RMG Buying Project FINAL1

Wilson Wu

Janice Polanski

RMG909 – Advanced Buying

Ryerson University

Women’s Leather Jackets

Assortment Assessment Project

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction...................................................................................................................................3

Target Customers...........................................................................................................................3

Retailer SWOT Analysis..................................................................................................................4

Strength..................................................................................................................................4

Weaknesses............................................................................................................................5

Opportunities.........................................................................................................................5

Threats....................................................................................................................................5

Description of Existing Assortment (items & brands)...................................................................6

CURRENT PRICING, PROMOTION & MARKETING STRATEGIES:..................................................6

Pricing:....................................................................................................................................6

Promotion/Marketing:............................................................................................................6

ASSORTMENT SWOT:..................................................................................................................7

Strengths:...............................................................................................................................7

Weaknesses:...........................................................................................................................8

Opportunities:.........................................................................................................................8

Threats:...................................................................................................................................9

MARKET TREND INFO:................................................................................................................9

Competitive Analysis including description of existing assortment...........................................10

White Space- The Bay...............................................................................................................10

Breadth and Depth...............................................................................................................10

Brand/Style and Price Points:...............................................................................................10

Promotional Strategy:...........................................................................................................10

Packaging/Advertising:.........................................................................................................11

Weaknesses and Strengths:..................................................................................................11

Threats and Opportunities for Holt Renfrew:.......................................................................11

Mendocino...............................................................................................................................12

Breadth and Depth:..............................................................................................................12





Threats and Opportunities for Holt Renfrew:.......................................................................13

Aritzia........................................................................................................................................13

Breadth and Depth:..............................................................................................................13





Threats and Opportunities:...................................................................................................14

Recommended Six Month Plan...................................................................................................15

Recommended Assortment- Rationale.......................................................................................16

Assortment Strategy.............................................................................................................16

Pricing strategy.....................................................................................................................17

Promotional & Marketing plan.............................................................................................18

Recommended Assortment Plan.................................................................................................19

References....................................................................................................................................20

Exhibits.........................................................................................................................................22

Exhibit 1................................................................................................................................22

Exhibit 2................................................................................................................................22

Exhibit3.................................................................................................................................24

Exhibit 4................................................................................................................................24

Designer Leathers.................................................................................................................26

Exhibit 5................................................................................................................................28

Exhibit 6................................................................................................................................30

INTRODUCTION

Holt Renfrew is one of Canada’s dominant fashion retailers; the company was

founded in 1837 and now operates 10 stores across Canada with one outlet location. The

company built its success through furs during the late 1800s, in the early 1930s the

company gained exclusive accounts with several European designers and has built a

reputation on many upscale designer brands. Mario Manza, the executive director of VIP

services at Holt Renfrew had stated 90% of Holt Renfrew’s business is a result of the

company’s top 1% of clients. Though maintaining top clients are significant to the

business, catering to the ever-changing consumer to developing new clients is

significantly important. Holt Renfrew had gained, “double-digit sales growth” in its

downtown Vancouver location. President Mark Deryshire’s answers to 2011’s increase

were 18-34 year old shoppers whom fall out of the company’s traditional clientele. In

reaching out to more middle and upper middle-class families, the company expands its

potential in creating the ideal shopping experience for fashion savvy individuals.

This report provides a solution to the current assortment of women’s leather

jackets available. Women’s leather jackets are a small category and are one of the

smallest in apparel for the spring and summer months. However, each year an assortment

of leather jackets are bought. The field research had shown the company placed little

importance in this category as the assortment of leather jackets received no emphasis and

some jackets were randomly placed throughout the apparel section. Women’s leather

jackets are a category that has a huge earning potential as they are a higher-ticket priced

item and leather jackets are currently trending. This report explores the potential and

provides a strong marketing/promotional plan to successfully execute the leather jacket

campaign through an effective buying assortment.

