Executive Summary
Thai-lay fashion Co. Ltd. is a garment manufacturing company in London. It is engaged in production of garments from 100% organically grown cotton.
For exploiting the increasing demand trend of organic cotton garments among the consumer segments in UK, the company aims to follow appropriate marketing and financial strategies. The firm’s business goal is to create a brand image of high quality product at low rate through appropriate business strategy and thus achieve customer- loyalty for their product.
Thai Lay is a fast moving Garment Export Manufacturing unit for men, women and children.
Over the years, this Company has produced innovative, attractive and colourful clothes to suit different tastes, designs, choices and preferences, including half and full sleeve T-Shirts for men, women and children, woollen products and casual wear. Their cotton sweaters and cashmere products are well sought after in European markets.
It now wishes to make forays into the commercial market in United Kingdom at the organic garment. The name Organic is very popular in the world. The most popular organic material in the clothing is Organic cotton. The organic cotton grown without pesticides or chemical additives to fertilizer, relying instead on methods with less ecological impact. Organic cotton is used to manufacture everything from handkerchiefs to kimono robes. It is a crop must be grown Oriental Organic Garments is the name of the proposed retail unit that will deal in T Shirts for men and women made out of 100% organically grown cotton. The company has an excellent supplier from Hong Kong and is confident that the products can be competitively marketed in a very growing market. The marketing report of which this summary is a part will give the situational analysis, a market summary and a SWOT analysis. The next step will be to analyse competitors and competing brands. It is seen that there is a significant level of competition on both cases. The product range of the company will also be spelt out. The key success factors like customer satisfaction, differentiation etc will also be analysed. The critical issues that exist like lack of presence, uncontrolled growth etc will be form the next section.
Situation Analysis
Market Summary
Thai Lay is a limited company headquartered at Hong Kong with its manufacturing unit at mainland China. This location has been a strategic choice for gaining quality raw materials, lowered labour and overheads costs (that substantially form part of manufacturing costs) and economies of scale, since the company is operating in a competitive market where it may not be possible to hike sales prices without affecting quantum and volume of sales. Cost controls and market development has been key ingredients in corporate planning for the “last 20 years “of their existence. (Thai Lay Fashion Co Ltd. 2008).
It is necessary that Thai Lay develop niche products like Cotton sweaters and cashmere products which are its main selling product lines. This can be achieved by making innovative designs, attractive colour combinations and fibre blending which has not be carried out, as yet, by any of its present competitors.
It is necessary that Thai Lay concentrate on production of premier products that could be sold online.
There is tremendous demand for the kind of products that Thai Lay manufactures and the present market of “China’s share of US and EU clothing imports will double or even treble in the next five years.” (Survey of Chinese Garment Company Strategies: Summer 2005 Buying Season. 2005).
Thai-Lay Fashion is a start up company that is yet to begin marketing its products. In fact the whole process is still under the planning stage only. One advantage is that since the whole system is not yet functional, it is easy to incorporate control systems into the business. The above mentioned areas will be discussed in more detail below
Market Demographics
As the name suggests, target marketing envisages a target or enforcing objectivity and focus in markets. In the case of TL it would be seen in terms of demographic exercises designed to find out the scope of different markets. It could also be seen in terms of examining the distinctiveness of markets and how TL could sell their products in these markets. Target marketing also needs to consider strategies deployed by competitors, their marketing beats, how they sell and how much they sell. TL needs to cater to a niche market but this needs time and performance at a lower strata. Once markets are consolidated, TL could go in for strategic niche marketing with higher prices and better margins for retailers. But before that it needs to define, identify and determine their present markets according to demographic statistics- income levels, disposable incomes, age groups that could possibly buy TL products, incremental growth prospects, future growth plans, etc. Whether they need to intensively tap one segment or area, seek stratified markets or dispersed markets, depending upon their assessment of the market needs and how they could serve customers best. Should they seek differentiated or undifferentiated markets would depend whether they seek a long run profits, or long run ones.
“The Marketing Planning team identifies marketing opportunities and develops integrated marketing campaigns. Additional responsibilities include writing creative blueprints, developing media plans, overseeing project execution and managing budgets.”
