Write a brief description of the research topic under consideration.
The research topic is ‘contemporary marketing strategies for luxury fashion brands in Sweden’. This topic guides and describes the purpose and goal of the study, which is explore the current marketing methods used by Sweden fashion companies to impact sales of luxury goods. Marketing strategies provide a variety of actions to reach and persuade target consumers of fashion goods. The topic is important as it allow the research to understand contemporary marketing practices in the fashion industry and identify causes for success and failure of marketing. This topic is based on the fact that globalisation has changed various aspects of business operations, presenting both opportunities and challenges. The research will shed light on how Swedish fashion marketers have adjusted to these changes by exploring strategies they have employed to remain competitive.
What is your motivation behind your choice of research topic and what is the relevance to your course?
Increased globalisation and internationalisation of fashion practices have opened markets across the world. The fashion industry has survived external competition by reinventing marketing strategies and employing novel solutions to increase sales (Bengtsson and Vilic, 2012 pg.4). It is interesting to discover how fashion marketers have achieved successes in a dynamic market. It also interesting to understand how Sweden fashion industry has sustained growth across the world. Since companies with operation abroad must circumnavigate the difference between local and international needs, it must employ diferent strategies to realise success. Also, globalisation has paved way for cultural interaction and exchange where consumers of fashion brands are exposed to different goods from different cultures of the world (Preiholt and Rademaker, 2016 pg. 2)). This not only means that marketers must stop relying on primitive strategies that worked years ago, but that the market needs are changing with changing consumer preferences and taste. It is therefore important that any actor in the fashion industry understands market needs by examining current strategies being employed by successful brands to achieve success.
Who are the leading thinkers (artists, designers, marketers, scientists, technologists) researching in your chosen area and why are they influential in relation to your chosen research topic?
The fashion industry in Sweden is huge with an annual turnover of more than 64 billion, according to (). Leading actors like Lindex and H&M have salve of more than 3 billion in local market while companies with internationals operations have experienced success. However, the industry is highly globalised and external actors have threatened the survival of local industries (Porter, 1998 PG. 68). Guerchi and Rufola note that different fashion companies have taken care of external competition by taking diferent direction and by using divergent models that characterise their strategies. Fashion industry requires a lot of creativity and ingenuity to attract new customers and maintain the existing ones . It calls for the collaboration of designers, artists, technologists and marketers to create successful brands. Apart from academic researchers, designers, marketers and artists have been the leading thinkers in strategic marketing of fashion brands.
What research has already been conducted in your chosen field and what is being done?
There is agreement from researchers on the topic that fashion industry is very competitive and difficult to predicate with companies and marketers constantly trying to create brands that will best grab customer’s loyalty. In the fashion industry, there is constant change in trend making it challenging for designers and creators to identify what is sellable (Yang, Song, and Tong, 2017 pg. 5). This has led some to separate operational process from design. Most important, companies are finding the need to have differentiated approaches to branding to push success in the brand created (Gran 2012 pg. 7; Baykal and Delagarde, 2011 pg. 2). Old fashion companies are experiencing new level of competition from retail chains and have been compelled to adapt the designs of the more luxurious brand. Additionally, customers have become more demanding than before and are difficult to satisfy. Part of the explanation is that people no longer buy luxury clothes for necessity alone but as a personal statement to express their identities and personality.
What academic research have you discovered based on your initial investigations? For example, what are some potential research gaps or opportunities for interdisciplinary research?
Currently, there is insufficient research exploring contemporary marketing strategies used by reputable Sweden companies in the fashion industry. The available literature pays more attention to strategies used to achieve international domination and growth (Zirke and Atashi 2011 pg.6). Research related to the topic has emphasized the role of environment in determining marketing success by looking at how technology, economical condition, industry awareness if competitors and knowledge, political forces as well as social institutions have help shape strategies. Clothes have become a lifestyle and therefore there is more demand in terms of customer expectations. This makes it important to have more research targeting changing customer needs and preferences due to the difficulty experience in predicting and understanding behaviour of consumers
From an academic perspective, what are the established histories, theories or socio-cultural issues underpinning your research topic?
