4. 4
Introduction
Casual Corner was founded in 1950 by Charles
E. Carples and Stanley W. Vogel. These two men, both
working for large department stores in Hartford,
Connecticut, put their heads together, and discovered
that women wanted a place to shop for casual clothes in
casual surroundings. Consequently, they created one of
the first specialty sportswear stores for women (“Casual
Corner Group Inc.”). Casual Corner experienced
immense success and continued to expand for over 30
years after its founding. Unfortunately, by 1988, the
company struggled against poor performance and
sluggish sales. From then on out, due to increased
competition, Casual Corner continued to lose its market share in private label sportswear. In effort to revive
itself, the company utilized several different marketing strategies throughout the 90s. Unfortunately,
performance did not improve and Casual Corner was forced to sell all 550 of its stores to Gordon Brothers
Group LLC, a Boston-based retail liquidator, in 2005 (“Retail Brand Alliance Inc.”).
Casual Corner was not successful because it strayed too far from its original brand identity. The
company lacked direction, jumping from one merchandising strategy to another, and stumbled over a jumble of
merchandise that alienated and confused its customers rather than established brand loyalty. Its styles changed
abruptly and did not follow fashion trends at the time. As a result, shoppers preferred Casual Corner’s
competitors such as The Limited or Gap Inc., both of which maintained a consistent brand image.
The new Casual Corner will focus on developing a strong, solid brand identity as well as producing on-
trend styles that will appeal to the modern woman. The demands of the young working woman today have
certainly changed since the 1950s as well. Leading busier lives, moving at faster paces, and juggling a more
demanding workload, women currently in the workforce are under pressure like never before. Therefore, it is
imperative that Casual Corner satisfy the demands of the working woman today like no other.
5. 5
Goals & Objectives
v Transform Casual Corner into a full
lifestyle brand
v Develop an easy-to-use, visually
dynamic e-commerce website and
mobile app
v Engage new customers by utilizing
modern marketing strategies (ie.
social media, online interactivity,
events, pop-up shops, lifestyle blog,
etc.)
v Optimize social media content
updates and website management
v Measure monthly traffic fluctuations
to allow for meaningful historical
comparisons and improve
performance both in-store and online
v Maximize sales by providing great support for sales team communications
v Increase monthly sales by 20% by the end of Year 1
v Improve customer satisfaction through top quality, personalized experience and service
v Attract and recruit creative, innovative thinkers
v Hire personable retail associates that truly believe in the brand’s dedication to positivity and
empowerment
v Measure employee satisfaction and provide necessary support for current employees
v To provide shareholders with a return on their investment within 6 months
A Whole New Look
6. 6
Timeline & Projected Budget
Casual Corner will open its first store in SoHo, New York City in May 2017. Three months
later, in August, the company will open its second store in Downtown Columbus, Ohio. Depending
on the success of these two locations in their first two years of operation, Casual Corner will consider
opening more stores in urban areas throughout the United States.
In Year 1, Casual Corner expects to pay large expenses due to high startup costs, such as rent.
However, the company still expects to make a profit of $250,000 by the end of Year 1. Other year-
round expenses will include cost of materials, labor, manufacturing, rent, electricity, operations,
transportation & distribution, as well as advertising, public relations, website marketing, general and
administrative expenses, depreciation, and insurance. Public relations, advertising, and online
marketing will be especially important to the brand in its first 5 years of operation. Please see the
Marketing Plan for more information on the promotional events planned for the 2017-18 year.
As Casual Corner gradually gains brand recognition and market share, and through vigorous
promotional efforts, the company plans to see revenue increase by larger percentages each year. The
company also aims to decrease its expenses, and maintain a constant budget for expenses of
$1,500,000 by Year 3. As a result, the company expects to receive increasingly higher profits each
year.
Projected 5 Year Budget
Year Revenue Expenses Profit
1 $2,250,000 $2,000,000 $250,000
2 $2,500,000 $1,750,000 $750,000
3 $2,750,000 $1,500,000 $1,250,000
4 $3,000,000 $1,500,000 $1,500,000
5 $4,000,000 $1,500,000 $2,500,000
7. 7
Brand Mission & Values
Since its founding in 1950, Casual Corner had always made
customer service a top priority. Staying true to these original
values, the new Casual Corner will continue to go above and
beyond to achieve ultimate customer satisfaction. In fact, the
brand’s main goal will be to establish a reputation for making the
customer feel good both inside and outside the store.
