Merchandise assortments—special colors and special sizes

Victor’s Solution will offer five colors as part of its introductory line which are white, black, grey, red, and navy. We have done market research and found these five colors to be the most common in competitor’s offerings. We plan to introduce more colors once we have achieved a certain level of brand familiarity and potential colors will be determined on the basis of future marketing research. We are trying to minimize risk by going with the colors we believe are the safest choices and can help us build brand familiarity in the shortest possible time. We are very hopeful of Victor’s Solution’s great future but at the same time we do not want to be swept away by over-optimism and go for aggressive production. Once we have built brand loyalty, we will have more room for experimentation with colors and designs.
Our target market will be 18 and above and we also plan to carry plus sizes though in limited numbers. We will be starting with briefs but plan to branch out into boxers within a year if the initial response is encouraging. Traditionally, boxers have offered greater room for design options while briefs have been plain colored. We may be starting with plain colored boxers but one of the ideas through which we plan to differentiate ourselves from competitors is by introducing design themes in boxers as well. As far as we know, no mass market brand has ever toyed with the idea of incorporating design themes into boxers.

Channels of Distribution

We plan to maintain absolute control over distribution so that we are able to carefully cultivate the same image of Victor’s Solution among men that Victoria’s Secret has among women. Fortunately for us, the help is right there in the form of Victoria’s Secret. The company is North America’s number one specialty retailer of women’s intimate apparel and operates about 1,040 mostly mall-based stores in the U.S. and Canada. In addition, the sister company Victoria’s Secret Direct mails about 400 million of its catalogs per year (Hoovers).

We will distribute Victor’s Solution through select Victoria’s Secret stores and plan to hire one or two sales associates per each selected store who will go through formal training. We perceive Victoria’s Secret to be glamorous yet affordable brand and our ultimate goal is to establish the same image of Victor’s Solution among men that Victoria’s Secret has among women. By distributing in Victoria’s Secret stores, we will communicate the connection between the two brands since they both are owned by the same parent company which is Limited Brands. In addition, we will get cheap and significant brand exposure due to the amount of traffic that Victoria’s Secret’s stores attract. We also expect that a significant number of Victoria’s Secret loyal female base may purchase Victor’s Solution products for their better half.

Pricing

We like to think of Victoria’s Secret as an affordable luxury that is not very expensive but at the same time has a unique glamorous image attached to it, thanks to the company’s successful marketing strategy. Despite being the largest specialty retailer of women intimate apparel in America, the brand’s value has not been diluted by its wide availability which gives some pricing power to the company.

We aim to build a similar position for Victor’s Solution in men innerwear industry that Victoria’s Secret has in women intimate wear industry. But at the same time, we will also aim for scale while carefully protecting the image of the brand. Given our goals, we will price Victor’s Solution products slightly above the mass market brands such as Fruit of the Loom and Hanes but below upscale brands such as Calvin Klein and Emporio Armani. Our closest competitor in terms of price points will probably be Jockey.

Celebrity Endorsers

We have contacted modeling agencies for some of the most renowned male models in the industry. We are already in discussions with Gabriel Aubry, Hollywood superstar Halle Berry’s ex-husband who has enjoyed a prominent modeling career of his own. Instead of going for a mega deal with a single Hollywood actor such as Matthew McConaughey (who was our first choice), we have decided to engage in less-expensive contracts with multiple male models. We will also launch a sales catalogue on the pattern of Victoria’s Secret catalogue where our contracted models will promote Victor’s Solution products.

Victoria’s Secret’s annual fashion show has probably become the most famous fashion show in the industry. The fashion show is broadcasted on a prime television network, attracts numerous celebrities, and garners wide media attention as well as record viewership. We will look into the possibility of dedicating a small segment of the runway show to Victor’s Solution products since all of our contracted male models will already have extensive runway experience and this will greatly increase the brand familiarity as well as appeal of Victor’s Solution products.