Range Development

PRINCIPLES AND TECHNIQUES OF MERCHANDISING

SIGNATURE OF THE FACULTY

SUBMITTED BY: ALOK JAISWAL HAGE MONYA EL DIM NIANG SIANG KULDEEP SINGH LIPSA MOHAPATRA MONIKA VERMA

SWETA DAS

RANGE DEVELOPMENT ON WOMEN’S SPRING- SUMMER WEAR – 09 IN GOKALDAS IMAGES BANGALORE

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RANGE DEVELOPMENT PROCEDURE

RANGE DEVELOPMENT

RESEARCH

STORY MAKING

CASUAL LOOK

FORECASTING

LOOK

FORMAL WEAR

JEANS WEAR

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

FABRIC SELECTION

DOCKETING

SAMPLING

TRIM SELECTION

PRESENTATION

SAMPLE SELECTION

ORDER PLACEMENT

COSTING

TNA

ALL APPROVALS

SHIPMENT

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RANGE DEVELOPMENT It basically depends on the •

Season selected

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Buyer(his own ranges)

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Buyer strategy

A manufacturer design or product development department plans and creates new styles within the company’s image or identity. Merchandisers or product managers, designers, and their assistants are all involved in the development of a line or collection of the fashion manufacturers’ product. Product/Range development is the process of market and trend research, merchandising design, and development of the final product. In a large company, a designer, a merchandiser, perhaps a product manager, and their assistants are assigned to each division. Mainly it’s the team effort that gives the results. Each season, the design and merchandising departments of each division are responsible for creating a new line, the seasonal collection, that the manufacturer will sell to store retail buyers. 4

Work of a new line begins approximately eight months before the selling season. Say sportswear design begins a year in advance of the selling season. The design and merchandising team has about two and a half months to complete line development. Designers and merchandisers also work on two or more lines at once, designing a future collection while checking samples from the one that is about to be produced. They are finishing work on the spring line while beginning fabric research for summer. Most women’s wear companies produce four or five seasonal lines a year; spring, summer, transitional, fall ,and holiday or resort. Men’s sportswear firms also have four line releases a year as compared to men’s suits, which have just two. Children’s wear firms have three or four, depending on the product focus. RESEARCH In this the designers along with the manufacturers go for research on the basis of preferences done by the buyer. They research their target market to learn buying habits and preferences. Manufacturers and retailers ask consumers directly about their preferences.

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Consumer reactions are compiled and tabulated to find preferences for certain garments or accessories, colors, or sizes, and so on, or preferences for particular retailers. This information can be used to create new products to fit specific consumer tastes. Methods of questioning consumers can be formal or informal. Buyers and sales associates may talk with customers in the store. Manufacturers may hire market research companies to make inquiries by telephone or mail and to hold consumer focus group meetings. Every manufacturer and retailer researches its own sales records. Rising sales statistics show what styles have passed their peak. Overall weak sales show that a style is not meeting consumer needs for fashion, quality or fit. FASHION FORECASTING Designers, merchandisers and buyers must learn to predict trends, which are new directions in fashion. It would be impossible to ask consumers what they will want to wear a year or two in advance – they would not know themselves. Designers, merchandisers and retailers must work so far ahead of the selling season to produce or stock the fashions their customers will want, they must learn to anticipate customers’ wants and needs – to be fashion forecasters of the future.

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Fashion forecasting involves: 1. Studying market conditions – consumer’s buying behavior is influenced by society, economics, technology, and the environment 2. Noting the life-styles of the men, women, or children who are the customers 3. researching sales statistics to establish sales trends 4. Evaluating the popular designer collections to find fashions (colors, silhouettes, fabrications, lengths) that suggest new directions or “trends” 5. Surveying fashion publications, catalogs, and design services from around the world 6. Observing “street fashions”(what people are wearing) and what celebrities are wearing 7. Keeping up with current events, the arts, and the mood of the public STORY MAKING This is followed by forecasting. In this the designers have to look for all the factors that need to be taken into part when forecasting a new product. Say if they go for a women’s garment then they have to look for all the added accessories to it, which has to be in tune with the product to be forecasted. This in tune has to be season based, else its of no use. Based on the work, they need to decide the graphics for print, embroidery, styling, etc. Color palette is done on the basis of color selection.

