RANGE DEVELOPMENT

AND PRESENTATION
Session 12

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PRODUCT/RANGE DEVELOPMENT
 Product/Range development is the process of market and trend
research, merchandising design, and development of the final
product.

 Merchandisers or product managers, designers, and their

assistants are all involved in the development of a line or
collection of the fashion manufacturers’ product.

 Line development is the creation of a line, also referred to as a

collection( a group of garment styles that is presented by
apparel companies to their customers for sale and delivery
during a specific time period.
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 DEFINITIONS
 Product range: The total product range that you are developing
for a particular market e.g. Export Product Range.
 Style: A distinctive common aspect that appears in all products,
determined by the raw materials, the production techniques or
inspiration behind the products e.g. Contemporary, Traditional,
Classic.
 Theme/Story/Concept: A subject of trend where ideas are drawn
and collated from common inspiration to create a unified ‘look’.
 Storyboard/Concept board: A visual representation of the
theme/story/ concept.
 Product group: Groups of products that have the same overall
function or are produced from the same material type.
 Collection: Families, groups or sets of products that have
common elements of design linking them to each other e.g.3
decoration, shape, finish.
PRODUCT/RANGE DEVELOPMENT
Depends on:

 Season selected
 Buyer(his own ranges)

 Buyer strategy

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THE LINE DEVELOPMENT MUST
ACHIEVE THE FOLLOWING:
 Understanding: acquire and maintain a thorough sense of
market and target consumer by line development team.

 Conceptualization: be able to quickly and effectively

visualize new styling ideas and communicate the
concepts.

 Creation: the ability to develop finished garment styles

that meet the expectations set forth in conceptualization
stage through an efficient design process.
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RESEARCH

 Understanding of target markets

 Predict market apparel requirements

 Responsibility of translating marketing strategies into salable

products.

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 Market research: Merchandisers can determine the
characteristics of a market through segmentation studies or by
collecting data directly from a company’s target market.

 Fashion trend research: Merchandisers must keep themselves

updated on fashion marketplace which can be achieved through
reading trade publications, international fashion magazines,
using predictive services, etc.

 Color research: By forecasting agencies like Color Council,

Promostyl, International Color Authority, etc.

 Fabric and trim research: Valuable forecasting on by fiber

organizations like DuPont, Wool mark, Cotton Incorporated
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LINE PLAN
 Sets parameters for company’s product line

 Chart organized by product categories which shows the

number of styles, fabrics, colors, sizes that are expected to be
included in a line

 The line must take into account the following:

 The brand’s positioning
 Projected sales
 Economic conditions
 Balance by price ranges
 Balance to accommodate climate
 Balance for fashion content 9
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COLOR BOARD
STYLING DIRECTIONS
 Styling concepts which meet the need of the target
market

 Primary factors to consider are color, fabric and

silhouette

 Inspiration from arts, music, sports, fashion etc. drives

the creative process.

 Styling concepts can be communicated through style

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PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
 Process of creating each individual style within the line

 After the research process is over, silhouettes are

developed, fabrics and trims selected, prototypes made
and specifications created.

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 FABRIC SELECTION

 Must take into consideration the following factors:

 Fiber content,

 fabric-construction,

 texture and engineered effects,

 prints,

 color range,

 performance characteristics-wear factors, care requirements, drape,

etc.
 Versatility

 Price and terms

 Availability

 Minimum order quantities 18

SILHOUETTES
 Transforming garment ideas into final garment sketches

LINE SHEETS
 Line sheets are created for each style group in a line plan

 Designers provide the sketches of each style in the group

along with fabric and color swatches

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PROTOTYPING
 After the silhouette has been approved,
the next step is to create a prototype or
the first sample.

 Try prototype on a fit model

 There are two primary methods to

create prototypes:
 Draping
 Flat patterns

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 FOLLOWING DATA ARE CRITICAL FOR A PROTOTYPE REQUEST

 Company name  Sample size measurements

 Season and date  Fabric description

 Style code  Bill of materials

 Product identification  Cutting instructions

 Prototype identification code  Sewing construction details

 Detailed description of the  Labeling instructions

garment  Finishing Instructions
 Technical drawing  Packaging Instructions
 Sample pattern identification  Target Price
code
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PRE-COSTING
 Determine estimated cost for each new style

 This estimate is called pre-costing

 The precost formula must consist of material, labor,

overhead design and distribution, general and
administrative costs and mark up

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SPECIFICATIONS

 Preliminary product specifications are made.

 Product engineering is the analysis of a style to determine

whether any pattern adjustments or construction changes can
reduce the cost of producing the style while still achieving
the desired design results.

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 FINAL COSTING
 Final costing or costing for sale based on data available

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ADOPTION
 Line to viewed in entirety and evaluated

 Company decides which styles will be dropped from the

collection and which should be retained

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