Womens Leather Jackets dsther Jackets

Wilson Wu Janice Polanski RMG909 Advanced Buying Ryerson University

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 3 Target Customers ............................................................................................................................ 3 Retailer SWOT Analysis .................................................................................................................. 4 Strength ................................................................................................................................... 4 Weaknesses ............................................................................................................................. 5 Opportunities .......................................................................................................................... 5 Threats ..................................................................................................................................... 5 Description of Existing Assortment (items & brands) ................................................................... 6 CURRENT PRICING, PROMOTION & MARKETING STRATEGIES: .................................................. 6 Pricing: ..................................................................................................................................... 6 Promotion/Marketing: ............................................................................................................ 6 ASSORTMENT SWOT: .................................................................................................................. 7 Strengths: ................................................................................................................................ 7 Weaknesses: ............................................................................................................................ 8 Opportunities: ......................................................................................................................... 8 Threats: .................................................................................................................................... 9 MARKET TREND INFO: ................................................................................................................. 9 Competitive Analysis including description of existing assortment ........................................... 10 White Space- The Bay ................................................................................................................ 10 Breadth and Depth ................................................................................................................ 10 Brand/Style and Price Points: ................................................................................................ 10 Promotional Strategy: ........................................................................................................... 10 Packaging/Advertising: .......................................................................................................... 11 Weaknesses and Strengths:................................................................................................... 11 Threats and Opportunities for Holt Renfrew: ....................................................................... 11 Mendocino ................................................................................................................................ 12 Breadth and Depth: ............................................................................................................... 12 Brand/Style and Price Points: ................................................................................................ 12 Promotional Strategy: ........................................................................................................... 12 Packaging/Advertising: .......................................................................................................... 12 Weaknesses and Strengths:................................................................................................... 13 Threats and Opportunities for Holt Renfrew: ....................................................................... 13

Aritzia......................................................................................................................................... 13 Breadth and Depth: ............................................................................................................... 13 Brand/Style and Price Points: ................................................................................................ 14 Promotional Strategy: ........................................................................................................... 14 Packaging/Advertising: .......................................................................................................... 14 Weaknesses and Strengths:................................................................................................... 14 Threats and Opportunities: ................................................................................................... 14 Recommended Six Month Plan .................................................................................................... 15 Recommended Assortment- Rationale ........................................................................................ 16 Assortment Strategy .............................................................................................................. 16 Pricing strategy ...................................................................................................................... 17 Promotional & Marketing plan .............................................................................................. 18 Recommended Assortment Plan.................................................................................................. 19 References ..................................................................................................................................... 20 Exhibits .......................................................................................................................................... 22 Exhibit 1 ................................................................................................................................. 22 Exhibit 2 ................................................................................................................................. 22 Exhibit3 .................................................................................................................................. 24 Exhibit 4 ................................................................................................................................. 24 Designer Leathers .................................................................................................................. 26 Exhibit 5 ................................................................................................................................. 28 Exhibit 6 ................................................................................................................................. 30

INTRODUCTION
Holt Renfrew is one of Canadas dominant fashion retailers; the company was founded in 1837 and now operates 10 stores across Canada with one outlet location. The company built its success through furs during the late 1800s, in the early 1930s the company gained exclusive accounts with several European designers and has built a reputation on many upscale designer brands. Mario Manza, the executive director of VIP services at Holt Renfrew had stated 90% of Holt Renfrews business is a result of the companys top 1% of clients. Though maintaining top clients are significant to the business, catering to the ever-changing consumer to developing new clients is significantly important. Holt Renfrew had gained, double-digit sales growth in its downtown Vancouver location. President Mark Deryshires answers to 2011s increase were 18-34 year old shoppers whom fall out of the companys traditional clientele. In reaching out to more middle and upper middle-class families, the company expands its potential in creating the ideal shopping experience for fashion savvy individuals. This report provides a solution to the current assortment of womens leather jackets available. Womens leather jackets are a small category and are one of the smallest in apparel for the spring and summer months. However, each year an assortment of leather jackets are bought. The field research had shown the company placed little importance in this category as the assortment of leather jackets received no emphasis and some jackets were randomly placed throughout the apparel section. Womens leather jackets are a category that has a huge earning potential as they are a higher-ticket priced item and leather jackets are currently trending. This report explores the potential and provides a strong marketing/promotional plan to successfully execute the leather jacket campaign through an effective buying assortment.

