An Assignment on

Fashion Brand Marketing Journey

For the Midterm of Marketing of Fashion
Submitted By:
Vedasurti.S.R
BFT/22/856

Soundaravalli.B
BFT/22/932

Submitted To:
Ms. Kanupriya
Assistant Professor

Department of Fashion Technology

 Table of Contents
Brand selection and background....................................................................................................................3

history of the logo:....................................................................................................................................3

reason of the name:.................................................................................................................................. 4

SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE SOULED STORE:.......................................................................................................4

about the brand:........................................................................................................................................6

main reason behind tss:.............................................................................................................................7

brand and licensing:...................................................................................................................................7

usp of the brand:........................................................................................................................................7

Market environment analysis:........................................................................................................................9

POLITICAL FACTORS:........................................................................................................................................9

micro environment analysis:........................................................................................................................17

Top 3 competitors for TSS:...................................................................................................................20

Geographic segmentation:...........................................................................................................................21

Demographic segmentation:........................................................................................................................22

Behavioural segmentation:..........................................................................................................................23

Psychographic analysis:................................................................................................................................24

Target audience:...........................................................................................................................................24

Positioning:...................................................................................................................................................25

Product:........................................................................................................................................................26
Price:.............................................................................................................................................................28

Place:............................................................................................................................................................28

Promotion:................................................................................................................................................... 29

CRM software used by TSS:..........................................................................................................................30

Bibliography:................................................................................................................................................ 30
 Brand selection and background

SELECTED BRAND: THE

SOULED STORE

history of the logo:

• This was the first logo of The Souled Store where they used mixed uppercase and
lowercase where they used the simple quirky style. They used the mixed cases to portray
the funky style in the brand portrays itself.
• Soon the brand changed its logo portraying a soul which is funky with decorative font
with customized script typeface. Which adds cool personality to the brand.
 • These script type face adds handwritten nature to the logo which adds personal touch to
the logo.
• Their primary colour used is red which depicts excitement and passion.

reason of the name:

 The reason for their name is derived from the idea “follow your soul”.
 The philosophy is that life is too short and not to spend in things which we don’t like.
 To add some funkiness to Monday mornings in which customers can’t go dreaded.

Monday designs.
SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE

SOULED STORE:
WE HAVE ANALYSED THE SWOT ANALYSIS BY THE INTERVIEW OF THE COFOUNDER VEDHANG PATEL WITH TRUE STORIES.

Strengths:

• Strong brand recognition and loyalty

• Consistency is key
• Wide variety of products featuring popular pop culture designs
• Competitive prices
• Convenient online and offline shopping options
• Strong social media presence
• Presence of attitude and personality in the brand

Weaknesses:

• Reliance on licensed merchandise, which can limit product development

• Relatively high shipping costs for international orders
• Limited selection of products in physical stores
• The tracking of where the order and the time taken to deliver the order is high.

Opportunities:

• Expanding into new markets, such as other countries and product categories
• Partnering with other businesses to offer cross-promotional opportunities
• Investing in new technologies, such as augmented reality and virtual reality, to create more
immersive shopping experiences
Threats:

• Increasing competition from other retailers of pop culture merchandise

• Economic downturn that could lead to decreased consumer spending
• Changes to consumer preferences, such as a shift away from pop culture
 about the brand:
 Souled store creates funky curate design and print them on all sorts of products ranging
from t-shirts, boxers, mugs, phone covers etc.
 TSS is here to create fandom to the customers as official merchandise to customers
favourite TV shows, sport teams and movies with curate graphic designs.

Co-founders of TSS

 Harsh Lal, Vedang Patel, Aditya Sharma, and Rohin Samtaney are the co-founders of
TSS.( you can click the link to visit their linked in profile)

 TSS is a Mumbai based company which is currently India’s biggest fan merchandise
destination.

