Elie Saab Marketing Analysis

Elie Saab Marketing Analysis Expanding a luxury brand without diluting its luxury status has become a challenge to many luxury brands. Premium luxury brands therefore need to plan their expansion strategy carefully. This report will focus on how the Elie Saab brand may develop by offering the brand extension of lingerie to be sold alongside its ready-to-wear collection. The price range of lingerie is normally lower compared to other ready-to-wear products, therefore this product extension has the potential to enlarge the accessibility of the ES brand and grow the current consumer segmentation. The new product line should inherit the brands essence. The launching and promoting of the new line will be an appropriate way for the brand to get more exposure and will reinforce its brand identity. The report will cover the product extension and communication issue respectively, while critically evaluate the plan as a whole. Started as a couture house in Beirut, ELIE SAAB (ES) has an ambition of turning into a global luxury brand. ES exclusively target on the worldwide super-wealthy class, while successfully maintains a loyal customer base from the Middle East. In addition, the brand is favoured by royalty, for its luxurious, feminine but slightly conservative style. ES dresses are widely present in different prestigious events, worn by celebrities from different regions. The product lines of ES currently include Haute Couture, Ready-to-Wear (RTW), Wedding Dresses, and Accessories. The expanding of the brand, however, continued through many forms including luxury hotel and super yachts (SHUAYTO, 2012). Nevertheless, there are still many problems exist, and if not handled carefully, they may remit the pace of ESs growth. it was pointed out that Elie Saab, owner of ELIE SAAB, wanted to be involved in not only every aspects of his Haute Couture line, but also all the branding decision making process. (SHUAY TO, 2012) Saabs tight control of the brand may consume most of his energy, which makes the brand expansion on product line rather difficult. Besides, with only 150 employees, (SHUAYTO, 2012) the ES Group is relatively small compared to other luxury brands from large luxury groups such as LVMH (100,00employees) (ARNAULT, N/D). Thus the amount of support ES could receive for expansion is very limited. Furthermore, recognition is a key element in conspicuous consumption, for it endows the owner of luxury product with admiration. (KAPFERER, 2012)ES have covered several communication channels in brand image building, but the exposure is still not enough. ELIE SAABs facebook page has received 800,987 likes (Facebook, 2013b), while Dior has 11,480,356 likes (Facebook, 2013a). It is the same on the ELIE SAAB YouTube channel (2013a), which only have 4,580 subscribers (Dior: 47,871) (YouTube LLC, 2013c), and on its twitter page (2013b) with 128,682 followers (Dior: 1,794,503) (Twitter,Inc., 2 013a). It would seem that ES havent caught much attention of the public. For such a vibrant premium brand, expending without diluting its luxury status requires a very well planed strategy. Regarding the situation mentioned above, the report will illustrate how ELIE SAAB could develop by introducing the brand extension of lingerie to be sold alongside its Ready-to-Wear line. The lingerie sector has enjoyed a continuous growth of 16.1% in the UK market during the previous five years. It was considered to be a treat for a woman in an affordable price during the recession. (Hucker, 2013) It is reported that in Western Europe and the US, the average number of lingerie purchased by a woman annually is two bras and around five briefs. As a function-oriented product, Lingerie is considered to be a necessity, and the need always exists. Nevertheless, despite the booming UK lingerie market, the global lingerie market suffered from the recession. Moreover, the market is overcrowded with many discount retailers sourcing from Asian countries, which is pulling down the pricing point. (Hughes, 2011) The price of bras range from under six pounds to over 250 pounds, but only a few brands produce premium lingerie (Independent Print Ltd., 2012). In the niche market of premium lingerie (NI Syndication Limited., 2007), the reputation of ES could be an advantage, let along i ts loyal high-end client base. Meanwhile, as the price range of lingerie is lower compared to High-end RTW (SHUAYTO, 2012), the new line would potentially enlarge the accessibility of the ES brand. Overall, entering the lingerie market could be a challenging opportunity for ELIE SAAB. The essential goal of this plan is to expand product range, increase brand exposure, and assist ELIE SAABs transformation into a global premium brand. Product extension Lingerie design, especially brassiere design, requires very specific