Marketing về Abercrombie & Fitch (tiếng Việt)

Predicting consumer behavior as well as create plan to make A&F difference among other brands so that A&F dig in along fast fashion in Vietnam is Hollister Co.: Southern California by Ab

BA International Standard Program Principles of Marketing Module

FINAL COURSEWORKStudent’s Name & ID No # Group 4

Unit Number and Title Principles of Marketing

Assignment – Final Report Final coursework – Marketing plan proposal

Proportion of Coursework 50%

Students’ Signatures: ……… ………_ Date: 20/08/2020

For Official Use

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION 3

1.1 Organization and product 3

1.1.1 Organization 3

1.1.2 Product 3

1.2 History 5

2 SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS 5

2.1 SWOT Analysis 5

2.2 Industry Analysis 8

2.3 Competitor Analysis 9

2.4 Customer analysis 11

2.5 Environment analysis 12

2.5.1 Environment Factors 12

2.5.2 Social Factors 13

2.5.3 Technological Factors 13

3 MARKET-PRODUCT FOCUS 13

3.1 Market Segmentation 13

3.2 Target Market 14

3.3 Positioning 16

4 MARKETING PROGRAM STRATEGY AND TACTICS 18

4.1 Product Line 18

4.2 Promotion 18

4.3 Place 19

4.4 Pricing 19

REFERENCES 20

APPENDICES 22

1 INTRODUCTION

Up to present, the fast fashion industry is booming with many big brands in the world A fierce competition in the global retail industry when the companies must seek more potential market in the future to maintain their brands Vietnam is one of the "fertile land" to exploit Especially in the young people from aged 20 to 26 However, we have to compete with other big companies already presented in Vietnam, such as: Pull & bear, Zara, H&M, Uniqlo and more "Speed will

be the name of the game speed and control," said Ricardo Perez Garrido, professor of digital and information systems innovation at IE Business School in Madrid "It means designing in the direction of serving what customers like, operating to put the product in the right place and the technology to make it ultra-fast, super effective If you control those three areas, you will

become invincible " Therefore, the purpose of this article is to analyze the Vietnam fashion market to provide options to handle three areas mentioned above Moreover, we have to conduct the survey about brand awareness Predicting consumer behavior as well as create plan to make A&F difference among other brands so that A&F dig in along fast fashion in Vietnam is

Hollister Co.: Southern California by Abercrombie & Fitch Themed after "SoCal" for teenagers

14 through 18, with significantly lower prices than its parent brand

Gilly Hicks: The cheeky cousin of Abercrombie & Fitch Themed after "Down Under" Sydney, it offered underwear and loungewear for women 18 and up All stores closed in 2015

Ruehl No.925: Post-Grad by Abercrombie & Fitch Themed after a fictional Greenwich Village heritage, offered clothes for 22 through 35 post-grads Closed in 2010.

MEN:

Top: Shirt, T-Shirt, Hoodies & Sweatshirts, Sweaters, Graphic Te, Polos

Bottoms: Jeans, Pants, Sweatpants, Shorts, Joggers, Super Skinny Jeans & Pants, Skinny Jeans

& Pants, Athletic Skinny Jeans & Pants, Straigth Jeans & Pants

Coats & Jackets: Coats, Jackets, Vests

Swimwear: Shortest, Mid-lenght, Longer, Swim Accessories

Underwear: Boxer Briefs, Trunks, Boxers, Briefs, Multipacks

Accessories: Hats, Belts, Socks, Watches, Bags, Ties

Shoes: Flip flops, Sneakers, Casual Shoes, Boots

Cologne & Body Care: Fierce hand sanitizer, Perfume

Bottoms: Jeans, Shorts, Skirts, Pants, Sweatpants & Leggings, Ankle Length, Overalls

Coats & Jackets: Coats, Jackets

Sleepwear & Intimates: Sleepwear, bralettes, Underwear

Swimwear: Bikini Tops, Bikini Bottoms, One Piece Swimsuits, Cover ups, Swim Accessories Accessories: Bags, Hats, Belts

Shoes: Sandals & Flat, Sneakers, Boots & Heels, Slippers

Fragrance & Body care: Fierce hand sanitizer, Perfume: Short dresses, Rompers

BOYS:

Tops: t-shirts & henleys, hoodies & sweatshirts, button - up shirts, Polos

Bottoms: Jeans, Shorts, Pants, Sweatpants, Joggers

Coats & jackets: Coats, Jackets

Pajamas: Pajamas set

Underwear: Boxer Briefs

Swimwear: Swim Trunks, Boardshorts, Rashguards, Swim accessories.

