Victoria Secret Curve Business Plan for Made Up Business PDF

Preview

Summary

Prof Iris Mohr:
Assignment: To create a business plan for a retail business (made up) including the following aspects:

Table of contents (1 page)
Project Executive Summary (1 page)
Marketing Plan (between 8-12 pages)
Website link and printout (minimum 5 pages)

Description

-

Victoria’s Secret Curve Marketing Strategy St. John’s University

Table of Contents 1. Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………….2 2. Marketing Plan……………………………………………………………...…………......3 3. Website Link and Website Printout………………………………………………………..x 4. Mobile Templates………………………………………………………………………….x 5. Blueprint (With Explantation)............................................................................................x 6. Visual Store Prototype…………………………………………………………………….x 7. Visual Store Prototypes Variation Explanation:...................................................................x

Section 1: Executive Summary

Victoria’s Secret is one of the world’s most recognized brands and the largest and most successful retailer of lingerie and related products in America. Founded by Roy Raymond in 1977, the brand has since grown to be responsible for more than 50% of lingerie brands’ revenue.The brand currently controls 35% of the lingerie market and has posted quarter after quarter of same-store sales growth. Plus-size customers were petitioning executives to offer larger sizes, the brand also faced widespread backlash for its "Perfect Body" ad two years ago, which featured a row of stick-thin Angels dressed in lingerie. Customers complained that Victoria's Secret was promoting false stereotypes of beauty and the company eventually apologized for the ad. That is why we decided to start this additional subsidiary, Victoria’s Secret Curve, we want to provide affordable intimate wear for women of plus sizes. The largest panty size it offers is XL, or equivalent to a size 16. The fashion industry defines plus-size clothing as sizes 12 to 24, though many retailers offer up to a size 28 to meet demand. We want women everywhere to feel sexy while wearing a popular brand like Victoria's Secret. Our aim to make profit and at the same time ensure affordability and quality. Victoria’s Secret Curve will be available online and in all stores. Depending on how well this subsidiary does, the amount of space it has in the regular Victoria’s Secret stores will expand gradually. We will also offer it in magazines where women can call and order the products. We are trying to reach all plus size women and show them that we are providing what they need in the most convenient way possible. Our goal is to make plus size women feel just as beautiful and sexy as women of all other sizes. We want to show them that beauty and sexiness have nothing to do with size. Our positioning is already in place because we’re going off of what Victoria’s Secret has already

built. The Victoria’s Secret annual fashion show, debuted in 1995, is just one shining example of their strategic brand building efforts. Yes, profit is extremely important to us, but we also understand the bigger picture, one strategic event can indirectly impact our bottom line. The fashion event of the year and reportedly is worth $5 billion in sales for Victoria’s Secret. In conclusion, we want our target market to grow from specifically sized women to all sized women.

Section 2: Target Customers Victoria’s Secret Curve essentially has the same demographic as the regular Victoria’s Secret line, which is the #1 specialty women’s intimates retailer. Victoria’s Secret Curve is specified for plus size women between the ages of 18 and 45. The products of Victoria’s Secret Curve are intended for a younger crowd under the age of 24, though women up to around 50 years old can be found sporting their latest lingerie. The United States is largest market for women’s intimates, dominating over 40% of the market share. Its target audience is the middle class woman living in urban areas with no preference to their marital status. Customers range from businesswomen in their thirties tomen buying their significant other’s a birthday present. The psychographics of their consumers includes women who are fed up with overpaying for intimates that are not as cute and sexy as their thinner counterparts. They are proud and confident women who won’t buy their intimates from just anywhere. These customers are comfortable in their bodies and want to embrace their curves. They are fashionable and care about how they look in their intimates and other apparel.

