Born in 1930, Lacoste, the famous crocodile brand, continues to conquer new market shares. Its founder, Rene Lacoste followed the development of the enterprise step by step, from the mere creation of a shirt of stitched mesh that became famous, to the mass production of a range of sportswear today recognized in 109 countries worldwide.
However, although it is a sponsor of three major sports, Lacoste's business is impacted by the emergence of competitors in the current market and has seen a drop in sales. Since 1995 and the emergence of a new clientele, comprised of young people from the suburbs, Lacoste clothing became fashionable and took on a group identity.
This appears to be an excellent opportunity to boost sales, but pays a penalty through the loss of the customer segment made up of wealthy people, who resent the fact that the brand has become a symbol for the youth of the cities.
This raises a problem for the company and its customers. How can it reconcile two types of consumers who are totally opposites? Can it rely on customers from the suburbs while keeping in mind the upper classes that represent the core of its clients since its inception?
After diagnosing the current situation of the company, we will propose some possible strategies to overcome this problem.
The following diagnosis is based on two major aspects concerning the company. Initially, an appearance will be considered by an environmental diagnosis and, secondly, an internal aspect to the business that is highlighted by an organizational diagnosis.
Tags: Lacoste group, Lacoste group business
[...] This presents Lacoste with a large pool of consumers. Indeed, for the youth, wearing branded products such as Lacoste are a way of asserting their territorial rights, asserting their cultural identity and to affirm and new values, of individuality. It is a way in which they construct the perception of their personality. They sanctify the brand (dress from head to toe in it) and challenge the world of the affluence (sign of success) while affirming a hip-hop pride. Nevertheless, the upper classes have developed a sense of unease and are struggling to identify with a brand that has become a real symbol for the urban youth. [...]
[...] There are three main problems here, the image of it being a luxury product has disappeared in the eyes of wealthy clients, the competition from other brands that are offering similar products at lower prices and the threat of counterfeiting. - Price: Lacoste chargers higher prices than its competitors do. -Distribution: The different distribution channels used by Lacoste report a lower turnover than that of their two main competitors, Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger. - Communication: Lacoste uses good marketing communication strategies through several channels of the media. [...]
[...] Now it has a second market to cater to, suburban youth and potentially a third target market that consist of well-known sports persons. • Positioning: The positioning of a brand depends on the image of its products. This is relative to the products of its competitors and is largely present in the minds of the target market. So, we will divide the products of Lacoste according to the benefits sought by each target group. For the wealthy customers, Lacoste will try to maintain the image of luxury sportswear, with products that are specially designed for sports played by the upper classes i.e. [...]
[...] tennis, golf, sailing. These products appear elegant and have a streak of the casual chic that highlights the sporting aspect of modern bourgeois individuals. For the suburban youth, the company will focus more on the notion of identity and the feeling of belonging to a group that is highlighted by clothes. Young people who express themselves through the sportswear. • Marketing mix: Some suggestions for changes in the group's marketing mix are as follows: - Product: The company should differentiate the product lines for different categories of customers. [...]
[...] These measures should also enable it to regain its lost market share. II - Trade Action Plan After the analysis of the situation of Lacoste, we will now put forward some suggestions that can help it overcome some of its problems. A - Objectives and Constraints The Lacoste brand is a renowned company whose fame has extended all over the world. But this company faces several constraints from the threatening presence of its growing number of competitors, in order to get ahead of them, it must set a few objectives for itself: These objectives can be described as being ambitious. [...]
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