Accessories: Belts, Bags, Shoes, Dip-dye beanie, Perfume, Socks

Dresses & Rompers: No product

GIRLS:

T-shirts: Tank & Camis, Shirts, Hoodies & Sweatshirts, Sweaters, Polos

Shorts: Jeans, Skirts, Leggings & Sweatpants, Pants, Overalls, Joggers

Coats & jackets: Coats, Jackets

Pajamas: Pajamas set

Underwear: Tumble Shorts, Bralette, Bikini Briefs

Swimwear: Bikinis, Swim accessories

Accessories: Bags, Socks, Scrunchies, Velvet headband, Dip-dye beanie, Perfume

Dresses & Rompers: Dresses, Rompers & Jumpsuits, Matching set.

1.2 History

Abercrombie & Fitch brand was born in 1892 by outdoor sports expert David Abercrombie founded as Abercrombie Co, specializing in selling costumes and tools for the upper class In New York, USA In 1904, with the addition of member Ezra Fitch, the company changed to Abercrombie &Fitch but in 1907 because of a conflict, David sold shares and everything

continued to grow until the business situation slowed down and went bankrupt in 1976 In1978

Mr Jake Oshman built the Abercrombie & Fitch brand and ran a chain of more than 200 stores in

1980 But in 1988 when the Limited Brand was ceded to be The Limited in Ohio, the brand was changed like starting over In 1998, they established the subsidiary Abercombie &Fitch kids and reached the international market with more than 100 years old 2000 founded Hollister with young children with the deer logo in 2005 In 2008, they opened a subsidiary with Gilly Hicks (but closed in 2015) and Ruehl No.925 was born in 2004 (closed in 2010) From outdoor

products until the late nineteenth century and from here, the brand is more popular from young people with diverse products such as perfume, shoes, trendy clothes Abercrombie & Fitch distribute products based on 4.0 technology with 3 main components being costumes for men and women In 2014, once again changing the director, Ms Fran Horowitz tried to rebuild the brand with a whole new way of saying no to the logo, rebuilding the image In 2015,

Abercrombie&Fitch was present in countries such as China, Japan, and Korea but did not have

an official store in Vietnam 2017 was once again in a difficult situation, so it had to renegotiate with retail markets such as Express, Outfitters, but the negotiation ended in the same year

2 Attractive retail - Abercrombie's brand representatives in stores are male models This is interesting to attract more customers to the store because these male models are the ones who give advice to customers and this unique method is still used by A&F to this day Because in recent years the body-shaming issue is being criticized a lot, the body-shaming problem has also existed in Abercrombie & Fitch's personnel management, making them face many internal difficulties, when we come back to Vietnam, this is a disadvantage in this market, this is an opportunity for Vietnamese fashion businesses to overwhelm a big brand like A&F.

3 Design - A&F has done a great job in designing products, this is one of the main things that make A&F such a big brand The great design ideas of the three sub-brands, Abercrombie & F, Abercrombie & Fitch kids and Hollister have been successfully received by customers around the world, designs that bring youthful, fresh vitality This is a disadvantage for Vietnamese fashion brands, indeed, when thinking about fashion designs for the young segment, Vietnam does not have many outstanding designs, does not create many fashion trends, right in their yard

4 Full retail products - Men, women, or children can buy a wide range of products from a big lifestyle brand like A&F, there is a full range of products like hip tee shirts, apparel, perfumes, and footwear Having a full range of products is a great strength for A&F in Vietnam, most customers in Vietnam tend to buy related products at the same store if we create a trust for customers

