Charles & Keith

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CHARLES & KEITH
MARKETING & COMMUNICATION PLAN
SAYANI CHANDA
BA FASHION MARKETING
CHA15443874
28.05.20
WORD COUNT: 10950

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RIGINALITY
I, student 15443874, certify that this is
an original and individual piece of work
and that no part of this has been written
by anyone else; I have acknowledged
(appropriately referenced using The
Harvard Referencing system) all sources
and citations; no section of this report
has been plagiarised; this work has not
been submitted for any other assess-
ment.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank my
parents, boyfriend and friends for their continuous
support throughout the entirety of this project de-
velopment, especially during the incredibly diffi-
cult last two months amidst a pandemic. Thank you
for the encouragement and motivation whenever
I needed it. This outcome wouldn’t have been the
same without all of you. I would also like to thank
my tutor Olga Mitterfellner, who has been an in-
credible mentor through this process and helped
me reach my full potential as a marketing student.
Also a special thanks to everyone who has taken
out time from their busy schedule to contribute to
my research for this project.

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This report has been created to investigate Charles & Keith’s existence in the UK footwear and
accessories market. It will apply various research methodologies in order to develop an under-
standing of their competitive position in the UK market and who their UK consumer is. It assesses
the main factors that are limiting Charles & Keith as a brand to increase their reach in the this
market. It will thoroughly analyse the brand’s current marketing plan for this market and suggest
improvements to their current strategy to penetrate the market effectively.
After creating a detailed marketing strategy with all the new improvements that have been sug-
gested, a brand collaboration with womenswear brand Rixo has been proposed to increase their
brand awareness and ultimately their customer acquisition rate. A detailed multichannel com-
munication plan has been devised to help promote this capsule collection. This multi-channel
communication plan suggested, will aid the brand in increasing their visibility and strengthening
the brand profile over a period of 12 months in this highly saturated and competitive market. This
report contains detailed strategies and relevant marketing tactics chosen to strategically target
the UK consumer with the ultimate goal of increasing traffic to their e-commerce website and
increasing sales which will help the brand establish themselves as a rival to their competitors in
the industry.
With today’s increasing consumer awareness and growing consumer demands it is imperative
that brands, especially on the high street, are ready to adopt new methods of marketing to keep
up with constantly changing consumer demands. With consumer power mainly lying with Mil-
lenials and Gen Z, brands need to evolve and rise up to customer expectations, otherwise they
stand the risk of falling behind and becoming irrelevant.
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CONTENTS
RATIONALE
BRAND INTODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
INTERNAL ANALYSIS
MARKETING MIX
TOWS MATRIX
VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS
BRAND IDENTITY
BRAND IDENTITY PRISM
BRAND TOUCHPOINTS
MARKETING STRATEGY
ANSOFF MATRIX
POE MODEL
COUNTRY ANALYSIS
MACRO ENVIRONMENT
EXTERNAL ANALYSIS
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
PORTER’S FIVE FORCES
BENCHMARKING
PEN PORTRAIT
TREND DRIVERS
CAGE ANALYSIS
PESTLE
POSITIONING MAP
CONSUMER SEGMENTATION
EMAIL MARKETING
MOBILE APP
PROPOSED STRATEGY
MEASUREMENTS: KPIs
BRAND INTRODUCTION
SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
INFLUENCER MARKETING
BRAND COLLABORATION
66
84
86
RANGE PLAN
CAMPAIGN POSTER
COMMUNICATION PLAN
97
SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING
PRE LAUNCH
CONCLUSION
116
118
121
REFERENCES
APPENDIX
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27
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AIDA MODEL
LAUNCH OVERVIEW
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LAUNCH
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115
COMMUNICATION TIMELINE
FINANCIAL OVERVIEW
GROWTH OPPORTUNITITES 120
RISK ASSESSMENT
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Demonstrate an extensive in-depth analysis of external issues
impacting the UK footwear and accessories market to critically
evaluate the year long communication plan for the brand.
Conduct research to identify the issues in Charles and Keith's
current communication plan for the UK market or lack of, and
suggest improvements to their current marketing plan to
achieve optimal brand awareness and visibility in the UK mar-
ket.
Construct a multichannel development plan detailing an effec-
tive marketing strategy and an engaging communication plan
to re-inforce Charles & Keith’s position in the UK market against
it’s competitors.
Highlight both negative and positive impacts of the proposed
concept through careful analysis of risks and opportunities
while also considering the financial implications of the propos-
al.
FIG:2
Charles and Keith is a Singapore-based footwear and accessories brand that is well established in
the mature markets it exists in, mainly in Southeast Asia. They also have a presence in the UK market
through their e-commerce website for two years now. However, they are still relatively unknown in
the UK due to the lack of brand visibility and promotional activities specifically directed towards UK
consumers.Charles and Keith has been unable to successfully penetrate the UK market despite hav-
ing received press coverage in the UK. In primary research conducted for this report, UK consumers
were interviewed on their shopping habits and purchase preferences, where majority stated that
they were either not aware of the brand or they weren’t aware of the brand’s UK website.
This report will explore and suggest the most effective and efficient strategies that the brand can
implement to build awareness and create a credible reputation amongst new customers, whilst ad-
hering to its core values and competing with existing UK competitors. This includes a two-pronged
strategy of aiming to reach a new target audience as well as trying to move consumers of other
brands toward Charles and Keith .
Primary and secondary research has been conducted to establish the external factors affecting the
brand along with a detailed internal analysis of the brand to understand the brand values and iden-
tity. A competitor analysis is also carried out to highlight the current positioning of the brand in the
UK market. The target market for this project will be Millennials which has been further established
through consumer segmentation which is supported by primary and secondary research.
This report includes a detailed communication plan which makes certain improvements to their
current marketing plan (specifically email marketing, improvements to their mobile app, SEO mar-
keting, social media marketing and influencer marketing). To further establish themselves in the
UK market, a brand collaboration with London-based womenswear brand Rixo has been proposed
along with a multichannel communication plan to successfully promote this Capsule collection.

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MISSION
This 22-year old brand exists in over 600 countries world-
wide and their website ships to over 70 countries. They
were the first brand to launch an e-commerce platform
to launch in Singapore and have had a successful rapid
expansion throughout Southeast Asia and Middle East
where they have found ample success and established
themselves at the forefront of the high street retail mar-
ket in these respective countries. They expanded their
operations to Europe and the United States in 2018.
The brand has gained popularity throughout his lifetime
focusing on footwear and accessories for the modern
working woman. The brand's focus has always been pro-
ducing modern minimalistic designs with a clean archi-
tectural feel. The main focus of the brand as stated by
executive director Emanuel Driskill is “creating products
reflecting lifestyle trends while being accessible.’ (Eve-
ning Standard, 2018)
VISION
They aim to offer women fashionable and accessible shoes
and accessories while listening to what their customers ac-
tually want. They want their customers to be able to express
themselves through their product.
Vision to empower women around the world to express
themselves freely through fashion. The brand pushes the
boundaries of modern footwear and accessories by con-
stantly reinventing fashion with its curated collections.
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MARKETING MIX
INTERNAL ANALYSIS
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The brand is divided into four product categories separated by style but housed
under the same name: Shoes, Bags, Accessories and Kids. This includes:
Footwear: Heels, Flats, Sandals, Boots, Pumps, Wedges, Mules and Sneakers
mainly targeted towards women aged 21-45
Bags: Crossbody Bags, Handbags, Shoulder Bags, Tote Bags Mini Bags,
Clutches and Bucket Bags. This also includes a diverse range of wallets; Short
Wallets, Long Wallets, Wristlets & Pouches, Card Holders.
Accessories: This line of products was added later to their range which features
Belts, Bag straps, Keychains, Sunglasses, Jewellery.
Kids: Found in 2015, this line was launched to target babies, toddlers and young
girls. This collection includes a range of age appropriate shoes and bags which.
Eg: The Disney Tsum Tsum launched in 2017, was a successful collection that
appealed to kids and their mothers.
Charles and Keith use various meth-
ods to promote the brand and in-
crease awareness. Promotion is one
of the main ways a brand can com-
municate their heritage to consumers
and strengthen their brand equity.
The brand has always used high-end
looking ad campaigns to promote
their products and also released vid-
eos on their youtube channel.
They also did an international ad campaign with Hailey Bieber and Ju
Xiao Wen to reach a more global audience. They’ve also done influ-
encer product collaborations before eg: Irene Kim X Charles and Keith.
The brand has also always taken an active interest in social causes and
have created capsule collections to promote these causes eg: Cap-
sule collection for breast cancer awareness. They have been featured
in magazines like Vogue and WhoWhatWear. Various celebrities like
Maisie Williams and Kerry Washington have been spotted wearing
their creation which has garnered them a lot international attention.
Eg:“MaisieWilliamswasseencarrying2Charles&Keithwristletstothe
EmmyAwardsin2016,withinadayboththeitemsweresoldoutonline.”
(MartinRoll, 2018) They are also known for their yearly warehouse sale
in their largest warehouse in Singapore which attracts a lot of attention.
They have successfully built a high-fash-
ion image perception amongst its con-
sumers as a fashion brand selling trendy
products with an edgy and minimalistic
aesthetic. Their product range offers foot-
wear and accessories for diverse occasions
from Workwear, Holidays to Party. They
have also recently introduced a wedding
collection. They have also had widely suc-
cessful product collaborations with artists
like Oamul Lu (illustrator) and organisa-
tions like Female Singapore magazine.
PRODUCT
New styles are launched every week. All
the footwear is available in a variety of
sizes ranging from 35 - 41. While the kids
footwear sizes range from 21 - 32. The
fabrics used to manufacture their prod-
ucts range from Calf leather, Faux leath-
er, Cotton, Mesh, Linen, cruelty free and
Vegan fabrics. The brand has always led
with a philosophy of sustainability for
which they’ve created their ‘4WARD’
collection which is a sustainably pro-
duced sneaker capsule collection.
The brand has worked with photogra-
phers like Chuando & Frey and Glen
Luchford to shoot these campaigns.
They have an online magazine on their
website that acts as a blog featuring
their campaigns and corporate press
releases. They use Instagram and Face-
book to heavily promote their products
and have also used influencer market-
ing. eg: they did a campaign with South
Korean longboarder Ko Hyojoo who
has over 500k followers on instagram.
PROMOTION
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The products are primarily designed in Singapore and
produced in Malaysia and China in over 30 factories
that solely manufacture for the brand. Even though
it’s a Singapore based brand, it’s produced in Malay-
sia and China due to much lower labour and manu-
facturing costs. They have their largest warehouse in
Singapore along with 30 in Malaysia and 1 in Read-
ing, UK. They own over 600 brick and mortar stores
worldwide, with all their physical stores being in Asia
(China, Singapore, Malaysia). While around 400 stores
are managed by the company, the rest are franchise
models mainly in Japan, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia.
In Saudi Arabia and Jordan, they teamed up
with Alhokair Fashion Retail. In Japan, the
company signed a deal with Japanese fashion
firm Onward Holdings to set up a joint venture
which aims to open up to 35 stores in Japan.
The company also struck an international deal
with LVMH’s private equity arm L Capital Asia
who acquired a 20% stake in the company
for more than $30 million in 2010. The brand
also sells online through their e-commerce
website where they ship to over 72 countries.
They use Adaptation Strategy for their products in
different countries. Eg: They have a limited range of
winter footwear in tropical countries like Singapore,
Malaysia, Indonesia compared to countries with cold
weather especially Europe like the UK, Switzerland
and Sweden where they have an extensive collection
of boots. They invest heavily on the location of their
stores which are placed in strategic locations like pop-
ular shopping districts and malls with high footfall.
Eg: Orchard road in Singapore, Select Citywalk mall in
Delhi. They have also had successful pop ups at The
Venetian in Macau and Galeries Lafayette in Paris.
“Consumers increasingly demand more in
terms of value, experience or extra service,
and as the ability of fashion retailers to match
each other’s product offers rises.” (Posner,
2011) Charles &Keith use standardised strat-
egy as a part of their retail strategy where all
over the world all their stores have the same
elements including decor, scent and music,
which establishes a strong brand identity.
They also use scent marketing where they use the same perfume to create
the same sensory shopping experience across all it’s stores around the globe.
New launches are placed at the front of the store along with some discounted
products to communicate the idea of affordability. Their packaging remains the
same across all stores with white paper bags with the brand’s logo on it. A cat-
alogue is also included with all products bought online and in-store. They are
alsocurrentlyundergoingplanstomakealltheirpackagingplastic-freeby2022.
One of their main brand communication methods is
their in-store environment. Every store is built in the
same way with unfinished exposed white walls, marbled
floor, large mirrors with a minimal aesthetic reflecting
the refined and sophisticated vibe of the brand. “The
aesthetics of the new Charles & Keith stores are in-
spired by the brand’s refined design philosophy. They
have been thoughtfully designed to be in line with the
Charles & Keith brand identity, as well as to enhance
the overall shopping experience.” (FormRoom, 2018)
PLACE
FIG:7
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PHYSICAL
EVIDENCE

