Audit On Lorna Jane Marketing Strategy

Question

Task: Assessment 2 requires students to work in groups of three on a selected company from the predetermined list below in order to prepare a comprehensive marketing audit for the company. The aim of this assessment is to conduct a systematic, comprehensive and objective analysis of the marketing activities undertaken by the chosen company. In addition, you are also required to provide at least three (3) recommendations for the company. The marketing audit report should be no more than 3000 words in length excluding the executive summary, table of contents, tables, charts/graphs, the reference list and appendices. The written report is worth 30%. Groups are required to present only the comprehensive executive summary during tutorial classes in weeks 10 and 11.
Your assessment should show an application of relevant marketing concepts, theories, and analytic tools learnt in the unit. The mark for this assessment will depend primarily on presenting appropriate and supporting evidence and on the ability to critically write and present the marketing audit report. You are strongly encouraged to use the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) facilities to assist you in preparing professional report and presentation.
Groups are to select one company from the list below.
Company Weblink
Lorna Jane https://www.lornajane.com.au/
Dymocks https://www.dymocks.com.au/
Stan https://www.stan.com.au/
Tyrepower https://www.tyrepower.com.au/

Answer

Executive Summary
Marketing audit is helpful for Lorna Jane marketing strategy to analyze the position of business in operating market. This report is all about the market audit of famous active wear company i.e. Lorna Jane. The report focuses on the situational analysis of the company including PESTEL analysis, competitor analysis, customer analysis and SWOT analysis. Further, the report also explains segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies of the company. Along with this, Lorna Jane marketing strategy is also explained in the report. At last, some effective recommendations are also given so that company can achieve competitiveness in the operating market.

Introduction
In order to achieve growth and success in the operating market, it is crucial for the company to adapt and implement effective Lorna Jane marketing strategy. Having clear marketing tactics is very important to identify the target market and provide products and services based on the requirements of customers. With the structured Lorna Jane marketing strategy, company can be more productive, focused and profitable (Armstrong, Kotler, Harker & Brennan, 2018). This report generates an effective marketing plan for retail company i.e. Lorna Jane. Marketing audit is helpful in analyzing the situation of company, trends of market, competitiveness in the industry, and target market of the company.

Situation analysis
Company analysis
Lorna Jane is a manufacturer and retail company which provides active and sportswear for women. Headquarters and main warehouse of the company are located in Australia along with regional offices in Singapore, Shanghai and United States. Currently, the company is operating its business with multiple stores i.e. 146 stores in Australia, 42 in US and 54 in other countries like Dubai, Canada, South Africa and Britain. The large stores have also included health food cafes and fitness studios (Lorna Jane, 2020).

Mission: In case of mission, Lorna Jane marketing strategy is focused on empowering women to live the life with daily practice of Move, Nourish and Believe. In this manner, company is responsible to design best active wear and accomplish the requirements and necessities of the potential customers (Lorna Jane, 2020).

Products: The Company is focused on creating products to inspire women. In this manner, the company has decided to create active wears as they want women to think differently about their living standards. In the product line, company deals with pants, tops, tights and leggings, tanks, shorts, skirts and dresses, shoes, and jackets & hoodies.

PESTEL analysis
Political factors- The policies of government have significant impact on the companies operating at the global level. The Australian government has always imposed growth-oriented policies which are helpful for Lorna Jane marketing strategy to grow and expand its business at the international level. Stable government, effective trade regulations, and competitive tax arrangements help the company to manage the business in different companies. As Lorna Jane is known for eco-friendly business tactics, the company gets some benefits in such manner.

Economic factors- Rise in the labor issues and production cost affect the business of Lorna Jane in negative manner. Along with this, the threat of recession and competition are also the serious concern for the company while operating at the global level. During recession, customers can replace Lorna Jane with some other brand offering the product at lower prices (Crinis & Vickers, 2016). Currently, Lorna Jane marketing strategy is performing its business at global level. So, the stability of currency exchange and global interest rates also impact on the profitability of the company. Fluctuations in the currency rates can affect the profit of the business significantly.

Social factors- Some of the social factors like brand consciousness, health and fashion consciousness of the customers, and increase in female consumers have significant impact on business. Currently customers are becoming more health fashion conscious and they want to purchase the active wears from the top brands only. Further, increase in female consumers is also beneficial for the company. The company targets female customers only and this impact positively on the business operations of the company (Kotabe, 2020).

Technological factors- Innovation in the business is the key factor for success of the company. Technological innovations sometimes also create strong competition for the companies also. In order to deal with the competition, the company needs to implement new and innovative strategies in the business. Further, Lorna Jane marketing strategy implemented by top players creates strong competition in the environment.