5 High-quality products - Any high-end brand always has to ensure the quality of its products and its services is at a high level, if not, then the reputation of The brand is heavily influenced, possibly no longer being called a premium brand, and A&F is one of them At A&F, in each of our showrooms, representative clothing, store layout as well as inventory management are always maintained to the highest quality Good quality products naturally gain a lot of market share in any environment including Vietnam, to confront high-quality products, only the way businesses in Vietnam have to do is improve the quality of their product, create products with unique designs and increase advertising in their markets

6 Strong and solid brand – A&F has a strong heritage behind it and it also spent a lot in brand building through its usage of bold advertising More importantly, the brand also has a team in place to ensure that the brand is protected and counterfeiting of the brand is at its minimum Limiting fake brands in Vietnam is one of the top things to do if A & F want to dominate, in the market of rampant fake products in Vietnam, if A & F have created a true reputation, surely this brand gets new customers to keep an eye on

7 Window merchandising – Initially, most of the store layout of A&F was private wherein the customers could not look inside unless and until they walked in However, keeping up with the times, Store layout was changed to encourage window shopping and to bring people inside after they looked at the goods that they like Such a store structure is very suitable for the mentality of the Vietnamese people, they like the eye-catching and sparkling things that catch their attention, they also like to choose the products without actually buying, creating such an open environmentthat attracts a lot of customers even though they don't buy but they already know the brand

8 An excellent website – I loved the website of Abercrombie and Fitch as it is rich in detail and

it has models showing off the latest in fashion including clothes and accessories Fashion

websites with youth segments are also very suitable in Vietnam when nowadays most of the young people do not go out to choose the products in the store but they surf the website to see theproducts before actually going to the stores or we can be purchased online

+ Weaknesses:

1.Employee management – One of the issues for which Abercrombie and Fitch received a lot of flak was their handling of employees Employees were made to wear only A&F branded clothingwhich they had to buy a discounted price from the brand This issue was resolved a few years back with employees being compensated Overall, there have been several poor policies with regard to employee management by A&F over time This is a weakness that creates other

weaknesses, personnel is like the head of the company, the brain has problems, contradictions naturally other parts also many other issues If Vietnamese enterprises capture this weakness to learn and use it to compete with A&F, it is a great advantage created by A&F itself

2 Numerous Controversies – Not only were they involved in employee management hassles, the marketing and advertising of A&F also received controversies from people due to their usage of partially nude men and bold ads over the years The brands Wikipedia page has a list of

controversies they were involved in Being talked about by people to help their brand to be more popular but talked about the bad things of the company has the opposite effect, those bad things, though not exactly authentic also have an impact on customer psychology more or less

3 Declining Brand equity of A&F – Abercrombie, and Fitch became a cool brand since Mike Jeffries rebranded them as the upscale brand it became However, over a period of time,

Abercrombie and Fitch lost most of its “coolness” and the young college crowd could not

associate themselves with A&F due to which it has lost a major market share It is not difficult toget a connection with the main customer at first, but if the connection has been broken and wants

to resume again, it is really difficult, because with the brand that the customer has missed In their minds, they will choose other brands instead, those brands are more novel, more attractive because there are many other fashion brands in the same segment with A&F

+ Opportunities:

1 Market penetration and expansion - Retail brands like A&F are very promising if we expand the market to developing countries This is a great opportunity for A&F to develop the brand to become stronger and stronger But in Vietnam is another matter, companies in other fields in general and fashion companies in particular in Vietnam are very difficult to survive in this market, companies that grow up a lot but fail also The competition in the Vietnam market is veryintense, even if a big brand like A&F if it fails to grasp the purchasing culture of Vietnamese customers, failure is normal

2 Franchising as an Option - A&F can execute franchise strategies as they are reputable brands

in the United States and around the world A&F can fully use its reputation to enhance the expansion of new branches and facilities globally as other major brands are doing Similar to expanding markets in developing countries, but the difference is that if the operators of these franchise stores are Vietnamese, the franchise actually has more development opportunities in Vietnam

