Marketing Management

Case Study : Jeans

8/1/2012

K J SOMAIYA INSTITUTE OF

MANAGEMENT STUDIES & RESEARCH

INTRODUCTION

Jeans are now a very popular form of casual dress around the world, and have been so for

decades. They come in many styles and colors; however, "blue jeans" are particularly

identified with American culture, especially the American Old West.

Jeans are trousers made from denim. Often the term "jeans" refers to a particular style of

pants called "blue jeans" and invented by Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss in 1873. Starting in

the 1950s, jeans, originally designed for cowboys, became popular among teenagers,

especially members of the greaser (subculture). Historic brands include Levi's, Lee, and

Wrangler. Jeans come in various fits, including skinny, tapered, straight, boot cut and flare.

.

The history of jeans

Denim and jeans - where do the names come from?

The word jeans comes from a kind of material that was made in

Europe. The material, called jean, was named after sailors from

Genoa in Italy, because they wore clothes made from it. The word

'denim' probably came from the name of a French material, serge de

Nimes: serge (a kind of material) from Nimes (a town in France).

The 18th century

At first, jean cloth was made from a mixture of things. However, in

the eighteenth century as trade, slave labour, and cotton plantations

increased, jean cloth was made completely from cotton. Workers

wore it because the material was very strong and it did not wear out

easily. It was usually dyed with indigo, a dye taken from plants in

the Americas and India, which made jean cloth a dark blue colour.

PLANTATION: (n) a

large farm where a

single crop is grown

DYE: (v) to change

the colour of

something. (n) a

chemical used to

change something's

colour

The 19th century The California Gold Rush

In 1848, gold was found in California (not too

far from San Francisco) and the famous Gold

Rush began. The gold miners wanted clothes

that were strong and did not tear easily. In 1853,

a man called Leob Strauss left his home in New York and moved to

San Francisco, where he started a wholesale business, supplying

clothes. Strauss later changed his name from Leob to Levi.

WHOLESALE

BUSINESS (n)

buying large amounts

of something &

selling it to shops

Rivets

A big problem with the miners' clothes were the pockets, which

easily tore away from the jeans. A man called Jacob Davis had the

idea of using metal rivets (fasteners) to hold the pockets and the

jeans together so that they wouldn't tear. Davis wanted to patent his

idea, but he didn't have enough money, so in 1872, he wrote to Levi

Strauss and offered Strauss a deal if Strauss would pay for the

patent. Strauss accepted, and he started making copper-riveted 'waist

overalls' (as jeans were called then).

In 1886, Levi sewed a leather label on their jeans. The label showed

a picture of a pair of jeans that were being pulled between two

horses. This was to advertise how strong Levi jeans were: even two

horses could not tear them apart.

RIVET: (n) a strong

metal fastener

PATENT: (v) if you

patent something it is

legally your invention

and other people

cannot steal it.

OVERALLS: (n) a

loose fitting garment

that covers the legs

and chest

How jeans became popular

The 1930's: Westerns

In the 1930's, Hollywood made

lots of western movies. Cowboys

- who often wore jeans in the

movies-became very popular.

Many Americans who lived in

the eastern states went for vacations on 'dude ranches' and took pairs

of denim 'waist overalls' back east with them when they went home.

DUDE RANCH: (n) a

holiday resort in the

western US where

people can ride horses

and pretend to be

cowboys

The 1940's: War

Fewer jeans were made during the time of World War 2, but 'waist

overalls' were introduced to the world by American soldiers, who

sometimes wore them when they were off duty. After the war, Levi

OFF DUTY: (v) time

when a soldier is not

working

began to sell their clothes outside the American West. Rival

companies, like Wrangler and Lee, began to compete with Levi for a

share of this new market.

RIVAL: (n)

something in

competition with you

The 1950's: Rebels

In the 1950's, denim became popular with young people. It was the

symbol of the teenage rebel in TV programmes and movies (like

James Dean in the 1955 movie Rebel Without a Cause). Some

schools in the USA banned students from wearing denim. Teenagers

called the waist overalls 'jean pants' - and the name stayed.

BAN: (v) forbid;

order people to stop

doing something

The 1960's: Hippies & the Cold War

In the 1960's many, many university and college students wore jeans. Different styles of jeans

were made, to match the 60's fashions: embroidered jeans, painted jeans, psychedelic jeans...