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Charles and Keith has over 7000 employees world-
wide including their corporate staff in Singapore and
London and retail staff across all their stores. Their
head office in Singapore includes their creative teams
i.e, design and production and their marketing and
PR teams. They have had a range of celebrities be
their brand ambassador with Hailey Beiber being
their current one. Since they have joint ventures in
a few countries they work with a number of people
from these companies eg: Alhokair Fashion Retail.
Their London office in Shoreditch is quite new
and they are still constantly hiring for a variety of
roles like digital marketing and e-commerce. The
brand also often works with creative individuals
like artists and influencers either to create prod-
uct collaborations or curate collections for their
online magazine. Eg: Mae Tan and Yan Yan Chan.
They have worked with organisations like Woven and
UN Women Singapore to create collections for phil-
anthropic initiatives like World Environment Day.
“The brand is one of the few local firms in Singapore
to award scholarships to candidates under IE Sin-
gapore’s Young Talent Programme, to help groom
local talents for global roles.” (Martin Roll, 2018)
“In combination with a great product, the process builds
trust, loyalty and repeat custom.” (Posner, 2011). Charles
and Keith offers a range of customer service systems to
make the customer journey as swift as possible. There are
retail assistants in-store to help customers with their shop-
ping experience informing them about products and the
brand.
Online delivery takes up to 7 working days based on the country
with all countries offering standard and express delivery. Returns
are processed within 7 working days. They offer a loyalty program
in-store, where a membership card is provided upon sign up and
points can be collected on all purchases, which can be later re-
deemed in the form of a discount. They have a privilege mem-
bership for their online consumers who get exclusive deals and
discounts. They also have a feedback form on their website where
customers can provide general feedback on their products or ex-
perience.
On their e-commerce website they have a
live chat window to answer any queries. They
also have a ‘Contact Us’ form and custom-
er service is available through mail, email and
telephone 5 days a week. While in-store pay-
ments can be made through cash or card, on-
line payments can be only made through cards.
PEOPLE
FIG:9
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PROCESS

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The brand has always focussed on pricing their prod-
ucts according to a way that’s affordable to the larg-
er mass of people. They identify as a mass-market
brand that offers high fashion items at an affordable
price; Charles and Keith use a competitive pricing
strategy to do so. They offer a range of products with
a variety of prices, with their cheapest items like key-
chains starting at £5 and going up to £80 for their
higher-end shoes and bags. They often have pro-
motional sales online with deals like 20% off bags.
There is a pricing disparity in their product that varies from
country to country - A pair of ankle boots that are priced
at £55 on their UK website, and INR 6500 (£69) on their Indi-
an website. Generally, their products are priced slightly high-
er in Asian markets as opposed to Europe due to two main
reasons: 1. The cost of doing business in various countries
like India, Thailand, Japan, where fashion items are heavily
taxed. 2. The brand is perceived as an upmarket brand (high
value) in certain countries eg: India and is sold as a premium
brand enabling the company to charge a higher premium
as opposed to selling in the UK market that is a mature, sat-
urated market where competition with other brands is high.
They also have a ‘SALE’ section on their website
that features products that are marked down,
with discounts ranging from 20% - 35%. They
haveasimilarpricerangetotheircompetitorslike
Arket, &Otherstories, Aldo, with these brands
offering footwear at a price range of £25 - £80.
LOW PRICE
MID PRICE
PREMIUM PRICE
TOP
PRICE
(Charms, Earrings, Belts)
£9 - £20
£25 - £40
(Necklaces, Bracelets, Rings, Card wallet,
Shoes, Kids Shoes, Kids Bags)
(Bags, Shoes, Sunglasses, Kids
Bags )
£45 - £75
(Bags, Shoes)
£85 - £120
PRICING ARCHITECTURE
PRICE
As illustrated in the pricing architecture table even though
the brand only offers footwear bags and accessories they
have a wide spectrum of prices. The lowest priced items
are mostly accessories whereas the mid-price items include
kids, wallets and their jewellery collection. Majority of the
cheaper priced footwear are sandals and a limited range
of heels. The more premium priced kids wear also fall into
this category along with their entire sunglass range where
all the products are priced the same. The top tier con-
sists of bags and shoes mainly made of calf leather hence
the higher price point; these include the majority of their
winter footwear i.e, boots and their premium handbags.
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Efficient supply chain system where they produce around 20-30 styles every
week and around 1000 designs which helps maintain an extensive variety of
options for products for consumers to choose from.
High-quality products made from a range of fabrics; Leather, vegan and cru-
elty free fabrics; they are also launching a sustainably made collection where
maximum of the collection is made with bamboo fibres. Their sustainable
practices and methods are evaluated against the Singapore
Environment Council’s Eco-Shop Certification standards.
Strong brand presence in the Asian market, with large market shares in east
asian countries 88 stores in China, 46 in Indonesia and 35 in Japan.
Places great importance on being a socially responsible brand and has taken
effective measures to maintain their position as a sustainable and socially
responsible brand - eg: She Can Be jewellery collection. Through its part-
nership with a non-profit organisation Save the Children and a commitment
of US$100,000 to the campaign, it aims to demonstrate its support of girls’
education and empowerment in Asia and around the world.
They also follow a philosophy of Ethical Responsibility which has lead them
to have partnerships with organisations to support progress and conserva-
tion including the use of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper,
as well as its collaborations with international organisations such as United
Nations Entity for Gender Equality (UN WOMEN), Breast Cancer Foundation
and World Wide Fund for Nature.
Featured on the red carpet on Masie Williams who has
been a very strong advocate of the brand. They have also
gained traction after appearing on magazines like vogue and
WhoWhatWear. Their bag was named IT bag of the season
during NY Fashion week by WhoWhatWear.
The brand does not currently have any brick and mortar stores
in Europe or US and only operate through their e-commerce
website.
They do have a mobile app but the app lacks ease of naviga-
tion and does not do justice to showcasing their products in
an effective way.
LVMH has a 20% stake in the company to help them expand
their country portfolio further. The brand already operates an
e-commerce platform that ships to over 70 countries.
They have had successful influencer and artist collaborations
in their mature markets which has created a lot of buzz for
their products amongst their customers. Eg: Charles and Ki-
eth X Irene Kim, Charles and Kieth X Oamul Lu, and worked
on a special art project called Prop Masters with photogra-
pher Nhu Xuan Hua.
Highly saturated market with intense competition
from existing popular footwear brands like Aldo, Kurt
Geiger, Office etc and in-terms of a similar design aes-
thetic, competition from more contemporary brands
like Arket, Cos, &otherstories
Compared to competitor brands like Aldo and Kurt
Geiger, their engagement rate on their social media
platforms is less; this further hinders brand awareness
and visibility on social media especially while trying to
penetrate a new market.
UK consumers are spoilt for choice in a very saturated
e-commerce market with affordable brands like Pub-
lic Desire, Missguided etc offering trendy designs at
a much lower price. For a new brand that isn’t well
known to the large masses this could put them in a
difficult situation in terms of being able to gain a com-
petitive advantage.
Due to their focus on quality over price, they are
slightly higher priced than competitor brands like
Aldo, Office etc.
Lack of brand awareness in the Western market specifically UK as they don’t have any
physical stores and are only present online with limited marketing activity.
Due to lack of Search Engine Optimisation Marketing, their brand does not show up
on google searches with popular footwear and accessories keywords hence unless the
brand name is specifically searched for it doesn’t show up on search engine results.
Their marketing activities are directed more towards their Asian markets with the brand
working on collaborations with local influencers and artists; as a result decrease the re-
latability of the brand in their newer markets.
The stock on their UK website in other product categories like accessories and kids are
relatively low compared to their mature markets. This is because they only have one
warehouse in the UK that is used for shipping products all over the EU regions.
The cost of materials is often higher for the products as their products are usually bet-
ter quality and longer lasting than their competitors hence their products are priced at
a higher price range than their competitors on the high street. Eg: A pair of boots at
Charles and Keith costs £85 compared to Aldo, £60.
Even though they have a pretty impressive follower growth rate, with an average of gain-
ing 1200 followers everyday, the engagement on their Instagram profile is low. With 1.2m
followers, they only have an average of 2k likes and 3-5 comments on their Instagram
posts.
STRENGHTS OPPORTUNITIES THREATS WEAKNESS
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They already have e-commerce operations in place and have an office in London which helps
operate this business with local knowledge and expertise. Since they have already entered the
market they can use their current market knowledge to consider options of setting up conces-
sions especially with ASOS, which give the company a global platform to showcase their brand.
In the primary research conducted for this report, 80% of respondents said that they consid-
er the sustainability aspect of a brand before purchasing, and 76.9% respondents said that they
prefer to shop from brands that are ethically responsible. Charles and Keith are known in the
Asian market as a brand trying to make a difference in terms of sustainability and corporate
social responsibility due to their constant efforts, but currently this information is scattered all
over their website. Since the UK consumer is becoming increasingly conscious and places im-
portance on transparency from brands; Charles and Keith should create a space on their web-
site dedicated to all the sustainable and socially responsible work they have done to help the
community and the planet and also create a timeline to inform the consumer on what they
stand for as a brand. They should push this messaging on their UK website which will help
new customers have a positive and different outlook for an unknown high street brand. This
should include but not be limited to: the details of their production partners, the sustainable
materials they use for their collections, their work with the UN, Breast Cancer Foundation etc.
Since the brand is already well known in their existing markets (Asia), this can be used to fur-
ther help build a reputation in the UK market. The metro cities like London and Birming-
ham are known to have one of the most diverse consumer segments especially with a huge
surge of international students and working professionals from Asian countries like Chi-
na, India etc who might recognise the brand, which will help gain traction in a new market.
None of the brands that are an immediate competitor of
Charles and Keith in the UK market are simultaneously at-
tached to a sustainable or ethically responsible image. This
gives the brand an opportunity to push their sustainable and
socially responsible messaging and their sustainable line of
products in this new market to differentiate themselves from
their competitors. The brand being transparent about the
sourcing and production of the materials will not only be ap-
preciated by the UK consumers but tit would also help jus-
tify the slightly higher price points and help understand the
brand’s vision of quality over quantity.
Majority of well-known brands within the world have a favour-
able country to validate and enhance their brand identity.
The ‘country of origin effect’ (Thakor and Lavack, 2003) can
be used by a brand to be influential and can prove important
while building a strong brand equity. Singapore is positively
viewed within the global landscape for a variety of reasons
like political stability, infrastructure, talented workforce. They
are also known for being a service-oriented and efficient
country. Charles & Keith’s regional and global success has in-
directly had a beneficial effect on this “Made in Singapore”
brand image. Choosing to further emphasise this trait while
entering a market might benefit the brand by helping further
boost its brand image and equity.
LVMH is their most high profile investor with a 20% stake in the
company. Since this investment was made for the brand to be
able to scale globally, this capital could be used to further ex-
pand the network of warehouses and distribution centres in the
UK or EU region and help build the same width and depth of
the stock available to their customers in their mature markets.
As their business is operated online, they should set up an SEO
campaign which will help optimise their google rankings and
help them compete with popular e-commerce platforms like
missguided, topshop and ASOS. This SEO campaign would
be effective if they focussed on keyword research for their meta
descriptions, heading, sub-headings to ensure google algo-
rithms can spot these keywords easily and through on page op-
timisation on their website. This performance will help keep
track of their KPIs through SEO analysis and will make it eas-
ier to determine whether a CTA (Call to Action) is needed.
Since the brand’s instagram page has a low engage-
ment rate, it would be helpful to create an account
catering just to the UK market. This account would fo-
cus on targeting the UK consumer and the brand can
push content that is more relatable to the UK consum-
er and products that are available on the UK website
only. This will give the brand a platform to get to know
their UK consumers more in-depth by engaging them
in activities like instagram polls, giveaways, quizzes
etc which would also increase their engagement rate.
The content created on this account would be more
localised in terms of UK holidays, seasons, influencers
etc.
Offering localised product ranges specifically cater-
ing to the UK/EU market like design collaborations
with other brands or capsule collections with digital
influencers. Collaborating with a brand or person that
the UK consumer is familiar with would help increase
brand visibility.
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S/O S/T W/O W/T
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VALUE
CHAIN
ANALYSIS
Firm
Infrastructure
Headquarters in Singapore, 700 stores worldwide, centralised system - CEO, department managers, Offices in China, South Korea, London. They also have retail store managers
on-site that help to oversee day to day functions meeting store standards and hitting sales targets. They also have a customer service team dedicated towards their live chat on their
website.
HR Management 7000 employees worldwide, design team of 70 mainly Singaporeans, Malaysians and Chinese.
Technology
Department
Team of 100 people, who focus on R&D product development i.e, teams that specialise in visual display, photography, supply chain, inventory analysis, store design, international
business, training and R&D; 3% of its annual revenue in training its designers, who are also sent overseas to conduct market research.
Procurement
The products are majorly produced in Malaysia and China (30 factories) as it is more cost-effective rather than Singapore, where the brand is based. Their suppliers make products
exclusively for them so they have complete autonomy over the prodcution and distribution of their products.
Operations
400 stores are managed by the company, the rest are franchise models mainly in Japan, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia and Jordan, they teamed up with Alhokair Fashion
Retail. In Japan, the company signed a deal with Japanese fashion firm Onward Holdings to set up a joint venture which aims to open up to 35 stores in Japan. They have a total
of 30 warehouses in Malaysia and 1 in Reading, UK. They also ship to more than 70 different countries worldwide. Their largest markets outside Singapore are China (88 stores) and
Indonesia (46 stores)
Outbound Logistics
There is no presence of intermediaries in product selling for Charles and Kieth. All of the products are either sold in-store or through their e-commerce website. However, storage
and distribution to retail locations is important.
Marketing
They always use high-end looking ad campaigns to promote their products and release videos for each campaign on their youtube channel. They have seasonal campaigns every
year along with separate campaigns for special collections (eg: Lunar Year collection) and an International campaign to appeal to a wider audience. They have an online magazine on
their website in the form of content marketing. They use Instagram and Facebook to heavily promote their products and have also used influencer marketing. Eg: Irene Kim X Charles
and Keith. They also use digital marketing methods like PPC, Targeting and Sponsored social media ads to increase brand awareness and customer retention. They have also been
featured in magazines like Vogue and WhoWhatWear.
Service
They have a ‘Contact Us’ form on their websites for any queries or complaints. They also have a live chat window on their website for any queries that is also available through Face-
book messenger. Their customer service staff can also be contacted through mail, email and phone. They offer a returns system with free returns where the requests are processed
within 7 working days. They also have a shoe-mending service in-store. There is a feedback form available on their website where the customer can provide feedback on their prod-
ucts or the brand overall. They offer a loyalty program to their in-store customers.
FIG:14
FIG:15

