Marketing in islam : Case study AL-QUDS jeans

Résumé du document

At a time where slim fit jeans are quite famous and loved in Europe or in the United States, a new type of jeans and a new brand was born in 2006. It was named ?Al Quds', in the name of the holy city of Jerusalem. A simple product with a practical goal: facilitate the Muslim prayer. Al Quds jeans follow in the continuous production of jeans that began with Oscar Levi Strauss. When Al Quds jeans are mentioned, people, and among them our colleagues of Menton, think that it is a Muslim firm which decided to commercialize its own jeans, which is actually not true. Marketing in Islam can be defined as the link which is made between marketing and religion, or more simply, the way companies use Islam to do marketing. Moreover it aims to respond to the particular needs of Muslims. Those particular needs open an interesting market for food, or clothes, especially now that Muslims are nowadays quite numerous in Europe as well as in the rest of the world. Al Quds jeans seem to be included in this logic. What are the particularities of Al Quds jeans and its commercialization? How is it received? What is the future of such a product?

Extraits

[...] The company headquarter is in Italy, and all the conception phase takes place in this country. The brand is really an Italian one, and it is strongly attached to this country. The jeans are manufacturing mainly in Karachi, Pakistan. Ms Cavalli, chief of production development explains the company's choice: wanted the jeans to be sewed by Muslim hands –besides having considered the trade and cost viability”. In fact, this point seems important to understand Al- Quds' approach: they want their jeans to be as linked as possible with Islam. [...]

[...] What is the future of such product? I. The Concept of Al Quds Jeans What is the concept of Al Quds Jeans? Why the name Al Quds? How this jean's new vision was created and launched? In the first part of our analysis we will try to describe the idea of Al Quds Jeans, its specificities and its marketing. A. The product This is obviously a basic product addressed to everybody: it would be ridiculous to define it as clothing made pray”. [...]

[...] In fact, price setting is something delicate, which is not made randomly. The price shows the brand's aim. Al-Quds jeans cost between 30 and or 20-25€. In Europe, it is very cheap for a jean. Moreover, it is sold in supermarkets, mainly in Carrefour, the Continent's largest supermarket operator. But in Middle-East, it is quite expensive, above all in countries like Egypt or Tunisia, where Al-Quds is trying to implant itself. It has to be explained. In Europe, Muslims often belong to lower class. [...]

[...] In the very chic district of Heliopolis, the store Capello customizes the veils of young Egyptian women with glitter and jewellery. Is also sells Muslim trendy wearing that embraces “modesty and style”. The Belgian fashion designer Karima Dahri pointed out at the 22th Annual meeting of French Muslims at Le Bourget in March 2005 that “young veiled Muslim women are looking forward to embrace fashion as well as the respect of their religion” Muslim wear not only bites in Muslims of the Oriental world. [...]

[...] What is highlightied is the approach, the vision of the brand. You can't buy a jean on the website or even know the price or see a photo where the jean is wearing by someone. The brand insists on its intellectual view, and tries to justify the existence of such a jean. They try to enlarge their targets by explaining why their jean is adressed to everybody. Curiously, the website isn't translated in Arabic or in Urdu (the jean is yet manufacturing in Pakistan). [...]