TARGET CUSTOMERS
Holts is known to be a high end luxurious image, being said that their target market is around 23-50, and mainly females. Income would be $35,000+ with a steady job and disposable income. Someone that is looking for brand name items because it helps them in their career as the brands they wear shows their social status at work and

also their success. They would generally be in business where they would have to meet a lot of clients and people so looking sharp is very important to them. An older clientele that shops at Holts would be someone who has everything set already such as children already married about to retire or just have a steady career. Someone that is just enjoying life and the money they have made throughout the years, they like to pamper and spoil themselves as they have a lot of disposable income and not much to pay off such as mortgages or loans therefore they are able to spend their money freely. Holt Renfrew is located at a suburban area which means that most people get their by car, for someone to be able to afford a car they would generally be older. The end user that would purchase the leather jackets in our assortment is a slightly younger than the Holt Renfrew target market because leather jackets generally do not appeal to an older clientele as leather jackets are slightly bit more trendy and older clientele generally like something that's less flashy and age appropriate to them. But at the same time the age group already has some sort of income because leather jackets is more expensive than regular garments so they need to be able to afford it or else it can also be bought by their parents.

RETAILER SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTH Holts has a strong brand image presence in consumers minds, being a high-end retailer Holts has really set themselves apart from others. People that shop or want to be part of the Holts not only of their assortment and products they carry but also because they want to be part and associated with the luxurious image that Holts has. There are a lot of customers that are loyal to Holts even though they know that they could get that merchandise somewhere else theyd rather get it at Holts because of the relationship they might have with the retailer. Loyal customers are invited to special shopping event to show their appreciation and also have other perks too. Customers that have been shopping at Holts for years might also know the sales people that work there by their names so they feel more comfortable being helped by someone that knows what they like and what they dont because of that relationship that they have built throughout the years.

WEAKNESSES Some of the weaknesses Holts has is not having so much assortment of each brand as they are trying to cover a lot of the brands in their stores they dont have all the pieces. This could trigger problems and competition between the free standing stores such as the Burberry or Hugo Boss store in Yorkdale Mall. People may want to go to those stores because they have more selection and also assume that the sales people at the stand alone store have more knowledge on the brand rather than Holts employees. OPPORTUNITIES Being a luxury retailer Holts carries brands that are only exclusive to them and so the people that do want to purchase that certain brand or style they are only able to buy it through Holts because they are the only ones that carry it. Having said that Holts should have a good relationship with their vendors to ensure their exclusivity for certain products, they should also visit new up and coming fashion designers and make sure to have their private label in Holts first rather than other stores. This will keep Holts fashion forward and also gives more exclusivity since they would get merchandise in stores before all the retailers. THREATS Other retailers also carry some of the brands that Holts have such as Mackage being carried in Artizia and Mendocino. Another thing is once a style is popular lower end brands may want to be part of that hot selling trend so they knock-off those styles and sell them at lower prices and of course made with lower quality materials. This can cause Holts to suffer in sales because some customers that arent brand conscious might opt for the cheaper knock-off version instead because they just like that style and dont necessarily care for the brand or the quality. Also some people that arent aware of the differences of a higher end product and a lower end one might question why they would want to purchase the more expensive version rather than the cheaper one.

DESCRIPTION OF EXISTING ASSORTMENT (ITEMS & BRANDS)

