CASE ON GIORDANO:POSITIONING FOR INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION

Presented by:

GROUP 10

GIORDANO AT A GLANCEo Giordano, International Limited  is a

Hong Kong retailer of men's, women's and children's quality apparel

o Vision:“To be the best and the biggest world brand in the apparel retailing.”

o Giordano’s mission: To provide value for money merchandiseo It was founded by Jimmy Lai in 1980o In 1985 it opened its first outlet in Singaporeo After 1987 it repositioned itself as a retailer

ofunisex apparel

PROBLEM STATEMENT As it looks to the future, a successful Asian

retailer of casual apparel must decide whether to maintain its existing positioning strategy or not. Management wonders what factors will be critical to success and whether the firm's competitive strengths are readily transferable to new international markets.

MANAGEMENT VALUES AND STYLES

Innovation Feel good factor Emphasis on people Recruitment :Attitude training Working on Store Training

•Lai’s management philosophy•Employee treated as an assets•Spent heavily on training-average 224 hours

Training for each employee•Paid high wages to employees•Flat organizational structure

Services of Giordano – key strengthEmployee evaluation- Service star awardStore evaluation- Best service shopValue for money-selection of suppliers, cost control etc

Inventory control-Inventory turnover reduced to 28 days in 1999 from 58 days in 1996

Product positioning :Simple having limited itemsRepositioning: Stylish clothes & broadening itsappeal

GIORDANO MEANS SERVICE

We welcome unlimited “Try ons” We exchange “No questions Asked” We serve with a smile Ranked no.1 for 8 consecutive years for

innovation

SIMPLICITY AND SPEED

Empowerment of line managers Flat Structure Fast and close communication and co

ordination Efficient project management Speedy decision making Dynamic capabilities Short product development life cycle

STRATEGIES

“Value-for-money” or “quality merchandise at affordable prices” “Gio Ladies” was the product introduced

Mid price positioningBluestar exchange(BSE)-budget cautious customer

Excellence in marketing and branding: Strong positioning, Brand equity for excellent service and ability to deliver “value-for-money”, Consistent execution of advertising and promotion to strengthen brand image. Excellent customer service Human resource policies (e.g., selection, training and remuneration of frontline staff) Information systems, and performance monitoring (e.g., regular evaluations of service standards at store level and mystery shopping) Good site selection: Giordano’s location strategy provides a competitive advantage because of its direct impact on ability to generate high volume customer traffic while keeping low margins

COMPETITORS

Main Competitors: the Gap,Espirit,Bossini,Baleno,Hang Ten Similar strategies but different markets

International expansion Established store in China, Malaysia,

Singapore, Taiwan , Japan , Korea, Saudi Arabia, India,

etc. Different Strategies in different market.

Slowdown due to Asian crises, SARS and Iraq war.

Expansion beyond Asia

FURTHER ANALYSIS

North America

On February 14, 2007 Giordano finally made its leap into the North American retail market with the opening of its store in the Aberdeen Centre in Vancouver, Canada. The store carries full ranges of men's, women's and children's apparel. This location was chosen due to its large Chinese-Canadian population, many of whom come from Hong Kong.

Eastern Europe

Although eastern Europe in itself belongs to a different continent all Giordano stores in the region are actually franchised through Giordano Middle-East. The company made its first European foothold with the opening of its first store on Chavchavadze Avenue in the Georgian capital of Tblisi. The company now operates several stores through out the city, including one in the neighbouring city ofBatumi. Giordano made its move to Armenia in 2004 with the opening of its store in the country's capital Yerevan. In April 2007 Giordano added Ukraine to its list of markets with the opening of its first store in the country's capital Kiev. Poland, Russia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria and Belarus are other markets in which the company's has franchised stores.

FURTHER.. Africa Asia Pacific Central Asia Middle East North American and The Caribbean Eastern Europe

Value for money product.Excellent services.Focused on core items.Customer oriented.

Product strategies: Business Strategies Differentiation. Cost leadership Niche

Describe and evaluate Giordano’s product,business, and corporate strategies.

o Current positioning.o Target up-market may create confusion.o Measureso Difficult to make different strategies for

different marketo Costly to acquire existing brand or setup new

brand. So go with old strategies.

Describe and evaluate Gioranado’s current positioning strategy. Should Gioranado reposition itselfagainst its competitors in its current and new markets, and should it have different positioning strategies fordifferent markets?

How do you think Giordano had/would have to adapt its marketing and operations strategies and tactics when entering and penetrating your country?

Concentrate on the similarities between countries.

Careful to consider national and cultural differences in some aspects of its marketing mix

Even the most sophisticated training program won’t guarantee the best customer service”

Giordano managed to deliver a high level of service.