FOREVER 21WICKEDFOR SPRING 2011

TARGET MARKET

Forever 21 aims to capture the 13-year-old girl to 25-year-old young woman consumer

with its versatile collections. The ideal female is active, informed, fashion and trend

oriented. Financially, she resides both independently and dependently in the lower

middle to middle class range.

Forever 21’s consumer is a student ranging from the secondary to graduate level. The

retailer supplies her with current and youthful assortments that cover casual to semi-

formal wear. Mix and match pieces cover everyday pursuits, like shopping and the

movies. While more refined items appease the customer for socials, nights out on the

town and business in mind.

Wicked is for pre-teen to early teen girls who come from a lower-middle to middle class

families. Although this customer may save up their allowance to spend on shopping,

this girl mostly depends on her parents for financial help when looking to shop for

clothing. This customer is all about comfort while still be trendy at the same time. She

loves bold colors and graphic details.

The Wicked customer enjoys playing sports, but she is also a complete girly girl. She

wants clothes to run around in for a quick game of soccer in the park, but also go to

these same items for lounging around with her friends in her backyard.The Wicked

customer is looking for fun and bold way to show off her casual athletic style for the

upcoming Spring season.

FOREVER 21

WICKED

When entering Forever21, customers often see key sales and outfits on mannequins

and on main displays. Then it goes from trend to trend in the organized free flow

layout. Forever 21 is split into sections of trends that the store is informing the customer

of. Currently, there is a nautical trend, a floral trend, and an ethnic print trend flowing

around the store. Forever21 also always has the classic basics section, an on trend

jewelry and accessories section, and activewear.

The way the stripes of the nautical trend section flow into the activewear and basics

section, makes it seem consistent, but also makes it harder to see the difference

between the two sections. The ethnic pattern and floral trends are also grouped

together. Down the center of the store is the accessories and jewelry section, as well as

point of sales.

In an effort to encourage browsing and increase shopper exposure to various

merchandise categories, Forever 21 employs a free flow layout in conjunction with

fixtures and merchandise within the space. The retailer’s weakness with this approach

is the limited space provided for natural consumer flow. When observed, it was clear

that no traffic pattern existed. Shoppers moved in random directions, clustering in

pockets of open space. Instead of fixtures accommodating the guest, they disrupted.

Products in Forever 21 are merchandised in a coordinating strategy. This means the

potential buyer is provided with visual connections pertaining to outfit combinations.

Unfortunately, due to high volume, this aesthetic appeared messy and unorganized.

FOREVER 21COMPARABLE COLLECTIONS

LAYOUT & VISUAL STRATEGY

Forever21 uses a wide assortment of fixtures, from slatted wall bays to t-stands and

fourways. There are also rounders, ballet bars, arched ballet bars that are used in a

semi-circle and a circle arrangemenst, high volume tables, a handback rack, et cetera.

The store also has an interesting combination unit that it repeats in the space that looks

like two donkeys put together at a perpendicular adjacency. These fixtures do not in-

clude the

Forever21 uses fixtures for high volume, to fit in as much clothing as possible for their

shoppers to get ahold of. For tables, wall shelves, and on the top of donkeys are denim,

key item sales, and basic tops, which are all folded merchandise. The rest of the mer-

chandise is hung on the donkeys, rounders, balley bars, four ways, and t-stands. These

garments are more for the fashion tops, bottoms, and outerwear.

Forever21 also has a wide arrangement of product. Eventhough the store is a chaotic

and messy, there is a thought process of how product is merchandised in the space.

The store is separated into sections defined by the trend Forever21 is trying to portray

to the customer. In each of these sections, there are ballet bars, four-ways, donkeys,

t-stands, wallbays, and sometimes rounders. On these fixtures, there is an overflowing

number of garments that get compactedly hung onto each fixture. This makes it hard for

potential consumers to pull one garment out, without taking a few more garments out at

the same time. On high volume tables, key sales items, denim, and basics are folded

and organized either by style or by color.

FOREVER 21FIXTURES

MERCHANDISED PRODUCT

To provide for a large collection like Wicked the store is designed in the free flow

style and comprised of high capacity floor fixtures such as stackable tables, 4 ways,

donkeys, T stands and ballet bars. The walls are also adorned with shelving and feature

fixtures like waterfalls and straight arms for additional product display and a more

cohesive aesthetic connection. The space is utilized to its greatest efficiency through

the strategic manipulation of high volume fixtures, but emphasis is placed on allowing

comfortable space for traffic flow and a better overall shopping experience.

Wicked’s merchandise is all bold colors and bold patterns, so merchandising is key

to not overwhelm customers. The use of high volume fixtures mirror Forever21’s mer-

chandising strategy of pushing product in high quantities onto customers. The majority

of our garments are hung, just like Forever21, but we also fold garments like hoodies,

tops, and skirts because they are key item sales that we want to push onto consumers.

Hung garments are put together with a limited style amount on each fixture, so consum-

ers are not overwhelmed by a huge array of styles. Although there are many styles in

the store, it is merchandised well enough to still be organized and welcoming.

WICKED LAYOUT & VISUAL STRATEGY

MERCHANDISED PRODUCT

FOREVER 21KING OF PRUSSIA

CHERRY HILL

WICKEDLAYOUT

FRONT VIEW

PLAN VIEWTABLE 1 & TABLE 2

2-TSTAND & TABLE COMBO

4WAY 1BALLET BAR 1

BALLET BAR 2DONKEY 1DONKEY 2

WALL BAY 1 WALL BAY 2

4WAY 2

4WAY 3

SLEEPWEARTREND CASUAL

WICKEDFIXTURES

TABLE 1 & TABLE 2

4WAY 1

BALLET BAR 1

DONKEY 1

2T-STAND TABLE COMBO

BALLET BAR 2

4WAY 2

4WAY 3

DONKEY 2

WALL BAY 1

WALL BAY 2