 TSS is the licenced official merchandisers for cartoons (Scooby-Doo, Cartoon Network,
etc.), TV shows (F.R.I.E.N.D.S, The Big Bang Theory, Stranger things), big-budget
movies (Marvel, Harry Potter, Batman, Superman, etc.), and IPL teams.

 Co-founders of TSS one lawyer and 3 engineers were dissatisfied working in the financial
services firm and how life was going. That was the spark of the innovation of TSS at
2013.

 One of a common thing with the co-founders was that they were a fan of Star Wars and to
buy an original shirt they need to pay 2000 rupees which gets imported from U.S which
can be manufactured from in India. So, they realized that it was a T-shirt of 300 rupees
which customers are spending 2000 rupees.

 They also realized that India got the biggest fandom in various genres and that they can
merchandise with great designs.
 main reason behind tss:
To offer customers great designs, great products, great quality and great products.

brand and licensing:

 TSS has about 150 licensing of various TV shows, cartoons and movies.
 They did not simply copy paste designs instead added value to it and added certain special
elements to it and redesigns everything from scratch. Where the licensors even
appreciated it and considered as a privilege for them.
 Hence receiving license was an easy task for them.

usp of the brand:

 USP of TSS is to provide great designs on every product.
 Main objective is to sell fun rather than just to sell products.
 As the conversion rate is higher at TSS website as people love the content.
 Co-founder Harsh Lal mentioned that if USP is set to provide cheaper products then the
customers would become loyal to the price point not to the brand and this is also the USP
of TSS.
 They are the only fandom merchandise to sell unique graphic designs for the customers.
 Creativity is also the unique selling point of TSS

This image depicts the level of creativity they are using which clearly set this brand apart from other
brands
 Tech pack of The Souled Store


 Market environment analysis:

MACRO FACTORS
AFFECTING THE
SOULED STORE
WE HAVE STUDIED THE MACRO FACTORS THROUGH PESTLE ANALYSIS

POLITICAL FACTORS:
 INDIAN GOVERNMENT PASSED A DRAFT IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN ON FEBRUARY 2019 OF
THE DRAFT NATIONAL ECOMMERCE POLICY. THIS DRAFT ENHANCES THE HOLISTIC
GROWTH OF ECOMMERCE SECTOR ALONG WITH EXISTING POLICIES SUCH AS MAKE IN
INDIA AND DIGITAL INDIA.
 THIS POLICY STIMULATES DOMESTIC DIGITAL ECONOMY AND EXPORT PROMOTION
THROUGH ECOMMERCE.

PROMOTIONS USED BY THE SOULED STORE (TSS):

  One of the key features in the Draft ecommerce policy is to use promotions to sustain in
the digital economy where The Souled Store (TSS) uses various digital promotions such
as SEM.
 Hence the political impact for TSS is positive with the amended policy.
 The policy proposes for deep discounting which is followed by TSS and hence the impact
is positive with the policy.

RULE USED IN DISCOUNTING FOR TSS: RULE OF THUMB

 Simple rule of thumb which is used to maintain brand consistency.

 Applied by slashing the original price and presenting the discounted price along with the
slashed original price.

 Followed to maintain profit margins and avoid over discounting.

Discounted price by following

the rule of thumb

TSS ALSO PROVIDES MEMBERSHIP DISCOUNTS

  To build an effective way for creating a bond between the customers and the seller’s, membership
discounting is a perfect choice.

Membership discounting at TSS

 As TSS follows discounting which directly creates a positive impact to the political factors.

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2020

 The government has made certain amendments in ‘Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules,
2020.
 The law mandates that ecommerce platforms would have to share more information related to the
source and seller of products.
 The government introduced such a measure to ensure buyers are more aware of local brands and
choose these over foreign ones.
 TSS ABIDES BY THE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT AND PROVIDES DETAILS SUCH AS PRODUCT
DETAILS AND PRODUCT DESCRIPTION AND ARTIST’S DETAILS WHICH GIVES A POSITIVE IMPACT.

 TSS HAS ALLOWED WEBSITES SUCH AS GRABON.COM TO GIVE DISCOUNT COUPONS.