Holt Renfrew currently carries three different brands of womens leather jackets, which include Damir Doma, Mackage and Tory Burch. Also, the store only carries five different styles of leather jackets at the time that the field research report was conducted. Due to the fact that the field research was conducted relatively early in the Spring season, not all the leather jackets may have been on the selling floor yet, which may be the reason behind the limited number of brands and styles of leather jackets. Furthermore, due to the fact that Holt Renfrew is known as a luxury retailer, they only offer high-end branded products that are of high quality, in order to target their well-travelled, informed, ageless, fashion-savvy Canadian consumer in need of all luxury, available in a convenient department store setting (Williams, 2007). CURRENT PRICING, PROMOTION & MARKETING STRATEGIES: PRICING: Holt Renfrew is a high-end department store; therefore the store prices their products relatively high. However, customers are paying a higher price for products of higher quality. This high pricing strategy can be seen through the prices of the leather jackets at the store. The cheapest leather jacket that can be found at Holt Renfrew still costs $630, which is relatively high. However, each jacket is made of genuine, real leather, whereas leather jackets at other retailers may be cheaper, however often they are only made of faux leather. In addition, Holt Renfrew must ensure that they price their products higher because they want to sustain themselves as a luxury retailer. Therefore, they only sell high-end brands, which cost more and have better quality at their stores. PROMOTION/MARKETING: The marketing strategy of Holt Renfrew is to create a shopping experience that treats the customer as an individual (Canadian Business, 2007); therefore the store constantly aims to provide the customer with an exclusive selection of merchandise. Due

to this, the store does not carry very many of the same product and products are not replenished after it is sold, in order to produce that sense of exclusivity and one-of-a-kind for the consumer. Furthermore, another main marketing strategy that Holt Renfrew utilizes is to create an in-store experience for each of their customers. Therefore, each customer that walks into Holt Renfrew receives a very personal experience from the welleducated sales associates working at the store. The sales associates at Holt Renfrew have strong product knowledge and are patient and give strong acknowledgement to each customer in order to provide their customers with the best in-store experience and customer service. Also, each year, Holts stores across the country hold more than 300 events in an attempt to make the store not just a place to shop, but a destination (Williams, 2007). Most of the marketing and promotion campaigns are held within the store, in order to enhance the in-store customer experience. Therefore, Holt Renfrew does not have many campaigns out of the store such as billboard, magazine, television or radio ads. However, Holt Renfrew does understand the growing use and importance of social networking sites, therefore the store utilizes sites such as Facebook and Twitter to keep their customers informed of what is happening within the store. ASSORTMENT SWOT: STRENGTHS: A strength of the assortment is the exclusivity of the products within the assortment. All the available styles of leather jackets are not available at any other retailer in Canada. Furthermore, each style is exclusive to Holt Renfrew meaning customers would not be able to purchase the same style at any other retailer. This helps gain customer loyalty because customers are unable to go to another retailer to purchase the same product that they may see at Holt Renfrew. Also, Holt Renfrew is doing really well in ensuring that the products within their assortment reflect all the latest trends but also complements the realities of day-to-day living in the new millennium (Pompili, 2000). Therefore, customers can find products that follow the latest trends within the fashion world, but can still be worn during their daily lifestyles. In addition, the styles of leather jackets at the Yorkdale location also meet the demographics of the customers in this area,

by offering products that give a more conservative look. Therefore, the jackets that are carried at the store are mostly in neutral tones with soft lambskin and fine details. WEAKNESSES: The weaknesses of the current assortment of leather jackets at Holt Renfrew are the breadth of the assortment and the availability of stock. The store carries a very narrow assortment of leather jackets, which gives the consumer a very limited choice of product. There are only five different styles of leather jackets and three different brands for the consumer to choose from, which is a very small selection for their customers. Also, even with the narrow assortment of leather jackets, the store also has very limited availability of each style that the store carries. This is a very big problem because it is important that after the customer picks out the style that they would like to purchase, that the store actually has stock of the product in the colour and size that the customer wants. Furthermore, if a customer requested a style of leather jacket that is sold out, the store is unable to place an order for them and the only way that the customer could purchase the product is by transferring the product from another Holt Renfrew store. However, this is only possible if the same leather jacket is available in the size and colour that the customer wants at another Holt Renfrew store. Therefore, due to the fact that Holt Renfrew does not carry very many of each style, it can result in a loss of sales, profit and customer loyalty. OPPORTUNITIES: Holt Renfrew could sustain a larger market share by adding a wider assortment of leather jackets within their stores. Since the department store already carries a large number of different brands, they could easily increase the number of brands and styles of leather jackets that they carry within their store. Also, Holt Renfrew currently carries the most styles of leather jackets under the brand Mackage. However, many of the competitors also carry this brand, including Mendocino and Aritzia. Therefore, this reduces the exclusivity of the products offered by Holt Renfrew because customers can easily find the same brand of leather jackets at competing retailers. Therefore, Holt