skills and knowledge. The time required in the designing process is also particularly long. As lingerie is of great importance in shaping a perfect body, customers require optimum fit, high function, as well as attractiveness. From cups to shoulder strap, all of them are important in providing a centralized and firm appearance, while designing them equally costs great energy. (Liao Lee, 2010) Since ELIE SAAB is still a growing company with not much employees, and is a brand highly dependent on Elie Saab, the suggestion would be to achieve the expansion through licensing. But it should be handled very carefully, for licensing could possibility dilute the brand. (Hoffmann Stankeviciute, 2012) Some even argue that the key of maintaining the luxe of a brand is never get involved in licensing. (KAPFERER, 2012) While other suggest that though risking dilution, licensing still proves to be a fair choice for brands to acc ess expertise in the area where their knowledge and power is limited. (Colucci, et al., 2008) First and foremost, the lingerie line must inherit the sprite of ELIE SAAB. It should be designed and inspired base on the ES haute couture collection or RTW collection, and be cohesive with the collections of the core brand in style and aesthetics in that season. Consumers expect the luxury brand to offer them a product that possess the quality, design and value that the parent brand represents. (Hoffmann Stankeviciute, 2012) Especially for a brand like ELIE SAAB, which highly relies on loyal customers, (SHUAYTO, 2012) fulfilling the consumers expectation and keeping the brand image clear is exceptionally important. ELIE SAAB is known for its luxurious, dreamy, and feminine style.(Fig 1) Lace, chiffon, silk, crystal, hand-made beading and embroidery (NI Syndication Limited., 2007), those materials used in ES haute couture collections can also be seen in lingerie design, which could be counted as an advantage in reaching the coherence of core brand and lingerie line. The service provided for the lingerie line is equally important, for providing ultimate customer experience is another promise of the ES brand. To minimize the dilution of core brand, the ES lingerie line should be positioned as premium lingerie (Hoffmann Stankeviciute, 2012). The most important part of buying lingerie is fit (Law, et al., 2012). It is important for the consumers to feel comfortable in their lingerie (Liao Lee, 2010). However, most women do not know how to find a right size, and the sizes that many retailers provide are not accurate. Fitting has become a major problem for the lingerie industry (Hucker, 2013). Thus in every ES lingerie stores, there need to be at least one professional fitter to help, and provide the customers a one-to-one fitting service. Also, in the lingerie sector on the ES official website, a specific multi-media lingerie fitting guidance, using the form of video, picture and word description (Fig 2), should be provided. The cost of producing a fitting video and putting the information on the ES website could be quite low, but this effort may affect customers confidence of purchasing ES lingerie positively. bra fitting.jpg To improve customer experience, ES may consider providing customized lingerie. Co-design, which involves customers in the designing process of their own order, may be welcomed by those who eager for a differentiated, unique product. In the co-design process, customers are provided several pre designed options of each part of the product, and they can create a unique product by combining their choices. Burberry has put a co-design section on their website, where customers can design their own trench coat, and then order creation. (Fig 3) The co-designed trench coat will be produced separately. (Burberry Group Plc, N/D) Co-design offers a memorable experience to customers, which may interest the loyal customers, and possibly attract new customers. (Liao Lee, 2010) Nevertheless, the cost of producing co-design lingerie may be quite high. The Burberry co-design products are priced about one to two hundred pounds higher than their similar RTW products in the same length and material. The ratio of mark up is merely 0.18% approximately, due to the high price of the RTW product range. If ES decide to adopt co-design in the lingerie line, the ratio of mark up needs to be carefully calculated, in order to make enough profit, but still remain acceptable for the customers. Marketing communication The lunching of a new product line will probably draw much attention. Seizing the chance, ELIE SAAB may increase its exposure by doing a series of campaign, aiming at building the image of a global premium brand. Without enough brand awareness, it is very hard for luxury brands to create desire and attraction (KAPFERER, 2012). Hence, most luxury brands tend to build a whole