Jimmy Choo Situational Analysis by lydiawarren

Lydia Warren N0728408 Fashion Marketing and Branding

JIMMY CHOO

ethics clause....................................................................................................................................................................................1 introduction ....................................................................................................................................................................................3 methodology ....................................................................................................................................................................................4 market research .............................................................................................................................................................................5 pestle analysis ................................................................................................................................................................................7 macro trend analysis .....................................................................................................................................................................8 competitor analysis .....................................................................................................................................................................10 brand health .................................................................................................................................................................................11 pen portrait ...................................................................................................................................................................................13 brand positioning map ..................................................................................................................................................................14 swot analysis ................................................................................................................................................................................16 conclusion .....................................................................................................................................................................................18 list of illustrations .....................................................................................................................................................................20 appendix .........................................................................................................................................................................................22 references.....................................................................................................................................................................................25 bibliography ..................................................................................................................................................................................26

I can confirm that this work has gained ethical approval and that I have faithfully observed the terms of approval in the conduct of this project.

Signed (student): ……………………………….. Date: / /

Word Count: 1826

contents

In this report of Jimmy Choo, the brand will be critically analysed, investigating their current marketing strategies, their health and positioning as a brand, and their market environment. Following the information sourced and analysed, recommendations will be made for Jimmy Choo in order for them to progress and develop.

To carry out research to base analysis and evaluative recommendations on, primary and secondary research is conducted. Through research, it allows for non biased information to be analysed, allowing for the critical analysis of Jimmy Choo. In order to gain a wide range of research, both primary and secondary research has been carried out.

For primary research, two separate surveys have been carried out;

A general survey beginning to gather consumer perceptions and information about Jimmy Choo

A specific survey created especially for the gathering of information to provide recommendations for Jimmy Choo

When considering the market health, it is important to consider the market in which Jimmy Choo falls. Given the competitive nature of the luxury market, and how overcrowded it is, it is difficult for brands o stand out and therefore retain a substantial stake in the luxury marker. A report by Deloitte, entitled “Global Powers of Luxury Goods 2017” explores the idea of the power of luxury goods on consumers and the way in which they shop for these items. In February 2017, Deloitte carried out a survey, interviewing over 1300 luxury consumers, from over 11 different countries, to understand and explore their attitudes towards luxury goods.

“Our analysis found that over the last 5 years, consumers spending on luxury goods has remained relatively robust, with only a small proportion (4%) claiming to have cut back on their spending.”

In terms of the financial market health of Jimmy Choo, they released in their 2016 Annual report that their total revenue was £364M, with their brand communication spend in 2016 was 5.0% of revenue. 5% of the revenue is a significant proportion of the revenue and therefore showing the emphasis on communication for the brand. The growth of the business has been consistently developing, evident through the recent buying of Jimmy Choo by Michael Kors. In July 2017, Michael Kors bought Jimmy Choo for £896M. According to Lisa Armstrong from the Daily Telegraph, "Some other brands are very overexposed, like the red-soled Louboutin, but Jimmy Choo managed to get in the limelight, stay there but never become oversaturated”. 5

It is imperative for a global business like Jimmy Choo to abide by all laws affecting their company, in terms of legal regulations, such as minimum wage, employment laws and health and safety rules. Abiding by all these rules prevents them from incurring lawsuits which will result in a loss. Similar to this, they also have to ensure that all of their staff are trained to abide by training laws.

social

economic

With the economical state constantly changing, and Jimmy Choo being a global company with worldwide impact, it is likely that the performance of the business will be impacted, in terms of inflation rate, interest rates, foreign exchange rates and economic growth patterns. In Britain, Jimmy Choo could be affected by the consequences of Brexit, as the strength of the British pound fluctuates, affecting the change in the retail environment, leading to complications in importing goods. This could potentially increase costs for retailers, which will therefore affect the likelihood of retailers stocking Jimmy Choo products.

environmental

The current market sees a significant influence from social media and celebrity endorsement allowing customers to identify with a specific celebrity. In order for Jimmy Choo to stay relevant, they need to add emphasis to their social media accounts to maintain customer loyalty. An article by the Business of Fashion states that “Despite the challenges in understanding its metrics, Facebook and Instagram have provided unprecedented amounts of data that allow you to reach those people in a way that is really efficient and can be really personal.” This means that Jimmy Choo need to have a strong social media presence to allow their content to reach a wide range of social media users.

