Fashion Marketing: Contemporary Issues, Second edition - Pr School

Retail brand marketing in the fashion industry 109
If the individual customer is at the centre of commercial activity, then no
part of an organization will be able to opt out of the ‘customer satisfaction’
process. If marketing is ‘everyone’s responsibility’ then it is no one’s specific
function. Does this explain why many successful retailers do not have a
Board level Marketing Director and also why there is such a rapid turnover
of Marketing executives elsewhere in the retail industry?
Once suppliers appreciated that they had to position, rather than just sell,
their products, the concept of brand management developed, and with it, the
idea that ‘marketing’ should orchestrate the other functions of a business.
The 1970s and 1980s saw the growth of large marketing departments and the
development of ‘strategic’ marketing plans by many British retailers. This
author was himself appointed to the first marketing designated role in a leading
fashion retailer in the early 1970s. During the course of the 1990s, we have
seen a fragmentation of consumer markets and the introduction of new technologies
which clearly transcend the remit (and often the understanding) of
retail marketing departments. As a result, the marketing function has become
increasingly sidelined. Emphasis has shifted from promoting the product to
capturing and retaining the customer, and decisions on product range, pricing,
shop design and so on are seen as too important to be left to the marketing
department. Many marketing functions are now routinely implemented
using various information technologies, and little judgemental input.
Furthermore, as the pace of change has increased, marketing’s emphasis on
research and strategy has often been seen as a constraint to innovation. The
increasing number of retail companies in the UK controlled by private equity
groups has also dictated a lower cost base and faster return on investment
than a research-driven culture will allow. So-called ‘legacy retailers’ like Sears,
Boots, W. H. Smith, Littlewoods, Woolworths and Sainsbury have all traditionally
been heavy users of management research and consulting, which has not
saved them from loss of market share and major restructuring. A philosophy
of ‘learning by doing’ has almost become ‘de rigeur’ for the retail industry,
and even when disciplines are introduced it is accepted that they will have to
be executed concurrently with the project rather than prior to its start, as traditionally
happens in manufacturing industry. Philip Green and Tom Hunter
are examples of the new breed of fleet of foot merchants driving the retail sector
forward. Transitory fashion and lifestyle influences are impacting many
product sectors beyond the clothing industry. In fact, many would say that
they have largely moved on from the clothing industry to influence purchasing
decisions in the home and leisure sectors. These days, it is more profitable
to be ‘roughly right’ and on time than ‘precisely right’ and too late.
Finally, stagnant consumer expenditure and increased competition in many
areas has not helped. Expenditure on research, store design, marketing communications
and especially the new loyalty schemes can be very high, and
hard to justify. Marketing professionals themselves complain that traditional
marketing tools ‘no longer work’ and have been slow to put in place robust
measurement techniques which would have enabled them to defend their