Strategic Management and Marketing for the Luxury Goods Sector Vivienne Westwood - Coursework Example

Strategic Management and Marketing for the Luxury Goods Sector Vivienne Westwood Module MMN521855 Module Teaching Team: Dr Julie McColl Professor David Edgar Dr Ruth Marciniak Student: YI-TZU TSENG Student No. 1224113 Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Part A 4 Introduction 4 Situational Analysis 5 Political factor 7 Economic factor 8 Social factors 9 Technology 9 Vivienne Westwood- Soul & Skin of the Brand 10 Skin & Soul of Vivienne Westwood & Differentiating factor 12 Luxury Brand Experience 12 Part B 14 Marketing Objective 14 Marketing Strategy 15 Action Program & Control Method 17 Conclusion 19 20 Appendices 25 Part A Introduction Every individual everywhere over the earths surface, today, craves for luxury (Kapferer & Bastien, 2009, p. 311) in different forms. It is, however, unclear what the term means given the differences in the definition of human wants and needs. Probably what one considers a need is a want to another. The definition varies from one person to another depending on their levels of economic income and life preferences. All in all, goods purchased by one that one does not dearly need in his or her daily life is what Johnson, Scholes and Whittington (2011) refer to as a luxury good. To hit the fact over the whole matter, the demand for goods such as; nice clothing designs, expensive and beautiful jewellery, luxurious car makes, household equipments, beautiful lawns; good and comfortable lifestyle virtually substantiating Kapferer & Bastien (2009) claim. Luxurious spending envisioned in the different designs of materials people use in their modern lives today. In response to the rising demands for luxury goods across the globe, many companies dealing in such goods have tremendously risen over the past years (Johnson, Scholes and Whittington, 2011). The more developed regions see the largest consumption for luxury goods compared to the less developed regions. Many of these luxury companies, therefore, find it profitable to operate their businesses in economically apt nations such as Europe, USA, and other developed nations of the world. However, due to the fairly risen competition in the provision of various luxury goods and services from different companies across the globe, good and suitable marketing strategies must be put in place in order for these companies to compete competitively in the global realms. Such include both strategic and tactical plans used for designing suitable and relevant marketing strategies for different goods in different markets (McDonald & Wilson, 2011). According to McDonald & Wilson, (2011), strategic marketing requires adequate analysis of the market situations, customer segmentation, and micro and macro environmental audits. Tactical marketing plans, on the other hand, entail the proper implementation of the identified marketing strategies. Based on the need for proper implementation of suitable marketing plans in the luxury industry about the sales of luxury goods, this paper provide an analysis report for The Vivienne Westwood Company a British company dealing in luxury brands across Europe. The report will analyze the business situation and macro environment for Vivienne Westwood in order to create a background for the marketing audit. This report will as well analyze the differentiating factors between Vivienne Westwood Company and other companies in the region operating in the same line of business. Situational Analysis This section analyses various factors affecting the operations of the Vivienne Westwood Company. These include both the exogenic and endogenic factors. Vivienne Westwood Company is a single owned private company operating her businesses in the UK and 15 other countries across the globe (Vivienne Westwood, 2013b). The company has been operating her fashion and design businesses in London, UK since 1971. Since then, the UK market has become her main operational hub. Even though the company has stores in 15 other countries in the world, its vision for further expansion is limited to London with a relatively bigger store in Millan, Italy. The other stores as smaller in sizes compared to the two. Based on these facts, this study analyzes the various aspects surrounding the operations of Vivienne Westwood Company, focusing mainly on the UK market. In line with this aspect, the report analyzes the macro environmental parameters in the UK market which influences the business dimensions of Vivienne Westwood Company. Presently, the company owns a total asset value worth up to £3.5 billion with the growth rate of 19.1% per year (British Fashion Council., 2012). The company’s retail spending on luxury and designer products has been growing over the last decade at a rate of 6% at a time when econometric analysis shows structural decline of UK fashion manufacturing sector (Vivienne Westwood, 2013b; British Fashion Council., 2012). These figures show the prospects of the company amidst the dwindling market stability in the UK making it one of the most preferred shopping destinations among