Differentiation in the Marketing of Fashion Clothes

Differentiation in the Marketing of Fashion Clothes roll current practices of differentiation in the merchandiseing of fashion apparel musical theme ona) The current situation in the UK and regional trades ( grocery segments, divulge players, gross revenue practices, trends, opportunities and threats)The UK turn market is essentially mature, following changes in the profile of the UK sell market for habilitate during the 1990s. in that respect was a major shift remote from traditional sources of purchasing, much(prenominal) as department stores, vesture independents and variety stores, in favour of discounters, supermarkets and sports outlets. This reflects the casualisation of the UK and the downward pressingure of cheaper, imported harvestings on retail bell levels. Shopping for article of fit out and foot interrupt is progressively moving aside from the traditional high street locations to out-of-town obtain centres, where families whitethorn typically cut do wn a good part of a day browsing and shopping in a wide range of stores, rather than visiting their topical anaesthetic high street to shop in specific outlets.Mainstream womens attire is still strongly populated by private labels from variety stores, much(prenominal) as tag Spencer or Bhs, and clothing specialists, such as attached, River Island and Principles. aid product ranges remain focused primarily on department stores and thither is some degree of trade up to labels such as Alexon, Planet, Viyella or Jaeger by consumers with greater fluid income levels (Global Market Information Database, 2005). Discounters authoritatively beef up their share of consumer purchasing over the last two decades, largely referable to the success of the Matalan and Primark chains. However, there are indications in the last two eld that strong reaping in the position of supermarket groups, largely due to their refinement into fashion wear, is beginning to shift treasure-driven purch asing in their favour away from discounters, though this shift is not yet decisive. Supermarkets are becoming more and more involved in clothing with companies such as Asda, Tesco and J Sainsbury take a shit all launched clothing collections under a brand identity during the prehistoric few historic period. For example, J Sainsbury commissioned fashion designer Jeff Banks to launch a clothing range and Asdas George at Asda range quickly became soundly-established, make supermarkets change magnitudely key players in the market. However, supermarkets still tend to focus on price, rather than fashion, and are thus not yet truly key players on the scale of Marks and Spencer, coterminous and Matalan (Global Market Information Database, 2005).The UK consumer more and more regards an item of clothing or footwear as a disposable item, rather than an investment and this has affected both consumers approaches to purchasing decisions, and the fashion marketers gross revenue practices. Whilst shade remains Copernican, as an item must be snuff it for use, fashion styles play a much greater role in everyday purchasing than previously, so that a piece of clothing may not be expected to last longer than one season. This, in turn, places an emphasis on price levels and the significantly increased availability of take account brands in supermarkets and discounters, which stimulates volume purchasing without contributing to value sales development. in that respect is also a growing emphasis on purchasing clothing for leisure use, which has a direct impact on the sales practices used, and on their styling. The dramatic increase in purchasing of sports clothing and footwear during impudent-made years was largely underwritten by fashion market, rather than by a significantly higher level of participation in active sports.Although a necessary requirement of life, which requires regular replacement for functional reasons, let alone in response to fashion trends, clo thing sales show an increasing trend of been strongly affected by price discounting during saucily-made years (Global Market Information Database, 2005). Increased argument at retail level, especially due to the growing involvement of supermarkets and discounters, is causing deflation on prices in close UK clothing and footwear. This situation has been further exacerbated by the growing globalisation of product supply, with formerly UK production increasingly relocated to low- hail production units in the Far East and easterly Europe.This major shift of production of clothing away from the UK to low-cost production locations, primarily in Asia-Pacific or Eastern Europe, has raised market threats for several UK companies over ethical issues surrounding the report exploitation of cheap labour in these overseas production units. There was extensive media coverage of Marks Spencers decision to abandon its previous schema of sourcing the majority of its products from UK productio n (Global Market Information Database, 2005) To compensate for this shift in production, leading UK manufacturers began to emphasise their extensive expertise in product design, which institutes value to the finished product. This offers an excellent opportunity for companies with the necessary experience to design and market new ranges of products with lower production overheads.b) Your assessment of the marketing strengths and weaknesses of the key players in terms of branding, theme, differentiation and elements of the marketing mix.Marks Spencer has historically had a reputation as a leading retailer in the UKs clothing sector, and this is a position that the company undoubtedly aspires to maintain. The bulk of its turnover is referable to clothing, approximately 50%, and food, with 44%, (Global Market Information Database, 2005). However, as competition in the garment sector intensified in the late 1990s, Marks Spencer strugg conduct to maintain market share. Marks Spenc er has always positioned and scard itself as offer reasonably priced, high quality and well-fitting habiliments, but this marketing strategy trustworthy something of a battering at the end of the 20th century, as designers and commentators equivalent criticised the company for the very aspects of its brand which had traditionally attracted customers to the chain. However, Marks and Spencers marketing mix, primarily its design and quality, has received far more favourable press in recent years, and a renewed focus on casualwear and the pump womenswear ranges, Per Una and Blue Harbour, halt helped the company improve performance and regain market share (Strategic Direction, 2005).Matalans combination of low overheads, due to low cost out-of-town locations and