The New Direction Of Dior

The Era Of Raf Simones

When Raf Simones started it appears that the question he asked himself in regard to his Dior collections were:

• "What does haute couture need to be?"
• "What is global?"
• "What to today's women want to wear?"
• "What is modern?" 

This lead to a first collection that combined the perfect amount of timeless classic silohetes for Dior with a modern twist, this feminine factor was further reinforced by the background of the runway which was a wall of flower this embodied how Simones sees the Dior women which is a strong and feminine.    

For Simones SS15 collection it showed his devotion to the roots of Dior by including panniers, but on the other hand it also showed his iconoclasm for them by adding contemporary features as if he was rejecting the normal Dior aesthetic. The Panniers that were featured throughout the show were in reference to the stereotypical bar jackets that have became Simones go to house reference. This collection is the epitome of history and romanticism fused together.  

Possible Touchpoints For Diorissimo 

Dior's Competitors

Dior is considered a high end luxury brand that also does couture, which is what made it famous.

The brands which are considered it's competitors are:

Chanel 

Saint Laurent

Burberry

They all offer high quality fashion that has a traditonal aesthetic with a contemporary edge. 

Perfume Market

Facts and Figures

55.4% of perfumes that are sold are premium
50% of fragrance sales are at christmas 
The other holiday where perfume sales rise significantly are Valentines day 
The perfume market is set to continue to grow in countries such as Turkey and Poland 

Best Sellers 2013 

1 N°5 by Chanel for women 
2 Eternity by Calvin Klein for men
3 Eternity by Calvin Klein for women
4 Drakkar Noir
5 Nautica voyage cologne by Nautica for men
6 Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker
7 Euphoria by Calvin Klein
8 Green Irish Tweed cologne by Creed
9 Obsession By Calvin Klein 
10 Prada Candy

Perfume Trends

3 in 10 young women like to own products produced by celebrities
20% of scent wearers find it hard to find a scent they actually like due to a saturated market
33% of consumers want in store education lessons to help them find out about new fragrances
30% of consumers want an app to help them find a scent they would like

Luxury Market 

The luxury sector bounced back in 2010 driven by strong growth in the Asia pacific region 
To meet this deman brands are opening stores in cities such as Xian, Dalian & Chengdu 
In Europe luxury market is mature, however growth is possible with the number of wealthy individuals set to rise over the next four years - 10% in the UK, 7% in France, Italy and Germany     

Dior Perfumes

How many perfumes does Dior have? - 8 

1. J'adore - 50ml - £56.50
2. Miss Dior - 50ml - £68.50 
3. Dior addict - 50 ml - £65.50 
4. Poison - 50ml - 50ml - £54.50 
5. Les Escales de Dior - 75ml £56
6. Dune - 50 ml - £54.50 
7. Dolce Vita - 50 ml - £54.50
8. Les Créations de Monsieur Dior - 50 ml - £68

J'adore - Launched 1999

"A tribute to Christian Dior's passion for flowers, the J'adore fragrance is a symbol of absolute, sophisticated and glamorous femininity, J'adore gathers the most noble raw materials in a unique, generous and harmonious floral bouquet"

Miss Dior - Launched 1947 
"I have created this perfume to dress each woman in the scent of desire, and to see each of my dresses emerging from its bottle…" - Christian Dior

"This is how Miss Dior was born... an exceptional chypre, synonymous with love and absolute elegance"

Dior Addict - Launched 2012

"Dior Addict Eau de Parfum unleashes fresh and captivating top notes that blend Mandarin Leaf with Tunisian Orange Blossom"

"Intense and vibrant, it reveals a powerful heart of Jasmine Sambac Absolute that blossoms with soft femininity and sensuality. The base unfurls in the deep and exquisite warmth of Bourbon Vanilla"

Target Market

Segmentation -  Dior is urban upper class women and men

The targeted group is - 

• 25+ 
• Fashion conscious people
• High income 
• Bourgeois lifestyle 

The stereotypical customer for Dior's couture collecion is someone like Daphne Guinness.

For Diors luxury collections a stereotypical customer would be someone like Natalie Portman and Jennifer Lawrence who have both been celebrity endorsers. Natalie Portman for Miss Dior and Jennifer Lawrence for Dior.

Dior, Europe And The Global Market

Dior were sales up  6% to €7.8bn and organic growth of 4% in 2014, most of the sales did come from LVMH, Dior has remained optimistic. Diors couture sale shave risen 13% to €417m and growth has been strong globally, even in Asia where lost of luxury brands have seen a slowdown.  "Dior CEO Sidney Toledano told WWD that key products for the Dior brand included the successful launch of the Be Dior handbag that was advertised by Jennifer Lawrence, while Lady Dior and Diorissimo continued to sell strongly. He also said Raf Simons’ pre-fall and autumn/winter collections had received a good response, while the Archi Dior fine jewellery collection by Victoire de Castellane has been a success. Toledano added that growth was strong in the US and that Asia and Europe also performed well, with Europe driven by tourist sales in Paris, Milan and London. Asia proved resilient, despite a crackdown on luxury spending in China". Due to Dior being a global business the best way for them to maintain high profits while targeting a mass market is to use standardised advertising.  

Problems In Standardised Advertising 

Although standardised advertising reduces costs because views and opinions in cultures can be vastly different sometimes the message can be misconstrued. For example the Spring 2010 Dior Addict campaign was disapproved in the USA due to drug implications.  

