Company Background
The industry of retail is generally a very dynamic as well as fast-changing sector. It represents as one of the main sectors in the economy which gives business to most of the countries in term of turnover and transactions as a consequence, it is one of the highly competitive and sophisticated industries (Yan, 2015). In the recent scenario, the companies have to be constantly monitoring the market to identify any new trend in a timely fashion and they also have to manage the increases in expectation so consumers and changing tastes. The companies now get opportunities to spend their roots in other countries which help them in targeting more consumers (Lima and Silva, 2015). The lowering of international barriers has also led to a considerable increase in the number as well as the type of products which are available to consumers. The companies have adopted strong marketing strategies to neater in a new market. It would help the company to compete in the competitive market effectively and efficiently that made them more successful in the market (Stone, 2016). One of the leading companies Primark has planning to expand their business in Singapore which is considered as a new market. The company leads in the fashion industry which would help them to enter a new market in an effective manner (Lluesma and Ruiz, 2018).
In the following context, there will be a detailed discussion that how would company able to enter in the new marketing by adopting different marketing plan and strategies. This marketing plan and strategies would help the company in taking the decision to compete in the new market.
Primark is one of the leading companies with a unique concept. They have undertaking a proclamation to enhance the living standard of individuals with trendy fashion in spite of the social status. The organization has grounded their roots from Dublin Ireland in the year of 1969 (Dach and Allmendinger, 2014). The main founder of Primark is Arthur Ryan who has played a phenomenal role in growing the company to attain the profit with their reproduction of catwalk fashion at a cheap price. In the recent scenario, the company is managing 189 retail stores around the world that are categorized as 38 stores in the country Ireland, 136 in the country UK, 12 stores in Spain, one store in the Netherlands, one store in the Germany and one store in Portugal. The company has employed 27500 employees that are pulling up their stock for the downy consecutively of the business. Primark served affordable price that assert the consumers to be reliable to the brand that help the company to attract maximum consumers as well as to retain them. Primark is mostly recognized at the fashion vend brand that covers a extensive variety of related to women wear, children wear as well as men wear products (Campion, 2015). Primark also deliver home products at affordable prices with an extensive series of discounts and offers that attract maximum consumers (Arriaga, Andreu, and Berlanga, 2017).
Marketing Objectives
The company is planning to open their new branch in Singapore for which he has decided to prepare the marketing strategies and planning which are covered in below report
- Primark is one of the leading companies in clothing; therefore the main objective of the company is to increase their sale that affect the targeted revenue of the company at a maximum level.
- The company has a target to uplift their market share by 20% at the global level.
- Expand the business chain of the company at the global level.
- Expand their new market by 25 % till the next year
- To deliver a quality product with an affordable price to the consumers with a focus on new promotion strategy
- The company has an objective to lead as suppliers of fashion in all the market where the company operates with the new market.
Porter Five
The threat of New Entrants
The company may face the threat of new entrants that could be the major reason in declining of independent retailers. Primark may also face the competition from many new entrants in the market and virtually which are specifies as well as centralized behavior that may prove an advantage to the chain store over the independent retailers (Guercini and Runfola, 2016).
The bargaining power of supplier in Singapore is low due to competition in the market. If the price of the suppliers is high then the company have a choice to shift to the other competitors of the suppliers. Therefore, the suppliers have less bargaining power in Singapore.
The bargaining power of the consumer is high in Singapore due to the reason of competition if the consumers find the high price of the product they would purchase from another store. As they have lots of option for purchasing from different stores that make the bargaining power of the consumers high.
The retail industry has a variety of products which increase the chance of the substitutes. For example, the substitute of jeans can be trouser as well as there is a substitute product from competing brands. Such option increases the threat of substitute in the market (Stottinger, Schlegelmilch and Zou, 2015).
The company may face high competition in the market of Singapore due to the reason the competitors brand have large distribution channels that would affect the target consumer of Primark. The main competitors of the company will be Zara, H&M and so on (Chiu et al., 2018).
The market in Singapore is highly competitive. Certain existing brands in Singapore have already enjoyed the competitive advantage that would affect the entrance of the company in the market. TK Maxx sells their brands at a heavy discounted price as well as George and Asda have created their own private-label brand that attracts maximum consumers. The company will also face tough competition with Tesco, Mark & Spencer, Costco as well as Zara. It would be tough for the company to attract the consumers of other brands due to the reason that these brands supply their product at a cheaper price that would affect the position of the company (Wang, 2016).
