Discussion Question #1
On June 1st, 2012; a kindergarten was opened in Minh Phuong village about 50 miles from Hanoi, Vietnam. This kindergarten school accommodates around 350 Vietnamese children (PG, 2012). It was an ordinary kindergarten school, but its classrooms were unique. The uniqueness of the classes was visible with silver colored signs of the P&G mass produced products namely, “Gillette is your best”, “Pampers Golden Sleep”, and “Pantene Sine”.
At the particular time, the P&G was using every technique to lure the consumers of Vietnam i.e. from television commercials to the hand washing demonstrations. P&G was using such demographic target marketing strategy that includes targeting the population under the age of 25 years as it was 45% of total population (Coleman-Lochner, 2012). This section of the population is targeted because it was a growth engine. The target market was young who were very interested in trying new things for making a natural life and expanding the range of products will be more beneficial to the company as these young people reach maturity.
With Vietnamese market insights, the P&G was able to know the competition level. The competition in the market was fierce as the market of Vietnam was a growth engine for the consumers’ product manufacturers due to its increase in exports (van den Akker, et al., 2013). P&G was struggling with its other products sustainability in the Vietnamese market, but only the Gillette razors are popular among the consumers. P&G is also introducing and producing the low cost merchandise for the modest income consumers so that they can trade it in future for more gain.
The P&G has found some grounds in the Vietnam market that can provide boosts to the profit earning in the region. For instance, the company is building the spray stations for the helmets in front of shopping centers so that their deodorant product of Ambi Pur may flourish. The Vietnamese travel mostly on their motorcycles; therefore they need to wear helmets. In a humid subtropical climate, a scented helmet can give a feeling of happiness when consumers travel in such climate2.
Discussion Question #2
American Apparel Inc. (AAI) is the vertically integrated manufacturers, retailers, and distributors of branded fashion apparel, accessories for men, women, children, and babies. The product chosen for the developing the marketing is American Apparel store going to be opened in India.
The reason for choosing this particular product for a particular country is that it never has been done. India is an enormous market for any apparel industry to flourish as the lifestyle of the people of India is changing due to change in the level of earnings and urbanization (Anand, and Khetarpal, 2014). The total share of retail clothing in Indian Apparel Industry (IAI) is about 8% correspondingly equivalent of $40 billion.
There is been one difficulty that will be faced by the AAI retailers in India. The problem relates to the absence of wholesalers in the IAI. This would increase the cost of doing business in India until the economies of returns from the market are not reaped. In IAI, the 95% market share is with the retail brands of the apparel industry. The retail apparel brands are increasing the company level in the IAI (Pani, & Sharma, 2012).
Factors needed to develop more informed strategic decision for future implementation for doing business in India are as follows;
The celebration of rituals with themed apparels is increasing.
Indian consumers are becoming more fashion awaked in comparison to the previous decade.
The number of working women in India is increasing, so the AAI must keep an eye out for change in its trends. The CAGR for women has been around 11% in last three years (Anand, and Khetarpal, 2014).
References
Anand, N., and Khetarpal, V. (2014). Growth Of Apparel Industry In India: Present And Future Aspects. Retrieved July 4, 2015 from http://scholarsworld.net/english/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Paper-8.pdf
Coleman-Lochner, L. (2012). P&G Plays Kindergarten Catch-Up With Unilever in Vietnam. Bloomberg, Retrieved July 4, 2015 from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-07-04/p-g-plays-kindergarten-catch-up-with-unilever-in-vietnam
Pani, A., & Sharma, M. (2012). Emerging trends in fashion marketing: a case study of apparel retailing in India. International Journal of Business and Management Tomorrow, 2(10), 1-8.
PG. (2012). Improving Lives In Vietnam. Retrieved July 4, 2015 from http://news.pg.com/blog/company-strategy/improving-lives-vietnam
van den Akker, D. A. J., Dresselhaus, L., Pham, L. A. V., & Tsu, J. M. (2013). Crossvergence of Marketing Practices between Vietnam and North-Western Europe. Retrieved July 4, 2015 from http://www.premotool.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Paper-Crossvergence-of-Marketing-Practices-between-Vietnam-and-North-Western-Europe.pdf