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LOOK This again depends on the type of attire the manufacturer is into. When a manufacturer thinks of producing a garment then he goes for casual look, formal wear, jeans wear. In casual look he has to go for colors and prints which give a cool and comfortable look, and this should match with the season, its feel and everything. In formal wear the look has to be very professional, as a result of which things have to be planned accordingly. The trousers, cufflinks, and belts should match with the look. In jeans wear, the look will be very casual and T-shirts, shades and watches etc have to be matched accordingly. Jeans are again of various colors and GSM which has to be chosen by the designers looking into the target market

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PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

PRODUCT DEVELOP MENT

MARKET AND TREND RESEARC H

ECONOMI CAL, GLOBAL & TECHNOL OGICAL INFLUENC ES

COLOR

FABRIC

CULTURA L& ARTISTIC RESOURC ES

COMPANY GOALS

MERCHAN DISING: PLAN, BUDGET, LINE, SIZE

DESIGN: IDEA/ HSKET

SAMPLE PATTERN

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SEWING/ FITTING

SAMPLE GARMENT

LINE SELECTIO N

Merchandisers or product managers, designers and their assistants are all involved in the development of a line or collection of the fashion manufacture’s product. This is known as product development or range development i.e. a development of a line of products according to the season or occasion or theme chosen. The product development team Responsibilities for product development, design and merchandising vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. Product development is the process of market and trend research, merchandising, design and development of the final prod Merchandising: Merchandising is planning to have the right merchandise at the right time in right quantity and at the right price to meet the needs of the company’s target customers. It is also the manner in which a group or line of garments is presented to the public – the way the line will look in the stores. Cost merchandising: Based on costs for last season’s styles, merchandisers establish price points for garments to be designed. It is very important for merchandisers and designers to understand how fabric and production costs affect pricing.

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Scheduling : The merchandiser, or product manager, sets up a schedule of deadlines for styling, finished samples, and production to meet the required shipping dates. These dates are, of course, coordinated with the production department. Merchandisers meet regularly with designers, the sales staff, and production managers to discuss company goals, budget requirements, line size, delivery dates, sizes and so on. Merchandisers and designers have to plan production based on how they think the line will sell by group, color, and size in the stores. Seasons Each season, the design and merchandising departments of each division are responsible for creating a new line, the seasonal collection, that the manufacturer will sell to retail store buyers. Work on a new line begins approximately eight months before the selling season. The design and merchandising team has about two and a half months to complete line development. Design elements: Keeping the theme of the group in mind, a designer must incorporate a pleasing combination of all elements of good design – color, fabric, line, and shape into each garment.

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Fabric : Designers and merchandisers first select fabrics for each group in the line and specific fabrics for each style. It includes: 1. Fabric selection 2. Fabric characteristics - texture - performance - weight and hand 3. Fiber content 4. Patterns 5. Price considerations 6. Sample cuts Color Color is the first element to which consumers respond, often selecting or rejecting a garment because of its color appeal. Color is particularly important in today’s fashion. Therefore designers must consider their customers and provide colors that are both appealing and flattering. People connect certain colors with holidays and seasons. We can choose warm colors, cool colors and neutrals.

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Color dimensions: It has three different dimensions: - hue - value - intensity Line After selecting the fabric, the designer must consider the other elements of good design. Line refers to the direction of visual interest in a garment created by construction details such as seams, openings, pleat, gathers, tucks, topstitching, and trims. Lines have the power to create moods and feelings. Vertical lines remind us of upright, majestic figures and suggest stability. Horizontal lines are like lines at rest, they suggest repose, quiet, and calm. Soft, curving lines express grace, and diagonal lines imply powerful movement and vitality. Shape: It is used to describe the outline of the whole garment. It is responsible for one of our first impressions of a garment.It should be related to body structure, but some

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variation is needed to add interest. Bodies that do well in one season are usually updated in a new fabric or color for the next season. Style board: To chart the development of the line as a whole, the designer arranges working sketches of all garments in fabric and color groups on a large board, which is essentially a master plan. The board is posted on the wall of the design room. Designing a sample garment: The first sample garment or prototype is the test to see if a design is successful. The first pattern: The next step in the product development procedure is making the first pattern, which is used to cut and sew the prototype, or first sample garment. The pattern is made in a sample size, the one used for testing and selling purposes. The patternmaker can use either of two methods for making patterns: draping, flat pattern, or computer generated. The designer work sheet: Records are kept on all styles as they develop. Each designer fills out a work sheet containing information that guides the production department in figuring costs and in ordering piece goods and trimmings. Many companies now use product data management(PDM) systems to collate this information. In this case,

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each department responsible (such as fabrics, trims, designs) enters its own data into the computer. The work sheet or PDM includes all or part of following information: - date the garment was designed - selling season - sizes in which design will be made - style no assigned to the design - short description of garment - working sketch of the design to make it easy to identify the garment - colors or color combination - fabric swatches - material descriptions, like fabric type, source, width, and price per yard - marker width, usually one inch narrower than fabric - trimmings information: kinds, sources, sizes, and prices of buttons, zippers, braids, lace, belts, elastic, and so on; special fabric treatments done by outside contractors, such as pleating , spaghetti straps, and ties, are also included . - labor costs for grading , marking, cutting, sewing, finishing, garment dyeing , and washing; etc.

