Jeffrey Campbell Brand Extension Report

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The extension was evaluated in line with the business model SMART and the objectives for this brand extension are;

- Build brand architecture by diversifying product range

- Gain market share, loyalty and profitability

- Increase brand awareness, online visibility and web presence

By extending Jeffery Campbell into Kids footwear these goals can be achieved for the parent brand and the extension. As Jeffrey Campbell is a family run business, extending into children’s footwear follows the values and mentality of the company by providing fashionable footwear for both mother and daughter.

Currently the children’s footwear market is predicted to grow at an annual rate of 3.7% with the demand for comfortable designer footwear for children increasing. Globally the footwear market will be an estimated US$211.5bn by 2018 which presents potential for the Jeffery Campbell to continue to grow and expand. (Just-Style; Online)

The mission statement for Jeffrey Campbell Kids is fashionable and functional. This is a quality Jeffery Campbell is reputable for, with bloggers stating the high fashion element of the footwear is combined with comfort (Collegefashion; Online). This became the platform in which Jeffrey Campbell Kids was formed with the brand must considering its core values and identity to ensure the extended brand also follow this. Jeffrey Campbell’s logo and other visual attributes like the innovative designs associated with the brand will remain the same for the brand extension to work as a visual cue to ensure consumers make the connection between the two brands. (faculty.som.yale; Online)

The latest fad to present itself in the fashion industry is matching outfits for mother and daughter, according to the Daily Mail. This trend has become popular within the footwear industry with celebrities endorsing this trend and gaining wide exposure in the media (DailyMail; Online). This trend has filtered down to the high street and influenced high street retailers. American Apparel collaborated with footwear designer brand Ash to create matching footwear for women and children. The women’s shoes retail at £129 and children’s at £75 (ashfootwear; Online). Jeffrey Campbell’s main focus is individual styles rather than collections which will allow the brand to exploit this trend faster than competitor brands. By creating children’s footwear that matches its women’s footwear it has the potential to increase the units in which a customer would purchase, enticing customers to buy into both brands rather than just the parent brand increasing quantity demand. Jeffery Campbell currently uses psychological pricing and market orientated pricing (Ruffle and Shtudiner; 2006).This is the pricing strategy Jeffery Campbell Kids will adopt to maintain consistency and establish the brand moving across the market rather than upwards or downwards. This is to preserve the identity and consumer perception the brand currently hold and gain market share using an alternative product rather than an alternative pricing strategy.

The main competitor identified within the children’s footwear market is the brand Clarks, which have been nominated for best children’s footwear of the year 2014 (footwearindustryawards; Online). Jeffrey Campbell’s unique selling point will be the creative design of is product and the option for consumers to purchase children’s and women’s footwear with similar designs. This will help diversify the brand form its competitors. E-boutique AlexandAlexa.com, a site described as the Net-A-Porter for under-14s, would be the best potential retailer for Jeffrey Campbell Kids. AlexanAlexa.com retails designer children’s wear and footwear and would be a suitable outlet for Jeffery Campbell Kids to reach its target market. (dailymail;Online)

The benefits of brand extension for Jeffrey Campbell

A brand extension is the use of an established brand name being transferred onto a new launching product to increase sales, attract new consumers, diversify product range and gain market share. Brand extensions are successful when there is a close association with the existing brand and the extended brand. Aaker and Keller (1990) explain that consumers acknowledge the importance of the perceived quality of the parent brand however this quality perception will only transfer to a brand extension if the consumers perceive a strong fit between the brand and the new extension category. Jeffery Campbell, being a women’s footwear retailer has a close association with a brand extension into children’s footwear making it relevant and a suitable extension. This ensures the brand identity is not lost and the new extension is in coordination with the brands core values. This method of logical product association decreases the chances of brand dilution that a nonexistent or weak association may create as well as damaging the brands equity. (investopedia;Online).

Figure 1.0 is the brand extension model which is used to asses a brand extensions relevance to the core brand (brandextension; Online).[pic 3]

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Core Brand

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Jeffery Campbell Kids is positioned within the brand space and therefore has the right elements to be a successful brand extension.

The Business Time Online records the most import factor of a brand extension should have the potential to generate significant sales. In accordance to this, Kotler and Keller (2012) claim “Two main advantages of brand extensions are that they facilitate new-product acceptance and provide positive feedback to the parent brand and company”. This outcome is achieved by possessing a strong brand identity. The identity and consumer perceptions of the parent brand are crossed over to the new brand. If the brand is perceived to have a certain level of quality consumers use the brand as a risk reducer and will be less hesitant to purchase the new product and likely to consider the product over its competitors. This is known as extendable equity. Jeffrey Campbell has established itself as a reputable footwear company and a trusted brand, which will be transferred over to Jeffery Campbell Kids rather than starting a new brand entirely where this reputation will not be considered in the consumer’s thought process. (BusinessTimeOnline; Online)

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