Renfrew could consider buying leather jackets from other brands that cannot easily be found at competing retailers, such as Marc Jacobs. THREATS: A threat to the assortment of leather jackets at Holt Renfrew is the level of exclusivity that competing retailers are beginning to offer. For example, just like how the Mackage jackets offered at Holt Renfrew is exclusive to the store, Aritzia also carries a selection of Mackage jackets that is only exclusive to their store. Therefore, Holt Renfrew must consider incorporating other brands into their assortment of leather jackets that cannot easily be found at other retailers or find other ways to differentiate their leather jackets from those found in other retailers. MARKET TREND INFO: In the past year, the prices for cattle hides [have been] on the rise as leather demand rebounds and global supplies fall (Aldrich, 2011), which shows that there has been a higher demand for leather goods, including leather jackets. However, due to this increased demand for leather goods, the prices of leather have also raised. There is an increased demand because consumers are buying leather goods as incomes rise (Aldrich, 2011) and as economies around the world recover from recession, consumers are again buying luxury leather goods (Aldrich, 2011). This shows that leather goods are currently a highly demanded product within the market; therefore Holt Renfrew should consider increasing the amount of styles and brands within their assortment plan to match the demand of leather jackets. Also, this trend shows that the demand for leather jackets depends strongly on the income of customers; hence Holt Renfrew should pay close attention to the demographics of their target market in regards to their annual income when planning how much leather jackets they should buy for the store.

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS INCLUDING DESCRIPTION OF EXISTING ASSORTMENT

The three competitors chosen all differ in terms of depth and breadth of assortment, and the brand image. The competitors chosen are: White Space-The Bay, Mendocino, and Aritzia WHITE SPACE- THE BAY BREADTH AND DEPTH White Space is an exclusive area within The Bay that sells higher end merchandise, more prestigious brands. White Space currently has a narrow breadth of assortment, carrying only 3 brands. They also have a shallow depth of assortment, carrying 2 styles under AJ (Armani Jeans) and Elie Tahari and only one style under Theory. Compared to the rest of The Bay, The Bay offers a much larger breadth of assortment and they also hold more inventory. Unlike the other retailers, White Space does not carry the Mackage brand, reason being, Mackage does not live up to the high price points the other brands have. Brand/Style and Price Points: Current brands include: Theory, AJ (Armani Jeans), and Elie Tahari. These are all prestigious brands you will not find at the other retailers because the price points on these brands are a lot higher than the brands offered at the other retailers. The highest price points of leather jackets in the other retailers ranges from $500-$600, but for white space the minimum price point would be at least $700-$800, and highest being about $1000$1300. Most of these leather jackets were in neutral colours (beiges, blacks, tan), hence there are no mark downs because neutral coloured leather jackets are easy to carry onto the next season. PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY: In terms of promotions and markdowns, white space didnt have any of the leather jackets marked down, nor did they have special promotions on the leather jackets. But

there were leather jackets that are not within the White Space that was marked down. It is very unlikely that White Space would mark down their leather jackets because they can be worn throughout many seasons, unless its a certain colour/style that are in trend for the specific season where they might need to do a few mark downs to move the merchandise. But for neutral leather jackets they will most likely not be marked down because they can easily be transferred onto the next season. PACKAGING/ADVERTISING: Compared to Mendocino and Artizia, the packaging/signage is much more upscale. Designs revolve around the idea of a boutique, White Space is categorized by brand, therefore each brand has their designated area. Whereas Mendocino and Artizia display their jackets spread out around the whole store. At the White Space theres more of a focal point on the leather jackets, within each brand category there would be a specific rack reserved for strictly leather jackets. WEAKNESSES AND STRENGTHS: White Space does not carry Mackage, which could be a weakness due to the popularity of the brand, and especially leather jackets from the brand sell very well. Also the price points on White Spaces leather jackets are very high, this could be a disadvantage because theyre eliminating the younger demographic from their target market. Strengths include the exclusivity of brands White Space carries, not many places carry the same brands. THREATS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR HOLT RENFREW: White Space has an advantage due to the exclusivity of brands they carry, this may be a threat to Holts. Holt Renfrew and White Space both carry very different brands therefore it can be a threat for Holts because they could be missing the sales from the brands White Space is carrying. Since White Space offers different brands than Holts, this can be an opportunity for Holts to compete upon the exclusive brands they carry and pricing because Holts has a lower price range which could attract customers. Holts also has an

