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CONTENT INTRODUCTION TO BRAND:
Pages four to seven
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BRAND EQUITY AND VISUAL IDENTITY:
Pages eight to nine
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MARKETING MIX:
Pages ten to thirteen
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CONSUMER SEGMENTATION:
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Pages forteen to fifteen
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COMPETITOR ANALYSIS WITH BRAND POSITIONING MAP:
Pages sixteen to seventeen
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MICRO AND MACRO-ECONOMIC FACTOR ANALYSIS: . . . . . . . . . . . . Pages . . . . . . . . .eightneen . . . . . . . . . . . . . .to . . . . nineteen ....................
SWOT ANALYSIS:
Page twenty
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RECOMENDATIONS:
Page twentyone
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BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Pages twentytwo to twentythree
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SUMMARY: within this brand report I aim to evaluate Maison Margiela’s attributes within the market place and suggest recommendations as to how the brand can widen their consumer segmentation in order to enhance the brands market shares.
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1997- Martin Margiela works as creative director for hermes women line.
1989 - Martin Margiela starts his own label
1985 - works for Jean Paul Gaultier
4 1994 - replica line introduced
1988 - debuts womenswear collection.
1979 - Martin graduates from Antwerp
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2012- Maison Martin Margiela debuted a collaboration with H&M
2008 - Margiela introduce fine jewellery
1998- Margiela debuts his menswear collection
2009- Margiela leaves his place as creative director
2002- Margiela was taken over by the OTB
2014- John Galliano becomes creative Director of Maison Margiela.
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Brand heratige
Martin Margiela first began his fashion career studying at the Antwerp’s fashion department, graduating in 1980, although he often gets mistaken as one of the original Antwerp six he actually became an honorary member, which allowed him to gain a name through the faculty and peers. After working with Jean Paul Gaultier in 1984 who stated that she “already knew he was good, but didn’t realise to what extent” (vogue, 15th October 2012, Martin Margiela, retrieved from http://www.vogue.co.uk/gallery/martin-margiela). He then went on to set up his own brand alongside Jenny Meirens who was the fellow business partner and designer in 1988 which got named ‘Maison Martin Margiela’ but, has now been changed to ‘Maison Margiela’. His first collection triggered an immediate reaction that people left feeling in awe with this unique approach to pattern cutting and designs.
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In 2002, a majority stake of Maison Martin Margiela was acquired by diesel where they were held at Neuf SAS and acquired through Rosso’s Italian holding group ‘only the brave’ (a company that builds businesses) to help shape the company into a bigger, luxury brand. This acquisition proved to be a defining movement in the label’s history as, it would set the stage for Martin Margiela’s departure. Margiela became so big as he had a different approach to other designers by pressing the issue of sustainability from, recycling to rethinking the whole scheme; he didn’t want to be in the heart of the system and for that, he earnt the reputation as one of the most selective organizations in the industry. One of Martins first-ever collections were held at a primary school, where he wanted everyone to feel welcome, including the people who lived in that area and therefore he had no VIP seats and got the children to design his invites. This outlook also continues today by new head designer John Galliano. Galliano originally worked for Dior but got fired from the company in disgrace after throwing horrifying, racial abuse at people in a café and still got given another ‘undeserved’ chance as stated by the public. But what did that mean for Maison Margiela? Do they agree with racism? A sarcastic tweet made by a fan of Margiela stated “Galliano has joined Maison Margiela, so I guess hating Jews is back in fashion” (Yasmin Levi, 06 October 2014, twitter) this proves that consumers aren’t happy with the choice of Galliano as their new designer and could result in a loss of money for the company. One thing that Galliano has done well however, is continue the heritage of the brand going through the design approach, marketing techniques and brand philosophy.
