Musette-proiect Final Final

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    1.Company presentation

    They say it is not possible to really know a person until you have walked a mile in theirshoes. If that were true, Cristina Batlan, thecreator and owner of Musette Exim SRL would

    be the most famous person in Romania. Fashionis defined as a general term for a currentlypopular style or practice, especially in clothing,foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references toanything that is the current trend in look anddress up of a person. Needless to say, whatmakes the fashion industry so volatile is the factthat its success depends upon other peoplesperceptions. In Romania, there are only a few companies which have managed to survive in thelong term and Musette is by far the most successful.

    15 stores in Romania, the U.S., Bulgaria and Israel, over 250 employees, a turnover ofmore than 6 million Euro, Musette is an empire built by two young Romanian persons who neverdreamed they would achieve what they have now.

    Musette made its appearance in 1992, on Calea Victoriei Boulevard, established as atrading company. The shop displayed colorful and avant-garde creations brought in Romania bytwo young students who dreamed of being financially independent: Cristina and Roberto Batlan.Cristina had long dreamed of having her own shoe factory and every time she went abroad to buymaterials, she would buy a lot of shoes. At first, they tried to import bags and shoes, but the prices were very high. They also thought of manufacturing their products in other Romanianfactories, but the products were very low qualitatively speaking. Therefore, they decided to opentheir own factory, investing all the money they had in leather and afterwards in shoes. Start ofproduction of bags meant giving up the business fabric and distribution of shoes. "We sold all theshoes to Leonardo network which we had at that time and we decided to replenish our stores onlywith handbags and accessories made by us, under the brand Musette", recalls Cristina. They haveinvested 200.000 Euro in their first factory and all the shoes were made manually, because thelacked the necessary equipment.

    Between 2000 and 2010, there has been developing continuously to build a retail networkof 20 stores. The production increased significantly every year and when they could no longermeet the demand, they opened a second factory in Husi. From 15 bags a day in 2002, the factoryproduced in the first months of existence, Musette produces 20 now times more.

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    Last but not least, bags are the products that representthe company mostly. The products are different from the othercompanies by the design, color and quality. The sizes of the purses rank from clutches to shoulder bags, with different pockets that make an easier accessibility to it. The paintings

    used are specially treated so that there are no stains of clothes.The prices rank between 175 Ron and 800 Ron.

    3. Analysis of internal and external marketing environment

    The discretionary nature of shoe shopping makes this industry highly dependent onconsumer sentiment and disposable income. As the economy recovers and incomes grow,

    consumers are forecast to return to shopping in the industry. Even so, operators will continue toexperience competition from low-cost imports, department stores and e-commerce shoe sales asconsumers increasingly prefer the convience of one-stop and online shopping.

    In order to determine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of Musette, aanalysis of both internal and external footwear market is needed.

    The footwear market in Romania was valued at 759 million in terms of retail sales,registering an average annual increase of 2.4% since 2004, being well above the EU average of0.3% over the same period. Romania was the thirteenth EU market, behind Portugal, but ahead ofDenmark and Finland in value. By volume, Romanians bought 50 million pairs in 2008, whichmeant 2.4 pairs per capita, spending 36 per year, being one of the lowest within the EU,compared to an EU average of 100 per capita (4.2 pairs). This below average consumption can

    be explained as many Romanian consumers can only afford lower quality items. It is alsoexplained by below average prices for many shoes in this sector. Since 2004, the Romanianfootwear market increased substantially both in volume and value. Much of this growth is due to price inflation, but the economy has been growing rapidly because of joining the EU. Moreexpensive footwear was available from the foreign chains. The Romanian currency has lostsome value against the Euro in 2007. This is making footwear prices from international retailoutlets more expensive and limiting purchases to just the most affluent. In 2008, Romania wasalso affected by the recession and value sales of footwear have slowed, while volume salescontinued to rise.

    According to the Footwear Business Magazine Afaceri, the average Romanian ownsaround five pairs of shoes, characterized as normal shoes, which includes sports shoes or

    sneakers. Most people only renew shoes when the old ones are obsolete. Around 20% ofRomanians do not have typical winter footwear, whereas 30% has only one pair of (ankle) boots.It is also estimated that around 30% of Romanians does not have sandals for summer. A recentsurvey of Central European consumers concluded that Romanian consumers made purchases based on a products usefulness and the prestige it will afford them, compared with Czechconsumers who made rational purchases and Hungarians who made emotional purchases. Thissuggests that Romanians are quite brand conscious when buying footwear, but also make surethey are getting good value for money.