brand image, rather than the image of a single product category. In addition, by showing the image of their target consumers lifestyle, brands could form an image of a brand users in the consumers mind. Potential customers may be attracted by the perception of a brands personality, moreover, may produce a stronger purchasing intention when they find similarities between their self-image and the image of a typical brand user (Fang, et al., 2012). Marketing the ES lingerie line by promoting the whole brand, emphasising the luxe of the core brand, may also protect the brand from dilution. Communicating the heritage inspiration and cultural reference may help a relatively new brand elevating its position in consumers mind. As a hedonic product, luxury products need to not only have a physical function, but also embraces a spiritual function. They should help consumers fulfilling their highest need, which is self-realization (KAPFERER, 2012). To create a scarcity effect, making the brand more desirable, ELIE SAAB may develop a marketing strategy based on culture and art. Producing a short film featuring the inspiration of the unique ELIE SAAB style may help consumers generating a better understanding of the brands cultural background, deepening the meaning behind each ELIE SAAB product. The film should also include the craftsmanship of ES haute couture collection. By showing the intriguing details of haute couture, from the inspiration, drafting to the hand-making process, the film need to plant the concept of haute couture being an art into the viewers mind. Consequent ly, as the brand producing art, ELIE SAAB will be viewed differently. Linked to art, ES products would be seen as artistic creations, rather than commercial goods (KAPFERER, 2012). It embodies the extraordinary taste of its customers, while remains to be a desirous dream of the non-owners. Another way of marketing ELIE SAAB as an artistic brand is to hold and exhibition showing the history and creations of the brand. The company could partner with an art museum, and show their archived pieces from previous fashion shows. Also, the creating process may be an interesting to show on the exhibition. It would be better if the showroom could be designed as a vision of the earliest inspiration of Elie Saab, telling his story of creating art, rather than a copy of an ES flagship store. This is to avoid being viewed as a commercial activity. However, the cost of holding an exhibition might be quite high, and the influence of an exhibition is geographically limited. With the booming of social media, today, marketing is more about communicating and interacting with consumers. Adopting the trend, brands start to pay more attention on digital channels (KAPFERER, 2012). ELIE SAAB is not an exception. The brand has adopted many digital communication platforms including facebook, twitter, YouTube, even weibo.com. Nevertheless, it is noticed that the communication result ES achieved in those platforms is not very impressive. Comparing to its competitors, the number of people getting involved in ESs digital communication channels is quite small. Besides, they do not seem to be very impressed by the information they have received from the ES channels. ELIE SAAB Le Parfum Ad Campaign video has only received 73 likes. (YouTube LLC, 2011) In contrast, the Miss Dior advert, La vie en rose, received 991 likes. (YouTube LLC, 2013b) As for the short films featuring brand identity, the ES Balade a Paris film has received 209 likes, (YouTube LLC, 2012a) while the Dior Secret Garden-Versailles film has received 6,029 likes (YouTube LLC, 2012b). All the films mentioned above are beautifully made and clearly reveal their brand image. Yet the Miss Dior film appeared eight times on the Dior facebook page (Facebook, 2013a), while the ES Balad a Paris film only appeared in four posts on the ES facebook page (Facebook, 2013b). It can therefore be then presumed that the link between different digital platforms the brand use has some influence on the communication result the brand may receive. ELIE SAAB may want to strengthen the connection between its different communication channels, in order to increase communication efficiency. Critical evalution For a premium brand, expanding through licensing is a huge risk. Being one of the two largest apparel categories of Calvin Klein (Schimroszik, 2012), underwear, which was licensed to the Warnaco group, was a huge success in the 1980s (Robertson, 2012). By 1999, licensing contributed 90% of Calvin Kleins revenue. Yet soon enough, the Calvin Klein brand found that it had little control of its licensees, under an incredible long contract. The luxury status of Calvin Klein was almost destroyed. It took Calvin Klein eight years to get back into business, and slowly started repairing the damage brought by