TARGET CUSTOMERS

Holts is known to be a high end luxurious image, being said that their target

market is around 23-50, and mainly females. Income would be $35,000+ with a steady

job and disposable income. Someone that is looking for brand name items because it

helps them in their career as the brands they wear shows their social status at work and

also their success. They would generally be in business where they would have to meet a

lot of clients and people so looking sharp is very important to them. An older clientele

that shops at Holts would be someone who has everything set already such as children

already married about to retire or just have a steady career. Someone that is just enjoying

life and the money they have made throughout the years, they like to pamper and spoil

themselves as they have a lot of disposable income and not much to pay off such as

mortgages or loans therefore they are able to spend their money freely. Holt Renfrew is

located at a suburban area which means that most people get their by car, for someone to

be able to afford a car they would generally be older. The end user that would purchase

the leather jackets in our assortment is a slightly younger than the Holt Renfrew target

market because leather jackets generally do not appeal to an older clientele as leather

jackets are slightly bit more trendy and older clientele generally like something that's less

flashy and age appropriate to them. But at the same time the age group already has some

sort of income because leather jackets is more expensive than regular garments so they

need to be able to afford it or else it can also be bought by their parents.

RETAILER SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTH

Holts has a strong brand image presence in consumers’ minds, being a high-end

retailer Holts has really set themselves apart from others. People that shop or want to be

part of the Holt’s not only of their assortment and products they carry but also because

they want to be part and associated with the luxurious image that Holts has. There are a

lot of customers that are loyal to Holts even though they know that they could get that

merchandise somewhere else they’d rather get it at Holts because of the relationship they

might have with the retailer. Loyal customers are invited to special shopping event to

show their appreciation and also have other perks too. Customers that have been

shopping at Holts for years might also know the sales people that work there by their

names so they feel more comfortable being helped by someone that knows what they like

and what they don’t because of that relationship that they have built throughout the years.

WEAKNESSES

Some of the weaknesses Holts has is not having so much assortment of each

brand as they are trying to cover a lot of the brands in their stores they don’t have all the

pieces. This could trigger problems and competition between the free standing stores

such as the Burberry or Hugo Boss store in Yorkdale Mall. People may want to go to

those stores because they have more selection and also assume that the sales people at the

stand alone store have more knowledge on the brand rather than Holts employees.

OPPORTUNITIES

Being a luxury retailer Holts carries brands that are only exclusive to them and so

the people that do want to purchase that certain brand or style they are only able to buy it

through Holts because they are the only ones that carry it. Having said that Holts should

have a good relationship with their vendors to ensure their exclusivity for certain

products, they should also visit new up and coming fashion designers and make sure to

have their private label in Holts first rather than other stores. This will keep Holts fashion

forward and also gives more exclusivity since they would get merchandise in stores

before all the retailers.

THREATS

Other retailers also carry some of the brands that Holts have such as Mackage

being carried in Artizia and Mendocino. Another thing is once a style is popular lower

end brands may want to be part of that hot selling trend so they knock-off those styles

and sell them at lower prices and of course made with lower quality materials. This can

cause Holts to suffer in sales because some customers that aren’t brand conscious might

opt for the cheaper knock-off version instead because they just like that style and don’t

necessarily care for the brand or the quality. Also some people that aren’t aware of the

differences of a higher end product and a lower end one might question why they would

want to purchase the more expensive version rather than the cheaper one.

DESCRIPTION OF EXISTING ASSORTMENT (ITEMS & BRANDS)

Holt Renfrew currently carries three different brands of women’s leather jackets,

which include Damir Doma, Mackage and Tory Burch. Also, the store only carries five

different styles of leather jackets at the time that the field research report was conducted.

Due to the fact that the field research was conducted relatively early in the Spring season,

not all the leather jackets may have been on the selling floor yet, which may be the reason

behind the limited number of brands and styles of leather jackets. Furthermore, due to the

fact that Holt Renfrew is known as a luxury retailer, they only offer high-end branded

products that are of high quality, in order to target their “well-travelled, informed,

ageless, fashion-savvy Canadian consumer in need of all luxury, available in a convenient

department store setting” (Williams, 2007).

CURRENT PRICING, PROMOTION & MARKETING STRATEGIES:

PRICING:

Holt Renfrew is a high-end department store; therefore the store prices their

products relatively high. However, customers are paying a higher price for products of

higher quality. This high pricing strategy can be seen through the prices of the leather

jackets at the store. The cheapest leather jacket that can be found at Holt Renfrew still

costs $630, which is relatively high. However, each jacket is made of genuine, real

leather, whereas leather jackets at other retailers may be cheaper, however often they are

only made of faux leather. In addition, Holt Renfrew must ensure that they price their

products higher because they want to sustain themselves as a luxury retailer. Therefore,

they only sell high-end brands, which cost more and have better quality at their stores.

