Marketing Analysis of DKNY - Case Study Example

DKNY Analysis Inserts His/Her Inserts Grade Inserts 19th March, Introduction Fashion is a huge industry that caters to many people and regions since several companies have designed different products to cater for unique needs. The industry depends and thrives mainly on visual displays which assist the companies in selling its goods and services to it consumers. As a result, fashion brands make use of flashy displays and fashion shows to showcase and sell their products. One such company that has made use of this strategy is DKNY in different regions across the globe and this paper is going to analyze visual merchandising techniques deployed by the company in attracting customers. DKNY brand has a huge market presence globally and therefore we are going to narrow down to the strategies deployed in its Bond Street store. DKNY makes use of different strategies compared to its competitors such as Calvin Klein, DKNY and Gucci in selling its products. Retailer Overview DKNY is a brand that was span off in the year 1988, when the founder Donna Karan found the need to come up with a trendy modern wear for young city dwellers. The initial idea was span off as an inspiration drawn from her daughter Gaby, when the designer saw a gap in designing clothes for young people. The company started with the production of women Jeanswear, before is started producing other clothes such as menswear and accessories. DKNY prides itself as a company that makes fashionable clothes that appeal to young people. The company in the early days marketed itself as a fashion brand was specifically made for the modern and hip women since this target market had been neglected by big fashion brands. The company range of new and modern designs endeared many customers to the brand leading to the growth of the designer (Kerfoot, 2009). By the year 1996, the company success has spread to the Asian and European continents and the company sales increased tremendously. The success of the company led to opening of new stores and product lines such as the company invested in a fragrance line with addition of underwear, footwear and baby clothing range. From the year 1996 though to 2000, the company was in an expansion mode that saw the company open stores and launch new product lines in a bid to satisfy its customers demand. The main driver of the DKNY brand in the past and currently was the need for fashionable and trendy designs among the young people. The growth of the brand led to interest from outside investors who were interested in purchasing the company (Ebster, 2011). LVMH bought DKNY for $ 693 million in two separate deals and now DKNY comprises of 11 segments with sales figures above $ 500 million. However, Donna Karan still remains as a designer and voice in the company. Products DKNY started as a company selling women’s clothes in New York with one store and now the company comprises of 11 segments with a variety of products. As the company opened new stores in different sections of the globe, its product line increased. Some of the DKNY segments include Donna Karan Essentials, Donna Karan Signature “Gold Label” and Donna Karan Kids. These segments produce denim jeans, women’s wear, kids clothing, men’s wear, tailored suits, dress wear and formal wear (Khakimdjanova, 2010). The DKNY product range is wide and most of the clothes produced are sold in retail outlets in different locations such as the Bond Street store located in London. DKNY has opened stores in different locations globally and especially in the United Kingdom where it operates stores in major cities such as Manchester, Liverpool and London. For instance, the company operates stores in conjunction with famous stores such as Macy’s, Saks Fifth Ave. and Neiman Marcus (Lea-Greenwood, 2008). These co-operations have assisted the company in making sales and growth in many regions of the world. Most of DKNY’s stores deal with a range of products that are in the women and men’s designer categories such as denims, tops, shoes, sweaters, casual wear and accessories. For instance, the Old Bond Street in London and the 76-80 King Street in Manchester stock these varieties of clothes. Apart from fashionable clothes the DKNY brand sells accessories such as glasses and recently the brand decided to launch products targeting the home such as beddings and home goods (Morgan, 2008). DKNY also stocks and sells items such as fragrances to its clients and the company has partnered and acquired licenses to market some other products to its customers. For instance, the company holds licenses to produce and sell socks, shoes, watches, beauty products and furniture from different producers located in diverse regions globally (Pegler, 2011). Merchandising DKNY has utilized different strategies in the process of marketing itself to potential customers located in different locations globally. DKNY stores can be easily identified in locations and places that they operate from due to their displays. The store interiors of DKNY stores are creatively and lavishly created to entice customers. For instance, the stores have enough room to cater for different goods and each design item or clothes is organised into one section (Pegler, 2009). Most of the items such as clothes are organised into hangers, shelves which have bright lighting to catch the eye of customers from a far distance. The interiors