(See yourself in one of these careers: Marketing planning 2008).
In the event of undifferentiated markets, products are pushed into the market and sales force needs to sell them, whereas, differentiated involves a more rationale and scientific system in terms of demand seeking and satiation.
“Product differentiation is a critical strategic marketing process. Businesses need to continually differentiate their products from their competitors.”
(Product differentiation helps you build competitive advantage 2002).
Market Needs
The niche market needs for Thai Lay is the winter wear which comprises of cotton, sweaters, cardigans, pullovers, cashmere shawls, mufflers, etc. Their cotton cardigans are bestsellers because of its attractive design (Computer aided) colour combination and textures.
Their Sports range covers the gamut of needs of young people from early teens to vigorous adults and also the widest age and price ranges. The formal wears are also well accepted and are worn by adults in the earning groups of £ 48,000 per year.
Market growth
It is envisaged that there are tremendous growth prospects for organic clothes, especially among the young people. It is seen that there are ready markets for such type of clothes and the market potential is immense in that there are untapped market demands which cannot be fully met by competitors or rival businesses.
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) Analysis
Competition
It needs to be mentioned that the sale of organic garments (especially those made from organic cotton) have been growing at the rate of 50% from last year. This is indeed to a positive trend that will be good for the growth of Oriental Organic Garments. But this trend will also bring about high levels of competition. An analysis of the market has shown that there is a significant presence of organic cotton retailers in London. They include stand alone shops, retail chains, supermarkets, fashion design houses and individuals etc. It also appears that the supermarkets concentrate on low price and high volume where as other stores have low, medium as well as high priced products.
Analysis of competitors and competing brands
The products that are to be launched are organic in nature. The company also plans to do it ethically. It could try and obtain Fair-trade certification. Since ethics and environmental issues are involved there is a possibility that both these factors will influence a customer’s buying decision. Hence our main competitors/brands will be discussed in relation to the above two issues. The Tine Out website has given some prominent stores and brands that market organic cotton clothes in ethical manner. (Taylor and Kane 2008).
Product Offering
Oriental Organic Garments have a reasonably wide range of products to choose from in the beginning. The products will be available to adults and children of both sexes. They include casual wear, formal wear, sports and swimwear, garments for winter and party wear. Casual wear can include shirts, tops and T-Shirts, Formal wear will also include full sleeve shirts and formal tops for women. Sportswear will again include shirts, sweatshirts, shorts etc. swimwear will include one piece and two piece bikinis for women and swimming trunks for men. Winter garments will be made out of thicker cotton threads for better insulation. Party wear will again include appropriately coloured and designed shirts for men and shirts and tops for women.
Key to success
It is seen that one of the most important functions in business is the establishment of control mechanisms in the organization. The key area of control will be the costs and expenses incurred by a business. It is very easy to spend money and if not careful, a business may find itself out of cash to meet its long term and short term commitments. The other areas where control mechanisms are to be implemented include revenues, customer satisfaction and new product development.
As mentioned earlier, cost control is very important factor in the long time survival of the firm. One of the first steps that have to be taken for effective cost control is preparing a budget. In this case a marketing budget has to be prepared first taking into account all the expenses and investments that may occur till the garment outlet becomes operational. (Principles of Marketing: How to Write a Marketing Plan? Budgeting, Performance Analysis and Implementation. 2008). A performance analysis and implementation schedule should also be prepared alongside this. But since Thai-Lay Fashion is not yet operational, only the implementation schedule will be prepared. The marketing budget will include investment in the store and stock, advertisement and promotion expenses, other incidental expenses related to the marketing plant etc. The amounts spent should be continuously monitored with the budget and any variance be corrected immediately.
