FENDI
FUN FURS BY MARIA TOVOADA
Contents 1. Executive Summary 2. Fendi History 3. Fendi retail Outlets 4. Fendi Products 5. Brand Identity 6. Consumers 7. Brand Positioning 8. Fendi Replicas 9. FENDI X FIILA 10. Brand Ambassadors 11. Communucation Mix
E XECUTIVE S UMMARY
I was exploring the Italian Luxurious Fashion house’s marketing strategies. The fabulous history of a family of 7 building their own fashion empire in the 20s. Exploring how the brand targets their consumers by using the methods of the communication mix. The brand’s identity is very strong and powerful on the fashion market.
F ENDI H ISTORY
Fendi began in 1925 when founders, Adele Fendi and Edoardo Fendi launched their small boutique for their fur and leather products at the corner of the Piazza Venezia located in Rome. Adele gave birth to their five daughters (19311940), who are the protagonists of the current success of the brand. In 1978 after their mother Adele Fendi passed away the five sisters, Paola, Anna, Franca, Carla and Alda had to take control of the business by sharing duties. Paola was interested in furs; Anna was focused on leathers; Franca managed the customer relations; Carla focused on the business’s coordination and Alda on sales. In 1964 the sisters opened an office in Borgognona in Rome where they displayed a large image of their mother at the entrance as a memory of her.
The following year Karl Lagerfeld proposed a collaboration with the brand which helped immensely to evolve the brand into an Italian Luxury fashion house it is today. During the 1950s, owning a fur garment (for example a long fur coat) was a symbol of luxury and elegance in a woman’s wardrobe. Eventually fur became less accepted by the society in the 1960s/70s because it came to be seen as old-fashioned and only being used by older women. Karl Lagerfeld and the sisters alongside had to reinvent fur coats that represent youth and fun. A simple design element was introduced to fur, the change of colour which scandalized the fashion world.
Fendi Company is known for its uncommon way of using traditional skins. Fendi used bad quality furs which are then customised and renewed into high quality skins by using interesting ďŹ nishes and colours. Similar processing techniques were used on leather goods such as introducing patterns, interesting colours. In the eighties, Fendi was already considered as high-end Fashion House found in Italy alongside other exclusive brands such as Valetino, Moschino, and Versace. The brand current situation in market in very satisfactory. It is well positioned in 8th place for the hottest fashion brands in 2018 according to Lyst Index Q2 Index. Below other high-end brands such as Versace, Vetements, D&G, Givenchy, Balenciaga, Off white and Gucci (the leader of the board).
The brand expanded immensely worldwide; the sisters launched numerous of boutiques and stores around the world. Currently, there are over 197 stores worldwide representing the luxurious brand. Palazzo Fendi is the largest Fendi Boutique located in the heart of Rome, on Largo Carlo Goldoni, allows consumers and fashion lovers to understand fully the DNA of Fendi. The fascinating building (since 17th century) became part of Fendi family in 2004 but it originally belonged to Boncompagni-Ludovisi family.
Palazzo Fendi offers four floors of extravagant and elegant lifestyle. It offers womenswear and menswear collections boutique on the first floor; an extraordinary private space for important guests on second floor and last two floors are found the very first Fendi hotel with seven in-suite rooms and Award-winning Japanese Zuma restaurant.
LUXURY BOUTIQUES The boutique’s strategy is to ensure visitors leave the property with a clear and better idea of what the brand communicates and can offer to new consumers.
PRODUCTS
Fendi produces a variety of products such as ready-towear clothing, fur and leather goods, handbags, accessories and shoes. This shows that everyone has a large diversity of fashion items to select from. Their bestsellers are the fur coats and the luxurious handbags.
Fendi produces a variety of products such as ready-to-wear clothing, fur and leather goods, handbags, accessories and shoes. This shows that everyone has a large diversity of fashion items to select from. Their bestsellers are the fur coats and the luxurious handbags.
WOMENSWEAR
MENSWEAR
Brand Identity WHAT IS THE BRAND COMMUNICATING TO CONSUMERS? Brand identity is how the business/company would like to be perceived as by consumers. Fendi desires to be perceived as a high-end Fashion brand that represents luxury and high quality; an extreme feeling of desire when purchasing their products must be achieved. The brand identity is described as strong and powerful due its historical heritage. The label’s birthplace is a meaningful location, Rome that is originally known as the city of filmmaking, amazing architectures and tourist attraction gave birth to the very few Italian fashion brands that didn’t born in Milan. This shows a great level of originality and bravery.
