Raoul and Massimo Dutti Fashion Brands Comparison and Analysis Report

Raoul & Massimo Dutti Brand Analysis Report

Prepared For: Desmond Sim, Gilles Bernadou

Prepared By:

FM4A Mayshella Clara Wongso (11786), Ng Shi Hui (12838), Teo Jia En (12565) & Bini Yao Qiong (11621)

DE1215 Basic Business Principles for the Fashion Industry LASALLE College of the Arts

Raoul & Massimo Dutti Brand Analysis | 2

Contents

1. Project Brief

2. Executive Summary

3. History / Background

4. Targeting group and segmentation

5.0 Marketing Mix

5.1. Product & Consumer

5.2. Price & Cost

5.3. Place & Convenience

5.4. Promotion & Communication 5.5 5th P

6. Conclusion

7. References


1. Project Brief: Analysis report of your chosen brands strategies.

Select one successful, international fashion brand/company and one

successful, local (Singapore) fashion brand/company within the same

category (e.g high fashion with another high fashion company or hair acc with another hair acc company etc.)

You will then compare and contrast their marketing and PR strategies and efforts, paying attention to the Marketing Mix employed by both companies.

In your analysis, show your understanding of the principles of marketing by

also discussing how the international company can learn about marketing in

Singapore from the local company; and how the local fashion company can

learn to market to a larger international market from the international fashion company.

Group Work:

15 min presentation.

One document of between 4000-5000 words, due week 15.


2. Executive Summary

Our group chose to analyze local brand Raoul and internationally successful

brand Massimo Dutti within the local Singaporean context. The retail industry

shapes the environment where Singaporeans live, work and play. In year

2008, the retail industryʼs 20,000 establishments generated about $35 billion

in retail sales and employed some 100,000 workers. Unsurprisingly, our

research finding shows that our selected brands are improving progressively

in terms of sales and revenue. Both brands cater to working business

professionals but Raoul has a stronger focus on simple and chic business

wear while Massimo Dutti focuses on casual and smart formal wear.

Raoulʼs strength lies in her strategic target segmentation, marketing

positioning and promotion. Raoul has seen success in targeting working

professionals who have spending power and looking for quality fashionable

products that are affordable and have a prestige branding. Despite being a

local brand they have successfully marketed themselves as a premium brand

because they took on a French name and a European marketing approach.

Raoul follows the European fashion seasons and introduces the collection

each season with much hype and anticipation by their customers.

Massimo Duttiʼs strength lies in her quality yet affordable products and has

been relying on word of mouth promotion because of the popularity of their

products. By cutting down on advertising and promotion costs, Massimo Dutti

can translate these costs into better quality fabrics and designs according to

market trends for their customers and thereby earning higher profits.

This paper seeks to analyze Raoul and Massimo Duttiʼs marketing strategies

in the local Singaporean context, the success and failures of these strategies

and provides recommendations for what can be improved to further increase

their global presence.


3. History / Background

Since its inception in 2002, the homegrown brand of FJ Benjamin has grown

from strength to strength. Created by husband and wife team Douglas and

Odile Benjamin, it began as a menʼs shirt label and in response to changing

customer needs, evolved into a complete ready to wear collection for men and women in 2008, including accessories and timepieces.

The Raoul brand was conceived when Benjamin was in London years ago.

The company had always been franchising and representing brands from

other companies. Benjaminʼs father was a strong believer that they needed to

have their own brand. In 2003 they bought some shirts from some expensive

stores and after three to four months Benjamin was wearing shirt and the

cuffs were fraying, buttons coming off. With a desire to produce long lasting and high quality shirts, they decided to develop a menʼs shirt label.

Raoul is the French name for Ralph. Raoul was launched through stores in

Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. The first store combining both ranges

opened its doors in 2007 and a flagship in the classic Paragon shopping

centre on Orchard Rd in 2009. With 21 standalone boutiques and shop-in-

shop concepts to-date in prime retail locations in Singapore, Malaysia,

Indonesia, Philippines and most recently, Australia, Raoul has made a

significant impact on the fashion scene in Asia with its mandate to create

affordable luxury products without compromising on stylish design and good quality for todayʼs discerning customer.

