Market mapping

This is a market map that identifies the market segment each boutique is covering, as this provides an insight into the areas of the market that are not covering designer wear. This map shows a huge gap in the market for designer women's wear in Peckham. The clothes retailers in this area sell low quality women's wear at cheap prices which shows strong competition amongst them for cost leadership. I believe my business can fill ths gap because there are no boutiques offering high quality clothes in this area, as the other clothes shops don't sell designer wear, they sell cheap clothing for women.

The only boutique that sells designer wear in the area is Kolors, and they cater for men, only, which gives me the advantage of establishing myself in Peckham, as my business will fill up the gap in the market for designer wear retailing for women. Consumers seek for the best bargain prices where they get to purchase products at low prices which is why many retailers in Peckham aim to sell products at cheap prices that are quite attractive to customers.

Also, market research data shows that expenditure on clothing accounts for a diminishig percentage of total consumer expenditure as an increasing amount is spent on leisure (holidays), household and personal services. This data shows thatconsumers have been spending less on clothing in the past years as consumers spend an average of 5% to 6% of disposable income on clothes and this relatively small amount is shrinking. (Snapshots International).

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However, my pricing will be different from theirs, as I'll be selling designer apparels at discount prices. Although the price I'll be charging is higher than the average price of clothes in my area, the differentiation of my product means that consumers should be willing to pay more quality. My research showed that the boutiques in Peckham are located near each other.

There's a cluster of these low cost boutiques at the beginning of Peckham Rye Lane. There's a big Safeway store opposite these stores which offers free car parking, which is an added convinience for shoppers. The location is important because it is at the heart of the Town Centre,, which attracts a lot of shoppers, and it's important I locate there, as that is where the gap is. There is a mixed secondary school on the High Road (about 5 minutes away) which is an advantage as teenagers are also part of the market I'll be appealing to.

Designer labels benefit from main media advertising by their manufacturers and also, as part of retailers' promotions. Extensive advertising is seen in the daily press, lifestyle and fashion magazines, on TV and on outside posters, and often uses personalities such as models, actresses and sports stars. Keynotes Most designer wear discount retailers promote their goods by advertising heavily on the internet. For example, e-bay sells designer wear online at bargain prices.

They also advertise on local radio stations and local magazines. They use mainly, below-the-line promotion because they are not as expensive as above-the-line promotion(e. g. TV). Also, as they are selling designer wear at discount prices, they have to keep their costs low, so they can make profit. Extensive market research conducted by Key Notes shows that between 1995-1999, the number of pair of jeans bought, fell by millions as younger people turned their backs on garments worn by their parents and over 40's(e. g. Levi's).

However, the rising popularity of designer wearing celebrities and their innovative added details (e. g. embroidery) helped in reversing the trend. Nevertheless, while volume sales have gained ground, value has not because of high levels of cheap imports and heavy discounting. International brands such as Spain's Zara and Mango are showing more impressive growth and are increasingly invading the high streets with their international designs. Manufacurers and retailers are doing their best to exploit the 'Tweenager' market, as children are growing up faster than ever.

Most parents find their offspring develop thoer own, sometimes bizzare, opinion of what they want to wear and nowadays, even younger children want fashionable clothes because of what they see pop idols and movie stars wearing on TV. Manufacurers and retailers are doing their best to exploit the 'Tweenager' market, as children are growing up faster than ever. Most parents find their offspring develop thoer own, sometimes bizzare, opinion of what they want to wear and nowadays, even younger children want fashionable clothes because of what they see pop idols and movie stars wearing on TV.

The number of 15-19 year olds has increased substantially, and they are the highly influential consumers in the fast moving market. As teenagers, they are demanding more stylish and fashionable designer garments, aiming to achieve the looks of pop idols like Britney Spears. They are highly active clothes shoppers because by this age, they are beginning to earn money and spend it freely on clothes and personal adornment. The chart above shows that there are 125, 045 females and 119, 822 males in the population of Southwark.

As a percentage, 51% females and 49% males which justifies my target of the female market. The chart above shows that there are 56. 1% employed females and 6. 2% unemployed females in Southwark which means females in this area have jobs that they earn money from and spend on clothing - designer wear or non-designer wear. This is the process of gathering, collation and analysis of information relating to the marketing and consumption of designer wear. This information is gathered so as to help me in decision making. There are two main methods used in carrying out this research;

Secondary Research This is also known as DESK research, which involved gathering information that already exists. I used marketing research reports from Minel, Keynotes International and Snapshots International from the Business Library in Leicester Square. Information from the Internet was also used to gather information on demography: statistics. gov. uk and upmystreet. com. The benefit of this secondary research is that it is already available and at no cost. However, they were not always 100% accurate, as some of the reports are outdated.

Primary Research This is also known as Field research, which involves the gathering of data that doesn't exist. In other words, it's the data I collected by myself in the form of questionnaires to customers and a personal interview with the manager of Kolors, the designer shop for men. The sampling method used was quota sampling based on females between the age of 15-44, however, results from this quota sample are not statistically representative of the population. This primary information is going to be used in determining my start up costs, running costs, analyse competition, the market and customer views.

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