Future Plans

This case study is an appraisal of Prada as a brand and details Prada’s strategic direction, key functions, and performance within the current fashion landscape. The Prada Group consists of five luxury brands: Prada, Miu Miu, Church's, Car Shoe and Marchesi 1824. Prada was founded in Milan, Italy in 1913 by Mario Prada (current CEO Miuccia Prada’s grandfather) (Selfridges, 2018). Mario Prada sold luxury leather bags, trunks and travel accessories earning Prada the title of ‘Official Supplier of the Italian Royal House’ (Yaeger, 2021).

Prada’s identity is rooted in tradition yet synonymous with class, luxury and innovation, qualities which give the brand a strategic advantage. Prada was founded on three core brand values: creative independence, transformation and sustainable development (Prada, 2022). These three values are reflected in their core competencies i.e. innovative design, authentic luxury goods, a unified customer experience and high-quality materials, in particular leather. In fact, Prada owns 5% of the European market share in luxury leather goods, ranking 4th overall (Statista, 2019).

Another icon of the Prada brand is their use of Nylon. Prada’s synonymy with Nylon began when Miuccia Prada designed her first bag, a backpack called the Vela (Yaeger, 2021). The Vela backpack went on to become a best seller attracting a new audience of younger consumers. In 2019, Prada reimagined their use of Nylon in their Re-Nylon collection a sustainable range of bags consisting of a tote bag, shoulder bag, belt bag, and two backpacks (Yaeger, 2021).

02

strategic direction

In 2020, Prada suffered a 93% loss of revenue after “one of the most challenging years for the fashion industry on record, marked by declining sales, shifting customer behaviour and disrupted supply chains” (Mintel, 2021) (McKinsey& Company, 2020). The lack of international tourism from China and the Middle East to Europe has massively impacted Prada, causing less footfall to their physical stores and resulting in an increase in demand for digital retail and the need for online presence. This is reflected in Prada’s current strategies, focusing on meta-marketing opportunities including NFTs, AR lenses and virtual influencers (Napoli, 2022).

Prada’s most recent partnership is a collaboration with Adidas, in which tradition meets innovation. Adidas by Prada Re-Nylon is an “environmentally conscious innovation” consisting of a recycled 21 piece collection and an NFT art project (Adidas, 2022). The collection uses Prada’s Re-Nylon in support of Prada’s ongoing sustainability initiatives. The collaboration combines the brands’ iconic symbols and unites their consumers while building on Prada’s established sportswear customer base from their Linea Rossa collection.

This year, Prada took a dive into the meta-verse through the use of NFTs and virtual influencers. In their Rethink Reality fragrance advert, a virtual influencer named ‘Candy’ starred as their digital muse (Napoli, 2022). Alongside the Adidas collection, Adidas for Prada re-source was also released, in a “first-of-its-kind NFT project featuring creatorowned art, in collaboration with digital artist Zach Lieberman" (Adidas, 2022). The project allowed for co-creation and enabled the brand communities to contribute to a large scale artwork. Three thousand consumer submitted images were selected, manipulated and minted as NFTs for free. The selected images were merged into one massive patchwork NFT, designed by Zach Lieberman. The final image was auctioned on SuperRare and displayed as an installation at Prada and Adidas flagship stores (Princess, 2022).

Another shift in consumer behaviour is the concern around sustainability and transparency. In 2021 Google searches for the “impact of climate change” hit its peak (Napoli, 2022). According to McKinsey (2020), more than three in five consumers said brands’ promotion of sustainability was an important factor in their purchasing decisions. The Prada Group began their sustainability strategy in 2019 by signing The Fashion Pact, a CEO-led alliance with a common agenda across three environmental pillars: Climate, Biodiversity and Oceans (The Fashion Pact, 2020). Prada’s current strategy revolves around their Re-Nylon project, in which their goal is to “convert all virgin Prada nylon into Re-Nylon by the end of 2021” (Bertelli, 2020). Prada Re-Nylon fabric (Econyl®) is produced in partnership with the Italian textile producer Aquafil. Econyl® is a ‘regenerated-nylon yarn’ that can be recycled again and again and is made from recycled plastic ocean waste (Prada Group, 2019). To promote the Re-Nylon Project and display the process behind it, National Geographic (Prada’s Storytelling Partner) produced a limited documentary series titled, What We Carry (Prada News, 2019). The five episodes are available to watch on the National Geographic website, Prada’s YouTube channel and their website. Part of the proceeds from Prada Re-Nylon collections are being donated to UNESCO, in a collaboration called Sea Beyond (Yotka, 2019). Sea Beyond is an educational scheme devised to raise awareness and develop international understanding about sustainability and ocean preservation (Prada, 2019).