Today Raoul lines sit alongside high end labels in US, European and UK department stores, including Harrods and Matches.


Massimo Dutti was founded in 1985 and acquired by Inditex in 1991. Today it

has more than 525 stores in over 50 countries. The brand originally focused

on menʼs fashions, yet 1992 saw the launch of its collections for women,

ranging from über-urban to casual lines, enabling Massimo Dutti to

consolidate its position as a rapidly expanding name on both the Spanish and

international markets with a staff that currently exceeds 4,000. In 2003

Massimo Dutti launched its kids fashion range under the name Massimo Dutti

Boys & Girls. This line is gradually being introduced into those stores that are

large enough for this specific space in various countries. Since September

2006, Massimo Dutti has been designing, distributing and selling the following

lines: Women: Womenʼs wear, Accessories, Soft, Fragrances Men: Menʼs

wear, Accessories, Soft, Personal Tailoring, Fragrances Boys & Girls Baby

Total dedication, top quality materials and a clever mix of textures and styles

are the keystones of the Massimo Dutti world and reflected in all its

collections. Taking its own unique creative concept as the base, Massimo

Dutti designs for urban, elegant and contemporary customers. Customers that

are not only looking for the very latest trends, but are also loyal to our label

and share our pride in its values. Collection after collection, Massimo Dutti

seeks to transmit its own personal style yet which reflects the fashion trends

that dominate the international catwalks. Massimo Dutti stores, always

situated in prime city locations, represent a designer space created for

customer comfort, where personalised help and advice is seen as the essential basis of customer service.


4. Targeting group and segmentation

Raoul

The aspirers

The main target audience is men in their 20s to late 30s who are

professionals in their job scope or running their own business. They are non-

narcissists, and they live for others rather than themselves. Therefore

personal image is important in how they bring themselves forward to the rest.

Being health conscious also make them aware of having a healthy lifestyle. And they are always keeping up with trends.

Benjamin describes the range as “good fashion at an affordable price point”.

“We like the phrase ʻelevated essentialsʼ.” Therefore, we derive that the

aspirers make up the biggest percentile of the consumers who buy Raoul products.

Massimo Dutti

New Age family-oriented

The Spanish brand is targeted at young married men and women in their late

20s to early 40s. They are professionals in their job scope or white-collar

workers who earn more than $3000 /month. They are not status conscious

and feel that free time is more important than money. They believe in

spending quality time with the family. Also they believe in being environmental

friendly and use a lot of green products. They are not sensitive to promotions

and prefer to stick to brands, which they are used to.

Massimo Dutti designs for urban, elegant and contemporary customers.

Customers that are not only looking for the very latest trends, but are also

loyal to our label and share our pride in its values. Thus this group of new age family-orientated is their main target group of customer.


5.0 Marketing Mix

Raoul emphasizes on promotion with a European style with seasonal runways

and trends as well as good quality products with a focus on clean and formal

office executive style. Raoulʼs choices of locations are all located in prime high-end locations with ease of convenience.

Massimo Dutti emphasizes on good quality products with a focus on trendy

lifestyle casual wear. Similarly the choices of store locations are very

prominent along high traffic areas such as along Orchard Road. By

comparison, their promotion is not as aggressive as Raoul as they depend on

word of mouth promotion. Their campaigns are only featured on their website

and facebook locally. They have limited online coverage and they are not

featured on print in Singapore. Although it carries products with the highest

price range within the Inditex group, it is still relative affordable for working professionals, particularly so given the quality of the clothes.

5.1 Product & Consumer

Raoul

Raoul is noted for providing itsʼ customers good quality fabric and perfect

fitting cuts with reasonable price range of fashion products. It was originally

focused on menʼs fashion but it has expanded to ladies fashion and handbags.

Raoul design is aimed to be simple, clean, and chic. Their design is easy for

everyday fashion and their simplicity makes great style to match with many

outfits. The price point is not overly expensive. The sophisticated designs aim to be like a breath of fresh air.

For their Menswear Fall Winter 2011, Raoul is inspired by the “strict uniformity

of Pam Am flight attendants, a touch of 70ʼs swagger, fused with the

minimalist aesthetic of the 90ʼs, and you have the spirit of the FW11 Raoul


Menʼs collection.” The style is described as “Minimalist era, sporty boxy

precision cut tech jackets – free of superfluous details. Understated elegance,

clean lines and refined tailoring, classic styles with subtly arresting details that catches oneʼs eye.”

