Fashion Market - Case Study Example

Comparative analysis of Marketing Communications strategies and mix for the fashion market in the UK and Section #of course> Introduction Fashion marketing consists of dynamics such as developing, analyzing and implementing relevant strategies. It needs an eye for style, an eye to the future; in order o anticipate future trends and it needs the brain to think of ways to sell fashion collections. The UK fashion market is huge and growing at a steady rate. It is comprised of many brands which are highly competitive and seek to capture a niche in the market. One of them is Zara the Spanish fashion retailer which taps into both global and local trends to become a popular choice for the youth in UK. It has been successful in coming up with a value proposition in rich countries and something more inspirational in poor countries. Zara is a leader in providing variety and choice to its consumers. It has been able to produce around eleven thousand styles every year and is highly design driven. Therefore freshness and innovation is a key strength of Zara.4 H&M Fashions is another well known brand for the fashion market in UK. It stands for Hennes & Mauritz and is based in Sweden. H&M has positioned itself in the middle and high range of the market. Marketing at H&M is regional and therefore cost-effective. The company has an exemplary supply chain cycle, where clothes move from design to hanger within twenty one days. Its communication is more informative than being centered on image.9 French Connection United Kingdom; more popularly referred to as FCUK is another fashion brand whose marketing and communication strategy has been looked into in this report. The retail store was founded in 1969 in London. It happens to be one of the first British companies to cater to the men's casual wear market and later extended into both formal and informal clothes for men, women and children. To date the highest share of revenue comes from the menswear collection which is trendy, fun and a favourite for men all over the world. An interesting point to note here is that analysts claim that the company has benefited from its suggestive marketing campaigns.7 Research Methods The research methods include both primary and secondary. The assortment has been clearly done to reflect an exploratory research framework. It is a mix of both qualitative and quantitative in nature. The quantitative part of the research has been included to point to recognition and recall of certain advertisements. It is based on clearly thought out and formulated procedures which allow triangulation and lend thoroughness to the research. The primary research methods include in-depth interviews with the target market of these brands; which includes the fashion conscious youth aged between 16-25 mainly. Four in-depth interviews were conducted; two with girls and two with boys of different ages. Interviews were also conducted with marketing personnel of the brands in question. Other than that focus groups were conducted with the same audience who were put together in groups of sixes for the exercise. An observational exercise was conducted; the purpose was to test the recall and recognition of such advertisements. All this research was supported by questionnaires conducted at university campuses as well as these store locations. Lastly, in-store analysis was done to understand the sort of image the store was trying to project. This was done for stores in different locations all over United Kingdom. The secondary research methods comprised mainly; magazines with special reference to fashion magazines, internet resources such as ebsco, Brunell electronic library and news updates. In addition to this; newspaper clippings and case studies were used for reference. Market Overview The UK fashion industry is worth an estimated 44.5 billion pounds. According to statistics in 1960 around 10% of the household budget was spent on clothing and footwear. Due to lower cost of product and the huge influx of Chinese products, we thankfully spend much less on clothing and footwear. The figure has reached around 6% for 2007. Needless to say this means that prices for clothing and footwear have declined. Between 2001 and 2005 clothing and footwear prices have decreased by 14.4%.1 The rise in cheap imports has wiped out UK manufacturing and production. Most retailers prefer to outsource production to cheaper countries such as Thailand, China and India rather than producing them in UK itself. Forecasts to 2010 are for the women's, girls and infants fashion market to grow by 23% with a 15.6% growth for the men's and boys fashion market. Analysis and Discussion Zara is a high profile retail brand. Its mission is to produce a 'fashion forward product for the passes'. Something which is clearly visible in its communication and marketing strategies. Zara's marketing strategy comprises certain core elements. This includes; a no advertising strategy, a passion for fashion and global reach. As a trendsetter in fashion for the youth, Zara has never let the spirit of innovation die. However, Zara is more about being an early follower and adapting to the changing trends in fashion than innovation. Another mantra by which the store abides is 'variety is the spice of life'. Designs are therefore plentiful and keep changing.5 Zara's in store environment is of considerable importance. This is because Zara has successfully managed to replicate the Zara store environment in all its stores; hence giving a uniform feel and creating the same ambience for customers at all Zara stores. No matter which Zara store you go in, it will always feel the same. Through this Zara has managed to create a highly distinct personality and has managed to break through the clutter. It has led to a distinctive image and persona of Zara which makes it easier for customers to associate with the brand. 