BALENCIAGA
CONTENTS PAGE
• Mood board
• SWOT Analysis
• PESTEL Analysis
• Key market drivers and Streetwear landscape
• Competitor matrix
• Customer profile
• The Seven P’s
• Pop-up event
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
• Wide variety of sizing (XS – XL)
• Sustainable
• Ethically made
• Fur and exotic leather free
• Collaborated with various programmes such as the World Food Programme, raising $250,000
• Revolutionised women’s fashion with never seen before shapes in the mid 20th century
• Strong reputation and heritage
• Blogger’s and fashion editor’s favourite
• Lack of recognisability
WEAKNESSES
• Mostly only sell seasonable products
• Excludes consumers who have a low budget as the prices are extremely high
• Frequent shift in designers
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
• Entering other fashion-educated markets such as Australia, India & Canada
• Converting to M-Commerce (commercial transactions conducted electronically by mobile phone)
• Increase online presence and brand interaction
• Product range extensions
• Extremely competitive market e.g., against high-street brands. For example, Zara have a similar style and branding to Balenciaga, but their products are a lot more affordable. Some other competitors are Céline and Marni who have similar branding styles
• Volatile young customer base
• Wide customer age group
PESTEL ANALYSIS
POLITICAL ECONOMICAL SOCIAL
• Brexit has affected the fashion industry- 53% of fashion brands are experiencing cancelled orders as a result of Brexit. 44% have experienced rejected or returned goods where the costs of duty, clearance and VAT are the main reason (Wadham 2021).
• The pandemic has influenced luxury brands like Balenciaga as sales have dropped. Balenciaga and other luxury brands have reported a 15.4% drop in revenue. The decline mostly reflects how much each brand depends on China for sales (Samaha 2020).
• Balenciaga have a premium pricing strategy based on charging high prices to make the products look more desirable to consumers in addition to the prestigious label they are buying into.
• Chinese consumers are extremely brand conscious. Higher pricing corresponds directly to better quality, thus more willing to buy luxury brand products.
TECHNOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENTAL LEGAL
• During the pandemic especially, brands like Balenciaga have had to keep up with all the rapid technological advancements. It has had to think of innovative ways to reach its audience. With this in mind, it could be argued that interactive content such as video game collaborations could be the next best and most logical step forward. Balenciaga has done this, and they will be launching their new clothing collection in a video game. The collection is expected to drop on the 6th of December in a video game called ‘Afterworld: the Age of Tomorrow’. The game itself is set in 2031 and follows a hero avatar (Barker 2019).
• Balenciaga is now M-Commerce which is beneficial as there is no geographical limitations.
• Balenciaga has good policies to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions but is not taking adequate steps to ensure payment of a living wage for its workers. It has a set science-based target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated from its own operations and supply chain and it is on track to meet its target.
• Its environment rating is ‘good’. It has a policy approved by CanopyStyle to prevent deforestation of ancient and endangered forests in its supply chain. It uses eco-friendly materials and reduces chromium and other hazardous chemicals from the leather tanning processes.
• Its animal rating is ‘not good enough’. It uses leather, down, angora and exotic animal hair (directory.goodonyou.eco 2020).
• In terms of copyright, it’s a basic regulation to what is protectable of something that is original. According to Evening Standard article, online user from various social media platform such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc., had a meltdown due to the fact luxury brand, Balenciaga, are selling a tote bag that has the exact similarities as the IKEA frakta tote shopping bag. However, there is a massive difference in price (£0.40p & £1600) and Balenciaga has polished it into something ‘luxury’. IKEA chose not to sue Balenciaga due to the cash loss and is very time consuming when bringing about constant lawsuit (Naomi 2017).
KEY MARKET DRIVERS
Sustainability is a huge market drive of the fashion industry. The rising social media usage and time spent online has increased consumer’s awareness of sustainablity issues, as over the years there has been growing media coverage regarding labour exploitation and poor working conditions. While research on changing attitudes towards sustainability from Mintel Consulting found that 56% of consumers in the UK aged 16+ agree that their behaviour can make a positive difference to the environment, and 45% think that retailers should be responsible for protecting the environment (Mintel 2021).
