The Iconic Merchandise Category: A new concept for fashion assortment planning?

The process of range planning in fashion retailing is fundamentally different to that in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) retailing because of the need for change in the product range. Fashion assortments intrinsically vary from season to season and often more frequently within the season. The concept of category management which is prevalent in the FMCG retailing has found limited application in the fashion sector (Dewsnap and Hart, 2004) primarily because category management involves the fine tuning of a product range over time. However, one of the underlying principles of the category management concept is the notion that different product categories can play unique roles in the pursuit of overall successful performance of a merchandise assortment. The category management literature describes five roles that product categories can play: cash-flow contributors, profit generators, brand reinforcement categories, destination categories and finally service providers. The extent to which these types of category are applicable to fashion retailers is not well known and it is proposed that the concept of the iconic category may be more appropriate for fashion retailers.

The term brand coherence describes the relationship between existing and new products with the brand identity being central to the ability of a brand to communicate what its products and services have in common in order to create a clear image (Kapferer, 2008). In this context the paper also questions to what extent iconic merchandise categories can influence consumers’ purchasing behaviour and their perception of brands.

Drawing upon case study research undertaken in the UK mid-market women’s clothing retail sector, this paper explores the adoption of roles within fashion merchandise planning in fashion brands and attempts to establish the characteristics of the role that iconic products and iconic categories might play in this process.