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Aakers Framework
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Brand Equity and Visual Ideantity
The direct legacy of this namesake founder; Maison Margiela doesn’t give anything away about his brand. His logo, which is never visible on any of his garments, is nothing more than a three-by-eight grid showing what looks like old-fashioned text from a typewriter, with numbers from zero to twenty-three. The logo is described by its creators as “a proclamation of anonymity” while the four white stitches in the back are apparently designed to be easily unpicked. Yet, done by no one. As his brand is luxury, yet only seen by those who recognise the code, tells his consumers they are part of an elite, secret group who are cool to be in-the-know of this mysterious brand but, who also hold a minimal, sophisticated style which allows them to stand out and believe they are above everyone else. When Margiela began he didn’t want to be in the heart of the system and so anything traditional he would reject portraying this ‘anti-brand’. Instead of creating a typical logo he used numbers to represent each of the brand’s specific lines. One number will be circled in each garment to represent what line that is from. I personally think this has something to do with Martin wanting people to focus on his clothing and not just buy something with a logo to show off how much money they have. His logo also takes the romance out of fashion and everything has almost been spun into one big mathematical equation, not just with his logo but, with his garments and stores too. The stores hold a pure essence to them with white being thrown, literally everywhere; as you leave the store it’s as if talcum powder has cleansed your body with its white mist that just sits and stays on your clothing. I think the colour white was chosen to represent the brand for its anonymous nature which can conceptually be seen as a symbol of undefined. Each garment is hung up in threes which tells the customer they will be of few to wear this piece and to an outsider (me) it’s as if everything’s been scientifically worked out how to hypnotise people into buying their products. Everything comes across as surreal. One of Margiela’s biggest brand assets is the ‘Tabi’ boot that was and still is a revolutionary design created by Martin Margiela which has paved the way towards a new shape of boot, as well as being infamous to the house and all the Margiela supporters. Without the design of this shoe, it’s possible that Margiela wouldn’t be as big of a brand as it is today, the boot is what Martin first began selling and what continues to be the ‘cash cows’ of his company. Today there have been adaptations made, to fit any occasions or person. You name it, they do it. My favourite design is the heeled sole that doesn’t come with straps, instead, you get a roll of cello-tape and are able to attach it to your foot how you please.
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Marketing Mix
Product
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When Martin Margiela first created his brand, it was originally a women’s collection only. It wasn’t until 10 years later that he actually created a men’s line and now they stock perfume, shoes, bags and furniture. The brand is well known for their quality, long lasting garments and is often associated with the ‘Tabi’ boots. His inspiration came from the Tabi cotton socks, created to be worn under the thong sandals. Then in 1989 his first collection was created. Nervous that the Tabi shape would go unnoticed he got the models to trapes through red paint before hitting the white canvas catwalk which forced the audience to take notice of the unusual design. The canvas was then re-used to create a jacket. Although the canvas wasn’t originally made to be redesigned, it shows the perceived quality of the brand as they know how to create beautiful pieces of minimal art in different ways that other brands don’t. The shoe is now for those with an interest to contemporised history and a bold style; it was described as a “man repellent” which would suit their target consumer perfectly.
Price Prices are set high to attract the least price sensitive market segment, for example, this pricing appeals to opinion leaders who want to be seen as a trendsetter and the first with any new product. Margiela’s consumers like to seek status and see high price as a mark of exclusivity. Margiela’s premium pricing strategy brings in coats for around 1,000 to 2,000 pounds which, when compared with their main competitors, is actually in the middle according to my positioning map. This shows us that their products aren’t the cheapest or the most expensive suggesting they still produce good quality garments but aren’t ripping their consumers off, this could result in their consumers purchasing products from Margiela more often that their competitors. Margiela also collaborated with H&M to bring a taste of the avant-garde label to an affordable price. This would have gained huge publicity for Maison Margiela as it was a shock that they would ever work with a brand completely opposite to themselves, but it also meant that the younger generation would become aware of them.
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1995 - Margiela Show
Promotion As Margiela didn’t want to create a typical brand and is now perceived as a notoriously press shy human; this makes him the promotion of the brand. While other designers were trying to become famous, Margiela’s anonymity became louder than ever and as Partick Scallon said, “absence equals presence”. As little people knew what Martin Margiela looks like it created constant talk in magazines which got the word out about the brand. People were then forced to go to stores and purchase clothing to gain any knowledge of Martin. Social media has become increasingly popular, by 2019 it is expected that 2.77 billion people will be on the platform. With over 400,000 followers on Facebook, 280,000 on Twitter and 2 million on Instagram, alongside its official website, Margiela updates their followers with the latest collections to keep them up-to-date on trends, this could urge their consumers to act quickly by buying the latest gear, to seek that high-status value they desire.