of the stores also have seats that allow customers to catch a breather while they shop (Kerfoot, 2009). In terms of display of accessories, DKNY makes use of crystal clear glass to allow light to go through and showcase their items. This is shown in Figure 1, 2 & 3 in the appendix of the DKNY Bond Street interior. The DKNY store in Bond Street and the one in 76-80 King Street, Manchester make use of a lot of lighting in the display of its products. The lighting in all DKNY stores is usually bright and it must match with the colour of display. This is shown in the Figures 1, 2 and 3 which show a light display of the stores and these lights are important in maintaining visual display at all times including the night (Bhalla, 2010). Apart from lighting and interiors, DKNY makes use of rich colours such as red, blue and yellow with shades of these colours being altered in the stores. These colours are used in the store logos, interiors and the product lines. In the Bond Street store, DKNY has maintained shades of light and dark colours to compliment and showcase products on display. The use of colour is shown by Figure 4 where the store utilized lighting and shades of white and black colours. Brand Identification The DKNY brand is quite well known and synonymous for making use of the company’s initials in identifying the company. This form of signage has stuck a code with consumers from different parts of the world. Moreover, these initials have been adopted outside all major stores that are owned and managed by DKNY. For instance outside the Bond Street store, DKNY has a large white coloured logo that is synonymous with the brand. In addition to this, the store in Manchester has a red flag hanging outside the store which is used in identifying the store (Germaine, 2010). Apart from these two stores, other DKNY stores make use of bold and coloured signs to identify the store. This is seen by figures 5 and 6 in the appendix which display the logo and signs of the store. The manner in which the DKNY logo is displayed clearly makes it recognisable and attracts people to enter the store. The outside appearance is nice with appealing lighting that makes the Bond Street store to have a lavish and luxurious look. This store and its products are visible from the outside and this makes is possible for customers to peek inside and have a feel of the store even before entering the store (Bhalla, 2010). DKNY being a fashion brand makes use of mannequins are actual size and scale of real human models. These mannequins are normally placed at the store front or on windows displays to attract customers to the store. The Mannequins are dressed with DKNY clothes and arrangement of the mannequins catches the eye of consumers making it easy for them to purchase items in the store. Figure 7 in the appendix, shows how mannequins are displayed with clothes inside the DKNY Bond Street store. Summary DKNY is a brand that had withstood the test of time due to is promotion and marketing strategies in the process of selling their products. In terms of visual display and merchandising the company scores highly due to the different and smart ways they have deployed the use of various items. For instance, the company has made use of lighting that attracts the customer and easily eliminates the store when the customer is making a purchase (Varley, 2006). Apart of lighting the eye catching displays inside and outside the store makes a customer yearn to visit or shop inside a DKNY store (Germaine, 2010). Since inception, DKNY has made use of urban and trendy look with use of colours to express the design and look a modern fashion brand. This display strategy has worked effectively and will continue to propel the brand into greater heights. References Bhalla, S. (2010). Visual Merchandising. Sydney: Cengage Learning. Ebster, C. & Garaus, M. (2011). Store Design and Visual Merchandising: Creating Store Space That Attracts Customers. London: Pelshiver. Germaine, F. & Andros, D. (2010). Visual Merchandising in the Retail Industry. New York, NY: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Kerfoot, S., Davies B. & Ward, P. (2009). “Visual merchandising and the creation of discernible retail brands.” International Journal of Retail & Marketing, 13(1), 54-58. Khakimdjanova, L. & Park, J. (2010). “Online visual merchandising practice of apparel e- merchants.” Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 9(1), 42-44. Lea-Greenwood, G. (2008). “Visual merchandising: a neglected area in UK fashion marketing?” International Journal of Retail & Marketing, 15(1), 29-31. Morgan, T. (2008). Visual Merchandising: Window and in-store displays for retail stores. Chicago, IL: John Wiley and Sons. Pegler, M. (2009). Store Presentation & Design: An International Collection of Design. Lowell, MA: John Wiley and Sons. Pegler, M. (2011). Visual Merchandising and Display. San Francisco, CA: Routledge. Varley, R. (2006). Retail Product Management: Buying and Merchandising. New York, NY: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Appendix Figure 1: Interior of DKNY’s Bond Street store Figure 2: Interior of DKNY’s Bond Street store Figure 3: Interior of DKNY’s Bond Street store Figure 4: Colour & Lighting used inside Bond Street store Figure 5: Exterior of DKNY store on Bond Street Figure 6: Showing off DKNY signage and Logo Figure 7: Showing Mannequins inside a DKNY store Read More