You are a marketing consultant and a renowned expert in consumer behaviour. You have
been engaged by ASOS to assist them with the launch of the new Circular Fashion
Collection in the UK in 2020. This collection includes 29 consciously created pieces of
clothing and accessories that meet the brand’s commitment at the Copenhagen Fashion
Summit in 2018 to train all designers in circular design by 2020.
This collection offers on-trend clothing and accessories that have been made according to
“industry-leading circularity principles”. The brand explains by sharing the eight ecoconscious design principles that were used to create the new collection:
1. Zero-Waste Design: Using zero-waste design pattern-cutting methods to ensure
we’re using all the fabric in the most efficient way as possible, so nothing goes to
waste.
2. Minimised Waste: Using design methods and manufacturing techniques that
minimise waste.
3. Recycled Input: Selecting materials with a recycled input to lower the impact of
our materials and to drive uptake of recycled materials within the fashion
industry.
4. Durability: Selecting materials and using construction methods that will allow the
product to endure wear and care, so you can love your products for longer.
5. Versatility: Designing products that can adapt to trend and purpose and can be
styled in multiple ways.
6. Mono-Material: Using the same recyclable material throughout the product. This
means designing the product so that its main fabrications can be easily recycled
when you’re done with it.
7. Disassembly: Designing products that can be easily taken apart at the end of
their life, which makes it easier to reuse or recycle.
8. Upcycle: Using design techniques and product modifications to remanufacture
and upcycle something old into something new.
(Popsugar.co.uk 2020)
The Market
Apparel and footwear in the UK faces more challenging times with slowing consumer
spending on clothing, growing by only 0.8% in 2019 to reach £59.3 billion, as clothing sales
during the year have been hit by a combination of unpredictable weather, lacklustre retail
footfall and an overreliance on discounting. Menswear has driven growth in the UK clothing
market for some time, but that trend has reversed with spending on women’s clothing seeing
a more significant uplift than on men’s clothing driven by the emergence of new trends such
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as new jeans styles. Clothing specialists have outperformed the wider market; with retail
sales through clothing specialists set to increase by 4% in 2019 as several of the leading
clothing retailers have improved their performance over the last year. Next has maintained
its position as market leader in sales, increasing revenues supported by its online business,
which is driving sales through the introduction of new third-party brands on its website.
Growth has also been driven by other clothing retailers including Primark, TK Maxx, H&M
and Matalan (Mintel 2019).
This trend is fuelling the rapid growth of the circular economy, as consumers consider
the resale market and, increasingly, rental as viable alternatives to buying brand-new
pieces destined to end up in landfill. Brands are responding to the growing conscious
consumer base by developing new fabrics and investing in more sustainable production
processes. Traditional brands that took notable steps in 2019 towards a more
sustainable future include Levi’s, H&M, Adidas, Asos, Uniqlo, Reebok and Primark.
Meanwhile, formerly niche sustainable brands such as Veja, Frugi, Allbirds and
Patagonia are familiarising themselves with the UK consumer and quickly becoming
mainstream (Euromonitor International 2020).
The COVID-19 outbreak is putting huge pressure on the fashion sector, which was already
facing a challenging retail climate, with more retailers across the UK being forced to close
stores as footfall collapses. In order to survive, retailers will have to show they can adapt to
As one of the biggest contributors to pollution
on a global scale, the fashion industry has
had to undertake much self-examination and
ramp up its focus on innovative design that
challenges the status quo and offers
alternatives to existing consumption habits.
Consumers are more informed about the
negative impact that their shopping habits can
have and, across all product categories, they
are beginning to move towards more
conscious consumption, buying into products
made from recycled fabrics or eco-friendly
alternatives such as organic cotton and vegan
leather.
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changing consumer behaviour and be creative, offering contact-free delivery services and
online customer and styling services via social media (Mintel 2020).
Consumer Challenge
The shift by consumers towards shopping more online has highlighted the growing issue of
returns, as retailers are being faced with higher volumes of returned clothes and are having
to adapt their businesses to this. Mintel’s consumer research found that almost two fifths
(39%) of clothes shoppers have returned in the last year, spiking to 68% of young women
aged 16-24, highlighting how young fashion retailers are struggling most with the logistics
and the cost implications of returns (Mintel 2019).
Nearly three quarters of UK consumers consider the clothes they buy to be a reflection of
their personality. Interestingly, there seems to be an ambivalent relationship towards the
concept of ‘fast fashion’ in the sense of clothes that respond to fast-shifting consumer
demands. While nearly six out of 10 people prefer to buy clothing from brands that frequently
update their ranges, 83% of shoppers prefer to buy clothes that will not go out of style
quickly, showing a preference for more traditional clothes and items of clothing that are not
the result of a fad or fast-shifting trends. In addition to that, the quality of the shopping
experience remains an increasingly relevant point and something that UK consumers find
very important when buying clothes. Our research shows that while 65% of consumers enjoy
the experience of shopping for clothing, nearly nine out of 10 people prefer to shop with
retailers that offer a pleasant shopping experience. The social pressure to buy branded
clothing seems to be stronger in the UK than in other European countries, with more than
half of consumers confirming this social drive (Mintel 2019).