overseas direct product sourcing, has enabled the chain to undercut high street competitors by as much as 50% on its own brands, and by as much as 35% on external branded products. Complementing its low price differentiati on, Matalan also has an astute marketing mix. It operates as a clothing club customers pay a obligatory 1 membership fee for the privilege of shopping at the stores. social rank information also enables Matalan to use direct marketing and to target customers with catalogues and spare clothing lines to meet demand (Rowley and Haynes, 2005) The potential of the discount clothing market remains significant. Marginally larger than its leading competitor, New Look, Matalan looks relatively well placed to make the most of burgeoning opportunities in the discount sector. However, the recent interim in the clothing market does not appear to have been to Matalans advantage. The company should be in a position to benefit from trading down by consumers in the event of economic down-turn, but recent figures suggest that consumers are shopping elsewhere to get the best deals on designer names, and that Matalans bargain image right off counts against it in the increasingly celebrity image-dr iven fashion markets bordering is one the major success stories of the speed end of the UK clothing mid-market. A retailer of fashionable, moderately priced clothing, for trendy men, women and children, Next offers products targeted at the top end of the mass market, and aims to combine individual styling with quality and value for money. Resisting the temptation to be overly trend setting, opting to differentiate itself by offering sensible and stylish clothing, rather than highly fashionable items, Next has maintained strong consumer loyalty. Since the early 1990s, Next has resisted all attempts to increase the quash of clothing brands that it operates, convinced that diversification would ultimately be to the detriment of the Next brand. The success that it has achieved over many years as a offspring of product development, the progressive move to larger stores and the increase in the physique of home shopping customers has convinced both the retailer itself and investors tha t it is right to last out with this marketing mix (Datamonitor, 2005)c) Your marketing recommendations for any organisation absent to fancy the market.In 2009, the United Kingdom habilitate retail industry is expect to have a value of $45.8 billion, an increase of 18.5% since 2004. The compound annual growth rate of the industry in the period 2004-2009 is predicted to be 3.4% (Datamonitor, 2005). This indicates that there entrust be space for new retailers to enter the market for clothing. However, consumer purchasing of clothing and footwear is now moving away from traditional outlets, such as department stores, variety stores and high street specialists, towards grocery supermarkets and discounters. This reflects a ecumenical move to out-of-town shopping, with consumers particularly attracted to the convenience of purchasing all their clothing items at the equivalent time, and in the same store as they on a regular basis buy groceries (Global Market Information Database, 2 005) The brand name of an item of clothing also acts as a strong influence on the corrupt decision, particularly among younger consumers. Peer instancy means that it is critically important to be seen wearing the right brand of sportswear, and sales of childrens wear have been boosted by this fact in recent years. At the same time, parents are typically enjoying a greater degree of disposable income during the redirect examination period, which is increasingly focused on spending on fashion items for their children (Coughlan, 2006).Equally, the downward pricing trend in the UK fashion retail industry has led many retailers to focus upon profitability, rather than sales growth in recent years. Companies are continually trying to cut costs by utilizing measures such as larger retail formats, and by shifting production or changing their suppliers to lower cost regions in Latin America and Asia-Pacific. well-nigh retailers have cut production and entered into niche markets in an att empt to add value to their business and improve margins. The UK retail industry is thus undergoing significant changes traditionally dominated by high street retailers, supermarket chains such as ASDA and Tesco are expanding their clothing lines aggressively and gaining an increasing share of apparel sales. Originally the supermarkets purely focused on price to make their apparel attractive to British consumers and subsequently there was a certain target attached to their garments. However, as time has passed and supermarket labels have become more wide accepted, they are moving their range of clothes more upmarket, placing increased pressure on to traditional apparel retailers.Given this, any organization wanting to enter the UK fashion retail market is likely to have to differentiate itself based on brand, rather than quality or price. As new entrants will almost undoubtedly lack the buying power and stimulate of MS, Next, Matalan or Tesco, they would be better advised to concen trate on build a profitable niche, and the best way to do this is to make themselves a desirable brand. Given the preference for the latest fashions, at reasonable prices, with clothes only intended to last for the season they are purchased, the ability to play off rapidly to changes in the market is also vital for any new entrant. This would differentiate them from the large chains, which often have structured, lean, and slow supply chains. Finally, although the exact to base production facilities abroad, to take advantage of low labour costs, is now widely recognised as being vital to profitability, there have been high levels of negative publicity over potential sweatshop working practices. As such, a significant advantage can accrue to an organisation which differentiates itself on the basis of providing good wages and working conditions to its overseas workers, provided that the price of the clothes can still be kept competitive.ReferencesCoughlan, S. (2006) Spoilt for choic e. BBC News Magazine. Accessed fourteenth June 2006. http//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/5071222.stmDatamonitor (2005) Apparel Retail Industry write United Kingdom.Global Market Information Database (2005) Clothing and Footwear in the United Kingdom. Euromonitor International.Rowley, J. and Haynes, L. (2005) Customer Relationship Management The Matalan Way. Marketing Review Vol. 5, cut down 2, p. 175.Strategic Direction (2005) Will the real Marks Spencers stand up? Searching for that winning brand. Vol. 21, Issue 9, p. 28.