STRATEGIC PLAN & PROGRESS REPORT
By: Moody Jeans
Ning Lee
Erin McCutcheon
Ashley Hamm
Courtney Bunzel
Tamara Hall
Question: How do we find the hidden currents in fashion and interpret them to forecast future trends?
Strategic Plan: It has become apparent over time that discovering and understanding the fashion industry requires specific traits that build what is known as fashion forecasting today. As we prepare to begin our first fashion forecasting project, our team must look at what transition currents take so that we can analyze the future of fashion.
We will use several tools to solve and interpret the hidden currents, by using them towards fashion forecasting.
· The basic six steps of forecasting will in turn give us the knowledge to understand forecasting (i.e., defining the ‘cone of uncertainty’ and ‘looking for the curve’) and support the forecasts we put forward with qualitative and quantitative data.
· Innovation/innovators also play a key role in analyzing hidden currents. We will discover how to make the particular product we are researching respond to social/culture needs. We will pay close attention to outlying and unusual forms of inspiration (i.e., technology, food, media, etc.) that will in turn become the hidden currents we are searching for.
· Consumers are one of the most important aspects in interpreting hidden currents. They not only provide a target market for the product at hand, but they are also the sole provider of social and economical trends around the world. By looking at what choices (economical, political, social, etc.) propel the consumer to set these trends, we can determine the momentum behind the hidden currents and use them to forecast future consumer trends.
· Looking beyond the curve and anticipating trends can give us both competitive advantage in using our hidden currents and align our product with consumer’s preferences and demands. By using our trend analysis methods and looking at adoption processes, we can map out our hidden currents and establish the correlation between the consumer and different trends.
All of these steps will facilitate in the organization and planning of our project around Butler Bag. By following the guidelines listed above, we can easily interpret and use the hidden currents in fashion for the past and present forecast future trends. This will enhance and improve the Butler Bag and give our team a competitive advantage in gathering data and compiling our final project.
PROGRESS REPORT
· Our team will divide the work load throughout the project based on our skills and preferences in each aspect. Here are our assigned portions of the project:
· The Context:
o Social-Tamara Hall
o Cultural-: Tamara Hall
o Political-: Tamara Hall
o Economic- Erin McCutcheon
· The Product
o Color- Courtney Bunzel
o Fabric/Fiber/Finish- Courtney Bunzel
o Raw Material- Courtney Bunzel
o Marjor designers/competition- Ashley Hamm
o Price points- Ashley Hamm
o How is it sold: related accessories- Ashley Hamm
· The End User
o Geographic- Ning Lee
o Psychographic- Erin McCutcheon
o Behavioral- Ning Lee
o Demographics- Ning Lee
As a team we will all be responsible for: gathering, analyzing, and interpreting data, recognizing patterns in forecasting, and compiling and presenting the forecast to the industry.
Politics: The US presidential election in 1996. Democrat Bill Clinton defeats Republican Bob Dole. By winning it made it Bill Clintons second term in office. Bill Clinton appoints Madeleine Albright as the first female as the United States Secretary of State. Clinton bands on late-term abortions.