licensing (Hoffmann Stankeviciute, 2012). Notwithstanding the risk, licensing still is a popular expanding method among luxury brands (Colucci, et al., 2008). In fact, if handled carefully, the damage can be minimized (Hoffmann Stankeviciute, 2012). As ELIE SAAB does not have the expertise in lingerie production, licensing is a reasonable choice. But the brand should have tight control over the licensee. The major problem of licensing is the licensees tend to pursuit the fastest success and biggest profit, regardless the impact it may have on the brand. The licenser wants to maintain the consistency of the entire collection, while the licensees may prefer to stick with the most popular designs in the market (Colucci, et al., 2008). And it is the responsibility of the core brand to protect its reputation, including product quality, design aesthetics, customer service, and luxury status. But the licensee might be producing for different brands simultaneously, thus the design of the different products they produce might be similar, or they might borrow the design of ELIE SAAB, and use it in other products that they are producing. Even there is a possibility that the licensee may secretly produces counterfeit version of the ES linge rie using cheaper materials, and sells them in other channels or under other brand names. All of the mentioned problems may result in brand dilution. As a result, ES may need to spend much effort in monitoring the licensee. Despite the drawbacks, with a right partner, ES could achieve the expansion with a relatively low cost. If the plan was executed successfully, the brand could increase brand awareness, and might reinforce the loyalty of its existing customers by impressing them with a new and exciting product line. For some women, lingerie is as important as outer clothing. So the ES customers might be interested in matching the lingerie and the outer wear. Another issue to be concern is the cultural impact of lingerie line. Intimate apparel may have different symbolic meanings in different culture. When marketing globally, it should be noticed that women from different culture may have different need in lingerie. Many ES customers are from the Middle East, where, in the outsiders view, might be quite conservative. On the contrary, it was discovered that sex is quite important for married Muslims. (Asser, 2008). As a result, they may be very interested in lingerie of various bold designs. In the forthcoming years, there is expected to be a recovery of the economy. It could affect the whole luxury market, and could be an opportunity for premium lingerie. Yet the competition among lingerie specialist brands would also be fierce. Many lingerie brands are aiming to the global market, including Victorias Secret, Agent Provocateur, et cetera. With so much choice, consumers might doubt the expertise of the ES lingerie line, because lingerie is generally function-based product. Besides, the link between the lingerie line and the brand emphasising advertise champagne might be weak and confusing. The new lingerie line might be ignored due to this reason. Conclusion and recogminadions Product expansion means a new adventure for a brand. As a young luxury brand that is eager to develop, product expansion will always at some point be adopted. The previous partnership experience of ELIE SAAB indicates that Saab could be not only a brilliant designer, but also a successful businessman. Hence, the risk of expending a new lingerie line through licensing could turn out to be another success of the brand. But ELIE SAAB should choose the partner very carefully. Both the reputation and the producing capability should be taken into consideration. A partner with well established reputation in the industry is the reassurance of quality for the customers (Hoffmann Stankeviciute, 2012). Moreover, ELIE SAAB should have strict control over the licensing project, making sure the products and service remains in the same level as the core ES products. The places where the lingerie line products are sold should also be chosen using ES criterions. The price-point of the lingerie line should remain high, in order to match the premium status of the ES brand. The marketing of the lingerie line is suggested to be focused on building the whole brand image, rather than the single lingerie line. Nevertheless, advertisements featuring the lingerie line product are also needed. ELIE SAAB may consider spending most of its budget on overall brand image campaigns, and only using a small part of the budget to do the lingerie line advert. Overall, the whole plan is designed to assist the developing of the ELIE SAAB brand as a whole, and the main focus should be always on its core products. Otherwise, without the success of the core brand, the lingerie line will soon be forgotten as well.