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    The ratio of working women increased from 52.1% to 53.0% of all Romanian womenbetween 2004 and 2006, but slightly fell to 52.5% in 2008. The main growth was in the group ofworking women aged between 25 and 54 years. Working women are the most important segmentfor footwear. The Romanian market is experiencing a significant transformation that is affectingits populations shopping behaviour. Romanian women are gradually developing a taste for

    modern shopping. Modern living leads to a busier lifestyle, resulting in an increased demandand appreciation for the convenience of doing all of ones shopping at a single location. Withregards to footwear, Romanian people increasingly pay attention to the material and check themade of leather label, if the inside is also made of leather and the material used for the soles.

    The footwear market in Romania will continue to expand in the coming years, but growthrates will not be as great as price inflation and higher import prices will slow down demand.Growth rates in Romania have been amongst the highest in the EU. This continued into 2008.However, the retail trade contracted by more than 10% in 2009, with fashion retailers particularlyaffected. Sales of footwear decreased by a similar proportion. It is expected that growth in thefootwear will return in 2011 driven by the rising number of working women. Romanianconsumers are developing a taste for well-designed footwear and sports footwear, but many nowcannot afford to buy branded footwear. In future there are good prospects for fashionablefootwear, however, counterfeit sales of branded footwear continues to be a problem.

    The industry continues to export almost everything it produces. In 2007, 99.6% of overalldomestic production was exported. The domestic market, which is worth 2bn euros, could absorbthe domestic production of around 71 million pairs of shoes. While almost the entire output ofover 2,000 suppliers was exported, Romanians bought over 89 million pairs of imported shoes

    Taking all these into consideration, some comments must be made. On a Romanianmarket dominated almost of 80% of imports (annually imported more than 60 million pairs ofshoes from China, Turkey and India, according to a statement released in March 2010 by theEmployers Organization of Leather and Footwear Sector - OSPI) , manufacturers do not feel toocomfortable. But Musette goes to conquer this new adventure with an advantage for customers:flexibility. "We can adapt more easily to the market that we address. For example, from theretailer, which sends back to the manufacturer the broken shoe, we have the repair part, "explainsCristina Batlan.

    Average consumption for clothing andfootwear not exceeding 76 euros per capita, whichranked 52 places us among the 70 countriesincluded a Euromonitor study on this topic.Although the market is still growing, competition isincreasingly fierce: in a segment dominated byretailers like Leonardo, Bata, Il Passo or OtterBenvenutti,there has been announced the entry ofthe Austrians from Leder & Schuh AG, Humanic.

    Despite all these hardships, Musettemanaged to overcome the problems encountered during recession time and to become a well-known brand throughout the country. It is extremely hard to compete with large companies thatsell at lower prices as the ones stated above since the majority of women in Romania have a lowor medium income and cannot afford to buy high-quality expensive products.

    Musette has demonstrated that, after a long presence on the local market, the brand thatcreated it may be imposed on international markets. Especially that dream of having aninternational Musette had always been the goal of the owner. Nowadays it can be spoken about a

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    Moscow-London-New York Axis, as the company has extended its network of stores on morecontinents.

    The two owners will give franchise Musette to as many foreign companies to win withthem. The hiring process of Cristhelen B - brand developed by the company - on foreign marketsbegan in May 2010, through a first franchise store opened in Israel. The opening of the franchise

    Musette in New York made the founder of this company want more stores throughout the world.After Manhattan, the Musette shoes arrived in Luxemburg and Hungary. This year other storeswill be opened in Russia and Great Britain.

    This step was a necessary one in order to survive since the company needed new marketswith financial potential since theRomanian market was decliningduring the recession.

    The store in New Yorkseems to appeal to the womenthat open its door. At first the prices of the products were between $150 and $500. But because the sales went reallygood and they were nominatedamong the best newly openstores in New York, like IsabelMarant and Alexander Wang,two well-known designers, theyreduced a little the prices.Cristina Batlan said that shewanted that the products weresold in large quantities and thatthe brand was already credible.Moreover, they had to be aligned to the other players in order not to be seen big differencesbetween them.