Coupon codes of TSS sold by Grabon.com

IMPACT OF GLOBAL TRADE IN INDIA

 As per Global export database THE SOULED STORE PRIVATE LIMITED made total 11 export
shipments with a total export value of $4961 in 2021.
 Top Export Markets or Countries: United Kingdom (2857 USD).
 India has access to FTA with about 54 countries.
 Bilateral trade deals in the form of comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) have
been signed by India with 18 other countries.

Top 5 UK goods imports in the four quarters to the end of Q4 2020 from India

(Department for International Trade, 2023)

  From the graph above it is known that readymade garments are the largest exported good from
India.
 There are Global supply constraints due to Russia-Ukraine war which may indirectly affect TSS.
 So, from the point of trade laws TSS has a positive impact as India has free trade agreement with
most of the countries and margins can be expanded and products can be exported freely.
 Overall, the political factors on PESTEL analysis have a positive impact on ecommerce industry
which creates potential opportunity for The Souled Store.

ECONOMIC FACTORS:
 TSS had faced a lot of discrepancies due to pandemic. Shipments were halted and founders took
no salary and the team took a salary cut of 20 percent and there were no layoffs.
 Summer is one of the TSS’s busiest seasons where they need to deal with cancelled orders and
zero deliveries where they had no liquidity and garnering the 30-35% revenues ensured that
salaries were paid and basic operations were continued.
 These were the downsides due to the pandemic of TSS and negative impact for TSS.
 But lockdown opened the gateway of producing masks for Mumbai police and started shipping
them.
 Due to situation of work from home the economy was in need of loungewear and leisurewear,
where TSS started receiving orders from these categories.
 This is a positive impact for TSS.
 Harry potter fans received the Hogwarts letter for every purchase made along with 30% discount
coupon. This was a strategy followed by TSS ensuring that customers (fans) would return to buy
availing the coupon cards.
 This made their basket size to grow from 800 rupees to 1000 rupees
 Lockdown severely impacted non-essential ecommerce in India. Where there is a shift of
consumer pattern, consumer preferences are slowly shifting towards online brands.
 This is a positive impact for TSS in the view of economic factor.
 Online ecommerce has always been a small fraction of overall retail market globally. But with
COVID, behaviour patterns are changing; more consumers are looking at online spends.
Discretionary spends will lower fashion ecommerce that are growing.

Promotion used by TSS during Covid 19

Retail inflation in FY2020

(Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation | Government of India, n.d)

 As there is a rise in inflation and compact consumer purchasing power there are negative impact
for TSS as orders may get decreased.
 Due to inflation and high unemployment rate in India orders might get impacted.
 These are some of the negative impacts of economic factors on TSS.
 As TSS selects customers who has disposable income it can mitigate inflation by offering
discounts and promotions which they are offering as mentioned above.

SOCIAL FACTORS:
 More than 50% of the Indian population is of the young population. Where the target audience of
TSS is of young teenage population. This is foremost a positive impact for TSS.
Socially there is a growing demand for pop culture merchandise. Where young population prefer
products with printed pop merchandise.
TSS is known for its pop culture merchandise and hence this is socially a positive impact for TSS.
Consumer buying behaviour changes with the reference groups the individuals interact with.
The reference groups are divided into two such as primary groups (friends, family) and secondary
groups (religious associations, political associations).
 Hence these may also be the factors which indirectly affect TSS from their consumers.
 Consumerism is also one of a factor which affects TSS in a positive way where customers buy
more products than it is required to maintain social status.
 Social commerce is also an emerging strategy, where TSS uses many advertisements and
hyperlink which connects it to its main website.
 Overall TSS has a positive impact towards the social factors influencing it.

