River Island is a British multinational clothing retailer known for its stylish yet affordable fashion. The document proposes creating a premium menswear collection called River Island X that would offer higher quality garments at a slightly higher price point. It would feature collaborations with designers and celebrities to attract new customers and excitement. An initial collection done in partnership with Kanye West is suggested, featuring trend-forward fabrics like neoprene at premium prices. Extensive market research on competitors, trends, target customers and a financial analysis is presented to argue this collection could be successful for River Island.

2. Inside this edition of A/W 15
With now over 60 years of fashion retail experience, River
Island is one of the most successful and growing stores on the
highstreet.
River island has always been kniwn for their stylish, fashion
forward yet afforable fashion and their uniquness helps them
stand out from other stores on the highstreet. Our customers
love us for our great going-out looks, amazing denim and fabulous
shoes and bags. we are the perfect store for our customers
to put a whole look together from head to toe.
At River Island we strive to bring new and original fashion to
our customers really focusing on design and current trends.
Almost everything is designed in house with one of the largest
design teams on the highstreet.
River Island has roots in the bomb sites of post-war London and
has expanded and developed dramatically since then. With celebrities
like rihanna and stores all over the world, the company
seem to be writing their iwn sucess story. River Island is already
filmly established across Europe and Asia.
Born as a tiny east london wool shop in 1948, River Ilsand
started out as an independent clothing chain across the uk
called Lewis Seperates- which later morphed into sixties high
street hit Chelsea Girl, selling poppy fashion to teeny-boppers
who would congregate on the Kings Road. It acquired its current
name in the early ninties.
“Our customers want fashion with an
added twist, thats exactly what we
do” - Farida Kaikobad (Brand Director)
About
* About River Island
* Concept banner
* About the concept
* Customer Profile
* Pest Analysis
* Swot Analysis
* Comp Shop Research
* Mood board
* Colour Inspiration
* Fabric Inspiration
* Range
* Outfit Build
* Product Development
* Price architecture
* Colour Percentages
* Advertisement
* Social Media
* Website design
* Packaging
* Marketing Strategy
* Distribution strategy
* #imwearingRI
* Sourcing strategy
* KPI’s
* Critical path
* Line detail
* Costing
* Final evaluation

4. The concept
Our idea to upgrade the menswear
department for River Island was
to create a premium priced col-
lection for the menswear custom-
er. River Island X would offer
the customer better quality and
more fashion forward garments at
a slightly higher, more premium
price and would therefore live up
to the ‘designer brand of the high
street’ reputation the company
prides itself on.
After researching into competitors
and actions of other retailers we
discovered that the menswear de-
partment for the brand were not
embracing the new found buzz and
attention of which Menswear was
creating as well as competitors
such as Topman who were beginning
to get creative and take risks
with their products offering dif-
ferent silhouettes, shapes, col-
ours and prints. We feel River
Island is not taking advantage of
this and is remaining safe, only
providing customers with a higher
proportion of core items. River
Island X would compete with com-
petitors who have also created
a premium collection like Topman
with Topman Limited, only River
Island X would regularly collab-
orate with some of the biggest
designers and key celebrities in
terms of fashion to create a buzz
about the brand. In order to get
things started and create massive
attention to this new concept we
decided that a collaboration with
Kanye West would be the perfect
opportunity to be able to create
a quality range of key on trend
items endorsed by one of the big-
gest celebrities, musicians and
key person in terms of men’s fash-
ion at this time. The first cap-
sule collection will experiment with
higher priced fabrics like neoprene
and nano weights which are predicted
to be huge for the upcoming seasons
according to WGSN and have also been
used in similar capsule collections,
like the H&M x Alexander Wang col-
lection of which Neoprene (Scuba)
material was used widely.
Kanye West is the best ambassador
for a project like this as he has
recently premiered his first collec-
tion with a brand, Adidas, which has
been very successful. It has earned
massive media and consumer attention
and we believe that for him to do a
similar range at River Island would
be perfect to attract a newer cus-
tomer as well as excite the existing
River Island ‘Guy’.
Although it is risky as The RIH-
ver Island collection with Rihanna
did not become as successful as was
planned, we have enough evidence to
further the success of this collabo-
ration. Although the Kanye collabo-
ration is better off as a ‘one off’
collection by keeping the premium
range available means that River
Island can keep this open to newer
collaborations with up and coming
designers (like it previously has)
or other huge celebrities or de-
signers to maintain a buzz about the
brand, whilst also keeping people
interested in what’s next.
So in detail, here is what the first
River Island X capsule collection
will look like with all the research
and statistics we have gathered in
order to be able to say we believe
it will be successful. This is River
Island X Kanye West!
Customer Profile
Age: 13-30
Gender: Male
Sizing: XXS -XXL (cottons), 24W-
38W (trousers), 34-48 (suit jack-
ets), 5-12 (shoes)
Lifestyle: Educated/working indi-
vidual who lives in suburbs. Likes
to socialise at clubs/bars, res-
taurants and in town. Up to date
with innovations in technology
receiving news from social media
apps such as Facebook and Insta-
gram pages. Reads ‘Lad’s Mags’ and
watches TV regularly, mainly foot-
ball and comedy/reality shows. Up
to date with pop culture and fol-
lows current social trends.
Social Economic
-Marital Status: Mainly single or
dating.
-Shopping/Fashion needs: Chooses
trend before price. Is a fashion
forward individual who likes to be
a trend-setter. Shop as and when
they have money normally around
a 2-3 times a month. Invest in
quality products. Willing to pay
a higher price for a more premium
product.
-Occupation: Student/Working
-Interests: High fashion, drinks,
pop culture, friends, TV, music,
cinema, cars, technology, social
media and girls.
Other Brands They Shop: Topman,
Zara, Bank, Asos and other inde-
pendent brands such as; Addidas,
True Religion, Diesel, Stussy,
Criminal Damage, HUF, Ragged
Priest, Bape, Just Hype.
Summary
We are targeting young fash-
ion forward men, who aspire to
shop within the Designer brand
group. They have a keen inter-
est in what’s going on in terms
of trends within fashion and
culture, and like to know who
is wearing and doing what. As
they may have a limited fund
especially at the lower end of
the target age range (18-21),
they would rather spend their
hard earned money on a high-
er quality premium product. The
majority of this customer base
are keen to take risks which
previously are not offered but
as loyal customers have stayed
with and embraced the brand as
is. This collaboration will not
only be suited for the existing
River Island customer but will
also enable them to experiment
with newer shapes and key prod-
ucts which they haven’t had ac-
cess to before. This will also
attract a newer River Island
customer.