Colours used are matt and even. Key colors are cognac, putty, maroon and

navy, often contrasted alongside bright color blocks or with receding neutrals

that come in black, grey and bitter brown. Even the choice of colours used

convey a sense of luxury with names like “cognac, maroon and navy” which are often associated with upper-class European style.

Fabrications for this season are specially selected for luxury and comfort.

Examples are, fine worsted wool for suiting and jackets, also used in causal

combinations of canvas or moleskin with leather for sports jackets.

Herringbone, double-faced, light weight cashmere for an overcoat with a

leather collar. Military rib, high quality silk cotton knit and Merino wool knit

crew neck sweaters.

For their bags and accessories, Raoul introduced leather briefcases and bags

featuring various carrying style options, organizational features and different

sizes to combine daytime essentials with modern styles. Shoes are polished

and sophisticated this season – heavy, shiny box calf leather lace up shoes

and loafers in cognac, brown and black. These bags are clearly designed with

the working professional in mind.

In addition to the target segmentation from before, Raoul consumer is

someone extreme and career minded yet a fun-loving individual. He wants no

frills and a no confusion approach to everything he does. He is aged between

25 – 40 years old. He is strong, liberation and enjoying life. Raoul consumer loves classy and smart design with good prices.


Massimo Dutti

Massimo Dutti provides itsʼ consumers practical, comfortable and high quality

fashion products. It was originally focused on menʼs fashion but it has since

expanded its product range to include clothes for women and children and accessories

Massimo Dutti combines classic and current styles using the latest fabrics to

make clothing. Subtle textures, 100% natural fibres and innovative combinations result in an impeccable image providing maximum comfort.

Massimo Dutti customers are from age range of 25 – 50 years old. He is

working as a professional. He is appreciating high quality textiles and classic

design. He is independent, urban, cosmopolitan, modern, chic and living in the city atmosphere.

Massimo Dutti and Raoul have many similarities. For their designs, they use

good quality fabrics, classic silhouettes with a touch of modernity and are

comfortable for wear. They also target working professionals although Raoul is focused on younger working professionals.

Figure 1 & 2: Comparing Raoulʼs formal business wear & Massimo Dutti casual formal wear


5.2 Price & Cost

Raoul

Men: Female:

Jacket / Blazer S$269 Shirt S$109 Pants S$159 Shoe S$229 Suit&Pants:S$799+$299

Top/Blouse S$199 Business Shirt S$99 Pants S$199 Shoe S$269 Bag S$329 Evening gown S$499-$699

Massimo Dutti

Men: Female:

Socks S$16.90 Cufflinks, Bracelet, Keychains S$54.90 Shirt S$115 Pants S$149 Shoes S$179 Jackets S$275 Watches S$275 Blazer S$490 Real leather jacket S$850 Bag S$650

Earring S$29.90 Scarves S$79.90 Wallet S$79-115 Shirt S$115 Bag S$275 Sundress S$275

Raoulʼs and Massimo Duttiʼs product prices are very similar. Between both

male and female business shirts and pants the prices are mostly with a

difference between SGD $6 - $15. Hence they are very competitive in terms of

pricing. From this prices, it can be said that in terms of pricing Raoul and

Massimo Dutti are close competitors and their target customers are likely to frequent between the two stores to look and compare between the styles.

By comparison, Massimo Duttiʼs products for men are higher than Raoulʼs.

Massimo Duttiʼs blazer is approximately SGD $200 more and their standard

menʼs shirt is SGD $6 more. From this, it can be seen that Massimo Dutti

believes that their target male customers are willing to pay more for good


quality products. From our studies, it is a well-implemented strategy as most

men do not shop as often as women and when they are shopping, they are willing and likely to pay more for quality products.

From the range of products, Massimo Dutti also offers more lifestyle products

such as sundress, leather jacket, accessories and socks which are not found

in Raoul. As busy professionals seek convenience in shopping, it is likely that

working professionals will favour Massimo Dutti to purchase their fashion

needs. Raoul therefore has to work on her appeal to the working professionals in terms promoting their trendy and fashionable fashion wear.