PROMOTION/MARKETING:

The marketing strategy of Holt Renfrew is to “create a shopping experience that

treats the customer as an individual” (Canadian Business, 2007); therefore the store

constantly aims to provide the customer with an exclusive selection of merchandise. Due

to this, the store does not carry very many of the same product and products are not

replenished after it is sold, in order to produce that sense of exclusivity and one-of-a-kind

for the consumer. Furthermore, another main marketing strategy that Holt Renfrew

utilizes is to create an in-store experience for each of their customers. Therefore, each

customer that walks into Holt Renfrew receives a very personal experience from the well-

educated sales associates working at the store. The sales associates at Holt Renfrew have

strong product knowledge and are patient and give strong acknowledgement to each

customer in order to provide their customers with the best in-store experience and

customer service. Also, “each year, Holts’ stores across the country hold more than 300

events in an attempt to make the store not just a place to shop, but a destination”

(Williams, 2007). Most of the marketing and promotion campaigns are held within the

store, in order to enhance the in-store customer experience. Therefore, Holt Renfrew does

not have many campaigns out of the store such as billboard, magazine, television or radio

ads. However, Holt Renfrew does understand the growing use and importance of social

networking sites, therefore the store utilizes sites such as Facebook and Twitter to keep

their customers informed of what is happening within the store.

ASSORTMENT SWOT:

STRENGTHS:

A strength of the assortment is the exclusivity of the products within the

assortment. All the available styles of leather jackets are not available at any other retailer

in Canada. Furthermore, each style is exclusive to Holt Renfrew meaning customers

would not be able to purchase the same style at any other retailer. This helps gain

customer loyalty because customers are unable to go to another retailer to purchase the

same product that they may see at Holt Renfrew. Also, Holt Renfrew is doing really well

in ensuring that the products within their assortment “reflect all the latest trends but also

complements the realities of day-to-day living in the new millennium” (Pompili, 2000).

Therefore, customers can find products that follow the latest trends within the fashion

world, but can still be worn during their daily lifestyles. In addition, the styles of leather

jackets at the Yorkdale location also meet the demographics of the customers in this area,

by offering products that give a more conservative look. Therefore, the jackets that are

carried at the store are mostly in neutral tones with soft lambskin and fine details.

WEAKNESSES:

The weaknesses of the current assortment of leather jackets at Holt Renfrew are

the breadth of the assortment and the availability of stock. The store carries a very narrow

assortment of leather jackets, which gives the consumer a very limited choice of product.

There are only five different styles of leather jackets and three different brands for the

consumer to choose from, which is a very small selection for their customers. Also, even

with the narrow assortment of leather jackets, the store also has very limited availability

of each style that the store carries. This is a very big problem because it is important that

after the customer picks out the style that they would like to purchase, that the store

actually has stock of the product in the colour and size that the customer wants.

Furthermore, if a customer requested a style of leather jacket that is sold out, the store is

unable to place an order for them and the only way that the customer could purchase the

product is by transferring the product from another Holt Renfrew store. However, this is

only possible if the same leather jacket is available in the size and colour that the

customer wants at another Holt Renfrew store. Therefore, due to the fact that Holt

Renfrew does not carry very many of each style, it can result in a loss of sales, profit and

customer loyalty.

OPPORTUNITIES:

Holt Renfrew could sustain a larger market share by adding a wider assortment of

leather jackets within their stores. Since the department store already carries a large

number of different brands, they could easily increase the number of brands and styles of

leather jackets that they carry within their store. Also, Holt Renfrew currently carries the

most styles of leather jackets under the brand Mackage. However, many of the

competitors also carry this brand, including Mendocino and Aritzia. Therefore, this

reduces the exclusivity of the products offered by Holt Renfrew because customers can

easily find the same brand of leather jackets at competing retailers. Therefore, Holt

Renfrew could consider buying leather jackets from other brands that cannot easily be

found at competing retailers, such as Marc Jacobs.

THREATS:

A threat to the assortment of leather jackets at Holt Renfrew is the level of

exclusivity that competing retailers are beginning to offer. For example, just like how the

Mackage jackets offered at Holt Renfrew is exclusive to the store, Aritzia also carries a

selection of Mackage jackets that is only exclusive to their store. Therefore, Holt

Renfrew must consider incorporating other brands into their assortment of leather jackets

that cannot easily be found at other retailers or find other ways to differentiate their

leather jackets from those found in other retailers.