Thai-Lay Fashion will also include the following cost control measures. Every business will have different cost centres and these will have to be identified first. Since the garment outlet is a small enterprise, there will be only one major cost centre which is the store itself. The next step is to identify the types of cost within the centre. For Thai-Lay Fashion such costs include stock, salaries of present staff, advertising and promotion expenses, statutory expenses, rent and other incidental expenses. The cost centre will in charge of the proprietor himself since he is now in overall charge of the operation. This responsibility can be handed over to the manager once the unit is operational. The employees should also become a part of the control mechanism and the importance of controls should be explained to them. (Cost Control: Who is involved? 2008, p. 2). Careful checking of invoices for overcharging, cutting out all unnecessary steps and processes, removing inefficiency etc all will help in the control of costs. Making optimum use of premises, outsourcing some tasks, using techniques like just in time purchasing is also very useful steps in cutting costs. It should be noted that too must cost cutting can damage the marketing plan and hence should not save on necessary costs like advertising and quality of merchandise. The cost cutting process should be reviewed every month. Since the outlet will start within a year, there will not be the necessity to take annual reviews into account. Since Thai-Lay Fashion have not yet earning revenues, controls regarding this area are not relevant at the moment. Proper systems will be put in place once the outlet becomes operational.
Critical issues
A well prepared marketing draft will be the result of deep study of the market in the current state and also the future. Marketing trends will also be a part of the study. But it could happen that something unexpected might happen any time in the future. It could be something manmade or it could be a natural disaster. For example, if any restriction about import of garments comes unexpectedly, the whole marketing plan has to be reworked since the costs of imports might change. If some natural disaster in the target market or the place from where the goods are sourced happens, problems will come up. Hence a plan to meet possible contingencies will have to be developed. “Contingency planning means instituting policies and procedures to mitigate the effects of potential emergencies or disasters on an agency’s operations and records.” (Definitions: Title 36: Parks, Forests, and Public Property). Even though the outlet is a small operation, a contingency plan in place will help ensure that any unexpected problems can be handled with minimum of damage. For example, it would be prudent to have a second supplier or logistics provided in hand. If some temporary problem results in an import of Thai-Lay Fashion from Hong Kong, another supplier should be at hand to replenish the stock in hand. A relationship with the second supplier can be maintained by ordering small volume of stock from them right from the beginning of operations. This will maintain a working relationship and will be useful when emergency stocks are needed.
Marketing Strategy
Mission
TL’s mission is to set the trends for tomorrow’s wear – today. By anticipating marketing trends and giving the garment buyer what he wants to buy and not what the salesman wants to sell, it may take just a few years for TL to establish brand leadership in garment industry in UK. Demand satisfaction forms a core mission of TL, worldwide. “To deliver the kind of differentiated experience that drives high performance, successful organisations must become truly customer-centric, incorporating the customer’s perspective, value and actions into their business and operations strategy, capability development and execution.” (Customer satisfaction in the changing global economy: Our perspective 2007, p.3).
Marketing objectives
If the present markets are to be considered, it could be seen that Thai Lay needs to create a strong marketing base, especially for its range of unisex T- Shirts and casual wears. There are a plethora of sellers in the globe catering to the new generation clothing and styles. What Thai Lay needs to do is to provide product differentiation and distinction. In other words, it needs to build a good brand image. People need to know and recognise the brand value of TL products that set them apart. Its principle marketing objective, therefore, would be to create a positive and robust brand image for their ranges of product so that consumers’ would chose and buy their products, blindfolded.
For consumers, Thai Lay brand would not be just a garment- it would be an obsession- a way of life- a symbol of their very personalities. Thus, its principle marketing objective would be to build brand and image for its range of products. For this it is also necessary to strengthen the supply chain management system.
“A networked supply chain allows I-Commerce to best fulfil its promise to customers: the promise of consistent, timely delivery; quality products; and lower costs.” (Janes, 1999).
Brand imaging is a major marketing objective since many products are known more by their brands than their companies. Lacoste, Crocodile, Lee, Wranglers, Levi Strauss are famous brands but few know about the companies who make them.
Financial objectives
Financial objective of the company to maintain optimum level of financial resources at the entire production and marketing level can be established through proper financial planning. For this the company will have to use different budgets relating to different areas such as sales budget, production budget, performance budget etc. This will act as scale for measuring the performance of the company over different production stages. By preparing income statement and balance sheet, company will be able to analyze its financial performance and position over different time period.