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DOCKETING: It’s a style sheet made by designer, with all designs of the product, trims , accessories, for sampling purposes. This sheet is given to the production department people mainly the sample tailors who initially go for preparing the garment before production starts in bulk. The information about all the things related to the garment is a result of the output of the designer, of the manufacturing unit. SAMPLING: To test the forecasted design, the designer orders a 3-5 yard cut of a fabric to make a sample garment. They initially order enough for many samples, perhaps 100 yards or more. They commit to a fabric order even before having a collection to show. Once fabrics have been selected, the designer can begin to create styles. PRESENTATION: In this the style the design that the designer has made is given a shape by the sample tailors under the manufacturer’s brand name. And when the buyer’s come, they go through the sample designs. It happens they may like the style and ask for production, some may even reject it. If they accept they may ask for bulk production with the same style color and

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everything but if they wish they can ask for slight variations in fabric, color, trims, etc. Once the proto-sample is made for a particular buyer it is liable to change. But until then it’s the manufacturer’s property, so he can do as he wishes. SAMPLE SELECTION: When the buyer chooses the particular style, the he goes for sample selection. During this process he can select any design, fabric, trim, and colors. For fabric – fabric type, quality, quantity, sources etc. For trims – threads, elastics, interfacings, laces, embroidery, ribbons, braids and cords, zippers and buttons, labels, hangtags, etc. The thing is finalized here and the manufacture starts with the proto sample. ORDER PLACEMENT: When everything is finalized then the order is placed before the company by the buyer or retailer. This then starts in bulk and the company tries to complete the order in allocated time. This deal is made with the top management and the merchandiser of the company with the buyer, wherein all negotiations are made, and things are finalized there. Any changes asked by any party are not taken into consideration, normally.

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COSTING: The production cost of a garment is mutually determined by the manufacturer and contractor. Costing is an exact calculation by the sourcing department and the contractor, using actual figures for materials and labor, based on how long it takes to make an entire garment. They use the designer’s work sheet, a prototype garment, and the production pattern to analyze materials and construction. Usually, final costs are mutually agreed on between manufacturer and contractor based on the production costs of similar garments made last season. A detailed cost analysis may be made for each garment, including expenses for fabric, trims, cutting, labor, overhead, sales commission, and manufacturer’s profit. COST CONSIDERATIONS 1. Materials 2. Trimmings 3. Production pattern making, grading and marking 4. Spreading and cutting 5. Assembly 6. Finishing 7. Freight 8. Duty and quota

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Wholesale pricing: The manufacturer determines the wholesale price by adding the cost of labor and materials to a mark up. The markup covers sales commission usually 7-10%, overhead, and a profit which is needed for staying in business. They include the direct cost: fabric purchased, trimmings, labor and Indirect cost: design and manufacturing, general administrative overhead, sales commission, trade discount, markdown allowance, promotion, other retail services, profit before taxes, etc. Costing in the company is done with a minimum GP (gross profit) of 20% if its of a domestic order, wherein if it an export order it diverts 14% and 8.7% goes for the duty drawback, which is obtained from the government to the company. This is added to the company’s account. So 14%+8.7% = around 20%. This minimum quantity plays a vital role where company quotes high profit. TIME AND ACTION PLAN(TNA PLAN) This is planned by the PPC (pre-production planning and control) department, where a pre-planned format is planned starting from the production floor to the shipment.

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Respective departments are given with the target sheets where they have to plan according to the sheet and reach their target. TNA plan is discussed with each department managers and put before them. So production has to be completed in time followed by finishing department, packaging and then truck out. In cases of unavoidable circumstances the matter can be negotiated with the buyer. APPROVALS: When all the above things are done, all the approvals are passed from all departments, like quality, production, planning, merchandising, etc.Then finally the buyer gives a nod and the company plans for shipment in whichever mode it has been asked to. SHIPMENT: Now the fabric is ready for shipment. The cost of shipping completed garments from the contractor to the manufacturer’s warehouse must be calculated. A percentage of the air or sea freight cost must be added to the cost of each garment. The cost of shipping garments to the retailer is generally paid by the receiver. Manufacturers must pay air- freight, however, if they are late with their delivery.

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To further complicate matters, manufacturers have to choose from various combinations of transportation packages that must be negotiated. Manufacturers make these arrangements directly with contractors, through representatives, or agents. FREE ON BOARD (FOB) Includes payment for the contractor to get the finished merchandise to the ship or plane in the country where it is made. LANDED , DUTY PAID(LDP): It is a complete package, which pays the contractor to ship the merchandise, including paying duty, to the distribution center in the USA by a specified date. This costs more but is less bother. COST, INSURANCE, FREIGHT (CIF) It pays for insurance and freight to the final destination. Manufacturers must allow approximately 4-35 days for sea transportation, depending upon origin, or 3-10 days for air delivery. Finished garments are returned to the manufacturers’ distribution centers for shipping to retail stores.

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LADIES COLLECTION

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SILHOUTTES

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