Primark is one of the leading international brands that spread their roots in most of the top cities that make the company more competitive in the market of the fashion industry. Entering a new market is one of the essential and risky steps for the company. They need to be more concern while entering in new market else it will negatively affect the company at a greater level. Therefore, Primark has various modes to enter in the market of Singapore such as Licensing, franchising arrangement, export through agents or distributors, opening overseas office or Stores, foreign manufacturing, joint venture and so on but an effective mode is opening own store and franchising method (Surdu and Mellahi, 2016). These are explained in below points:
Market Evaluation
Primark is existing international brands that are famous among the consumers of UK and so on therefore; it would be beneficial for the company to open their store in the new market due to the reason the company can use their strong goodwill to target their consumers as well as the company would also able to spread awareness about their brand as well as further able to push their sales in that particular country (Cavusgil and Knight, 2015).
The company also have an option to expand their business through the franchise. If the company does not want to invest their amount for expansion of their business, they can go with the option of the franchise. The franchise is the process in which another individual will do business with the brand name of other company. It would help the company to expand their business in an inexpensive manner. Therefore, the company can give their marketing rights to the local firm in that country and help that firm in terms of all types of business issues in exchange for a fee. It is an effective manner to enter a new market (Laufs and Schwens, 2014).
It takes huge time as well as efforts to develop a marketing campaign that resonates with the intended audience. While entering a new market, Primark should adopt some marketing strategies that would help the company to compete and survive in such a competitive market (Smilansky, 2017). There are some recommended marketing strategies for the company which is explained in below points:
Understand the needs of the local market and develop a collaborative approach. Before targeting customers, the company should know about the requirement of their consumers. It would help the company to satisfy the consumers at a greater level. It is quite clear that Singapore-based consumers are likely to be very different from the consumers those who are located in the UK, US and so on. Their lifestyle needs, as well as cultures, are different, therefore, it makes sense they will interact in a different manner with the product (Ryan, 2016). The company needs to analyze the needs and wants of the consumers to target them in a more effective manner.
Partnerships in marketing have a number of benefits to push the marketing campaign. The company would able to deliver better contents by collaborating with some other company that exists in Singapore. On top of that it would be cheaper to create, would able to see the success more quickly and able to expose their brand to a new audience (Ottman, 2017).
While entering a new market, the company need to develop their marketing plan in a more efficient manner to get prepares to compete in the market. Socialize these plans in the professional teams, seek feedback and ensure that there are no legal issues to prevent the plan from working in a certain market.
The employees are the biggest champions as well as brand advocates. Therefore, the company should motivate the employees as well as get them involved in marketing strategies to target consumers in a more effective manner (Zaidi and Kumar, 2016).
Competitors Analysis
The company is mostly known as well as popular as a clothes retailer that keeps attracting the consumers by their good quality and minimum price. Now, the company need to target a new market for that following points are recommended:
The product is the source of satisfying the consumers. The company is already known for their quality product and the consumers of Singapore are mostly prefer quality product at a reasonable price, therefore, the company can keep in their mind some essential points while entering in a new market with their products such as:
The company should concentrate on the quality of their product that makes them more competent in the competitive market. If the quality of the product is good, then consumers will able to trust the brand of such company. Therefore, while entering a new market they needed to be more conscious of the quality of their product.
Primark is planning to enter the new market of Singapore which is the hub of clothing styles. The company needs to keep introducing the latest designs at their retail outlets that made the consumers more satisfied. The introduction of new designs will able to make the company unique for the products that would able to enjoy them with a competitive advantage.
The company already launched of different kinds of brands in their retail outlets for their consumers that are quite popular but the company needs to introduce these brand in the new market with the innovative manner that would able to target maximum consumers in the limited time period. There are few brands of Primark that has become part and become a value for money business are Rebel Active, Early Days, Active, Atmosphere, Young Dimensions.
The company also need to concentrate o their packing style that makes the final impression on the consumers. In the new market, the consumers will mainly prefer the products with great presentation, therefore; the company would able to target those consumers in an effective manner (Solomon et al., 2014).