Casual Corner will establish this reputation, first, through its
product offerings. As previously mentioned, the demands on the
working woman today are higher than ever; therefore, women are
constantly looking for new ways to relieve stress. Wearing
comfortable clothing to work can certainly provide ease for the
working woman while she is on the job; however, Casual Corner
understands that it is imperative that style is not sacrificed for
comfort. According to Business Insider, clothing significantly
influences how others perceive us and how they respond toward
us, especially in the workplace. In fact, research shows that our
appearance strongly influences other people’s perception of our
financial success, authority, trustworthiness, intelligence, and
suitability for hire or promotion (Smith). Therefore, Casual Corner
is dedicated to producing comfortable clothing that is aesthetically
appealing, demands respect, and will help women advance their
professional careers. Studies have also shown that our clothing
significantly influences how we feel about ourselves. In a survey of
100 women, 96% believed that what they wear affects how
confident they feel. From these results, researchers have
determined that there is a strong link between clothing and our
emotional state (Weaver). Therefore, Casual corner is also devoted
to providing products that will make their customer feel happy,
confident, and good about themselves.
Casual Corner will also form this desired reputation by
offering a highly positive shopping experience. The company will
v Providing ultimate
style and comfort
v Exceptional
customer service
v Offering a highly
positive shopping
experience
v Satisfying the
increasing demands
of the young,
working woman
today
v Making women feel
cool and confident,
enabling them to
demand respect and
flourish in any
environment
v Empowering women
and giving them the
confidence to take on
any challenge with
beauty and grace
v Providing a positive
community for
women to share
experiences and
relate to one another
8. 8
pride itself on providing positivity and support for female shoppers, making Casual Corner the
ultimate destination for retail therapy. Not only will the products make the customer feel better, but
interacting with the company’s personable retail associates will provide an incredibly positive
experience. All Casual Corner employees will be trained as members of a positive and supportive
community at large. Interaction with these employees will leave customers feeling light-hearted and
connected to a community of support.
The brand will continue to provide this type of support through its e-commerce site, mobile
app, and social media outlets. Online, Casual Corner will act as a platform for women to share
experiences and relate to one another. In everything that they post or share, Casual Corner aims to
empower women and give them the confidence to take on any challenge with beauty and grace.
Tagline
Inspiring a Lifestyle of Happiness.
Mission Statement
Our mission is to provide ultimate comfort and style as well as positivity and support for women. At
Casual Corner, we use our business to connect, inspire, and empower women to build confidence in
themselves and flourish in every environment.
9. 9
Target Market
Casual Corner will target upper middle class working
women, age 18 through 35. She has most likely received both a
high school and college education, and she enjoys having a very
active lifestyle where she is constantly on-the-go. Some of her
biggest values include comfort, style, love, family, friends, and
her career. She is independent, confident, hardworking, and
ambitious. Her passion, drive, and career-oriented mindset has
allowed her to become very successful in her field of expertise.
However, due to her busy lifestyle, she often finds herself in a
state of stress, and constantly seeks out ways to relieve herself.
She has limited free time, however, when she is not busy
tackling on the world, she loves to spend time with family and friends. She also loves relaxing at
home, either watching her favorite TV shows or reading a good book. She is very health conscious
and makes an effort to maintain her physical and mental health. She enjoys some form of exercise,
whether it be running, doing yoga, or simply walking her dog every morning. She tries to eat healthy
but she frequents her local coffee shops. She is very active on social media. She uses Pinterest to
search for style inspiration, and she likes to shop both online and in-person. She likely lives in an
urban or suburban area.
10. 10
Marketing Plan
Product Assortment
In its later years, Casual Corner focused solely on selling business attire for women. Rather
than continue trying to offer traditional business looks, the new Casual Corner design team will
create garments that have a more modern aesthetic and are comfortable and stylish enough to be
worn in both casual and business settings. Clothing products will include blouses, tanks & tees,
sweaters, jackets, coats, denim, pants, skirts, and dresses. As a lifestyle brand, Casual Corner will also
offer lingerie, pajamas, socks, accessories, shoes, pillows, blankets, furniture, and decoration.
