H&M Pestel

Internet fashion retail is a highly competitive market, the trends in the industry and company’s success relies on customer’s needs, which change constantly. “Competitive advantage is the delivering of superior value to customers and, in doing so, earning an above average return for the company and its stakeholders” (McGee, Thomas & Wilson, 2005, p.207). In order for ASOS to stay on top of its competitors, the trends in the industry have to be monitored, so that further they can be strategically translated in developing new products, to gain customer satisfaction.

I believe that H&M’s future growth depends a lot on how they will expand online and their sustainability. H&M launched their online store in the US in 2013, but has had some negative response. They offer free shipping, but the costs for the returns will be deducted from the credit of the returned merchandise. Costumers believe that returns should be free or that they should have the possibility to return in stores, which at the moment is not possible. For H&M this is an issue because of the high volume and costs of returns. To stay true to their sustainable image,

That being said, suppliers can have some power in regards to choosing the number of stores where their product can be purchased at. This allows the suppliers to regulate their sales and stay away from the “red tape”. The bargaining power of customers impacts HBC as customers are able to influence pricing based on their buying habits. Of course, customers do not choose the retail prices offered to them, however, if inexpensive clothing were to lead the industry, retail stores would adapt to this consumer demand and offer an abundance of inexpensive clothing due to consumer preferences. These forces lead to rivalry among competitors due to the many options offered to consumers to grant their desires. These forces combine to cause strategic implications for HBC. HBC must differentiate itself from its competitors who, similar to HBC, have large annual revenue, strong and profitable supplier agreements and large amounts of capital. As well, due to competitors large sale volumes, competitive pricing is an implication which faces

This report contains the analysis of value and culture of reputable apparel retailer H&M, as well as three analysis method, which is PETEL, Porter’s five forces, and VRIO framework, to analyse the external influence factors, competitors, and competitive advantages of H&M.

The Apparel industry in general and particularly the Sweater industry is facing problems of declining sales and increased overheads. Steinhouse operates in the higher price band and this sector is dominated by named brands such as Polo and others and departmental stores and the customers prefer such brands over the lesser-known brands such as Steinhouse. Large retailers such as Walmart, prefer to buy directly in bulk from low wage countries such as Bangladesh, China and others. The US market has a very high potential and trade barriers are not present meaning that the company can sell their products freely in the market. They are also allowed to sell in Europe and sales would depend on their quality, brand and price.

* Procurement: As it is the second Europe’s cloth retailer company, for the production H&M uses a lot of material and workers so its mains recourses are material, labour and energy. That is why small changes in prices can affect the company’s profit a lot, and the fact that it does not own any manufactories causes some problems in controlling the production’s prices. However, not owning the factories can be an advantage in some cases. Indeed, if a problem appears, H&M can easily change its suppliers. Moreover, due to its huge size, H&M can easily manipulate with its suppliers to have the best quality at the lowest production’s price.

When it comes to a social aspect, Lululemon is becoming an increasing trend: a result of consumer approval. The company does take hits though for its return policy and many people feeling that their staff is not very friendly. The media took blows on the company when there was a murder that took place at one of their stores and the conflict was between two of the employees(Lawrence). They are seen as having sustainable development and being environmentally friendly. They are also conforming to demographic changes and developing lines for men and youth. As for a technological aspect, they are praised for their several forms of social media and keeping customers up to date as well as their up keep of fashion trends(MBASkool).