Pricing plays a prominent role in the success of the business. Most of the consumers prefer to purchase those products which are at a reasonable price and have a good worth of it. It makes consumers more satisfied while doing their shopping. It is an essential marketing strategy that every company needs to adopt while targeting consumers. Therefore, Primark should keep on reducing the prices of their products while entering in the new market. The market of Singapore already involved with the huge competition in the fashion industry that makes the consumers be loyal with the existing brand, the strategy of low pricing would force the consumers to try the product that makes them succeed in the competitive market of Singapore. The company should make their marketing strategy with the aspect of “value for money” with the slogan “Look good and Pay Less”.
There are certain pricing strategies that can be used by the company but while entering a new market the company can use the method of penetration pricing strategy. This is the strategy in which the company keeps their price low while entering a new market and can make the high price while settled down in the market. It is an effective manner to target consumers in the new market. For example:
- Formal suits of Gents can be purchased in $ 30.00
- Price of Shirts can start at $2.00
- Jeans or pen can start from the range of $15
Market Entry Recommendations
These are the nominal pricing pattern that would force the consumers to purchase their products as well as apart from the above, the company can keep plummeting their process of the products from time to time that would help the company to fulfill their pledge of “ Look Fine and Pay Less” (Macchion et al., 2015).
The place has one of the essential roles in marketing mix which is important as far as the clothes seller apprehension. Identifying the need of the consumers is a crucial decision in the marketing mix. It is essential to identify where the targeted consumers are and accordingly the company should locate their stores as well as also need to identify the distribution channel that can appeal to the consumers to reach out maximum targeted consumers in the limited time period.
The company should introduce their stores and outlets in high streets as well as shopping centers of Singapore, due to the reason most of the consumers visits shopping centers such as NEX, Paragon Mall, VivoCity for purchasing their product, therefore, the company would able to interact with maximum consumers in such crowded place as well as the consumers will also able to get know about such brand that enter in a new market. The company can also set-up their store at Lakeside where tourist maximum visits to target tourist as well. The most essential thing is, the stores would be easily accessible to the general public by mean of public transport as they should be located at major high streets and shopping centers. It will make the company a “value for money” brand for the consumers in the recession period (Okonkwo, 2016).
Promotion is an effective tool to target maximum consumers in the limited time period. Consumers will able to get know about the product through a promotional strategy done by the company. In the recent scenario, the consumers are frequently assailed with the efforts related to promotional from many diverse channels. The company communicates with their targeted consumers to notify, inform as well as convince them to buy their goods (Viloria, Wilches and Acuna, 2016). There are certain promotional tools that can be used by Primark such:
Primark is one of the leading companies at international level. The company can spend their amount in the traditional advertisement to target their consumers. The company can target through radio, television, newspaper, magazines, billboards as well as some other advertising vehicles to grab the attention of consumers.
Social media is an effective tool to propel the business as well as it is also free or relatively inexpensive as a comparison to other promotional media. In the recent scenario, it is common to promote business online through banner ads, social media, keywords or remarketing services. Therefore, Primark can employ public channel such as Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to connect with their target audience on a more personal level.
It is the process in which the sales representative of the company dealing directly with their consumers. It can be done through phone calls, trade shows or any events. Primark can use such a method to target their consumers. The company would able to interact with their consumers directly which give an opportunity to the company to develop meaningful as well as ongoing relationship their consumers in the new market.
Marketing Strategies
It is essential for the company to increase a healthy connection with the media in the fashion business to make positive promotion for their product in a new market. It helps the business in minimizing the negative situations or scandals as well as increase support from consumers in a new market (Bogomolova et al., 2015).
Conclusion
From the above analysis, it can be concluded that Primark should take care of certain things while entering a new market. Nevertheless, the company has led in many countries such as UK, Ireland, Germany, Spain, and other countries as well but the consumers of Singapore are quite different from the consumers of other countries. Therefore, Primark should adopt open their own store to target their consumers. It has also been recommended that the company can also use the option of the franchise to enter in such a market. To target the consumers, the quality of the product should be high as well as with low price, it helps the company to attract maximum consumers. Other than that the company should locate their store in shopping malls and crowded area to target their consumers, it will also help the company to compete their competitors such as Maxx, Zara, Tesco, Asda, Mark & Spencer and so on.