5.3 Place & Convenience

Distribution strategy

Both Raoul and Massimo Dutti uses direct selling distribution strategy in their

local stores. Via this strategy, the brands are able to ensure a focused and

well-communicated message of their brand values and ideals. Employeesʼ

training and grooming can be controlled to assist the customer in selection

and purchase of the items. The brands are also solely responsible for the quality of clothes and service provided.

Raoul however uses a selective distribution method overseas; where they

distribute their products to select up scale departmental stores such a Harrods

and Matches in London. These selected departmental stores are able to

project an image that is consistent with Raoulʼs luxurious image and they also

provide clientele that fits the demographics of Raoulʼs target audience. FJ

Benjamin plans to enter markets in the United States and Europe by first

selling its collection through department stores or multi-label speciality stores,

so as to get a better gauge of the demand in different markets before

committing to opening its own stores.

Location & Convenience

Locally, Raoulʼs stores are located at Paragon, Rafflesʼs City, Takashimaya,

Suntec and The Shoppes at the Marina Bay Sands while Massimo Duttiʼs stores are located at Ion, Liat Tower, Ngee Ann City, Marina Square.

Both Raoul and Massimo Dutti place their stores in prime areas of Singapore

such as upscale districts like Orchard and Cityhall. This is a well-planned

strategy as these areas have high traffic flow and successful targets business

executive who works within or near the areas. The shopping centres where

the stores are located in are very accessible. If any one of the car parks is full, they have other alternatives to park cars at the neighbouring shopping centre.


Massimo Duttiʼs stores are often located close in vicinity to the other brands

under their mother company, Inditexʼs umbrella. This allows families to easily

navigate the stores of the various brands and explore the choices available for

them. For example, parents can be shopping at Massimo Dutti while sons can

be shopping at Pull n Bear and daughters can be shopping at Bershka all

within the shopping mall ION Orchard. This strategy also allows for Inditex

management ease and convenience in managing their various stores and sales personnel.

Middlemen involvement

FJ Benjamin has the creative license to create and manufacture its clothes for

its brands Paint 8, GUESS Kids. However, despite intensive research online

and in-store enquires, Raoul personnel are unwilling to reveal further details of

where exactly their clothes are produced. Their in-store personnel reveals that

Raoul manufacturers its clothing in Asia but do not reveal which countries in

the large continent of Asia. Our analysis is that Raoul does not want to

compromise their products which are marketed with a European style which

comes with a premium price and reveal that they are produced at low cost which we deduce in the worldʼs greatest producing country, China.

Massimo Dutti is known to have their own factories in Spain to produce their

products. This allows for quality control and ability to keep cost of operation

low due to the large quantities of production.

Expansion Plans

Both Raoul and Massimo Dutti have set their sights on tapping into Chinaʼs

booming affluent middle-income group. Massimo Dutti has opened their first

store in China, Beijing in 2009. Raoul however plans to open itʼs first Raoul

stores in China in the autumn of 2012, and would likely start out by opening its own stores first as its distribution channels are not as sophisticated.


5.4 Promotion & Communication

Advertising Campaign

Figures 3 &4: Raoul advertising campaign & Massimo Dutti advertising campaign.

Both Raoul and Massimo Dutti have their own campaigns, using top models.

This reveals that both brands desire to present their brand as a premium class

brand. Raoul advertisement campaigns and products appear in local and

international magazines and newspaper. Locally Raoul advertises in

magazines such as Female, Harpers Bazaar and Cleo. Internationally Raoulʼs

products are featured in magazines such as, The Times UK, Vogue, InStyle,

Oprah Magazine and Redbook. Raoul has received mention in two famous

fashion website, Style.com and Vogue.com. This means that the fashion industry has been noticing the Raoul brand.

As for Massimo Dutti, their advertisement campaigns only appear in

international magazines like Vogue, Grazia and Femenina China. But their

products do appear in some local magazine. It is interesting that Massimo

Dutti relies on word of mouth and their store placements to promote their brand and that they do not adopt the strategy of advertising in local editorial.

