Fashion Marketing: Contemporary Issues, Second edition - Pr School

Developing a research agenda for the internationalization of fashion retailing 101
from Levitt’s (1983) assertion of the worldwide convergence of consumer
needs and wants, retailers who follow the second of Salmon and Tordjman’s
strategies, the global strategy, do so on the basis that they have access to consumer
groups with shared lifestyle characteristics and purchase requirements,
independent of their place of residence. A global strategy is therefore defined
as a faithful replication of a trading concept abroad, and involves the standardization
of the fashion marketing mix and the faithful replication of the
same product range, communications methods, corporate identity, service and
price levels within all stores, regardless of their geographical location.
The fashion retailers that use this strategy typically have a clearly defined
corporate image and market positioning, often with a strong own-brand and
possibly with a unique product range or trading format. Companies that replicate
a standardized marketing strategy include general fashion chains such
as The Gap, the designer companies including Gucci, Prada and Kenzo, and
specialist fashion retailers like Lacoste and Nike. Product exclusivity, the influence
of a founding personality (such as Laura Ashley within her company),
the interplay between the product on sale and the store environments within
which they are sold, all serve to shape the distinctive characteristics which are
central to the success of a global strategy. In addition, Salmon and Tordjman
highlighted the significance of an integrated supply chain, and suggested
that the most successful global fashion retailers exert considerable influence
over the design and quality standards of their products so that the reputation of
their corporate brand can be managed and controlled at all times. Consistency
in terms of all dimensions of the retailer’s positioning is highly significant for
the global retailer and can only be achieved through high levels of centralization.
Consequently, successful global fashion retailers seek to retain and centralize
tactical and strategic decision-making, and the standardization of their
activities provides for economies of scale through the consistent replication of
store format elements, marketing communications, product development and
management control systems. In order to facilitate this centralization, global
fashion retailers must invest in computerized management information systems
in order to monitor and control the flow of stock and information.
There are also disadvantages associated with such centralization, and these
are identified by Salmon and Tordjman (1989) as those related to inflexibility in
responding to local market needs, which may result in the non-identification of
market trends, demotivation and a lack of commitment among local management,
as well as the danger of being associated with a particular specialization
which may leave the company vulnerable in the face of competitor attack or
changes in consumer attitudes.
A variety of studies have examined the utilization of globalization strategies
by retailers in general and have questioned the extent to which this approach
is viable within a retailing context. Waldman (1978) argued that environmental
differences, such as those related to consumer culture, competitive conditions
and economic and legal restraints, made standardization of the retailer’s
marketing mix across a range of markets impossible to achieve. Similarly,
Martenson (1987) suggests that, while a retailer may be able to achieve a