Section 3: Unique Selling Proposition (USP) What differentiates Victoria’s Secret Curve from other plus size intimates retailers is that it provides plus size women with the appearance they want for a less expensive price. For example, most plus size women overpay on their bras and panties because the larger size translates into more fabric being used. Though the extra fabric definitely increases the price of the apparel, the cost should not be so inflated. The market for plus size intimates is not as large as the market for smaller sizes. This lack of a market share for plus sizes inflates the products’ costs. On top of not only paying more, the variety of designs amongst plus size lingerie brands is not as wide. It sets itself apart from competitors like Torrid because its prices are not as exorbitant. Just because you are plus size does not mean that you cannot look just as sexy as a woman with a smaller figure. Victoria’s Secret Curve gives women who are DDD/size 16 and up the desirable look that Victoria’s Secret is known for at a more reasonable price.

Section 4: Pricing One of the main aims of the Victoria Secret Curve is to ensure that they are the bestknown brand in the industry. The position strategy of Victoria Secret curve has to be in line with the pricing strategy of the organization. For the secret product services, one of the positions of the organization is to ensure that they are outstanding in terms of quality of the products that are being offered. The position strategy being in line with the pricing strategy would assist the organization to have the capability of meeting the needs and the wants of the customers. Meeting the needs and the wants of the customer is not just based on the quality and availability of the products; however, it is affected by other factors such as pricing and positioning strategy used within an organization.

The quality of the products would be supported by the high price of the products. The brands are positioned on online domains and various women related events are associated to the products. When the prices of the products are high, the quality has to be of high standards, the position has to target promising customer so that they can profit from their products. The brands reflect the quality of the product that is being advertised within a given time period. Further, looking at the product positioning, the products are readily available at different parts of the country. The products are also available through online order and delivery processes. The pricing strategy of the organization supports the positioning strategy of the organization based on the targeted customers and the quality of the services which the customers are being offered. The pricing strategy used at Victoria’s Secret Curve is that it has to set class, the products have their own class which would fit their customers. The company does not target every person to make purchase of their products and hence they have raised the prices of the products and targeted the people who have capability to purchase the products. The services pricing strategy is premium pricing. Under premium pricing, the products of Victoria Secret Curve cost higher than their competitors. The high price of the product shows the level of quality of the products in the market as compared to other products of the same category. The pricing strategy of the organization is for profit for the organization. The profit is obtained on the basis that the products production is less as compared to the selling price of the product. Further, the pricing ensure that name of the Victoria Secret Curve products are well represented in the market. The premium pricing strategy used by the Victoria Lounge have assisted the organization to build trust with the organization. At every point when the customer built trust with an organization, it is clear indication that the

customer would prefer their products over their competitors since they have the feeling that these products are of class and their quality meets their needs and wants.

Sectors 5: Positioning Strategy/Offers Victoria Secret curve brand is brilliant strategy to hook future customer, The curve brand is targeting toward the women with plus size and the women who are looking for sexy and glamorous lingerie. "Visit one of the most powerful, sexy and glamorous stores in the world, Victoria's Secret, where you'll find a dazzling assortment of intimate apparel, beauty products, sleepwear, hosiery and more." This is said by one Victoria's Secret's Corporate. But in Victory’s secrets Plus size store, we want to provide all female with Sexy and glamorous, in our store, the keywords are not only sexy, glamorous but also the PLnhbb US“, with the brand one of the dominant players in the mid to upmarket lingerie stakes. Victoria's Secret has never made any secret of its highly sexualized merchandise, which has allowed it to establish a strong brand positioning. Our pricing strategy stems from the classic example of price skimming. Due to our unique fabrics, different materials, and some other retailing stores competition exists in relation to the type of product we’re selling to plus size female. Because of this, we are going to set our price slightly higher than other retailer stores to make a sustainable profit until we reach more and more customers. And might be forcing us to lower the price in the future or we will come up with sales promotions attract new customers and provide benefits for our loyalty (old) customers. We will have special representatives(sales) to be in the store to help customers to get the most comfy, the most suitable and the best one for each of them.And we will offer different discounts or deals based on seasons, themes and any holidays.