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Rather than advertisements they take part in celebrity endorsement which allows the consumers to see powerful people who have made it in the world and aspire to be like them. Kanye West and JAY-Z came out with a song in 2011 called ‘Niggas in Paris’ and reference Margiela in the lyrics “what’s that jacket Margiela”. Kanye is constantly in the public eye and known for showing off his knowledge of fashion in many of his songs, this would have gained Margiela a lot of recognition and perhaps new consumers as Kanye appeals to the younger generation. Place Maison Margiela has stores in big cities such as London, Paris, Milan and New York. I believe this is because the majority of his target consumers work in prime areas as that is where the majority of jobs and money are at. Harrods and Selfridges also stock his clothing which are known for their good quality products. In 1984 when Maison Margiela had completed his ‘tabi boots’ he went into Geert Bruloot’s Crocodrillo store and asked if they’d stock his shoe collection, being a store that sells exciting new designs meant it was a good opportunity to get his Tabi boot recognised. As Indonesia is set to become the world’s Muslim fashion capital in 2020, a strategical move could be to expand and place a store there as long as they cater to Muslim emerging markets.
BCG Matrix
High
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Low
High
Low
Consumer Segmentation
From the early beginnings, Maison Margiela has always focused their target consumers at middle-aged women, due to his first line being women’s clothing which were pricey, only those who have a good wage and were older would generally be able to afford it. As time went on the brand expanded, he began creating men’s clothing as well as accessories, perfumes and furniture which of course broadened their consumer. Twenty years down the line and their target customer is still women aged 35-55 with a good disposable income as well as a business style job.
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Emerging countries in Asia are fast approaching consumers for luxury brands. This is due to their country changing infrastructure leading to greater levels of employment and higher disposable income. Possible Long-term effects of this will mean well-educated populations, rising domestic consumption and an increasingly wealthy middle class. As the residents are becoming wealthier they want a taste of luxury living and are conspicuously consuming more and more high-end goods which is a perfect target for Maison Margiela. To do this they would have to consider the countries culture and adapt their clothing to fit the country’s needs. Another Emerging market is the genderless generation, this new trend is about creating gender-fluid fashion which allows brands to broaden their consumer base. To do this, Maison Margiela could create a line that expresses both genders in each outfit. As this market makes its way into the public eye, the focus of gender fluidity begins a huge discussion; discrimination gets worse which causes people to act sensitive towards the subject. According to practical Androgyny “0.4% of the UK population defines as nonbinary” which is “about 1 in 250 people” (No name stated, practical Androgyny, 2014, practicalandrogyny.com/2014/12/16/how-many-people-in-the-uk-are-nonbinary/). Although this isn’t the biggest of numbers, society slowly begins to make it easier for people to come out which is why they are emerging into markets. If Margiela doesn’t show awareness of this, the brand could potentially gain discrimination which would conclude in a bad reputation for the company.
s in lond on or b ig c itie s
Buisness Job
Live
women aged 35 - 55 wears chanel beauty
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Always takes Taxis, never walks or uses public transport
also buys from celine
es se s in lo ts of ta
luxurious fabrics
Dr
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s
High disposable income
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Competitor Analysis Alexander Wang is the eponymous brand of a young, yet already self-acclaimed designer based in New York, as well as former creative director of Balenciaga. He first brought out his collection in 2005 based upon women’s knitwear and from then he began branching out; selling menswear, shoes and bags. Like Maison Margiela, both their brands define a specific luxury way of living, creating empowering, smart yet fashionable clothing. Both the brands have the same target market of middle aged women however, I believe Wang also has a lot of younger women who purchase his garments due to him laser cutting and genuinely creating garments that show off more skin, which adds a different element to his garments.