This highlights how fashion retailers and brands need to make sustainability a focus and ensure that their approach is consistent and that their values run throughout the company. Consumers want and aim to buy sustainable and eco-friendly products in order to help
protect the environment, and look for products with environmentally friendly packaging.
Technology is also a main market drive within the fashion industry. We are now in a post-modern society that is governed by technology, therefore brands need to keep up with the rapid technological advancements that come along with post-modernity. Technology is essential for any brand to function efficiently and effectively. It is extremely important to keep up with changing technology, because of factors such as increasing savings, staying ahead of competition and improving customer service (Segal 2020).
Heading into the Autumn/Winter season, menswear was on the verge of an identity crisis. Virgil Abloh, after declaring that streetwear was dead, leaned into tailoring for his Louis Vuitton men’s collection. Then Covid-19 hit, and men all over the world traded in their suits for sweats. Luxury’s pivot to more sophisticated menswear is now retreating back to more casual wardrobes and streetwear. Huge luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and Dior are able to balance both, making tailoring alongside streetwear launches and drops. The underlying trends that drove the rise of streetwear have accelerated during Covid-19, particularly the continual casualisation of fashion. Tailoring is now expected to be a lot quieter due to Covid-19 (Willersdorf 2020). On the cusp of the potential comeback in 2020, sales of men’s tailoring were expected to fall 11%. Amid the pandemic, overall menswear sales have declined 16% from $438 billion in 2019 to $369 billion in 2020 (Maguire 2020).
With the new streetwear landscape, designers are getting more creative and are leaning further into collaborations. For example, Chinese designer Feng Chen Wang resisted the temptation to change tack from her street-inspired style; she needed to make other adjustments to her business. The brand reduced inventory volume and put greater focus on popular styles, after the demand for higher-priced items fell during the pandemic. After collaborating with Converse this year, Wang wants to persue more partnerships to reach new customers (Maguire 2020).
At this present time, there are many streetwear trends in the fashion industry. A few are varsity jackets, plaid shackets, graphic sweaters and printed loungewear (Corrigan 2020). These trends have mainly come about due to Covid-19 and being in lockdown. Alongside this, sales in streetwear brands such as Nike and Adidas have rocketed, as well as popular brands like Supreme, Off-White, Obey and Palace.
Balenciaga’s Instagram followers across the years
STREETWEAR LANDSCAPE 0 3 6 9 12 15 2018 2019 2020 2021 In millions
BALENCIAGA COMPETITOR MATRIX
Here I have designed my Balenciaga competitor matrix which presents the brands biggest competitors in the world. I chose the headings of high price, low price, high fashion and low fashion in order to showcase this. In the high price and high fashion box, we have big designer brands such as Gucci, Prada and Louis Vuitton etc; I have chosen to place these retailers there as they are big-budget and costly brands, and they sell luxurious, high-quality products. In the low price, high fashion box I have placed Emporio Armani close to high fashion but still low price, as the brand is not as costly as brands such as Balmain. However, it still produces high-quality products and is still classed as a stylish brand. Lastly, I have chosen to place retailers Zara and H&M in the low price, low fashion box as they are much cheaper than designer brands and produce lower quality products.
HIGH FASHION LOW PRICE LOW FASHION HIGH PRICE
CUSTOMER PROFILE
TARGET CUSTOMER
DEMOGRAPHIC GEOGRAPHIC
• Well-educated women between the ages of 22 and 36
• High income
• Gen Z & millennials
• Most likely to be single
• Self-confident
• United States
• Europe
• Asia
• Huge cities
POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS
This potential customer is part of Balenciaga’s main target market. The desire to stay ahead of others and brand loyalty will aspire her to purchase from Balenciaga...
