Submitted by: Submitted by fekky
Views: 242
Words: 542
Pages: 3
Category: Business and Industry
Date Submitted: 01/06/2013 04:52 PM
1. Introduction
H&M is a retail brand which has expanded considerably over the years with 2,700 stores spread over more than 40 markets as well as 94,000 employees and Germany being the largest market followed by the US, France, and the UK, the brand envisions potential for continued expansion in existing as well as new markets with collaborations with franchise partners, although this is not one of its general expansion strategy (HM, 2012). Moreover, H&M buys products from around 700 independent suppliers mainly in Asia and Europe in addition to an online shopping which is currently available in 18 European countries and will open in the US; the brand is driven by strong values such as belief in people, continuous improvement, team spirit, cost-consciousness, open- mindedness, entrepreneurship and simplicity. Also, H&M’s target growth is to increase the number of stores by 10 –15 percent (10- 15 %/) per year as well as to increase sales in comparable units; the growth aims to be self-financed with emphasis placed on quality, sustainability and continued high profitability (HM, 2012).
This report aims to analyze the extent to which H&M’s marketing mix is standardized or adapted across international markets, with a review of the main theories behind internalization and the internationalization process adopted by the brand, as well as an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of these processes and the extent to which the country of origin effect (COO) affects the consumers’ perception of H&M.
DISCUSS WHICH COUNTRIES YOU ARE CRITICIZING/ANALYSING!
2.0. The Marketing Mix of H&M: The critical analysis of the 4 Ps- PRODUCT, PRICE, PLACE, and PROMOTION
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Fig 1.0: Source: Constructed by the authors inspired by theory and models by Powers and Loyka (2007), Theodosiou and Leonidou (2003) and Vrontis (2003).
2.1.0 PRODUCT
2.1.0 (a) Design
Initially, H&M used a standardized approach when it...