Environmental factors- People are now very much concerned about the environmental issues. It is important for the companies to focus on reducing waste during the production. In this manner, the Australian government has imposed some environmental rules to restrict the production of wastage (Prendergast & Trencher, 2018).

Legal factors- Further, changes in the international laws can also affect the business operations significantly. Various countries are imposing new regulations and policies to deal with the threat of illegal activities. The increment in tariffs along with strict rules is major concerns for every global company and Lorna Jane is not an exception. Some of the countries also impose tariffs to protect their own brands which create major threat for the company. Lorna Jane marketing strategy is focused on reducing greenhouse gas emission throughout the value chain. The company operates its business with less carbon dioxide and monoxide while producing the products from raw material.

Competitive analysis
Australian apparel industry is highly competitive industry due to strong players. In case of competitors, Nike, Puma, Adidas, and Reebok are the players who have created tough competition for Lorna Jane in the market. These companies have implemented effective marketing tactics to achieve large market share (Miguel Villas-Boas, 2015).

• Adidas has strong marketing power to generate positive brand image among the customers. The company can steal fitness freaks, sports persons and active people from Lorna Jane in the market. Currently, 32% of market is owned by Adidas.
• Further, Reebok is also increasing its market share aggressively. The company has also done the promotions on social media channels to stay connected with the customers interactively.
• Nike is the major player in apparel industry as the company has successful brand image in the market. Nike has effectively repositioned itself in the industry through innovative marketing strategies. By reaching in urban and suburban areas, Nike has dominated athletic market with large shares.

Customer analysis
Companies in the sportswear industry need to offer unique active and sportswear to the people who want to stay comfortable throughout their exercises and gym also. The majority of the customers in the industry are those who focus on keeping themselves active and fit. Basically, the customers for active wear in the market are women with the age group of 15 to 65. Customers also buy the products on the basis of personality, lifestyle, and motives. In the sportswear industry, women are seeking for the combination of quality and lightweight materials to experience more comfort all day long. Main customers for active wear in the industry are youth who spend their majority of the time in gym to stay fit and healthy

SWOT analysis
Currently, Lorna Jane is a leading apparel retail company in Australian market. This retail brand focuses on inspiring young women by generating unique active wears. By analyzing the needs and requirements of the customers, the company is focused on providing them quality products by following effective Lorna Jane marketing strategy. In order to stay competitive, the company has established strong communication system with the customers through various media channels. This is also helpful in getting views and feedbacks of the customers regarding products. SWOT analysis of the company is given below:

TOWS Matrix

What is the role of Segmentation, targeting and positioning in Lorna Jane marketing strategy?
Segmentation
Market segmentation can be described as the strategy including the segregation of wide marketplace into the minor groups of customers having same needs and requirements. Based on the smaller groups of customers, company is able to target those customers through various media channels. In case of Lorna Jane marketing strategy, the company is focused on targeting those consumers who want to look fashionable and stay comfortable during the gym also. The products are designed to target the customers of middle class families (Baker, 2014). The company has separated the marketplace according to some segmentation and those are discussed below:

Demographic- For the active wears, major target consumers are women living healthy and active lifestyle. The reason is that women are more concern now for their fitness and healthy lifestyles. Thus, they try to find out such apparel in which they feel comfortable during the exercises. So, the company has divided the market based on the age of the customers i.e. 14 to 65. These customers need comfortable apparels during their gym sessions. The clothes have the amalgamation of excellence and lightweight materials which let the customers to experience more comfort all day long. Along with this, the company has also divided the market according social class and targets the customers from middle class only. The objective of the company is to provide quality products at medium prices so that people with middle class can afford them easily.

Geographic- In order to target the customers geographically, Lorna Jane has located its stores in suburban and city areas. In these areas, women are interested in lifestyle nourishment and fitness. Locating retail stores is helpful to target people who want to buy the quality active wears from the stores. Along with this, the company has also divided the market on the basis of climate in particular areas. Based on the seasons, the company designs different items. However, the company always has stock-standard products round the year i.e. motivational singlets, ¾ leggings and ‘flash-dance’ pants etc (Fashion Network, 2016).

Psychographic- It is observed that the demand of gym apparels is increasing continuously as women are trying to keep themselves fit. There are some psychological factors like personality, lifestyle, and motives. First of all, through Lorna Jane marketing strategy, the company designs the products for those women who want to live an active and healthy lifestyle. Along with this, the products are also created for those who want to stay comfortable and fashionable while doing exercise. Second, the company has designed the product based on the personality of consumers also. The company has designed motivational singlet in bright colors to keep the targeted women inspired and motivated. Third, Lorna Jane has tried to understand the motives of customers behind the purchasing behavior of consumers (De Mooij, 2019). Basically, customers are looking for fashionable and comfortable clothes along with trusted brand to offer them active wear and motivation. In order to target more customers, company is also focused on offering books to keep them motivated.