5. Pest Analysis
Political:
•Manufacturing in the UK has provided shorter lead times, and cheaper man-
ufacturing which also means a change in how quick we can turnover.
•Under the coalition government the VAT rate rose from 17.5% to 20%. This
had a large impact on retailers such as River Island.
•River Island like any business in the UK is subject to government policy
and must therefore comply with the law.
•Election of government is subject to change and this will mean that River
Island may have to adapt its policies to accommodate to new legislations
Economic:
•Changes in the economy, such as the recession in 2008/2009, can have an
adverse affect on the retail industry.
••As a result of the recession, people had less disposable income to pur-
chase River Island goods.
•But as the economy has started to improve, there is a forecasted 3.2%
growth for the British market.
•House prices have risen in the UK, so the target market may not be so
keen in spending money in the retail industry.
Social:
•With a changing society comes a constant change in fashion trends and
tastes.
•The advancement of technology in society and the use of the Internet have
enabled the world to shop online.
•Based on River Island current target markets it would be essential to
maintain the website and keep up to date with any social media.
••Men are starting to ‘peacock’ more in the UK and the menswear market in
fashion is increasing. RTW shows are also more fashion forward at the men’s
shows.
Technological:
•With the development of computers and computing software, retailers such
as River Island have been able to design and produce their products cheaper
and more efficiently.
••River Island is very advanced in the use of social media with Twitter,
Facebook, Instagram and Pintrest accounts.
•River Island is beginning trials in RFID technology to improve stock
availability data. And improve accuracy of data all across the supply
chain, and also increase sales by being able to effectively get these prod-
ucts to their consumer.
•Due to major advancements in shipping and transportation, River Island is
able to distribute its products worldwide.
SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths:
•High quality fashion products that meets customers expectation
•Online services, next day delivery and click and collect all
available, this increases revenue and brand loyalty.
•Website is well designed and attractive to use.
•Social media services which includes the River Island app
••Offers a wide range of products to meet our customer needs es-
pecialy with the increase in the men’s fashion market.
•Beginning to take risks with new silhouettes and shapes.
•Exceptional quality in departments such as footwear and denim
•Stores worldwide and easy to get to
•Reasonably priced
Weaknesses:
•The ranges aren’t as fashion forward than competi-
tors
•Ranges and products are not turned over as quickly
as competitors such as Zara whose turnover is every
2 weeks. As fast fashion increases we should be
adapting to this change in the market.
•Menswear is yet to do a collaboration, this can
attract new customers with a more fashion forward
and commercial range.
••Models not used on the website which makes it dif-
ficult to see what it is they are investing in
Opportunities
•Technology will improve the quality of stock availa-
ble
•Technology to improve the lead times, which could
make us a fast fashion retailer.
•Aging population, higher amounts of the grey pound,
should help the range be targeted at the older male.
Could increase sales and make us a loss leader by en-
tering a new market before competitors.
•Younger generation also becoming more interested in
fashion forward products, and a collaboration with a
popular celebrity may help bring sales up.
•Men ‘peacocking’ we could invest in an edgier range.
•Due to more and more social media websites out there,
just keeping up to date and make sure we are connected
and getting the stock seen online.
Threats
•ISIS threats can create fear within the UK, shoppers are
more cautious of where they are going to shop, sales might
fall as people change the way in which they shop.
•Bad economy
•• Mature markets are competitive. For River Island to
grow in a mature market, it has to increase market share,
which is difficult and expensive.