Legal

Political Technological

When considering the political effects endured by Jimmy Choo, the significance of their worldwide consumer base has an impact on their political positioning. The increase or decrease in tax is apolitical factors that could directly affect Jimmy Choo, as it will affect their pricing decisions and revenue, therefore having a direct affect on the consumer. Due to the constant change in the political environment, there are a lot of potential changes that can influence Jimmy Choo, meaning they have to be prepared for changes and quick to adapt and implement rules according the the current laws. The current state of Brexit also will affect Jimmy Choo in terms of trading across the EU and how this will affect the European and British market.

According the to Jimmy Choo Modern Slavery Act for 2015, “Jimmy Choo is committed to improving working conditions for workers both under Jimmy Choo direct operations and across the Jimmy Choo supply chain.” With the company being global, there is a chance there the working conditions for some sections of the manufacturing process may not be up to the standards of the UK. Jimmy Choo manufacture their shoes and accessories in Europe, meaning they abide by strict legislation in regards to child labour.

Jimmy Choo pride themselves in conducting their business in an ethical manner. As stated in their annual report for 2016, Jimmy Choo “recognises the importance of reducing our impact on the environment, increasing our positive social influence and working together to sell sustainably produced products.” Environmental production can be achieved through sustainable production methods and the use of recycled packing, therefore producing as minimal effect on the environment as possible.

When considering the market environment of the brand, it is useful to consider some macro trends which will affect the future of the brand and therefore their opportunity for growth in this aspect. One of the key trends moving forward in the fashion industry is the rise of technology and how this affects the industry. With the development of technology affecting the wider world and the way in which consumers behave, it is also translated into the fashion industry through the use of omni channel marketing, such as the use of apps. Jimmy Choo do not have an app and therefore they are missing out on an opportunity to grow a bigger consumer base. In order to demonstrate this, a mock up app has been made as a prototype. This is a rough guide as to what the app could look like, allowing consumers to browse the upcoming collections, watch lookbooks on how to style their favourite pair of shoes, or make purchases directly from the app. In addition to this, rise in demand for personalised products means that the consumer has become more demanding and expect more from their products. In this respect, Jimmy Choo have adapted to this trend and the demand from the consumer and launched their Made to Order service. This allows the consumer to shape the product around their requirements and needs. Through this service, the consumer feels more attached to the brand and feels a more personal connection with them, meaning they are more likely to shop with them again. 8

1996 founded 1986 LOndon, uk HQ NEw york, usa

$247.7M

estimated revenue

$368.2M

3 million

facebook likes

700,000

7.5 million

instagram followers

834,000

1.5 million

twitter followers

47,5000

According to Owler, Jimmy Choo’s main competitor is Stuart Weitzman, an American shoe designer, who has designed for well known celebrities such as Beyonce and Taylor Swift. From the statistics shown, it is clear that there is a larger social media presence presented by Jimmy Choo, however, Stuart Weitzman have a large estimated revenue. This is due to the significant higher average prices, with Stuart Weitzman being accredited with making the most expensive shoes in the world. With Jimmy Choo’s most popular stiletto being their ‘Romy 100’ classic court shoe, priced at £425.00, as opposed to Stuart Weitzman’s most popular shoe priced at £475.00.

