1.

Market Overview:
1.1. General Overview:
Pre-COVID 19, Vietnamese sneaker market has been thriving gradually at
6.9% per year, with a total revenue of 353 million US dollars (or over 8,200
billion VND) (Statista, 2020). Although the situation was predicted to be
worsened in the 2020 second quarter (PwC, 2020), the most recent report by
the Asian Development Bank suggests that Vietnamese economy will quickly
regain its growth in 2021 due to effective government control of the pandemic
(Asian Development Bank, 2020). It is crucial that the shoe brands’ marketers
understand these critical circumstances as opportunities to attract prospect
customers and win sales once the consumption level is back to normal.

1.2. Skechers Overview:

Skechers USA, Inc. is a North American lifestyle and performance footwear
company. Founded in 1992 by Robert Greenberg​, the company is now known
as a global leader in footwear, which is ranked third among other largest
athletic footwear brands in the US. The highest growth category of the
company is the international market - with 3770 stores operated in more than
170 countries - represents 60% of its total sales. Skechers offers a diverse range
of products - with more than 3,000 styles covering every age and activity. The
company has always been thriving to bring the customers not only the quality,
but also the fashion, innovation and comfort in every product delivered (About
Us, n.d.).

1.3. SWOT Analysis of Skechers:

Strengths​:
- Vast array of stylish and comfortab-
le footwear for different gender and
age groups.
- Low labor wages in Asian countries
(China and Vietnam).
- Came into Vietnam early (around
Opportunities​:
- The Vietnam market prefers l-
ow priced sneakers which
Skechers can provide.
- Generation Z uses sneakers a
lot.
- Reacting to the athleisure tr-
 2007). end.
- Strong distribution network with a - Growth in sales of the e-com-
large number of stores from North merce industry.
to South of Vietnam.
- Advanced technology.

Weaknesses​:
- Although being in the top sneaker
brands in the US and has come to
Vietnam for a long time, it is not
much popular in Vietnam.
- Lack of brand recognition.
- Its brand image is inferior to other
brands.
Threats​:
- Competition within the shoe
industry is increasing.
- Constant technological deve-
lopments by competitors.
- Fake products are a common
problem in Vietnam.

1.4. Brand Market Share Overview:

Skechers in Vietnam is currently running behind its competitors in terms of
brand recognition. Using Google Trend, it is easily seen to be falling behind
other major foreign players in the shoe industry like Nike, Adidas, and the
leading national shoe brand of Vietnam, Biti’s in terms of search. (Appendix
A) In other words, Skechers is rarely available in consumers’ evoked sets and
therefore rarely researched by consumers online.
Furthermore, this low in recognition of Skechers can also be seen in
Vietnamese youngsters’ sneakerhead community “Thần Kinh Giày” where
posts about Skechers is few and far between (only 5 posts among thousands)
while other competitors have hundreds of different posts and pictures shared on
the group. (Appendix C)

2. Competitor Analysis:
In Vietnamese shoe markets there are currently some notable names like: Adidas,
Nike, Biti’s, Vans, Converse, etc.
 We decided to choose Adidas as our main competitor.

SWOT Analysis of Adidas

Strengths
- One of the most valuable
bran- ds in sports
- High-quality, innovative pro-
ducts are the driving forces
- Diverse products
- Effective supply chain man-
agement
- Strong and diversified distri-
bution network
Opportunities
- E-commerce, the growth of
Internet increases online sales
- Growing sportswear industry
- Technologies advancements
- Increasing demand for
premium sports products

Weaknesses Threats
- The risk of overdependence - Increasing competitors
on foreign suppliers can lead - Fake products
to supply chain shor- tage - Loss of trademark
- High prices products, restr- - Supplier dominance because
ain low-income customers most of its products are
- Limited product line, only outsourced
focus on sportswear

3. Problem, Objective, and Theories:

3.1. Problems of Skechers:
● Brand Image and Perception:
Skechers being seen as a “brand of the last generation” despite its product
quality is perceived to be very good (Bà Dì Nulo, 2020). (Appendix B) This is
likely caused by its low level of brand awareness, which led to a process
known as cognitive interpretation where Skechers, being not popular,
 categorized to be an “old brand” as brands that represent the young generations
are usually very trendy and current.