6. Comp Shops
(research)
Denim- whats
already out
there

8. Colour Inspiration

9. Fabric Inspiration

10. Entry Price -
£18 (Accessory)
Mid Price - £38
(T-Shirt’s)
Exit Price - £90
(Outerwear)
Tapered Jean -
98% Cotton
2% Elastane
COO:Turkey
£50
Panelled Jogger
100% Cotton
COO:Turkey
£35
Black Destroyed
Skinny Fit Jean –
98% Cotton
2% Elastane
COO:Turkey
£40
Silver Printed
T-Shirt
98% Neoprene
2% Polyester,
COO: China
£35
Print T-Shirt
100% Cotton
COO:Mauritius
£25
Sport Luxe Hooded
Sweatshirt
100% Cotton
COO:Mauritius
£38
Khaki Panel
Sweatshirt
100% Cotton
COO:Mauritius
£38
Waterproof Mac
61% Cotton
39% Nylon
COO:Mauritius
£80
Reflective Padded
Coat
100% scotchlite
COO: Mauritius
£90
Black Biker Boot
100% Leather,
COO: China
£70
Mesh Panel
Baseball Cap
95% Neoprene
5% Polyester,
COO: China
£25
Logo Sunglasses
100% Plastic
COO: China
£18
Black Snood –
100% Acrylic
COO: China
£20
Bucket Hat
100% Leather
COO: China
£20
Leather Duffel
Bag
100% Leather,
COO:China
£45
Sport Trainer
50% Leather
50%Neoprene,
COO: China
£45
Khaki Print
Sleeve
T-Shirt
100% Cotton
COO:Mauritius
£28
Bomber Jacket
100% Nylon
COO:China
£55
Baseball Top
100% Neoprene
COO:China
£40
Tunic Shirt
100% Cotton
COO:Mauritius
£35

11. Outfit Build

12. Product Development
BOMBER JACKET £18
Price Architecture£90
Entry Price -
£18 (Accessory)
Mid Price - £38
(T-Shirt’s)
Exit Price -
£90 (Outerwear)

14. Advertisement
London Buses
Tube Stations
For this exclusive
capsual collection
we would aim to
have a lot of ad-
vertisement around
all the major citys
we will sending the
product too. Bus anproduct too. Bus an
tube adverts would
be two of our key
ways in which we
could adverise for
this exciting new
collection.
Both these methods
we hope would be
effective to get
people excited
about the new col-
lection and help
create a river
island buzzisland buzz
within those
citys.
Social Media
Social Media will also
be another massive tool
to promote and get
people excited for this
collab.
Instagram is a brilInstagram is a bril-
liant tool for River
Island to advertise and
see how many people are
taking interest in
their posts by the
number of likes they
get.get.
Kanye West is not only
a world famous Hip Hop
artist but also a suc-
cessful high fashion
designer. With over 11
million followers on
twitter he has the per-
fect platform to pro-
mote his collaboration
with River Island.

