Retail Report of Warehouse
Student
Number:
7142501
Kate Lewis
Fashion
Promotion:
MATS 10172
Contents Page:
Page 3:
Introduction
Page 3:
History of Warehouse
Page 4:
Company facts and figures
Page 6:
The marketing mix
Page 9:
S.W.O.T. analysis
Page 12:
UK retailing positioning map
Page 14:
Recommendations and analysis
Page 16:
Conclusion
Page 17:
References
2
Introduction
Warehouse’s culture and style is one of tailored elegance, which inspires its
customers with constantly changing clothing themes and ideas. The Warehouse
chain was established in 1975 by Jeff Banks and Maurice & Michael Bennett
(Mintel 2007). Since then it has been established with Sears, Arcadia, Rubicon
and now Mosaic. After being with many groups Warehouse has finally
established its brand image and is concentrating on growing within the market
as being known for its “Styley, Confident, Sexy, Glamorous, Edgy, Clean,
Individual” (www.warehouse.co.uk A) clothing and accessory range.
There are currently 323 Warehouse stores, of which 36 are located outside the
UK (Mintel). Warehouse has three main stores in London, and seven stand-alone
stalls within department stores (www.multimap.com A). There are also two
Warehouse stores within Manchester and the same amount of concession stalls
as London (www.multimap.com B and Mintel 2007). This now covers 17% of
Mosaic-owned stores.
Warehouse has started competing outside the High Street, via the internet.
Clothes and accessories can be bought through their web site, and recently a
new Warehouse Outlet web site has been launched - where pre-seasons stock
can be bought at cheaper prices.
This report aims to analyse all aspects of the Warehouse brand, from the
clothes it offers to its financial report. Building up knowledge on the store can
then allow useful and relevant recommendations to be made.
History of Warehouse
1976 -
Jeff Banks and Maurice & Michael Bennett create the Warehouse
brand.
1999 -
Arcadia acquires Warehouse from Sears.
2001 -
Arcadia sells Warehouse to Rubicon.
2005 -
Rubicon is acquired by the Shoe Studio Group and changes its
name to Rubicon Retail.
2006 -
Mosaic acquires Rubicon and thus obtains Warehouse.
2006/2007 - Warehouse enters the Middle East, Indonesia, Philippines and
Turkey.
(Mintel 2007)
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Company facts and figures
The pro-forma figures in Figure 1 only show a 4.7% growth in sales across the
UK Mosaic group, this is 0.7% lower than the overall growth in the UK sector. As
this table shows the sales as if Warehouse had been apart of Mosaic for the
whole of 2006 it could suggest a lower than average growth for Warehouse.
Figure 1: Mintel 2007
When the data from Figure 1 is combined with that in Figure 2, a clearer
picture of Warehouse’s performance is visible. Principles and Warehouse share
a sales figure of around (£ 000, excl. sales tax) 567.2 over 2006 and 2007. This
level of performance has continued into 2007/08 after ending 2006/2007 with a
strong final quarter. (Mintel 2007)
The sales figures for Warehouse come at a 17% rise compared with the preview
years’ figures - meaning it has performed best out of all the stores within the
Mosaic group. (www.drapersonline.com)
This increase in sales could be because of the growing number of Warehouse
stores. With 78 new stores opening between 2006 and 2007 (Mintel 2007) the
store seems to have targeted a previously unreached market who are eager to
buy their goods. The large number of international stores are also enabling a
larger scope of consumers can be targeted by Warehouse. Ways of making
these new stores well known could now be put in place to ensure every target
consumer is made aware of Warehouse’s growth. And according to Warehouse its customers is “passionate about fashion, knowledgeable about trends,
appreciates design and quality, body confident, independent, primarily 18-30”
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(www.warehouse.co.uk B). This knowledge of its customer can then be used to
develop useful forms of advertising.
Figure 2: Mintel 2007
Although it is difficult to analyse Warehouse’s performance with these, quite
vague, figures – it is easy to see that it’s a well performing brand. Although its
only recently been introduced to the Mosaic group, it is already one of its most
successful brands. Although some of the other Mosaic-owned stores aren’t in
direct competition with Warehouse, staying at this high level of performance
should try to be attained.
The steady growth of Warehouse should be carefully monitored by the brand so
that stores are only opened where they should make a profit. Expansion for the
sake of becoming more global can be a risk as it can make the brand forget to
target, and take pride, in different customer bases and thus causing a lack of
consumer interest.