Also, the fact that Fendi was originally found by a family of 7 shows that this great family bonding had the capacity to evolve a successful business from nothing. The brand ID components such as logo, name, typeface, tone have not changed since it was created by Karl Lagerfeld. They keeping their original values found in the brand which is a very captivating way to stay close to their original buyers and a way to be easily noticeable on the market. From the beginning, Fendi was always widely known for its innovative approach to fur and leather and the approach exists until today, this suggests loyalty and originality contribute a lot to the brand identity.
CONSUMERS Also, the fact that Fendi was originally found by a family of 7 shows that this great family bonding had the capacity to evolve a successful business from nothing. The brand ID components such as logo, name, typeface, tone have not changed since it was created by Karl Lagerfeld. They keeping their original values found in the brand which is a very captivating way to stay close to their original buyers and a way to be easily noticeable on the market. From the beginning, Fendi was always widely known for its innovative approach to fur and leather and the approach exists until today, this suggests loyalty and originality contribute a lot to the brand identity.
Consumers are typically upper-class women with a sophisticated and formal approach to fashion. Products are currently priced as ‘too high’ for young consumers, however the launch of Fendi Mania a playful streetwear has persuaded the younger generation to spend money., in fact this quote shows the younger generation is dominating the luxury fashion world “…46 per cent of customers of luxury goods are less than 35-year old.”
Brand Positioning is described as how the brand differs from its competitors and where it sits in customers’ minds. Fendi does not feel highly threatened by its competitors due its brand identity being considered as powerful and unique; it is a distinctive identity compared to other brands such as Gucci and Balenciaga on the market. “Positioning is conceived by keeping the customer as the focal point”, competitors are constantly fighting for its consumers’ attention therefore it’s extremely important to label them as the focal point. “luxury brands have employed high-profile fashion designer to boost the allure of their products …” this shows the collaboration with Karl Lagerfeld since 1965 helped transform Fendi into a global brand, his impact has positively changed the brand due to his high-profile in the fashion industry.
Fendi sits in the luxury goods market alongside other well-established fashion labels such as Gucci, Off white, Vetements, Versace. Currently, their biggest competitors are Gucci, Off white and Balenciaga, fashion brands that have been successfully recognised by their iconic products such as off white 2meter/half industrial belts, classic double G belt, ‘ugly’ athletic sneakers from Balenciaga (hottest products 2018 according to Lyst index 2018). Also, Fendi has its iconic pieces such as baguette bag, peekaboo handbag created by Silvia Venturini.
Brand Positioning
COMPETING TO WIN
FENDI REPLICAS
Ambassadors Communication mix involves speciďŹ c techniques to promote and to raise awareness of companies and their products to their targeted consumers. This speciďŹ c mix includes elements such as advertising, sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing, personal selling and social media.
Communication Mix
ADVERTISING Advertising is “the paid communication between the product maker or seller and the audience or customer about a fashion item”. Advertising found in Fendi is displayed in a luxurious way but with a playful approach which links appropriately with their products. These are following types of advertising strategies found in the brand: Magazine adverts, billboard, social media, Articles, word-of-mouth, TV, fashion shows, YouTube and more. This shows the brand utilises a range of different advertising methods to reach consumers worldwide. Most recent advertising campaigns features American super-model Gigi Hadid and younger sister Bella Hadid. They are recognised as the brand ambassadors for Fendi since previous year. Also, the two sisters recently commanded various catwalks for Fendi’s fashion shows.
PUBLIC RELATIONS Public Relation is “the way organisations, companies and individuals communicate with the public and media”. These are the following types of Public relations found in the brand: Events, editorial, sponsorship, celebrity endorsement. Most iconic example found in Fendi was the extraordinary 90th anniversary celebration event that occurred in 2016 at the Trevin Fountain in Rome, an outdoor haute couture fashion show alongside a sophisticated dinner for 600 people at the Villa Borghese’s Terrazza Pincio. “Celebrity endorsements can boost a brand’s image among consumers, but new research finds that luxury marketers frequently choose the wrong faces to represent them.” This shows that celebrities should be picked carefully to work well with the brand’s identity. Fendi’s celebrity endorsements are currently described as very exposed famous people such as the Kardashians and Hadid sisters. They can be seen as a risk option to promote a luxury brand because their reputation is widely known worldwide and their personalities don’t connect with their brand’s image.