    As the population living in Western Europe and the United States has a higher level ofdevelopment, it is obvious that they have a greater taste for special high-quality footwear and bags, exactly the products offered by Musette. As a consequence, the products sold there aremore expensive and bought in larger quantities than in Romania and, therefore, bring morerevenue to the company.

    Analysing all the information about the internal and external marketing environment, aSWOT analysis can be made.

    The strengths of Musette derive from the characteristics of the business that give anadvantage over the others.

    The biggest strength of Musette is represented exactly by the designs and the high-qualityof products. They are unique since are made by specialists from Italy well-known for theircraftsmanship in working with leather. These give the women interested in shoes and bags thefeeling that they are special, thus determining them to buy the Musette products.

    The offer of the company includes shoes and accessories not only for special occasions,but also for daily wear. Therefore, this thing proves that the products can be used for all eventsand so, the clients become used to Mussette becoming part of the womans everyday wear.

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    Furthermore, Musette is already a well-established brand in Romania and its awareness isincreasing abroad as well. As a consequence, they are able to set high prices and at the same timeto sell the products, thus obtaining revenue.

    The weaknesses are characteristics that place the company at a disadvantage relative toothers. A weakness of this company can be considered the fact that they do not have a large

    capacity of production, this being the reason for closing some of the stores a few years ago.Probably, if they were able to make more shoes and bagsthey would sell more and, thus, making more profit.

    The designers that Mussette has contracted are wellknown in the shoe industry and missing one of them wouldunbalance the image of the company. Therefore, offeringthem the best conditions to work is one of the core objectivesof the Design and Research department. Motivating the otherworkers that are in different departments is also an importantgoal and the threat is to lose them. Hiring other ones is verydifficult and the policy of the employees has to be veryclearly defined. Being in the advantage of the employeesmeans being in the advantage of the company.

    Also, the company did not invested in tv campaigns, such as spots. Therefore, manypeople did not hear about Mussette and this could be a huge loss. Other shoe companies invest alot more in the publicity and advertisements, such as Deichman or Leonardo. Mussette should bemore aggressive and use more than one strategy. A combination of catalogues, tv spots andbillboards could be the solution to eliminate this threat. This could be just some aspect of the totalmarketing plan.

    Opportunities represent external attractive factors that represent the reason for anorganization to exist and develop. Time frames are identified in this process and finding properconditions for the organization is the objective of this part.

    Mussette has entered a market which focuses, according to the income of the targetclients, usually on women who spends an important amount of money on accessories and shoes.The Romanian market has registered decreases because of the recession and, therefore, thedevelopment of it has slowed down and the entire industry is expecting the coming economicboom. Speaking about other countries where the company is a retailer, the situation stands a little bit different. The American market and the western European one present new opportunities.Those markets can develop in very fast way and so, the company is seeking new ways ofattracting those customers and making them loyal.

    Moreover, women who buy from Mussette are characterized as strong and independentwomen who have a big interest in fashion and find it as a way of expressing themselves. Loyaltyis one of the features of this segment of interest. Therefore, the society is enhancing this type of behavior and Mussette has to improve the segment of limited editions collections that offer aspecial design and quality.

    Furthermore, being an accessories company, its image can be associated with clothingcompanies, not just in presentations, but also in the selling of the products. Such opportunities arevery useful to both companies, attracting more clients because of the brand association.

    Since the business already has stores abroad, new opportunities can appear from otherforeign countries. If on the American market is harder to make the brand known, in othercountries, such as Israel, the chances are higher. Usually, people travel in Israel for the tourist

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    production cost is evaluated in Ron and the threat is represented by the fluctuations in theexchange rates that can affect seriously the company.

    Being in the fashion industry, seasonality is the main characteristic of it. Therefore, themarket demand is changing constantly from season to season and choosing the good designers isan important task for the company. So, the threat is represented by the changing industry, which

    is not very clear defined as other industries which does not depend on art and weather changes.Moreover, expanding it to other countries, such as United States or Western Europe, itwill find the market very competitive. Consumer interest in alternative brands is taking away theMussettes market share.

    Consumers are constantly shopping for better deals. Currently, the prices of Mussette arehigher than other competitors, such as Leonardo. However, if the quality is taken into account forthe prices, the reason is obvious. But the threat is still present if the buyers choose the cheaperproducts no matter the quality and the design.