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The Marketing Mix
The use of the marketing mix allows Warehouse to break down all the different
aspects of its company and analyse them separately. The different sections
Warehouse will be scaled down into are price, product, place and promotion.
Price
 The high standard of fabric quality and good tailoring means prices are
quite high compared to other retail stores.
 The average price for tops sits at about £30; this is a pretty average price
for high street clothes.
 Jeans and trousers from Warehouse are roughly £40, compared to stores
such as Zara this is a more expensive price boundary - but is roughly similar
to other brands such as Topshop.
 The high prices give the brand more of an exclusive persona.
 A new website called www.warehouseoutlet.co.uk contains pre-season
clothes at discounted prices - offering cheaper alternatives which could
reach a younger market.
 However in store - student discount is not available, suggesting that
Warehouse is aiming for an older market.
 Jewellery and accessories are quite cheap, and are definitely affordable for
an older and younger customer.
Price Analysis
There seems to be wavering image choices based on price which Warehouse
seem to have not yet established. It comes across as an exclusive, expensive
store in one respect - but a cheap and out of fashion store in another.
Warehouse should try and decide on one of those approaches to price and just
focus on that - instead of trying to appeal to a wide range of budgets. If
Warehouse decides to continue its more reasonably priced image it should
consider offering student discount as this could be a psychologically better way
of promoting cheaper prices. As even though 10% (the usual rate of student
discount) isn’t much, it draws in that market of consumers without giving a
brand a cheap, low quality image.
As Warehouse prices are similar to more fashionable brands such as Topshop,
they to could consider creating more trends and fashions to better its
competition. Or Warehouse could consider moving away from the same market
as Topshop etc. and aim to be more exclusive to the older generation which
many high street brands miss.
Product
 Warehouse is well known for its high quality tailoring of formal wear such as
suits - evening dresses are also recognised as popular buys.
 They offer clothes from size 6-16.
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The turnover of the different ranges of products in-store is becoming
increasingly more frequent (once a week) - offering the customer a wider
variety of clothes.
Warehouse clothes are distinctively high street, i.e. very mainstream.
Similar clothes found in Warehouse can be seen in other stores.
The clothes Warehouse offers are not classed as “disposable fashion” as
they are too expensive. Many items are quite plain and simple to give them
a classic and longer-lasting stance within fashion.
Women’s-only fashion.
Sub-brands within Warehouse include its Spotlight collection and
WareDenim.
Product Analysis
The almost timeless pieces sold in Warehouse do give justification for its high
prices, and increasingly more trends are being seen within the stores. The same
sort of approach could be taken if Warehouse considers opening a men’s
section, as men’s fashion is considerably more basic than women’s.
The idea of branching out within its market segment could also be put in place
with its range of sizes. Offering sizes 6-16 on today’s high street is seen as
quite a small range - some stores offer sizes from 4-26. Warehouse could try
and create a larger size range to become more competitive while appealing to
a wider range of consumers.
Currently in the Manchester Arndale store there are three main trend themes
which rotate regularly to give a variety of looks. Origami (black, yell, grey),
festival boutique and safari looks are currently in store - this is helping
Warehouse loose its previous image of being quite serious and formal with little
offering to the casual-wear market.
Place
 Warehouse stores, within any city or town, are usually found on the main
high street, in the main shopping precinct and/or in the large department
stores.
 Its stand alone stalls feature in a wide variety of stores – such as Selfridges,
House of Frasier and Debenhams.
 Within the Trafford Centre alone there are four different places where
Warehouse items can be bought - making them extremely accessible.
(www.mulitmap.com C)
 Warehouse also has a place within the electronic-retail environment. In
2006 the Warehouse website was re-launched with Fresca Commerce, which
now provides a quick, safe and enjoyable Warehouse online transaction.
(www.mulitmap.com D)
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Place Analysis
Having Warehouse situated on popular sections of retail high streets means
maximum coverage from consumers can occur. However this also means that it
is in constant competition with similar women’s clothing stores. This means
Warehouse must make its stores look more distinct to draw consumers away
from competition and into their store.
Over the last five years, apparel buying online for womenswear has increased
by 19% and is steadily increasing year by year (www.wgsn-edu.com).
Warehouse should therefore strive to further distinguish its place within the
online market to boost sales and size.
Promotion
 Mannequins are used within the store to display items together to advertise
specific trend looks.
