1. Introduction to

“When retail tycoon George Davies launched his eponymous clothing line at Asda in 1990, supermarket chic was an alien concept. But where tossing a pair of jeans into our trolleys along with the washing powder was once a novelty, it has now become the norm.” This quote is by Hilary Alexander the fashion director for the Telegraph (published in 2008 November on the Telegraph website under the title “Supermarket fashion sweeps aisles”.) Almost 20 years later (2 years since this article was published) it has come to a stage where not just a pair of jeans but high street fashion could potentially be available in supermarkets. With today’s economy in the state it is, the spending power of consumers has declined. The fashion industry is one that is very sensitive to price. Not being a necessary commodity consumers will spend on high street fashion mostly with any excesses in their budget. Therefore predicting where consumers would migrate during these times is vital. High street fashion is almost always sold in retail outlets that are dedicated to goods of a similar nature. With high overheads and the generally high markup of high street fashion this adds further to the price goods are sold. Garments available in supermarkets are not susceptible to these kinds of issues. Larger warehouses and buildings with ample parking and space could easily accommodate more goods and make better use of their economies of scale. Therefore high street standard fashion can be sold at cheaper prices in supermarkets.
Research was done to establish the consumers responsiveness to high street fashion garments being available at supermarkets. By grouping the population into different segments the study will also try to find relationships in spending patterns and attitudes. This research aims to address the following key objectives. * To evaluate current consumer