advantage because Holts carry more trendy brands and this can attract a younger demographic. MENDOCINO BREADTH AND DEPTH: Mendocino has a narrow breadth of assortment, theyre currently only carrying 3 brands. According to the depth of assortment, Mendocino has a medium to deep assortment, under Mackage there are 4 styles, and there is one for Muubaa and Line. BRAND/STYLE AND PRICE POINTS: The brands Mendocino carries are, Mackage (a very common brand that makes very popular leather jackets), Line (a local designer brand), and Muubaa (a UK designer brand). Price points for these brands are fairly similar, it ranges anywhere from $500 to no more than $700 which are very reasonable prices if compared to Holt Renfrew and the White Space price points. PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY: Mendocino likes to markdown their leather jackets immensely, for example a Mackage jacket retail price for $670 marked down twice to $350. The reason for the second mark down was probably because it wasnt selling as well as Mendocino thought theyd sell, and to move it faster they marked it down even more the second time. In terms of strategy and promotions there arent many promotions on leather jackets because theyre considered staple items. Their strategy for merchandise that isnt selling would be marked down until it moves. PACKAGING/ADVERTISING: Mendocinos packaging and display is nothing too fancy, leather jackets are displayed on either racks or within the walls, and hung on black plastic hangers. The jackets are being categorized by how new they were and price points. The sale leather jackets were hung at the back on the walls, newer styles were placed in the front of the store on racks. In terms

of advertising Mendocino has a website including all the information needed on the merchandise and they also have advertisements in magazines like Nylon, InStyle, and Lucky. WEAKNESSES AND STRENGTHS: Some weaknesses include the limited brands Mendocino offers and since Mackage is such a common brand, hence it is being carried in 3 out of the 4 retailers (including Holts). It could be a weakness because this would mean more competition for Mendocino. One last weakness would be the lack of inventory in the store, if everything on the floor is sold theyll need to make orders, which can be time consuming and for impatient customers will simply purchase the same leather jacket (if Mackage) from another store. Strengths include the local designer brand Line and a UK designer brand Muubaa, exclusivity of these brands will be an advantage for Mendocino. THREATS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR HOLT RENFREW: The two exclusive brands Mendocino carries like Line and Muubaa, could be a threat to Holt Renfrew. But Holt Renfrew has a good customer loyalty program as well as customer incentives which will attract more customers than Mendocino would. Mendocino targets mostly 20 to 30 year olds, whereas Holt Renfrews target market is much wider, not only including the 20 to 30 year olds but extending to even the 50 to 60 year olds. ARITZIA BREADTH AND DEPTH: Aritzia has a narrow breadth of assortment including only one brand, Mackage. The depth of the assortment is shallow to medium, including only 3 styles under the Mackage brand. But considering that these styles are the best sellers and theyre exclusive styles.

BRAND/STYLE AND PRICE POINTS: The only brand Aritzia carries of leather jackets is Mackage and the three styles are Kenya, Elie, and Lauren. These are all exclusive styles available at Aritzia only, there is a stamp on the inside of the jackets claiming that the jacket is made exclusively for Aritzia (Refer to Exibit 1). The prices are fairly similar, it ranges from $550 to $600. PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY: Mackage leather jackets are rarely marked down at Aritzia, they are usually marked down during the Christmas sale. But other than the big Christmas sale they are usually not marked down. PACKAGING/ADVERTISING: In terms of in-store display Mackage jackets are hung on a sturdy black hangers with security locks, which is something the other stores lack. For advertising on Aritzias blog they advertise their exclusive Mackage jackets a lot and information could also be found on the Aritzia website. WEAKNESSES AND STRENGTHS: Aritzia lacks the variety and brands, the other retailers have at least 3 brands carrying leather jackets, Aritzia only has one. This can be a big disadvantage especially because Mackage is such a common brand many retailers are carrying the brand as well. Also Aritzia mostly targets the younger demographic which retrains them from selling to a wider range of demographics. A major advantage Aritzia has are the exclusive Mackage jackets they offer, Artizia teamed up with Mackage to specifically design these jackets to fit their clientele, these jackets are made for Aritzia and can only be found at Aritzia. THREATS AND OPPORTUNITIES: The exclusive Mackage jackets Aritzia carries is a major threat to Holt Renfrew because Holts only carry the common styles of the Mackage leather jackets. But as mentioned earlier Aritzia mostly targets the younger demographic, therefore this is an opportunity