MARKET TREND INFO:

In the past year, the “prices for cattle hides [have been] on the rise as leather

demand rebounds and global supplies fall” (Aldrich, 2011), which shows that there has

been a higher demand for leather goods, including leather jackets. However, due to this

increased demand for leather goods, the prices of leather have also raised. There is an

increased demand because “consumers are buying leather goods as incomes rise”

(Aldrich, 2011) and “as economies around the world recover from recession, consumers

are again buying luxury leather goods” (Aldrich, 2011). This shows that leather goods

are currently a highly demanded product within the market; therefore Holt Renfrew

should consider increasing the amount of styles and brands within their assortment plan

to match the demand of leather jackets. Also, this trend shows that the demand for leather

jackets depends strongly on the income of customers; hence Holt Renfrew should pay

close attention to the demographics of their target market in regards to their annual

income when planning how much leather jackets they should buy for the store.

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS INCLUDING DESCRIPTION OF EXISTING

ASSORTMENT

The three competitors chosen all differ in terms of depth and breadth of assortment, and

the brand image. The competitors chosen are: White Space-The Bay, Mendocino, and

Aritzia

WHITE SPACE- THE BAY

BREADTH AND DEPTH

White Space is an exclusive area within The Bay that sells higher end merchandise, more

prestigious brands. White Space currently has a narrow breadth of assortment, carrying

only 3 brands. They also have a shallow depth of assortment, carrying 2 styles under AJ

(Armani Jeans) and Elie Tahari and only one style under Theory. Compared to the rest of

The Bay, The Bay offers a much larger breadth of assortment and they also hold more

inventory. Unlike the other retailers, White Space does not carry the Mackage brand,

reason being, Mackage does not live up to the high price points the other brands have.

BRAND/STYLE AND PRICE POINTS:

Current brands include: Theory, AJ (Armani Jeans), and Elie Tahari. These are all

prestigious brands you will not find at the other retailers because the price points on these

brands are a lot higher than the brands offered at the other retailers. The highest price

points of leather jackets in the other retailers ranges from $500-$600, but for white space

the minimum price point would be at least $700-$800, and highest being about $1000-

$1300. Most of these leather jackets were in neutral colours (beiges, blacks, tan), hence

there are no mark downs because neutral coloured leather jackets are easy to carry onto

the next season.

PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY:

In terms of promotions and markdowns, white space didn’t have any of the leather

jackets marked down, nor did they have special promotions on the leather jackets. But

there were leather jackets that are not within the White Space that was marked down. It is

very unlikely that White Space would mark down their leather jackets because they can

be worn throughout many seasons, unless it’s a certain colour/style that are in trend for

the specific season where they might need to do a few mark downs to move the

merchandise. But for neutral leather jackets they will most likely not be marked down

because they can easily be transferred onto the next season.

PACKAGING/ADVERTISING:

Compared to Mendocino and Artizia, the packaging/signage is much more upscale.

Designs revolve around the idea of a boutique, White Space is categorized by brand,

therefore each brand has their designated area. Whereas Mendocino and Artizia display

their jackets spread out around the whole store. At the White Space there’s more of a

focal point on the leather jackets, within each brand category there would be a specific

rack reserved for strictly leather jackets.

WEAKNESSES AND STRENGTHS:

White Space does not carry Mackage, which could be a weakness due to the popularity of

the brand, and especially leather jackets from the brand sell very well. Also the price

points on White Space’s leather jackets are very high, this could be a disadvantage

because they’re eliminating the younger demographic from their target market. Strengths

include the exclusivity of brands White Space carries, not many places carry the same

brands.

THREATS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR HOLT RENFREW:

White Space has an advantage due to the exclusivity of brands they carry, this may be a

threat to Holts. Holt Renfrew and White Space both carry very different brands therefore

it can be a threat for Holts because they could be missing the sales from the brands White

Space is carrying. Since White Space offers different brands than Holts, this can be an

opportunity for Holts to compete upon the exclusive brands they carry and pricing

because Holts has a lower price range which could attract customers. Holts also has an

advantage because Holts carry more trendy brands and this can attract a younger

demographic.

