The strategy for True Craft was always evolving. One key element the brand needed was to establish a core items program. While we had already started testing a core knits program, it was my responsibility as the Associate Designer for True Craft Knits to do market research to stay on top of our competitors. Through online research, my goal was to obtain the following information from each competitor; silhouette, neckline, sleeve length, fabric, color runs, retails, and fabrics. This project was then presented to the rest of my design team and my merchant team. Based on American Eagle being our benchmark brand, the outcome of the project was to start introducing the customer to rayon span in the line through fashion items first, as most of our knit fabrications were 60/40 cotton/ poly. We also decided to make yearly silhouette updates to our core knit program while constantly maintaining both a crew neck and a v-neck option in the assortment.
