TOMMY HILFIGER CRITIQUE
Brand Image
Tommy Hilfiger is an American brand that was created in 1971 and established in 1985. It is now a multi billion dollar buisness that is well known across the globe. It delivers high end and exclusive garments, products and customer service giving consumers a unique experience when purchasing from the brand. Tommy Hilfiger idendities itself with a classic ‘American, Preppy style’ however in recent years has tried to move away from this title and lean back towards the 90s, an era of pop music and where your individuality was to be expressed. Within the brand are 3 collections splitting it up, which are: ‘Sports wear collection’ offering a more sophisticted and fitted look, along side it is: ‘The Tommy Jeans Collection’ providing customers with brand heritage, wider fit clothing and overall a 90s feel to keep the brand’s story and history alive. Moving on to womens wear is the ‘Tommy Icons’ collection which made its mark on the runways late summer of 2018. With Tommy Hilfiger mainly being known for it’s menswear in recent years the brand has tried it’s hardest to push and excel in the women’s department by dropping this ultimate collection, encouraging women to express themselves and embrace what makes them unique, famous faces such as Winnie Harlow and Hayley Baldwin flaunted the collection in 2018’s fashion week.
1979
Tommy created the company “Tommy Hill”.
1992
The Tommy Hilfiger corporation went .public
2004
The Tommy Corporation reach $1.8 billion in revenue.
1985
The Tommy Hilfiger corporation was founded with the help of the Murjan group.
1995
Hilfiger was named menswear designer of the year by the American Council of Fashion designers.
2010
Phillips-Van Heusen brought The Tommy Hilfiger Corporation for $3 billion.
T I M E L I N E
1986
New line made it’s debut and established the brand with help from marketing campaigns in time square
1998
1989
Tommy left the Murjani group and went international with new financial stakeholders and board executives.
2000s
Tommy Hilfiger opened it’s first store in London.
Signed a deal to distribute Tommy lines in Macy;s due to large decline in sales.
2016
2017
Tommy collaborated with Gigi Hadid.
For the first time Tommy didn’t take part in February’s new York fashion week as they focused on their read-to-wear show in LA.
STRENGTHS
OPPORTUNITIES
Customer engagement: Tommy cares.
Expansion of showrooms/shops.
The brand’s 3 principles: ‘The way we create our, the way we opperate and the way we communicate”.
Department stores.
The brand’s commitment to stustainability. In 2016 Tommy Hilfiger made $6.6 billion in global retail sales revenue.
New Market: China. Expand more on the digitals that are offered in retail stores.
USP: Classic American prep with a twist. Tommy networks in over 100 countries and has 1,800 stores.
SWOT Analysis
WEAKNESSES Mystery shopper reports.
Plummeting financial performance in the past 2 years. Women’swear and Childrens line falls far behind in sales compared to the menswear range.
THREATS
Current state of eceonomy resulting in lack of demand for luxury fashion. Competitors: Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and Deisel.
Financial performance Total Revenues $3,511 million in 2016 $3,370 million in 2015 $3,582 million in 2014
EBIT
$391 million in 2016
$402 million in 2015 $509 million in 2014
Tommy Hilfiger’s global retail sales were $6.7 billion in 2014 due to the launch of Gigi Hadids collection, this drop increased Tommy sales as they tapped into a new market and demographic. As you can see, Tommy’s financial performance is deteriorating fasty, however their global retail sales are still high. Profits and overall financial performance is slipping which is poor for a luxury company such as Tommy Hilfiger.
Campaign Analysis APRIL Sales plumeted through the roof whe the 90s collecction launched into stores and online.
Consumers were absolutelty mesmorised by the idea of being taken back to the 90s, an era of punk and rock. Tommy Hilfiger want to make their demographic feel like they were hopping into a time machine when garments were being purchased in store, this was achieved by a technique called: ‘Story Telling’. A connection was made between old and loyal customers, however new relationships were also built between a younger generation and Tommy Hilfiger, as it created a new interest to a younger demographic. Famous influencers such as GiGi Hadid, Bella Hadid, Winnie Harlow, Zayne Malik, Suki, Immy Waterhouse, Jouran Dunn and Caroline Vreeland advertised and campaigned across their social media platforms. As mentioned in the above, Tommy Stores were told to introduce: ‘Story Telling’ to sales associates working for the brand.
Products were limited, meaning the value of the garments were higher, this obvuously created an exclusive feeling when purchasing your chosen items, however also was frustrated to loyal consumers who tried hard to get hold of a specific garment and item but couldn’t due to selling out. Tommy Hilfiger decided that once an item was sold out it would not be stocked for another 5 - 10 years.
SPRING 2017
Online Presence
Tommy Hilfifger has a huge online presence with a massive instgram following of 9.3M. Every campaig you see is advertised mainly on to this platform 5 days before a drop. The brand has a huge influence over embassadors such as Lewis Hamilton and GiGi Hadid, meaning everything is also advertised on their platforms which naturally expands the brand’s demographic. The online website is very easy and simple to navigate and is also accessable in stores with digital mirrors, tables and Ipads.
Bibliography Forumshoppingcenter.rs. (2018). HILFIGER DENIM LAUNCHES SPRING 2017 TOMMY JEANS ‘90S COLLECTION | Forum Shopping Center. [online] Available at: http://forumshoppingcenter.rs/en/hilfiger-denim-launchesspring-2017-tommy-jeans-90s-collection/ [Accessed 19 Nov. 2018]. Uk.tommy.com. (2018). Tommy Hilfiger® UK | Black Friday Sale Until November 26th. [online] Available at: https://uk.tommy.com/?cmpid=ch:sea|dp:ecom|so:google|cg:br|cp:18686622|co:gb|la:en|ts:kwd-14917630|ag:444305682|mk:tommy%20hilfiger|cr:226455403168|mt:e|sl:|ap:1t1|ma:c&gclid=Cj0KCQiA28nfBRCDARIsANc5BFD_mwNUFplCld5VyN8mbw_wX03r3VvRnuoPHIpaEmlvX1OW0u_fvdUaArN-EALw_wcB [Accessed 19 Nov. 2018]. Murjani Group. (2018). Tommy Hilfiger | Murjani Group. [online] Available at: http://www.murjanigroup.com/ tommy-hilfiger/ [Accessed 12 Nov. 2018]. Global.tommy.com. (2017). Tommy Hilfiger LATEST NEWS. [online] Available at: http://global.tommy.com/in/ en/newsroom/latest-news/15 [Accessed 15 Nov. 2018]. Imaxtree.com. (2018). IMAXtree. [online] Available at: https://www.imaxtree.com/ [Accessed 13 Nov. 2018]. Allan, C. (2016). Fashion Week first: Tommy Hilfiger introduces Instagram photo pit Snap, snap, snap. [online] Buro. Available at: http://www.buro247.me/fashion/news/tommy-hilfiger-s-instagram-photo-pit.html [Accessed 15 Nov. 2018].