Consumer Trends

Sweet treats inspired smelling scent - Such as the Viktor & Rolf BonBon it was ranked first amongst all beauty references during the first week of promotion

Edible perfumes - Ritz- Carlton Berlin hotel launched the fragrance bar inspired by perfumes produced by Guerlain and Yves Saint Laurent

Tweet shop pop up - Marc Jacobs hosted this in during New York Fashion Week where no cash payment was needed just a tweet 

What Is A Brand?

Global Brand Identity: Image and Value 

•  Branding 
• Branding Strategy and Management 

What is a brand?

• Identity of a product or service
• It can be a name, slogan , logo, colour combination
• A brand is a person
• Emotional Connection
• A brand is a trademark - Nobody else can use it
• A brand is its own story, what makes it different and special - USP 

Brand Experience and Brand Image 

Brands can cause an emotional change -

• Feelings
• Thoughts/images 
• Beliefs 
• Attitudes/Behaviours  - Celebrity endorsement 
• Psychological aspect is refereed to as brand image and exists in the mins of people made up of information and expectations of the brands 

Brand Management 

• Maintaining not damaged, not tarnished, not stale , keeping market share
• The brand must survive, everything else is dispensable 
• Ad agencies try to create the idea that  the product /brand is more than the actual cost if a product and its selling point 
• The brand has certain qualities, characteristics which make it special or unique - USP
• Creating a brand and maintaining its position within the market and the target audience is called brand management 
• A brand known to the market place is said to have brand recoginition  

 Words that are associated with brands

•  Versace - Opulent, Gaudy 
• Armani - Fluid shapes, chic, luxury materials, good tailoring  
• Cavalli - Animal prints, sexual 

 When brands lose sight of their essence they lose their way 

 A brand and its audience 

 A brand is nothing without an audience, a brand is only as good as peoples response to it

 No brand can exist without their target audience believing in them

 Questionnaires, focus groups

 Opinion formers - Amanda Harlech, Katie grand

Early adopters - Live in metropolitan cities, downtown area artistic communities - Created Shoreditch hipster - Kids, media people, early fashion crowds

Footballer wife - the trend starts to die

 Daniella Westbrook - Wore all Burberry - almost killed it

Core group stopped buying

WAGS no loyalty

Burberry reinvented themselves

• New lines
• Testino to shoot
• Worked with charities

Not always selling with brands, sometimes is all about letting people know - who should wear it or not

 Neo tokenism Flip the funnel 

Brand Identity 

• Outward appearance
• Name, logo, visualisation, products
• Find the thing that will hook the client - longevity

 The brand identity is created by the owner and therefore reflects how the owner want the brand to be understood

This is in contest to the brand image which is the customers perception

 Brand Strategy and Management

 Core market - known for  - Dior Haute Couture, ultra feminine

Core in relation to fashion

Peripheral market and brand extension - Sunglass, shoes, cosmetics, fragrance - Understand why the designer is selling them

Unrelated markets and brand stretching - Armani Hotel, Armani Cafe

 The Golden Age Of Couture - 10 years of Dior when Christian Dior ran it

Corola - Petal on a flower 

Previous Campaigns for Diorissimo

This advert is of a chair that appears to be the style that Louis IVX liked with a black ball gown and white gloves on it. Its a colourful illustration that is aimed at women this is represented by the use of colours such as pink and the props that are items of women clothing. 

1960 

                                                                                

The photos above and below both contain illustrations of flowers, this reinforces the idea to consumers that the perfume has a floral scent. The photo above was created in 1963 and the one below is from the 1970s, we can see the development of the use of colour as the years go on the colours becomes more dominant in the advertising. 

1979

Dior

In 1946 on Paris' Avenue Montaigne Christian Dior set up his fashion house. Dior was the first couturier  to license his designs to be produced on a global scale, this enabled him to start building his empire which included ready-to-wear, accessories and beauty products.

The target market for Dior is women who have or want a bourgeois lifestyle, enjoy fashion, high quality design and like to show off a feminine form.

In 1947 Christian Dior produced the collection called The New Look, this revolutionary look become a staple look for Dior. 

Furthermore 1947 was the start of Dior's line of perfumes, the first was Miss Dior.  

By 1950 Jaques Rouët had contracted a plan to have Dior's name visible on a number of goods, the first was neckties. 

In 1956 Diorissimo was launched, the main scent is the lily which is know as Dior's favourite fortune flower and Christian Dior believed it to be the symbol of hope. The other scents are ylang-ylang, jasmine, amaryllis and boronia.

In 1958 Yves Saint Laurent produced his first collection for Dior, however in 1960 he had to give up his position as he was called upon to join the army. Laurent's collections were met with great reviews due his daring and provocative designs. 

The Dior label was purchased by Bernard Arnault in 1984 for "one symbolic franc".

In 1997 John Galliano was appointed creative director, many suggest the reason Galliano was offered the job was because Anna Wintour editor in chief at American Vogue greatly supported Galliano. Also in 1997 Dior's famous saddle bags were created. Galliano's first photo shoot was shot by Nick Knight and featured two models simulating intercourse, this is where the start of porn chic fashion  started.   

2011 was the year that Galliano's reign at Dior ended this lead to Raf Simones being appointed as the new creative designer in 2012.   

Head Designers ar Dior:

1947 - Christian Dior

1958 - Yves Saint Laurent

1960 – Marc Bohan

1989 - Gianfranco Ferre  

1997 – John Galliano

2011 – Bill Gaytten

2012 – Raf Simons