POSITIONING STRATEGIES OF 3 ON LINE RETAILERS

Positioning Strategies of Cloth Retailers

Executive Summary

The objective of making this report having a title “positioning Strategies of Cloth Retailers” is to present the similarities and differences of positioning strategies practiced by the selected online retailers catering the market of clothing and fabric. It also includes the recommendations and feedback for improving their brand image and modifying their positioning strategies based on the marketing approaches of renowned scholars and famous published articles. It addresses the symbol, product offerings, personality characteristics, and key points of each of the chosen online retailer in specific. The ultimate aim of this report is to provide useful and relevant information to its audience.

Table of Contents

Executive Summary2

Introduction4

1.ONLINE RETAILER: DEBENHAMS4

Symbol5

Products5

Personality Characteristics6

Key Points6

2.ONLINE RETAILER: MARKS & SPENCER7

Symbol7

Products7

Personality Characteristics8

Key Points8

3.ONLINE RETAILER: SPOILED BRAT9

Symbol9

Products9

Personality Characteristics10

Key Points10

Comparison of Positioning Strategies10

Feedback15

References18

Appendix19

Positioning Strategies of Cloth Retailers

Introduction

The retail industry is a very dynamic industry and a fast changing sector. It is a very sophisticated and competitive industry as, in terms of turnover and transactions, it comprises of one of the main sectors in the economy.

To identify possible trend changes on a timely fashion, companies have to monitor their target market on continuous basis. Moreover, they also have to keep up with the ever changing expectations and tastes of customers. (Porter, 1979, pp. 54-58)

Being the most repetitive in the data gathered from ten different individuals (Table 1, Appendix), the three cloth retailer selected for analysis are Debenhams, Marks & Spencer and Spoiled Brat. The analysis of the gathered data displays that teenagers prefer Spoiled Brat, adult men prefer Marks & Spencer, while adult females wear Debenhams.

Online Retailer: Debenhams

Debenhams proclaims being the Britain's favourite department store (Debenhams website). Operating approximately 108 stores across Great Britain, they have focused their efforts mostly in the domestic market. Currently, they are present in 15 countries, except Britain, and their strategy for international growth is through franchising only.

Apart from being well constructed, the website displays much of the offered items right on the main page. Moreover, the other advertisements regarding the sales and discounted items would definitely attract potential customers.

Symbol

Debenhams attracts females easily due to the presence of the punch line “NEW Season - Principles by Ben De Lisi”. Females are not only very conscious about there looks, but they also want to stay updated with the present fashion trends. A well-known stylist has designed the outfits offered by Debenhams, which indicates that the potential customers are readily converting to British Pounds.

Products

Debenhams offers a wide range of products including their own brands as well as brands from the international world. Although, they have not focused much on expanding internationally, like their competitors, yet it has done exceptionally well in creating the right product mix that attracts the large audience.

Their product-range includes women's wear and lingerie, menswear, children's wear, and other electrical and house ware goods. Debenhams also offers wedding services like enabling its customers to maintain a 'wedding gift list' and the facility to order and deliver flowers through their ...