The Funky Iron Company

Market

Target market

We are appealing to a broad spread of consumers in demographic terms – age, gender, UK geographic location, but our core target attitudinally will be people who appreciate and are interested in well-designed products for their home or themselves (i.e. fashion, bags, jewellery etc).

The introduction of well-designed household goods over the past few years and a heightened awareness of home design via TV programming, editorial features etc has created an interest in, and awareness of well-made, well-designed, functional, good looking products. This we know is a volume opportunity, not niche, and one that crosses borders, so we envisage building an international presence as far as our product development (i.e. appropriate voltage) allows. Our product colour palette is also designed to appeal to a sense of individuality.

We could probably describe our intended target as those that say, the car brand Mini appeals to – a sense of adventure, fun, personalisation, cross-age appeal.

Their media consumption will be broad but they will be relatively tech savvy and probably active across one or a number of the main social media channels.

Characteristics of target market

The UK market is worth £200.55 million, where 5.2 million irons are sold to 27.1 million households (source: Euromonitor International 2017).

This gives an average price of just under £40. At this price level, customers can expect a mid-range iron with mid-functionality.
The Funky Iron will initially target a mid to premium positioning in the marketplace, as we plan to include all the functionality of irons retailing for £75 to £80, but will be priced £69.99, subject to final production details.

We believe our core target would naturally seem to be the group spending between £50 and £99, but we believe there will also be ‘trading up’ from the sector below (those spending up to £49), and possibly ‘trading down’ from the sector above (those spending £100 or more), in which we have observed irons are typically with a separate steam station. The UK market itself is highly fragmented – which we see as an ideal ‘predatory’ opportunity – taking a small piece off a number of leading brands by offering a distinctive and different product.

Distribution is spread across traditional bricks and mortar retailers and pure play online retailers.

Our initial launch will focus on the UK market but we will be able to ship abroad from the outset and begin to build a presence in the wider European / Worldwide opportunity where we would emphasise more of the ‘British’ style and design about the brand.

The Europe market is worth £1.347 billion (Euromonitor International 2016).
The Worldwide market is worth £3.125 billion (Euromonitor International 2016).

In total, 132.3 million irons are sold worldwide every year.

Marketing strategy

In the initial stages – and to keep expenditure low - we plan to rely heavily on SHARED / EARNED ‘free’ media opportunities – principally social media and PR. We are convinced (with the advice / help of professionals in our wider team of advisors and supporters) that we can develop interesting, relevant brand content that would communicate the personality, brand essence, and proposition in a way that will create traction, build awareness and, ultimately, sales. This would cover competitions, user generated videos, potential product placement / gifting to personalities, testimonials, brand partnerships / collaborations, guerrilla marketing, pop-up opportunities etc.

From the outset, the main call to action would be a visit to the Funky Iron brand website, where in time a list of partner retailers would be given. Driving traffic to the brand website would allow us to tell more of our story, present the full range and present any other content available.

A leading online digital agency and a PR company will support our launch and ongoing presence. We see both as having a vital part to play in raising the early profile of the brand.

If we are successful in developing a partnership with a large high street retailer we would create appropriate collateral / POS material – and possibly look to support key stores at launch with effective, close-to-store ‘out of home’ poster sites.

If our relationship was with a pure online retailer we would supply a number of digital assets (banners, images) for use on their site.

Competition strategy

The competitive landscape is exactly that, competitive. Being able to stand out from the crowd is vital. In the case of The Funky Iron Company, we believe the product itself is stand out in looks and will score very highly on function. When you think of electric steam iron brands, you don't immediately think of fun and personality.

This is exactly what we want to achieve with The Funky Iron Company.

We want to engage with the potential customer base and once people are converted to customers, we want them to be proud of their association and interaction with the business.

The Funky Iron will meet consumer needs in two ways: firstly, a ‘parity’ product in terms of functionality and features of the leading brands – and in some cases ‘superior’ functionality and features. Secondly – the design, style cues, and colour choices that would appeal to consumers in our broad target market – i.e. those appreciating, looking for beautifully made and designed products for their home. We are not setting out to change consumer behaviour, more to change people’s attitudes about the iron they use. If their iron stays out of the cupboard more as a result, that’s a bonus but that’s not the behaviour we will try to influence at launch. Simply, we are offering choice, difference and value for money. The added value is functionality meeting quality design and style, with a strong visual (and brand personality) point of difference.

We are independent, owner-managed, and passionate about our product and how we deliver customer satisfaction. We know that attitude and approach will resonate with consumers if the product delivers – which we are confident it will. So against a backdrop of established, ‘corporate’ brands – some of which we know have affinity with our target, we aim to steal a little market share off each – and the cumulative effect will be a sustainable business that allows us to establish the brand and potentially grow into other household goods categories over time.