Calvin Klein in the UK Womens fragrances market - Essay Example

?Calvin Klein in the UK Women’s Fragrances Market Calvin Klein is a quite visible brand in the UK women’s fragrances market. Though the market niche Calvin Klein works in is quite competitive, the company manages to remain successful and profitable. The reasons of such success may lie behind successful branding and marketing strategies of Calvin Klein. However, that might not be the case. So, in order to determine what role branding plays in Calvin Klein’s achieving success the given paper will analyze the major principles of branding applying them to Calvin Klein. The UK market of women’s fragrances, as well the influence of own brands on Calvin Klein will be analyzed for this purpose too. A brand is what can make a business more successful. The major goal of branding is to deliver the essence of a business to customers, to make them associate something with the product that stands behind the brand. In addition, effective branding creates increased product awareness, so that potential buyers of a product know exactly what the benefits of the product are. Such brand attributes as a logo or a slogan, among others, gets associated with the product itself. Similarly, a branding strategy may involve people’s associating certain emotions, thoughts, states, images or experiences with the brand and the product. The goals of branding include delivering the message about the product, as well as values that stand behind it, to the customers, building consumer loyalty toward the product, motivating potential consumers for buying the product, highlighting the advantages of the product, and even creating an emotional connection between people and the product. That is exactly what’s taking place in the UK market of women’s fragrances. Since it is a rather competitive market, the importance of branding cannot be underestimated. The competition is fierce, so companies must be doing their best for maintaining their visibility and success in the market. The average annual growth rate of the UK women’s fragrances market was 5% in 2007, and 62% of the market are occupied by five large companies, according to UK Market Intelligence Report (2007). So, though Calvin Klein is known worldwide, the competition in the UK is great. Women’s fragrances of such famous brands as Christian Dior, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Emporio Armani, Chanel, and Tommy Hilfiger are being sold along with Calvin Klein perfumes. Furthermore, in addition to competing with globally known labels, Calvin Klein has to compete with own label brands. European Cosmetic Markets (2005) reports that, though famous brands are preferred by UK women and make 92% of the proposition, the share of private label perfumes is growing. In 2005, for instance, it made 8% and experienced a 8.2% growth. Though in many markets own brands are represented by cheap alternatives to well established brands, the situation in the women’s fragrance market of the UK is different. According to UK Market Intelligence Report (2007), niche luxury brands that bring clients value, individuality, and a feeling of rarity and authenticity, such as Calvin Klein, are more popular among buyers and are one of the market drivers. Therefore, own labels that compete with such brands are, these days, not simply cheap analogs, but, on the contrary, similarly positioned and well advertised labels. As such, own labels of the women’s fragrance market are nearly as strong as globally known brands. Furthermore, in addition to creating competition, own brands are a threat to Calvin Klein. As Tutor2u.net reports, sales of own brands are continuously growing in the UK. This may lead to supermarket’s giving preference to their own brands, thus reducing the number of other brands on their shelves. Though it is rather difficult for own labels to compete in the market of luxurious fragrance due to a high number of established labels, own brands might still be a problem for Calvin Klein. Amplifying, according to Kotler et al. (2009) is one of the strategies Calvin Klein uses for marketing its products. It means the company is trying to make people talk about their product to create a resonance in the society and, in such a way, increase brand awareness. However, not all of their efforts have been successful. A mix of sexuality and masculinity that Calvin Klein introduced when marketing one of their perfumes, caused much controversy and criticism that claimed the company was selling sex. Well, though from the first sight the campaign might look to have been unsuccessful, in reality the company got what it wanted – their product was talked about. Still, the image of a brand is not perfect. Media Awareness Network (2010) reports that a relatively large segment of general public believes Calvin Klein to use pornography in their advertising campaigns. This assumption, though makes the company talked about and, thus, raises brand awareness, does not add to the image of the brand. The lines of Calvin Klein women’s fragrances are now managed by Coty, Inc, a New York based cosmetics company, which is also the owner of such strong brands as Pierre Cardin, Adidas, Chloe and Davidoff (Coty.com). Therefore, the company might think of using less controversial images when advertising Calvin Klein. Another problem is that Calvin Klein, being a relatively old label, may be perceived by some potential customers as old-fashioned or out of date. It is especially true in regards to younger generation that is always eager to explore something new. At the same time, the general overview of Calvin Klein’s marketing mix creates a rather positive impression. The brand name is famous; the products look great and have appealing packaging. In addition, some competitive advantage is added by the brand’s reputation. The pricing strategy, which is premium pricing, is aligned with the branding and marketing strategy. Being an old and established brand, Calvin Klein has sound distribution channels – their fragrances are sold in many places, which include both real and internet shops. As for promotion, as it was already mentioned, the advertising campaigns of the brand may seem to somewhat diminish the value of the product. Nevertheless, the brand in general can be said to be successful – it has a distinct and original identity that appeals to certain values of potential clients, the message is clearly and consistently communicated to the public, as well as develops and changes (introduces new products) with time. However, Calvin Klein line of women’s fragrances should, first of all, work on improving its image. The cases with pornography do not add to the positive image. So it might make sense for the brand to change its advertising strategy – make the images less controversial and continuously support the more restrained image. It would help the label because delivering a positive presentation of the brand will not only make people associate Calvin Klein with something positive, but also build customer loyalty and respect. In addition, it might be useful for Calvin Klein to create a fragrance collection – fragrance collections have become a trend of the recent years (The Premium Market Report 2010/11). Such a step will bring newness to the ‘old’ brand, as well as raise interest to the company and increase its visibility in stores. Reinvigorating – that is maintaining communicating the brand fresh – is another essential part of the branding strategy Calvin Klein should follow. Though consistency is, of course, important, new, different and fresh statements will add more life into the brand’s nature. References Coty.com (2011) Brands. Web. Accessed March 31, 2011. Kotler, P., Keller, K., Brady, M., Goodman, M. and Hansen, T. (2009). Marketing management. Pearson Education. Media Awareness Network (2010). “Calvin Klein: A Case Study.” Web. Accessed March 31, 2011. The Premium Market Report 2010/11. “Key Fragrance Findings from The Premium Market Report 2010/11.” I M Associates. Web. Accessed March 31, 2011. Tutor2u.net. “case study - supermarket own-label brands.” Web. Accessed March 31, 2011. Read More