A strategic marketing plan would be helpful for achieving the market goals within the time and cost constraints.
By preparing financial statements such as income statement and balance sheet periodically, the company analyses its financial performance over the past period. Financial objectives of securing adequate funds and avoiding surplus can be met through proper financial planning and its overview. It is an effective tool for finding improvement and defaults in financial performance of the company over the years. Financial planning is a part of market plan in which the strategy for acquiring necessary financial resources from the cheapest source and its effective management over different business functions is effectively carried out. Managing the funds without affecting the regular working of the enterprise is the basic function of financial planning.
By comparing the actual data with the projected data, it is found that the actual financial performance of the company for the half year ended September 2008 is in tune with the projected performance. The projected performance of the company for the year 2008 is £ 84000 in which the segments of T- Shirts = 34000, Tank tops = 14000, Sports/ swim wears = 11000, Jeans and Bermudas = 15000, Miscellaneous = 10000, were included. The actual performance data for the half year ended September 2008 is as follows: T- Shirts = 22000, Tank Tops = 6000, Sports/swim wears = 4000, Jeans and Bermudas = 10500, Miscellaneous = 6500.
The result shows that segments of T-shirts, Jeans& Bermudas and miscellaneous are showing above average performance in sales revenue whereas the other sections of tank tops and sports/swim wears are showing below average sales revenue. When analysing the factors of financial performance it reveals that improvement in advertising and promotional activities must be employed for getting the projected market in product segments of below average performance.
Target marketing
The target market of Oriental Garments is customers within the age group of 15 to 30 years where among them the trend for organic garments is increasing. A wide range of products such as casual wear, formal wear, sports and swimwear, garments for winter and party wear are manufactured by them.
From the market research it derived that the organic products are already exist in the market. Sale of organic cotton garments have been growing at the rate of 50 %. This increasing trend will be helpful for the growth of Thai Lay. But due to the growing trend, competition in this field will also growing. In order to overcome keen competition in the industry low, medium and high priced products will have to be produced. This pricing differentiation should be based on designs of the products and not on the basis of its quality.
Target markets involve the ideal selection of segments of the market for the particular product. Along with the “attractiveness of the market segment”, its suitability with the objectives, resources and capabilities of the firm also have to be taken into account before selecting the target market. The Size, growth rate, intensity of competition, brand loyalty of existing customers, the advantages for getting market share, the promotional expenditures of rival firms in the segment, etc has to be considered when selecting the market segments. (Marketing: Target Market Selection. 2007).
Target marketing envisages a target or enforcing objectivity and focus in markets. In the case of Thai Lay it would be seen in terms of research designed to find out the scope of different markets. It could also be seen in terms of examining the distinctiveness of markets and how this company could sell their products in these markets. Target marketing also needs to consider strategies deployed by competitors, their marketing strategies, how they sell and how much they sell. TL needs to cater to a niche market but this needs time and performance at a lower strata. Once markets are consolidated, Thai Lay could go in for strategic niche marketing with higher prices and better margins for retailers.
Product positioning
The ways corporate position their products, services and utilities are what product positioning is all about. Leading service provider, Accenture, says that it “helps clients improve their market focus and position through a wide range of sales, service and marketing transformation services.” (Breen, Mann & Paul, 2005, p.5).
Along with product differentiation and target marketing, product positioning is also important for the consumer business sector, especially clothes and fashion wears.
Marketing Strategies
Thai Lay produces 100% pure organic cotton garments. For the marketing of its products, the company aims to start its own retail units across UK. The products are ranging from T -shirts for men and women.
For entering into a highly competitive market like the garment market, a well planned marketing strategy is essential. Fluctuating customer needs and keen competition by rival firms imposes more pressures on marketing. Appropriate marketing strategy is essential for achieving customer satisfaction in a continuously changing business environment. The sensitivity of identifying the external market environment and sustainable competitive advantages for the firm is important factors that help to formulate the marketing strategy. Anticipating the competitor’s actions is the key determinant of success of a marketing strategy. (Marketing Strategy. 2007).
