Blue is the New black. Susie Breuer
is called a merchandise plan. This holds the same information as the range plan, but has small sketches instead of X-s to illustrate the styles.
COMPONENTS
Below I will list the components in order of importance.
PRODUCT GROUPS
In the image on the left page you see the product groups listed from top to bottom: denim, leathers, light weight jersey and sweater knits. These product groups can be either groups of garments that have the same features and fulfill the same clothing need of the customer (outerwear; pants), or they can be groups of items made of the same material (leather; denim). If the product group is a material type (like denim or leather), it should be subdivided further into garment types.
> Outerwear
(jackets, coats, blazers.)
> Suits
(matching jacket, pants, skirts – can be soft, like floaty light fabric or structured formal suit.)
> Dresses
(day dress or ball gown.)
> Woven bottoms
(trousers, shorts, denim, non-denim, skirts.)
> Woven tops
(blouses, shirts, fashion tops.)
> Sweater knits
(sweaters made from wool, cashmere or cotton, but generally, knitted either by hand or by machine.)
> Sweats
(sweatshirts)
> Jersey
(T-shirts, draped jersey tops, rib vests.)
> Accessories
(hats, scarves, gloves, bags, ties, shoes, belts.)
GARMENT TYPES
The garment types making up the product groups are listed in the left hand column shown in bold type. For example, the product group denim consists of pants, skirts and dresses. Some product groups are self-explanatory and do not need to be divided further (i.e. sweater knits).
STYLES
Below the garment types in the left column, each type is divided further into individual pieces of clothing, called styles. These styles sometimes convey information about material (short wool coat) or sometimes they indicate a certain fit (skinny denim, wide leg denim).
SELLING PRICES
Moving on to the second to the sixth column, you will see the selling prices of the product groups. I will explain later on how these prices come into existence, but for now, note that prices within a range are determined right from the start of the development process. Usually, the designs are made accordingly. The crosses in the cells defined by the garment styles (rows) and the prices (columns) show exactly how many different styles in each garment will be for sale at what price.
WHEN IS THE RANGE PLAN CREATED
The key dates calendar shows that the range plan is created right after the concept for the collection has been established, very much at beginning of the process. It is important to remember that the development of a collection is a continuing process and that the range planning for one season overlaps with the later stages of the production process of the previous season’s collection. So, the feedback the sales teams give from the previous seasons influences the development of the new range plan. From here on, the range plan dictates what the new range is going to look like.
BASIC, MID AND TOP STYLES
Within the list of styles on the left you will also see the words basic, mid and top mentioned. Within their product group, garments are either a basic, mid or top style. The styles of a garment reflect directly their cost price, selling price and use of material.
In this instance let’s look at a range of socks from basic to top layer. Think of a product group as a pyramid with three layers. The lowest layer is the base of the collection. This has all the safe styles that are sold month on month, year on year. They provide the regular income for the company and could be, in this case, the plain black sock or the plain white sport sock. Nothing fancy about it, but always reliable and needed all year round.
The next layer is something a little more expensive, and would be styles that are more colourful, maybe with stripes or a fancy pattern. Thinking about the customer, maybe the same guy who buys the sport socks every few months would buy something striped or spotty for a weekend. This second layer adds interest to the range without being too crazy in design or too expensive. This layer can be updated regularly to keep the range in the shops interesting.
The top layer is really the aspirational style in the range. It is the sock that is made from cashmere or silk, has a crazy colour or pattern, and is understandably, more expensive. We call this aspirational because the customer who buys the regular black sock ‘aspires’ to the concept of wearing the cashmere sock all the time, but in reality his budget and lifestyle may not allow it. It is crucial for the range to have this top layer, as season on season this top layer will slowly move down the pyramid to the middle layer and will be replaced with a new aspirational design.
The style of the garment dictates the cost price, selling price and materials used. Since there are three levels of quality of the socks, there should also be a clear price difference between them. The basic sport sock is the lowest price point, followed by the striped sock and ending in the cashmere sock. The quantities produced would follow this pyramid model: more at the basic level or entry point and fewer at the top.
FACTORS
Most small companies will determine the quantity, colour, fit and price of the range without looking at a more detailed analysis, while large brands look at trend forecasting, financial history, local market feedback, target revenue requirements and brand heritage. As a company grows in size, the variety of input into the range plan will grow too. Here’s a more detailed look at the factors that determine the content of the range plan.
SALES HISTORY
The history of sales relates to the previous season’s best and worst sellers. Most ranges have best sellers every season, and at the start of planning, the merchandise team refers back to the previous season’s sales figures. In order to capitalise on sales, the best sellers are recoloured or refabricated to make them look newer. These are added to the range plan by the merchandise team, and are placed as a ‘basic’ or ‘mid style’ in each of the product groups. These are usually at the lowest or the middle price for the brand, and are a platform to which the more fashionable and higher priced styles are added. To the customer it looks like a new style, as it is in a different colour or fabric, but to the brand it is an easy sale and one upon which a range can be built.
Some brands are well known for their classic heritage styles that recur in their collection year on year. During the range planning, the merchandiser would look at the brand history to plan in a quantity of these classic heritage styles. Have you ever seen a Burberry collection without trench coats? Probably not, and it is because the merchandiser made sure to include them.
PRICE
By looking into the sales history of the previous season you can also get an understanding of the effective and less effective price points. If you have a selection of T-shirts that are for sale, and the prices are at 49€, 59€, 69€ and