● Brand Image, Consumer, and Learning Effect:

It is possible that Skechers actually fits the taste of the older generations and
when others see them wear Skechers they start to assimilate the products with
being middle aged as a result. This learning process is also known as classical
conditioning.

The current status of being “old” from Skechers will limit them from accessing
a huge untapped market of potential customers as Skechers has already owned
for itself many young generation-oriented models.

3.2. Objectives of the Research:

Skechers issues can be resolved by a process of ​an attitude change strategy,​ by
changing their beliefs on the brand, their emotions to the brand, which
ultimately change their purchasing behaviors around Skechers.

● Understand the general motivations, lifestyles, and trends among

Vietnamese youngsters: ​What their self-concepts, personalities, reference
groups, and motivations are. Especially latent motivations that are not
expressed.

● Understand how much Vietnamese young generation knows about

Skechers compared to its competitors, and which brands would be in the
evoked set.

3.3. Theories being used:

To do this focus group, we have examined many different theories about
Consumer Behavior, including:
● Group Influence on Consumer Behaviour, Reference Group
● Perception
● Learning
● Brand Image
 ● Product Repositioning
● Motivation
● Self-Concept
● Information Search
● Awareness Set
● Attitude change strategies, Celebrity endorsement

4. Focus Group:
4.1. Purpose of the Focus Group:
The focus group was conducted in order to satisfy those objectives above.
With these two piece of information gathered, we hope to understand
● How Vietnamese youngsters behave and what factors affect their behaviors in
order to create a fitting promotional activity to boost its awareness among this
target market.
● The current brand image of Skechers and the brand images of other shoe
brands in order to better position the brand within the market.

4.2. Sample Demographics:

There was one male and five female participants. All participants are 19 years
old university students (born in 2001). (Appendix E)

4.3. Methodology:
Method of research is a focus group (one moderator, six participants).
(Appendix F)

5. Analysis:
5.1. Objective 1:
Vietnamese youngsters use social media a lot, especially Facebook and
Instagram, and most of them use at least 3 different platforms. Instagram is
mostly used to follow and track their favorite influencers and public figures
while Facebook is being used for various reasons, including: To watch the
news, to entertain (videos), to catch the latest trends and showbiz news as well
as following their influencers.
 They are also quite conscious of popular brands as they could easily name the
according celebrities when a brand is mentioned. This is because the current
young generation loves to idolize celebrities. They pay a lot of attention to their
idols’ faces and outfits, which is why they can remember a product (which
generalizes to the product’s brand) better when it appears with their idols.
They also tend to follow their idols in the ways they dress as well. This is a
latent motive as although it can be explained as “I think the outfit is pretty” it is
actually “My idol wears this outfit and I want to be like him.”

The influence of their idols could be so deep that it can actually shape their
beliefs to their idols’, noticeably on clothes. For example, some participants
say that they think a shoe/outfit looks better than they previously thought when
their idols wear it. This could be seen as an aspirational reference group effect.
Apart from their idols, this effect can also be seen with just the general public
or their friends. In other words, if more people, especially their friends, like a
product they hate, the chance is that they will hate it less as a result.

When asked about how they feel about their generation, they imagined
themselves as being trendy, creative, open-minded, and independent in their
opinions. Funnily, their ideal self is different from their actual self because in
reality youngsters do have various outside forces that challenge their opinions
on anything (that even they confessed!)

Another interesting finding is hanging out at a coffee shop is extremely popular

among youngsters. They value coffee shops that have a good view, good
decorations and eye-catching angles as they love taking photos of these places
(even more than taking pictures of themselves).

5.2. Objective 2:
When mentioned, most of our respondents managed to recall Skechers, its
logo, and its products. However, the brands seem to sit tight in their inept set as
none of them would like to buy the sneakers from Skechers.
 Their perception of the brand was quite consistent to what we have guessed,
which is being too functional with unimpressive designs. They also have
specific cognitive interpretation of the brand image: First, it is a highly
functional shoe brand for running or sports; and second, it is a shoe brand of
older generations.