27
BRAND
IDENTITY
PRISM
PICTURE OF SENDER
PICTURE OF RECIPIENT
INTERNALISATION
Physique Personality
Relationship Culture
Reflection Self-Image
Minimalistic, high-quality, refined,
Modern
sophisticated, modern, simplicity, cre-
ative
Empowers women to express themselves
and find their inner confidence, provides
comfort, elegance and high quality
Unique, confident, elegant, independant
Individualistic,confident women who ap-
preciate quality, comfort and versatility
Importance of self-expression,
versatile, high-quality products that make
women feel empowered and refined
EXTERNALISATION
C H A R L E S & K E I T H
Charles and Keith’s core value is to empower women through their modern and simplistic designs. ‘Their mission is to offer high quality prod-
ucts and services with a commitment to perfection.’ (Martinroll.com, 2018) Charles and Keith’s goal is to appeal to a strong, individualistic
woman of a busy lifestyle. They embrace a culture of innovation where they want to be at the forefront of creating versatile, affordable and
trendy footwear for women. The products offered by the brand are extremely versatile, which allows the modern woman to wear it day-to-night.
The muted colour palette with occasional pops of colour and the comfortable and durable products target women of many sizes and ages.
BRAND IDENTITY
FIG:16
FIG:17

29
P
R
E
P
U
R
C
H
A
S
E
-Maisie Williams carrying
2 Charles & Keith wristlets
(Emmy Awards,2016).
-Molly Godard featured
C&K accessories in her SS18
show.
- Priyanka Chopra, Hailey
Bieber and Gigi Hadid spot-
ted wearing their designs.
-Featured on WhoW-
hatWear and Vogue
-Spotted on many Asian
celebrities including K-pop
stars, Daniel Henney and
SNSD Girls’ Generation.
- Fashion show at Ngee Ann
City Civic Plaza, Singapore
to launch their fall collection.
-Pop Up stores at The Ve-
netian, Macau and Galeries
Lafayette in Paris.
PR
- Official Charles and Keith web-
site -- e-commerce shopping plat-
form and an online magazine.
- User friendly
- Filter products based on colour,
size, material, price
- Zoom-in feature, products can
be viewed from different angles
- Detailed account of the brand’s
efforts to be socially responsible
and a detailed timeline on various
related initiatives.
- Details on plans for 2021-2022
to make their supply chain more
transparent.
- Ongoing promotions
- ‘Sale’ section that displays all the
discounted products.
.
WEBSITE PROMOTION ADVERTISING
COLLATERAL
PARTNERSHIPS
BRAND TOUCHPOINTS
FIG:18
Charles and Keith has a presence across so-
cial media platforms Facebook (1.9m follow-
ers) and Instagram (1.2m followers) They post
weekly on Instagram keeping their consum-
er engaged through posts about campaigns,
influencers donning their designs and prod-
uct shots.
2 seasonal campaigns- Spring Summer and
Autumn Winter which they launch through-
out social media, website and physical
advertisements.
Campaign video that’s posted on their You-
tube channel.
Sponsored ads on social media (Instagram
and Facebook)
‘Beyond Voices’ campaign on International
Women’s Day, to raise awareness about the
importance of gender equality and female
empowerment.
International ad campaign featuring Hailey
Baldwin to help reach a larger international
audience.
Awards received by the brand:
Singapore Retailers Association’s
Excellent Service Award 2002
Enterprise Award at the Singapore
Business Awards 2008
Awards received by managing di-
rector Charles Wong
ASEAN Youth Award 2005 by the
National Youth Council
Entrepreneur of the Year 2008 by
the Rotary Club and the Association
of Small and Medium Enterprises
Entrepreneurship Award 2012 by
the Spirit of Enterprise
Young Achiever Award 2013 by the
Business China
Blog posts on their e-commerce
website under the magazine section
which is used to inform customers
about new collection launches and
press releases about all the philan-
thropic work the brand does.
- Partnered with Singapore Committee for UN Women
for International Women’s Day
- Worked with fair trade business, Freeset to create
an online exclusive socially responsible capsule collec-
tion, Floral Days for World Environment Day.
- Frequently collaborating with digital influencers
mainly based in Singapore, Malaysia and China.
- Collaboration with Female Singapore magazine.
- They also have a hashtag going around ‘#Imwith-
CharlesKeith' to further increase brand awareness
where they repost their customers wearing their de-
signs.
- Collaborating with independent artists like Oamul Lu
to create a capsule collection.
Collaborated with Woven, a social enterprise based in
the Philippines
Singapore-based embroidery artist Teresa Lim to cre-
ate a capsule collection.
Charles & Keith have permanent ongoing partnerships
with the following companies for a variety of social and
environmental causes:
SAVE THE CHILDREN
SINGAPORE ENVIRONMENT COUNCIL
TEXTILE EXCHANGE
THE FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL (FSC)
WOVEN
- Seasonal promotions (Black
Friday, Boxing Day).
- 10% student discount
through StudentBeans (UK).
-Catalogues for each of their
campaigns that can be found
online, in-store

