JUNE 2018

CASE STUDY: FASHION VALET

QUESTION 1

Based on the case study above, describe two (2) strengths of FashionValet. (8 marks)

The first strength of FashionValet is they are the Malaysia’s first online fashion store
that aims to penetrate the West Asian market as they are able to view high potential market
and consumer demand from the region. The high demand was due to FashionValet’s
product and fashion offerings that suit the local’s community taste.

The second strength of FashionValet is due to their availability of a physical boutique in

Bangsar Village and Pavilion Shopping Mall in Kuala Lumpur. It was a brilliant move which is
considered the best way to extend product offerings to shoppers who are not prefer to shop
online. It was intended to strengthen the presence of the brand on both online platform and
physical store.

QUESTION 2

Explain any four (4) external factors that influenced FashionValet in competing in the
fashion industry. (12 marks)

The first external factors is channels. FashionValet provide the online shopping platform
which is the website. The website supports the entire transaction to be done online, including
the payment. FashionValet also use social media as their platform for promotion of their
products such as Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, and Instagram. Recently, FashionValet has
expanded into physical channels where a few outlets have been opened at strategic
locations.

The second external factor is customer segment. The customer segment targeted by
FashionValet are all internet users who love to seek for fashionable outfit, normally college
students, women with career or professional, women or ladies who love fashion like Vivy
Yusof. The average age of customers is between 25 and 40 years old.

The third external factor is value propositions. What make FashionValet distinctive from
other online fashion sellers is that it acts as an intermediary between fashion buyers and
local and regional fashion designers. It provides pleasant shopping experience to customers,
convenient payment methods, and useful features on the FashionValet website that make
customers and sellers feel comfortable to buy and sell their products.

The last external factor is customer relationship. Customer relationship is very important
in maintaining customer loyalty. FashionValet provides loyalty point system where customers
may claims and redeem the points into cash or discount for products.

QUESTION 3

Describe two (2) Resource-Based Views (RBV) that FashionValet had applied in
pursuing a sustainable competitive advantage. (8 marks)

The Resource-Based Views (RBV) that FashionValet had applied in pursuing a

sustainable competitive advantage is cost structure. The costs incurred by FashionValet
include those related to warehouse and logistic, operational cost, staff salaries, online
platform development and maintenance, delivery cost and also for sales and marketing
purposes.

The next Resource-Based Views (RBV) is revenue stream. FashionValet gained the
revenues based on product sales including their own brand DUCK such as Duck scarf and
Duck cosmetic. Another source of revenue stream is the listing fees from vendors and
designers.

QUESTION 4

Discuss any three (3) business strategies implemented by FashionValet that can
reduce competitive pressures from its competing rivals. (12 marks)

The first business strategies implemented by FashionValet is market development.

Market development involves introducing present products or services into new geographic
areas. It occurs when new channels of distribution are available with reliable, inexpensive,
and of good quality and when an organization has the needed capital and human resources
to manage expanded operations. In this case, FashionValet aims to penetrate the West
Asian market as it sees high market and consumer demand coming from the region. The
choice to penetrate the West Asian market is one of the plans for the growth for
FashionValet in continuing to provide value for their customers.
 The second business strategies by FashionValet is product development strategy.
Product development strategy seeks to increased sales by improving or modifying present
products or services. It usually entails larger research development expenditure. In this case,
the partnership formed with Brunei Princess Sarah resulting in the collection of the third
Limited Edition square scarf line by the brand after the Kaleidoscope and Alphabet series
created to celebrate women. There are four scarves in collection in one design, comprising
images of a wheel, diamonds, bees, the grid of a sports racquet and hydrangeas, the
princess favourite flower.

The third business strategies by FashionValet is market penetration strategy. This

strategy seeks to increase market share for present products or services in present markets
through greater marketing efforts. It occurs when current markets are not saturated with a
particular product or service and when the usage rate of present customers could be
increased significantly. In this case, apart from online sales FashionValet also has a physical
boutique in Bangsar Village and Pavilion Shopping Mall in Kuala Lumpur. They manage to
strengthen the presence of the brand on both online platform and physical boutiques. She
also aim to open a few more physical boutiques at several locations in the country to support
the e-commerce segment as well as their vendors.