13. 13
Store Location
The first two Casual Corner stores will be opened in SoHo, New York City and Downtown
Columbus, Ohio because both areas are fashion forward and home to a large portion of the Casual
Corner target market. If Casual Corner experiences enough success in these two primary locations,
the company will look to expand to other urban areas including Chicago, Los Angeles, and Austin.
It will be imperative for Casual Corner brick-and-mortar stores to embody the company’s
brand image and help fulfill its mission to provide positive energy and support for its customers.
Both the storefront and store layout must be clean, comfortable, and chic in order to offer the
customer the most pleasant shopping experience as possible. It will be important for the store front to
have large windows to allow natural sunlight to fill the store. The decoration will be minimalistic.
There will be a few plants mixed in with the products to create a natural, healthy vibe. The walls will
be clean and white to open up the space and not distract from the products. Racks and table displays
will not be stuffed with too much product so the customer does not have a difficult time searching
through the product. Casual Corner furniture will also be laid out so customers have plenty of places
to sit throughout their shopping experience.
14. 14
Promotion
In the past, Casual Corner had mainly utilized newspaper advertisements and direct mail to
generate sales. The new Casual Corner will certainly continue utilizing direct mail and advertising in
various fashion and lifestyle magazines such as Vanity Fair, Elle Decor, and Women’s Health
Magazine. However, the new Casual Corner will focus primarily on more modern methods of
promotion to reach its customer base. For example, the company will create several internet
advertisements that will be featured on various websites, apps, and social media sites. For example,
Casual Corner will advertise on Stylebook, a mobile app that allows consumers to plan out their
outfits (sometimes months) in advance.
Casual Corner Direct Mail Piece
15. 15
In effort for the brand to achieve its goal in providing online support to the customer, Casual
Corner will have its own lifestyle blog. The consumer will be able to subscribe to the Casual Corner
newsletter and receive weekly e-mails discussing articles and posts written in the lifestyle blog as
well as promotions for the brand’s latest products. The blog will consist of articles covering a range of
topics including fitness, health/ dieting, relationships, animals, travel, life’s funny moments, real-life
women empowerment stories, horoscopes, and advice columns.
16. 16
Casual Corner will also create several commercials that will highlight and engage the
customer with the brand’s visual aesthetic. For example, the company will release a commercial for
their December Denim Sale as well as Valentine’s Day (see promotional calendar below). These
commercials will appear mostly online via Snapchat, YouTube, and Spotify. Eventually, the company
will aim to release these advertisements on television as well.
Snapshots from December Denim Commercial
Snapshots from Valentine’s Day Commercial
17. 17
Promotional Calendar 2017-18
Because one of Casual Corner’s largest goals is to create a positive community for the
customer, the company will build a reputation for hosting a variety of fun events throughout the
year.
v August: Columbus Store Opening
Join Casual Corner in celebration of their
second store opening in Downtown
Columbus, Ohio!
v September: Casual Corner Photobooth
Come dress up and accessorize yourself
with some of your favorite Casual Corner
products and take goofy pictures with your
friends. While you are waiting, feel free to
browse and shop all of our awesome
selections.
v October: Casual Corner Trick- or - Treat
Casual Corner will be giving out candy and special discount scratch tickets this Halloween.
Stop by our store and find out if you in for a trick or a really nice treat.
v November: Black Friday Sale
Get up to 75% off on Casual Corner merchandise!
v December: December Denim Sale
Get 30% off all Denim products this month!
v January: Hot Chocolate Party
Join Casual Corner for a nice cup of hot chocolate while
you browse our latest winter selections!
18. 18
v February: My Secret Valentine Event
Want to tell your loved one how special they are? Come make one-of-a-kind Valentine’s
Day e-cards with the Casual Corner Cupid Team. Your card can feature pictures or videos
to help you spread the love!
v March: Casual Corner Game Night
It’s Casual Corner Game Night! Invite your friends to join us for a night of fun and games,
including bingo, charades, heads up!, and more. Winning teams will receive special Casual
Corner prizes!
v April: Spring Cleaning Clothing Swap
Tired of staring at that outfit that has been sitting in your closet for the past 2 years? Clean
out your closet and join Casual Corner in their first ever clothing swap! Out with the old
and in with the new-- now is the perfect time to do a bit of spring cleaning and refresh your
wardrobe!
v May: Casual Corner Chicago Pop-up
Look out Chicago, here we come! Shop
the latest Casual Corner products at
our 2 week long pop-up shop.
