Essay: Fashion Retail Industry In New Zealand - Excelsior Clothing Case Study

Describe the types of consumers that buy from the industry. Draw upon the demographic, socioeconomic, and/or lifestyle measures where possible in describing consumers.

·What do different segments of the market look for in terms of customer value propositions (benefits vs. costs)? What are the characteristics of customers seeking different or unique value propositions? (You are describing characteristics of buyers – make sure you show that you know different types of customers).

What criteria do consumers use in choosing one brand over another?

·Are some customer segments larger (e.g., in size and/or frequency of buying habits) than others?

·What is the typical buying process of most customers?

·If wholesalers and/or retailers are typically involved in marketing of your product, what are their needs and characteristics? How they decide on which products or brands to carry or distribute? What their buying process looks like?

·How many different types of wholesalers or retailers carry this type of product?

·Knowing current and potential competitors helps you design a marketing offer that will provide a better value to the right customer(s).

·Identify your (expected) major competitors (i.e., substitutes for customers not buying from you). Who they are, where are they?

What approaches do they use in marketing/ (e.g., how they promote, price, etc. etc.)?

What do you know or assume about the types of customers they attract?

What do you perceive as their relative strengths and weaknesses in light of what your product idea?

Types of consumers that buy from the industry

According to Johnson et al. (2015), the organizations in an industry are able to develop different strategies with the help of proper analysis of the external environment. The internal factors can affect the decision making process of modern organizations. The analysis of organizational environment is considered to be a major part of the decisions and strategies that are developed by organizations. The strategies need to be formed in such a manner that is able to support the strategic implementations. The analysis that will be made in the report will be mainly related to a case study of the clothing organization Excelsior Clothing which originated in Auckland. The company has started its operations by selling different products to the general customers through the website.

The various products which are provided by the company are, blouses, tops, trousers, jumpers and skirts. The product lines of the company are based on different retail products and exclusive products as well. The organizational division that will be analysed in the report is “Great Walking” (Kasemsap, 2016). The marketing plan will be formed with respect to the case study of Excelsior Clothing which can offer a detailed the outer and inner environment study of the organization. The customers and competitors of the company will be discussed in the report. The development of competitive advantage of the organization based on its operations in the industry based on fashion retail is a major part of the report.

The Clothing Retailing based industry of New Zealand has depicted some major barriers that are related to the entry of new organizations. The major levels of costs that are confronted by the organizations based on their entry in the fashion industry of the country include, rents, wages and the purchases. New Zealand provides a retail environment that provides a welcoming environment for the smaller organizations as compared to the larger ones. The demands of consumers in the industry are premium or lavish in nature and the expensive products are considered to be more favourable. Levels of competition in the industry are quite high and the range of the products are mainly available based on style, quality and price (Kelsey, 2015).

The fashion retail based industry of the country is based on department stores and the online-only retailers as well. Different products that are offered in the fashion industry include, women’s clothing, men’s clothing, clothing based accessories and infant’s and children’s clothing (Li et al., 2016). The Clothing based industry of New Zealand has shown immense levels of growth in the last few years. The firms have been struggling with increasing competition related to the prices of products and the demands of consumers as well. A major shift has also been seen in the consumer behaviour based patterns. The sentiment of consumers has been used by the retail organizations in order to operate profitably in the industry. The growth rate that has been shown by the industry is 0.2% from 2014 to the year 2019 (Ibisworld.com.au., 2019).

Customer value propositions

According to McNeill and McKay, (2016), political factors have a major impact on increasing the levels of insecurity in fashion based industry. The different geopolitical events have been able to rock the fashion based industry in a huge manner. The government of New Zealand is stable in nature and the regulations and order based situation has been managed in an efficient manner. Political changes take place in the country every three years and new regulations and rules are developed by the government. The lending based rates in the country are great and more taxes have to be paid. Trade and business related freedom is provided to different organizations that operate in the country. Economic factors -  According to McNeill and Moore, (2015), New Zealand has developed excellent economic situation that has a main impact on the per capita based income. The rates of products in the country are economical and consumers are able to afford the products that are offered by different organizations. The rates of inflation and unemployment in the country are quite low. The profits and sales of different fashion organizations are affected in a negative manner by the economic fluctuations that take place in the country.

As discussed by McQuillan et al. (2018), the technological factors based growths have a major impact on the operations of fashion organizations. Internet, IT and globalization have a major impact on the fashion based organizations in New Zealand. Online shopping is considered to be a major choice of the millennial generation of the country. Customer services and supply chain related activities have an impact on the profits of fashion industry. Regulatory or legal aspects – According to Moorhouse and Moorhouse, (2018), the companies in fashion industry of New Zealand have to face some major legal challenges as well. Compliance and ethics are considered to be a significant focus of the organizations that operate in the fashion retail industry. The retail organizations have to follow the regulations and laws that are related to international trade operations in different countries. The New Zealand government has aimed at reducing the corruption levels in the society in order to develop an environment where international organizations can operate in a profitable manner.

