What is important for me to know about Fashion Merchandising, especially promotion?

Question

As an assignment I am trying to write a promotional plan for an apparal retail store. Any advice I can be given about fashion trends or marketing would be appriciated. Also any advice on budgeting.

Answer 1

First, if the apparel retail venue has not been defined for you in the assignment, do so. For example, I might choose to develop a plan for the "Pal Gal", which specializes in mid-priced teen and young women's casual fashions. This store is also the exclusive midwest outlet for Oofla-Goofla (OG), a French brand of swimwear and beach accessories.

Your target market: women 16-30

Your Promo package:
- Advertising (local newspapers and mags)
- A Public Relations package targetting target audience magazines (to promote the exclusive stuff)
- In-store promotions and customer incentives
- Special Events (eg, an invitation-only "French Riviera Night" on the shore of lake .....)
- In-store display components and styling advisor
- Direct mailings with special offers to target consumers

Your budget: A reasonable ASP (Advertising, Sales Promotion) budget is 30%-40% of net sales (net sales = projected gross sales less cost of goods). If you decide to use advertising, you'll have to devote the biggest chunk of your budget to it.

Create a six-month, at-a-glance promotional calendar that shows monthly promotional activities. You'll want a couple of things going every month (eg, August: Magazine editorial coverage on the OG line, plus "back to school" in-store promotion).

Having gone off on a tangent, I will now try and answer your question: While the tactics (read: tools) of marketing any kind of retail product will differ, the strategies (read: directions) are universal across nearly all consumer goods. The details will, of course, need to be tweaked and individualized. The objective of any promotional package is creating maximum awareness of your product in the target market.

Answer 2

Marketing 101, what does the customer like, dislike, what do they want/ need. Why, when, where, and how do they satisfy those wants/needs. What types of customers does the store draw, ie age, sex, race, income? What types of brands does the store carry, inexpensive, top of the line, value. Why do competitors stores draw different customers, why doesn't your store draw those customers? When you know the answers the plan will fall into place.

Answer 3

Before you promote anything, you have to first understand your consumers, their needs and their tastes.

Good luck!