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Company Background
ASOS plc is a British online fashion and cosmetic retailer. The company was founded in
2000 in London, primarily aimed at young adults. The website sells over 850 brands as well
as its own range of clothing and accessories, and ships to over 200 countries from fulfilment
centres in the UK, US and EU. ASOS has benefitted from staggering growth in internet
retailing, in addition to the increasing popularity of fast fashion (Euromonitor International
2020).
THE TASK
You are a marketing consultant and a renowned expert in consumer behaviour. You have
been engaged by ASOS to assist them with the launch of the new Circular Fashion
Collection in the UK in 2020.
You have been asked to present recommendations for the following as a poster
presentation:
1. Identify consumer segments and recommend which you would target and why? Use
multiple segmentation techniques to fully explain who your target consumer is.
2. How will this new brand be positioned for this target(s) group of consumers and how
does this compare against the main competitors? Consider a positioning map and
positioning statement.
3. How will the new brand be communicated to your target audience? Make
recommendations based on your knowledge of consumer behaviour and empirical
data.
4. Recommend a charity to support this new brand. Explain why you have selected this
charity, how it fits with ‘ASOS Circular Fashion Collection’ brand and your target
audience. What are the benefits of supporting this charity and how will it work?
You must use consumer behaviour theories to justify your approach and NOT elementary
marketing theory and concepts.
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Preparation
YOU MUST NOT CONTACT ANY PERSONNEL AT ASOS OR OTHER PEOPLE
INVOLVED IN THE INDUSTRY REGARDING THIS ASSIGNMENT UNDER ANY
CIRCUMSTANCES. THIS IS AN AUTHENTIC CASE STUDY DEVELOPED BASED ON A
CURRENT STRATEGY OF THE BUSINESS.
Preparation is essential. You can get background information from secondary data sources.
You are expected to conduct desk research to find out the market situation, growth, key
trends, and major players in the UK.
Preparation should include at the minimum:
Identification of key target groups.
Understanding of the clothing and accessory market in the UK, competitors, retail and
marketing communication.
Understanding of consumers attitudes towards clothing products.
Insight into relevant, positioning, targeting and marketing strategies.
Key consumer buyer behaviour theories which may apply to the case study such as
buyer behaviour paradigms, motivation, involvement, learning, reference groups,
personality, the self and culture etc.
Consideration of how these concepts can affect the decision making process of relevant
target groups.
Consider key aspects of consumer buyer behaviour theories that will be applicable to this
case and how you would use this to assist ASOS.
There are numerous reports that are available on-line, in the library and electronic
resources. You will need to use the Shibboleth login if you are outside of the University.
Do not rely on Wikipedia and other Internet sources, which may be biased or based on
opinion which is not peer reviewed or properly researched.
The following are details of some reports which may help you with market insights. This is
not meant to be an exhaustive list. Please do not rely on these alone, they may not give you
the information you are looking for. Also, ensure that you research some academic texts,
journal articles and consult your consumer behaviour text books. A good place to start your
research is the Hull Library Lib guides and your module reading list, which is linked below:
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Research Sources:
http://libguides.hull.ac.uk/marketing
https://canvas.hull.ac.uk/courses/57090/external_tools/323
http://www.warc.com/
http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/
Some of the best approaches to secondary research involves synthesises of information,
where you draw on more than one source. This will develop your ability to infer relationships
among sources, providing superior insights and hopefully recommendations.
Reports:
These are some useful reports which you can access via
http://libguides.hull.ac.uk/marketing/subject. There will be many other reports which you can
access, so please do not just read these:
Mintel (March 2020) COVID-19 is putting huge pressure on the fashion sector,
London:Mintel
Euromonitor International (Feb. 2020) Apparel and Footwear in the United Kingdom,
London: Euromonitor International
Mintel (Oct. 2019) Clothing Retailing – UK, London: Mintel
Euromonitor International (Sep. 2019) Sustainability: The United Kingdom, London:
Euromonitor International
Mintel (May 2019) Adidas, H&M and Asda; working towards a more sustainable
fashion future, London:Mintel
Euromonitor International (March 2018) Consumer Lifestyles in the United
Kingdom, London: Euromonitor International
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Designing and Submission Requirements
Use Power Point to design your digital poster. If you are familiar with other programs like
Photoshop, Illustrator or other programs then feel free to use those instead.
Dimensions of the poster: 36″ x 48″ (91.44cm x 121.92cm).
Use royalty-free Images i.e. either add your own pictures or images or find free ones
online.
Once you have completed the poster on power point, save it as a PDF file.
As a supplementary material to further explain your digital poster, please use an audio
recorded mini Power Point presentation with no more than five Power Point slides using
Panopto recording software (Instructions on how to use Panopto is available on Module
Canvas). Please do not repeat the contents of the poster, but you may wish to
justify/further explain your answers discussed in the poster.
When secondary data is used in the poster, please reference relevant sources using intext referencing format (e.g. Mintel 2020).
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