many people in the region. The success of the company in operating her businesses in the region is in line with her mission statement; to empower professionals to make smart decisions in the fashion and luxury industry (Vivienne Westwood, 2013b). Despite this notable performance in the European market as shown above, the company has been facing stiff competition from other designer companies operating their businesses across the region (McDonald & Wilson, 2011). Generally, some of Vivienne Westwoods competitors include Paul Smith, Burberry, Stella McCartney, Mulberry companies among others. The diagram below shows the rising trends in luxury consumption and expenditure in UK over the last decade. It shows the trends in preference for different fashion goods in the region ranging from clothing, to footwear as well as the other products. Vivienne Westwood deals mainly in women and men wears sold in 86 countries across five continents in the world through either Vivienne Westwood stores or other departmental stores. This gives her a wide scope of operation making her fit to compete fairly in the global market compared to her competitors across the globe. Her successful performance has risen mainly from her expansive roots in terms of market scope. Footwear and underwear forms some of the basic commodities Vivienne Westwood Company dwells in amidst others and drawn tremendous attention among her customers. Figure 1: Rise of Luxury Product Consumption in UK Source: British Fashion Council, (2012) It is evident from the diagram that retail luxury clothing and footwear are the primary revenue generating option for designers like Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith, Burberry, Stella McCartney, Mulberry, etc. The structure of the European companies is represented in the diagram, in fig 2 below: However, the operations of these companies, including Vivienne Westwood are highly influenced by a number of factors such as political, economic, social and technological factors. All these affect the various ways in which the Company operates her businesses within and without the European market. Figure 2: Industry Structure Source: British Fashion Council, (2012) In order for us to clearly understand the situations and conditions involved in Vivienne Westwoods operations, in relation to the stated factors, a PEST analysis in the Europe is presented below. Political factor The politics of the region has great influence on the way businesses are conducted in different regions (Scholes & Whittington, 2011). Politics influence businesses at two levels. These are policy levels as well as influencing the perceptions and behavioural characteristics of the consumers towards certain commodities. Government policies on various commodities within her territorial boundaries are of great influence to the business society. The UK government operates under the trade policies directed by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), composed of a large group of nations forming trade partners with one another. This has increased competition for Vivienne Westwood by opening the borders of the UK market to external competitors Johnson, (Scholes & Whittington, 2011). Sustainability of the sales, therefore, becomes very difficult. On the contrary, even though Vivienne Westwood Company has shown limited intentions for creating more stores in other nations, her market sphere has been greatly expanded by opening up the markets in other nations within the NATO league. At the local levels, the UK government has recently cut down her spending on certain sectors including entertainment, fashion and sports by 20% of her annual spending (British Fashion Council, 2012). The move has negatively impacted on the fashion industry as many potential buyers have been locked out by the cuts thus affecting growth in the fashion and designer merchandises manufacturing sector (British Fashion Council, 2012). Vivienne Westwood Company is among those in the fashion and designer sector that is tussling amidst the hard economic cuts in the region. In order to meet her profit margins, the company had resolved to increase the prices of her goods potentially locking out more customers than before (Vivienne Westwood, 2013b). The government has also reduced corporate tax to 23% and such reduction would bound to increase operating margin for fashion retailers like Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith, Burberry and others. Westwood for instance has been able to increase her stocks in UK twofold in the last three years increasing her asset levels within the region (Vivienne Westwood, 2013b). Economic factor The economic factor influences businesses operations at the consumer levels, production levels as well as at the policy levels (Phelps, 2008). The Sovereign Debt crisis affecting the UK government has seen tremendous reductions on the governments spending in various economic sectors. This has increased the cost of living in the region as the citizens have to meet numerous and highly valued expenses on various commodities amidst the global economic crisis. The fashion and designer