Harringtons Collection
Synopsis
Harrington Collections is a high end apparel company that specializes in woman’s clothing. Harrington takes pride in having “top in-house design staff, extensive national advertising campaigns, and its exceptional quality and styling” (Becham & Tedlow, 2008). The company chooses not to sacrifice excellence for lower costs, differentiating Harrington’s in the clothing industry. Harrington focuses on two main segments, the first being manufacturing group which brings in 50.3% of the company’s profits. The remaining 49.7% of income is attributed toward the retail group. The manufacturing group deals with design and development of products that are then sold to stores, both company owned and speciality stores. The retail group consists of 120 stores that included Harrington’s Limited, Vigor and Christian Cole merchandises. These merchandises are sold in stores and to upscale department outlets.
Harrington’s currently attributes its products to professional, fashionable and educated woman. They target ages 25-60 the most relevant age group to these qualities. Each manufacturing division was broken off into their own specialized division of either “sophisticated elegance’, “status seeker” or “trend setter”.
Harrington’s is currently considering broadening their spectrum with introducing a new active line of clothing. The demand for casual comfortable clothes has been increasing at an intriguing rate. The large generation of the baby boomer population is reaching a new phase in life that requires different clothing needs.
Issue
Many concerns arise from the clothing industry that generally stem from the apparel markets mature state and its exceptionally competitive nature. The main issue apparent with Harrington’s Collection is how they can remain competitive in the changing market without compromising their sought out brand quality.
The maturity of the clothing market makes growth rates limited and lack of innovation difficult to remain successful.
Harrington Collections is a high end apparel company that specializes in woman’s clothing. Harrington takes pride in having “top in-house design staff, extensive national advertising campaigns, and its exceptional quality and styling” (Becham & Tedlow, 2008). The company chooses not to sacrifice excellence for lower costs, differentiating Harrington’s in the clothing industry. Harrington focuses on two main segments, the first being manufacturing group which brings in 50.3% of the company’s profits. The remaining 49.7% of income is attributed toward the retail group. The manufacturing group deals with design and development of products that are then sold to stores, both company owned and speciality stores. The retail group consists of 120 stores that included Harrington’s Limited, Vigor and Christian Cole merchandises. These merchandises are sold in stores and to upscale department outlets.
Harrington’s currently attributes its products to professional, fashionable and educated woman. They target ages 25-60 the most relevant age group to these qualities. Each manufacturing division was broken off into their own specialized division of either “sophisticated elegance’, “status seeker” or “trend setter”.
Harrington’s is currently considering broadening their spectrum with introducing a new active line of clothing. The demand for casual comfortable clothes has been increasing at an intriguing rate. The large generation of the baby boomer population is reaching a new phase in life that requires different clothing needs.
Issue
Many concerns arise from the clothing industry that generally stem from the apparel markets mature state and its exceptionally competitive nature. The main issue apparent with Harrington’s Collection is how they can remain competitive in the changing market without compromising their sought out brand quality.
The maturity of the clothing market makes growth rates limited and lack of innovation difficult to remain successful.
Citations: Tedlow, R. S., & Becham, H. (2008, September 26). Harrington Collection: Sizing Up the Active-Wear Market. In Harvard Business School. Retrieved March 1, 2013