Social Media

Both brands use social media to connect to their target audience. Raoulʼs

Facebook and website are well maintained. Raoul updates every new season

and instantly update magazine mentions about Raoul on their Facebook and


on Twitter via their PR partner, Ogan Dalla PR firm (ODAPR). Massimo Dutti

also have their own website and Facebook, but they use Twitter in Spanish,

hence not applicable in the local context. Massimo Duttiʼs Facebook page is

usually used for promoting their look book and also promoting their upcoming

event. Unsurprisingly Raoul is gaining greater brand awareness locally because of their focused promotion efforts.

Runway

Raoul does regular runway promotions. They have previously presented their

runway collections in Milan and New York. They have also presented their

runway collection in Asiaʼs First Men Fashion Week in Singapore. From our

research, Massimo Dutti only presented their show twice in Thailand and

Singapore, and they do not usually take part in events. Usually their events

are held in their own store, such as Vogue Fashion Night Out in celebrating 25 years of Massimo Dutti.

Public Relations

Figures 5 & 6: Emmy Rossum featuring Raoul Spring Summer 2011 collection in Conan OʼBryant Show

Raoul PR agent uses the same tactic similar to most high-end brand, in

sending their items with compliments for celebrities to wear so that the public

and fans of celebrities will be curious about what brand is and find out more

about the brand. In Raoul case, they chose new rising star Emmy Rossum.

She has been seen wearing Raoul dresses in two different occasions. This is


a successful and well-implemented strategy as celebrities are always under

the spotlight. It is a win-win situation, where the brand can be famous and the celebrities receive sponsorship.

Collaboration

Raoul approached knitwear expert Tom Scott to produce collections for

Autumn/Winter 2010 and Spring Summer 2011. With prices roughly ranging

US$100 to US$150, they cost a fraction of what one would normally pay for

something from Tom Scott. Douglas Benjamin, CEO of FJ Benjamin reveals

that, “prior to this, there were already a few designers who wanted to work

with us. However, as we were launching in America last year, for our first

capsule collection, we wanted to collaborate with a designer who was already

well known there. This in turn went a long way towards helping us break into the new market.”

Mr Benjamin adds that another benefit of capsule collections is the ability to

produce products that the label might not otherwise be able to do. He says,

“Another reason as to why Tom Scott was chosen was that knitwear was not

something that Raoul specialized in so it fit really well into our existing portfolio”.

Memberʼs Card

Figure 7: Massimo Dutti Affinity Card

By comparison, Massimo Dutti does not take part in these Public Relations

activities. They have an Affinity Card, a card that can make payment at all

stores of the eight commercial formats of the Inditex Group such as Zara,


Uterque, Pull & Bear, Bershka, Stradivarious, Oysho and Zara Homme, in

Spain, Portugal, Greece, which comprise a network of upwards of 1,600

points of sale throughout Spain. However this strategy is not implemented locally. Inditex should consider this strategy and adopt it locally.

Window Display

Figure 4 & 5: Raoul and Massimo Dutti store in Takashimaya Orchard

Window display is important to convey the image of the brand. Every little

detail from the lighting, mannequin, and the chosen product will affect the look

or image on how the brand is perceived. Raoulʼs window display is too plain. It

does not give the high end, premium image that they desire to be perceived.

Compare to Massimo Dutti, they are successful as they use the warm lighting and product placement, which looks expensive.

Store Interior

The store interior is also important. Raoulʼs store interior is very bright and

minimalist, far more effective than the window display. Whereas Massimo

Dutti uses warm lighting creating a cozy atmosphere, giving a strong Spanish lifestyle vibe.


Figures 8 & 9: Raoul & Massimo Dutti Store Interior

Stepping into the Raoulʼs store, their staffs are very friendly. They smile and

great customers upon entrance. And they also will tell you promote the newest

collection and their best seller. Massimo Duttiʼs staff pales by comparison, as

they are not as friendly as Raoulʼs staff, although they are very helpful upon request.

Raoulʼs store has things not found in Massimo Dutti. A look book that is full

with images from latest runway, an album full with Raoulʼs collection that

appear in local and international magazines, and a computer for customers

that want to check on Raoulʼs website. All this facility provided enables the

customer to easily find the product that they want makes it effective and

easier for staff to promote the products. Massimo Dutti does not have all of

this, but they have a email newsletter. By comparison, Raoulʼs magazine

clippings are more effective than Massimo Duttiʼs newsletter as customers are

more likely to be swayed by credible magazine features rather than in-store e-newsletter.