3 Advertising in developing countries - A&F needs to promote advertising campaigns in

developing countries and build their brand in these countries A brand that wants to dominate the global market like A&F cannot grow only in the United States Advertising is essential in the business, if the product has been widely known, it must still maintain advertising so as not to lose the position in the minds of customers, in every market need advertising and so do Vietnam

4 Re-brand image - America is the cradle of A&F if we are still in that market and their sales are

still down, proving that we are losing their position, we need to review our brand image

Moreover, it must become the best brand in the United States and regain lost market share In theVietnam market is really the ideal place for brands to rebuild their brands, the Vietnam market often responds greatly to new brands

+Threats:

1 Competition at its highest - If the brand focuses on the young segment like A&F, surely the competition in this segment is very intense The competition here takes many different forms from direct to indirect When young people have new trends and needs, we have to meet those requirements to be able to dominate the market In Vietnam, young people tend to absorb both Eastern and Western cultures, so their feelings and thoughts about fashion are very diverse and diverse, young people are the segment that they always need new things, if their design

department has both Eastern and Western people, although they have a lot of controversy in design, it will create the most attractive designs for young people in Vietnam

2 Differences become difficult - Being a fashion brand, the presence of products with different designs from the remaining competitors is an essential requirement, which creates a unique feature of a high-end brand don't get mixed up with brand other, but making that difference between the vast variety of designs today is difficult

3 Brand switching is at an all the time high - it is normal for customers to no longer use this fashion brand and switch to another brand, which makes customers no longer use A&F and then move on to use other brands Young people are those who have unique and unique needs, the problem is even more difficult, but once they reach this customer segment, A&F can become a more premium brand today, this is both difficult but also an opportunity for them to develop more than ever

4 Need faster expansion speed - The market without competitors is the gold mine for the brand, A&F needs to expand quickly to take advantage of its brand value In markets without

competitors, A&F should expand as quickly as possible, but in Vietnam, it is not a key one of those markets because the competition is a lot so in Vietnam, it will only bring disadvantages to us

2.2 Industry Analysis:

Abercrombie & Fitch Co is a specialty retailer who primarily sells its products through store anddirect-to-consumer operations, as well as through various wholesale, franchise and licensing arrangements Once the clothes have been designed and manufactured, they need to be sold The business of buying clothes from manufacturers and selling them to customers is known as retail Retailers make initial purchases for resale three to six months before the customer is able to buy the clothes in-store

When Abercrombie & Fitch located in Vietnam, it will stay the same with the retail industry for the reason that Vietnam is a great country for many manufactories Examples of textile factories: Thuan Kieu Vai Textile, Dony Export Garment, Can Man Garment, HP Fashion, The common point of these factories is that they are all located in HCMC and finished products are qualified for export In terms of processing costs, sewing in Vietnamese factories is very cheap, the cost ofmaking an industrial product is almost only 70.000 - 90.000 VND if it is the small order For the order up to 1-2 tons of goods, it only cost 10 to 20 thousand VND for a shirt or pants However, the cost of raw materials is not taken into account, depending on the fabric of the product that

A&F choose, or the textile factories can recommend a suitable fabric.

2.3 Competitor Analysis:

H&M, a popular clothing retail industry, H&M is a Swedish multinational clothing company thatwas established during the year 1947 and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden The main products are clothing and accessories The company is engaged in the design and retail of

apparels and accessories

The company has its business operations in about 62 countries include Vietnam with 9 stores from the north to the south with a strong online presence as well The company stands second in the clothing retail industry in the world and is prominent for its fast-fashion clothing The

company produces a huge range of products that cater to the requirements of people Few of theirproducts are apparel, cosmetics, accessories, blankets, candle and candle holders, and vases and pots

However, H&M in Vietnam still has drawbacks At the sales or promotions, the stores often out

of stock and size, that leads to the dissatisfaction of customers Moreover, the fitting room at a rush hour usually make buyers queue for quite a long time and finally, H&M still does not have

an online buying system in Vietnam Recently, there was a controversy on social media about H&M being high fashion or just fast fashion, and then this controversy was a place for customers

to express their disappointed with quality and materials of H&M’s products Also they advise people to buy from competing brands

