The con for sourcing within a first-‐world country is that the price can be

significantly higher, but the quality will be better. For the range all pieces will be made in

the United Kingdom.



Pricepoints

Price points are vital for sales, as well as the right price for the garments. There are

multiple theories of the ways to price a garment. There is the price curve explaining the

relation of price and volume sold. There are psychological pricings with different endings

of the price.

The price curve is a diagram that shows the association between price and volume

sold. By using the price curve it is evident that the products with prices in the middle range

make the most revenue. The lowest priced items have a higher volume, but that does not

correlate into revenues because of the low price. To contrast, the highest priced items sell

the smallest amount of volume, and that does not bring huge revenues because of the

prices due to the low volume. See diagram below.



Many retailers use a pricing theory known as psychological price points. In this case

the prices end in 50p, 95p or 99p to offer a perceived value. For a retailer like Harvey

Nichols and brand like Alexander McQueen psychological price points do not make sense. A

perceived value is not what the price is about for this concession; the price is used to show

the luxury and quality of the products.

When pricing a range many things need to be taking into account. There must be

logical price gaps and the garments must be priced to earn a profit. The buying profit is the

difference between the cost price (CP) and the retail selling price (RSP). The cost price of

the garment is the price that is paid by the retailer to the manufacturer/design house. The

CP includes the C.M.T or the cost, make and trims of the garment and/or garment

components. The retail selling price is the price the customer pays for the garment. From

the RSP and CP the gross margin or gross profit is derived. See equation that follows.

RSP -‐ CP = Gross Margin

The retail selling price is often 300%-‐400% of the cost price due to the overheads of

the retailer. These can include: store rent, rates, staff wages, head office costs, travel,

utilities, distribution costs and markdowns/sales/returns. Markdowns, sales and returns

are a huge factor because often only 85% of garments are sold at full retail price. After all of

the overheads the profit is usually much lower, but it is considered the net profit. Retailers

know their overheads tremendously well and know exactly what the mark-‐up needs to be

to make a profit. The mark-‐up is the margin. A standard margin for retailers is 66.67%

(three times the cost price). See below to explain how margins are found.

How to Calculate the Margin:

Selling Price -‐ Cost Price x 100 = Margin Percentage Selling Price



Example: Selling Price -‐ £30, Cost Price -‐ £10

(30 -‐ 10) x 100 = 66.67%

30 Conclusion

This product range has sixteen pieces, all being cohesive, but still varying. The

collection stays true to Alexander McQueen’s brand image because of unique style details,

colours and fabrics. Alexander McQueen has unmistakable garments; this new lingerie

collection continues this aesthetic.

Here is a justification of all six styles. The French knickers are in this range because

they are incredibly feminine and comfortable; these are the softest item in the collection.

The French knickers are only in the nude colour to continue the soft theme. The cami-‐

knicker is composed of silk and lace, with underwire for support in the top if it. The lace is

transparent and goes into a deep v-‐neck. The back of the garment is also mainly made of

lace. The cami-‐knicker is in the collection to bring a one-‐piece of lingerie into the collection.

The range needed different pieces, which is another reason the cami-‐knicker is in it. The

lace brazier uses blocking to combine structure and the softness of the lace. The back of the

bra is almost bare to show the body more than the construction. This shape will work

really well on must sizes. The lace briefs cover what must be covered but leave the rest to

be only covered by transparent lace. The high-‐waist brief is used to not only slim the body

with lines and curves, but also continue a separate shape and cut for lingerie. The triangle

shaped brazier is in the collection for a simple brazier with a twist with the racer back and

the lace top of the brazier. All pieces of the collection have distinct design details and are

incredibly well made distinguishing this range from the competition.



FRENCH KNICKERS MCQ11B3 SIZES AVAILABLE: 6-‐14 COST: £25 RETAIL SELLING PRICE: £100 MARGIN: 75% COLOURS: NUDE FABRIC: SILK COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UNITED KINGDOM

DETAIL

COLOURS

FRONT

BACK



COLOURS

CAMI-‐KNICKER MCQ13A1 MCQ13A2

MCQ13A3 SIZES AVAILABLE: 6-‐14 COST: £200 RETAIL SELLING PRICE: £800 MARGIN: 75% COLOURS: NUDE, BLACK, DEEP RED FABRIC: SILK, LACE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UNITED KINGDOM

BACK

FRONT



COLOURS

HIGH-‐WAIST BRIEF MCQ11A1 MCQ11A2

MCQ11A3 SIZES AVAILABLE: 6-‐14 COST: £120 RETAIL SELLING PRICE: £480 MARGIN: 75% COLOURS: NUDE, BLACK, DEEP RED FABRIC: SILK, LACE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UNITED KINGDOM



COLOURS

LACE BRAZIER MCQ12B1 MCQ12B2 MCQ12B3

SIZES AVAILABLE: 28-‐36 A-‐DD CUPS COST: £100 RETAIL SELLING PRICE: £400 MARGIN: 75% COLOURS: NUDE, BLACK, DEEP RED FABRIC: SILK, LACE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UNITED KINGDOM

BACK FRONT



COLORS

LACE BRIEFS MCQ11B1 MCQ11B2 MCQ11B3

SIZES AVAILABLE: 6-‐14 COST: £75 RETAIL SELLING PRICE: £300 MARGIN: 75% COLOURS: NUDE, BLACK, DEEP RED FABRIC: SILK, LACE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UNITED KINGDOM

BACK

FRONT



COLOURS

TRIANGLE-‐SHAPED LACE BRAZIER MCQ12D1 MCQ12D2

MCQ12D3 SIZES AVAILABLE: 28-‐36 A-‐DD COST: £105 RETAIL SELLING PRICE: £420 MARGIN: 75% COLOURS: NUDE, BLACK, DEEP RED FABRIC: SILK, LACE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UNITED KINGDOM

BACK FRONT

alexander mcqueen lingerie for harvey nichols

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