When considering the health of the brand in terms of its perception by consumers and the awareness of the brand, a questionnaire was filled out by members of the public, with specific questions to inform the research into the awareness of the brand and its perception from others (see Appendix for full questionnaire). One questionnaire in particular, entitled How familiar are you with the brand Jimmy Choo? (scale of 1 (never heard of them) - 10 (very familiar)), revealed the familiarity of the brand with a wide range of people, ranging from under 18 to over 60. Over 50% of the participants rated a 5 out of 10 or less, in terms of their familiarity. This is a particularly high statistic for a brand that operates so highly in the luxury market. However, one could argue this is to do with the types of people that shop with the brand and are therefore aware of them, in relation to the types of people who answered the survey. Countering this, it can be interpreted in that this suggests that the brand need to consider working on their brand perception. When interviewing (see Appendix for full interview) a participant, she responded, “I don’t know much about them [Jimmy Choo], I only really walked past the shops when in London and New York, I wouldn’t be able to identify a pair if I saw them”, when asked about her awareness of the brand. This particular answer and opinion could be damaging for the brand, as competitors such as Louboutins have such iconic red soles, making them distinctive among other luxury heel designers.

“To capture the Hearts of Women and Inspire Men Around the World.” In analysis of this mission statement, it seems somewhat disconnected to the brand and what the brand stands for. When considering the customers of Jimmy Choo, and the brand image it presents of itself, there could be a more specific edge to the mission statement, perhaps including a more descriptive way of expressing the business. 11

luxury

fashion

Practical

economical

In order to assess the brand positioning of Jimmy Choo, it is helpful to visualise the brands position in relation to their competitors. This brand positioning graph has been created in terms of the luxury to economic status of the brand and how fashionable to practical the brand is. The main competitors for Jimmy Choo fall in the luxury/fashion category, as Jimmy Choo and its competitors are at the higher end of the shoe market. In order for Jimmy Choo to maintain their positioning alongside other luxury brands, they decided to launch their Made to Order service in May 2014. They launched this service, allowing the customer to have the shoes made to their specification, altering aspects such as the colour, fabric and heel height, and even adding a personalised monogram on the sole of the shoe. Jimmy Choo launched this service in some of their most popular shoe styles, including Anouk, Lance and Romy. In terms of how this helps the brand in their positioning, they are able to customers a far more personalised service meaning that the Jimmy Choo customer will always leave happy, and feel like their shoes are specific for them. However, with a personalisation service, there is a restriction in terms of how much a shoe can be personalised, especially as they do not run the Made-to-Order service across all products. Moreover, a study conducted (see Appendix Survey 1, Question 3) showed that 18% of respondents rated the importance of personalisation as a 3 out of 10. This statistic could suggest that the personalisation service they run is not as effective as hoped, as there was a low rating in terms of how important the participants rated personalisation. 15

strengths

weaknesses

- High quality manufacture - this is guaranteed for consumer as they are getting a high quality product and therefore getting the quality that they have paid for - Collaborations with H&M → accessed a different demographic and market - reaches into popular culture - Timeless style, appealing to a wide range of customers - Choo World - online exclusive world for consumers - Made-to-order offer - personalisation for the consumer, allows the customer to feel engaged with the brand on an intimate level Lack of social media presence

- Lack of social media presence means the customer does not have as much opportunity to connect with the brand - No familiar face for the brand to associate with in terms of celebrity endorsement ie Gigi Hadid and Tommy Hilfiger - Their marketing in general seems to be aimed at women which doesn’t reach all of their product range as the have products for men - Wide product range which lots of consumers aren’t aware of, limiting Jimmy Choo to a smaller range of sales if consumers aren’t aware of their broad range

opportunities

threats

- Improve social media presence - way less followers than competitors such as Chanel and Dior - Consider using more celebrity endorsements to encourage popularity, choosing celebrities that encompass the brand and their ethos - Minimise their product range - relocating their focus will mean they are able to specify on the products they are selling and make the most profit they can - More stores will allow customers to go and try the products on near them - a vital process when buying shoes

- Rise in new technology and new channels → Jimmy Choo don’t have an app and therefore they may miss out on opportunities more consumers use their phones to make purchases with - Gender blurring more in fashion (eg Selfridges Agender campaign) - difficult to blur the lines in high end luxury fashion - Shoes are so luxury and specific to their brand - could become outdated if other brands are developing gender neutral lines - Get lost in the market if they are not distinctive enough