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Founded in 1945 by Celine Vipiana, the French ready-to-wear and leather goods brand ‘CELINE’ was created as the first luxury contemporary brand at the end of the second world war. The company started with the production of measure-to-wear shoes, but the trench coat created that emblematic CELINE silhouette which still continues today. Both CELINE and Maison Margiela have the same consumers that, want to feel empowered and to look like tough business women which, is why they both create tailored clothing that looks smart yet fashionable. This positioning map shows how ten competitors relate to Maison Margiela and each other in relation to price and exclusiveness. It can be seen from this that Maison Margiela is the most exclusive brand, past Alexander Mqueen and Alexander Wang who are two celebrated brands that are highly popular with many people over the world. This is due to Maison Margiela being mysterious which makes him more exclusive. Brands such as Vivienne Westwood, Karen Millen and Marni have lower price points and often have sales which open up the brand to a wider market, concluding that they aren’t as exclusive. What sets Maison Margiela out from its competitors is their USP as, they create a show when you are in their stores which consists of the staff wearing lab coats and acting strange, everything is white along with them spreading talcum powder over the floor; this gives a surreal experience to consumers who question what is going off but are intrigued to go back and see what the store has to offer next time.
High price point
Exclusive
Unexclusive
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Low price point
Micro and Macro-Economic Factor Analysis
Pestle factors Political: The political factor has a major impact on Maison Margiela as the government are constantly changing the rules and regulations which entails tighter guidelines on what constitutes fair competition between businesses. Big brands such as Maison Margiela would have faced negative impacts regarding import, export and increased costs due to Brexit which has seen a weakening of the pound, rising fuel costs and rising building materials. Social factor:
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As the globalisation begins to occur in upcoming countries such as South Korea and Nigeria, this opens new potential markets for luxury brands such as Maison Margiela. For them to continue growing means they should consider trends which fit Nigeria’s culture and beliefs, therefore designing head scarfs, creating prints and adding bright colours to garments could suit the cultures heritage. Although Margiela is very minimal, they could create patterns that blend into the colour of the garment so that it keeps the clothing minimal or maybe try laser cutting. If the team at Margiela don’t consider this factor, it could result in an unpopularity for other countries which eventually drains the brand and sets their competitors higher. Technology: Technology is something which is used as part of everyday life but, is expanding in the fashion market as shops are now able to sell online, create apps and interact more efficiently with consumers. Virtual reality has a potential to be a powerful tool for consumer interactions. Shoppers are now able to observe fashion shows from a 360-degree perspective which allows them to feel as though the models are walking in front of their eyes whist also sitting next to celebrities. As I’ve stated before, Maison Margiela’s consumers like this idea of feeling elite so, providing them with a full experience of the show would allow them to gain a real insight into fashion which paves the path to purchasing. From a Marketing perspective, this would also help new potential consumers interact with the brand as well as develop an understanding to what Margiela produces in an entertaining way. Unfortunately, this new resource could also cause problems; by people deciding to stay at home and use virtual reality instead of going to the show would decrease ticket sales and potentially cause the company to lose money.
Environmental: With the constant growth of climate change, pollution control, energy conservations and other scarce resources impacting the world, the fashion industry is in desperate need of innovative decisions to help stop pollution. An alternative problem has been suggested by Ananas Anam, who has developed a substitute to leather, consisting of pineapple leafs which offer an eco-friendly and economic result due to the process not in-need of land or water. The plant-based alternative will not only reduce the need for natural resources but, will offer additional fabric. This is all great for the environment and Maison Margiela’s ‘Artisanal’ line but, how will this help his women’s and men’s wear line when they pride their selves on good quality fabric? In my opinion, the brand wouldn’t be able to correspond with this new idea of fabrication as the company’s purpose is to for-fill the needs of their consumer who like to have high end, quality clothing not something which is made out of plants, instead they could add this to their ‘artisanal’ line and create awareness or even add a new line which has a different target market.