31
P
U
R
C
H
A
S
E
PURCHASE DISPLAY
- Products for two consumer segments: Wom-
en and Kids, in the following categories: Bags,
Footwear, Accessories and Kids.
- Main categories:
Bags: Crossbody Bags, Handbags, Shoulder
Bags, Tote Bags MiniBags Clutches, Bucket
Bags
Footwear: Heels, Flats, Sandals, Boots,
Pumps, Wedges, Mules, Sneakers
Wallets: Short Wallets, Long Wallets, Wristlets
& Pouches, Card Holders
Accessories: Belts, Bag straps, Keychains,
Sunglasses, Jewellery
Kids: Shoes and Bags
- Largest variety is on their e-commerce web-
site, but their stores also have all the catego-
ries available to shop. Few countries like India
and Malaysia do not stock kids wear.
- Standardised product not available in all
countries.
- Sizes range from from 35 - 41.
- Products are launched on a weekly basis
PRODUCT ASSORTMENT SOCIAL MEDIA
P
O
S
T
P
U
R
C
H
A
S
E
CUSTOMER SERVICE LOYALTY PROGRAM
Their products are made from
a range of fabrics; Calf leather,
Faux leather and Vegan & cru-
elty-free Fabrics.
A lot of their financial resourc-
es go into designing their
products to maintain the cou-
ture-like aesthetic of the brand,
hence their in-house design
team puts a lot of care in de-
signing the products in a way
that makes it last for a long
time.
The brands lets a new custom-
er sign up through email for a
10% discount. These custom-
ers are also sent emails in the
form of newsletters and pro-
motional emails to keep con-
sumers engaged and informed
about the various happenings
of the brand.
PRODUCT QUALITY
NEWSLETTER
FIG:19
Display of their ‘New Arrivals’,
both bags and footwear to give
the customers a quick overview
of what the brand has to offer-
standard across stores world-
wide
The store environment : white
washed marbled walls, floor-
ing, giant mirrors, bright lights
which- minimalistic aesthetic.
Store uses scent marketing - a
uniform sensory sensory shop-
ping experience across all stores
professionally curated music
for all their stores elevating the
whole experience.
-Shoppable Instagram
and Facebook page
where customers can
directly purchase prod-
ucts from the product
images on the posts.
-They have 1.2m fol-
lowers on instagram
and 1.9m likes on Face-
book.
-Sponsored posts and
ads on Instagram and
Facebook.
-Youtube channel with
5k subscribers, where
they upload their video
campaigns.
‘Contact Us’ form on their web-
sites for any queries or com-
plaints. They also have a live
chat window for any queries
that is also available through
Facebook messenger.
Customer service staff can also
be contacted through mail,
email and phone (Mon-Fri)
Returns system with free re-
turns where the requests are
processed within 7 working
days. Refunds usually take up
to 14 working days.
Shoe-mending service in-store,
that’s subject to the damage
and degree of repair required.
Live chat on their website.
Feedback form available on
their website where the cus-
tomer can provide feedback
on their products or the brand
overall.
Loyalty program in-store, points
are collected based on purchas-
es which can be later used as a
discount.
Privilege Membership to cus-
tomers who incur a bill of £150
in a single purchase and auto-
matically sign them up to their
loyalty program where they get
exclusive discounts.
Referral program on their UK
website where a customer can
get £10 off by referring friends/
family.
Charles and Keith use a variety of communications to engage
with their customer to ensure they have a seamless shopping ex-
perience. This involves a variety of channels that helps the brand
reinforce their brand identity. They have a mix of paint on and on
the media which they effectively use. The brand gained traction in
the UK after being spotted on a variety of celebrities. The compa-
ny has also received a number of accolades as a designer and has
a business. They use Localised Assortment Strategy to tailor their
range of products based on which country they are selling in. Eg:
In Singapore due their all year tropical weather, they stock limited
styles of winter footwear as opposed to their online website for
the UK, where they stock all their winter footwear and often even
have promotions on them. They also engage with their customers
through their social media channels and have a substantial fol-
lowing on Instagram. They have gained visibility in the UK market
after being featured on publications like Who What Wear. They
also offer a huge array of products with an extensive line of both
footwear and accessories. They have a swift return service and a
very dedicated customer service team for which they have been
continuously praise for on social media which has helped build
brand reputation.

33
FIG:20
CURRENT MARKETING STRATEGY

35
EXISTING PRODUCTS NEW PRODUCTS
NEW
MARKET
MARKET PENETRATION
MARKET DEVELOPMENT
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
DIVERSIFICATION
- Privilege membership for customers who incur a bill of
£150 in a single purchase
- Promotion and sales: Extra 10% with purchase of two or
more products
Affiliate program
- Student discount (Online only)
Referral Program (Refer a friend and get 10% off)
International campaigns featuring Hailey Bieber
Feedback form for customers (UK website)
Diwali collection available in India, Dubai and Malaysia.
- Collaboration collections
(Oamul Lu X Charles & Keith), (CHARLES & KEITH BY TEETEEHEEHEE)
- Special seasonal collections (eg: Lunar New Year collection)
- Creating content with influencer for their online magazine
(Party Edit 2019 by digital influencers)
Creating a bridal collection
Sunglasses collection (spotted on Sofia Ritchie and Gigi Hadid)
Charles and Keith Disney collection for Kids.
Extensive Jewellery collection (South east Asian market)
Charles and Keith eid collection only available in UAE, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia
and India.
Alice In Wonderland Collection
Lunar Year collections launched every year during Chinese New Year widely
circulated in China, Singapore, Malaysia.
ANSOFF
MATRIX
- Sales and Promotions (eg: 20% bags)
- Charles and Keith seasonal campaigns (launched thrice
a year)
- #EachForEqual campaign for International Women’s Day
- #Timeisnow campaign, Charles and Keith paired up with
Singapore Committee for UN Women to champion gen-
der equality
- Online Exclusives collection (Singapore and China only)
- Creating ‘Prop Masters’ which is a two part editorial shot
by photographer Nhu Xuan Hua.
EXISTING
MARKET
Charles and Keith have mainly used market penetration and market development strat-
egies to establish themselves in Asia. They have ensured that new products are circulat-
ed well in their existing markets through influencer marketing and their seasonal cam-
paigns usually shot by famous photographers like Glen Luchford and also ensured new
exciting collections are dropped from time to time to keep customers engaged. Their
product collections appear to be more extensive in their mature markets eg: Singapore,
Philippines and Malaysia especially in terms of kids-wear and jewellery.
Accessories like:
Belts
Bag straps
Keychains
A butterfly jewellery capsule collection that was created to
raise awareness and funds for Breast Cancer Awareness.
FIG:21
Their western stores are mostly online with the UK and US being their significant expansions. Over the years they
have used localisation strategy to create collections specifically aimed at people of the respective countries, for
eg: Diwali collection for the Indian market and Eid collections for the middle eastern and south east asian markets.
They have introduced special features on their UK website like Privilege membership and student discount to ap-
peal to the UK market more. Since they also primarily work with south east asian influencers and celebrities, they
have also started an annual international campaign which stars celebrities who usually appeal to a larger global
audience. The diversification of the brand is also more prominent in the older markets where the variety of acces-
sories are more extensive than the western markets. Eg: UK only has sunglasses and wallets while Singapore has
belts, keychains, phone cases etc. While the range of products are similar, the depth of products is more prominent
in their mature markets. Eg: Singapore website’s accessory range includes around 160 products compared to the
UK website’s 79 products.

37
POE
MODEL
• Sponsored posts and stories on Instagram and Facebook
• Affiliate Marketing with StudentBeans by offering 10% discount for students on the UK
• Influencer Marketing: Emili Sindlev, Nicole Wong, Géraldine Boublil
• Targeting campaigns: To advertise Charles & Keith ads on other partner websites to users who have
previously visited the website or their social media accounts.
• Retargeting campaigns: To advertise Charles & Keith ads on other partner websites to users who
have searched Charles & Keith related terms like ‘ankle boots’ , ‘sling bags’ , ‘tote bags’ etc.
• PPC campaigns:. They use Product Listing Ads (PLAs) which are created specifically meant for eCom-
merce PPC campaigns that contain product titles, images, and prices.
• Third party websites: Affiliate codes (promotional codes) advertised on websites like vouchercodes,-
co.uk , discountcode.dailymail.co.uk.
• Content marketing: Magazines and newspapers like Evening Standard and WhoWhatWear,
• Seasonal Ad campaigns, eg: International campaign Featuring Hailey Bieber and Ju Xiao Wen
• Molly Godard featured C&K accessories in her SS18 show
• Maisie Williams was spotted on the red carpet wearing their bags twice
• Article on whowhatwear UK on the ‘IT’ bag of the season worn by all influencers
• influencers and models getting shot in C&K bags and shoes during fashion weeks (PFW, LFW)
• Featured in Goxip magazine (Hong Kong)
• Bloggers wearing the brand on instagram and Facebook
• Celebrities like Gigi Hadid, Priyanka Chopra, Kerry Washington featured wearing their products.
• Featured on popular bloggers’ instagram account, wearing their brands without any pre-agreed contracts.
• Follower growth of an average of 1125 followers per day.
• C&K official website is an e-commerce website where products can be purchased and
delivered to over 30 countries.
• The website also has a section that serves as a blog; featuring all the happenings and
developments of the brands and includes all the press releases.
• Social media: They have an Instagram, Facebook and Twitter account - Instagram: 2.1 m
followers , Facebook: 1.8 m likes
• Advertising campaign for Instagram (Beyond voices for International Women’s day)
• nfluencer marketing: Irene Kim X Charles & Keith
• Seasonal campaigns for all collections along with campaign videos that are uploaded on
Youtube.
• Collaborations with artists:
• Illustrator Oamul Lu for a capsule collection, Singapore-based embroidery artist Teresa
Lim
• Instagram campaign: #CHARLESKEITHFORHER hashtag campaign – for every hashtag
posted, CHARLES & KEITH will donate US$1 to Save the Children, up to US$50,000.
OWNED MEDIA
EARNED MEDIA
PAID MEDIA
As shown in the figure Charles and Keith uses a mix of paid owned and owned media. They
use several paid media methods to promote theeir campaigns - from sponsored posts and
stories on Instagram and to targeting campaigns. They have a digital marketing plan in place
that involves PPC, and email campaigns.They have used a standardised strategy with influ-
encer marketing as they use the same influencers to market their products to all countries.
They have also done sponsored articles on a variety of digital media. As a brand they’ve been
featured on famous celebrities on and off the red carpet, they also made their London fashion
week debut in 2018. The brand owns their official website which is the centre of operations
in the UK. This website also functions as an online magazine. They have also created several
collaborative collections with artists and bloggers which has increased their brand reach over
time.
FIG:22
FIG:23

