ao m presentation. fashion marketing in saudi arabia ms 2010
DESCRIPTION
Academy of Marketing Conference Cardiff 2013TRANSCRIPT
Academy of Marketing Conference 2013
The title of the paper:
The Fashion Marketing Scene in Saudi Arabia: Standardisation vs. Adaptation
By
University of Benghazi
Nottingham Trent UniversityUniversity of King Abdulaziz
Izzudin Busnaina
Mrs. Liz Watson Mrs Baraah Rawas
2
Outlines
• Marketing in global arena … why go global?
• Classification of Fashion Markets
• The fastest emerging market … the Arab World!
• International marketing decisions … Standardize or Adapt?
• Research context and methods
• Results; marketers’ point of view
• Results; Arab customers’ point of view
• Conclusions and future research
3
Marketing across the World
‘Go Global!’ … Why?
Low costs and economies of scale
(Ryans et al., 2003)
The rich world will continue to suffer from anaemic growth; the emerging world, by contrast, is witnessing a remarkable growth level (Wooldridge, 2010)
No way to play safe even in domestic markets (Kotler, 2008)
4
Fashion Marketing
5
Fashion Marketing
International fashion markets can be classified into three types (Grail Research, 2009)
Global Fashion Hubs
Growing Fashion Markets
Emerging Fashion Markets
The Fastest … more than 15% growth annually (GAN, 2010)
6
The Arab World … ‘Emerging Markets’
22 Countries358,000,000 PeopleMajority are MuslimsArabic (Official Language)
GDP > $2.3 trillion (2011)World’s eighth-largest economyPer Capita Income > $6,700More ½ the population < 25 years
(Mahajan, 2013; Harvard Business Review)
Challenges
7
Research Area … Saudi Arabia?
• The 2nd largest Arab countries• Middle Class 65%• Real Growth Rate 6% (2012 est.) • GDP – per capita $25,700 (2012 est.)
(World Bank’s World Development Indicators database, and CIA’s The World Factbook, 2013)
8
Research Area … Saudi Arabia?
• Consumers spend > 10% in global fashion• Younger generation has become Westernized
• Highly global fashion brand conscious• Attractive fashion market• Contextual differences between its local regions
9
Standardize or Adapt?The Globalization of Markets, 1983
In Homogeneous Markets
In Heterogeneous Markets
Operating Efficiencies and Economies of Scale
Better Satisfy Local Circumstances
Marketing across the World
10
Fashion Marketing Decisions
What’s the effect of brand’s image in Fashion Marketing?
‘How to brand a product?’ is a crucial question in marketing (Kotler, 2003)
The brand image is a mirror reflection of the brand personality or product (AMA, 2012)
Purchase intention & choice A determinant variable in advertising designing A major component of brand identity
11
BrandPersonality
BrandPersonality B
Perceived Brand Image
Perceived Brand Image
Perceived Brand Image
Perceived Brand Image
A
(Adapted from: Mrugank and Thakor, 1996; Jain, 1989; Kotler, 2003)
Marketing Programme
Degree ofStandardisation/
Adaptation
Degree ofStandardisation/
Adaptation
Foreign Markets
Home Markets
Consumers- Attitudes- Perception
Consumers- Attitudes- Perception
Consumers- Attitudes- Perception
Consumers- Attitudes- Perception
Influencing FactorsInfluencing Factors
Research Framework• The factors of marketing programme decision (i.e., the degree of standardisation/adaptation)
• A brand personality might produce 2 different brand images
• Market influencing factors (i.e., mode-of-entry and competition)
12
Research Questions & Aims
Using Saudi Arabia as a proxy of ME fashion markets, we address two questions;
1. To what degree do global fashion companies actually adapt/standardise their brands offerings for Saudi Arabia?
Determine the standardisation/adaptation degree of the fashion global brands offerings in Saudi Arabia.
Explore how Arab customers perceive the fashion global brands’ personality and image.