Behavioral- The Company has divided the market on the basis of behavioral segmentation also. It is observed that customers sometimes purchase occasionally i.e. customers buy active wears when they want to live a healthy and active lifestyle. Along with this, the buying decisions of the customers are also affected by benefits like quality material of clothes, active lifestyles, discounts and comfort. Loyalty is also a major factor which is helpful in targeting the customers by Lorna Jane marketing strategy. Majority of the customers are satisfied with the products and services of the company and they show loyalty towards the company by coming back again (Morgan, Whitler, Feng & Chari, 2019).

All the above discussed segmentations are helpful for Lorna Jane marketing strategy to understand the target market and implement effective marketing tactics to meet the specific requirements of every market segment.

Target Market
The company has focused on offering best customer experience through product innovation, prominent retail presence and brand leadership in operating market. In this manner, the company has also implemented effective promotional tactics so that more awareness about the products can be created among the customers. Key target market for apparels is youth who spend their majority of the time in gym to stay fit and healthy. Further, the company has also started maternity range and Tween range in the product line to target mothers and kids also. By the above discussed tactics, the company is capable to target large number fitness freak people.

Positioning
In order to position itself in the competitive market, the company has adopted some effective strategies and tactics. Basically, the company is focused on providing some tangible benefits to the customers. Those benefits are motivational resources like pamphlets and books, fitness accessories i.e. bags, water bottles, towels and hats and fashionable active wears. On the other hand, company is also providing intangible benefits to the customers i.e. motivation and inspiration, well trusted brand, customer satisfaction and warranties. Lorna Jane marketing strategy has differentiated itself from other players in market in terms of high quality material, good value and trendy and fashionable apparent. By positioning itself with these factors, the company is able to get large customer base and high success rate in the operating market (Basil, 2019).

Marketing mix
The selected company has implemented innovative Lorna Jane marketing strategy including marketing mix. This includes product, price, place, and promotion for products. These marketing tactics are helpful for the company to grow and get success in the competitive market.

Product
The product of a company is what can be provided to fulfill the needs and requirements of the customers. Lorna Jane has designed active wear and fitness accessories for women. The brand name and logo are also associated with the product Lorna Jane marketing strategy. Logo is the symbol which is associated with the brand so that customers can identify the products easily. Each and every product of Lorna Jane is labeled with the signature logo of the company which is designed with ‘three icons’. These three icons are helpful for Lorna Jane to market its products easily. Label on the product is helpful for the customers in various ways:

• Identifying the products and comparing the items with other brands in market,
• Achieving psychological satisfaction while purchasing the product of a brand having the symbol of prestige and status,
• Identifying other people wearing the apparel of similar logo, and
• Knowing about the brand i.e. trusted and authentic brand in the market (Makanyeza, 2015)

Although the products designed by Lorna Jane marketing strategy are displayed as similar as stores, the company has also design unique bags to market the products effectively. These bags are completely different from the average plastic bags. Those bags are not only re-usable and environment friendly but also shows motivational messages on them i.e. ‘Move, Nourish, Believe’, ‘Believe in Yourself’ and ‘Never, Never, Never Give Up’ etc. These tactics are helpful for Lorna Jane to create positive brand image in the competitive market.

Price
In case of pricing strategies, it refers to the amount of money which is obtained by the purchasing of the customer from Lorna Jane. Based on the effective pricing strategies, the company is able to understand how much the customers are willing to pay for the products sold by the company at the stores and online. In present time, Lorna Jane has implemented competition based pricing tactic as the company is operating its business in highly competitive market. There are various players in Australian apparel industry i.e. Adidas, Nike, Puma and Lululemon. These brands have set high prices of their products to create high competition in the market. In such case, Lorna Jane has set low-medium prices by using penetration pricing method (Lam and Harker, 2015). Basically, company has set low prices of the products so that more market share can be achieved effectively. Along with this, the company has also adopted price point Lorna Jane marketing strategy to sell the products at the predetermined prices to enhance the quality of the products. Having different style pricing strategies, it is helpful for Lorna Jane to encourage the customers for buying quality products at different prices.

Place
In order to distribute the products among customers, Lorna Jane has adopted effective distribution channel i.e. Producer Retailer Customers. There are different warehouses to distribute the products in various countries. Along with this, as per the Lorna Jane marketing strategy, company has also established its stores and cities so that the customers can by their desired products.