Social and cultural factors -  As discussed by Murray, (2017), New Zealand has a wonderful social system and is also dependent on the other countries for business. The demands in economic structure of the country are quite consistent in nature and different industries in New Zealand are affected by levels of demand. The fashion retail based industry of New Zealand is affected in a huge manner by the robust system of banking. The choices related to fashion that are made by the people in the country are affected by the social and economic policies that have been developed. Environmental factors – According to (Parker, 2017), the environmental system of New Zealand is unique and high levels of literacy have a positive impact on the knowledge that people have based on changes in the environment. The fashion retail industry and the manufacturing process of the organizations are influenced by the ecological concerns that have taken place in the last few years. Reduction of pollution levels have been the most important aim of the organizations that operate in the fashion industry of New Zealand.

Criterion for choosing one brand over another

The products that are formed by Excelsior Clothing are based on the demands and needs of different types of consumers including the upper income level and middle income level. The expensive and exclusive lines of products are offered to consumers with the help of different big city type shops and the provincial shops as well. The customers of Excelsior Clothing are both men and women. The apparel based section of the company mainly offers various types of products like, trousers, jumpers, blouses, tops, skirts and jackets. The product lines are sold under the name of a different brand that is name as “Smart Apparel” (Payne, 2016).

The online platform of the company is able to cater to the needs of diverse types of customers who belong to the younger age group. The value propositions that are offered by the goods of Excelsior Clothing are based on the premium pricing based techniques that have been used by the company. The costs of manufacture of the products are quite high and the customers need to offer high prices in order to obtain the products. The updated fashion related requirements of the organization are considered to be an important factor that can affect the value propositions (Perkins et al., 2019).

The criteria that is implemented by the consumers in order to select a particular brand in comparison to the others is based on different stages that are a part of the decision making of consumers. The process of consumer decision making is totally based on the different stages that are able to help them choose between the products that are offered by different brands (Sardar & Lee, 2015).

According to Scuotto et al. (2017), the high value based stores are mostly used for buying of different products by consumers in the fashion retail based industry of New Zealand. The consumers in the industry are affected in a huge manner by the services that are provided to them in different high class based stores. The retail customers form the most important part of the consumer base of the organization in the industry. Excelsior Clothing thereby aims at developing the online operations in such a manner that does not compromise with the services which are offered to the consumers in retail stores.

The products of Excelsior Clothing that are considered for analysis based on the case study is the “Great Walking” range. The range is mainly based on the development of products that can provide competition to major organizations like, MacPac, Bivouac and Kathmandu that offer travel related clothing and adventure based products. The organizations will be able to provide tough rivalry to Excelsior Clothing based on the products that the wishes to offer in the retail industry. The current competitors of the organization will be able to affect the value propositions that are developed for the consumers (Yeoman & McMahon-Beattie, 2018).

Major competitors

The travel and adventure related products which are provided by the organization in the fashion retail industry are based on the ways by which Excelsior Clothing can develop a separate customer base. The major competitors of the organization are able to affect the profitability levels and revenues that can be gained in the industry of fashion retail. The organizations like, Kathmandu Fashion and
Bivouac have already develop a huge and loyal customer base in the market with the help of their products and marketing based efforts. This has been able to play a key role in increasing the competition levels in the retail industry (Zahraie et al., 2016).

Kathmandu Fashion has undertaken major marketing based efforts in order to survive in the competitive fashion based industry for a longer period of time. Kathmandu Fashion has also aimed at increasing the online operations in the fashion based industry. The online and different digital platforms are also used by the organization in order to promote the products that are offered by Kathmandu Fashion. The online and digital channels have been able to influence the promotional activities that have been implemented by the organization. The social media based strategy that has been developed by Kathmandu Fashion has been able to affect and increase the revenue levels of the organization in the industry (Zahraie et al., 2016).

 The communication levels of consumers with the organization have been developed effectively with the help of social media pages of Kathmandu Retail Fashion. The major strengths related to sports and adventure based products that are being offered by Excelsior Clothing are based on uniqueness and ways by which demands of the consumers can be fulfilled. The products are quite different from those which are already being offered by Excelsior Clothing in the industry. On the other hand, the levels of competition that can be faced by the organization from the other major companies that already offer similar products are also huge (Scuotto et al., 2017).

The major point of difference that is based on the products provided by Excelsior Clothing is based on the usage of alpaca and merino fibre that is considered to be suitable on a technical basis for the development of alpine adventure clothing. The brand name that has been provided to the new products which are being planned by Excelsior Clothing is also quite different. The products will be able to fulfil different types of needs and demands of consumers based on the adventure and sports based requirements (Perkins et al., 2019).

