6.

Perform a SWOT analysis for Allen Solly western wear

for women.
Strengths:
Brand Value: Allen Solly was voted as a seventh best brand by
the Economic Times’ Brand Equity in the year 2014. The Brand has been known to
innovate in the area of work casuals and has pioneered in Friday Dressing.

Multiple Sub-brands: Allen Solly has 5 sub brands, which provides a wider reach
into the apparel market.

1. Allen Solly – Work appropriate casuals

2. Solly Sport – Sports inspired clothing
3. Solly Jeans – Denim Jeans
4. Solly – Catering to women professional
5. Allen Solly Junior – Casuals for children

Experienced Design Teams: Allen Solly has an experienced design team which

understands the changing demands of the consumer and innovates new designs
and products.

Strong Growth: Allen Solly is growing at over 30 percent CAGR across all its
formats and is poised to clock net sales of over Rs. 1000 crores in FY2017.

International feel: Although Allen Solly is an Indian brand, it gives an

international feel because of the excellent physical evidence in showrooms as well
as the quality of clothing and the advertising. This International feel therefore
raises the expectation and satisfaction from the brand.

Weaknesses:
Weak Global Penetration: Comparing to its competitors like Arrow, Allen Solly
has a weaker Global penetration and they should work towards increasing Global
presence.

Cannibalising effect: Madura Fashion has brands like Peter England, Louis

Philippe, Van Heusen and Allen Solly under its kitty due to which there is a
cannibalising effect which hurts the sales of the brands from the same company
even though all of them are different from each other.
Opportunities:
Increasing Penetration through E-Commerce: With the advent
of technology and penetration of internet and smartphones, the reach of apparels is
bound to increase to the Tier 3 and Tier 4 towns. This is a great opportunity to
expand the business.

Increasing Brand Awareness: The Generation X is more conscious of the brands

they wear and this provides Allen Solly with an opportunity to penetrate the
market targeting the millennials.

Global Expansion: Allen Solly needs to expand itself globally considering the

ever increasing demand of branded apparels in the emerging nations. It especially
needs to concentrate on emerging markets. Allen Solly is present in more then 50
countries, but with the strong revenue it generates, it can keep expanding.

Brand Extension: Allen Solly can use a Brand extension to enter

new product categories such as Footwear, caps etc. It already has a line of
fragrances.

Increase in Disposable Income: According to a McKinsey research the number of

households in the “consuming class” i.e. households earning more than $4000 a
year have tripled in the last 10 years, which has increased the market size of the
apparel industry proportionately.

Threats:
High Competition: The apparel industry has been growing in India and
competition is rising. This possesses a threat to the popular brands who have to be
at their best and improve constantly.

Local Market: To move to the smaller cities, Allen Solly will have to fight against
the local market who provide similar designs at a lower rate and thus it is a threat
for brands like Allen Solly.

Always under scrutiny: The advent of technology allows consumers to compare,

review and rate which is a threat as any bad review can affect the sales and thus
Allen Solly needs to vary of this fact work toward better customer relationship
management by providing better customer experience as a whole.

8. Describe the segment targeted by Allens Solly for Women’s wear using
VALS and SEC grid.
The target customer base for Allen Solly women’s Western wear was identified as the self assured,
office going women in SEC A1[6] between 22-40 years of age, who wore Western outfits once or twice
a week, and had an income of Rs 8,000 and above per month. Commenting on the decision to launch
the range, Vasant Kumar, Vice-President (Marketing), Madura, said, “Our target is not women who
already wear western clothes; we are pegging on converting the salwar-kameez category. If in the
process, we manage to attract the former category, that is just a bonus.” The company reportedly
sought to attract women who gave importance to ‘sophisticated professionalism’ in their lives.

VALS SEGMENTATION

SEC Grid