Since fashion goods are based on new trends in the market, new theories and strategies keep coming up to explain marketing patterns. Current practices are characterised by new luxury goods that are distinguished from traditional luxury goods. The former are designed using customers’ needs and preference, whole the latter are created according to the preferences provided by the company’s designers and artists. New luxury goods are more accessible are priced slightly higher than non-luxury goods due to their perceived high quality. Masstige strategy, according to Truong et al. (2009), I a common marketing solution where new luxury goods are sold higher than the price of middle range products. Some of the issues underpinning the research topic include globalisation and internationalisation of fashion practices, ecommerce, consumer behaviour and preferences and marketing theories.
2) Research question and the aim of the proposed research:
The aim of this research is to explore current practices in the fashion marketing industry used to sustain sales and overcome competition from the increasing local and external companies. More entrants in the fashion industries mean that competition for sales is becoming a problem to existing firms (Zirke and Atashi, 2011 pg. 3). Globalisation and liberalization of business activities has further threatened sales by presenting more varieties for fashion goods. It is therefore important to explore ways in which Sweden companies have tackled this problem using marketing strategies.
3) Methodologies:
This study will use both primary and secondary data to achieve its purpose. Primary data will be collected using survey on Sweden companies that have international operations. Structured and semi structured questionnaires will be distributed to different categories of the sample such as company CEO’s, marketers, designers and consumers. A total of 10 companies will be identified and participants will be identified using random sampling technique to represent that population. A total of 500 participants will be used so as to get sufficient data can be generalised to the entire population. For ethical issues, prior permission will be requested so that the school gives consent to the research. If the primary research will not completed as proposed, data recorded by other researcher in the same topic will be used.
4) Synthesising and Evaluating Literature:
Select four key publications relevant to your research investigation from books and academic journals.
Use the “Evaluating Literature” sheet below and assess the type of publication, its strengths and weaknesses and relevance to your chosen research investigation.
The publications should be from two books chapters and two research articles.
(Level of understanding and critical analysis of the literature and its position)
(Literature evaluation 35%)
Referencing
A list of all references cited and discussed should be given at the end of the assignment. You do not need a separate bibliography. See the Harvard Style guide for mode of citation here:
http://library.leeds.ac.uk/skills-referencing-harvard
The reference list DOES NOT constitute part of the word count.
For submission details and deadlines, please see the module handbook.
Author
Year
Type of work
Strengths
Weaknesses
Relevance to own study / links to other sources
Gran
Preiholt and Rademaker
Porter
Bengtsson and vilic
2012
2016
1998
2012
article
article
Book
book
It highlights current strategies for expansion and growth
Describes challenges and sustainability strategies of Swedish fashion industry
Discusses in detail how competition pushes creativity and innovation
provides a theoretical framework for effective marketing
Limited scope of study
Does not provide a framework on which Swedish companies can position themselves
Is not directly related to marketing in fashion.
Limited sample size
Answers the question of the study
Discusses some of the strategies for fashion marketing
It identifies competition as one of the key determining factors for strategy development.
Provides marketing strategies for Sweden companies
References
Baykal, J. and Delagarde, M., 2011. Differentiation strategies in the fashion industry.
Bengtsson, F. and Vilic, M., 2012. The art of fashionable branding-the success of the Swedish fashion brand COS.
Gran, S. (2012) Swedish Fashion Companies. University of Gothenburg.
Guercini, S. and Runfola, A., 2010. Business networks and retail internationalization: A case analysis in the fashion industry. Industrial Marketing Management, 39(6), pp.908-916.
Mintzberg, H. and Quinn, J.B., 1998. Readings in the strategy process (p. 429). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Porter, m. E. (1998) how competitive forces shape strategy in: mintzberg, h., quinn, j. B. & ghoshal, s. (eds.) The strategy process. London: prentice hall pp.60-69
Preiholt, H. and Rademaker, C.A., 2016. In Pursuit of Sustainability: Challenges of Swedish Fashion Companies. In 5th Global Fashion Conference, Stockholm University, oktober 20th and 21st 2016.
Yang, S., Song, Y. and Tong, S., 2017. Sustainable retailing in the fashion industry: A systematic literature review. Sustainability, 9(7),.
Zirke, I. and Atashi, B., 2011. Branding strategies of Swedish'new-luxury'fashion brands.