    Needles to say, the substitutes represent a threat for the company, having the advantage oflower costs but poorer quality. Also the competition is high. New brands appear that offer shoesand accessories, no matter if they are not just a shoe manufacturer. Therefore they have theadvantage of presenting the shoe with clothes, without have the need to associate their imagewith other companies. Also, the number of shoe manufacturers is constantly growing andremaining in the first line of this industry is a huge challenge.

    Shoes are still subject to high tariffs in international trade. However, shoes manufacturedabroad at greatly reduced costs can absorb taxes and have a higher price. Therefore, the cost ofMussettes accessories should be decreased in some manner.

    Moreover, local retailers may have superior access to channels of distribution.This process of analyzing the companys activity provides insights to the organizations internaland external positioning, examining internal and external elements that must be factored intofuture decision making. It prohibits the organization from becoming too insular and functioningwithout proper feedback.

    Taking into account all of the above, theobjectives that have to be followed by this companyseem obvious. They should continue the expansionoutside the borders of the country, thus entering on moreand more markets. In addition, they should not neglectthe internal market since it is an important source ofrevenue and it must evolve as well. Another objectiveshould be the maintenance of the brand image by notmaking compromises, such as manufacturing productsof lower quality.

    4. Segmentation, targeting, positioning

    Market segmentation is the identification of portionsof the market that are different from one another. Segmentationallows the firm to better satisfy the needs of its potentialcustomers.

    Musette uses this concept in order to understand andsatisfy the needs of the customers better than the competition.

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    Musettes core consumer is a woman who appreciates quality and comfort but also desires piecesthat are distinct and rare

    Consumer markets can be segmented on the variouscustomer characteristics. One of these is geographicsegmentation, according to which The company tends to follow

    clients from Europe, North America or Eastern Asia (Israel),areas where people usually have a higher income and interest infashion. Also, Musette focuses on urban zones, with a highdensity of people open to new things, such as New York,Luxembourg.

    Psychographic segmentation groups customers accordingto their lifestyle. Women who buy from Mussette arecharacterized as strong and independent women who have a biginterest in fashion and find it as a way of expressing themselves.They have a job which provides them a higher income than theusual one and allows them to purchase goods of fine quality.

    Nevertheless, behavioralistic segmentation is based onactual customer behavior toward products. Loyalty is one of the features of this segment ofinterest. Therefore, the society is enhancing this type of behavior and Mussette has takeadvantage of the clientele who buys usually from it, which is numerous, and on the one thatpurchases for special occasions, such as weddings, parties or other celebrations.

    On the other hand, targeting recognizes the diversity of customers and does not try to please all of them with the same offering. So, Musette focuses very much on the Americanmarket, where people usually spend more on fashion and they are more open to new comers thanthe European market, which usually prefers companies with experience and an already-builtbrand. The company opened its first store oversees in the fashion-forward neighborhood Soho,with inventive pursers, bags and leather accessories. New York people represent the target of thecompany, who are world renowned by their originality and interest in fashion.

    Moreover, Musette has different marketing strategies to target trendy casual priceshopper, who is interested more in flats or boots without heels and does not spend too much onfashion but on quality and comfort. Also, there is the mainstream shopper, who prefers high heelsand spends more than 80 euros for a pair of shoes.

    After the organization has selected its target market, thenext stage is to decide how it wants to position itself within thatchosen segment. Positioning refers to how organizations wanttheir consumers to see their product. If you don't define yourproduct or service, a competitor will do it for you. Your positionin the market place evolves from the defining characteristics ofyour product.

    Musette develops a strategy which positions the companyaway from their competitors. The prices of Musette are above theusual market price, because the quality and design distinguish theproducts among the competitors and the price expresses the carethat the entrepreneurs take for their clients. But the price ofgoods do not enter the haute-couture area. The products of thecompany are high heel shoes, flats and bags. The prices for highheel shoes rank between 300 Ron and 500 Ron, but for the sales

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    period, the solds are considerably advantageous for the customers between 50% and 70 %.Secondly, flats represent the an important part from everyday life of each woman. Prices arebetween 250 Ron and 350 Ron. Last, bags are the product that represent the company mostly.prices rank between 175 Ron and 800 Ron.

    Quality is a principle of the firm. The raw materials

    the company is using is imported from Italy, because of thequality of the leather Musette shoes incorporates, and thelatest technology - including sachetto and laser embroidery- to create unique, comfortable and durable styles. There iseven a complete line devoted exclusively to the consumerthat is looking for comfort. Moreover, clients have aguarantee policy, which allows them to return to product interm of 10 working days, along with the receipt from thecash register. Also, the company commits to pay back themistake by offering another product in exchange ordiscounts for future products.