Their products are sold across the globe Its global presence has helped the company to minimizebusiness risks The company has shown a strong financial performance thereby increasing the investor’s confidence and providing financial flexibility to the company Due to their global presence and their products quality, H&M is considered as one of the top Abercrombie and Fitch competitors

Same with H&M, Zara is Spanish clothing and accessories retail industry, Zara was established during the year 1975 and is headquartered in Spain Zara is a topmost fashion brand and is owned by the Inditex, the largest distribution group

The company designs products and sell their products through many retail outlets The company was established by Rosalia Mera and Amancio Ortega Established in Spain and over the years, the company set up its business operations in Portugal and France as well Zara has a variety of products and it caters to the requirements of men, women, and kids Their main products are clothing and accessories All Zara products are manufactured and distributed through a factory inSpain From concept to production, it only takes about 30 days, with such a frequency, Zara produces more than 450 million products a year

Only 2 stores at Vietnam – one in Vincom Ha Noi and one in Vincom Ho Chi Minh - but in

2018, according to a report of Mitra Adiperkasa, its revenue in Vietnam reached about VND 2,000 billion In particular, Zara brand grew 1.5 times to nearly VND 1,700 billion, equivalent to the average daily turnover of about VND 4.6 billion

However, the minus point in Zara stores is the fitting stage If there is so many customers, they will have to wait quite a long time to try clothes on It seems that the number and the

arrangement of fitting rooms at Zara stores are not really reasonable

In short, the design of their products suits the latest fashion trends The company produces

unique designs and has many high-profile designers working for them As they have a high brandvalue and due to their presence worldwide, Zara is considered one of the top Abercrombie and Fitch competitors.

Uniqlo, another top Abercrombie and Fitch competitors, Uniqlo is a Japanese fashion retail industry that was established during the year 1949 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan The company has its business operations in Japan and in many other countries As of February 2019, Uniqlo has had 2,136 stores in 22 markets, of which 825 are in Japan and the company is

opening about three new stores every week In Vietnam, Uniqlo has a store in the capital – Ha Noi and 3 stores in Ho Chi Minh City, of which, there is one super large store that has just opened, Uniqlo Dong Khoi

This brand is the fastest retail group and it aims to provide comfort to people Having produced great unique and fashionable designs, this brand caters to provide good quality clothes The company has been placed in the position of a modern company and offers their product at

affordable prices To do that, Uniqlo has started outsourcing to produce clothes at factories in China, where labor costs are significantly lower than in Japan, which helps the company

maintain low prices products

Despite being a formidable fashion retailer with A&F, Uniqlo's customer segment is not only limited to the age like A&F, but is for everyone, as well as Uniqlo does not recognize their brand

as a "Fast fashion" brand but only is the manufacturer of "Lifewear", which can be worn over many years

The company also changes the design of the store to meet the ever-growing market trends The company has its main strength as its innovation that has helped them to grow to this extent Due

to their great products and focusing on in-store quality as well, Uniqlo is considered one of the top Abercrombie and Fitch competitors

Solutions:

Therefore, to compete with H&M, apart from having a large trading ground, A&F will build a separate shipping unit of the company In order to control shipping prices as well as deliver products to customers more carefully because if through intermediaries such as Ups, “GHN express”, “GHTK express”, it is impossible to manage whether the goods are damaged or torn before reaching the customer Moreover, as shippers move around the city, this will help increase A&F brand recognition to new customers In addition, having a delivery team, it also means that the company's supply chain is more proactive, easier to attract investors In contrast, building a separate shipping unit also has many problems that arise, such as the need for additional funding for hiring more shippers and management staffs, more complicated processes as well as

managing personnel looseness In addition, if the attitude of shipping employees is not good it wills also affecting the company's face