Shoppers will have access to some of
our newest and most exclusive items.
v June: Summer Sale
Get 25% off summer items!
v July: Casual Corner Movie in the Park
Join us in Bryant Park for Casual
Corner movie night. Bring a blanket,
snacks, loved ones, and your coziest
pajamas.
19. 19
Social Media Utilization
In today’s Digital Age, it is imperative that Casual Corner remain active on all social media sites,
particularly Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and Pinterest. Pinterest will provide unique
opportunity to appeal to Millenials, who are currently seeking out see-it-and-buy-it platforms. Casual
Corner will post pictures of both models and real people wearing Casual Corner clothing or cozying
up on Casual Corner furniture and post it on Pinterest with a link to where they can actually
purchase the product. Snapchat will provide great opportunity to share inside views with the
customer on new product releases or special events. Twitter will be utilized to advertise special
promotions. Meanwhile, Facebook and Instagram will be used for special promotions as well as
interactive contests. Example contests include photo contests, video contests, caption contests, and
voting polls. These types of interactive promotions are great ways to engage the customer, establish
more of a relationship with the customer, and advertise Casual Corner products in a unique way.
- Photo Contest: #Inmycasualcorner
o Take a picture of you in your own casual corner. Whether you’re cozying up to a loved
one by the fireplace, or cuddling on the couch with your pup, we want to know what
ultimate comfort looks like to you!
o Winner earns 50% off their next Casual Corner purchase!
- Video Contest:
o Break out your Triller apps, embrace your inner stardom, and show us your true
colors! Whether you’re dancing in your living room while you’re home alone, or
goofing around with your friends, we want to see you celebrating your wonder
uniqueness and enjoying life to the fullest!
o The winner gets a free casual corner sweater!
- Voting Polls: “Would you rather?”
o Would you rather sleep in bed all day or have unlimited wine access at work all week?
o Casual Corner will post images featuring Casual Corner products and engage
consumers in a game of “would you rather?”
- Caption Contests
o Casual Corner will post funny pictures, and the person who comments with the best
caption will earn 25% off their next purchase.
20. 20
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
- Style
- Comfort
- High Quality
- Reasonable price point
- Clear aesthetic, strong brand image
- Positive message
- Active social media sites
- Engaging and easy to use e-commerce
site and mobile app
- Great visuals
- Appealing store layout
- Engaging advertising
- Unique events
- International shipping
Weaknesses
- Financially limited as a startup
- High startup costs
- Little brand recognition
- Little following on social media
- Little market share
- Slow customer growth
- Must establish brand new relationships
with factories
- Unfriendly policy to the environment
Opportunities
- Regional and International Store
Expansion
- Expand upon other categories to
enhance lifestyle identity (ie. books,
coffee mugs, plants, etc.)
- Collaborations with other brands (ie.
beauty/ spa products)
- Sponsor a charity
- Create an ethical product line
- Improve green production overall
- Collaborations with luxury designers
Threats
- Competition
- Easy to copy products
- Fluctuating economic state
- International economic instability
effecting supply chains
- Current political state
21. 21
Bibliography
"Bekkah Colclasure (bekkahc7)." Pinterest. Pinterest, 29 Nov. 2016. https://www.pinterest.com/bekkahc7/casual-corner/. 30 Nov.
2016.
"Casual Corner Group, Inc. - Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on Casual
Corner Group, Inc." Reference for Business. Advameg Inc., 2016. Web. 10 Oct. 2016.
"Retail Brand Alliance Inc.: Sale of the Casual Corner Chain may Put Sites in Rival's Hand." Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition ed.:
A.6. Aug 04 2005. ProQuest. Web. 9 Oct. 2016.
Smith, Jacquelyn. "Here's How Your Clothing Affects Your Success."Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 19 Aug. 2014.
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-your-clothing-impacts-your-success-2014-8. 10 Oct. 2016.
Weaver, Rheyanne. "The Link Between Clothing Choices and Emotional States." GoodTherapy.org Therapy Blog. GoodTherapy.org,
30 Mar. 2012. http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/link-between-clothing-choices-and-emotional-states-0330124. 10 Oct. 2016.