39
EXTERNAL ANALYSIS
FIG:25
FIG:24

41
COUNTRY
ANALYSIS
UK retail accounts for 11% of global internet retail sales
London attracts 17% of global retail trade.
Online retail is expected to account for approximately 45% of the total fashion
market by 2024
Mobile sales are expected to overtake desktop sales by 2023
The retail industry is the UK's largest private sector employer
with almost three million workers.
The UK has the lowest corporate tax at 28% which is the lowest in the G7
60% of individuals in the UK purchased clothing online in 2019.
The UK fashion industry accounts for 5.4% of the national GDP
41
FIG:26
FIG:27
FIG:28

43
"London is a hub for artistic expression, a
trend incubator and a pioneer in digital, It
felt like the right market to launch digitally
first."
- Mace-Driskill
(Executive Director, Product & Strategic Planning
at Charles & Keith)
FIG:29
FIG:30

45
MACRO ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS
UK FOOTWEAR AND ACCESSORIES MARKET
The global footwear market is constantly evolving due to change in consumer spending patterns which now in-
creasingly gives precedence to style. “The global online footwear market size is poised to grow by USD 70 billion
during 2019-2023, according to a new report by Technavio, progressing at a CAGR of close to 5% during the
forecast period.” (Businesswire.com, 2019) “As a category, footwear tends to be one of the more fragmented with
category leaders found among smaller players delivering revenues between $1 billion and $3 billion.” (McKinsey,
2020) Accessories have also quickly risen in popularity especially amongst the Gen Z population. “Mintel estimates
that the fashion accessories market grew by almost 5% in 2019 – reaching £3.6 billion, up from £3.4 billion in 2018,
driven by strong sales of bags and a growing luxury accessories market.” (Mintel, 2020)
The growth in the UK footwear market has also exceeded clothing sales. “Growth in the UK footwear market contin-
ues to outpace fashion, increasing 8% in 2017 compared with 3.1% clothing sales growth, reports market research
agency Mintel. It predicts the UK market will be worth £15.6bn by 2023.” (Brown, 2018) While North America still
has the largest market share in the footwear market globally, other emerging markets like China and India are in-
creasing their market share. While Brexit has increased uncertainty of financial security due to the dropping value
of the pound, this has also encouraged more tourists pouring into the country and encouraged increased spending
habits. “Overall, in the year until August 2019, both visits from overseas residents to the UK and spending were up
in comparison to the same period in 2018, with 26.1 million inbound visits and £16.5 billion spent. (Mintel, 2020)”
FIG:31

47
Sustainability and Brand Transparency:
Footwear is responsible for one-fifth of the impact made by the apparel industry as a whole,
with more than 700 million metric tons of carbon dioxide produced as a byproduct of its man-
ufacturing and raw material extraction each year. (Moore, 2019) Consumers want retailers to
be increasingly transparent towards their trade practices and in a lot of cases this becomes
the deciding factor of whether an individual wants to purchase from a brand. “Over two thirds
(67%) of people agree that fashion retailers should be letting customers know even when items
are not made sustainably” (Baram, 2019) eg: New Balance launched it’s Test Run Program, a
range made from using surplus from other sneakers.
Experiential Retail:
Even with the rapid increase of online retail, marketers need to understand that in-store re-
tail especially in the footwear and accessories market play a huge factor due to the size and
touch and feel aspect of the products. “Experiential marketing is all about creating unique,
memorable experiences for consumers, and experiential store design has become an integral
part of experiential marketing.” (Ebster and Garaus, 2011) Today’s consumer don’t just shop
to purchase products, they are also buying into the experience, hence stores need to keep up
with this increasing demand. With the constantly evolving retail environment, it is imperative
that brands understand that they shouldn’t be innovating or digitising just for the sake of it;
and rather truly understand the problem that they’re trying to solve and the way they go about
meeting the needs and standards of their customers. Experiences don’t always have to be a
permanent aspect of a store; eg: “ TOMS’ placed VR headsets into 100 stores, enabling them
to virtually transport customers to Peru to see the impact of their One for One giving campaign
on local people.” (Storefront, 2020)
Sportswear Growth:
Sportswear and athleisure items still continue to be one of the most popular forms of foot-
wear. According to data from Mintel’s Sports & Outdoor Fashion – UK, December 2018 Re-
port, the sportswear market reached £7.2 billion in 2018, growing 5.9% since the previous
year. As casual and comfortable dressing takes centre stage, “"Goldman Sachs just relaxed its
historically formal dress code — this is significant because they have a very young workforce
and this is the preference.” (Hoffower, 2019) people are constantly changing the way they
dress on a day to day basis where sneakers is the footwear of choice for the majority. 37%
of all consumers purchasing a pair of trainers over a 12-month period. (Baram, 2019) Up and
coming brands like Veja, are market leaders of sustainable fashion combined with athleisure.
Changing weather conditions:
In recent times the country has seen erratic weather conditions which has led to the diffi-
cult trade situations for several brands. “In 2018 both February and March were colder than
November and December 2017, and at an average temperature of 3.8 °C, March 2018 was
3.5 °C colder than March 2017” This unpredictability has led to loads of brands not being
able to asses when to launch collections. “The unpredictable weather has remained an issue,
with many retailers putting winter styles on Sale far too early” (Drapers, 2019) Weather usu-
ally affects more seasonal footwear like boots, “Promotions on boots in March 2018 meant
that lots of people were buying cheaper boots as soon as it got cold in the UK, whereas
full-priced spring/summer collections did not sell at all during this period.” (Mintel, 2019)
FIG:32
TREND DRIVERS

49
CAG
E
ANA
LYSIS
CULTURAL
ADMINISTRATIVE
GEOGRAPHICAL
ECONOMICAL
- English is the most widely spoken language of the UK.
- 80.5% of people in the UK being White British, and 19.5% were from ethnic minorities including White and Black Caribbeans
and Asian British: Indian 2.3%,
- 50.7 Christian, 2.5% Muslims and 41% atheists
- Common language, English spoken between the two countries. The brand messaging and communication is all in English hence it
would be an easy transition for the brand to branch out to the UK market.
- Both the UK and Singapore are countries with a population from a variety of ethnicities and backgrounds hence the brand is al-
ready experienced with appealing to a multicultural country.
- Charles & Keith has already used localisation strategies for multiple markets like India, China and Singapore appealing to people
from all religious backgrounds and also launching special collections like Lunar year, Diwali, Eid etc
- Parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy and follows a multi-party system.
- Companies need to consider their exposure to UK taxation, including corporate income tax, (VAT) and employment taxes. The
current standard VAT rate in the UK is 20%.
- Singapore is the United Kingdom's largest trading partner in Southeast Asia.
- EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (FTA) no longer applies to Britain.
- Bilateral foreign relations between Singapore and the United Kingdom
- “Looking ahead, we expect to see an acceleration of cross-border e-commerce from Asian players, as new platforms continue to
emerge, and the trend accelerates in Asian countries beyond China.” (Business Of Fashion, 2020)
- The uncertainty of the UK leaving the EU translates into risks over supply chain and investment decisions. Further clarity on UK’s
regulatory regime will help Singapore based companies operating in the UK determine their market strategies in the country.
- The Singapore-United Kingdom Partnership for the Future agreement promises to further strengthen trade relations between the
countries post Brexit.
- Physical remoteness between two countries is huge as they are situated in two separate continents.
There is a time difference of 7 hours between both the countries.
- UK’s climate is defined as a temperate oceanic climate with the majority of the months having a cold and wet climate as
opposed to Singapore's year round tropical climate.
- The countries have well connected trade links by air and sea which has reduced transportation costs through direct trade.
- Due to the reduced transportation costs, it is fairly cheap to transport items from Singapore to the UK. This is imperative for
the brand as they ship in products from their factories on a monthly basis.
- The time difference between the two countries can prove to be difficult for the brand operations, as the office hours between
the headquarters and London differ.
- Charles and Keith has established themselves in a majority of markets that have a tropical weather hence they would need to
adjust their range of products based on the UK's cold climate.
- The UK attracts over two thirds of all Singaporean investment into the European Union with a cumulative stock of £20.6 billion.
- It consistently accounts for more than 5% of the value generated by the UK economy each year and is estimated to contribute around
£17.5bn taxes to the UK, nearly 30 per cent of all tax revenues. (UK Trade and Investment: UK Retail Industry – International Action
Plan)
- Inward investment, accounts for 40 per cent of UK economic output, enables the UK economy to create, maintain and grow employ-
ment.
- The UK retail industry is a “ significant contributor to the UK economy employing more than three million people and generating
£300bn for the economy. ((UK Trade and Investment: UK Retail Industry – International Action Plan)
- Singapore is listed as one of the eight countries, selected by the UKTI (UK Trade & Investment) to prioritise local retail brands with
their international expansion through the national network of International Trade Advisors in the UK.
- Singapore is Asia’s most competitive business country and is ranked number four in the world’s Highest GDP per Capita, the finan-
cial strength between the two countries help strengthen trade relations between them.
- Private limited companies are required to file complete annual accounts and company tax returns with the Companies House and
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
FIG:33

