Our task for this week has been a very interesting and informative one. It was to travel to a large city such as Manchester, Nottingham , London etc and visit 3 different shops. we had to go to a value (Primark, asda etc) middle market (topshop, river island etc) and a premium shop (debenhams, Vivienne westwood). For each shop we went to we had to choose 2 items, i.e shoes and a shirt and had to research them under the heading:
> Price
>Fabric composition
>finish
>customers in store
>Store layout
>Country of manufacture
I chose to visit Manchester as my researching city, as Manchester is a city I have always wanted to visit but never had the chance to. I think I made the right choice going to Manchester as it is quite a beautiful city with its Victorian architecture mixed with an upcoming modern vibe, it was great.
The first shop we research was the value shop Primark
 |
| photo of the Primark in Manchester, quite a grotty looking, old building from the outside. |
My first initial thoughts as I was walking around were, that it was quite busy.hectic, a lot of customers eventhough it was a tuesday. I also felt quite lost because everything was quite packed and close together, there wasn't much shopping space. Also there quite a few employees walking around with no shop identity,no name tag which i thought was quite bad as you couldn't tell that easily who worked in the store and who didn't. Another thing I though was bad and as a customer quite irritating was that the clothes are all on the wrong size hanger so it would be quite confusing for possible. However a good point I did notice about the shop was that there was quite a lot of lifts and escalators, also the shop was reasonable tidy.
The two items of clothing I decided to compare were jeans and shoes, as they are very universal items in every shop you go to.
Primark jeans:
First inital thoughts of the jean section was that it was very crammed and not tidy, There was 5 ways of 6 rales of jeans alone, so a lot of choice which could seem as a bad thing.
The jeans were £11 which was very clearly labeled ;you could see it from far way. The jeans were skinny jeans by denim co. regular 32" standard pair. One bad thing that i did initial notice on first sight was that the jeans were on the wrong hanger.I did really like the fact that the clothes label was fully recyclable, with cardboard and string, this shows that Primark are wary and evolved in saving the environment.
However when I did get a closer look inside it wasn't a great sight,you could definatly tell that they had been rushed and badly made.
>No time taken over zips
>Messy stitches
>Flimsy cheap pockets
>Cheap gold buttons
>stitching coming undone and sticking out.
One Thing I did really start to notice was that a lot of sales assistants walked passed were I was taking notes and a few picture, but none of them notice of commented on what I was doing, or even asked for help, this conveys that they don't pay a lot of attention to customers.
Inside label:
> 75% cotton
>25% polyester
>2% elastane.
The two items of clothing I decided to compare were jeans and shoes, as they are very universal items in every shop you go to.
Primark jeans:
First inital thoughts of the jean section was that it was very crammed and not tidy, There was 5 ways of 6 rales of jeans alone, so a lot of choice which could seem as a bad thing.
The jeans were £11 which was very clearly labeled ;you could see it from far way. The jeans were skinny jeans by denim co. regular 32" standard pair. One bad thing that i did initial notice on first sight was that the jeans were on the wrong hanger.I did really like the fact that the clothes label was fully recyclable, with cardboard and string, this shows that Primark are wary and evolved in saving the environment.
However when I did get a closer look inside it wasn't a great sight,you could definatly tell that they had been rushed and badly made.
>No time taken over zips
>Messy stitches
>Flimsy cheap pockets
>Cheap gold buttons
>stitching coming undone and sticking out.
One Thing I did really start to notice was that a lot of sales assistants walked passed were I was taking notes and a few picture, but none of them notice of commented on what I was doing, or even asked for help, this conveys that they don't pay a lot of attention to customers.
Inside label:
> 75% cotton
>25% polyester
>2% elastane.
> can't tumble dry
> wash at 40oC
>iron on a cool setting.
In the label i didn't actually say where the garment was produced, which in my mind raises a few questions about ethic issue, especially with all the things that have been in the media in recent years about Primark.
Primark shoes:
First thoughts of the shoe section of the shop was there was so much choice yet again which in my mind a bad thing, as that could lead to a lot a landfill waste. Also no seats to try shoes on and it was very hot, it seemed as if the AC was not on, this could make people quite agitated.
The shoes i chose were a standard 5inch black platform heels, which were on sale from £16 down to £8 which was very clearly shown with sale P.O.S.
There was 4 differant colours and styles in the particular shoe.
>The material is man made
> suade lookalike
>Inside the shoe is plastic
>plastic sole
>manufacture mark all over
>glue coming out of the heel edge.
I tryed the shoes on to get an idea of how they fit, how the size would come up and if they were comfortable at all. When first put them on, immediately the material felt stiff and uncomfortable, i could tell that they wouldn't break in easily. In a way i guess that meant the shoes would be hard wearing.
The shoes as same as the jeans, also didn't say the maufacture country, which again raises ethical issues. A great possitive thing i did notice whilst walking around the shoe department was that they have introduced a wide-fit range which is from size 4-9; this to me is good for people who find it hard to fit into standard shoes.
The Middle market shop I chose to research was River island.
My first inital thoughts even before I walked into the shop were that they have a few interesting and unquie window display, which really caught my eye.
The age range for the typical river island shopper would be around 15-30, fashionable and quite out there, as the river island garments and brand and quite rocky and unique. As you walk into the shop everything is quite open and spaced out, there is easy access to each part of the shop. The shop assistants seemed to be quite helpful as well, which is positive.