for Holts. If Holts concentrate on providing on-going service to their current customers and continue recruiting new brands into the company they would be able to maintain their customers and attract new ones as well.

RECOMMENDED SIX MONTH PLAN

The Spring Leather Jackets that Holt Renfrew will be carry for Spring season have medium to light texture that suitable to the weather. Therefore, the estimate Sales % plan for Jan and Feb is 5% which is less than months of March, April and May 30% to 20% Sales. Month of June off season predicts to be around 10% Sales. The Reduction Plan for total season is 25% which is $375,000. This amount is distributed 10% for the beginning of season from Jan-Feb, 15% Mar-Apr, 25% ending season May-Jun. A 2.0 stock to sale ratio is a reasonable amount of stock for the department to carry through the entire season. BOP of Jan is $375,000, using the BOP formula to get BOP from Feb to Jun. The amount of EOP of the month is just the beginning of the next month number. Jun EOP predicts to be $500,000. Total Purchase retail dollar Plan estimates 2 Million for the season with the markup of 65%. Purchase dollar at cost Plan is the sum of the whole season monthly purchase costs which is $700,000. Gross margin dollar plan is $941,250 (63%) which is significantly high for the budget plan sale of $1,500,000. Keep moving on with this plan will give us 2.40 turnover in dollar plan of season and 70% sell through plan.

RECOMMENDED ASSORTMENT- RATIONALE

ASSORTMENT STRATEGY The Holt Renfrew Yorkdale location is a B level store, which caters to the fashion savvy suburban population throughout the GTA. The store is highly successful in womens leather jackets throughout the months of August to October. The first four to five months of the year, the store carries a minimal selection of womens leather jackets; this is due to cold weather and a lack of demand for leather jackets. Leather jacket designs are highly competitive; each season designers are competing in obtaining the ideal silhouette and leather dye combination. 2010 and 2011 were the years for studs and shearling, prior to Burberry Prorsums launch of their jackets, they had advertised heavily online and throughout all major fashion publications. These jackets had completely sold out in Canada and many shoppers utilized online retailers such as, Net-A-Porter, SaksFifthAvenue, and Nordstrom (Exhibit 2). The excitement and availability of womens leather jackets at Holt Renfrew Yorkdale are limited and lack a presence. The contemporary womens leather jackets are currently displayed with tops from other brands to introduce the look to the shopper. The designer leathers are placed with similar colours on a rack with no available display. Leather jackets no longer have the connotation of heavy warm jackets in the spring/summer season as these jackets are worn as an accessory. The current available leathers are lighter weight and are much softer in comparison to fall. Conducting a thorough trend analysis for Spring/Summer 2013 and analyzing the colour trends and looks to match with Holt Renfrews consumers taste level is ideal. However, market research is most important in obtaining a competitive dominance. Similarly, Burberry Prorsums advertisement campaign was a result of the success of the new Prorsum line but also the additional demand created for Burberry leather jackets. Holt Renfrew has a comparative advantage over its competitors, as the retailer is dominant in designer womens apparel and as a buyer for the company, the advantage lies in exclusivity. Additional networking with vendors in obtaining a highly competitive assortment strategy by obtaining exclusive product launch campaigns with appropriate