51
PESTL
E
A
NALYSI
S POLITICAL
As stated by Savills’ retail research director
Marie Hickey “Despite the challenges facing
the UK retail market, London is continuing to
appeal to the expansion plans of international
retailers,” (Retail Gazette, 2019)
While European retailers made up the major-
ity of international brands entering London
last year, accounting for a 63.6% of openings,
Asia-Pacific retailers increased their share the
most, representing a 15.2% share of new en-
trants in 2018. (Retail Gazette, 2019)
The decision by the UK to leave the EU has led
to the devaluation of the pound and has made
future trade restrictions in Europe uncertain.
The profit margins of the retail industry will
bear the repercussions of this move.
55% of people prefer to buy footwear from retail-
ers that are trying to reduce their impact on the
environment. (Mintel, 2019)
People have admitted that they prefer to shop with
sustainable footwear retailers, with over a third
(39%) willing to pay more for ethical products, it is
becoming increasingly confusing for consumers to
understand exactly which retailers and brands are
and are not eco-conscious. (Mintel, 2019)
Footwear sales are hugely dependent on the
weather, with unseasonably cold or warmer snaps
blamed for a slowdown in sales during the year
and many retailers not being well prepared for
sudden weather changes. (Mintel, 2019)
ENVIRONMENTAL
The cost of living is the biggest worry; half (50%)
think that Brexit will negatively affect prices,
compared to just one in five (18%) who have a
more positive outlook. (Mintel, 2019)
Data from the Behaviour towards Footwear sec-
tion shows that over three quarters (78%) of foot-
wear shoppers say that investing in good quality
footwear is important to them. (Mintel, 2019)
Over the last two years, there has been an influx
of lesser-known, more affordable independent
brands (Mintel, 2020)
When looking at the overall purchasing of fashion
products, handbags are the most popular fash-
ion accessory bought in the last three months,
with over one in five (22%) women having pur-
chased one. (Mintel, 2020)
SOCIAL
TECHNOLOGICAL
44% of consumers who shopped online for products in the
last 12 months did so using their smartphone. This com-
pares to 38% last year. (Mintel,2019)
Mintel’s Digital Trends – UK, July 2019 Report found that
almost a third (32%) of UK consumers have been prompted
to buy a product or partake in an activity after seeing some-
thing on social media in the last six months. (Mintel,2019)
Growth in the UK online fashion market remains strong as
sales are expected to increase 13.4% to £23 billion in 2019,
meaning that the channel will capture a third (33%) of con-
sumer spending on clothing, footwear and accessories.
(Mintel,2019)
Over the year to August 2018, internet sales in department
stores increased by 26% (Rhodes, 2018) Internet sales in
total have increased by 14% on the year.
Not only is there a risk of higher tariffs on
goods both imported and exported, but
the movement of goods could also be de-
layed due to increased customs declarations.
(Mintel, 2019)
The current rate of Corporation Tax is 18%.
This is the joint lowest in the G20 - the world’s
largest 20 economies. This in turn will encour-
age more multinationals to invest in the UK.
Lower tax rates enable firms to invest more
which leads to higher growth and therefore,
higher tax revenues.
Post Brexit - ‘Retailers will need to prepare
for changes to import tariffs as well as con-
sidering their supply chain and how their
own exports into the EU may be impacted by
tariffs’ (CharlesRussell Speechlys, 2019)
LEGAL
“With the EU departure looming, economic growth has screeched to a halt, collapsing to just 0.1%
in the first quarter of 2018 – the UK’s weakest quarterly growth since 2012.”
(Phrasee, 2019)
The fall in the value of the sterling since the Brexit vote has created a raft of problems for retailers,
driving up import costs and forcing retailers to either absorb the costs or drive up prices. (Retail
Gazette, 2018)
A slowing economy - or perception of such - could result in reduced UK consumer spending. (FTI
Consulting, 2017)
Research indicated that the number of store openings from Asia- Pacific retailers increased by a
whopping 400% in 2018 compared to the year before. (Retail Gazette, 2019)
While lower interest rates encouraged short-term consumption during the mid-years of the past
period, debt-fuelled consumption is unsustainable and the boost is expected to have been short-
lived. (IBIS World, 2019)
2019 had the slowest rate of spending growth since 2010, largely driven by Brexit uncertainty. The
industry faced large-scale business restructuring. (Deloitte, 2020)
Revenue in the Footwear market amounts to US$14,353m in 2020. The market is expected
to grow annually by 1.1% (CAGR 2020-2023). (Statista, 2020)
ECONOMIC
Despite the political uncertainty in the UK the retail industry has continued
to thrive with both local and international retailers flocking to the capital.
London continues to be a lucrative hub for companies to set up shop in.
While there is always the presence of European companies in the UK the
past two years have also seen a rise in Asia-Pacific retailers expanding to the
UK. Consumer behaviour towards footwear and accessories have led to a
positive outcome where both footwear and accessories enjoy a substantial
market share in the retail environment. With the rise of conscious consumer-
ism and a large section of people in the UK are slowly becoming wary of the
brands they purchase from and the brands and implication on the environ-
ment. Additionally the UK also offers a very lucrative market for international
companies to expand through with various measures taken by the UK gov-
ernment to promote international investment. While factors like low interest
rates encouraged short-term consumption the uncertainty of the political
environment has discouraged consumer spending habits through a capacity.
FIG:34

55
PORTE
R’S
FIVE
F
ORC
ES
THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS
THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES
SUPPLIER POWER BUYER POWER
COMPETITIVE
RIVALRY
As brands need sufficient capital and resources to support ex-
pansion to a new country; with Brexit a change in trade regula-
tions is going to affect a lot of European brands, hence launching
in the UK would be a much harder process. “For serious growth,
most fashion businesses rely on exports. With an increase in ex-
port tariffs, those brands unable to relocate their business or dis-
tribution outside of the UK will become more costly for stockists
to buy than their European competitors.” (High Snobiety, 2019)
THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS: MEDIUM - LOW
COMPETITIVE RIVALRY: HIGH
Charles and Keith have manufacturers who produce products
solely for them. Hence “To ensure that the burgeoning busi-
ness is run smoothly, Charles & Keith made sure that it had
control over the entire chain of operations.” (Web.archive.org,
2015) Charles and Keith have over 30 factories in Malaysia and
China making products exclusively for them, hence the bargain-
ing power of suppliers is low as they have several options and
can switch to a different manufacturer. This provides an advan-
tage to Charles and Keith by diminishing suppliers' leverage.
The UK retail market is very saturated; London being one of the
most popular destinations for locals and tourists alike. There are
other alternatives that are more established like Kurt Geiger and
Topshop. The brand awareness of these brands are much higher
hence customers might pick these brands over an unknown brand.
Customer loyalty is low due to so many options available hence
they can easily switch to other brands. “Consumer spend growth
of footwear is set to continue, with a total growth forecast of 17.7%
predicted between 2018 and 2023 after inflation” (Savills, 2019)
THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES: HIGH
SUPPLIER POWER: LOW
BUYER POWER: HIGH
As can be seen in the figure above Charles and Keith is entering a highly
saturated UK retail market where consumers are spoilt for choice hence
the threat of substitutes is high. Having their own manufacturers is ben-
eficial to the brand as they have full control of the production process.
Due to the recent UKBrexit a lot of the european companies have been
discouraged to move their business to the UK which as a result makes
the threat of entry medium to low. Competitive rivalry is high amongst
competitors as Charles and Keith is facing stiff competition from their
rivals on the High Street. In a market as competitive as the UK the cus-
tomer controls the success rate of a brand. Due to the brand's limited
presence in the UK market it is difficult to stand out from their com-
petitors brands especially due to the lack of a physical store in the UK.
Charles and Keith’s products are all direct to consumers, they
don’t have wholesalers or concessions. All their stores are stand
alone in malls, high streets and airports hence they don’t have
to compete with brands on a wholesale level. Customer loyalty
is already on a decline due to the presence of several options.
Charles and Keith only has an e-commerce website in the UK
market and the existence of several other online stores offer-
ing a spectrum of footwear and accessories at a competitive
price increase the bargaining power of the customers especial-
ly given that brand recognition and awareness is relatively low.
Charles and Keith faces intense competition from spe-
cialistshoebrandslikeAldo,SteveMadden,,&othersto-
ries as they are already established brands on the high
street and have existed in the UK market and hence have
a lot of experience understanding the UK market and
consumer. Most of these brands also have large financial
capital available to them to pay for advertising. Charles
and Keith does not hold any fabric or process patents,
henceitsproductportfoliocouldbecopiedinthefuture.
FIG:36

