Strategic Plan: Quantitative Analysis I & II

Color Forecast: each member will look at the following years to find the main colors in upholstery, fashion items, accessories, industry, etc. and analyze the color information to find any correlating relationships between color themes and the context of society including political, social, cultural and economic factors.  

1978 -- 1984 Kristine
1986 -- 1992 Melissa
1994 -- 1998 Anni
2000 -- 2004 Ashley
2006 -- 2009 Alex

Prepare color board for 2010, including inspiration, theme and names for each color, shade, tint or tone.

Determine End User by Friday, 31. October 2008

First research Butler Bag’s current target market. Are there any markets that are not being served and could use a bag? What are they looking for in a bag? How much are they willing to pay? How does this determine the materials to create the bag?

Capture Momentum of 2008

Take photos of inspiration and interesting fashion, architecture, nature, etc. Look at media including fashion magazines, television, political coverage of presidential election, hit movies, music, newspapers, etc. Find what makes people buy.

Find hidden currents of 2008 and 2009. Look for previous similar patterns and how they affected fashion trends.

Find Competitors of Butler Bag

Research three direct competitors of Butler Bag, finding their current and past sales. Which fabrics are they using, price points and target markets?

Synthesize Findings

Synthesize the findings collected in our blog concerning 2008 and our forecast for 2010.

Develop Bag

Create swatch palette, materials, working price points, perceived value of bag as determined by target market and find what consumers are willing to spend.

Each member is to continue posting research for all of the aforementioned topics on our blog.

Pantone Fashion Color Report for Spring 2009

Here is some more forecasts for 2009, courtesy of Pantone.

Pantone Fashion Color Report- Spring 2009

Poster and survey

Here is our feedback form

.. and you will find our poster at this link.

Color Trends for Spring-Summer 2009

“This colour palette presented as all the others presented by TFL has very nature inspired overtones, come across as incredibly Earthy and quite heavy on the brown leaving us with the feeling very much of old country simplicity.”

“A world deeply inspired by colours of the Mediterranean beaches, where the strong appeal of the sea combines with the period of figurative arts. Flaming and almost primary colours convey strength and energy, but drive us towards a measured chromatic indiscipline through creative and post-futuristic combinations, daring with creative couplings.”

These colors are not too bright, they have a more calm appearance too them while having many variations in color. All these colors also seem to be picked to portray a feeling of tranquility and comfort.



http://www.fashionising.com

1986 Economy: American Workforce and Union Activity

According to a New York Times article published 15. February 1987, 4.7 million additional Americans found work during 1986, which indicates an increase in spending power, as 4.7 million more people were earning their own money. Unions at this time were striving to increase membership of women, as more women were beginning to work outside of the home. This all affects the fashion industry, as women in 1986 were increasingly looking to purchase professional wardrobes and had the money to do so.

1986 Demographics and Psycographics

According to our textbook, the major "age cohorts" are the G.I. generation (born between 1901 and 1924), the silent generation (born between 1925 and 1942), the baby boom generation (born between 1943 and 1960), generation x (born between 1961 and 1981), and generation y (born between 1982 and present?). In 1986 the major demographics would be the baby boom generation and generation x. The baby boomers produced the hippies and the yuppies while generation x produced no specifically defined image that can be connected to them.

The How Stuff Works website has these questions to help determine psychographics:
-What do they like about your product?
-What do they like about your competitor's product?
-What made them decide to buy your product?
-Did they know which brand they were buying before they purchased it?
-What advertising messages had they seen prior to buying?
-How much disposable or discretionary income is available for this type of purchase?
-What are their hobbies?
-What emotional aspects impact their purchase?
-What is their social class or status?
-Who is the actual decision-maker for this type of purchase?
-What values and attitudes play a part in this type of purchase?
-Who do they look to when making purchasing decisions?

Using what we know about the different generations and these questions, we can try to determine the market that they would have been selling to in 1986. Overall they were selling to two very different markets. The baby boomers were more family oriented and at the same time they were striving to reach professional goals. They would be looking for a product that was affordable and helped make their life easier, all while putting out a professional image. Generation x had more computer technology than any previous generation had seen. They also found personal needs, wants, and goals the most important. They wanted to know "what's in it for me?" Generation x would be looking for a product that is advanced and was just for them. They might have more discretionary income to spend on themselves than the baby boomers because the boomers had families to spend that money on as well. This is just an overall look at the two generations and in no way means that every consumer of that generation adhered to these rules.

1986 Big Bang in London

On 27. October 1986, doing business through the stock market in London changed dramatically. In one huge step, known as Big Bang, trading in the Stock Exchange became a professional undertaking, as brokers began to do business through telephone and the computer instead of face-to-face. Technology changed the nature of the business in London forever. Looking back after these drastic changes had been implemented for ten years, Financial Times reporter George Graham found mixed feelings concerning Big Bang. It certainly elevated the Stock Exchange in London to a more global level, and with it brought a sense of professionalism. Some felt that it was anti-climatic, although others felt it was too sudden and should have been addressed in stages.

Elevating the Stock Exchange in London to a global level, instead of solely at the national level, certainly had a profound impact on the economy and business of trading stocks. This fundamental reform through improved technology and deregulation of the markets caused an economic boom that boosted the British economy for the next 20 years.

You may read the original article here.