Impact of political, economic, technological, legal, and environmental factors

Excelsior Clothing has been operating in a profitable manner in the industry of fashion retail Auckland for the last few years. The financial position of the business is quite strong and has been able to affect the investments that have been made in different operations of the company. The financial base of the company is thereby able to provide major levels of growth based opportunities to Excelsior Clothing in the fashion retail industry of Auckland. The major chances and pressures that have been provided to Excelsior Clothing are as follows,

Opportunities – (1) The investments that are done by the organization on promotion and marketing based activities are able to play a major role in the ways by which the organization can reach the customers within fewer amounts of time. The financial stability of Excelsior Clothing can be helpful in the investments that can be made by the organization in effective promotions (Kelsey, 2015). (2) Expansion of the retail based channels and distribution based activities is also considered to be a major opportunity that can be implemented by the company in order to enhance the customer base. The growth of customers in the fashion industry is considered to be a huge chance of improvement that has been provided to Excelsior Clothing (Sardar & Lee, 2015). (3) Improvement of the experiences which are offered to the consumers. The organization is aiming at developing its online operations in the fashion retail industry. However, the retail customer base that has already been developed by the organization can be used in order to increase the levels of revenues and profitability in the fashion industry. Excelsior Clothing will be able to strengthen its position in the industry by improvement of its services that are offered to consumers (Sardar & Lee, 2015).

Threats – (1) As discussed by Kelsey, (2015), the regulations which have been developed in the fashion industry can influence the operations of the organization in a huge manner. Excelsior Clothing will need to develop the operations and products in such a manner so that it can comply with the regulatory requirements effectively. (2) The costs related to raw materials have started growing in the last few years. This change can have an impact on the prices of products that are offered by the organization to consumers. The organization is planning to develop the production facilities in diverse countries like, Malaysia and China. However, the regulations which are implemented in the countries need to be considered by the organization (Johnson et al., 2015).  (3) According to Johnson et al. (2015), The levels of competitive threats have started growing in the fashion based industry. Excelsior Clothing is also facing major threats from the major organizations like, Kathmandu Fashions. The loyal customer base of Kathmandu Fashion is considered to be a major threat to the operations of the organization. The products which are offered by Kathmandu Fashion have also developed their own position in the industry (Parker, 2017).

Strengths – (1) The development of online processes of the company is another major factor that is able to affect the place of Excelsior Clothing. The organization has also aimed at increasing its product line by investing in the formation of sports and adventure based products (Sardar & Lee, 2015).  (2) The different brands that have been developed by the organization have been able to cater to the needs of various customers without creating any confusion related to the products and their benefits. Excelsior Clothing can take advantage of the strengths in order to retain the old customer base and further develop a new group of consumers as well (McNeill & Moore, 2015). (3) The unique types of materials that are being used by the company in order to develop the products like, alpaca fibre and merino have been able to affect the ways by which the organization can operate in the industry of fashion retail. This has been able to act as a major strength of the company based on its customer base that has been developed (Mahmood & Kess, 2015).  

Weaknesses – (1) The organization has been catering to the retail customers during the years of its operations. Development of online procedures will be a little tough (Moorhouse & Moorhouse, 2018). (2) The prices of the products are quite high and this does not let the organization target a larger group of customers. (3) The development of manufacture plants in different countries is a major weakness that is able to affect the speed of processes of Excelsior Clothing.

Conclusion 

The report can be settled by asserting that Excelsior Clothing can aim at increasing its profitability levels in the fashion industry by the introduction of new product lines in the “Great Walking” division. The financial stability of the company will be able to play a key part in the methods by which Excelsior Clothing can improve its place in the fashion retail industry.

Two objectives – (1) Increasing the revenue levels within next six months. The increase of revenues is required for sustainable operations of the organization in apparel industry. (2) Increasing the reach towards the consumers belonging to different segments. The increase in consumer base is required for facing the competition in an effective manner.

References 

Ibisworld.com.au. (2019). Clothing Retailing – New Zealand Industry Research Reports | IBISWorld. Retrieved from https://www.ibisworld.com.au/industry-trends/nz-market-research-reports/retail-trade/clothing-retailing.html

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Kasemsap, K. (2016). Retail marketing strategies and brand management: A global retail industry perspective. International Journal of Social and Organizational Dynamics in IT (IJSODIT), 5(2), 66-78.

Kelsey, J. (2015). Reclaiming the future: New Zealand and the global economy. Bridget Williams Books.

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McNeill, L., & Moore, R. (2015). Sustainable fashion consumption and the fast fashion conundrum: fashionable consumers and attitudes to sustainability in clothing choice. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 39(3), 212-222.

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Scuotto, V., Del Giudice, M., della Peruta, M. R., & Tarba, S. (2017). The performance implications of leveraging internal innovation through social media networks: an empirical verification of the smart fashion industry. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 120, 184-194.

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