styles, colours and fabric will put Holts in a competitive advantage. Holt Renfrew launches semi-annual magazines, one for men and women. The company hires an agency to shoot the featured pieces in a fashion editorial, which showcases designers whom choose to feature specific pieces and fund the campaign. The magazines are free and are sent to every shopper whom chooses to subscribe. These featured pieces are the musthaves of the season and sell quickly. Similar to handbags, womens spring/summer leather jackets are becoming a statement accessory piece. Some designs are bold and other ideal for brighter colour savvy individuals, however, the Canadian market is slowly adopting. The Holt Renfrew consumer will appreciate the Spring/Summer 2013 assortment as the new strategy will create excitement and pave the way for a profitable category. PRICING STRATEGY The leather jackets are separated to contemporary and designer leather jackets. The contemporary leather jackets are the entry-level jackets price ranging from $600$999, and designer jackets are above $1000 (Exhibit 3). Contemporary and designer leathers hold a given 65% mark-up. However, contemporary leathers usually hold a 75% mark-up as designer leathers are 65%. This pricing strategy caters to Holt Renfrews clientele, as the target demographic range from 18-60 females with a high disposable income of above $80,000. The Montreal based brand, Mackage does very well and is the first to sell out. They are considered an entry-level priced leather jackets starting at $600, they are made with utmost quality and part of their success with Holt Renfrew is their Canadian heritage along with their on trend designs (Exhibit 4). In comparison to Holt Renfrews competitors like Aritzia and Mendocino, the available Mackage leather jackets at these stores are all different. Aritzia had adopted an exclusive Mackage line for their stores, and the Mackage jackets available at Mendocino are not seen in any Holt Renfrew stores. This maintains the exclusivity of the brand and specific retailers that are able to carry certain jackets. Theory and Damir Doma are available styles for the contemporary leather jacket consumer, one who seeks an alternative to the saturated market of Mackage leathers. They are of similar price point and different styles and lifestyles completely.

Designer leathers are priced above $1000 for the high fashion clientele, which include a highly recognized Japanese designer, Junya Watanabe and Stockholms famouse Acne. The buy for these two brands are two completely different biker jackets. Biker jackets were first introduced in 2010 throughout Europe and the past seasons Holt Renfrew has lacked the availability of this trend. Hence, a refined look of the biker jacket was selected with an alternative colour, Pantone 14-4516 (Exhibit 5) will be a fresh introduction to the Canadian market. Apart from these two designers, Tory Burch, Helmut Lang, and Vince are also available in the designer leather jacket category; these brands have been available but have not been a classified game-changer. The introduction of these brands will provide the excitement this category has been lacking. PROMOTIONAL & MARKETING PLAN In 2010, the flagship store of Holt Renfrew dedicated a window to each famous fashion blogger as they were huge trendsetters and fashion blog forms were the way to keep up with trends. These window displays were featured on various blogs, and social media mediums, the windows received a large amount of recognition and hype as a contest was also incorporated into the campaign. This instilled shoppers that Holt Renfrew was up to date with trends and endorsed the fact that fashion was changing and bloggers were the new form of receiving trend updates. Leather jackets would take a similar approach by featuring mannequins dressed like famous fashion icons wearing the selected leather jackets of the season. The window displays would be similar to pictures taken by fashion photographer Tommy Ton (Exhibit 6). The window idea is bold and is highlighting the trend to the viewer; it will inspire the viewer to want to walk into the store to see the jacket. Though store window displays may be effective for local traffic, not all Holt Renfrews clients have the time or pass by a window display. Hence, the marketing campaign must be nationwide and utilization of the Holts semi-annual magazine is necessary. Vendors whom are selected have the option to participate in funding the magazine, they provide the selected pieces in advance and an agency is hired to shoot an fashion editorial for the magazine. The magazine is a huge success for the retailer and the featured items are always the first to sell out. Holt Renfrew is a dominant retailer for

womens apparel and has the purchasing power to gain exclusivity and market effectively to its ever-lasting client base. Hence, a thorough market research is necessary and enforces trust in the consumer as they see and notice the same trends available throughout the fashion capitals of the world. Then with the capability of translating it to meet the Canadian markets satisfaction and showing the availability will result in a successful campaign and increase this categorys potential in future seasons.

RECOMMENDED ASSORTMENT PLAN

REFERENCES
Lee, Jenny. "Easter Brunch and Chocolate." Www.vancouversun.com. Web. 03 Apr. 2012. http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Holt Renfrew staging their success/5461628/story.html.