15. Website Design
Packaging

16. Marketing Strategies
Product: River Island offers different divisions ofProduct: River Island offers different divisions of
clothing (Womenswear, Menswear, Childrenswear, Footwear
and Accessories). The Menswear Department offer a wide
range of products including; cottons, formal cottons,
knitwear, denim, footwear, suits (often referred to as
mixers), outerwear and accessories. It excels in the
quality of the product and offers a wide range of fashion
forward garments which are affordable. A bonus to Riverforward garments which are affordable. A bonus to River
Island men’s is they also offer the smart aspect of fash-
ion such as, suits and smart shoes.
After purchase, products are folded and put into branded
carrier bags to provide the consumer a better customer
experience. Our products are high quality and if the cus-
tomer is not satisfied with the products after purchase
we offer a 30 day returns policy allowing them a full
refund if need be.
Promotion: River Island use social media to evolve the
company. Having an Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest ac-
count allows them to showcase and promote their latest
products online, as well as having a direct online web-
site. We believe this is where our target market is situ-
ation. We advertise new ranges providing to showcase the
new styles, which makes it easier for our customer to
keep up with the new trends. We also issue a ‘Style In-
sider’ magazine, which is available in store. We pride
ourselves by appearing and offering discount in magazines
such as Elle and use billboards and small boards outside
of store to promote our brand and image.
Place: As stated above, products are available to custom-
ers online as well as in store. You can also buy River
Island’s product in other stores such as Selfridges and
online such as Asos. Most of River Island’s outlets are
localised in inner cities, however they also have outlets
in suburban areas.
Price: The River Island product is always priced to the
nearest pound. e.g a men’s t-shirt = £18.00 as opposed to
other retailers who offer a similar product at £17.99.
Distribution Strategy
The River Island range is available online as well as inThe River Island range is available online as well as in
stores, but these stores will be flagship stores only. The
flagship stores include: Oxford Street 213 & 301, White
City Westfield, Blue Water, Birmingham Bullring, Brent
Cross, Cardiff, Cardiff St Davids, Dudley Merryhill, Gate-
shead, Glasgow Argyle Street, Glasgow Braehead, Leeds
Trinity, Leeds White Rose, Leicester Fosse Park, Liverpool
Church Street, Manchester Arndale, Manchester TraffordChurch Street, Manchester Arndale, Manchester Trafford
Park, Marble Arch Park House, Milton Keynes, MK1 Fashion
Park, Newcastle, Nottingham Listergate, Sheffield Meadow-
hall, Stratford, Thurrock, Watford. The main places we
intend to distribute this too include large cities in the
UK, like London, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield and into
shopping centres across the UK and Ireland. These stores
have been chosen as they are classified as ‘Superstores’
stocking everything from womenswear to menswear, kids,
Chelsea girl and Holloway road, so adding our River Island
X collection into these stores will provide the customer
with everything they expect from these stores.
The range is going to be distributed to some of these
flagship stores as it is an exclusive range and we want to
keep it limited. However in the smaller stores and conces-
sions such as Asos, we will maintain promotion of the
range recommending the customer to either visit one of
these stores or shop online. And as we provide click and
collect this will allow the customer to shop online but
collect the product on their schedule also enabling themcollect the product on their schedule also enabling them
to order this product in from a store that does not stock
this to be collected from any store or to their own home.
River Island also provide international stores throughout
Asia, the Middle East, Ireland and Europe. We will also
distribute some of the range to the main flagship interna-
tional stores. The website also operates in four curren-
cies ensuring the range is widely accessible to River
Island customers across the globe.
Each store will have access to sell either the whole range
or a few garments from the range in small quantities
making it extremely exclusive. Flagship stores like Oxford
Street and Stratford will be the kinds of stores to have
the whole range as they are the biggest money makers and
draw the highest footfall.

19. China
Mauritius
Turkey
Sourcing Strategy

20. Turkey
We have selected
Turkey as the country
to source are denim
garments from. Turkey
are specialist and
known for their quali-
ty in Denim produc-
tion. We are also
using them as they are
a short lead time and
allow us more time for
designing the jeans.
We will be going
direct to turkey and
not using a Agent tonot using a Agent to
help with designing as
we have our own design
team. This will also
save us costs by not
paying a percentage
for a agent. By using
turkey we can maketurkey we can make
sure that the jeans
are the best quality
and on trend to help
are range come togeth-
er and have a high end
look.
Pro’s and Con’s
Pro’s:
*Shorter time differ-
ence
*Experts in certain
materials
*Shorter lead time
Cons’s:
*Language difference/
communication issues
*Religious holidays
*Current events in
Syria
We will be using sup-
pliers in Mauritius to
product are sweat gar-
ments which will in-
clude a lot of cotton
and polyester materi-
als. We will being
going direct with the
suppliers and not using
a agent to help with
designs. Mauritius have
state of the art facto-
ries and will be able
to produce the shapes
and styles we require
in this range, they
also have high quality
produce which is what
we want are range to
resemble. Although we
will be paying more as
we have to Freight thewe have to Freight the
items over due to the
large shipping boats
not stopping at the
tiny Island. Although
are goods will arrive
quicker they will be
slightly more expensiveslightly more expensive
to get to the DC.
Mauritius
Pro’s and Con’s
Pro’s:
*Advance and newly
built factories
*High quality prod-
ucts
Con’s:
*Only transports is
freight due to ex-
cluded small island
*Language barrier/
communication issues
*Religious Holidays
*Time difference