Engaging Social media audiences for souled

store

TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS:
 The high usage of social commerce and internet, customers tend to use E-commerce, more and
more consumers are buying online.
 This is a positive impact for The Souled Store as there is a shift of consumer behaviour from
offline retail stores to online retail stores.
 But there is a downside to this as competition also increases as there is equal opportunity for other
brands to compete such as bewakoof and snitch.
 To compete with other brands technology plays an important role.
 There is a high input in the digital machines which is used to print T-shirts. Positive impact is
that TSS already uses digital printing technology and has licenced prints printed over its products.
 Souled store has a website as a main source to sell their products. To increase their market, they
were in search of technology partner who could build them a Mcommerce app. For cohort analysis
of customers, the casual apparel wear brand reached out to Daffodil, who is already their tech

Technology partner of The Souled

Store

partner for mobile app and CRM development.

 Using BI services, the apparel wear brand wanted to analyse customer acquisition and retention
trends for its marketing and sales department.
 The TSS team ensures to use advanced technology in producing and selling their product to the
customers so overall they make a positive impact in terms of Technological factor.

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS:

 There is an increase in the plantation of cotton due to rain recently in 2023.

 In Haryana, cotton, a key summer (Kharif) crop has so far been sown in 3.5 Lakh hectares. The
government has set a target to sow cotton in 7 Lakh hectares this summer.
 This is a positive impact for TSS as cotton is the main fibre used in their products.
 Sustainability is also an important role which associates with TSS.
 As there is a rise in fast fashion and consumerism the need of ethically sourced yarn and
constructed garment needed to be in use.
 When sustainable products are used the cost may vary and margins might get low these are some
of the negative impacts of the environmental factors of TSS.

LEGAL FACTORS:

 The government has made certain amendments in ‘Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules,
2020.
 The law mandates that ecommerce platforms would have to share more information related to the
source and seller of products.
 As TSS provides detailed information on product details, artist details and product description in
their website.
 ORM is followed by TSS to address issues of customer’s hence TSS has a positive impact with
the legal factors.
 The government is also considering introducing new regulations, such as mandatory data
localization, which could impact the Souled Store.

Copyright policy of TSS

micro environment analysis:

WE HAVE STUDIED THE MICRO ENVIRONMENT
THROUGH COSMIC ANALYSIS

functional process of TSS include:

 Order processing: order processing includes receiving, processing and fulfilling
customer orders. Order rate got reduced in the financial year 2022, which was the
negative impact but with proper order processing techniques their order rate increased in
the FY2023
 Product management: product management includes creating, managing and selling the
products to the customers. The operating procedures of TSS has a very convenient
environment for the workers as this surge them toward better product development and to
manage it.
 The image shows the artwork of the TSS which guides the suppliers to analyse and to
follow the same
 TSS gives proper art dimensions, print styles and the pantones for it.

 This strategy of product management provides TSS to maintain their product quality
throughout various stages and hence it provides a positive impact.
 Customer service: The very easy to use website and the segregations of the categories to
the wise of TV shows, movies and cartoons attracts new customers and makes the present
customers to be even loyal.
 Seller: TSS is a D2C brand itself and hence they manufacture themselves and sell it to
the customers, this enables the brand to sell their unique products to the customers
providing value and satisfaction.
 Logistics: TSS uses Delhivery Express to sell its products to the customers, TSS also
uses PIKAP Logistics to export its products internationally.
  TSS uses free shipping charges on orders of above 445 Rupees in India. And a shipping
charge of 50 Rupees on orders below 445.
 These medium shipping charges and good logistics provide them a positive impact.

Top 3 competitors for TSS:

 TSS has an average rate of 4.68 pages per visit which is just the double than the other
competitors except for flipkart. TSS have a unique USP and hence the competition is not
a big factor for TSS as the customer satisfaction is already obtained.
 STP STRATEGY
FORMULATION
Geographic segmentation:
 95% of the customers are from India
 0.89% of customers are from U.S
 0.88% of customers are from Ireland
 0.85% of customers are from Canada
 0.31% of customers are from U.K

Geographic segmentation based on countries

 Geographic segmentation based on states

The audience segmentation based on customers placed order location.