Victoria’s Secret has not only succeeded in captivating women, especially the plus size clientele, they have also positioned themselves strategically by offering online purchasing. Similar to their strategy for the retail section where they have sales representatives to make customers feel comfortable, on the online platform, they have chatrooms where the customer can chat with a customer care assistant. The benefit of online purchasing is that an individual can acquire any item that interests them from whichever of their local stores. It’s a common occurrence to find customers being asked to visit a specific local store to get a product they desire because the store closer to them does not stock it. However, Victoria’s Secret have been able to bypass this hurdle through bringing together all their physical stores through an online platform. When it comes to pricing, the strategy used by Victoria’s Secret is unusual, but their success over the years means that it is a working strategy. Victoria’s Secret provide quality clothing items at a consistently high price. This is because the company markets their products as a brand. The brand name Victoria’s Secret has become synonymous with quality and sexy, therefore, women will pay full price for an item they fancy. This strategy works well with the gender discrimination position where Victoria’s Secret only market to women. Gender discrimination strategy provides a sense of exclusivity that makes it solely a woman’s thing, thereby making it almost mandatory to purchase a woman’s thing. Then, by emphasizing a sexy appeal, they reach women of all backgrounds and these women will pay anything to get that silky feel. That being said, like other competing stores, they do offer sales, where they lower the prices of merchandize that they would like to clear. This offers a limited opportunity for women who would otherwise not afford, to be able to purchase a piece that is Victoria’s Secret. Section 6: Distribution Plan

Victoria Secret Curve will use 3 Distribution Methods: Direct Selling, Mail order, and Online. Direct Selling: In order to create strong brand awareness and confidence Victoria’s Secret Curve will not use any wholesale techniques. Often times, when you disenfranchise and permit wholesalers to carry your brand it can be disenfranchising. Also, with Victoria’s Secret’s already strong following, there is no real need to establish new retail customers as would be the premise of wholesaling. Selling solely in the already established Victoria’s Secret stores will also help to create transparency within the brand so that both lines are “created equal,” one not separate from the other, one not better or elitist. Mail Order: Mail order is a low-cost distribution channel that is convenient for customers and retailers alike. Often times when businesses are just beginning they can begin their mail order by buying mailing lists or placing ads in a suitable publication. However, due to Victoria’s Secrets already loyal following, there is no need to purchase new mailing lists so the former is handled. Building off of already pre existing customers is a great way to cheaply and effectively open a dialogue between the corporation and the consumer. Online: Online selling features a reduction in the use of intermediaries between producers and consumers while still maintaining a reach to large groups of potential customers. This saves on costs of transportation to and from retail stores and many other expenses which accompany such activity. Harnessing social networks, online campaigns and message boards to spread the word can assist substantial sales and volume relatively quickly. With Victoria’s Secrets already prominent social media presence, it will be easy to promote the addition of Curve to the salesline. Section 7: Marketing Materials

In terms of collateral marketing materials, Victoria’s Secret Curve incorporates company fact sheets. These provide clear and factual guide that provides basis information about a company. Victoria’s Secret Curve is a subsidiary of L Brands or formally known as Limited Brands, which includes Victoria’s Secret, PINK, La Senza, Henri Bendel and Bath and Body Works. Therefore their company fact sheet is combined. Since the Victoria's Secret Curve launched in May 2015, the L Brands Company fact sheet included the profits of Victoria’s Secret Curve as well as the other subsidiaries. The L Brand company fact sheet for 2015 included $12.2 billion in international sales.

Leslie H. "Les" Wexner, Founder, Chairman and CFO of L Brands

Leslie H. Wexner is the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of L Brands. Wexner first received exposure in the clothing industry at his parent’s clothing store. Mr. Wexner eventually received a loan to open his first store in Ohio, known as The Limited. He opened his first store in Columbus, Ohio, in 1963. During the first day of sales Wexner produced $473,000. The headquarters remain where the first store opened, Columbus, Ohio. In 2015, L Brands, in cooperation with the L Brands Foundation, donated $17 to nonprofit organizations.