According to the mission statement of Anthropologie: “Lifestyle merchandising is our business and our passion. The goal for our brands is to build a strong emotional bond with the customer. To do this we must build lifestyle environments that appeal emotionally, and offer fashion correct products on a timely basis. Our customers are the reason and the inspiration for everything we do.” UO considers the relationship it has with its customers before making decisions that affect them. Therefore, UO has kept in touch with customers continuously by utilizing various platforms such as SNS messages, connections with its online store, campaigns, events, and social media. In 2016, the growth rate of the company of retail segment is 1.6%, $47.4 million (URBN FY 2016 Annual report, 35). The basic concept of gaining inspiration from customers forms a diverse and progressive corporate culture; this is the driving force behind the development of the

The non-digital approach that Cole Haan uses are the classic banners and by mail. While this is a non-digital way of marketing, it helps to reach consumers with a more traditional approach. The pros of this marketing strategy is that it is able to reach customers who respond to more traditional advertising (Lamb, 2012). The cons of this strategy is that it is also an outdated marketing technique. Banners and mail are traditional forms of marketing that nowadays only influence a small number of consumers. Not everyone pays attention to banners or even take the time to look at mail from retail companies. In addition, the non-digital approach is expensive and takes more time to design and promote. This technological era is moving forward from traditional marketing to digital. It is a more cost efficient tool that has the ability to reach and target more

Another social factor is demographics. As Lululemon products are highly prices, it is important to research the social economic aspects of the neighborhood. Moreover, Lululemon faces high rates of obesity and overweight in America and Australia, hence the importance for well-trained “educators.” As Lululemon incorporated e-commerce in 2009, a technological as well as an external factor is to ensure customer service provides the same level of customer services as the face-to-face interaction in the stores, and to maintain the website up-to date. It is important for Lululemon to maintain a user friendly website that would encourage people from all ages to buy Lululemon’s products.

Lately, there have been issues of brand management on the internet. The new digital tools require a lot of adjustments at the executional stage. According to Chaffey (2000) Internet marketing success depends on the sites interactivity features. Also added that a brand’s presence online should be conceived in a way that is sympathetic to the technology and the environment. Many brands fail in the execution of different features resulting in customers’ needs and expectations not being met says Hewson and Coles (2001) The consumer still looks up to the luxury brands although the bond is presently being evolved beyond the existing “top-down” model. (Okonkowo, 2009) The percentage of online shoppers and the sales of luxury brands have been on a positive growth. In spite of the growth, it’s not clear that what drives the consumers to shop online and whether they would be interested in shopping if attractive online stores were introduced. Therefore, what factors affect consumers to shop online will be examined here. A framework is necessary to develop the complex system and determine these factors, influences and buying behaviors of the consumer. (Perea, 2004) Affluent consumers use the internet as their powerful source of information about the luxury products and it is necessary that they have an online presence.

SWOT and Pestle analysis is a strategic analysis tool that feeds important information into the business strategy formulation process. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. SWOT is used to determine the current position of an organization. The first two components pertain to internal factors and the latter two concern external issues. Pestle (or PEST) is an acronym for Political, Economic, Social, Technical, Legal and Environmental analysis. Pestle is a tool for assessing the external context of an organization (Bee, 1998).

One the main features of H&M is the rapidity of shifts in demand and respond to customers’ needs. In fact when necessities of customers change, in only three weeks H&M can create new items. A normal clothes company needs six months to create new collections or articles. That’s why H&M does many researches all the time to find out new tendencies or variations of styles, giving shoppers last tendencies clothes.

Asos’ has widely selection of products that are considered to be consumer products, classified as shopping products, due to their higher prices, selective distribution, less frequent purchases and more shopping effort. Their core product is the purchase of esteem as well as respect and recognition , in forms of clothing in a wide variety in an online hub, right at your fingertips. This makes them gain brand equity in form of differentiation, as Asos has the largest product assortment of different brands online . Asos also does a great job by gaining brand equity by offering relevant services in their augmented product and service mix in form of free

In effort to bring in consumers, Abercrombie and Fitch uses indirect strategies to attract and persuade its customers. Large wall photos, uplifting techno songs, and dimmed lighting make for a relaxing ambiance to draw in its buyers. Apart from its in-store attractions, Abercrombie and Fitch use commercial advertising, e-posts, and online music to bring in its consumers. With all of these unique strategies, the Abercrombie and Fitch industry has been proven successful for over 100 years.