 Few magazine adverts, only featured a few times in last months Vogue.
 Their plastic bags are plain white with the Warehouse name written in black
along the bottom; these are similar to Topshop’s plastic bags and do little
to advertise the brand.
 Little promotional activity has taken place to show off its online store.
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Promotion Analysis
I believe that for Warehouse’s recent image change into a more
fashion-forward and individual brand to be successful, much more effort should
be spent advertising these personas. Also, the services Warehouse offers online
may hugely increase in popularity and demand if more promotional material
was released about it.
The new direction of fashion Warehouse is heading towards also has to
marketed correctly, because “where competition or other impediments to
positive consumer action exist…a promotional programme is developed and
used to communicate with the targeted group” (Fill, Chris 1999)
Other simple changes such as their plastic bag design could be changed to
adhere to the current eco-friendly trend. Providing paper bags are not only
physically more appealing than plastic bags, they are more noticeable to other
shoppers while being carried.
S.W.O.T. Analysis
SWOT analysis’ are very effective at breaking down different areas of a brand
so that possibly unrecognised factors can be made visible and taken on-board.
Considering the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of Warehouse
can aid overall analysis of the brand and create practical methods of
improvement.
Strengths
 Shops are in good location for
market penetration.
 Previous baby boom has increased
today’s 20-30 year olds - which are
Warehouse’s market, so large
amount of possible consumers.
 There is an increase in
professional women, which suits
the smart and formal Warehouse
image.
 They are creating more trends to
comply with catwalk shows.
 Store layouts make finding trends
easy and simple.
 They have maintained their high
standard of quality and fit.
 The Warehouse online store is very
easy to navigate.
Weaknesses
 Weak promotion campaigns.
 Confusing brand recognition.
 Website claims positive aspects of
store which could be disputed may be over confident?
 The store has been with four
groups over the last 18 years, this
lack of stability hasn’t allowed
Warehouse to fully settle.
 Clothes are made from numerous
different countries - loosing out on
economies of scale.
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
The brand is well known and very
established within retail.
Opportunities
 Promotion of services and new
clothing ranges could boost brand
interest.
 Sub-brands could vary within the
store; such as maternity, petite,
tall and plus size ranges.
 High quality products could be
reflected in high quality services,
to differentiate themselves from
competitors.
 Warehouse could use celebrity
endorsement to give consumers a
clear personality behind the
brand.
 Warehouse are currently about to
open stores in India and Russia,
which will improve its
international status and reach
global markets.
Threats
 Brands such as Topshop are more
fashionable than Warehouse, and
other competitors such as Zara are
more affordable.
 Economic threats - the age range
Warehouse is targeting may have
little disposable income as will be
buying first homes, cars and
maybe starting families.
 Brands that can produce
fast-fashion make Warehouse look
like it’s not up-to-date.
 They do not offer a distinct
service that makes them stand out
from competition.
 Internal competition within the
Mosaic group may mean too much
pressure is added to compete with
other Mosaic brands.
Analysis of S.W.O.T. components
Warehouse is a very promising brand - it is well known by consumers and with
its usual prime locations on the high street; it can easily be accessed by their
target market. The store layout is simple and trends are made visible according
to the area of the shop they’re in, this further allows a customer to quickly
come in and browse around - making it convenient for Warehouse’s working
customer. However, the fact that it does have new stock coming in weekly and
are of varying trends aren’t made well-known to the female market - not
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knowing these facts could restrict the amount of times a consumer goes into
the store in a month for example. The main way to get this message across
would be though better and more distinct fashion promotion campaigns or
in-store staff knowledge to boost the consumer’s knowledge on Warehouse.
Warehouse is seen as quite an expensive high street store in comparison to
competing brands such as Zara, this may have something to do with the mix of
countries Warehouse manufacture from. Loosing out on economies of scale in
such a large business can greatly reduce Warehouse’s chances of successfully
competing for new customers. If Warehouse focused on only sourcing from one
or two countries then it would be a start on being able to produce cheaper
garments and possibly in a faster lead time. Or this money could be saved and
used for spending on marketing and promotion.
Further opportunities through new sub-brands could be a successful way of
improving Warehouse’s portfolio without changing the new look it’s trying to
achieve too drastically. A maternity range would be ideal at drawing in more
consumers from the 20-30 year old market, as there is a gap in the market for
fashionable and affordable maternity clothes. Consumers may also see this as a
positive brand image - one who caters for all types of older women, from those
jetting off on holiday, to having a baby or starting a new job. This
representation could be identifiable to the consumer through celebrity
endorsement, through someone or some women who encompass what
Warehouse envisions its customers aspiring to be like.