Promotion
By implementing ‘promotional mix’, the company is able to inform, persuade and remind consumers about the products and stores. The promotional channels used by Lorna Jane are advertising, personal selling and relationship marketing, sales promotion and public relations. Through various advertisement channels, Lorna Jane marketing strategy is trying to reach large base of the customers. In order to target those people, some of the advertising methods are discussed below:

Magazines- Lorna Jane has published its own magazines and placed them in the shopping centers. Along with this, company has also provided advertisements in other health and fitness magazines so that large customer base can be targeted (Pavlou & Stewart, 2015).

Letter box flyers- The company has started ‘sisterhood’ program which is provided to the customers while they are purchasing the products in store or online. Under this program, monthly catalogues and flyers are sent to the customers through mails so that they can check the availability of the products (Alam, 2014).

Social media- This is a strong media channels used by Lorna Jane to promote the products. Through various social media channels i.e. Instagram, FaceBook, Twitter and Pintrest, the company got success in grabbing consumer’s attention. By posting special discounts and giveaways and updating about new products, Lorna Jane marketing strategy is able to make the customers feel special. Further, Lorna Jane has also launched an application for iPhone users. The application is helpful for those customers who want to have a healthy or active lifestyle as it encourages active living and provides suggestions to live active lifestyles. Company also displays unique products on the application to target the customers (Chaffey & Ellis-Chadwick, 2019).

E-marketing- Under this Lorna Jane marketing strategy, the company has developed its official website i.e. ‘http: //www.lornajane.com.au’. Through this website, customers are able to place an order to purchase product and find exclusive specials and discount codes.

Recommendations
In order to stay competitive in the market, Lorna Jane marketing strategy needs to implement some effective strategies in the business. Company should focus on increasing the product range for men also to capture more market share. Along with this, company should also start sponsorships to promote the products in market. Big retail stores should be opened by the company to enhance the sales opportunities. At last, company should also need to focus on technological innovations to get competitiveness in the industry.

Conclusion
Based on the above analysis on Lorna Jane marketing strategy, it is observed that most of the customers in apparel industry are those who focus on keeping themselves active and fit. Currently customers are becoming more health fashion conscious and they want to purchase the active wears from the top brands only. In this manner, the company is promoting various social media channels i.e. Instagram, FaceBook, Twitter and Pintrest, the company got success in grabbing consumer’s attention. The company has focused on offering quality customer experience through innovation in business, elevated retail existence and brand leadership in operating market. In this manner, the company has also implemented effective promotional tactics so that more awareness about the products can be created among the customers.

References
Alam, M.M., (2014). Market Orientation and Innovation: Are They Related Concepts: International Journal of Trends in Economics Management and Technology. Lorna Jane marketing strategy 3(6), pp. 17–21.

Armstrong, G. M., Kotler, P., Harker, M., & Brennan, R. (2018). Marketing: an introduction. Pearson UK.

Baker, M. J., (2014). Marketing strategy and management, Palgrave Macmillan.

Basil, D. Z. (2019). The Fundamentals of Social Marketing. In Social Marketing in Action (pp. 23-44). Springer, Cham.

Chaffey, D., & Ellis-Chadwick, F. (2019). Digital marketing. Pearson UK.

Crinis, V., & Vickers, A. (Eds.). (2016). Labour in the clothing industry in the Asia Pacific. Taylor & Francis.

De Mooij, M. (2019). Consumer behavior and culture: Consequences for global marketing and advertising. SAGE Publications Limited.

Fashion Network. (2016). Australia's Lorna Jane chooses London for first European store. Retrieved from https://uk.fashionnetwork.com/news/Australia-s-lorna-jane-chooses-london-for-first-european-store,616200.html

Kotabe, M. M. (2020). Global marketing management. Lorna Jane marketing strategy John Wiley & Sons.

Lam, W., and Harker, M. J., (2015). Marketing and entrepreneurship. An integrated view from the entrepreneur’s perspective:International Small Business Journal. 33(3), pp.321-348.

Lorna Jane. (2020). OUR PROMISE. Retrieved from https://www.lornajane.sg/ourcommitment

Lorna Jane. (2020). Our Story. Retrieved from https://www.lornajane.sg/ourbrand

Makanyeza, C., (2015). Consumer Awareness, Ethnocentrism and Loyalty. An Integrative Model: Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 27(2), pp.167-183.

Miguel Villas-Boas, J., (2015). A short survey on switching costs and dynamic competition. International Journal of Research in Marketing.

Morgan, N. A., Whitler, K. A., Feng, H., & Chari, S. (2019). Research in marketing strategy. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 47(1), 4-29.

Pavlou, P. A., & Stewart, D. W., (2015). Interactive Advertising: A New Conceptual Framework Towards Integrating Elements of the Marketing Mix, pp. 218-222.

Prendergast, J., & Trencher, L. (2018). Eco-Considerations for Sportswear Design. In Materials and Technology for Sportswear and Performance Apparel Lorna Jane marketing strategy (pp. 338-353). CRC Press.