Marketing Plan of the Levis Company - Case Study Example

Fashion Retail Research – Levi’s [Type Here] Here] Here] [Type Here] Table of Contents Table of Contents 1 Bibliography 6 Brand Profile Levi is world famous denim jeans brand, owned by Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&CO) founded in 1853. It is a privately held company formed by Levi Strauss and now by his family. Levi’s jeans was started to produce in 1873 and is called the original and authentic jeans (www.levistrauss.com). It has a wide range of products which caters to different sort of people. It caters to men, women and children worldwide. Indirect competitor is even companies like Armani, and direct competitors are companies like The Gap. SWOT Analysis Levi is a very strong brand. Strength of the brand Levi is that it has a very strong brand image. It is recognized in the whole world, it is considered the original and authentic jeans (Roger A. Kerin, 2003). It has thousands of designs. Its stitching style is recognized as unique and customers often check that they are getting the original thing by looking at this. It has made itself available to customers in 180 countries all over the world. Another strength of Levi’s is that it has a great distribution channels. It retails in different outlets as well as company owned outlets, departmental stores, mass retail stores, chain stores, franchises, and specialty retailers also. Its brand portfolio is establishes and The weakness of the brand is this it depends on a lower number of customers like JC Penny, for a greater percentage of its sales, which increases the bargaining power if the customers. The company has to maintain good relations with these customers as losing one customer may affect the sales greatly. Another weakness shown by the company is that its mainly focuses on men and has lesser focus on women and children. The opportunities that Levi’s has it are that it can use reinventing strategy to reinvent its various famous brands to move with the moving changing needs of customers. Online business in also a good opportunity for Levis, sites of Levi’s can be used for booking products and it can be used effectively to generate more and more business. Low consumer confidence is a threats face by the company. This has happened due to week labor markets and increased borrowing standards. Recession is may also affect sales. Customers do not have enough disposable income to feel that they will be able to buy this product. Another weakness is that competition has increased in the market and is increasing day by day. Direct and in direct competition is increasing day by day, by companies like gap, Nike, Adidas and other labels. This can result in decreasing market share and customer base. The company out sources almost all manufacturing activities, this makes the company most vulnerable, with respect to dependencies, delivering time and quality control. Customer Profile People who want fashionable jeans with great comfort level want a pair of Levi’s. Their attitude is rough and tough (John, 2003). People who face rough work conditions invest in a good pair of Levi’s. People who idolize cowboys also love wearing this jean. At first working people bought it mainly but today it appeals to young people in college all the same. People who want a great fit in jeans love Levi’s. People who wear Levi are generally self confident and it makes them feel strong and ready for action all the time. They have an informal life style and prefer comfort as an essential of their life. People of all occupations and income level buy Levi’s, some buy one good pair and others buy many, from actors and actresses to laborers, everybody is seem wearing Levi’s. Brand Personality Levi’s is the most popular jeans in the world. Its personality is enriched by many factors; it has a strong and casual personality. Personality symbolizes a brand (Kapferer, 2004). Levi’s is advertised as a brand having various personality elements. It is an empathetic and friendly brand. Its advertisements communicate to people that it is a romantic, sexy, powerful, rebellious, resourceful, admirable and independent brand. If Levi’s was to be a car it would be Ford, if it was a person it will be a cowboy, if it was animal it would be a horse, Product Development Levi’s wants to move along with the changing needs of the customers, they innovate in their regular jeans keeping in mind the things customers love and create products that are according to the needs of core customers (McGrath, 2004). The below two are two innovations in the regular jean concept. Low Skinny Flood Jeans in Shock Blue Color – Levi’s knows that it has concentrated more on men than women, so to penetrate deeper in the female market Levi’s made this jean in an unusual color. Jeans are typically blue, black and the traditional dark colors. Women like to wear bright colors. So Levi’s presented this jean in shock blue color that satisfied the needs of wearing color in its female customers. Surf Graphical Tee – The people at Levi’s know that men like to wear Levi’s to be comfortable, not only in the work life but at leisure time. Levi’s made this T-Shirt to add an element of fun to its portfolio. This shirt is designed to make men comfortable in their trip to the beach. It is a jersey printed by an inspiration from the beach. The material is a very soft cotton jersey. It has loose fit and short sleeves to make it adaptable to the beech. Marketing Communication Promotional Plan Communication is a very necessary tool for the marketing of a company. Internal and external communications are very necessary (Govoni, 2003). Value of Levi’s is communicated to customers through its marketing communication promotional plan. Coordinated effort has to be made, to direct a communication plan that is effective. These messages have to be clear and targeted so that they are received by the customers as they were intended. Brand communication should always create brand recognition. The marketing mix should also be considered. Price, distribution, advertising and promotion is all very necessary. The marketing communication promotional plan identifies the target audience i.e. the people that buy Levi’s (Pinson, 2008). It established objectives to create brand concept, awareness, to tell people what is being offered, telling them the benefits and the features of the products, communicating price and how the product can be acquired. It defines what tools are to be used. Levi’s uses advertising to give message to a larger audience through radio, TV, magazine, newspaper, internet and billboards. Levi’s has also used SMS as a promotional tool to launch some of its product. This is a very important tool always to be used by the company. Sales promotion through coupons, demonstrations and displays are done by Levi’s. Coupons can be published in newspapers; demonstration and displays can be done in malls and outlets. Events that match the personality of Levi’s and are thought to be attended by target customers should be sponsored to make the presence of Levi felt at social events. This will also create customer goodwill. Mails and catalogues can also be used to communicate to the customer. Bibliography About Levi’s retrieved from www.levistrauss.com on 16 May 2009 Govoni, N. A. (2003). Dictionary of marketing communications. SAGE. John, J. (2003). Fundamentals of customer-focused management: competing through service. Greenwood Publishing Group. Kapferer, J.-N. (2004). The new strategic brand management: creating and sustaining brand equity long term. Kogan Page Publishers. McGrath, M. E. (2004). Next generation product development: how to increase productivity, cut costs, and reduce cycle times. McGraw-Hill Professional. Pinson, L. (2008). Anatomy of a business plan: the step-by-step guide to building your business and securing your companys future. Aka Associates. Roger A. Kerin, S. W. (2003). Marketing: The Core. McGraw Hill Professional. Appendix Figure 1- Jean in Shock Blue Color Figure 2- Surf Graphical Tee Read More