Upon analysis of the SWOT, it is clear that there are strong strengths that benefit Jimmy Choo in their current state of function. However, the SWOT has highlighted that there are significant opportunities for the brand which will allow them to keep up with their competitors and therefore make more of an advancement in the luxury fashion market. 16

When considering the potential of the brand, and recommendations that could be made to improve it, it is clear from the research conducted that the brand awareness is something that Jimmy Choo could improve on to develop the way they are perceived by consumers. Given the constantly developing technological world, the best way to conduct this is through social media, channels that affect and impact many different demographics of people.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Jimmy Chooâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brand communication spend in 2016 was 5.0% of revenue vs 4.9% in 2015, with a key focus on the 20th anniversary of the brand.â&#x20AC;? Despite the statistic sharing the percentage spent on their communication, there is room for improvement in terms of the average social media users exposure to Jimmy Choo on social media. This would mean that there would be more awareness of the brand built up of time, and therefore ultimately growing the business through sales driven through more awareness. Similar to this, there is development for the use of celebrity endorsement. When considering other brands competing with Jimmy Choo in the luxury market, such as Tommy Hilfiger, one is quick to associate Gigi Hadid with the brand due to her recent collaboration with them, and the exposure this had over social media. If Jimmy Choo were to do the same with a popular celebrity who encompassed their brand values, such as Jessica Biel, as she is a sophisticated, mature actress who would suit the brand and their DNA well. This would therefore mean Jessica Biel and Jimmy Choo would have a symbiotic codependent relationship, whereby they will both benefit from any exposure each other has. In terms of recommendations for the brand in relation to positioning and their product range, it can be recommended that in order to focus and develop the products that they sell, then they would do well to reduce their product range. The broad product range does not benefit Jimmy Choo as there is a limited knowledge that they sell items such as male accessories and gifts. 18

https://www.celebphotos.blog/ cara-delevingne-jimmy-choo-2017holiday-campaign/

http://cdn.lovika.com/wpcontent/uploads/2015/01/ jimmy-choo-spring-summer2015-collection-6.jpg http://www.jimmychoo.com/on/demandware. static/-/Library-Sites-jch-shared-general/ default/dw779e878d/images/2015/chooworld/news/cr16/cr16-landscape1.jpg

https://static.guim.co.uk/ sys-images/Guardian/Pix/ pictures/2014/10/13/1413213242522/ Jimmy-Choo-advert-from-20-011.jpg 20

https://hdqwalls. com/download/caradelevingne-jimmy-choo4k-vb-360x640.jpg

https://www. pinterest.co.uk/ pin/492933121705669880/

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https://www. pinterest.co.uk/ pin/481603753879966519/

https://i.pinimg.com/236x/d3/92/ee/ d392ee8bf8f914e47dcc12ce7628093c-natasha-poly-natasha-okeeffe.jpg https://static1.squarespace.com/

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https://www. pinterest.co.uk/ pin/417286721710794139/

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http://artlistr.com/wp-content/ uploads/2017/02/JimmyChoo-Print-Ad.jpg

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https://theimpression.com/wpcontent/uploads/Jimmy-Choocruise-2017-ad-campaign-theimpression-01.jpg

Full Interview with Hannah Dawson, Participant of Survey. Please name me three words that come to mind when I say Jimmy Choo. H: Expensive, heels, handbags. What is your awareness of the brand? H: I don't know much about them, I have only really walked past the shops in London and New York, I wouldn’t be able to pick them out if I saw a pair them. Have you ever come across Jimmy Choo on social media? H: Not that I can remember. Can you name a celebrity Jimmy Choo have collaborated with in their adverts? H: I don’t think I could. What products are you aware that Jimmy Choo sell? H: Shoes and handbags.