industry is one of the business sectors that have been less prioritized by lowest and middle income earners as priority is placed on other important commodities. This has greatly reduced growth in the fashion and designer industry over the recent past. For example, the industry’s growth has been dipped by almost 0.2% in past 3 years (Marketline, 2012). However, British Fashion Council (2012) reported that the economic slowdown has increased cost of manufacturing for luxury retailers like Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith, Burberry, etc. but it has had insignificant impact on luxury consumption in UK. This divergence occurs because generally affluent class purchases luxury products and economic slowdown hardly affected their purchasing capacity. However, the middle and the low class people who make the majority of the population have been adequately incapacitated concerning their luxury consumption capabilities. As a result, negative purchase power on luxury goods has hindered business operations in the luxury industry across the region. Social factors The social factors have a wide spectrum of influence on business operations of the region. Social classes are determined by the economic segregations, cultural differences, political and religious affiliations of the people in the regions (Phelps, 2008). The British Fashion Council (2012) reported that more than 80% of retail luxury consumption is done in London, Liverpool and Manchester, which are potentially the richest Cities in UK. In last few years, most customers in UK have developed a tendency of purchasing luxury fashion products mostly during special occasions or carnivals. In some cases, customers even prefer to spend extra money for purchasing bridal apparel and bridal make over (British Fashion Council, 2012). Moreover, most customers in UK associate luxury items with status. Luxury consumption has been higher among the younger generation who still crave for beauty and status compared to the middle and the aged sections of the society (Yeoman, 2011). The younger generation as Yeoman (2011) notes, however, have low purchasing power since most of them have low income levels or depend entirely on their aged parents or relatives who do not bear much correspondence to the luxury and fashion goods. Companies like Vivienne Westwood and Burberry have been compelled reduced the price of their items to tap the younger section of the society and encourage spending. This move has equally cut down the profit margins of such companies making it hard for them to operate their businesses. Technology Technological applications influence the production, market researches and marketing and distribution strategies of various organization of various companies and organizations across the globe. Ambient technological development and use in society has been found to bear positive impacts on business operations by increasing research, manufacturing, increased efficiency in management, eased monitoring and evaluation as well as marketing priorities. Most businesses that excel in the global scene today employ extensive technological applications in their operations. The British Fashion Council (2012) reported that most fashion and luxury retailers in the region are currently going digital in their operations in order to meet more customers. Most have adopted modern technologies like e-commerce, web 2.0, digital marketing, RFID, ERP and others to not only cater for their customers’ demands in responsive manner but also speed up the business processes at various levels. However, only 2% growth rate has been realised in overall growth in the technology sector, in the UK. Lack of adequate technological developments and applications in the region has, therefore, hindered businesss developments by reducing the levels of manufacturing, as well as purchasing capability Yeoman & McMahon-Beattie (2006); Vigneron & Johnson (2004). Lowly developed technologies in the region has as well increased the cost o its use in various sectors relative to the expected returns thus most businesses in UK are today shying away from using technology in their operations. Companies like Vivienne Westwood are up to date not readily to invest a huge amount of resources in technological innovations hugely hampering their operations and return levels. Vivienne Westwood- Soul & Skin of the Brand Vivienne Westwood is an iconic fashion and luxury clothing retailer that specializes in offering a wide array of stylized garments and fashion apparels to customers all over Europe and across the globe. The company’s name is derived from the name of Vivienne Westwood, a renowned fashion designer in Europe as well as the co- founder of the company together with Malcolm McLaren. Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren established the company in 1971 with the first store being opened in 430 Kings Road (Vivienne Westwood, 2013a). Over the last few years, the fashion retailer has expanded her distribution channel by establishing sis other stores across UK as follows; London (4 stores), Leeds (1 store) and Milan (1 store). These were followed by other franchise stores across Manchester, Newcastle, Glasgow and Liverpool (Vivienne Westwood, 2013a). Vivienne Westwood mainly targets woman segment of the society given their high affinity to the changes in fashion trends hence a good population to experimentation with clothing designs, appeal, styles and presentation. Product portfolio of the company includes women’s accessories, women’s clothing, jewellery, watches, bags, fragrances and gift merchandises (Vivienne Westwood, 2013b). Under women’s accessories, Vivienne Westwood capitalizes on the sub product categories of wallets & purses, eye wear, shoes, belts hosiery, etc. The primary target market for the company is women. The choice for women as the main target customers owes to their readiness to spend extra bucks on fashionable and luxury commodities such as those traded on. Recently, the company has begun focusing on men’s luxury requirements since most of them are the major property owners and can spend much on luxury items if their potentiality towards the same is well tapped (Phelps, 2008). For example, Vivienne Westwood currently stocks a wide variety of men’s luxury fashion product portfolios including trousers, knitwear, tops, coats, shirts and suits (Vivienne Westwood, 2013b). The unique selling proposition (USP) for the company is based on factors such as unique designs, appeal of the products, colour combination and brand heritage. Regarding these unique product portfolios, the brands traded on by Vivienne Westwood bear both skin and soul in the right place to create the luxury appeal for hr valued customers. The positive oral heritage association with the brand name can be considered as a skin for Vivienne Westwood’s products. Moreover, the crafting of unique product design and skills used to design the fashion offerings defines the soul for various products sold by the company (Vivienne Westwood, 2013b). Basing our arguments on research works by Aaker (2010) a brand must synergize the soul and skin in order to create the right appeal among target customers. Vivienne Westwood has invested a significant amount of resources in order to establish the aforementioned synergies by building the right skin and soul for her products. Business environment for Vivienne Westwood & the micro and macro environmental audit In this section, the study analyzes the business environment for Vivienne Westwood with the help of micro and macro environmental audit. Slone (2012) points out certain factors that determine customers’ excitement with various product brands. These factors include the uniqueness of the brands, brand quality, and the customers’ preference. Vivienne Westwood products are selected based on three factors, 1- variety in the collection of the fashion apparel, 2- the premium quality material and integration of the supreme level of craftsmanship used in designing luxury items and 3- uniquenesses of offering because there are limited number of franchises who sell Vivienne Westwood collections. Customers, therefore, find it necessary to capitalize on the intangible resources such as time and cognitive sense in order to experience the largest offers from the country. We can, therefore, conclude that the skin or excitement regarding Vivienne Westwood brands is backed by the soul of the brand such as provenance, exclusiveness of the material used for crafting the commodities and the skill set of the designers who design her apparel. A critical analysis of how the rise in soul and skin of Vivienne Westwood’s products has given them a competitive advantage over her competitors is provided in the following sections of the study. Skin & Soul of Vivienne Westwood & Differentiating factor Vivienne Westwood has fully engaged both her skin and soul to attract customers by evoking exciting among them in different ways. This aspect has accorded her a milestone in competing with her competitors in the fashion and luxury industry. According to Reddy et al. (2009) observations, luxury fashion brands need to expand their product portfolio in order to achieve diversification and create a challenge to competitors. Besides, Reddy et al. (2009) argues that luxury brands try to reflect a certain image or culture which is intangible and intrigued in the mind of customers making it uneasy to explicitly query the competitive positioning of luxury brands. As Palomo-Lovinski (2010) states Vivienne Westwood used punk movement in London, England during the 1970s to enter the fashion industry and this has seen forth the establishment of her firm business roots in the UK fashion and designer market. Today, product designing, colour schemes and appeal of Vivienne Westwood products are directed by punk culture. For example, “Rock and SEX” themes are largely used by Vivienne Westwood to design its fashion apparel (Palomo-Lovinski, 2010). Today, Vivienne Westwoods offering has not gained much fame with the older generation but can create craze among youngsters who want to use their fashion apparel to support punk culture (in punk culture, anger is being shown to conservative lifestyle of parents and existing social problem (Palomo-Lovinski, 2010). Vivienne Westwood has used both her skin and souls instantaneously to cover harsh political issues, environmental sustainability issues or social problems and their luxury offering also reflects political, social and environmental concern of the brand. In 2008 for instance, luxury collection of the brand featured drawings about "jungle-dwelling eco-warriors" a theme supporting environmental sustainability in the world (Phelps, 2008). Compared with her competitors, Vivienne Westwood (British Fashion Council, 2012) has not only communicated its souls as expertise, craftsmanship, quality of the products used, etc. in evoking excitement among customers but has also synergized social themes and cultural beliefs to achieve the desired level of differentiation. Luxury Brand Experience Although, the term “luxury” is being widely used in daily life, it is interesting that its definition is pretty blurred among scholars. Hudders, Pandelaere & Vyncke (2012) suggest that an understanding of luxury may differ in accordance with the perception of individuals. It is, therefore, very difficult for Vivienne Westwood to assess the nature of luxury brand experience of her customers based on the goods she supplies. This is because the product offering of the company could be perceived by one as a luxury for one while for another; the same could be a necessity (Wiedmann, Hennigs & Siebels, 2007). In relation to this perception, Silverstein & Fiske (2003, p. 3) defines luxury products and services as “products and services that possess higher levels of quality, taste, and aspiration than other goods in the category but are not so expensive as to be out of reach.” Vivienne Westwood uses both product and service experience to create luxury brand image among customers. Concerning the product experience perspective, Vivienne Westwood offers wallets & purses, eye wear, shoes, belts hosiery, etc. and subdivision of each of this category is also available for customers. Considering the men’s category for instance, Vivienne Westwood offers a wide range of men’s luxury fashion product portfolios including trousers, knitwear, tops, coats, shirts and suits (Vivienne Westwood, 2013b). A wide array of collections and variation in product offering differentiates or better to give a competitive advantage to Vivienne Westwood in relation to her competitors in the market. Riley, Lomax and Blunden (2004); Shukla (2011) states that a service offering can also help brands to establish a sense of luxury. Vivienne Westwood uses service experience to posit luxury brand image among her customers. Just to mention, Vivienne Westwood Ltd capitalizes on online shopping to offer exclusive stockist of items that may help customers to select their preferred items in a customizable fashion. The brand uses hub & spoke supply chain model in order to deliver goods in responsive fashion. The company also follows rigid user information criterion to despatch the order in an accurate manner (Vivienne Westwood, 2013c). Based on the research conducted by Stegemann (2006); Truong, McColl, & Kitchen (2009) on service experience on customers, luxury fashion retailers can use in- store service elements to create luxury experience to their customers. In line with this argument, Vivienne Westwood uses a unique store design, customizable client servicing, and personal care for patron, entertainment facilities in order to create a luxury experience in her customers. Ostensibly, Vivienne Westwood synchronizes product and service experiences altogether in order to achieve competitive advantage over other competitors in the same sector. Part B Marketing Objective According to Maison, Greenwald & Bruin (2001); Nosek (2007), consumer behaviour and psychological aspects of consumers play a vital role in accepting or rejecting a particular brand offered by a given company. Similar arguments hold true for luxury retailers and designers who offer luxury & fashion merchandises to customers. This study has found out that the competitive position of Vivienne Westwood has been weakened due to three factors: 1- absence of proper advertising and marketing strategy to promote the brand, 2- lack of financial and non-financial resources to finance its strategic initiatives and 3- overdependence on punk appeal that limits her penetration into a certain section of the society. In connection to these, this paper will try to formulate strategic marketing plan for Vivienne Westwood that can be used to revive her brand image and help her increase her sales across the domain. Magnoni & Roux (2008) suggests that it is often very difficult for companies to extend luxury appeal for their brands due to the abstract aspect of their customer’s perception towards these brands. However, this study will use SMART objectives in order to establish measurement parameters for suggesting marketing objectives for establishing marketing objectives. This step will help the researcher to get rid of the abstract nature of the customers experience on various brands sold by companies. Over the last 40 years, Vivienne Westwood has not expanded her ventures in