57
BENCHMARKING
Shoes: £40 - £130
Bags: £30 - £110
Accessories: £9 - £59
Kids: £25 - £59
Shoes: £17 - £150
Bags: £55 - £150
Kids: £19 - £45
Shoes: £35 - £80
Bags: £35 - £75
Kids: £30 - £55
Product Fabric
Calf leather
Faux leather
Cruelty free fabrics
Breathable linings
Reviews
average of 4/5 stars
75% customers ap-
prove of quality
Product Fabric
Silk
Canvas
Leather
In-sock padding
Metal-free
tanned soles
Reviews
72% customers do
not approve of price
for the quality
Product Fabric
Synthetic fabrics
Rubber soles
No comfort padding
Reviews:
81% customers did
not approve of qual-
ity
Price
(Value
for money)
Quality
(Value
for money)
Selling
e n v i r o n -
ment
– across all
channels
Shoes; 1507 items; Sizes:
UK 2-8
Heels, Flats, Sandals,
Boots, Pumps, Wedges,
Mules, Sneakers
Bags; 600 items
Crossbody,Handbags,
Shoulder bags, Totes, ,
Minibags , Clutches, Buck-
et bags
Short and Long wallets
Wristlets and pouches
Card holders
Accessories, 117 items
Belts, Bag straps , Key-
chains , Sunglasses, Jew-
ellery
Kids ,Shoes,Bags
12 items
Reach
700 stores worldwide
Ships to 70 countries
Mobile App
Strategy
Store standardization
Standard decor and
merchandising
Scent marketing
Social media pur-
chasing
Facebook
Instagram
Reach
UK and EU only
20 stores
Mobile app
Ships to 28 countries
EU focus
Strategy
Contemporary store
interiors
Store standardiza-
tion
Social media pur-
chasing
Instagram
Reach
200 stores across
100 countries
Ships to 97 coun-
tries
Mobile app
Strategy
Store standardiza-
tion
Social media pur-
chasing
Facebook
Instagram.
Range –
width and
depth
70 items; SIzes: UK
3.5-7.5,Trainers,
Heels, Sandals, Boots,
Flats, Loafers, Mules
External brands
Adidas, Veja, Reebok
Bags; 53 items
Crossbody bags,-
Totes, Travel bags ,
Wallets, Purses
Accessories; 113; Hats
Gloves, Scarves, Hair,
accessories,Sunglases
Belts
Kids
73 items
Shoes
Accessories
Shoes; 562 items
Sizes: UK 2 - 9.5
Heels , Sandals, Sneak-
ers, Mules, Platforms,
Boots
Wide fit available
Bags; 187 items , Top
handle, Totes, Cross
body, Backpacks, bum
bags, Clutches, eve-
ning bags, Purses and
wristlets, Shoulder bags
Accessories; 347 items
Sunglasses,Scarves,
Hairaccessories,
Gloves, Belts, Jewel-
lery, Hats
Kids; 79 item, Footwear
only
Uniqueness
Quick design to produc-
tion turnaround
Large design variety
High quality
Affordability
Equal focus given to Foot-
wear and bags
‘Modern lifestyle mar-
ket’
Stock external brands
Larger footfall
Differentiation strategy
In-store cafes
Built brand equity and
integrity, popularity
over 42 years
Trendy, affordable
footwear
People-centric philos-
ophy
Presence in emerging
and mature economies
Easily recognizable
brand
Use FSC certified paper
Collaborations:
UN Entity for Gender
Equality, Breast Can-
cer Foundation, World
WIde Fund for Nature,
FREESET
Capsule Collection
She Can Be collection
USD 100,000 for girls’
education and em-
powerment , Sustain-
able sneaker collection,
Helps capture CO2 from
atmosphere
International standards
Universal Declaration
of Human Rights , ILO
Core Conventions
Sustainable and ethical-
ly conscious brand
Clothing return
scheme
Recycle unwanted
clothing
Transparency
Materi rces,
Supply chain, Factories,
Producers
Green-washing accusa-
tions
Umbrella company:
H&M
Accusations of under-
paying workers
75% factories lack trade
union representation
Sustainable packaging
“Take the Box not the
Bag” campaign (2019)
Carbon footprint reduc-
tion; Boxes made 80%
from post-consumer re-
cycled material
Created eco-tote;
against single-use items
Profits donated to
ocean support causes
Energy efficiency Re-
duced emissions by
33%; Climate neutral
Certified by South Pole
Ship Smart Initiative
Reduced product air
transport by 70%
Ethics hotline (24/7)
S o c i a l
Media
Instagram, 1.3m follow-
ers, Facebook 1.2m likes,
Twitter 13.7k followers,
Youtube 5k subscribers
(Platform for campaign
videos)
Main channels
Instagram and Facebook
+1120 followers daily
Low engagement; Avg 3
comments and 2 likes
<5 comments on Insta-
gram posts
Sponsored posts and sto-
ries; Direct shopping
Instagram, 477k followers
Main channel, Posts every
2 days, Sponsored posts
and stories
Steady engagement rate
Avg 20 comments and 2.5
likes
Content, Product shots,
Lifestyle photos from,
Home products
Direct shopping
Facebook, 74k likes
Direct shopping
Twitter, 2144 followers
Youtube,210 subscribers
Instagram, 2.9m followers
Product shots and influ-
encers, Facebook, 5.5m
likes, Twitter, 137.8k
followers, Youtube, 7.5k
subscribers
,TikTok ,805.8k followers
Pinterest,65k followers
Main channels
Instagram and Facebook
Content upload thrice a
day,High engagement
rate, Avg 7k likes, 200
comments ,Direct shop-
ping
Sponsored posts and
stories
CSR
CHARLES & KEITH ARKET ALDO CHARLES & KEITH
CHARLES & KEITH
ARKET
ARKET
ALDO
ALDO
FIG:37
The reason for comparing Charles and Keith to
these two competitors is because aesthetically Arket
has a similar range of products and Aldo has
a more affordable price range which is cheaper
then Charles and Keith products. Based on the
Benchmarking illustrated in the table, Charles &
Keith has a competitive advantage over the other
two brands in terms of their product offering with
their ability to churn out 20-30 designs on a weekly
basis. Being a specialty brand focussing on both
shoes and bags gives them a competitive advantage
over their competitors. Along with taking a variety
of initiatives towards sustainability the brand
also gives great importance to ethical responsibility
towards social issues like creating an online
exclusive capsule collection where all proceeds
went to women in India previously entrapped in
sex trade, whereas Arket has been accused of green-
washing. Competing with Aldo and Arket they
fall short of being transparent as they are still in
the process of making details of their entire produc-
tion process readily available. Their biggest
disadvantage as a new brand is their lack of brand
awareness which increases the competition they
get from the other two brands mentioned. Being
a very popular Scandinavian brand, Arket had already
established themselves prior to launching in
the UK. Aldo has been in the UK market for over a
decade and a half establishing themselves at the
forefront of High Street footwear retail. Not only
does Aldo have a wider presence across all social
media channels, with the latest one being Tik-Tok
but their engagement rate is also higher.

59
Trendy
Price +
Price -
Massmarket
PO
SI
TIONING
MAP
In the current market scenario Charles & Keith has
been positioned as a brand that is affordable and also
trendier than some of its other competitors. This map
focuses on two factors: Fashionability and Price. In
comparison to its competitors, Charles & Keith has a
strong product offering, focussing equally on footwear
and bags. The main factor that differentiates the brand
from its immediate competitors like Arket and &other-
stories are that they specialise specifically on footwear
and accessories as opposed to the other brands that
also have clothing and homeware. Their main compet-
itors in terms of fashionability are Arket and &othersto-
ries and in terms of price are Aldo and Zara.
FIG:38
The market is already saturated with a lot of competitors but as
illustrated on the map there is a gap for a brand that is trendy
enough to compete with contemporary brands and affordable
enough to compete with mass market brands. In addition to its
varied product offering, the brand is also working on launching
an affordable bridal range and their second sustainable collec-
tion. Charles & Keith has taken several ethical and social respon-
sibility initiatives towards their employees and production part-
ners and also created sustainable collections. This factor also
plays an integral role in setting them apart from their competi-
tors in the market.

61
DEMOGRAPHIC GEOGRAPHIC PSYCHOGRAPHIC BEHAVIOURAL
C
ON
SU
M
ER
SEGM
ENTATIO
N
The main consumer group belongs to the Millennial or Gen
Z generation. The age range of their core customer is 21-30,
but Charles & Keith designs products that are suitable for
women who are also 35+. Women in their mid 30s to early
40s are lucrative consumer segment for their kids range. Ma-
jority are working professionals and students; with a dispos-
able income or in case of students either have part-time jobs
or are international students who are financially supported.
These consumers work in a range of industries like retail,
marketing, creative, law, banking etc. The average monthly
income of most of the consumers are between £800- £2200.
The UK has a surge of international students who primarily
come from Asian countries like China, India, Malaysia where
Charles and Keith is predominant in the market hence the
probability of them being familiar with the brand is also high.
They also make up a large section of the target consumer.
.
These consumers in the UK, are mainly people
who live in metropolitan cities like London,
Birmingham and Manchester and urban areas
that are in the outskirts of cities. The younger
consumer segment also live in student towns
like Bristol, Sheffield, Nottingham etc. Howev-
er since this business operates mainly online,
it will not be limited towards the metropolitan
crowds. According to the Acorn User Guide
these consumers largely fall into the following
groups: D City Sophisticates, E Career Climb-
ers –K Student Life (Acorn User Guide, 2014)
In the UK, this consumer segment is mostly young and they have a
very different outlook on spending habits. They value self over the
validation they get from others. In a generation of social media es-
pecially Instagram where “54% of female UK consumers use Insta-
gram (Avocado Social, 2019), these consumers are spoilt for choice
with various brands to choose from hence the brand loyalty is com-
paratively less and they usually prefer to purchase from a wide va-
riety of brands. “If brands are shrinking in importance, social me-
dia is growing. Millennials are turning to their online networks when
making purchasing decisions.” (Goldmansachs,2018) This group of
consumers also prefer shopping online as it saves time and effort
and helps them make informed decisions while choosing brands.
The convenient nature of online shopping along with features like
next day delivery and promotional deals appeals to the younger con-
sumer. “Around 45% of millennials say same-day delivery is import-
ant.” (Drenik, 2019) These buyers value factors like sustainability and
ethical responsibility. They prefer to purchase quality over quantity
along with brand uniqueness rather than just buying into the brand
name. This segment cares more about a brand story rather than just
the products they offer. “72% of all Millennials agree that they would
rather spend their money on experiences than possessions.” (Mintel,
2019) This generation of consumers care about how brands repre-
sent themselves in media, in regards to being diverse and inclusive.
80% of UK consumers state that they don’t look out for a brand’s popularity
while making a purchasing decision
Based on the primary research conducted for this report, 74%
consumers aged between 21-35 said that they consider dynamic
digital engagement before purchasing from a brand while 37%
consumers said that they are more likely to click on an email
with a promotion. Maintaining customer loyalty in a highly sat-
urated market like the UK is imperative for a brand; this ensues
a number of factors like price, quality and personal satisfaction.
96% consumers said that they are more likely to purchase again
from a brand that gives them a sense of satisfaction while 98%
said that the quality also plays a role in their decision making.
When looking at an e-commerce website, 88% respondents also
stated that the ease of search is essential while browsing and
shopping on a website. 69% respondents aged between 18-35
said that the retail experience is very important while choosing
a brand. Consumers are becoming constantly conscious of the
brands they purchase from in terms of ethical responsibility and
sustainability hence in some cases these aspects are becoming
deciding factors towards their purchasing decisions. “Millenni-
al social awareness is part of their work life because they have
grown up with the internet and social media.” (Forbes.com, 2019)
FIG:39

63
C
ONSU
M
ER
M
O
O
DB
O
ARD
FIG:40

65
PEN
PO
RT
RAIT
Aideen, 30
Profession: Marketing Manager at Zara UK
Location: Clapham, London
Living in London and working in the fashion industry, she is always aware of
the new and latest trends and keen on experimenting with them. She likes to
wear a mix of affordable and luxury brands. She is also an avid online shopper
who is always on the lookout for new independent brands to shop from. Her
preferred method of discovering new brands is Instagram and influencers. She
considers herself a loyal customer to a few of her selected favourite brands.
Quality and customer service are the two most important factors for her while
selecting a brand. She believes that the current footwear brands available in
the UK are all similar looking from a design standpoint and no brand specifi-
cally stands out to her as unique.
Her favourite brands range from street wear brands like Zara, Mango and
Weekday to luxury brands like Chanel and Celine. She leads a healthy lifestyle
working out almost 7 days a week and eating healthy for the majority of the
week. She also likes to have a booming social life where going for drinks with
friends is always on her itinerary. One of her favourite pastimes is online shop-
ping and she spends most of her money on clothes and skincare. Her sense of
style is minimalistic and her entire wardrobe only consists of neutral colours.
She also likes to look out for any fashion events happening in town and usually
makes it a point to attend them. While she's open to buying footwear online
she is also sceptical purchasing from new online brands due to sizing issues.
Annyee, 23
Profession: Freelance Graphic Designer
Location: Hoxton, London
Living in London and having studied at London College of fashion she has always
been in touch with the fashion industry. Being a fresh graduate living in London
she mostly shops from High Street brands even though she agrees that t brands
that currently exist in the UK market are all very similar and nothing specifically
stands out to her. Originally from Malaysia, she has always been a Charles and
Keith customer and was also aware that they have a UK website even though she
admits that sometimes she forgot that they ship to the UK because she's never
seen an advertisement for them anywhere. She says that there is a lack of fun
and edgy affordable brands and hence she's always on the lookout for a variety
of online stores especially on Instagram and Twitter. Her general opinion on the
current High Street is that the brands are all quite repetitive and somewhat low
quality for the prices.
Being a freelance designer she does not always have the same schedule but her
favourite downtime includes playing video games online windows hopping and
watching TV. Her favourite weekend activities are working on personal projects,
experimenting with food and staying up late to watch TV. When asked what is
the most important factor while buying footwear online she said the return pol-
icy. She describes her style as a mix of every day and eclectic pieces especially
her leather jacket collection which she has collected over the years from a vari-
ety of vintage stores all over London. But when asked to prioritise the products
she spends the most of her money on, make up and skincare top her list.
FIG:41 FIG:42

