The marketing mix: position

Fashion retailing is a dynamic and fluid business and strategy needs to reflect this: creating a competitive advantage in a market sector is an essential part of maintaining the necessary level of interest.

Identifying market position enables a company to determine its strategy and direction in order to present and maintain a strong recognizable brand image and identity to customers. Analysis of market position involves a lot of detail, such as cost control, infrastructure, cost of materials, economies of scale, management skills, availability of personnel and compatibility of manufacturing resources. A fashion retailing strategy should highlight the way in which the business may construct entry barriers to the competition. These can include high switching costs, gaining substantial benefit from economies of scale via sourcing policies; creating exclusive access to distribution channels to prevent others from using them; and the ability to clearly differentiate products. This is linked to the retailer’s ability to buy in bulk and volume and to work with suppliers effectively to create advantages.