Lecture notes, Fashion Marketing Week 4 Central Tafe Northbridge

1. Week 4 Product Life Cycle

3. Products go through stages which require different marketing strategies to maximise sales and profits Introduction Growth Maturity Decline

4. Introduction The introduction period is one where acceptance of the product is in doubt Usually involves high marketing expenses and little profit

8. Apparel and other consumer products can be classified by the length of their life cycles. Life cycles are: Fad Fashion Basic

9. The life cycle curves of basic, fashion, and fad products are pictured below.

10. Basic products such as T-shirts and blue jeans are sold for years with few style changes. Businesses selling basic products can count on a long product life cycle with the same customers buying multiple units of the same product at once or over time. Basic

11. The overall sales of basic products are the highest of the three types of products, and their life cycles are generally the longest

12. Fashion is a style of the time. Fashion product life cycles are shorter than basic product life cycles. A large number of people adopt a style at a particular time. When it is no longer adopted by many, a fashion product life cycle ends. Fashion products have a steep decline once they reach their highest sales. Fashion

13. Apparel products often have a fashion dimension, even if it is just colour. Increased fashion features mean a decreased life cycle. So, if you are designing a fashion product, have multiple products in line for introduction as each fashion product runs its life cycle

14. The fad has the shortest life cycle. It is typically a style that is adopted by a particular sub-culture or younger demographic group for a short period of time. Fad

15. Styles that a popular celebrity is wearing are examples of fashion and fad styles

16. Some fashion companies create lines that include basic, fashion, and fad products in order to maximize sales.

17. Product life cycles link to your target markets Different types of consumers emerge at each different stage of the product life cycle Different marketing strategies should be used to reach each of these consumer types.

19. The different markets for different stages of the fashion product life cycle are shown here

20. Fashion innovators adopt a new product first. They are interested in innovative and unique features. Marketing and promotion should emphasize the newness and distinctive features of the product. Fashion Innovators

21. Fashion opinion leaders (celebrities, magazines, early adopters) are the next most likely adopters of a fashion product. They copy the fashion innovators and change the product into a popular style. The product is produced by more companies and is sold at more retail outlets. Fashion Opinion Leaders

22. At the peak of its popularity, a fashion product is adopted by the masses. Marketing is through mass merchandisers and advertising to broad audiences. The Masses

23. Late adopters are slow to recognize and adopt a fashionable style. As a fashion’s popularity fades, the product is often marked for clearance. This appeals to bargain hunters who are late adopters. Late Adopters

24. Another way to look at the product life cycle is through the consumer’s buying cycle which has five steps used by marketers. These are: reach, acquisition, conversion, retention, loyalty Or put simply : Claim someone's attention. Bring that person into your sphere of influence. Turn that person into a paying customer. Keep that person as a customer. Turn that person into a company advocate.

25. First Assessment Task! Write a one page overview of a fashion item which you believe to be either fad, fashion or basic. You need to: Explain why it had/has a fad, fashion or basic life cycle Identify the life cycle stages it has been through (ie is it still in introduction phase? Has it reached maturity? Etc) Describe which target markets the fashion has been through so far. (is it at innovator stage, early adopters or laggards etc?)

26. Done!