In many non-western countries, jeans became a symbol of 'Western decadence' and were very

hard to get. US companies said that they often received letters from people all around the

world asking them to send the writer a pair of jeans.

The 1980's: Designer Jeans

In the 1980's jeans finally became high fashion clothing, when

famous designers started making their own styles of jeans, with

their own labels on them. Sales of jeans went up and up.

The 1990's: Recession

Things changed in the 1990s. The rock-and-roll generation gave

way to the hip-hop crowd. Blue collar made way for the white.

The craze for jeans began to fade. For the dot-com dudes, the

sartorial key was khakis. Denims made way for Dockers. A

company that once had a 90 per cent of the market and made 90

per cent of its jeans in the US started to fray. Today it has

branched out to khakis and other apparel and it now parcels out

90 per cent of its production far and wide so that it can have a leg

up on the fast evolving market.

LEVIS

Parent Company : Levi Strauss & Co.

Category : Apparel and Footwear

Sector : Lifestyle and Retail

Tagline : Go Forth

USP : The brand id known for its denim apparels especially jeans. It is the oldest

manufacturing company of jeans.

STP

Segmentation :

Target :

Positioning :

SWOT Analysis

Strengths :

The main strength of Levis is its popularity.

It is a globally recognized brand all over the world.

Competing prices with the rivals.

Variety of products like T-shirts, bags, shoes, jackets make the company more profitable.

Weakness :

They only focus mainly on youth that makes company weaker in marketing areas.

Losing market to newer and more trendier brands.

Opportunity :

The company has more than 5000 trademark registrations and pending applications in

more than 180 countries.

The companys products are sold in more than 60000 outlets and in around 110 countries

worldwide.

It is registered in more than 160 countries.

Threats :

Brands like pepe, lee, and others create tough competition.

The choice of youth keeps on changing, so a company solely targeting youth needs to

innovate a lot.

SPYKAR

Parent company : Spykar

Category : Apparel and accessories.

Sector : Lifestyle and retail.

Tagline : Bring it on.

USP : The brand id known for its denim apparels especially jeans.

STP

Segmentation : Men and women loving denims and western comfortable clothing.

Target : Young men and women from the urban areas.

Positioning : With culture.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths :

1. The company is an Indian denim brand and hence has an Indian mass appeal.

2. The company has strict code of conduct and quality with almost negligible attrition rate.

3. The company has an in-house processing unit giving the company the competitive edge in

consistently producing quality denims

4.SPYKAR is available at over 450 MBOs across the country, apart from the large format

stores like Shopper's Stop, Globus, Lifestyle, Pantaloons etc. and the exclusive outlets.

5. The brand also has a stylish website giving complete information relating to its products,

campaigns and stores.

Weakness :

1.The brand has tough competition and there is high brand switching

2. Limited global presence as it restricted to a small market.

Opportunity :

1. With 100 per cent FDI in single brand retail getting the nod and 51 per cent in multi-brand

likely to happen, Spykar can benefit.

2. The Company can do aggressive marketing in colleges and youth events.

Threats:

1. Similar designs available in other brands hence switching cost is less.

2. Local market and international brands poses a risk.

Competitors

1.Levis

2. Pepe

3.Wrangler

3. PEPE JEANS

History

In 1973 it was originally just a weekend road side stall on the Portobello Road Market located

in west London established by three brothers: Nitin Shah, Arun Shah and Milan Shah. Nitin

and his two brothers later started their own company Sholemay Ltd trading, as Pepe Jeans.

Parent company : Pepe Jeans Incorporation.

Category : Apparel and accessories.

Sector : Lifestyle and Retail

Tagline : Pepe Jeans London.

USP : A brand, which is really innovative, stylish changing with variety at an affordable

price.

STP

Segmentation : Men and women who like contemporary style of fashion with a rebellious

attitude.

Target : Young urban Men and women from the upper middle class.

Positioning : Pepe Jeans is a premium and international brand, which houses casual wear

with a heart of London in it.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths :

1. Pepe Jeans is present over 100 countries and employs more than 5000 employees all over

the world.

2. The brand is the fastest growing denim brand and is 500 million denim and casual wear

brand.

3. The brand had a different view of selling jeans and was against hanging them and even

fought with the retailers to change this fashion, which was a big hit.

4. The brand has entered the elite segment of the top four denim producers in the world.

5. The brand has always been constantly producing unique silhouettes, which the brand is

very famous for across Europe.