    Services regarding the products are offered by thecompany, some of them costless or at the price of thespecific good. For customizing a belt, there are no feesincluded or a client can ask for a specific type of model from a previous collection and it will bemanufactured. Nevertheless, the US store will also have exclusive collections just for the SoHostore, such as a python heel available in 2 different styles, as well as limited edition pairs withdifferent leather, colors and animal skins. Adding to this, each year, Musette produces two uniquecollections, Spring Summer / Fall Winter. Every collection offers consumers more than 100shoe styles and 50 bag and accessory styles. Due to their wide selection, every two weeks the NYstore will bring in 20 new styles, offering consumers a constant selection of new and excitingpieces. Also, every bag is offered with a protection sac, for maintain the aspect of the item aslong as possible, protecting from sunlight or dust.

    Speaking about distribution, customers can easily have access to the companys productssince every store of Musette is situated in the center of an important city or in a very visitedshopping center of the country. In North America, New York, NY- Fashion and New York Citygo hand in hand. Located in the heart of New Yorks most fashion-forward neighborhood,Musette satisfies the need of unique and quality goods.

    Moreover, packaging makes a strong statement. Every product is delivered in a stylishwhite bag, depending on the size of the bought item. The message the company wants to send isthat simplicity means refinement and luxury and the name of the company written simply inblack on the white bag is a statement for the self confidence of the company and fine quality.

    So, positioning is a competitive strategy, which highlights the uniqueness and specialattention paid to leather. The firms strongest strengths are desgn, quality and comfort, whichbuild the equity of the brand.

    5. Marketing Mix

    The marketing mix is probably the most famous marketing term. Its elements are the basic, tactical components of a marketing plan. Also known as theFour P's, the marketingmix elements are price, place, product, and promotion.

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    Pricing strategies is very important to a company refers to the methods by which a business calculates how much it will charge for a product or service. There are many pricingstrategies that have to be taken into consideration when deciding a products price.

    Cristina Batlan, the creator of Musette has chosen two pricing strategies: premium andgeographical pricing. Premium pricing basically means using a high price where there is a

    uniqueness about the product or service. Since Mussete operates in the fashion industry which isvery dynamic and there are even some products that are created in limited editions only for theRomanian stores or only for the U.S. stores, this company also falls into this category, as well asmost companies of its type. Geographical pricing is evident where there are variations in price indifferent parts of the world. For example, prices are slightly higher in America, even if the

    U.S. taxes are lower than our VAT. The price is established by

    Musettes local partners reported to the market, the stores position and purchasing power ofAmericans, which is far larger than the Romanians. In addition, Musette has also adopted apromotional price strategy. Twice a year, the company offers significant discounts.

    Another element of Neil H.Borden's Marketing Mixis Place. Place is also known as channel, distribution, or

    intermediary. It is the mechanism through which goodsand/or services are moved from the manufacturer/ serviceprovider to the user or consumer. The Musette Exim SRLhas opted for a direct marketing strategy, i.e. they producethe products themselves, in their own factories and thenthey sell them in their own shops. However, in the U.S., theInternet is also used as a Channel Intermediary. Thecustomers can therefore go online, on Musettes Web page and buy the products they desire. Thistechnology is not yet available in other countries, although the owner has confessed this is one ofthe companys future goals, because of the shift in commerce and consumption which benefitsdistribution via the Internet.

    Concerning the third element of the Marketing Mix, Product, we have to take intoconsideration the Three Levels of a Product, the Customer Life Cycle and the Product Life Cycle.

    The three levels of a product, as they can bedepicted in the picture are: Core Product, ActualProduct and Augmented Product. The Core productis the benefit of the product that makes it valuableto you. For example, if you buy a car, the coreproduct is the convenience or speed. When it comesto fashion however, things are not so clear. Ask anyman about the benefit of a shoe or a bag and he willdefinitely tell you there is none. Ask a girl and youwill get your answer: the core products or benefitsof Musette are fashion sense, beauty and quality.The owner of Musette handpicks the materials foreverything herself. She also tries every product first.If a show has a defect, does not fit perfectly theshape of her leg, that shoe will not go intoproduction. When she created the flats, she gave thefirst products to her employees to test them for sixmonths and then report what bothered them. That is why when buying from Musette, you are

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    confident that every penny you spent is worth it. The actual product is the tangible, physicalproduct, in this case a pair of shoes or a bag. The augmented product is the non-physical part of

    the product, for example the warranty or the possibility ofreturning the product if you are not pleased with it.