References
Arriaga, J.L.D.O., Andreu, D. D. and Berlanga, S. V. (2017) Facebook in the low-cost fashion sector: the case of Primark. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, 21(4), pp.512-522.
Bogomolova, S., Dunn, S., Trinh, G., Taylor, J. and Volpe, R.J. (2015) Price promotion landscape in the US and UK: Depicting retail practice to inform future research agenda. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 25, pp.1-11.
Campion, H. (2015) Behind the seams… the story of a£ 4 T-shirt. Teaching Geography, 40(1), p.26.
Cavusgil, S.T. and Knight, G. (2015) The born global firm: An entrepreneurial and capabilities perspective on early and rapid internationalization. Journal of International Business Studies, 46(1), pp.3-16.
Chiu, C.H., Choi, T.M., Dai, X., Shen, B. and Zheng, J.H. (2018) Optimal Advertising Budget Allocation in Luxury Fashion Markets with Social Influences: A Mean?Variance Analysis. Production and Operations Management, 27(8), pp.1611-1629.
Dach, L. and Allmendinger, K. (2014) Sustainability in Corporate Communications and its Influence on Consumer Awareness and Perceptions: A study of H&M and Primark. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 130, pp.409-418.
Guercini, S. and Runfola, A. (2016) How western marketers respond to the new middle class in emerging market cities: The case of Italian fashion marketers. International Business Review, 25(3), pp.691-702.
Laufs, K. and Schwens, C. (2014) Foreign market entry mode choice of small and medium-sized enterprises: A systematic review and future research agenda. International Business Review, 23(6), pp.1109-1126.
Lima, R. O. and Silva. F. A. (2015) The role of competitive advantage in strategic determinants of export performance: Theoretical framework. The International Journal of Management Science and Information Technology (IJMSIT), (15), pp.66-93.
Lluesma, C.R. and Ruiz, P.G. (2018) Virtues and the common good in marketing. In Business Ethics (pp. 123-147). London: Routledge.
Macchion, L., Moretto, A., Caniato, F., Caridi, M., Danese, P. and Vinelli, A. (2015) Production and supply network strategies within the fashion industry. International Journal of Production Economics, 163, pp.173-188.
Okonkwo, U. (2016) Luxury fashion branding: trends, tactics, techniques. New York: Springer.
Ottman, J. (2017) The new rules of green marketing: Strategies, tools, and inspiration for sustainable branding. London: Routledge.
Ryan, D. (2016) Understanding digital marketing: marketing strategies for engaging the digital generation. London: Kogan Page Publishers.
Smilansky, S. (2017) Experiential marketing: A practical guide to interactive brand experiences. London: Kogan Page Publishers.
Solomon, M.R., Dahl, D.W., White, K., Zaichkowsky, J.L. and Polegato, R. (2014) Consumer behavior: Buying, having, and being. London: Pearson.
Stone, M. (2016) Business to business competitive marketing: Practice and literature. Journal of Customer Behaviour, 15(1).
Stottinger, B., Schlegelmilch, B.B. and Zou, S. eds. (2015) International Marketing in the Fast Changing World–Introduction. In International Marketing in the Fast Changing World pp. 26, pp 11-16
Surdu, I. and Mellahi, K. (2016) Theoretical foundations of equity based foreign market entry decisions: A review of the literature and recommendations for future research. International Business Review, 25(5), pp.1169-1184.
Viloria, A., Wilches, M. and Acuna, N. (2016) Turnover increased Massive Consumer Products through the Implementation of Design Standards based on the Buyer. Indian Journal of Science and Technology, 9(46). 92-97.
Wang, Y.S. (2016) Dynamic capabilities in fashion apparel industry: emergent conceptual framework. Baltic Journal of Management, 11(3), pp.286-309.
Yan, S. (2015) A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF COMPETITVE ADVANTAGE FOR SMES IN CHINA UNDER NEW NORMAL ECONOMY. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 11(34).
Zaidi, Z.Z. and Kumar, R. (2016) Marketing Strategies for Socially Responsible Products-Company Brand Name and Market Scenario: An Industry Cross-Sectional Study. LBS Journal of Management & Research, 14(1), pp.64-69.