Global industry study : H&M

Résumé du document

The aim of this International Marketing survey is to present the international operations of a global brand and to confront them with our international marketing lessons. The company we are going to study is Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M). Before analyzing all the international operations of this group, it would be interesting to make a brief presentation of this Swedish company. H&M was founded in 1947 in Västerås Sweden by Erling Personn. During the last fifty years, the company expanded and became a global brand, famous all over the world. Nowadays, 68 000 employees are working in 1500 H&M stores present in 28 countries. Moreover, H&M is one of the most durable companies in the world. Becoming a global brand involved an adaptation of the company's strategy and structure. What is the current position of H&M in the growing fashion and clothing market and what is the strategy enforced by the company to confront with this market? That is what we will see in this study. Firstly, we will present a general overview of H&M, and then we will develop the key points of the fashion clothing market. Thirdly we will analyze the main strategic evolution of the company and finally we will discuss the marketing mix of H&M.

Extraits

[...] Level of globalization 12 B. Characteristics of the value chain 12 C. External growth strategies 15 IV. Marketing strategy and marketing mix of H&M 1 A. Marketing strategy Market segmentation: Target marketing Market positioning 2 B. Marketing mix Product Price Promotion Place (distribution channels) 4 Conclusion: 5 Limits 6 Bibliography: 7 Introduction The aim of this International Marketing survey is to present the international operations of a global brand and to confront them with our international marketing lessons. Our studied company is Hennes & Mauritz AB Before analysing all the international operations of this group, it seems to be interesting to make a brief presentation of this Swedish company. [...]

[...] Application The business concept of H&M is give the customer unbeatable value by offering fashion and quality at the best price”. However, the brand is not defined in that way in customers' minds. The brand is recognized as being fashionable and cheap, but the product quality is poor for most of them. That is why the company launched COS which give a better image of the company. Moreover, H&M has a real particularity in its positioning: the firm promotes its brand image as luxury fashion houses do. [...]

[...] This is why the image is really crucial. If it has a bad reputation about the working conditions of its suppliers or the quality of its product, it would be harmful for the company. The group sponsors two jockeys, Malin Baryard-Johnsson and Peder Fredricson[23]. It has chosen those two people because horse riding is the only Olympics sports where women and men compete in the same conditions. H&M has settled a strategic cooperation for long term improvements. Initiatives are taken, such as the improvement of working conditions for those employed all over the world through education and independent monitoring. [...]

[...] Thus, H&M targets: - Fashion-conscious women of all ages - Fashion-conscious men of all ages - Fashion-conscious parents who will buy clothes for their children - Fashion-conscious girls and boys (teenagers) Nevertheless, the collections are following the latest trends of fashion, and target more efficiently a young public. Collections are diverse: sportswear, casual, urban chic, trendy or basic. In other words, H&M clothes can fit every way of life. At the same time, we noticed that H&M launched a new chain of stores in London called “Collection Of Style” (COS) which has been created to satisfy a new target's expectations in March 2007[24]. [...]

[...] It also wants to reduce the negative impact concerning the transports. Indeed H&M prefer to use transport by train instead of transport by air. That is why H&M supports the Clean Shipping Project's (CSP). All these high quality requirements improve the image of H&M in front of its customers and guarantee a good quality product made in the respect of the fundamental human rights. Marketing strategy and marketing mix of H&M In this part, we will first analyze the marketing strategy of H&M by presenting its positioning, targeting and segmentation. [...]