The marketing strategy followed by the Oriental Organic Garments is as below;
- TV promotions
- Developing own websites:
- Fashion magazines
In case of garment products the adoption of TV promotions is an appropriate technique as it helps to present the unique designs of the brand in time for attracting the customers. Most of the customers are influenced by TV adds for their product selection. By developing own websites the business will get a prestige. Through website they can able to inform the customers about their product features. The introduction of new designs on products can be easily transmitted to the customers through its website. Fashion magazines should also adopt for the presentation of unique designs of the firm’s products.
Through the application of strict cost control techniques on entire production process, the company aims to reduce the cost of production at its lower level. The quality of products is ensured through appropriate quality measurement techniques at all stages of production. Thus it ensures that only standardized quality products are send out for marketing. Company aims to create a brand image of high quality products at competitive prices for its products for creating brand loyalty among different customer groups. Industry and competition are crucial factors that influence strategic choice. The rivalry among existing firms, threat of entrants, threat of substitutes, bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers also should be analyzed for taking strategic decisions.
It is essential to have proper financial planning and review periodically. Planning has first to begin at the yearly level and then categorised into monthly and daily planning. Competitors and other competing brands will also have to be studied regularly. Goals and targets have to be developed and steps taken to see that they are achieved. A proper system of communication within and outside of the company is also very essential. It is believed that Thai-Lay Fashion Co., Ltd, an existing UK based garment manufacturing company has made forays in the competitive world of organic garments, meant both for indigenous markets, as well as for exports. In order to seek market penetration and positioning, especially in highly volatile garment markets, it is essential for Thai-Lay Fashion Ltd. to seek, woo and retain markets and clients on a long term basis, in order to ensure that its efforts are sustainable and well matched with high quality, moderate price, excellent servicing and wide range of outlets throughout the UK and aboard. Garments form an impressionable part of user’s image and personality and TL are aware of its tremendous market responsibility in changing global markets.
“Therefore, consumers are not necessarily looking for the lowest priced or even the highest price product, but rather for a product that will enhance their image.” (Sutton & Riesz 1979).
This could be achieved through use of product visibility and effective advertisement and sales promotional backup to its field staff to mop up consumer demands by supply of their products. It is documented fact that garment retail is in medium-range consumer demand item, and demand may be seasonal, market and income based. Therefore, what Oriental needs to first do is create excellent demand through attractive consumer involvement participation schemes which just does not sell products but also creates demand for them. This is vital for sustenance and long term growth since TL is planning for long term inroads into the international markets.
Marketing Mix
For the sake of a robust Marketing Mix for the future, Thai Lay needs to break up its marketable products into five segments namely: Casual wear, Formal wear, Sports and Swimwear, winter wear and Party wear. For each of these product lines, it is needed that a company proposes a Market Plan based on past performances, future expectations and market standings. It is needed that an accurate pulse of the present market is made and battle lines drawn accordingly, taking into account the future trends and how well Thai Lay could exploit market opportunities and trends in terms of capturing and retaining market shares, through strategic planning and execution.
Pricing
In the beginning it is necessary to provide competitive prices for Thai lay products in order to capture and retain markets. Through a process of market consolidation it is necessary to build brand image and offer competitive services along with other existing rival brands, some of whom may be more highly priced. Over a period of time, in which Thai lay products gain acceptability and customer preferences, it is possible to build niche markets and command a good share and selective pricing policies through both selective clientele and general sales.
Readiness
It is necessary that a professionally managed company like Thai lay needs to keep itself market savvy and understand market demands and changing consumer trends. Readiness could be in terms of assessing beforehand, changing consumer wear trends, anticipating market demands and keeping the supply in sync with the demands and customer preferences. This is critical in soft wear industry since customer preferences are highly uncertain and could change in short periods.
Customer servicing
This is still the most important factor in the success of a product or service. “Increasing competition (whether for-profit or non-profit) is forcing businesses to pay much more attention to satisfying customers.” (Customer Satisfaction. 2008).