2. Do Arab consumers perceive the global fashion brands in Arabic countries differently than in brands’ home markets?
Research Objectives
13
Research Methods & MeasuresUsing 3 fashion products categories …
Clothing Accessories Jewelry
Structured interviews with 4 brands’ agents in Saudi Arabia
To establish how they had conceptualised the notion of adaptation/standardisation
Their actual marketing practices in Saudi market
14
Research Methods & Measures
Consumer’s point of view (≈ 50 customer questionnaires)
1. Recently purchased these brands’ products
2. And have a shopping experience in western markets.
Using the cognitive approach (Thomas & Sekar, 2008) and previous research on branding (e.g., Aaker, 1997; Azevedo & Farhangmehr, 2005; Geuens et al., 2009), we measured …
Consumer’s attitudes toward the fashion brands Brand loyalty and personality Differences in brand image between Arab markets
and brand’s home market
Brands under investigation – managers’ point of view
15
Results: Marketing Implementations in Saudi Market
Marketing Activities The key actual practice in Saudi market
Market Research Ready-made information about Arab consumers
Product Decisions
Some adjustments are applied on potential product
Pricing Marginal adjustment level according to Saudi market
Promotion Some changes are made on the advertising copy
SaCo. 1GUESS &
Levi’s
SaCo. 2Burberry
SaCo. 3H&M
Adapted Adapted Adapted
Slightly Adapted Standardized Slightly Adapted
Slightly Adapted Slightly Adapted Slightly Adapted
Adapted Adapted Adapted
The most likely to be standardised
The most likely to be standardised
There are remarkable differences of customer characteristics between Saudi Arabia and the brands’ home countries
There are remarkable differences of customer characteristics between Saudi Arabia and the brands’ home countries
16
Results: Arab customers’ responses
General level of similarity from customers’ point of view
00.5
11.5
22.5
33.5
44.5
5
Product (3.36) Pricing (2.58) Promotion (2.57)
Similarity Levels(Mean Values)
1= Different / 5 = Similar 1= Different / 5 = Similar
Marketing Program
The most common features
The most common features
17
Preferred fashion brands for Saudi consumers
Results: Arab customers’ responses
37.8% 26.7% 26.6% 8.9%
Factors on loyalty of Saudi customers to fashion brands
Brand’s history/heritage Fashion product’s quality
18
Brand C
Results: Customer’s Perception Vs Brand’s Personality
Brand A Brand B
Rotated Component Matrix
19
Conclusions and Implications
The 4 global fashion brands implement marketing adaptation in their programmes to Saudi Arabia. However, Arab consumers do not recognize such implementations.
Marketing adaptations produce undesirable influence on consumers in Saudi Arabia, as they perceived different personalities of the global brands to that which these brands promote.
International fashion marketers should implement and design their marketing programme based on a good understanding of buyer behaviour in this region.
Fashion marketers should consider Arab markets’ characteristic before deciding whether they have to create different brand image (e.g., Levi’s in USA and Europe; Roth, 1995) to target Arab markets.
20
Limitations• Purposive sampling
• Relatively small number of global fashion brands available for study, as well as small sample of Arab customers
• This paper provides a useful initial insight into global fashion branding in Saudi Arabia and Arab consumers’ perception toward fashion brands.
• And, it’s a point of departure for research to study a large number of international fashion brands across Arab countries.
Thank you
Brand Personality’s characters
Fashion Brands
Burberry a GUESS b H&M c
Loading MeanStd.
Deviation Loading MeanStd.
Deviation Loading MeanStd.
Deviation
Honest .603 3.63 1.09 .946 3.50 1.09 .707 4.17 0.83
Caring about you .735 3.50 0.82 .925 4.00 0.85 .772 4.25 0.97
Exciting .693 3.75 1.00 .925 4.00 0.85 .696 4.17 1.19
Up-to-date .685 3.88 0.72 .614 3.83 0.72 .898 4.33 0.89
Reliable .729 4.06 0.93 .792 3.67 0.78 .696 4.17 1.19
Successful .841 4.13 0.72 .848 4.17 0.94 .950 4.58 0.67
Charming .851 3.88 1.02 .848 4.17 0.94 .890 4.25 0.97
Feminine .905 3.81 0.99 .594 3.83 0.83 .844 4.08 1.16
Active out door style .400 3.88 0.50 .671 3.67 1.07 .679 4.50 0.67
Tough/strong .495 3.75 1.06 .776 3.75 0.87 .678 4.00 1.13
Pioneering .866 3.94 0.85 .693 3.58 0.67 .769 3.83 1.34
Feeling of energy .646 3.38 0.89 .966 3.42 0.79 .927 3.67 1.30
Global .877 4.06 0.77 .636 4.25 0.87 .897 4.33 0.98
Feeling young .833 3.44 0.96 .693 3.92 0.90 .772 4.25 0.97
Sexy .740 3.00 1.10 .549 3.75 0.75 .779 3.92 1.24
Pride .725 3.56 0.90 .594 3.67 0.78 .686 3.83 1.53
Personalized luxury .790 3.69 0.79 .685 3.83 0.83 .847 3.67 1.61
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis; Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.(a) Rotation converged in 6 iterations, (b) Rotation converged in 6 iterations, (c) Rotation converged in 3 iterations