67
EXISTING PRODUCTS NEW PRODUCTS
NEW
MARKET
MARKET
PENETRATION
MARKET
DEVELOPMENT
PRODUCT
DEVELOPMENT
DIVERSIFICATION
EXISTING
MARKET
The Charles & Keith UK website has been up for 2 years yet
brand awareness is still quite low. The majority of UK consum-
ers haven’t heard of the brand. Inspite of being featured on
magazines like WhoWhatWear and Refinery29 and having a
huge following on social media their brand awareness is low
due to the lack of UK centric marketing activities and as a re-
sult their ecommerce website’s performance is substandrad
with less than 500 visits a day.
The Ansoff matrix has been used to highlight the two main
strategies the marketing plan will entail: market penetration
strategy and product development strategy These two srar-
tegies will be utilised to devise an improved plan to help in-
crease brand awareness and recognition in the UK market.
Market Penetration: A UK centric Instagram account will be created to specifically cater to UK audiences which will aim
to increase audience interaction in the market. This Instagram account will be further imposed through influencer mar-
keting. There will also be improvements suggested to their mobile app to successfully to increase customer retention
along with an improved email marketing campaign to effectively engage with their existing customers.
Product Development Strategy: This will be done through making a collaborative capsule collection of footwear and
accessories between Charles & Keith and womenswear brand Rixo. A communication plan will be devised to promote
this collection amongst existing customers and new potential customers.
PROPOSED STRATEGY
FIG:43
FIG:44

69
EM
A
IL
MA
RKETING
OBJECTIVES
- Increase customer engagement
amongst their existing customers.
- Get to know their UK consumer
more in-depth.
- Increase CTR (click through rate) on
their emails by 35%
- Increase website visits by 30%
- Grow email subscriber list by 25%
STRATEGY
Customer Engagement
Customer Retention
Develop a new email market-
ing plan and redesign the for-
mat of the existing email
TACTICS
CHANNELS
Digital Media (Email Campaign)
Emails are sent out every two days, hence fre-
quency is high which leads high unsubsribe
rates and a reduced Click Through Rate to the
actual website. ‘Email is a core push channel;
it is very cheap and large scale, but therefore
prone to abuse through over-contact.’ (WARC,
2016) Even though the emails aim to engage
their customers, sending out emails too fre-
quently will discourage customers.
The current design format of the emails
take a more generic approach to design-
ing emails with one lifestyle image fol-
lowed by a vertical section of product
images. The overall email look is crowd-
ed with too much content and and as
a result, the readability of the email re-
duces. This can potentially lead to their
users unsubscribing from these emails.
“Email marketing is probably the most effective digital method of marketing your online busi-
ness because it is fast, cost-effective, personalised, flexible and, above all, targeted.” (Wynne,
2011) As of 2019 there are 3.9 billion email users worldwide as opposed to 3.4 billion social media
users worldwide. According to Statista, email usage in the UK is predicted to grow by 2 to 3%
each year from 2018 to 2023. (Statista, 2020) “The importance of email to a business cannot be
understated. It remains the primary channel that both marketers and consumers prefer across all
stages of the customer lifecycle. It’s able to assist brands to enhance customer experience across
each stage of this journey like no other channel,” says Tim Bond, Head of Insight at the DMA.
(telemedia.co.uk, 2020)
The new design will feature features a fresh take on the layout, with the fo-
cus on campaign pictures rather than just using product visuals. The use
of negative spacing with pops of color places a clear central focus on the
product. The information is perfectly aligned with an angular vertical zig-zag
layout for easy skimming. The addition of a bright colour along with care-
fully curated content makes for a more visually appealing experience for
the customer. As seen on the prototype, the product collection is placed
at the bottom of the image for customers who would be interested to ac-
tually scroll to the bottom to view the range of products on the website.
PROPOSED EMAIL MARKETING PLAN
A survey email format will be added to the email cam-
paign where customers will be sent interactive survey
emails which will consist of feedback emails and inter-
active questionnaires designed with the objective to in-
crease customer engagement. This will help the brand
gain data on the preferences of the UK consumer to bet-
ter curate products for the UK website while also estab-
lishing a rapport between themselves and their consumer.
Format of the email
Survey emails
The customers will be given an incentive to complete this survey
where upon completion they will be given a 10% discount (full
price and sale items) the first time and then after completing four
surveys they will be given a 20% discount on full priced items.
Instead of sending emails every 2-3 days l, this
plan proposes to send out emails once a week
and 2-3 times a week only during sale periods
like Black Friday and Boxing Day.
While Charles and Keith does employ email marketing, they do not seem to
have a consistent email marketing plan for their customers in the UK. This im-
pacts their brand awareness in the UK because the brand isn’t recognisable
to a large number of people. Currently the three different types of emails they
send out are..- promotional, sign-up and content emails (eg: collection launch-
es). There are three issues detected within their email marketing system;
The emails that are being sent out seem
to be specifically designed to be viewed
on a desktop screen, the mobile view does
not display consistently.
42% of emails are being opened
on smartphones or tablets
Average email click-to-open rate
in the UK is 13.4%
You’re going for brunch with friends; which bag are you taking out?
A: Sling bag
B: Tote Bag
C: Backpack
D: I’m not a bag person.
NYE is here; what are you wearing with your outfit?
A: Glitter heels
B: Ankle boots
C:Trainers
D: Thigh high boots
FIG:45
FIG:46

73
M
OB
ILE
A
PPLICATIO
N OBJECTIVES
STRATEGY
TACTICS
CHANNELS
Increase customer engagement
amongst existing customers
Increase brand loyalty amongst
existing customers
Increase customer satisfaction
Increase click conversion rate
Creating brand visibility
Raising brand awareness
Create a seamless shopping experience
Re-designing the existing Charles & Keith app
Creating Push notifications for new promotions
and abandoned carts on the app.
Creating special promotions in the app
Digital Media (Mobile App)
Retail apps help drive engagement
and build brand loyalty while meet-
ing consumer expectations. “Reten-
tion and loyalty are easier to drive
through apps, and push notifica-
tions and in-app messaging are very
important to this, (Drapers, 2020)
- It’s an exact copy of the webpage- like they made a mobile app for the sole reason
of owning an app.
- The graphics aren’t focussed on reflecting the brand identity of Charles & Keith
which includes flashing GIFs and texts which aren’t in sync with the brand image.
- None of the images are optimised for mobile use.
- Landing page is very long for a mobile app
- There are a number of pop ups which hinder the user experience
- It has a sidebar for it’s main menu which is laggy and freezes sometimes while
using the app.
Overall, a very tedious journey with Too much going on. A mobile application is
supposed to be a seamless customer journey who is trying to shop on the go.
Apps help collect consumer data like
browsing habits and shopping history bet-
ter than websites. This data can be used to
create a more personalised experience for
the consumer along with push notifications
to keep the app at the front of consumer’s
minds. “As the mobile channel becomes
critical for retailers, more consumers
are leveraging the apps to buy, browse,
read product reviews, access coupons
and find a local store,” (wwd.com, 2020)
Solution for the design issues detected:
Charles & Keith does have an app that is available to download but
there were issues detected within the app:
The visual prototype of the app considers both the
design and technical issues detected and improves
it to make the customer journey smoother. The new
version includes features that increase customer
engagement like doing a quick 5 question survey
which upon completion will show a personalised
recommended product section for each customer
and also an Instagram section curated with their
customers donning their designs. The new app will
also have a section which will highlight active pro-
motions going on and automatically apply the pro-
motion in the cart if the products are eligible for it.
25% of e-commerce traffic coming from
apps in 2020.
“Done well, retail apps engage
both in and out of stores with
personalised experiences”
67.7% of 16-to-24-year-olds prefer to use
retailers’ mobile apps over mobile-opti-
mised websites.
- Simplify the design. Reformat it.
- Using limited but stronger visuals as opposed to many weak images.
- Getting rid of the footer which takes up a lot of screen space and serves
no purpose
- Introducing a vertical scroll for two purposes: Instagram # posts and a
“You may also like..” section with recommended products based on search
history.
- Replace sidebar with a bottom navigation bar (Account, Wishlist, Home/
Style, Shop)
- Creating push notifications informing customers about new customers
and abondoned carts.
- Creating a live chat window; currently it is only available on the website
FIG:48

77
SOCIAL
MEDIA
STRATEGY
OBJECTIVES
STRATEGY
TACTICS
CHANNELS
Create and Increase brand awareness.
Increase Instagram following by 20% on the Charles &
Keith UK account.
Increase customer retention rate by 15%
Increase consumer engagement on their UK Instagram
Strengthen brand presence in the UK
Use both earned and paid media to engage
consumers through the use of intriguing social
media images and video.
Create an Instagram account specifically
for the UK market
Influencer Marketing
Instagram
56% UK residents aged between, 18 - 34 use Instagram.
Why does a Charles & Keith need a UK Instagram account?
Distinguish the brand’s locations: Creating an Instagram account specifically for the UK
market, will encourage local users to use that account to directly visit the UK website. .
Target Consumer: Charles and Keith’s usual customer is 26- 35 while in the UK they want to tar-
get a younger consumer aged between 21- 30. This difference in target audience means that the
content will differ as well.
Different products or services: Majority of the Brands established markets are in tropical countries
while in the UK the majority of the weather is cold hence this hinders the brand from posting branded
content specifically for a country Eg: There is a lack of instagram content focussed on winter footwear
which can possibly alienate UK and European customers.
Regional Promotions: creating a UK account will help target consumers with promotions specifically
happening in the UK. eg: Boxing Day
INSTAGRAM
PROTOTYPE
SAMPLE SOCIAL MEDIA PLAN
Primary (and only) channel of choice – Instagram
Develop social media content plan – 4-5 posts per week; (images, vid-
eos, stories, polls)
Develop blogging schedule – 2 posts per month (online website; direct-
ly linked on Instagram)
Review social media analytics software and perform competitor analysis
Analyse consumer activity and engagement data collected on Face-
book Analytics
Weekly budget planning for sponsored stories and posts
Instagram Videos get up to 21% more interactions
FIG:50
FIG:51
FIG:52
FIG:53

79
INSTAGRAM
MOODBOARD
FIG:54
This mood board illus-
trated shows an ‘Insta-
gram flow’ craeted to
highlight the type of
content that the UK In-
stagram account would
post to effectively en-
gage their customers.

Charles & Keith

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