MENDOCINO

BREADTH AND DEPTH:

Mendocino has a narrow breadth of assortment, they’re currently only carrying 3 brands.

According to the depth of assortment, Mendocino has a medium to deep assortment,

under Mackage there are 4 styles, and there is one for Muubaa and Line.


The brands Mendocino carries are, Mackage (a very common brand that makes very

popular leather jackets), Line (a local designer brand), and Muubaa (a UK designer

brand). Price points for these brands are fairly similar, it ranges anywhere from $500 to

no more than $700 which are very reasonable prices if compared to Holt Renfrew and the

White Space price points.


Mendocino likes to markdown their leather jackets immensely, for example a Mackage

jacket retail price for $670 marked down twice to $350. The reason for the second mark

down was probably because it wasn’t selling as well as Mendocino thought they’d sell,

and to move it faster they marked it down even more the second time. In terms of strategy

and promotions there aren’t many promotions on leather jackets because they’re

considered staple items. Their strategy for merchandise that isn’t selling would be

marked down until it moves.


Mendocino’s packaging and display is nothing too fancy, leather jackets are displayed on

either racks or within the walls, and hung on black plastic hangers. The jackets are being

categorized by how new they were and price points. The sale leather jackets were hung at

the back on the walls, newer styles were placed in the front of the store on racks. In terms

of advertising Mendocino has a website including all the information needed on the

merchandise and they also have advertisements in magazines like Nylon, InStyle, and

Lucky.


Some weaknesses include the limited brands Mendocino offers and since Mackage is

such a common brand, hence it is being carried in 3 out of the 4 retailers (including

Holts). It could be a weakness because this would mean more competition for

Mendocino. One last weakness would be the lack of inventory in the store, if everything

on the floor is sold they’ll need to make orders, which can be time consuming and for

impatient customers will simply purchase the same leather jacket (if Mackage) from

another store. Strengths include the local designer brand “Line” and a UK designer brand

“Muubaa”, exclusivity of these brands will be an advantage for Mendocino.

THREATS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR HOLT RENFREW:

The two exclusive brands Mendocino carries like Line and Muubaa, could be a threat to

Holt Renfrew. But Holt Renfrew has a good customer loyalty program as well as

customer incentives which will attract more customers than Mendocino would.

Mendocino targets mostly 20 to 30 year olds, whereas Holt Renfrew’s target market is

much wider, not only including the 20 to 30 year olds but extending to even the 50 to 60

year olds.

ARITZIA

BREADTH AND DEPTH:

Aritzia has a narrow breadth of assortment including only one brand, Mackage. The

depth of the assortment is shallow to medium, including only 3 styles under the Mackage

brand. But considering that these styles are the best sellers and they’re exclusive styles.


The only brand Aritzia carries of leather jackets is Mackage and the three styles are

Kenya, Elie, and Lauren. These are all exclusive styles available at Aritzia only, there is a

stamp on the inside of the jackets claiming that the jacket is made exclusively for Aritzia

(Refer to Exibit 1). The prices are fairly similar, it ranges from $550 to $600.


Mackage leather jackets are rarely marked down at Aritzia, they are usually marked

down during the Christmas sale. But other than the big Christmas sale they are usually

not marked down.


In terms of in-store display Mackage jackets are hung on a sturdy black hangers with

security locks, which is something the other stores lack. For advertising on Aritzia’s blog

they advertise their “exclusive” Mackage jackets a lot and information could also be

found on the Aritzia website.


Aritzia lacks the variety and brands, the other retailers have at least 3 brands carrying

leather jackets, Aritzia only has one. This can be a big disadvantage especially because

Mackage is such a common brand many retailers are carrying the brand as well. Also

Aritzia mostly targets the younger demographic which retrains them from selling to a

wider range of demographics. A major advantage Aritzia has are the exclusive Mackage

jackets they offer, Artizia teamed up with Mackage to specifically design these jackets to

fit their clientele, these jackets are made for Aritzia and can only be found at Aritzia.

THREATS AND OPPORTUNITIES:

The exclusive Mackage jackets Aritzia carries is a major threat to Holt Renfrew because

Holts only carry the common styles of the Mackage leather jackets. But as mentioned

earlier Aritzia mostly targets the younger demographic, therefore this is an opportunity

for Holts. If Holts concentrate on providing on-going service to their current customers

and continue recruiting new brands into the company they would be able to maintain their

customers and attract new ones as well.