• GENDER: Female
• AGE: 25
• ABOUT: An erudite, fashion forward and high income woman
• LIVES: Kensington, London
• OCCUPATION: Enterprise Account Manager (business woman)
• HOBBIES: Reading, yoga, meditation
• FAVOURITE COLOURS/SHADES: Monochrome, neutral, pastel
• FAVOURITE READS: Vogue, Elle magazine, Cosmopolitan
PSYCHOGRAPHIC BEHAVIORAL
• Wants the newest and most stylish products to stay ahead of others and upcoming trends
• Leads a fashion-forward lifestyle
• Prioritises designer and luxury fashion brands so will be willing to buy products now
• Will be very eager to buy the products as they want to be the first to have them
• Is loyal to Balenciaga, but since they are fashion forward we will need to keep meeting their expectations
Rihanna arrived at the Met Gala 2021 in one of the evening’s most memorable outfits. She wore an all-black ruffled Balenciaga overcoat and matching hat designed by Denma Gvasalia. Balenciaga is also popular with celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.
THE SEVEN P’S FOR POP-UP EVENT
PRODUCT PLACE PRICE
At my pop-up event, I am going to showcase a variety of Balenciaga’s best products. For example, there will be the chance to buy their limited edition fall/winter collection, including shoes, bags etc. The products will be shown in a variety of ways, being visually and physically. There will be a visual presentation showing the collections, so that consumers can view the products in a different way, as well as physically being able to touch and try on the merchandise, and these will be dotted around the shop alongside workers that can guide customers if help is wanted.
My pop-up event is going to be launched on Saturday the 18th of December at 3pm, in High Street Kensington. I have chosen to launch it in this particular area as it will attract my targeted demographic, as well as it being a populated street, hopefully drawing different and intrigued customers in. Being Christmas time, it should be appealing to consumers as they need to buy presents which is what my event is great for. I will also launch my pop-up shop online, in case some consumers miss the event in person. This will broaden my consumers massively, especially since many prefer to shop online.
PROMOTION PEOPLE
• The public: Erudite people between the ages of 18-36 who are fashion-forward and highincome.
• The celebrities: Rihanna, sisters Gigi Hadid and Bella Hadid, Denma Gvasalia (creative director). They are going to appear at the event which will create celebrity endorsement, drawing consumers inside.
• The workers: On the front-line, service personnel will be there to greet customers and will be there to provide excellent customer service and be there to help.
As a major part of my promotion for my pop-up event I am going to create an on-brand, stylish promotional film which will be launched in order to promote my event. Alongside this, I will create social media posts across various platforms such as Instagram advertising my popup shop, which will attract a younger demographic of consumers. Lastly, I am going to design billboards around the area of High Street Kensington which can’t be missed. London is a very popular city at Christmas time so my promotion/advertising will be a success.
The products which will be showcased at my event will be good value for money, although Balenciaga is a highbudget brand. Consumers will get what they pay for, as Balenciaga is known for great quality products as they are that bit more expensive. After purchasing their items, the customer will recieve a complementary free of charge Balenciaga tote bag, which can be used whenever they need a bag that goes with anything.
PHYSICAL EVIDENCE PROCESS
The service that I am going to provide will be simple, and the shop will not be difficult to navigate for customers. Every process in my pop-up event will be easy to understand, from choosing a product to the buying of the product. The items will be laid out in an outspread, uncluttered way to make it easy for consumers to view them. When a customer wants to purchase an item, a member of staff will deal with everything and all the consumer has to do is pay. If a customer is ever in need of guidance, a worker will be over promptly to help, as well as there being the oppotunity to ask one of the celebs what they think about a product.
My pop-up event is going to be held at a medium sized, modern and stylish shop along the High Street of Kensington. It’s going to have a simple design keeping with the theme of Balenciaga, which will run throughout the whole shop, as well as online and on billboards. The lighting inside will be bright and inviting, which will illuminate the room. Spotlights will be above the products to emphasise them, as well as being there to help consumers have a clear view of everything. When a customer buys, they will recieve their item in a simple designed black and white Balenciaga tote bag, which is eco-friendly.
