United Colors of Benetton

Résumé du document

United Colors of Benetton, a major brand of the Benetton Group, is a leading apparels manufacturer and designer based in Treviso, Italy. Its operations are mainly based in the European Union market; however, recent market trends and developments have compelled the company to expand its presence in Asia, especially in the fast-growing Chinese market.
Our project will look at Benetton's operations in Hong Kong, a region usually considered as the ‘gateway' to China due to its close economic and cultural ties to the mainland. Specifically, it will (1) briefly explain Benetton's history and its marketing strategies in the global retail and apparel market; (2) analyze the company's marketing strategies in Hong Kong by considering marketing mix elements such as product, promotion and customer value; (3) discuss the strengths and weaknesses in implementing these strategies; (4) discuss the major competitive threats posed by a major competitor in the local market and (5) make recommendations for Benetton to improve its existing marketing strengths and curtail its weaknesses.

Extraits

[...] Benetton Club), which may encourage current and repeated consumption of Benetton's products. As mentioned previously, many customers visit United Colors' outlets very infrequently, and put together with the new promotion campaigns, consumers may be attracted to join the program due to the potential discounts and other benefits they can receive. If the membership of this loyalty program is transferable, it may also help the company attracts more customers because Hong Kongers are prone to share these membership discounts and benefits with their friends and families. [...]

[...] The company's communications strategy was developed, as a result of its desire to produce images of global concern for its global customers. The communication strategy targets issues rather than clothing as the leading player, with a portion of the advertising budget devoted to communicating themes relevant to young and old people worldwide. Benetton believes it is important for companies to take a stance in the real world rather than use its advertising budget to encourage consumers to think they will be happy through the purchase of the company's products. [...]

[...] Figur e 6.2 : Sports brands are still popular amongst Benetton's target consumers in Hong Kong. Zara, however, stands as one of the most popular European fashion brands amongst our questionnaire respondents. One of the most prominent strengths Zara holds over Benetton lie in its product turnover and distribution strategy. The company is able to design, produce and ship the latest fashion collection to their outlets with a time efficiency that is not observed in most competitors in the market. [...]

[...] To ensure high volumes of traffic and consumer mobility, Benetton located these stores in places where Hong Kong consumer frequently goes, such as Causeway Bay, Mong Kok and Shatin. These locations are frequently visited by consumers aged 20s to 30s, which form Benetton's target group. Moreover, Sisley outlets are usually paired with their United Colors counterparts in the same location, which can attract more customers into either outlet (both of which are owned by the Benetton Group) at the same time. The layout of many United Colors outlets may be described as brightly lit and large in size, which helps to promote the brand's status to the consumer. [...]

[...] The implementation of such strategy makes it important for Zara to generate a large variety of products throughout the year. The new apparel items that Zara churns out yearly number almost 300,000 pieces, including 10,000 new product designs built around five to six colors and a similar number of sizes. Fashion garments account for around 80% of Zara's products (according to the company's marketing representative, Zara is in the ‘fashion business, not clothing') which are tailor- made according to the needs and tastes of its customers. [...]