    A product life cycle comprises of five stages:

    introduction, growth, maturity, decline, withdrawal.Generally speaking, the Musette products life cycle is aseason, because new products are introduced seasonally.Also, new catalogues and advertisement are created when anew collection is introduced in order to increase customerawareness. However, one cannot really say that when aseason end is close, the product enters the decline stage.Because of the promotions, maybe more persons will buythe product than they have in the maturity stage.

    Needless to say, the customer life cycle is related tothe product life cycle. Essentially, the customer life cycle isa summary of the key stages in a customer's relationshipwith an organisation. Musette appeals to women whoappreciate quality and comfort but also desires pieces thatare distinct and rare.

    Another one of the 4P's is Promotion. This includesall of the tools available to the marketer for 'marketing

    communication'. If we look to the promotion mix from Musettes point of view, we can easilynotice that Sales Promotions, Advertising and Public Relations are the most used tools. Musettehas discounts twice a year and by through its advertising campaigns, it strives to create a longterm relationship with the customer. Exhibitons have also been adopted recently by the company,since it currently operating a showroom in Dusseldorf, Germany.

    To sum up, the marketing mix is a crucial element a company has to pay attentioncontinuously to, since an appropriate marketing mix helps the organisation in ways that bothtargeted consumer groups are reached, as well as organizational objectives are reached.

    6. Conclusion

    In Romania, there are only a few companies which have managed to survive in the longterm and Musette is by far the most successful. It has been developing continuously, conqueringnot only the Romanian market, but also other foreign ones, such as the American, which isknown as a difficult and saturated market.

    Since the products addresses to many types of consumers, the companys offers rangefrom everyday flats to luxury high heeled shoes, Musette succeeded to overcome its localcompetitors, like Leonardo, adapting very easily to the demand. Also, its flexibility was provedon recession time, when constraints were present in every area. But the company saw the solutionin gaining new markets. So, the process of franchising started and it was a success, since thecompany is planning to open new stores in Russia and England, beside those from Israel,Luxembourg and Hungary.

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    The strengths of Musette derive from the characteristics of the business that give anadvantage over the others. The biggest strength of Musette is represented exactly by the designsand the high-quality of products. The weaknesses are characteristics that place the company at adisadvantage relative to others. A weakness of this company can be considered the fact that theydo not have a large capacity of production, this being the reason for closing some of the stores a

    few years ago. The American market and the western European one present new opportunities.Those markets can develop in very fast way and so, the company is seeking new ways ofattracting those customers and making them loyal. Threats are also part of the companys life.Change of the legislation can have an impact on the Mussette company. Changing the VATagain, meaning making it higher, would definitely decrease the sales of the company. Also,exchange rates and seasonality need special attention from the manager in order not to affectnegatively the firm.

    Therefore, the objectives of the company are obvious. Musette needs to keep expandingon new markets and no compromises in quality, because it would definitely affect the brandsimage.

    Musette uses the concept of market segmentation to understand and satisfy the needs ofthe market better than its competition. The companys consumers tend to be from developedcountries, living in urban areas and prove loyalty to a certain brand, which expresses theirindividuality and way of life.Also, through targeting the company tries not to offer all the clientsthe same things. This is why the products differ from a country to another, according to theclients.

    Moreover, Musettes has created an image of luxury products at a price of non-luxurygoods. Even though prices are a bit higher than the usual shoe-stores, the quality and the designpay the price. Services, distribution and packaging position the brand in the minds of consumer asa luxury-product company.

    Themarketing mix is probably the most famous marketing term. Prices differ fromcountry to country. For example, in USA the prices are higher than in the rest of world, eventhough the VAT is lower in North America. Also, the American website is the only site throughwhich Musette operates online-selling. The product, beside price and place, is another importantelement of the marketing mix. Their quality makes them durable and, even though, the productsstay in store for one season, this does not mean that the products life is over. If we look to the promotion mix from Musettes point of view, we can easily notice that Sales Promotions,Advertising and Public Relations are the most used tools.

    All in all, Musette uses all its advantages to prove loyalty to its objectives and clients,keeping the stakes high, even on this time of recession.

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