Thai Lay will have to plan its processes and strategies right at the beginning with this factor in mind. Apart from the quality, the price offered should also be in balance with the customer’s need of value for money. A system of listening to and answering customer complaints will have to be incorporated. Staff will also have to be trained to handle angry customers. Another step would be to conduct regular customer satisfaction surveys among all those who buy products from us. All data should be analysed and appropriate changes should be made wherever possible. Customer satisfaction is an important component in the marketing process. This aspect is usually controlled by the concept of CRM or customer relationship management. “CRM (customer relationship management) is an information industry term for methodologies, software, and usually Internet capabilities that help an enterprise manage customer relationships in an organized way.” (Definitions: Definition-What is CRM (Customer Relationship Management. 2008). The retail business in any sector needs to have a strong relationship with the end user who is the customer. A proper CRM strategy will be implemented in Thai-Lay Fashion and proper training, customer surveys etc will be done once the outlet is operational
“In a world where feature and price advantages can be quickly matched if not bettered, a company’s one remaining source of sustainable competitive advantage may be the quality of the customer experience it delivers.” (Customer Satisfaction in the Changing Global Economy: High Performance and the Customer Experience. 2007).
Therefore, Customer satisfaction is a significant factor of profitability of any business. For getting sustainable profit growth customer loyalty is essential. Provision of customer service is a good way to achieve greater customer retention which will provide higher profitability to the business. (Kotelnikov 2008).
Marketing Research
For this purpose, extensive market research has to be carried out by professional market research groups and their reports and recommendations need to be incorporated into business planning and production. The management believes that production has to be market bound and inventoried goods need to be kept at the minimum; only through these strategies could profitability be ensured and affected on a long term perspective.
Break Even Analysis
Break even analysis is helpful for finding out the minimum rate of return required to meet the cost of production. There are two types of cost, fixed and variable. Variable costs are changing with changes in volume of production whereas fixed costs remain fixed. In order to find out the lowest sales revenue for covering the cost of production, variable costs and fixed costs are compared with this. “A break even point defines when an investment will generate a positive return. It is the point where sales or revenue equal expenses.” (Break even point, 2008).
Calculation of Break even sales of Thai lay
“Contribution = sales – Marginal cost or fixed cost + profit
P/V Ratio = Contribution / sales
Sales at BEP = Fixed cost / P/ V Ratio.
Fixed cost
Rent and rates = $10000, Depreciation = $2000, Research and development= $2000
Administration costs = $5000, Total fixed cost = $19000
Variable costs
Cost of Raw materials = $15000, Salaries and Wages = $10000
Maintenance cost =$2000, Fuel = $17750, Commission = $4000
Total variable cost=$48750
Contribution= Sales – marginal cost = $84000 – $48750 = $35250
PV ratio = contribution/ sales =35250/ 84000 =0. 42
Sales at BEP = Fixed cost / PV ratio = 19000 /0.42 = £45238
The minimum sales required for meeting the cost of production for the company is $ 45238. By fixing the target sales higher than the break even sales, company is able to attain profitability from the first year itself.
Break even Chart
Break even chart is the graphical representation of costs at various levels of production
Break even point is the point where there is no profit or loss. In the case of Thai Lay, the Point P would be the point of BEP.
Sales Forecasts of Thai Lay
(Introduction to Break-Even Analysis: The Break-Even Chart).
Expenses Forecasts
Expected Marketing expenses to be incurred on different product segments of Thai-Lay for the years commencing from 2008 to 2011 is given below:
Conclusions
It is seen that Thai Lay Fashions has a tremendous growth prospects considering the line of business operation and the untapped markets that are available for the company in the local, national and global markets. How well this company would perform would depend upon its marketing abilities and the degree of success it is able to achieve in capturing and retaining markets, especially in urbanised settings.
Given that the garment market is profitable, albeit fraught with risk and challenges, it would require great efforts on the part of the management of this company to meet and overcome marketing and business challenges in its pursuit for expansion and growth in the organic clothing sector. However, there are reasons to believe that the competence of its management team and the commitment of staff, vendors, clients and the Government would combine in assisting the company achieve its targets, goals and objectives in the future.
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