Aldrich, L. (2011, Mar 07). Hide prices ride leather boom. Wall Street Journal, pp. C.6C.6. http://ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/855167364?a ccountid=13631 Directly speaking-holt renfrew. (2007, Jun 04). Canadian Business, 80(12), S22-S22. http://ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/221368777?a ccountid=13631 Pompili, M. (2000). The style of life: Fashion, comfort and the realities of day-to-day living are front and centre in holt renfrews latest advertising campaign. Marketing, 105(45), 24-24. http://ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/227192374?a ccountid=13631 Williams, N. (2007). Retail brand of the year: Holt RenfrewHaute holts an integrated strategy helps the retailer shine. Strategy, , 57-57. http://ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/214162223?a ccountid=13631 "Blue Bergitt." Blue Bergitt. Web. 03 Apr. 2012. http://bluebergitt.wordpress.com/2012/03/21/spring-summer-2013-color-trends/. "LEATHERS //." Womens Leather Jackets, Leathers Coats, Designer Leathers. Web. 03 Apr. 2012. http://www.ssense.com/women/designers/all/leathers. "Junya Watanabe." Web. 03 Apr. 2012. http://www.net-a-porter.com/product/191496 "Acne Jackets." ShopStyle. Web. 03 Apr. 2012. http://www.shopstyle.com/browse/jackets/Acne.

"Blue Bergitt." Blue Bergitt. Web. 03 Apr. 2012. < http://bluebergitt.wordpress.com/2012/03/30/spring-summer-2013-fashion-color-trends/. "Lenzing Colors." Fashion Trend Setter. Lenzing AG. Web. http://www.fashiontrendsetter.com/downloads/Lenzing-Trends-Spring-Summer2013.pdf. Jak & Jil. Web. www.jakandjil.com. Mackage. Web. www.mackage.com. SongofStyle. Web. www.songofstyle.blogspot.ca .

EXHIBITS
EXHIBIT 1

EXHIBIT 2 The Canadian market is so small and sizes become an issue for many consumers, hence, e-Commerce is utilized for fashion savvy Canadian clients.

SaksFifthAvenue, U.S Based Retailer

Net-A-Porter, Based in France

Nordstrom, U.S Based Retailer

EXHIBIT3 Refer to assortment plan EXHIBIT 4 Contemporary Leathers

Mackage, Camel Debora Jacket Style #7106 $560

Mackage, Robbie Jacket Style #7001 $690

Mackage, Onella Jacket Style #7000 $660

Damir Doma Style #7006 Black $695

Theory Style Style #7151 $795

Tory Burch Style #0008 Black $995

DESIGNER LEATHERS
Acne, Rita Lightweight leather Style $8000 $1400

Junya Watanabe, Cropped Faux Leather Biker Jacket Style #800 $1050

Vince, Lamb Leather Crewneck Jacket Oyster Style #7128 $1495

Vince, Lamb Leather Blazer Blush Style #6804 $1200

Helmut Lang Style #7015 $1495

EXHIBIT 5

Energetic and striking tones of orange exude deliberation and pragmatic intention. Grass green hues of iridescence fuse melodically with cherry red undertones creating the perfect unification.
http://www.fashionising.com/trends/b--spring-2013-fashion-trends-

summer-2013-fashion-22683.html

http://bluebergitt.wordpress.com/2012/03/30/spring-summer-2013-fashion-color-trends/

http://bluebergitt.wordpress.com/2012/03/21/spring-summer-2013-color-trends/

http://www.fashiontrendsetter.com/downloads/Lenzing-Trends-Spring-Summer-2013.pdf

A thorough colour trend forecast for Spring/Summer 2013 shows that many vibrant pastel colours are common. Hence, introducing the Acne biker jacket in the Pantone 14-4516 (the jacket is a very similar colour) will definitely be unique and something no other retailer in Canada will offer. Along with the Junya Watanabe biker jacket in a classic black. The Mackage, Tory Burch and Vince leathers all have vibrant creamy Earth tones (orange, light beige, and a bit pale beige in colour).

EXHIBIT 6
Jak&Jil Blog, Tommy Ton

The window displays will have mannequins with drawn on faces imitating these fashion icons and wearing the selected leather jackets.