Interview Consent Form Project Name: Researcher: As the participant, I agree: - That the use of my information and answers to be used in the researchers work - That all information given is unbiased - That if I no longer wish to be a participant of the researcher’s project, I have the right to request my information to be removed - That all information shared is kept private and will not be shared with a third-party source Name: ……………………………… 22

Signed: ………………………………

References BBC (2017). Jimmy Choo bought by Michael Kors. [online] BBC News. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40714083 [Accessed 9 Jan. 2018]. Choo, J. (2016). Jimmy Choo Annual Report 2016. [online] Jimmy Choo. Available at: http://www.annualreports.com/HostedData/AnnualReports/PDF/LSE_ CHOO_2016.pdf [Accessed 5 Jan. 2018]. Fernandez, C. (2016). Snapchat, Facebook or Instagram: Who Is Winning the Social Media Shopping Race?. [online] The Business of Fashion. Available at: https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/fashion-tech/who-is-winning-the-social-media-shopping-race [Accessed 14 Jan. 2018]. H&M (2009). Jimmy Choo brings glamour to H&M this autumn. [online] About.hm.com. Available at: http://about.hm.com/en/media/news/jimmy_choo_ autumn_hm.html [Accessed 14 Jan. 2018]. Owler (2018). Jimmy Choo Company Profile | Owler. [online] Owler.com. Available at: https://www.owler.com/iaApp/250223/jimmy-choo-company-profile [Accessed 12 Jan. 2018]. Owler (2018). Stuart Weitzman Company Profile | Owler. [online] Owler.com. Available at: https://www.owler.com/iaApp/379923/stuart-weitzman-companyprofile [Accessed 12 Jan. 2018]. Saini, S. (2015). A classy British retailer just launched a genderless collection, and the clothes look like the future of fashion. [online] Business Insider. Available at: http://uk.businessinsider.com/selfridges-launches-agender-campaign-2015-8 [Accessed 2 Jan. 2018]. Www2.deloitte.com. (2017). Global Powers of Luxury Goods 2017. [online] Available at: https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/ consumer-industrial-products/gx-cip-global-powers-luxury-2017.pdf [Accessed 13 Jan. 2018].

Dennis, P. (2015). Jimmy Choo Statement: Modern Slavery Act 2015. [online] Jimmy Choo. Available at: http://www.jimmychoo.com/on/demandware. static/-/Library-Sites-jch-shared-general/default/dwa033e15d/footer/Jimmy-Choo-PLC-Modern-Slavery-Act-Statement-Final-290617.pdf [Accessed 13 Jan. 2018]. Johnson, M. (2017). Jimmy Choo Posts Insane Profit Growth: What It Means for Michael Kors. [online] Zacks Investment Research. Available at: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/274182/jimmy-choo-posts-insane-profit-growth-what-it-means-for-michael-kors [Accessed 8 Jan. 2018]. Karmali, S. (2014). Jimmy Choo Launches Made To Order Service. [online] Harper's BAZAAR. Available at: http://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/ fashion/fashion-news/news/a30374/jimmy-choo-launches-made-to-order-service/ [Accessed 4 Jan. 2018]. Kollewe, J. (2017). Now on sale: Jimmy Choo (the whole company). [online] The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/ apr/24/now-on-sale-jimmy-choo-the-whole-company [Accessed 7 Jan. 2018]. LinkedIn (2018). Jimmy Choo LinkedIn. [online] LinkedIn. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/jimmy-choo/?originalSubdomain=ca [Accessed 16 Jan. 2018]. Member, F. (2014). Consumer Brand Manufacturer Spotlight: Jimmy Choo. [online] Fathom. Available at: http://www.fathomdelivers.com/blog/blogfeed/consumer-brand-manufacturer-spotlight-jimmy-choo/ [Accessed 10 Jan. 2018]. Retail-business-review.com. (2018). Jimmy Choo PLC - Retail Business Review. [online] Available at: http://www.retail-business-review.com/ companies/jimmy-choo-ltd# [Accessed 12 Jan. 2018].