the international realms. In accordance with business policy of the company, this study has set up UK specific marketing objective suitable for the UK market. The key marketing objective for Vivienne Westwood Company after a clear analysis of the various factors affecting her operations from within and without was stated as: To increase the overall market share in major regions of UK Table 1: SMART Marketing Objectives Specific To attain 5% to 10% market share in luxury fashion retailing in UK. Measurable Sales revenue increase and customer base increase will be used to measure the rise of market share in a span of two years. Achievable The objective can be reached by deploying existing resources and strategic marketing planning in line with the analyses of the micro and macro environment of operation. Realistic Vivienne Westwood has already established presence in UK hence it will be achievable for them to increase market share by implementing proper market strategy in relevance to careful market environment analyses. Time Bound The states objectives will take two years to be fully achieved. Marketing Strategy As part of the strategic aspects, Vivienne Westwood should identify the target market for her products on the basis of demographics characteristics, income levels and educational levels of her customers (Berkowitz, 2011; McDonald and Wilson, 2011). The table below shows the target customer segmentation for Vivienne Westwood and the strategized methods designed to reach them. Table 2: Customer Segmentation Gender Age Group Annual Income Level Psychology Students and young working professionals (Male & Female) 18-25 > £28, 000 Purchase decision will be influenced by TV advertisements and on social networking sites such as Facebook, twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn by featuring a deep urge to increase social status among peer groups by possessing luxury items (Phelps, 2008). Bachelors, couples, family members 26-35 £28, 000- £63, 000, or beyond £63, 000 They understand the legacy associated with the offered luxury brand and they perceive luxury merchandises as part of lifestyle products. Source: British Fashion Council, (2012) Penz & Sto¨ ttinger (2008); Nia & Zaichkowsky (2000) stresses on the fact that, in case of marketing strategy for luxury products, companies should focus much on the products, place (distribution channel) and promotion attributes in contrast to other Ps such as price. Fionda & Moore (2009) also note that luxury companies cannot create successful marketing strategies without having a diversified and trendy product portfolio. For Vivienne Westwood, the company should use the above segmentation table in order to decide its marketing strategy. Based on the f research works of Johnson, Scholes & Whittington (2011) implementing a proper marketing strategies described below will help Vivienne Westwood achieve market advantage for her products over her competitors. Product- Focusing on the diversification of her product portfolio by putting equal importance on the latest fashion trends along with punk culture or social issues will help in attracting more customers. Besides, by targeting the adult male customer segment while at the same time expanding the depth of her gift items portfolio, the company shall tremendously increase her profit margins since the male population is a key asset owners in the region yet currently the least targeted. Price- maintaining a premium pricing policy for designer items while maintaining the quality, and trendy designs of the products will make the company the most preferred atop her competitors. Besides, seasonal discounting on certain key products on the basis of their inventory cost, and length of sales cycle will as well be of beneficial impacts to the company. This strategy seeks to bring on board lost customers and those financially incapacitated. For online product selling, the company can go for dynamic pricing model (changing the price of the product as per economic outcomes and financial volatility) (Yeoman & McMahon-Beattie (2006); Vigneron & Johnson, 2004). This will keep all customers updated with the current marketing prices at her stores hence proper planning for the purchase. More customers will, therefore, be encouraged to purchase. Place- the company should increase store numbers across most UK provinces other than focusing majorly on London, Liverpool, Manchester. In the next two years, they will be required to double the franchise store numbers as well as entering the high end retail market through private label brand placement. This strategy is aimed at expanding the customer base in the region with a bid to increase product purchase. Promotion- the use of celebrities’ endorsement on various products will help Vivienne Westwood in reaching more customers popular with such celebrities. Celebrity endorsement can be used by featuring them on the television commercial at the interludes of popular programs in the region, on print advertisement popular with the target customers as well as featured on billboards placements along strategic highways and places. In store electronic