6 In this way the good store location, layout and environment has become a substitute for advertising in the case of Zara. The aura of the store and its layout are enough to ensure that customers keep coming back for more. A representative of the marketing department at Zara pointed out that 'We do advertise, but don't like to pay for them (free press is plenty). Secondly, high speed fashion not amenable to ad campaigns and by the time an ad reaches audience, dress may be sold-out or obsolete' There are two sides to this argument. First, it is true that free mediums of advertising exist and those can be utilized in the maximum possible way. However, as regards the second point which that high speed fashion is not amenable to advertising; it comes across as contradictory to the idea of marketing. Marketing is not to sell one or two products; it is the act of creating a long term image of a brand such that consumers begin to associate with it and it becomes closely related with their emotions. Therefore not advertising just because the products just because they will become out of date comes across as an outdated notion.4 In this way the main communication mediums of Zara become its website and its store. The website comes across as visually attractive and stylish. Just like the brand itself. The site is convenient, user friendly but still visually appealing. This makes it aligned with the Zara brand image of trendy fashion wear. Something which is progressive, stylish and in touch with today. Another strategy that Zara follows is that it has stores located near each other. Participants in the focus group pointed out that' there is a Zara at every corner of the street in UK'. Since an average Zara customer visits the store 15-16 times a year as opposed to 4-5 times a year for other stores, the above strategy seems highly relevant. The lack of advertising as mentioned earlier has been hugely compensated for. If a Zara customer wants to find out about the collections and styles for the season, he/she must visit the store. The store therefore serves as the biggest billboard for the brand that could ever be possible. Zara's marketing strategy centers around high levels of uniqueness and broad market scope. It has combined both a cost leadership and high in uniqueness strategy to achieve where it is today. Its communication strategy is also highly regionally focused. This is because the promotion strategy is different for different regions. It is adapted appeal to local taste.3 Store employees are heavily relied on for market information. Customer comments and ideas are recorded by the store employee and sent to the head office where it is decided whether it should be a part of their new collection or not. It is a strategy which is strongly based on market research. Not only are store employees used to provide consumer information to the management, the consumer is analyzed with reference to his behavior before, after and during shopping. This is used in conjunction with other market research data and provides an opportunity to the brand to improve how and in what manner it caters to the consumer.4 FCUK is a popular favourite among the Brit youth. A strong vehicle for communication of the brand is the FCUK logo. The recall and recognition for this brand were the highest among participants in the focus group and of surveys. It is a brand that believes in aggressive advertising. During the 1997, its growth was attributed to its aggressive advertising approach resulting in higher sales and consumer preference. Although the company has had to undergo censorship due to its suggestive advertising and website, the brand has lived on. The advertising, publicity and website was so successful that FCUK launched its accessories, footwear and home furnishings from the same label. The approach further strengthened the FCUK brand. The goal of FCUK is to become a lifestyle brand rather than just a fashion retailer. Therefore it has launched various sub brands such as FCUK home and FCUK spa under the corporate umbrella of FCUK. The most highly recognized ads were those launched in 2001. These were suggestive as well but slightly more subliminal. It was for the first time a non-print campaign which was highly suggestive and therefore banned by the UK censor board. Therefore, it was run in cinemas and cable television. Funk's constant strife with the censor board has positioned it into some sort of a hero. It appeals to the youth because they can see themselves in it. They like a brand that is rebellious and defies the norms.8 Another vehicle that has promoted the brand image of FCUK and taken advantage of a swear word which it sounded like, is its own product t-shirts. FCUK launched t-shirts which had slogans such as 'fcuk this', 'hot as fcuk', 'mile high fcuk', 'Too busy to FCUK', 'Cool as FCUK', 'Where the FCUK is my money', 'FCUK safely' or 'FCUK him fragrance'and were a rage with the youth. The fcuk campaign was followed by the fashion vs. style campaign which focused on girls in the roles of fashion and style fighting. The high profile tvc is also considered controversial and was banned in certain regions. Recently the company launched a perfume with the names 'Fcuk Her' and 'Fcuk Him'. 'The flyer shows a young woman and a young man in bed with a flap marked "Open here to try fcuk her". The pornographic genre has spilled into mainstream advertising aimed at a market segment that proves its cool credentials by adopting an ironic attitude to explicit and even extreme sex.'7 Hence the strategy is still aimed towards creating a cool, defiant image of FCUK which has todate been highly successful because it appeals to the target market. This is how FCUK products have been used to create an image and to establish its positioning. Just like t-shirts are like billboards for a brand especially when they have a relevant message on them, products such as perfumes with a highly embedded message are no less of an advertising effort. Now some young people have turned themselves into walking billboards for this odious multinational company, wearing T-shirts declaring "Fcuk this", "Fcuk me" and "Too busy to fcuk". I'm sure I am not alone in feeling concerned when I see a young woman walking down the street with a T-shirt that reads "f--- me". Why does she want to attract that sort of attention The burning question is why the majority of Australian adults, for whom the FCUK ads are offensive or disturbing, tolerate them. There are perhaps two reasons. No one in a society dominated by the cult of cool wants to be seen to be a fuddy-duddy. This is especially true of baby boomers who, desperate to cling to their youth, attempt to emulate today's teenager. Second, after decades in which the boundaries of good taste have been breached over and over again, most people have simply resigned themselves to the intrusions and the colonisation of public spaces by the brash, tacky and the offensive. Our state and local governments have also been cowed by the cultural and economic momentum of the marketing industry and their squadrons of boosters and