5.5 5th P

Raoul 5th point is market positioning. Raoul started from menswear but

branched into women-wear because of the demand coming from their clients.

They are successful because of their accurate segmentation, which is luxury

for middle income. Additionally, they do offer good quality for good value,

which makes them a popular choice among professionals and office executives locally.

Massimo Duttiʼs 5th point is people, in knowing & meeting needs the needs of

their clients. This is because they believe in efficient & personalised customer

service and strives to have a staff personnel picking up phone enquiries from

customers and hence the ability to act quickly upon these enquiries,

complaints and requests. Coupled with their fashionable and good quality products, they have succeeded in earning the customerʼs trust.

6. Conclusion

Raoul is a young brand that is aggressively marketing itself internationally to

break into the American and in the near future, Chinese market. Raoul can

possibly learn from Massimo Dutti to branch out into other sister labels, such

as Bershka for younger women and Pull & Bear for younger men. This is to

meet the needs of the different target markets especially as the younger

customers mature to be more family oriented and are looking for products for

their family members.

Massimo Dutti will no doubt retain her powerful market positioning by

continuing the excellent job she is doing. To expand her market share, she

can consider taking a more active approach in promotion and connecting with

younger, tech-savvy and affluent customers by increasing emphasis on new

media marketing.

Word Count: 4000


7. References

Lee, Y.S., 2009. Raising the Standards of Singaporeʼs Retail Sector, Ministry of Trade and Industry Singapore, [Online]. 8 September 2009. Available at: http://app.mti.gov.sg/default.asp?id=148&articleID=19781 [Accessed 29 March 2011]

Raoul References

Raoul Singapore Born Global Brand [Online] Available at: http://www.insideretailing.com.au/Latest/tabid/53/ID/9822/Raoul-Singapore-born-global-brand.aspx [Accessed March 2011]

INTERVIEW-Singapore's FJ Benjamin plans to take brand global [Online] Available at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/11/29/fjbenjamin-idUSL3E6MT02B20101129?pageNumber=2 [Accessed March 2011]

FJ Benjamin to take Raoul global [Online] Available at: http://www.asiaone.com/Business/News/Story/A1Story20101130-249919.html [Accessed March 2011]

Raoul in New York [Online] Available at: http://www.divaasia.com/article/5724 [Accessed March 2011] Raoul Women Press Release [Online] Available at: http://www.fjbenjamin.com/pdf/pr_raoul2006_255117.pdf [Accessed March 2011]

Massimo Dutti Reference

Massimo Dutti Website [Online] Available at: http://www.massimodutti.com/nt-more/md-03.php# [Accessed March 2011]

Massimo Dutti Concept [Online] Available at: http://www.inditex.es/en/who_we_are/concepts/massimo_dutti[Accessed March 2011]

Massimo Dutti Style [Online] Available at: http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/fashion/article3633139.ece [Accessed March 2011]

Massimo Dutti [Online] Available at: http://www.luxemag.org/fashion-designers/massimo-dutti.html[Accessed March 2011]


Image References

Figure 1: Raoulʼs formal business wear & [Online] Available at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/RAOUL/88575579285 [Accessed 1 November 2010]

Figure 2: Massimo Dutti casual formal wear [Online] Available at: http://www.facebook.com/MassimoDuttiOfficial [Accessed 1 November 2010]

Figure 3 &4: Raoul advertising campaign & Massimo Dutti advertising campaign. http://www.facebook.com/pages/RAOUL/88575579285 [Accessed & http://www.facebook.com/MassimoDuttiOfficial [Accessed 1 November 2010]

Figures 5 & 6: Emmy Rossum featuring Raoul Spring Summer 2011 collection in Conan OʼBryant Show [Online] Available at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/RAOUL/88575579285 [Accessed 1 November 2010]

Figure 7: Raoul store in Takashimaya Orchard. Taken by Mayshella.

Figure 8 & 9: Massimo Dutti store in Takashimaya Orchard. Taken by Mayshella.

Documents

Raoul and Massimo Dutti Fashion Brands Comparison and Analysis Report