RECOMMENDED SIX MONTH PLAN

The Spring Leather Jackets that Holt Renfrew will be carry for Spring season

have medium to light texture that suitable to the weather. Therefore, the estimate Sales %

plan for Jan and Feb is 5% which is less than months of March, April and May 30% to

20% Sales. Month of June off season predicts to be around 10% Sales. The Reduction

Plan for total season is 25% which is $375,000. This amount is distributed 10% for the

beginning of season from Jan-Feb, 15% Mar-Apr, 25% ending season May-Jun. A 2.0

stock to sale ratio is a reasonable amount of stock for the department to carry through the

entire season. BOP of Jan is $375,000, using the BOP formula to get BOP from Feb to

Jun. The amount of EOP of the month is just the beginning of the next month number.

Jun EOP predicts to be $500,000. Total Purchase retail dollar Plan estimates 2 Million for

the season with the markup of 65%. Purchase dollar at cost Plan is the sum of the whole

season monthly purchase costs which is $700,000. Gross margin dollar plan is $941,250

(63%) which is significantly high for the budget plan sale of $1,500,000. Keep moving

on with this plan will give us 2.40 turnover in dollar plan of season and 70% sell through

plan.

RECOMMENDED ASSORTMENT- RATIONALE

ASSORTMENT STRATEGY

The Holt Renfrew Yorkdale location is a B level store, which caters to the fashion

savvy suburban population throughout the GTA. The store is highly successful in

women’s leather jackets throughout the months of August to October. The first four to

five months of the year, the store carries a minimal selection of women’s leather jackets;

this is due to cold weather and a lack of demand for leather jackets. Leather jacket

designs are highly competitive; each season designers are competing in obtaining the

ideal silhouette and leather dye combination. 2010 and 2011 were the years for studs and

shearling, prior to Burberry Prorsum’s launch of their jackets, they had advertised heavily

online and throughout all major fashion publications. These jackets had completely sold

out in Canada and many shoppers utilized online retailers such as, Net-A-Porter,

SaksFifthAvenue, and Nordstrom (Exhibit 2). The excitement and availability of

women’s leather jackets at Holt Renfrew Yorkdale are limited and lack a presence. The

contemporary women’s leather jackets are currently displayed with tops from other

brands to introduce the look to the shopper. The designer leathers are placed with similar

colours on a rack with no available display. Leather jackets no longer have the

connotation of heavy warm jackets in the spring/summer season as these jackets are worn

as an accessory. The current available leathers are lighter weight and are much softer in

comparison to fall.

Conducting a thorough trend analysis for Spring/Summer 2013 and analyzing the

colour trends and looks to match with Holt Renfrew’s consumer’s taste level is ideal.

However, market research is most important in obtaining a competitive dominance.

Similarly, Burberry Prorsum’s advertisement campaign was a result of the success of the

new Prorsum line but also the additional demand created for Burberry leather jackets.

Holt Renfrew has a comparative advantage over its competitors, as the retailer is

dominant in designer women’s apparel and as a buyer for the company, the advantage

lies in exclusivity. Additional networking with vendors in obtaining a highly competitive

assortment strategy by obtaining exclusive product launch campaigns with appropriate

styles, colours and fabric will put Holts in a competitive advantage. Holt Renfrew

launches semi-annual magazines, one for men and women. The company hires an agency

to shoot the featured pieces in a fashion editorial, which showcases designers whom

choose to feature specific pieces and fund the campaign. The magazines are free and are

sent to every shopper whom chooses to subscribe. These featured pieces are the must-

haves of the season and sell quickly. Similar to handbags, women’s spring/summer

leather jackets are becoming a statement accessory piece. Some designs are bold and

other ideal for brighter colour savvy individuals, however, the Canadian market is slowly

adopting. The Holt Renfrew consumer will appreciate the Spring/Summer 2013

assortment as the new strategy will create excitement and pave the way for a profitable

category.

PRICING STRATEGY

The leather jackets are separated to contemporary and designer leather jackets.

