Which katies boutique collection launched first

Bailey, who served as the FBLA state president at the time, is a self-described lifelong fan of shopping and fashion, and thus she decided opening a clothing boutique would be just the ticket. Though her plan was undoubtedly ambitious for someone so young, Bailey followed her passion and seized on the opportunity to start a business in a niche of its own.

Being that this was the summer before my senior year of high school, this was a pretty big thing to ask. All you need to do is take a quick style quiz and then select the exact pieces you want to shop.

Though Sturino wears whatever she wants now and encourages others to do the same , she admits that some of the arm- or leg-baring pieces in the collection are things she would have avoided in the past. Shop the full Katie Sturino x Stitch Fix collection here. Morgan Noll Updated Jun 17, pm. Each product we feature has been independently selected and reviewed by our editorial team.

If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission. The objective of the research was to identify existing problems and provide guidelines for communication development. The qualitative study found that whilst for a few women shopping for clothes was a chore, for the majority it was a source of pleasure. A successful purchase, particularly for a 'fashion' rather than a 'basic' item, was a rewarding experience which gave an emotional lift. When this was supported by a rational benefit, for example 'the skirt's fully lined' or 'I picked it up for half price', the emotional lift became even stronger.

To the customer the rational benefit justified the expenditure and alleviated any feelings of guilt associated with the purchase. With each successful 'fashion' purchase an emotional bond developed between the customer and the particular brand. The brand had the ability to make the customer feel good about herself. Plus with each successful purchase the customer's confidence in the brand was reinforced. Like a good friendship, a deep loyalty would develop which would put the preferred brand to the top of a customer's shopping list and eliminate other competitors.

Attitudes towards Katies revealed a brand loyalty in decline. With the exception of the older loyal customers, most women viewed Katies with only moderate enthusiasm. To the majority Katies had lost the image of being a store for women who liked to feel good about the clothes they bought.

Shopping at Katies had become uneventful and uninvolving for many women whose purchases had become limited to non-fashion, low energy items. On the positive side, research revealed that irrespective of their involvement with the store women respected Katies' reputation for good quality, inexpensive, basic clothing pieces.

While Katies didn't offer an emotional benefit to these women it still offered a rational benefit. Katies' image was identified as reliable and constant but badly in need of revitalisation and renovation. There was still a loyalty amongst customers who lamented Katies' loss of excitement and position as a fashion leader but who, more importantly, could see Katies' potential. Another key research finding was the confirmation of a range of market segments amongst Katies' customers.

These included young working girls, non-working mothers, fashion seekers and older working women. Whilst Katies was catering to these women on a rational basis by offering suitable merchandise, most of these women were disappointed in the Katies shopping experience. This finding was reinforced by a quantitative study conducted by Forsyth Marketing and Management which revealed:. The challenge was to provide an image, merchandise and in-store shopping experience which all of these women could find rewarding.

From this research it was obvious Katies needed a new, more contemporary and fashionable image. Buried within this, however, was a far more valuable insight:. This insight went beyond identifying the problem of brand loyalty and disillusionment across all customer profiles. It identified the strength of Katies' fiercely loyal customer base.

Women viewed Katies as an old friend who had the potential to return to her former glory as a contemporary. The opportunity for Katies was to build on this loyalty by remaining the same good friend who had put herself on a self-improvement programme. We had identified that to ensure the success of the re-launch, a major re-positioning of Katies was required. The objectives of the re-launch were:. Overseeing this strategy was an integrated relationship marketing programme.

The program incorporated both mainstream and direct media. This was particularly important to the development of customer relationships which had previously relied only on mainstream, mass communications.

The programme included:. Katies undertook an intensive redevelopment programme. Marketing and buying strategies were completely overhauled and staff training programmes implemented. A visual merchandising program was developed for the stores and commitment given to a five year refurbishing plan. As changes began to appear at store level Katies' new image was communicated to the customers.

Over the years Katies had been positioned as a 'Value for Money' brand. This certainly was consistent with the rational benefit of good quality clothing for a reasonable price, but it did not address the demand for fashionable clothing. This positioning was expanded to give it a more fashionable direction. Next came the strap line. The existing line was 'That's Katies, that's me'. Although this represented what we wanted Katies' customers to experience and believe for themselves, it was not going to lead Katies through change.

The new strap line not only had to suggest a new image for Katies but also suggest that changes would be on-going. This line signalled not a radical change, but a soft one.

It allowed customers to create their own expectations of change for the store. It was versatile enough to cover product or service innovation through to making light of closing a store for refurbishment.