POP UP EVENT
My event is being held in on the 18th of December at 3pm onwards, at my pop-up Balenciaga store along the High Street of Kensington. The aim of this pop-up event is to showcase Balenciaga’s various fall/winter collections just in time for Christmas. This will include Balenciaga handbags, tote bags, beanie’s, coats, trainers etc. Customers will be able to browse the products freely for however long they please, and they will be simple to navigate and will be lit up, making them easy to view. There will be service personnel on the side to give consumers guidance if they need it; the workers are there to provide a happy and easy shopping experience, as they have been trained with excellent customer service skills. Also there to provide advice are the celebrities, being the creative director of Balenciaga Demna Gvasalia, Rihanna and models Gigi and Bella Hadid. Customers can ask them what products they have or recommend, which will potentially persuade the consumer to purchase something. My target audience for this pop-up event is fashion-foward, high-income people, mainly between the ages of 18-36. However, we do push and welcome anyone who is intrigued by or interested in Balenciaga. There will be a visual presentation of the collection so that customers can see all of the products that are available to them in a different format. The main attraction of this event is that customers will get the oppotunity to go to the back of the store where there will be a photography studio, and dress the models in the collections. Model sister’s Gigi Hadid and Bella Hadid will be two of the many models that customers can style, and consumers can dress them however they like. Once styled, a professional photographer will take a
photograph of the look as well as the customer alongside their model, which they will recieve once finished. One of the best parts about this pop-up event is that with any purchase, the customer will recieve a free, eco-friendly, complementary Balenciaga tote bag that can be styled with any look, as it has the brands simple Balenciaga design. My pop-up event is also going to be launched online, so that it can reach an audience who may live in a different country or just to those who couldn’t make it to the pop-up store. Those who view the event online will still have the oppotunity to style the models, and they will be given the collections virtually and will be able to drag their chosen pieces onto the models.
REFERENCES
Contents page:
• No photographer. BalenciagaSpring2017.Source: indigital.tv (Accessed: 11th November 2021)
PESTEL analysis:
• Wadham, C. (2021) Brexit’sbrokenpromisesheapmorepainonfashionretail.Available at: drapersonline.com (Accessed: 11th November 2021)
• Samaha, B. (2020) Howareluxurybrandsfaringsincethecoronavirusoutbreak? Available at: harpersbazaar.com (Accessed: 11th November 2021)
• Barker, E. (2019) HowhastechnologysavedBalenciagaandthefashionindustryfromcripplingunderthepressureofthepandemic?Available at: lifestyledaily.co.uk (Accessed: 11th November 2021)
• No author. (2020) Balenciaga’ssustainabilityreport.Available at: directory.goodonyou.eco (Accessed: 11th November 2021)
• Naomi. (2017) Legalfactorsinthefashionindustry.Available at: mylifestyleandthoughts.wordpress.com (Accessed: 11th November 2021)
Streetwear landscape:
• Maguire, L. (2020) Streetwearwasdeclareddead.It’sstillhere.Available at: www.voguebusiness.com (Accessed: 12th November 2021)
• Corrigan, K. (2020) Thehotteststreetweartrendsfor2021.Available at: blog.edited.com (Accessed: 12th November 2021)
• No photographer. 25moststylishstreetwear&hypebeastbrandsin2021.Source: thetrendspotter.net (Accessed 12th November 2021)
Key market drivers:
• No author. (2021) Fashion&Sustainability-UK.Available at: reports.mintel.com (Accessed: 16th November 2021)
• Segal, C. (2020) Techtrends-Howbusinesscankeepupwithchangingtechnologytrends.Available at: coxblue.com (Accessed: 16th November 2021)
Customer profile:
• Northman, T. (2021) Let’sallagreethatBalenciagawontheMetGala.Available at: highsnobiety.com (Accessed: 16th November 2021)
• No photographer. Noface.Source: 8outfits.com (Accessed: 16th November 2021)
• No photographer. RihannaHasArrivedattheMetGala,andSheSureLooksCosyinHerParkaGownandBeanie.Source: Getty/Theo Wargo (Accessed 16th November 2021)
Pop-up event:
• No photographer. Balenciagastoreopening.Source: superfuture.com (Accessed: 24th November 2021)
• No photographer. Balenciagalogoconvertibleshoppingtotecanvasmedium.Source: 1stdibs.co.uk (Accessed: 24th November 2021)
• No photographer. PhotographystudiohireLondon.Source: proimagestudio.biz (Accessed: 24th November 2021)