However the concern that celebrity endorsement is just a trend could mean
that a lot of money is spent on advertisements which may soon seem out of
date. Warehouse must still find a way of making itself stand out on the high
street, as stated previously - major competition from retail brands means that
unless Warehouse offers something different, it will fall behind other retailers.
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UK Retailing Positioning Map
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Key
HM - H&M
J - Joy
KM - Karen Millen
MS - Miss Selfridges
NL - New Look
P - Primark
RI - River Island
T - Topshop
UO - Urban Outfitters
W - Warehouse
Z - Zara
Positioning Map Analysis
Positioning maps give a clear picture of the main Warehouse competitors in
terms of price, quality and fashionability.
It seems that Warehouse is on par with River Island and Topshop in terms of
price. Although different markets are targeted between all three stores.
Warehouse aims for the older market - so being in this high price range would
still make it affordable for it’s customer, and possibly make it seem more
exclusive.
Warehouse performs better when it comes to high quality, rather than high
fashion. This could be used to Warehouse’ advantage when deciding how to
market its new ranges and trends. Warehouse would seem to sell better quality
garments than River Island and Topshop, showing that there are potential
opportunities to provide a retail factor that other shops are missing.
Warehouse are also starting to see new competition arise in the form of new
retailer ‘Joy’ – it competes on a similar price and fashion level and is becoming
increasingly popular in Manchester alone. Warehouse could use its well-known
brand image against Joy’s new persona to beat this new rival – through
advertising campaigns or shop front layout for example.
These tables are also helpful at analysing where consumers see Warehouse on
the above scales; this can be compared to where Warehouse thinks they stand.
If the two findings are different then Warehouse can construct ways of either
improving to meet low consumer standards of the store, or to strive to reach
high market impressions.
Overall the tables should be filled in once a season, to also see where changes
have occurred within Warehouse’s competition and general women’s fashion
market. Keeping aware of competition movement will lower the chances of
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Warehouse being suddenly faced with existing and potential customers moving
away from their stores and towards others.
However, the basis of all women’s clothing brands is fashion, a factor which
Warehouse is struggling with. Topshop ranks far higher in fashionability,
however River Island remains slightly below Warehouse. This is because shops
such as River Island, H&M and Zara seem to design clothes that represent the
store; rather than what trend is currently in. They stick to a theme of clothing
throughout many seasons and become known for a particular style of design.
Whereas Topshop just focus on being fashion-forward and do not concentrate
too much on making the garments look like a specific Topshop style. Warehouse
has the opportunity to fashion its clothes around either of those types, in the
past it had more of its own look and with little fashion trends being used. Over
the past year though Warehouse has started to identify more with current
trends, meaning its place in the second table could rise over the next few
years.
Recommendations/Analysis
I would first recommend that Warehouse creates a strong advertising campaign;
either using celebrities who represent the new Warehouse look, or lots of
smaller adverts to catch peoples eye on the fact that it’s a changed brand.
Warehouse’s new persona may not be very well known by today’s consumers,
so using celebrities will create media attention as well as indicating what the
new vision and culture for Warehouse is.
Expanding the product portfolio could also benefit Warehouse by offering more
choice. Sub-brands which appeal to different sizes can lead to satisfied and
loyal customers who can’t find clothes to fit in other stores. These are
customers who will continue to return to the shop and may tell their friends
about the store. This basic form of advertising is very effective at drawing in
large groups of the brand’s market segment.
Warehouse should also try and analyse what type of price group it wants to aim
at. Locating in stores such as Debenhams and Selfridges give’s the brand a vast
array of customers to please. Opening stores in locations known for expensive
stores and then starting a discount warehouse web site also offer two very
different sides of Warehouse. This means Warehouse would find it difficult to
please both markets - focusing on the more exclusive price range would
probably suit Warehouse best. Its already high prices and professional store
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layout give a good base for creating a Warehouse brand which sells
sophisticated and expensive pieces.
Changing groups so often would leave any brand struggling to identify and
settle itself within an organisation. Internally, Warehouse could try and build
up strong relations with Mosaic so to lower the chances of another move. If
Warehouse does this it will not have to worry about moving groups again for a
good while and allow it to focus on more important aspects of the business
such as pleasing the customer. Warehouse could also take up the opportunity of
being part of a successful group by benefiting from economies of scale.