lickspittles in the media. In the relentless drive to attract advertisers' dollars into supporting public facilities and events, the guardians of public morals have lost their way, blinded by the glitter of corporate culture. But it is time to call a halt and demand that "community standards" be defined once again by the community instead of the advertising agencies and brand consultants who see public decency as little more than an opportunity to flog us more stuff. Dr Clive Hamilton is executive director of the Australia Institute, a public interest think tank. The brand has focused on avenues that are popular with the youth and has aggressively worked to own those contact points. Since music is a passion point for the youth it has worked on several joint ventures with various music companies. It signed up with Atlantic for internet and in-store exposure for an upcoming British talent. "Our strategy is to provide cutting-edge, High Street fashion to our customers," said Andrea Hyde, French Connection president. "Simultaneously, our company has a long history of partnering with music and the many creative genres of pop culture." French Connection has worked clearly on the ideology that 'sex sells'. They have consistently worked towards campaigns that create an alluring and suggestive aura which often appeals to the youth market. And they have been able to keep the youth happy. Often where parents think that FCUK is not a suitable brand for their children. The children step in saying that they love it!8 A marketing executive at FCUK remarked, 'The FCUK brand is designed to elicit the kind of sniggering defiance teenagers like to practise on their teachers.' As mentioned earlier it gives the youth a felling of being cool and daring when they go against the norms and they love going ahead with things that old fogies consider scandalous. This slice of life appeal has made the brand click. The youth can relate and empathize with the brand. They feel that it is a part of them. The sole purpose of FCUK has been to create something so scandulous and suggestive that kids love it and elders hate it, and then the kids love it more because the elders are hating it.7 FCUK has been successful in exploring different advertising mediums for its promotion. Where it has made great use of the internet to establish an image and persona it has also used mediums such as mobile marketing. A medium which has usually not been well expolited so far. The FCUK Transatlantic Mobile Campaign is an example. It allowed consumers to interact with the brand using text messaging and receive various prizes as reward. 7 Hennes & Mauritz is again a very happening retail fashion store. The company operates on a cost leadership and fashion proposition. The marketing strategy is regional and therefore cost effective. 'Primarily in print, ads feature celebrities like Benicio Del Toro and MTV's Molly Sims emphasizing the company's trendy merchandise.' A regional strategy means that mediums and actions that are most successful in certain countries are used. For example if in UK billboards are most noticeable and popular; H&M will use billboards to communicate its message. 9 Since ads feature prices, we can safely conclude that H&M tries its best to put forward a value proposition for its consumers. Most costly TV spots are used to advertise store openings. Therefore like Zara a lot of the company's advertsiisng revolves around its store. The store environment is such that one can find a lot within the four walls of the store. H&M relies a lot on repitiive shoppers. It therefore strives to make its offering so special and appealing that people would eventually keep coming for more and result in high levels of brand loyalty. Conclusion and Recommendations It can be inferred from the analysis that Zara has an advertising strategy based on cost leadership and differentiation. It does not advertise but instead believes that features such as store layout, location and others can be used as free advertising. It seems that Zara has a very short-term approach to marketing. It believes that marketing is only sales and vice-versa. It has a narrow and short-term approach to marketing. This is dangerous considering the huge influx of brands that are now coming in the picture. Zara must reconsider its marketing strategy in order to develop a strategic approach which can safeguard its future.1 Secondly, in case of FCUK, it's a highly successful brand with strategies that have constantly supported the brand's strategy. Its efforts have been aggressive and high in impact often creating a big bang that is very useful in capturing a market like the youth. However, things which have worked well in the past may not do well now. Sleazy, advertising cannot always sell and there is a need to base the advertising no matter how suggestive it is within a theme. There should be a concept behind everything and that should relate to the brand promise. Therefore FCUK will have to develop its advertising beyond sleazy messages.2 Lastly H&M is a prestigious brand which is also cool. H&M requires constant re-invention and a drastic change in image. Only then will it be able to appeal to the highly fickle and appearance conscious target market, i.e. the youth. Bibliography 1. Baker.J. (2003). The Marketing Book. Elsevier 2. Hines.T and M.Bruce. (2007). Fashion Marketing: Contemporary Issues. Elsevier 3. Dutta.D.(2003). Retail at the Speed of Fashion. Images. [Internet'. Available from website < http://www.3isite.com/articles/ImagesFashion_Zara_Part_II.pdf > [Accessed 26th November 2007] 4. Fraiman.N and Singh.M. (2003). International Conference on Industrial Logistics. Columbia Business School. Available from http://www.fing.edu.uy/inco/eventos/icil05/01-mon/Fraiman.pdf 5. Loughlin.S. (2006). Zara Case Study Part II. Images. Available from [Accessed 26th November 2007] 6. n.a.(2007). FCUK Marketing Research: Qualitative II. [Internet] Available from < http://66.102.9.104/searchq=cache:mrV6yyqX2S0J:www.sfxbrown.com/Lecture_8_(Qualitative_II).ppt+FCUK+marketing+strategy&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=pk>. [Accessed 26th November 2007] 7. n.a.(2001). FCUK. Answers.com. [Internet]. www.answers.com. [Accessed 26th November 2007] 8. n.a.(2007). Fashion Report. Fashion Marketing. http://emygourdet.wordpress.com/ . [Accessed 26th November 2007] 9. n.a. (2007). Zara Case Study. Slideshare [Internet] Available from < www.slideshare.net> [Accessed 26th November 2007] Read More