The contemporary leather jackets are the entry-level jackets price ranging from $600-

$999, and designer jackets are above $1000 (Exhibit 3). Contemporary and designer

leathers hold a given 65% mark-up. However, contemporary leathers usually hold a 75%

mark-up as designer leathers are 65%. This pricing strategy caters to Holt Renfrew’s

clientele, as the target demographic range from 18-60 females with a high disposable

income of above $80,000. The Montreal based brand, Mackage does very well and is the

first to sell out. They are considered an entry-level priced leather jackets starting at $600,

they are made with utmost quality and part of their success with Holt Renfrew is their

Canadian heritage along with their on trend designs (Exhibit 4). In comparison to Holt

Renfrew’s competitors like Aritzia and Mendocino, the available Mackage leather jackets

at these stores are all different. Aritzia had adopted an exclusive Mackage line for their

stores, and the Mackage jackets available at Mendocino are not seen in any Holt Renfrew

stores. This maintains the exclusivity of the brand and specific retailers that are able to

carry certain jackets. Theory and Damir Doma are available styles for the contemporary

leather jacket consumer, one who seeks an alternative to the saturated market of Mackage

leathers. They are of similar price point and different styles and lifestyles completely.

Designer leathers are priced above $1000 for the high fashion clientele, which

include a highly recognized Japanese designer, Junya Watanabe and Stockholm’s

famouse Acne. The buy for these two brands are two completely different biker jackets.

Biker jackets were first introduced in 2010 throughout Europe and the past seasons Holt

Renfrew has lacked the availability of this trend. Hence, a refined look of the biker jacket

was selected with an alternative colour, Pantone 14-4516 (Exhibit 5) will be a fresh

introduction to the Canadian market. Apart from these two designers, Tory Burch,

Helmut Lang, and Vince are also available in the designer leather jacket category; these

brands have been available but have not been a classified game-changer. The

introduction of these brands will provide the excitement this category has been lacking.

PROMOTIONAL & MARKETING PLAN

In 2010, the flagship store of Holt Renfrew dedicated a window to each famous

fashion blogger as they were huge trendsetters and fashion blog forms were the way to

keep up with trends. These window displays were featured on various blogs, and social

media mediums, the windows received a large amount of recognition and hype as a

contest was also incorporated into the campaign. This instilled shoppers that Holt

Renfrew was up to date with trends and endorsed the fact that fashion was changing and

bloggers were the new form of receiving trend updates. Leather jackets would take a

similar approach by featuring mannequins dressed like famous fashion icons wearing the

selected leather jackets of the season. The window displays would be similar to pictures

taken by fashion photographer Tommy Ton (Exhibit 6). The window idea is bold and is

highlighting the trend to the viewer; it will inspire the viewer to want to walk into the

store to see the jacket.

Though store window displays may be effective for local traffic, not all Holt

Renfrew’s clients have the time or pass by a window display. Hence, the marketing

campaign must be nationwide and utilization of the Holt’s semi-annual magazine is

necessary. Vendors whom are selected have the option to participate in funding the

magazine, they provide the selected pieces in advance and an agency is hired to shoot an

fashion editorial for the magazine. The magazine is a huge success for the retailer and the

featured items are always the first to sell out. Holt Renfrew is a dominant retailer for

women’s apparel and has the purchasing power to gain exclusivity and market effectively

to its ever-lasting client base. Hence, a thorough market research is necessary and

enforces trust in the consumer as they see and notice the same trends available throughout

the fashion capitals of the world. Then with the capability of translating it to meet the

Canadian market’s satisfaction and showing the availability will result in a successful

campaign and increase this category’s potential in future seasons.

RECOMMENDED ASSORTMENT PLAN

REFERENCES

Lee, Jenny. "Easter Brunch and Chocolate." Www.vancouversun.com. Web. 03 Apr. 2012. http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Holt Renfrew staging their success/5461628/story.html.

Aldrich, L. (2011, Mar 07). Hide prices ride leather boom. Wall Street Journal, pp. C.6-

C.6. http://ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/

855167364?accountid=13631

Directly speaking-holt renfrew. (2007, Jun 04). Canadian Business, 80(12), S22-S22.

http://ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/221368777?

accountid=13631

Pompili, M. (2000). The style of life: Fashion, comfort and the realities of day-to-day

living are front and centre in holt renfrews latest advertising campaign. Marketing,

105(45), 24-24. http://ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/

docview/227192374?accountid=13631

Williams, N. (2007). Retail brand of the year: Holt RenfrewHaute holts an integrated

strategy helps the retailer shine. Strategy, , 57-57. http://ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/login?

url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/214162223?accountid=13631

"Blue Bergitt." Blue Bergitt. Web. 03 Apr. 2012.

http://bluebergitt.wordpress.com/2012/03/21/spring-summer-2013-color-trends/.