Communication Mix
Communication Mix
PERSONAL SELLING Personal selling is “where businesses use people to sell the product after meeting face-to-face with the customer” this occurs in trade fairs, retail outlets, pop up events. When sellers have the chance to promote products with a great attitude and their specialist knowledge. Fendi participates in many pop up events, recently Fendi launched its first pop up store as part of Selfridges corner shop in London; an event filled with fun activities and the latest collections including pieces from the ready-to-wear 2018 collection and streetwear collection Fendi x Fila collaboration.
SALES PROMOTION Sales promotion is “any initiative undertaken by an organisation to promote an increase in sales, usage or trial of a product or service” this includes discount, loyalty schemes, vouchers. Fendi does not offer any sales discount but in order to purchase a Fendi product at a lower rate it would be most likely from other online stores that provide luxury brands products, however those products are usually replicas.
Social media is “the collective of online communications channels dedicated to community-based interaction, content-sharing and collaboration”. Fendi can be found on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook; the brand is most active on Instagram (known as the main social media outlet) where it provides the latest content. The imagery displayed in their social media platforms are high quality photographs focused on their latest collections. Fendi has its luxurious approach when content is published unlike other luxury brands are very minimalistic and little detailed.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For example online stores from competitors such as off white and Balenciaga, there is a lack of creativity on their webpages, they are extremely plain and doesn’t excite consumers to purchase products. This is a huge advantage for Fendi to show competitors that they have a suitable platform to display their products. “For luxury products to flourish on the internet, two conditions must be refilled: correct, personalized identification and multisensory” this suggests that luxury brands must be well identified before selling their products, the absence can cause misunderstanding between the brand and the consumer because products don’t have a correlation with their social media platforms.
RECOMMENDATIONS
After looking at the different methods of communication mix in the brand, I believe there are a few recommendations that the brand should use to engage their consumers. The first recommendation I would suggest is to change slightly their current luxurious and sophisticated environment into a more informal and relaxed environment in order to target younger consumers that appreciate the brand’s values. They feel excluded when visiting a Fendi’s store because there is a lack of creativity and youth in their interior designs. Currently, there are only targeting individuals with high disposable incomes that can purchase many products at a high rate. Their interior décor includes golden and modern furniture or contemporary wooden furniture which consumers may feel afraid to touch anything in the store. I would recommend replacing some of the furniture décor to more comfortable and casual furniture to allow visitors to feel like they are home.
Image references Fendi SS 2018 Fashionela, http://www.fashionela.net/fashion/fendi-spring2018-ad-campaign-starring-vittoria-ceretti-and-taylor-hill/ Explore the Spring/Summer 2018 Collection photographed by Karl Lagerfeld https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/203506476897551742/?lp=true The advertisements feature notable faces Gigi Hadid, Adwoa Aboah and Abbey Lee Kers, https://www.fashiongonerogue.com/fendi-fall-2018-campaign/ Taylor Hill for Fendi (SS 2018) https://twitter.com/vsactu/status/958126698997911552 Fendi Women’s Fall/Winter 2018-19 Advertising Campaign https://vuhes. com/fendi-womens-falliwinter-2018-19-advertising-campaign The Mania collection includes a navy-blue jersey tracksuit with old-school appeal, https://howtospendit.ft.com/womens-style/204440-fendi-mania-sweepstown The five Fendi sisters with Karl Lagerfeld, https://www.designer-vintage.com/ en/masterclass/article/the-house-of-fendi Fendi first boutique in via del Plebiscito, Rome, https://www.lvmh.com/houses/fashion-leather-goods/fendi/ PEEKABOO X-LITE REGULAR Brown leather bag ,https://www.fendi.com/us/woman/bags KAN I SMALL
Black leather mini-baghttps://www.fendi.com/us/woman/bags
a romantic femininity for powerful women, https://www.instagram.com/p/ BqIOpAAlNBE/ Geometric frames add graphic edge for Spring/Summer 2019, https://www. instagram.com/p/BoWmy48lyu2/ Full FF for Fall/Winter 2018-19, https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn4iPe9FqhT/