L Brands Headquarters

Three Limited Parkway Columbus, OH 43230 (614) - 415 - 7000

Stuart B. Burgdoerfer Additional executives include, Stuart B. Burgdoerfer, the Executive Vice President of L Brands,Charles C. McGuigan, who is the Chief Operating Officer, E. Gordon Gee, who is the Director of L Brands and Amie Preston, Chief Investor Relations Officer. The L brands mission statement is “Limited Brands Mission Statement: "Limited Brands is committed to building a family of the world's best fashion brands offering captivating customer experiences that drive long-term loyalty and deliver sustained growth for our shareholders”. L brands, through every

subsidiary, including Victoria’s Secret Curve, holds these four values: The Customer Rules, Passion Leads to Success, Inclusion Makes Us Stronger and It Matters How We Play the Game.

In order to achieve a proper and widespread marketing campaign Victoria’s Secret Curve, along with the other L Brands Subsidiaries, uses its website, online advertisements, commercials, seasonal catalogs, sale prints, social and billboard in order to grab the consumer’s attention. While in-store, Victoria’s Secret Curve provides business cards for our salespersons, has an email-based coupon reward system based on the frequency of the customer’s purchases and creates sale flyers. Each of these strategies allow for Victoria’s Secret Curve to increase retention. Victoria’s Secret, as a whole, is notorious for their panty promotions. The most famous is the “5 for 27.50” promotion. This specific promotion increases loyalty and sales because they are frequent and pulls customers in to purchase other products such as a bra.

Since Victoria’s Secret Curve is the newest addition to Victoria’s Secret product line, proper promotion and referral strategies have been implemented to create traffic and exposure towards to the new line. The referral strategy is utilized at the register. When the customer chosen product is being scanned and processed, the customer will be asked if for an email or phone number of their person of choice to receive 5% off their next purchase. This strategy allows for customers to have an incentive to come back and it allows for the contact they chose to receive an email by someone they know. Another strategy that we have implemented in the free panty coupon. A customer must have five purchases linked to their Victoria’s Secret Curve account to receive this coupon in the mail. This strategy has been super effective within the Victoria’s Secret marketing strategy and it gets customers in the door to look at new merchandise

since they have last visited the store. In order to increase online sales and site traffic,Victoria Secret Curve also implements online deals and bargins. These tactics include $15 discount for every $100 spent, $30 off for every $150 spent, or maybe even $75 off for $250 spent. This tactic creates incentive for customers to purchase more items and for new businesses. An individual visiting Victoria's Secret Curve because of someone in their network informing increasing the chances of the individual actually visiting the store. SWOT Analysis

Strengths; ● Strong brand recognition ● in - store experience ● Customer loyalty due to customer care ● Product rage

Weakness: ● Specific market ● New to the plus-sized ● High inventory ● US locations only

Opportunities: ● Domination of the plus-size lingerie market ● International expansion

Threats: ● External competition: AdoreMe, Lane Bryant, Torrid ● Controversy from Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show

Section 8 : Online Marketing Strategy Keyword Strategy: The keyword strategy is particularly important to creating a branding concept. When working in retail, it is imperative that your customers are made to feel good about themselves. As a retailer you must help to promote confidence amongst your consumers. If they do not look good and feel good your retention rates will be low. This being said, words that are strong and empowering should be included in your online website/advertisements. Words like: Beautiful, Sexy, Chic, Stunning, Strong, Elegant, Sophisticated etc.

Section 9: Financial Analysis of Marketing Strategy

Victoria Secret Curve Store Blueprint

The Blueprint Summary

The Victoria Lounge would have a unique storage room that has the capability of meeting the needs and the wants of the customers. There will be a dressing and fitting room to be used by the customer to fit clothes and see the beauty with our clothes. The dressing room is located near the checkout door where the customer after fitting would continue to shop or check out of the shop easily without much movement. The checkout door is spacious so that exiting the lounge would be easy and comfortable. Further, there will be four product tables with a separate place where new arrivals would be showcased. To the far left of the room, there ...