21. China
We are sourcing are acces-
sories products and new up-
coming fabrics from China.
China are good suppliers
for new materials as they
are fashion forward hence
the long lead times. A ma
terial which has recently
come onto the fashion scene
is Neoprene which we are
incorporating into are
range. We will be going
direct to China suppliers
and not using an Agent as
we have are own designers.we have are own designers.
Although the lead time will
be longer we want to make
sure are fabrics are 100%
up to scratch so we want to
use a reliable COO which is
able to deal with unfamil-
iar fabrics without prob-
lems. A lot of are accesso-
ries are also going to be
produced in China. These
are also thing China are
renowned for producing.
Pro’s and Con’s
Pro’s:
*Adapt to trends fast
*New materials and
fabrics can be sourced
*Cheaper to produce
Con’s:
*Religious Holidays*Religious Holidays
*Time difference
*Language barrier
*Long lead time
KPI`s
1) On time delivery be-
cause Jeans have such a
high demand
2) Quality because River
Island have a reputation
to uphold and their tops
are known for being good
quality yet affordable and
fashion forward.
3) compliance with codes3) compliance with codes
of conduct/ethical stance
because River Island is a
huge world-known retailer
who cannot be to condone
unethical processes.

22. Critical Path
Line Detail

23. Costing
We are aiming for a
margin of 71%
EvaluationTo conclude the overall concept for this project was to recreate an increasing inTo conclude the overall concept for this project was to recreate an increasing in-
terest into the River Island Menswear department by creating a premium range that
helped boost the brands image and maintain the ‘designer on the high street’
label. By also using a launch collaboration with one of the most influential men
in menswear fashion at the moment, a huge buzz and massive media attention will be
drawn to this new range of products and help to make a wider range of consumer
aware in this premium range. As this will be a one off collaboration with Kanye,
purely because he is a controversial character who says and does silly things thatpurely because he is a controversial character who says and does silly things that
may affect how the customer perceives the range, it also enables the brand to keep
the premium range dedicated to collaborating with the latest celebrities, up and
coming and already established designers. This will keep the menswear reputation
current and the customer base will always be interested in what they can expect
from the company after each collaboration is done, keeping the brand relevant and
competitive.
The range we have presented is a higher priced, higher quality River Island prod-
uct that is priced slightly lower than the Womenswear Rihanna for River Island
range as this seemed to struggle in sales due to the pricing. River Island X has
the competitive edge over its main competition of Topman Limited as it offers
better shapes, silhouettes and key items for the season in better and more innova-
tive fabrics such as neoprene, at a lower and more competitive prices. As the
River Island menswear department does lack a little fashion forwardness and com
petitiveness River Island X would be the perfect opportunity to revive and refresh
itself as a brand.
As we have seen an increase and rapid growth in the sportswear market, we plan to
use this in our advantage to play around with sports shapes and fabrics. River
Island has already embraced the sportswear market releasing a range of lightweight
sports trainers, however River Island X intends to take this further for the River
Island customer who is more daring and willing to embrace this sportswear look.
The key innovative fabrics we are using will be perfect for this intention and
price range and will therefore make the customer feel the product is worth the
extra money purely because the products are of better quality and look more premiextra money purely because the products are of better quality and look more premi-
um.
We believe this idea is the perfect way in which River Island can help to upgrade
its menswear department, and to ensure the success of this collaborating with
Kanye West would be the perfect way in which to do so combining the pre-existing
customer base with the fan base of Kanye, generating a huge media buzz and media
attention will help in the success of this ensuring that the range is known about
worldwide!
Ben Scanlon, Monica Federici, Georgia Collins,
Beth Tutin, Harriet Strauss