Frankenstein :: essays papers

Frankenstein A Freudian Interpretation In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the main character, Victor, has a short, but important dream right after he brings his creature to life. I have chosen to interpret this dream for several reasons. Firstly, there is no need to doubt that Victor’s retelling of the dream is anything but the truth. Also, there would be no reason for Victor to be compensating for lapses in the dream by creating falsities. In order for the novel to work, these assumptions must be made. Also with Victor’s dream, there is no need to try to extract his past from the dream because in the four chapters before the dream we get that information. Victors retelling of his dream is this: I thought I saw Elizabeth, in the bloom of health, walking in the streets of Ingolstadt. Delighted and surprised, I embraced her, but as I imprinted the fist kiss on her lips, they became livid with the hue of death; her features appeared to change and I thought that I held the dead corpse of my dead mother in my arms; a shroud enveloped her form, and I saw the graveworms crawling in the folds of the flannel. The first thing I identified in the dream was the symbolism. In his works on dreams, Freud often stresses the existence of sexual motivation in dreams. He identifies many symbols of genitals and sexual intercourse. One of the symbols for the phallis is a snake. I extended that symbol to include the graveworms that are mentioned in Victor’s dream. The existence of this symbol led me to examine the possibility that sexual feelings may have caused this dream. The two characters that are mentioned in the dream are Elizabeth, his intended wife, and Caroline, who is his now deceased mother. The presence of Victor’s love object and his mother ensure the existence of sexual feelings in the dream. The way in which Victor describes embracing and kissing Elizabeth implies that he has sexual desire for her. He may also have a genuine sense of love for her, but this aspect is not as clear. Victor’s feelings for Elizabeth could be expected by examining his childhood. As he was growing up, Victor was quite sheltered. His only contact with women being his mother and Elizabeth. When Elizabeth was brought into Victors house his mother presented her as â€Å" .

Why Do Sports Matter

† Champion aren't made In the gyms. Champions are made from something they have Inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision† (Muhammad All). Sports are the basic of everything that a person learns in his/her childhood. There is no known date or time when the sports started. Played from the day the mankind exists. Sometimes played for recreation, sometimes play, sometimes money and sometimes for the pride. There are some people who are not keeping with the sportsmanship in the game and are using some other means to enhance their performance. Sports first played officially In the times of the Romans.When the first time the mall Olympic were held was In the Athens. Now the sports and games came a long way. The standard of the games have increased a lot in the past few years. The competition in the games has increased a lot. The prize money have also increased a lot in the game, from the crown of olive leaves the 1. 6 billion dollars in the past few years. This drastic c hange/elevation in the amount have lead in the increase of the interest in the games as they see a lot of money In these games Firstly considered he waste of time by the people and later became the source of earning money and recreation.Sports are means of physical and mental growth. Sports Increase our capabilities and also improve our efficiency. According to the peoples in the past the sports are just the waste if time which could be utilized in some better ways. As some of the business mans realize that sports is a great way to earn money they invested there money In it. Some of the people think that study is everything and children must be emphasized more on the studies this Is something that I completely disagree with.Everyone got his/her own credibility and we cannot change and we must not change that spouse if Michael Cordon's family asked him to study not to play and didn't provide him the source from the day he was in school. Sports are now a day a great career to be selec ted, as there is a lot of money in it. Sports teaches us the discipline in which the particular sports is to be played and the way in which one must be coordinative with his/her team members, develops In us team spirit. Sports make us mentally and physically more tough and also help us to malignant our body In good heap and make us more active and more stronger.Sports teach the ability of leadership and working under the order of someone. Sports are great way in which one can learn the ability of patience and the ability to accept the defeat. These are some things that most of us find very difficult to learn. As Wifely Shed describes in his writing † the money in the sports is only for the business mans, not for the players† (Willful Shed). The author here want to put emphasis on how the players are exploited by the team owners, as the players are to given the money which they should be given in return of there hard work.As coin has two sides, it is same in the case of s ports and games. There are certain things related with the sports that are not spouse to be part of it. Use of steroids and other performance enhancing products are used very frequently now a days by the players in different sports like bodybuilding, athletics etc. According to news now each and every player in the baseball is on drugs. A-Rod himself in the interview have approved that he was taking some kind of performance enhancing drugs.Some of them are forced to do that but some of them are Just taking them so that they could do better in the games. As the level of competition is raising now the level of usage of steroids is also climbing towards the sky at the same peace. These professional athletes are getting paid a lot of money because they are doing really well in their sports, and why are they doing well? It may be because they have a lot of talent and put a lot of time in training, but also a lot of it could be the use off performance enhancing drugs. So essentially they are getting paid to take the drugs.The athletes that are using the drugs are increasing their talent substantially, and making the honest athletes that aren't taking drugs look bad as they are not getting so many homeruns or get as many quarterback sacks. Now I feel this is not how it should be. The athletes should be tested more frequently, and the ones caught with drugs should be put to a stop as this is spoiling the whole meaning of the sports and fun. Its not only the drug issue but there are certain other issues that are related with the games. Racist discrimination is one of the common things that we encounter in he sports and games.Racism has been a stain on the soul of soccer for generations, and not only in the soccer but also other sports too. If there is a match between a black and a white man the whole community of blacks and the whites think to be the match of there prides. Women's are also criticized in the sports and this thing is becoming common in these days. Women are Just considered good for cheerleaders and some things that they can't be good players but the people forget about the William sisters how they raised the bar by their consistency.Women's are Just thought to be a sort of entertaining thing in the sports, as they look sexy when they are dressed in the cheerleader's dresses. There are always two side of everything this is upon us that which side is worth considering. Sports are very helpful in maintain a good body and moreover it teaches us good morals. Only thing I want to say is that sports are the essential part of our life and we must enjoy it and live that life too. And folks if you want to get rid of this drugs thing than we need to get hard, the players must be checked more frequently to get it done and the against it must be made more strict.