"LEATHERS //." Womens Leather Jackets, Leathers Coats, Designer Leathers. Web. 03

Apr. 2012. http://www.ssense.com/women/designers/all/leathers.

"Junya Watanabe." Web. 03 Apr. 2012. http://www.net-a-porter.com/product/191496

"Acne Jackets." ShopStyle. Web. 03 Apr. 2012.

http://www.shopstyle.com/browse/jackets/Acne.

"Blue Bergitt." Blue Bergitt. Web. 03 Apr. 2012. <

http://bluebergitt.wordpress.com/2012/03/30/spring-summer-2013-fashion-color-trends/.

http://bluebergitt.wordpress.com/2012/03/30/spring-summer-2013-fashion-color-trends/

http://www.shopstyle.com/browse/jackets/Acne

http://www.net-a-porter.com/product/191496

http://www.ssense.com/women/designers/all/leathers

http://bluebergitt.wordpress.com/2012/03/21/spring-summer-2013-color-trends/

http://ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/214162223?accountid=13631






http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Holt%20Renfrew%20staging%20their%20success/5461628/story.html

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Holt%20Renfrew%20staging%20their%20success/5461628/story.html

"Lenzing Colors." Fashion Trend Setter. Lenzing AG. Web.

http://www.fashiontrendsetter.com/downloads/Lenzing-Trends-Spring-Summer-

2013.pdf.

Jak & Jil. Web. www.jakandjil.com.

Mackage. Web. www.mackage.com.

SongofStyle. Web. www.songofstyle.blogspot.ca .

EXHIBITS

http://www.songofstyle.blogspot.ca/

http://www.mackage.com/

http://www.jakandjil.com/

http://www.fashiontrendsetter.com/downloads/Lenzing-Trends-Spring-Summer-2013.pdf


EXHIBIT 1

EXHIBIT 2

The Canadian market is so small and sizes become an issue for many consumers, hence, e-Commerce is utilized for fashion savvy Canadian clients.

SaksFifthAvenue, U.S Based Retailer

Net-A-Porter, Based in France

Nordstrom, U.S Based Retailer

EXHIBIT3

Refer to assortment plan

EXHIBIT 4

Contemporary Leathers

Mackage, Camel Debora Jacket Style #7106$560

Mackage, Robbie Jacket Style #7001$690

Mackage, Onella Jacket Style #7000$660

Damir Doma Style #7006 Black$695

Theory Style Style #7151$795

Tory Burch Style #0008 Black$995

DESIGNER LEATHERS

Acne, Rita Lightweight leather Style $8000$1400

Junya Watanabe, Cropped Faux Leather Biker Jacket Style #800$1050

Vince, Lamb Leather Crewneck Jacket Oyster Style #7128$1495

Vince, Lamb Leather Blazer Blush Style #6804$1200

Helmut Lang Style #7015 $1495

EXHIBIT 5

“Energetic and striking tones of orange exude deliberation and pragmatic intention.

Grass green hues of iridescence fuse melodically with cherry red undertones creating the

perfect unification.” http://www.fashionising.com/trends/b--spring-2013-fashion-trends-

summer-2013-fashion-22683.html



http://www.fashionising.com/trends/b--spring-2013-fashion-trends-summer-2013-fashion-22683.html

http://www.fashionising.com/trends/b--spring-2013-fashion-trends-summer-2013-fashion-22683.html



A thorough colour trend forecast for Spring/Summer 2013 shows that many

vibrant pastel colours are common. Hence, introducing the Acne biker jacket in the

Pantone 14-4516 (the jacket is a very similar colour) will definitely be unique and

something no other retailer in Canada will offer. Along with the Junya Watanabe biker

jacket in a classic black. The Mackage, Tory Burch and Vince leathers all have vibrant

creamy Earth tones (orange, light beige, and a bit pale beige in colour).



EXHIBIT 6

Jak&Jil Blog, Tommy Ton

The window displays will have mannequins with drawn on faces imitating these fashion

icons and wearing the selected leather jackets.

RMG Buying Project FINAL1

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