03

key functions

(Snapchat, 2021) (LG & Prada, 2008)

04

current performance

In 2020, after a year of disruptions and a decline in revenue of 93% due to Covid-19, Raf Simmons became Creative Co-Director of Prada (Mintel, 2021). Subsequently, Prada has been doing increasingly well, the brand reported a 66% revenue increase for the first half of 2021 and is ranked in the top 100 best global brands of 2021 (Lyst Insights, 2021) (Interbrand, 2021). According to Lyst (2021), Prada had the most searched logo on their platform, receiving four times more searches than the previous year. For SS21, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons unveiled their first collection as co-creative directors which showcased the triangular Prada logo. Online trends across TikTok and other social medias have helped Prada reach a new audience of Gen Z consumers. The online obsession with the naughties and nineties as seen in the Y2k fashion trend has brought the Prada Re-Edition 2000 and 2005 Re-Nylon bags back in style. Prada is the fourth ‘hottest’ brand on Lyst’s Fashion’s Hottest Brands and Products Q3 2021, with Prada’s raffia tote bag topping the list for the women’s hottest products thanks to the crochet craze amongst influencers on TikTok and Instagram (Lyst Insights, 2021).

most searched logo in 2021 4th Hottest brand 2021

top 100 best global brands of 2021

1st hottest women’s product of 2021

66% revenue increase for the first half of 2021

Prada has partnered with Sprinklr, in their digital-first strategy to unify digital marketing and customer experience (Lang, 2022). Since the implementation of Sprinklr’s AI-powered research to target, reach and engage with younger audiences, Prada’s brand visibility across social media and online has increased (Sprinklr, 2020). Prada’s site traffic has surged by 107% and traffic to the Chinese site by 259% (Prada, 2021). Prada’s digital fashion week shows have also been extremely well received. The Men’s SS22 show on IGTV gained 2.9m views. As a result, Prada ranked first in the IGTV Men’s Fashion Week category and first on Reach and Engagement Rate during Fashion Weeks (Prada, 2021).

Since signing the Fashion Pact Prada have been committed to improving their sustainability agenda, according to Prada’s chairman, Carlo Mazzi “Sustainability cannot be simply a marketing tool” (Mazzi, 2019). In 2019, Prada became the first luxury retailer to sign a sustainability-based loan, which means if they don’t deliver on their environmental targets they will lose out financially (Chan, 2019). Prada’s key environmental initiatives include the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and investment into energy efficiency with the ultimate goal of fighting climate change (Prada, 2021). 100% of Prada’s electricity usage in Italy comes from renewable sources and they recently became the brand with the highest number of LEED certifications in the high-end luxury sector (Prada News, 2022). Prada’s Re-Nylon products save 70,000 barrels of petroleum and reduce 65,100 tons of CO2 emissions for every 10,000 tons of Re-Nylon used. In Autumn 2021, Prada debuted their organic denim collection which featured a line of denim pieces made from certified 100% Global Organic Textile Standard cotton. The cotton was harvested from an organic farm which avoids the use of fertilisers and pesticides to minimise its impact on the environment. The denim was dyed using the ‘Acquasave’ process which requires less water, saving 10 litres per meter of fabric (Viberg, 2021).

05

future plans

Prada’s future promotional strategies involve increasing their ecommerce presence and driving consumer engagement through personalised customer experiences. Prada recently pushed further into the metaverse by partnering with Ubisoft’s outdoor multiplayer sports game Riders Republic, which allowed players to dress their avatars in Prada branded sportswear (Tan, 2022) (Benissan, 2022). Prada’s brick-and-mortar strategy revolves around making stores a brand hub, in which it becomes a brand enhancer, communication tool and home of the brand (Prada, 2021). As international tourism is still recovering its important for luxury brands to engage with local consumers (McKinsey & Company, 2020). Therefore Prada is using retail experiences that are reflective of local values to build an audience of communityfocused consumers. Prada recently took over a local wet market in Shanghai by wrapping everyday essentials in specially designed Prada packaging and rebranding the frontage with their signature prints and motifs. The transformation represented “a way for the brand to meet consumers on their terms, taking the brand messaging directly to them and communicating that they understand the nuances of their culture and locality” (Saunter, 2021). The campaign will be rolled out in other fashion cities like Paris, London and New York, and the format will be adjusted to provide an authentic, local experience for each city.

references

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references

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references

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image references

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