The Fragile Antique Vase Essay - 2591 Words

CRASH! The fragile antique vase went off my family’s mahogany table as it hurled down onto the floor, breaking into millions of pieces as my parents deliberately whacked it off the table in frustration. My sister and I trembled and sat paralyzed in fear as we intensively watch my father and mother initiated another argument in Vietnamese. The battle between their words felt like fire arrows landing on us and burning the very foundation of what I have relied on. At the time of this horror, I was only eight years old, and my sister was only shy of being seven years old. During the tension and heated moments of the argument, I could not fully comprehend the complexity of the situation, but all I knew was the future did not look great for the family. At the end of their verbal battle, my dad decided that he had enough of arguing back and forth, and he instructed that my mom needed to stay somewhere else for the night. My sister and I tagged along with my mom for the car ride that night. My mom teared up and her eyes were swollen red while she tried to navigate her way to her friend’s house. While sitting there, I could sense that my mother attempted to hide her feelings, and I knew that she tried to be strong for us even though she was not very successful. I broke the silence by asking, â€Å"Mommy, what happened to you and daddy back there at home?† My sister also chimed in repeating the same question, â€Å"Yeah mommy, why did daddy yell at you like that?† Moments have passed andShow MoreRelatedSimilarities and Differences Between Ancient Greek and Byzantine Art1670 Words   |  7 PagesClassical Period Attic Vase Painting Attic Vase painting was a popular style between the sixth and the end of the fourth centuries BCE and the technique itself was first used by Athenian potters. Usually the necks and bodies were created first (on a wheel) and then the handles were added later. In black-figure vase painting, designs were painted using a black-tinted slip that turned black during firing, while the background would remain clay colored. Red-figure vase painting is the oppositeRead MoreThe Wedding2232 Words   |  9 Pagesof stairs and landing at the feet of her escort. What would have devastated others did not faze her in the least! Eccentric, outrageous, generous and full of humor, she attacked life rather than live it and survived in a world too harsh for her fragile psyche, with the aid of wit, cigarettes, large doses of alcohol and her pets. She was owned by five cats: Maude was a longhaired grey tiger of imperious attitude. Schnee, German for Snow, was a sapphire-eyed white longhair who considered herselfRead MoreRooms Division Operation Management21324 Words   |  86 Pagesdisadvantage to burn hotter compared to the classic bulb. Thus, there is a chance for the outer shell to break, which consequently let the inner bulb expose to moisture and which can be explode. As halogen light bulb cost is expensive and is quite fragile. Great precaution should be taken when manipulating these bulbs. No precautions will result in extra cost in the budget of purchasing the halogen bulbs. fittings Fittings are as per Steve Sloane (2012) Fittings in buildings areRead MoreRooms Division Operation Management21324 Words   |  86 Pagesdisadvantage to burn hotter compared to the classic bulb. Thus, there is a chance for the outer shell to break, which consequently let the inner bulb expose to moisture and which can be explode. As halogen light bulb cost is expensive and is quite fragile. Great precaution should be taken when manipulating these bulbs. No precautions will result in extra cost in the budget of purchasing the halogen bulbs. fittings Fittings are as per Steve Sloane (2012) Fittings in buildings are generally