River island jeans:
Standard skinny jeans £40 which wasn't that clearly labeled. however they were security tagged. The jeans at first sight looked as if they were a good quality pair, however when i had a closer look inside i noticed that, that wasn't true. The overclocking wasnt great and fraying slightly. The waist band looks as if it had been sewn on wonky and also cotton string was sticking out all over the jeans, so generally not finished very well.
On the inside label, showed that the jeans were made out of 98% cotton and 2% elastane, so better just by looking at that, they are already better quality than the ones in Primark. The country of manufacture is turkey.
River island shoes:
River island jeans:
Standard skinny jeans £40 which wasn't that clearly labeled. however they were security tagged. The jeans at first sight looked as if they were a good quality pair, however when i had a closer look inside i noticed that, that wasn't true. The overclocking wasnt great and fraying slightly. The waist band looks as if it had been sewn on wonky and also cotton string was sticking out all over the jeans, so generally not finished very well.
On the inside label, showed that the jeans were made out of 98% cotton and 2% elastane, so better just by looking at that, they are already better quality than the ones in Primark. The country of manufacture is turkey.
 |
| picture showing the inside of river island jeans |
The shoe dipartment in river island was laid out very well in a neat order; the shoes that were available portray the customer very well.There was a sale out, however it was very messy and fully of obviously unwanted shoes.
The shoes I chose to research were a classic black strappy heel which were £65. The heels had quite a huge heel which measure at 5.1 inches, so might be hard to walk in. The stitching was very good quality, fine stitches as well making the finish very good. there was no manufacture faults or threads. The uppers of the shoes were leather suede meaning they are going to be decent quality. I tried them on to get an idea of the feel. They came up really small at the front and gaping at the back. There was quite a lot of exaggeration on the front of the heels as well due to the height of the heel, also it was clearly labeled that the shoes were made in Brazil.
The premium shop I looked at was henry hollands H! collection in debenhams. henry holland is a fashion designer and creator of the imfamous slogan tees. He has been a designer in debenhams since march 2010 where he launched his H! collection which has been a massive success. As well as designing for debenhams, Henry Holland has his own label (House of Holland) http://www.houseofholland.co.uk/ which has everything about his designer and catwalk collection on it. The house of Holland Label is for the cool, confident and savvy girl, who wears labels with letting them wear her.
My first inital thoughts of his collection was that everything was laid out very well in unique looking cages,as well as styled outfits placed around the concession, which gave you me as a customer ideas of what looks good together. Everything was also on its right sized hanger, which gave a professional look to his collection.
I chose a regular skinny jean to research, at first look they have a worn vintage looking print to them, which for a quite a standard jean was quite unique. Having a look a the swing tag in a way shocked me, not beacuse they are fully reyclable but beacuse of the amazing price £25 for designer jeans, i couldn't belive it, also i had a wonder around his other peices and saw that the price of everything was cheap for the sheer and the designer name of the garments.
Having a closer look at the inside of the jeans to see quality control i wasn't surpirsed to see that the finishing and quilty was just as good as i expected it to be. The seams had all been double stitched with thick cotton, one interesting thing I did notice was that the top on the jeans was the same colour as the denim. the jeans al round are very good quality and for £25 its an absolute bargin. I really loved how the the name of his colletction (H!) was imprinted on the buttons and the studs as well showing more professionalism and quality.
The jeans are made out of 98% cotton and 2% elastane.
H! shoes :
There wasn't a huge collection of shoes, so i chose to research a Chelsea boot with a slight heel, it was the closest to the standard black heel there. I thought the beautiful chocolate brown colour and brogue detail looked great, teamed with the elasticated side made for a statement piece for anybodies wardrobe.
The Price was £65 which I personally thought was a bit steep for the quality of them, as they were quite scuffed. However in saying that the leather upper seemed very strong with a thick, sturdy sole and heel. I did try these ones on as well to get a feel of the fit, unfortunately the size did come up small, but they leather felt sturdy around my foot.
In conclusion to the shop comparison I have found out that even the most expensive pair of jean are not necessarily going to be the better quality. However in saying that, if you wanted clothes to last years buy the most expensive you can afford, because lets face it the clothes in Primark are cheap but they won't last more than 6 months meaning you will spend more in the long run!
My first inital thoughts of his collection was that everything was laid out very well in unique looking cages,as well as styled outfits placed around the concession, which gave you me as a customer ideas of what looks good together. Everything was also on its right sized hanger, which gave a professional look to his collection.
I chose a regular skinny jean to research, at first look they have a worn vintage looking print to them, which for a quite a standard jean was quite unique. Having a look a the swing tag in a way shocked me, not beacuse they are fully reyclable but beacuse of the amazing price £25 for designer jeans, i couldn't belive it, also i had a wonder around his other peices and saw that the price of everything was cheap for the sheer and the designer name of the garments.
The jeans are made out of 98% cotton and 2% elastane.
H! shoes :
There wasn't a huge collection of shoes, so i chose to research a Chelsea boot with a slight heel, it was the closest to the standard black heel there. I thought the beautiful chocolate brown colour and brogue detail looked great, teamed with the elasticated side made for a statement piece for anybodies wardrobe.
The Price was £65 which I personally thought was a bit steep for the quality of them, as they were quite scuffed. However in saying that the leather upper seemed very strong with a thick, sturdy sole and heel. I did try these ones on as well to get a feel of the fit, unfortunately the size did come up small, but they leather felt sturdy around my foot.
In conclusion to the shop comparison I have found out that even the most expensive pair of jean are not necessarily going to be the better quality. However in saying that, if you wanted clothes to last years buy the most expensive you can afford, because lets face it the clothes in Primark are cheap but they won't last more than 6 months meaning you will spend more in the long run!
No comments:
Post a Comment