Queue and waiting for the turn to try on clothes is a problem in many different brands In order

to minimize this situation, the company could reduce the number of checkout counters, meaning the size of the test room, while also developing Quick Response codes for each product and linking with banks or financial applications like momo, airpay to make payment faster In the construction of fitting rooms, A&F can construct smaller fitting rooms, meaning that there will

be more test rooms with the same area There is also an alternative solution to appease customerswhile they wait, provide waiting biscuits, while at the same time can combine using a

smartphone distribution system like Zara, which is inspired by hospitals In the hospital, the patients receive a waiting slip until the examination In Zara Hanoi, the customers must enter the phone number into a machine and it will automatically send a waiting message, when the fitting room is available, the system will automatically send a message that is telling customers to access the fitting room This also helps customers have more time to visit around the store, approach more items, increase income for store and help the stores collect the customer

information In addition, the company can acquire Chinese technology, about the mirror

simulator, customers will not need to go to the fitting room, but just choose a sample of product information, and then the mirror will show in virtual reality This helps minimize nearly every problem of the fitting room, saves the area, increases the number of guests who want to "try on", and helps customers easily choose the price and size as well as color, customers do not have to

go out, choose another one on the shelf

2.4 Customer analysis:

A&F pursuing the changing lifestyle of young customers, the brand style moves from picnics, outdoor adventures to universities, offices and on the streets with casual and healthy clothes and elegance of American culture The brand builds a "Casual-Luxury territory" for the middle class, business people and graduate students with a well-off economy, caring about body, fashion quality and a high-end casual style

The biggest era of “fast fashion” in the 90s - also considered a remarkable period of the brand, Abercrombie & Fitch also made great efforts to "rejuvenate" with the "Neo-Preppy" style, fresh, diverse and accessible to teenagers However, it still holds itself in a position with a historic name and is outside the radius of the tight standards of price, sustainability and production speed

For example, Zara and H&M when opening to Vietnam, they almost meet Vietnamese customers'expectations about product design, decoration, quality of goods and professional service attitude

of leading retailers, but the price for the Vietnamese market of the two firms has surprised many loyal customers Access to a market with a low average income, but the prices of products that Zara or H&M distribute directly in Vietnam are higher than many other markets in the world Many models of coats if they order online will be 300,000-500,000 VND cheaper than buying at Zara Vietnam stores

On the other hand, a brand designer in the mid-range segment said that Vietnamese consumers are not hesitant to pay for designs that fit the Asian physique, something that famous brands in the world often encounter when they use Western models for their designs The high price also creates the "desire" to own unique designs and create brand value

However, customers' buying trend is getting older, because now in Vietnam, high school studentshave started buying things at H&M, Zara, where the customer segment is aged from 21 to 24, so rejuvenation at A&F or bringing both Hollister and A&F to Vietnam’s market is a something to consider.

The Abercrombie & Fitch Customer Survey Guide

STEP 1: First of all, visit the official Abercrombie & Fitch Feedback Survey website at

http://www.tellanf.com/websurvey/2/execute#/2

STEP 2: Now choose your preferred language is English or Spanish

STEP 3: Then enter Store Number, Registration Number, Transaction Number and Valid date.STEP 4: Start rate based on your visit experience

STEP 5: Give some answers to questions related to your visit

STEP 6: Please tell them something to make your visit better

STEP 7: Finally, You will receive a Code, Please write down and use it during your visit to get a

$ 10 discount

Uses of the survey:

A&F has its own survey website, but if you want to survey, you have to buy a code to get a code (at the end of the bill there is a code for the survey and after the survey is completed, there will

be a code discount from $ 10- $ 50 ) used to survey this means that these surveys will be more qualitative than regular surveys, because people who have the experience of buying and knowingthe quality and service are new given the practical and practical feedback and if the experienceis not good, this brand will offer a better solution In addition, the regular survey will be destroyed

by the competitor, Meanwhile, A&F does it by buying its own code from buyers

2.5 Environment analysis:

2.5.1 Environment Factors:

Different markets have different norms or environmental standards which can impact the

profitability of an organization in those markets Even within a country often states can have different environmental laws and liability laws For example in United States – Texas and Floridahave different liability clauses in case of mishaps or environmental disaster Similarly a lot of European countries give healthy tax breaks to companies that operate in the renewable sector.Before entering new markets or starting a new business in existing market the firm should carefully evaluate the environmental standards that are required to operate in those markets Some of the environmental factors that a firm should consider beforehand are -