1. Ahmedabad(+40km), Gujarat
2. Mumbai
3. Pune(+40km), Maharashtra
4. Bangalore(+40km), Karnataka
5. Chennai(+40km), Tamil Nadu
6. Kolkata(+40km), West Bengal
7. Hyderabad(+40km), Telangana
8. New Delhi.

Demographic segmentation:

In terms of gender distribution:

 62.3% Male audience
 37.7% Female audience

Dark shade for Female and Light shade for Male

In terms of age distribution:

 As from the above data we can infer that most of the audience are of the working class of the age
25-34 and teenagers.
 As the segmentation of the market is mostly for the millennials and Genz.

In terms of education level:

 Students pursuing a bachelor’s or master’s degree

 Engineering graduates
 Teenage school going students.

Behavioural segmentation:
We are taking you through the example of a licenced merchandise of stranger things (TV show)
 When the season 4 of stranger things got released the teenage segment in India had a
great hype and fandom for the show
 As the fandoms size got bigger that’s when TSS collaborated with stranger things and the
average visit per page crossed other ecommerce platforms and the no. of orders increased.
 TSS segregates the behaviour of the customer with the current highlighted TV shows,
cartoons and ipl teams
 As the fandom grows the consumer behaviour changes, same person can be a fan of a
particular tv show or an IPL team
 Hence the customer return and loyalty is obtained through this method and this a positive
impact for TSS.
Psychographic analysis:
 From the given picture below, each fan is a customer from the given categories.
 As TSS is the only quirky merchandise and from the demographics we can see that India has
quiet a thick fanbase and these are some positive impacts for TSS.
 Psychology of any fan is to get the official merchandise along with the quality. which is offered
by TSS.

 Lifestyle: active, social, customers engaged with latest trends.

 Values: creativity, individuality, authenticity.

Target audience:
 TSS target market is for the customer from the age group of 16-30 years. Who belong to
middle class family.
 This is for the Genz and millennial segment who increasingly spend on pop culture
fashion and lifestyle products. Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is lower hence there is a
high profitability.
 Target audience are who prefer stylish and functional high-quality products and unique
designs.
 TSS target market is highly digital and they have a strong online presence which helps the
brand to reach the target audience.

TSS online presence

  TSS uses differentiated marketing techniques.
 Where products are choosed in the peak of its product cycle.

Positioning:
 TSS comes under the category Experimental positioning where customers have emotional
connection with the products and services of the brand.
 TSS positions itself as a brand for one stop destination for official licenced merchandise
from popular movies, TV shows, comics, video games and other pop culture franchises
that helps people express themselves through their clothes and accessories.
 It positions itself as a brand for people who are passionate about their interest and want to
show off their fandom.
 From the segmentation and target market analysis TSS has opened the offline stores at
specific locations such as Pune and Bangalore which has a high market audience.
 Unique designs: TSS's design team creates unique and eye-catching designs for its
products. This makes TSS products stand out from the crowd and appeals to people who
are looking for something different.
 Strong online presence: TSS has a strong online presence, with a popular website and
social media following. This allows the brand to reach its target audience directly and
effectively.
 Affordable and accessible: TSS products are affordable and accessible to everyone. This
makes TSS a popular choice for fans of all ages and income levels.

MARKETING MIX
Product:
There are wide range of tangible products provided by TSS.
1. Top wear
2. Bottom wear
3. Shoes
4. Accessories

1. Top wear:
  Oversized T-shirts
 shirts
 Tops
 Dresses
 Boyfriend T-shirts
 Co-ordered sets
 Sweatshirts and Sweaters and hoodies
2. Bottom wear:

 All cargoes
 Joggers
 Jeans
 Shorts
 Innerwear
 Leggings
 Pyjamas
3. Accessories:
 Umbrellas
 Backpacks
 Perfumes
 Caps

Warranties:

 Souled store has launched Supima cotton one of the finest cottons in the world.
 Certifications of Supima Cotton are also provided hence the product is supreme high
quality.
 TSS launched a separate marketing drive with the celebrity Jim Sarbh.