displays can also be used to attract customers besides employing other sales promotion techniques such as seasonal discounting for slow moving fashion and luxury items. This will dispose of off the slow moving items hence increase product cycle rates. The company can also use digital marketing to promote their offerings in social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and to go, or the form of web advertisement. This strategy focuses mainly on the younger generation who are the most common customer segment on social networking sites and are as well the most targeted customers. Action Program & Control Method Table 3: Action Program & Control Method Action Characteristics Time period Control Promotion Hire local celebrities e.g. musicians, soccer teams etc. to endorse the product. At least 6 different TV commercials should be launched. More than 15 print advertisements should be launched in next two years while 20 billboard promotions will be needed in next two years. Seasonal discounts can be offered during Christmas season while social media campaign should be launched throughout next two years. January 2014 to December 2016 Media calendar and advertisement budget should be prepared in order to control cost of promotion. Seasonal forecasting model can be used as control measures. On the other hand, advertising to revenue ratio or A/R ration will be used to realize the effectiveness of advertisement and on the basis of effectiveness, control measures can be taken to eradicate redundant advertising activities. Place Open one new store in London, 2 new private label stores in Birmingham, Leeds, and Nottingham. Open at least 10 franchised stores across different regions of UK. Even, the company should increase the product diversity and product portfolio online stores in order to cater for the demand of larger customer base. January 2014 to December 2016 Vivienne Westwood should only provide licenses to franchisee stores but control culture, product portfolio, merchandises, training of personnel. Performance indicators will be set for each store as part of benchmarking process. Conclusion Major shifts have occurred in the luxury sector over the recent past as Hudders, Pandelaere and Vyncke (2012) points out. This has been influenced by the changing lifestyles among various people in the society constituting the customer base. The rise in competition between various fashion and designer companies operating their businesses around the globe has seen the occurrence of these major changes. Intensive competition has led to the demand for business adaptation in terms of marketing and satisfying the consumer needs. Due to the rise in the number of companies providing luxury goods coupled with the recent rise in industrialization and globalization trends in the global market, the luxury industry has undergone a complete metamorphosis making customers the most volatile yet valuable factor in the industry. A wide array of customer categories has to be sort for and brought on board. Even in doing this, customers maintenance is still a matter of prime concern to the fashion industries. As a result, many companies are now remaking their companies to accommodate all classes in a society other than focusing on the middle and high level income earners alone. The recent rise in the global population has seen an equivalent expansion in the global market posting a good ground for business exploitation. Proper marketing strategies, therefore, have to be put in place by various companies in order to tap much more income from the rapidly expanding global population. Vivienne Westwood, a fashion and designer company operating her businesses majorly in Europe has as well been trapped in this quagmire of uncertainty and increased competition for the global market. The company, therefore, has as her prime requirement, the need to establish proper foundations for business operations by designing a suitable marketing strategy that will enable her compete competitively for the global market. This will require the adoption of various marketing techniques as well as focusing much attention on customer satisfaction in order to maintain them. Intensive marketing designs and plans have to be put in place by the company in order to come up with an all encompassing strategy that caters for the needs of all people in the society. References Aaker, D. A., 2010. Strategic market management. 9th ed. New York: Wiley. Berkowitz, E. N., 2011. Essentials of health care marketing. 3rd ed. Burlington, Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Learning. British Fashion Council., 2012. The Value of the UK Fashion Industry. [pdf] British Fashion Council. 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Academy of Marketing Science Review, 7(1), pp. 1-21. Yeoman, I. and McMahon-Beattie, U., 2006. Luxury markets and premium pricing. Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, 4(4), pp. 319-329. Yeoman, I., 2011. The changing behaviours of luxury consumption. Journal of Revenue & Pricing Management, 10(1), pp. 47-50. Appendices Vivienne Westwood’s Media Calendar-2014 Read More