6. The brand uses extensive advertising where the brand often teased the boundaries of

acceptable social imaginary and norms, which had a big attraction among young consumers.

7. The brand has a heavy brand following and is has a strong financial position in the denim

industry.

8. The brand has signed international celebrity brand ambassadors which enhances the brand

equity.

Weakness :

1. Constantly changing fashion trends means inventory issues

2. The brand has several competitors hence high brand switching.

Opportunities :

1. The brand should expand its products and services throughout the world.

2. The brand can enter into the kids wear segment.

Threats :

1. Switching cost between brands is very low, so there are regular price wars among

competitors.

2. Increasing Competition from brands like Lee, levis is increasing never like before.

Competitors

1. Lee

2. Levis

3. Wrangler

Wrangler

Parent Company : VF Corporation

Category : Apparel

Sector : Lifestyle and Retail

Tagline : There's a bit of the West in all of us.

USP : Comfort and style at affordable rates.

STP

Segmentation : Casual wear

Target : Men and women from the urban upper middle class

Positioning : Tough and rugged, lasting quality.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths :

1. Wrangler has a wide distribution channel. They sell their jeans at mass merchandisers

such as Walmart and Target.

2. They also have their own flagship specialty stores located at many places.

3. Strong brand presence

4. Good marketing and advertising at stores and print ads.

Weakness :

1.Competition from standalone specialty stores means limited market share growth

2. Lot of options available means high brand switching.

Opportunity

1. Denim industry is expected to grow at a faster rate

2.Companies are using new media to reach consumers

3. More global penetration and enhanced visibility.

Threats

1. With increased interest in their own flagship brands mass merchandisers like Walmart are

beginning to decrease shelf space allocated to these premium denim brands.

2. Increasing competition

3. Fluctuating currency values and economic scenario.

Competitors

1. Levis

2. Lee

3. Pepe Jeans

KILLER

Parent company : KewalKiran Clothing Limited

Category : Apparel and Accessories

Sector : Lifestyle and Retail

Tagline : Worship the night, Killer for her; Whats your cut?

USP : Indias first international denim brand.

STP

Segmentation : Fashion conscious and trendy youth

Target : Youth from the Urban upper and upper middle class.

Positioning : Denim brand with an attitude.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths :

1. Strong brand presence with over 1600 points of sale in the form of MBOs with chains

a. like Shoppers Stop, Central, Lifestyle and their exclusive brand outlets like K-

lounge in all Tier-1 cities.

2. Diversification into other product line like Killer Tees, innerwear, footwear, eyewear

to make it a complete lifestyle brand. 3. Innovative ad-campaigns have made a strong

connect with the youth which is their main target audience.4. Brand has been termed

as Indias first international denim wear brand with it exporting denim wear to Middle

East, USA, Africa, South-East Asia since 1994.

3. Self-procurement and manufacturing facilities has been a great strength for the brand

as it 5 units with an annual capacity of over 30 lakh pieces.

Weakness

1. Though the brand has stretched its portfolio with many diversifications it still has

to heavily depend on denim wear for its revenues.

2. The brand is facing increasing competition from the other sibling brands of the

parent company like Lawman and Integriti which too are emerging in denim wear.

Weakness

1. Though the brand has stretched its portfolio with many diversifications it still has to

heavily depend on denim wear for its revenues.2. The brand is facing increasing

competition from the other sibling brands of the parent company like Lawman and

Integriti which too are emerging in denim wear.

Opportunity

1. The company can look to expand its manufacturing capabilities in emerging markets

which would be a great boost for the brand.

2. The brand can also start online stores for selling its merchandise as it has emerged as

an effective medium for selling.

3. The brand effective in its advertising can also look at green campaigns which is

attracting a lot of attention these days.

Threats

1. The government tax policies on apparel are set to increase the unit cost.

2. Highly fragmented fashion industry which would involve low customer loyalty.

3. The entry of several international players in the retail industry after opening up of FDI

would also pose as a threat for the brand.

Competitors

1. Pepe Jeans

2. Levis

3. Diesel

Market Share

Now let us see the market share of the above brands in India.

The Market Share for Levis is the highest i.e. 49%, followed by Pepe at 14%. Other brand

includes UCB, GAS, Flying machine, etc.

Market Share based on Gender :

Average rating :

Brand Loyalty

In the end looking at all the brands and considering the brand loyalty of all the brands, we can

conclude that Levis has the highest brand loyalty.

Bibliography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeans

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_Jeans