CASE STUDY

Fashion Product Refresh to Drive Customer Engagement and Sales Growth for a Leading Fashion Brand

By transforming its approach to collection development, the womenswear department successfully addressed its core challenges, delivering a product offering that was as cohesive and diverse as it was stylish and customer-focused.

The Situation

A fragmented strategy led to a vast yet unfocused collection that failed to meet evolving customer preferences

A leading Central and Eastern European womenswear department faced declining customer retention, plagued by a chaotic product assortment and lack of focus. The lack of a cohesive collection strategy led to disjointed offerings focused on past successes rather than current trends or realistic customer needs. The teams's approach centred on individual assortments—trousers, dresses, t-shirts—without a holistic view of how these pieces could be curated into complete, appealing looks for customers.

Their strategy resulted in a paradox: a vast, yet narrow collection that lacked diversity and failed to resonate with the evolving preferences of its audience. The absence of strategic planning from a customer perspective further exacerbated the issue, with little consideration given to how the collection would be presented both in-store and online. The brand needed a comprehensive overhaul of its collection development process to regain its competitive edge and win back customers.

The Challenge

How can this department reimagine its collection planning and design to not only meet but exceed customer expectations, driving engagement and sales?

Approach

To address these challenges, we developed a new product and collection strategy that focused on structure, planning, and customer-centric design:

Foundation of Product Development: We optimised the current processes and systems for developing collections. We created a product development process,system and strategy aligning to the best practice international market standard for the needs of the company. We built a new system of coordination and collaboration between buyers and designers.
Customer Segmentation and Buying Strategy: We introduced a new buying strategy, organising the collection into segments with different functions in the collection. This structure ensured a balanced assortment that catered to various customer segments, from trend-driven customers to those seeking timeless staples.
Proportion Adjustment: The assortment proportions were carefully adjusted, ensuring that each product category was represented appropriately within the overall collection. This prevented over-saturation of any single category and maintained a well-rounded product offering.
Diverse Collection Lines: We created three distinct lines within the collection, each with its own unique identity. This approach enhanced the diversity of the offering, appealing to a broader customer base and preventing redundancy within the product range.
Trend Analysis and Implementation: Professional trend analysis was integrated into the collection development process, ensuring that the brand remained fashionable while also catering to customer demands.
Creation of Visual Merchandising: Moving the visual merchandiser from the Sales department and building a new team in the Product department with a new function and vision, fostering closer collaboration with buying and design teams. This shift ensured that product presentation was considered from the outset, leading to a more cohesive and visually appealing in-store and online experience.
Window Display Strategy: A dedicated Windows Team was established to meticulously plan and organise the window displays of physical stores. This strategic move enhanced the brand's visual appeal, attracting foot traffic and driving in-store engagement.
Pilot Store Creation: A Pilot Store was established at the headquarters, allowing the visual merchandising, windows and product teams to build, plan, and present the collection as it would appear in-store. This pilot environment enabled real-time adjustments and ensured that the final collection resonated with customers before it hit the market.
Brand Cooperation System Foundation: The introduction of a 'Collection Brief' document facilitated closer cooperation between the product, sales, and marketing teams. This comprehensive brief outlined the collection’s content and vision, ensuring alignment across all departments and a unified approach to market launch.

"... team's creative leadership was instrumental in guiding the team through a challenging period of brand transformation and uncertainty."

Head Designer

Results

The strategic overhaul led to a doubling of sales in three years, revitalized the brand's market position, and set a new industry standard, later expanding its success across other departments.

The strategic overhaul led to significant improvements in the brand’s performance:

Sales Growth: Sales doubled within three years following the implementation of the new product and collection strategy.
Enhanced Customer Engagement: The brand regained customer loyalty through a well-structured and diverse collection that resonated both in-store and online.
Improved Collection Strategy: The introduction of three distinct lines within the collection increased diversity and appeal, preventing product redundancy.
Stronger Visual Merchandising: Establishment of a new visual merchandising team within the Product department ensured a cohesive and visually appealing presentation across all channels.
Successful Pilot Store Implementation: The Pilot Store at headquarters allowed real-time adjustments, ensuring that final collections resonated with customers before market launch.
Cross-Departmental Alignment: The new 'Collection Brief' document fostered stronger cooperation between product, sales, and marketing teams, ensuring a unified approach to collection launches.
Scalability: The successful strategy for the Women’s department was extended to other departments in the brand (Men’s, Kids, and Accessories) enhancing overall brand coherence. I was also extended to other brands within the company.

This transformation set a new industry standard for collection planning and customer engagement within Central and Eastern Europe.