About Supima cotton

 Various sizes and the products related to Supima cotton.

 The brand's products are made with high-quality materials and construction, and feature
unique and eye-catching designs.
 TSS also offers a variety of product categories, including apparel, accessories, home
decor, and stationery.
 Return policy of TSS products is that the product has to be unused with tags are
applicable for 100% return cash.

Price:
 Product price range is from 300 Rupees to 2000 Rupees.
  Allowances: There is no shipping charges on order above 450 Rupees, and there is
membership subscription discount given to the loyal customers.
 They offer regular discounts and promotions during holidays and festivals which make it
even more affordable.
 We can apply coupon to the order as well there is a payment period which can also be
paid through EMI.

Place:
Product distribution channels:

 TSS uses two types of channels

 1. Direct selling: as it is a D2C brand itself, TSS mostly uses this channel as it
enhances the brands value
 2. products are exported from supplier to retailer to store, where suppliers are
mostly from Bangalore, Tirupur, Gurgaon.
 Coverage: TSS is a brand which also targets middle class family but the coverage of the
product is only in tier-1 cities.
 Ahmedabad(+40km), Gujarat
 Mumbai
 Pune(+40km), Maharashtra
 Bangalore(+40km), Karnataka
 Chennai(+40km), Tamil Nadu
 Kolkata(+40km), West Bengal
 Hyderabad(+40km), Telangana
 New Delhi.
 TSS has inventories over cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Tirupur, Gurgaon.

Promotion:
 TSS promotes its brand through various techniques such as SEM, SEO, ORM and email
marketing.
 The picture down below shows the example of email marketing of TSS.
  TSS uses seasonal sales and offers discounts during festive seasons.
 Salesforce: TSS trains its staffs as per the operating procedures.
 Public relations: ambassadors like Hardik Pandya , Jadeja, Sara ali khan are
offered offered paid trips where these influencers go. They are also called as Key
opinion leaders (KOI).

CRM software used by TSS:

 TSS uses Daffodil for CRM Support.
 Set up business intelligence services by the platform in terms of efficiency and cost-
effectiveness.
 Perform cohort analysis for customer segments of the Souled Store and to create reports.
 To understand the business, its requirements, and create the next steps to make BI
services more beneficial for the apparel wear brand.
 Customer pattern analysis is made through based on gender and age was made to
understand the brand track amongst the customers.
 Customers were ensured that they returned to the website again to order and to maintain
loyalty. To ensure maximum ROI.
Bibliography:
Case Study | The Souled Store—BI | Daffodil Software. (n.d.). Retrieved September 30, 2023,
from https://www.daffodilsw.com/case-study-powerbi-implementation-for-ecommerce-store/
What is Cohort Analysis and how does it work? | Adobe Analytics. (n.d.). Retrieved September 30,
2023, from https://experienceleague.adobe.com/docs/analytics/analyze/analysis-workspace/
visualizations/cohort-table/cohort-analysis.html?lang=en
The Souled Store | PDF | Brand | Letter Case. (n.d.). Retrieved September 30, 2023, from
https://www.scribd.com/document/522207285/The-Souled-Store
The Complete Guide to STP Marketing with Examples—Yieldify. (n.d.). Retrieved September 30,
2023, from https://www.yieldify.com/blog/stp-marketing-model/
UK - India Trade: Explained: What is the UK-India free trade agreement all about | India
Business News—Times of India. (n.d.). Retrieved September 30, 2023, from
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/explained-what-is-the-uk-india-free-
trade-agreement-all-about/articleshow/90930976.cms
Department for International Trade. (2023, April 4). GOV.UK.
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-international-trade
Kashyaap, S. (2020, September 6). How The Souled Store survived and revived amidst the
lockdown to touch one lakh orders a month. YourStory.Com.
https://yourstory.com/2020/09/souled-store-fashion-ecommerce-revival-coronavirus-lockdown