Fashion displays cannot be confused for Fashion Marketing. They simply work in balance, like all good design. Marketing involves the 4 P’S, yet window dressing only looks at one aspect, ‘Promotion’, influenced by external elements (the other p’s). As windows border the creative part of the marketing process, more inspiration can be taken from art as a whole, rather than just analytically analysing shopping trends and consumer habits per area, prior to the creation of windows.
“The consumer is king”
“clothing is not an essential thing to spend money on”
“At one end companies are pushing an aspirational sell, whilst at the other there is intense price comparisons”- John Wilson OBE, Chief-Executive of British Fashion Council [23] (p.9/Forword).
“retaillers also used existing suppliers to design and develop new products” (p.33) influencing consumer behaviour
“expansion of fashion retailers have been unprecedented” “the emergence of super-brands, such as ‘The Gap, Benton and Gucci have contributed to the expansion of consumeristic demands.
Fashion retailers are taken better by foreign markets if an international brand, possibly why iconic brands such as Liberties opened first store in Paris 1890 and was caught up by Burberry in 1909- benefit from the ‘otherness’ of international marketing at the turn of the century. Because of this, an emphasis on legibility and being universal was needed, yet the focus needed to remain firmly couture. (Bodoni vs Helvetica).
“Retail brand marketing is the new millennium”- Bill Webb (p.66)
“Three keys to success” one is “having your store near to where large numbers of your chosen consumers live or shop” (p.67). Nailed by Bergdorfs targeting the Manhattan elite. Notorious for money so feeding the top of the chain.
“ ‘Retail Marketing Mix’ helped identifying specific groups to target, from ABC1’s to, more recently ‘Dinkies’ and ‘Yuppies’- (p.67).
The fashion and textile business helped “reconstruct shattered economies after WW2.” All retail marketing activities stem to achieve the same goal. “Originate from the brands owner or distributor, and have the objective of attracting more customers to the brand or store” (see p.67 for more)
Webb questions, “if customers are better educated, more cynical about the media messages and totally capable of informing themselves on every aspect of their lives, what role will there be left for ‘persuasion by communication?’ (p.68). This has the potential to destroy possible utopias unless truly exceptional. Also shows the traditionally successful visual approach, showing the non-quantitive power.
“The design team will have to undergo trend analysis, ‘concept evolvement’, ‘line presentations’ through ‘saleability’, artistic and ‘marketplace trends’ from a marketing point of view.
“Marketing is a two way process which consists of identifying market needs and satisfying them” - Carr and Pomeroy, 1992 (p.145)
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