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SWOT Anaysis
Strengths: The strengths of this brand are that they have superior craftsmanship which keeps the consumers coming back as they are reliable. They also have a recycled line which helps the issues of the environment due to no pollution or waste. Not only do they help with pollution control but they have recently created an aids t-shirt where all the money made is donated to ‘AIDES’, a French organization working to improve the living conditions and defend the rights of people affected by HIV/AIDS, this contributes to giving the brand a good reputation. Weaknesses:
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Due to their pricing strategy, Maison Margiela has a limited number of consumers and nothing is aimed at the younger generation which, could cause problems in later years when this generation grows up as, they may have a brand they’ll stick with forever. The fact this company doesn’t advertise further increases their limits as lots of people are unaware of this brand. I actually made a survey and only 26% of the people who someway work in the fashion industry, had actually heard of Maison Margiela. There is only one store in the whole of the UK which yes, they are saving money on electricity bills but, they’ve cut their consumers in half as not all their consumers will live in London and most women like to try items on before they buy. Opportunities: They could expand presence in emerging markets. Create collaborations with companies like Zara or Topshop would gain publicity to the younger generation. Threat: There has been a rising advocacy against animal skin and the majority of their footwear and bags are made from real leather. This could damage the brand if actions get taken further as, they pride themselves in using luxurious fabrics which replacing leather could destroy the essence of a product.
Recommendations
Due to advertisements being key in most businesses, I feel as if Maison Margiela would gain more consumers by doing so. As they like to peruse this idea of being an ‘anti-brand’ I would suggest they create a random flash mob in the middle of London, using contemporary dances who show off Margiela’s latest ‘Artisanal’ line. This would encourage people to record and post about this random act on social media; gaining publicity for the company. However, no-one would never explain why this happened to keep the weird fantasy of the brand going. As a young student, I would love to purchase goods from Margiela however, I currently aren’t able to afford anything they sell. One of the things I do spend a lot of money on is skincare and I would recommend they create a very scientific skin care range which, could encourage a variety of people to explore their brand further as well as satisfy their current consumers as, many middle ages women do purchase expensive facial creams.
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Bibliography Admin, Social Medias Effect on The Fashion Industry, 2017, greenbuzzagency.com/social-medias-affect-on-the-fashion-industry/ Amra’s Haute Life, How does politics effect the fashion industry, 2017, amrashautelife.com/2017/06/23/how-does-politics-affect-the-fashion-industry/ By gest Contributor, Maison Martin Margiela, 2009, businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/maison-martin-margiela-part-one-–-the-cult-of-invisibility Caroline Leaper, Martin Margiela, 2017, vogue.co.uk/gallery/martin-margiela Claire Wilcox, (2017) John Galliano-unseen, London: Thames & Hudson
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Contiributor, The Maison Martin Margiela reference guide, 2012, thirdlooks.com/2012/11/maison-martin-margiela-reference-guide/ Dean Mayo Davies, Maison Martin Margiela: clinical precision, 2013, dazeddigital.com/fashion/ article/15478/1/maison-martin-margiela Deborah Drew and Genevieve Yehounme, The apparel Industry’s Enviromental Impact in 6 Graphics, 2017, wri.org/blog/2017/07/apparel-industrys-environmental-impact-6-graphics Jian DeLeon, The Genderless Generation, 2016, wgsn.com/content/search/#/fashion%2520consumers Jill Danyelle, Martin Margiela Artisanal: Reclaiming (clothing) design, 2007, inhabitat.com/ martin-margiela-artisanal-reclaiming-clothing-design/
K Debo, L Loppa - The Berg companion to fashion, 2010 - fashion-history.lovetoknow.com Leslie Zhang, Delicately Heinous: The Unlikely Success of the Margiela Tabi, 2017, heroine. com/the-editorial/Margiela-tabi
No name stated, practical Androgyny, 2014, https://practicalandrogyny.com/2014/12/16/how-manypeople-in-the-uk-are-nonbinary/ Olivia Singer, A tale of Margielas Tabi Boot, 2015, www.anothermag.com/fashion-beauty/7721/thetale-of-margielas-tabi-boot Patric Scallon, Drogue, 2010, theinternationaldroguemarket.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/absence-equals-presence-patrick-scallon.html
Richard O’mahony, Remembered, 2016, businessoffashion.com/articles/bof-exclusive/remembered-thegame-changing-martin-margiela-show-of-1989
Signaturesweaves, Impact of technology on fashion industry, 2017, https://www.signatureweaves. com/impact-of-technology-on-fashion-industry/
S.Tamer.Cavusgil, (2002) Doing Buisness in emerging markets, London:SAGE
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