Lowering internal costs could allow more money being put back into the
business in key areas – such as towards promotion or improving quality levels.
Carrying out more research into its existing customers could also benefit
Warehouse. There it can be seen what markets, if any, Warehouse are missing
but could target to – and also if there are any improvements Warehouse could
make to its overall service. These could be put into place to make the company
look more caring and inviting, while also correctly positioning itself for
maximum profit and sales.
Having an already well designed online store puts Warehouse directly ahead of
competition such as Zara. If, through research, it is seen that Warehouse’s
target market are regular internet users then it could be beneficial for
Warehouse to promote its online store. This could put Warehouse one step
ahead of some of its competition, increase sales and create a brand image
which sees Warehouse as technology aware, up to date and easily accessible.
Overall Warehouse should not try and ‘copy’ its competition, although they
might be successful – consumers would probably prefer something different –
whether this be through a personal customer experience or through the
reassurance of excellent quality levels. Warehouse could take up either of
those options and run it along side its new image of being more fashion and
trend-aware to almost overwhelm customers and leave a positive, lasting
impression in their mind.
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Conclusion
The Warehouse brand has been going through a drastic change recently to
make itself more fashionable in the consumer’s eyes. When entering the store
the changes are visible; with well dressed mannequins, attractive wall displays
and definite trend section – however this change is useless unless it is
recognised. Warehouse have definitely succeeded in providing an appealing
shopping experience, this now needs to draw new customers to the store who
still picture the old, less fashionable Warehouse stores. Afterall, “in today’s
economy the consumer, not the company, is at the center of the business
universe” (Woodruff and McDonald, 1982)
Although there are important improvements Warehouse should make to its
brand to create a larger customer group and sales margins – it is showing signs
of recognising these factors. How these changes are carried out will be seen
over the next few seasons, Warehouse does look promising though to turn itself
around into a well defined fashion brand with new and exciting prospects.
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References
Websites
www.mulipmap.com A –
http://www.multimap.com/clients/browse.cgi?client=fresca_warehouse_01&GridE=-0.12618&
GridN=51.50002&lon=-0.12618&lat=51.50002&db=GB&reclimit=10&place=London%2C%20Englan
d%2C%20SW1P%203&submit=Search&submit.x=34&pc=&addr2=&client=fresca_warehouse_01&su
bmit.y=12&addr3=london&scale=50000 – Accessed 10th Febuary 2008
www.multimap.com B –
http://www.multimap.com/clients/browse.cgi?client=fresca_warehouse_01&GridE=-2.23437&
GridN=53.48077&lon=-2.23437&lat=53.48077&db=GB&reclimit=10&place=Manchester%2C%20Lan
cashire%2C%20England%2C%20M1%202&submit=Search&submit.x=0&pc=&addr2=&client=fresca_
warehouse_01&submit.y=0&addr3=manchester&scale=50000 - Accessed 10th Febuary
2008
www.multimap.com C –
http://www.multimap.com/clients/places.cgi?client=fresca_warehouse_01 -
Accessed 10th
Febuary 2008
www.multimap.com D –
http://www.multimap.com/press/press_releases/pr182_warehouse/
Febuary 2008
-
Accessed
10th
www.warehouse.co.ukA –
http://www.warehouse.co.uk /fcp/content/Brand/content - Accessed
9th Febuary 2008
www.warehouse.com B –
http://www.warehouse.co.uk/pws/content.ice?page=OurCustomer&pgForward=content
Accessed
9th
–
Febuary 2008
www.drapersonline.com –
http://www.drapersonline.com/news/2007/10/mosaic_earnings_rocket_despite_mixed_perfor
mance_across_chains.html - Accessed 13th Febuary 2008
www.wgsn-edu.com –
http://www.wgsn-edu.com/members/cotton-inc/reports/ci2008jan29_000307?from=search –
Accessed 10th Febuary 2008
Reports
Mintel Report (2007) Clothing Retailing, October, Mintel Publications, London.
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Books
Fill, C., (1999) Marketing Communications, Second Edition, Financial Times
Prentice Hall. Essex, UK.
Woodruff, J. L., (1982) Handbook of Textile Marketing, Fairchild Publications.
New York, USA.
Word Count: 3,967 words
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