For the first view, it seems that youngsters pay little attention to this aspect as
most of our respondents were conscious more about their appearance. They
perceived sneakers as a symbol of fashion, which can help elevate their outfits
in order to look more fashionable.

For the second view, it greatly discourages further interest in the brand as this
“old generation” image casts a very strong dissociative reference group effect
on them.

Compared with other brands, Skechers was rarely top-of-mind. When asked to
name some popular shoes brand, the most common (and first) brands to be
mentioned were Adidas and Nike.

Similar to the first analysis, youngsters’ opinions on shoes are also affected by
aspirational reference group effects coming from their friends-the primary
group, and the general public. However, when it comes to the last purchase
step, their individual’s confidence in such a situation would be the final factor -
which is congruent to the last analysis where they prefer to be independent
(and believe that they are) despite how obvious outside forces affect them.

INSIGHT: Gen Z wants to follow the trends, but at the same time, they also
desire unique styles that can express who they truly are.

6. Recommendation:
Due to Skechers current inferior brand image among Vietnamese youngsters, it is
crucial that the attitude towards the brand must be changed drastically. Some
recommendations of our group are:
New slogan:​ Be trendy, but in your way/ Trendy theo chất riêng của bạn.
6.1. Coffee Review with Food Blogger(s)
Because nowadays Vietnamese youngsters are really fond of hanging out at
various coffee shops (as well as discovering beautiful, aesthetically pleasing
new coffee shops), so if we invite a food blogger to wear our sneakers then go
around and review different beautiful coffee shops, it will attract their
attention. These review posts will be uploaded to Facebook in a continuous
themed series. When many stores of the same theme have been reviewed, we
will put it into an album so viewers can easily share these posts with their
friends. Furthermore, this food blogger must be young, trendy, and
fashionable in order to have a resemblance with our audience’s lifestyle.
Because Skechers is being worn by a young public figure. It will gradually
change the traditional affective attitude of being old on the brand.

6.2. #cafecungskechers:
In the food blogger reviews of coffee shops, we will also challenge our viewers
to do the same: Review a coffee shop, leave a hashtag #cafecungskechers, and
post it on their Facebook wall or any social groups. If done correctly, the
viewer can show the post and receive 25% off on 1 pair of Skechers. The best
review post (by sharing and reactions) will receive 1 free pair of shoes (once
pair per week). If the challenge gains virality, its mere exposure will be enough
to make the brand trendy and feels younger again!

6.3. Bring back Karik as the brand ambassador:

Due to the recent Rap Việt TV show being extremely popular (high views on
TV, YouTube, and high mention rate on social media especially among
youngsters), Karik has been a highly trendy model for youngsters with a fitting
profile for the renewed brand image of Skechers. (Appendix D) His
appearance will definitely have the attention of Vietnamese youngsters. Being
endorsed by a young audience, Karik will transfer this meaning to Skechers
products, making them “younger”. Moreover, because he just became highly
idolized again due to the very popular Rap Viet, his audience will buy more
Skechers products to emulate his vibe and support him.
7. Research Limitation:
1. Sample limitation:
All of our respondents are university students, middle-upper income, and well
educated. Furthermore, the composition of the group is 83% females (higher
than Vietnamese general population). These specific characteristics create a
bias on our results and it might not apply to every Vietnamese youngsters in
the country.

2. Focus group bias:

Focus group participants are under tension (by being asked questions) so they
might give dishonest answers or answers that mimic the group.

3. Limited data:
Data on the brand is severely limited on the Internet so we have to adapt in
many ways (Google trends, Facebook posts,...) so our sources of information
might not be credible (or sufficient) enough.

4. Lack of consideration for effectiveness and budget of recommendations:

The report does not include any measurable ROI of our recommended
strategies as well as their budgets.
 Appendix

A. ​Statistics taken from Google Trends to prove that Skechers in Vietnam is

currently running behind its competitors in terms of brand recognition.
 B. The overall impression about Skechers that was extracted from hundreds of
comments regarding the brand on a Vietnamese influencer post (Bà Dì Nulo, 2020)
about the brand itself.
 C. Adidas posts vs Skechers posts in a sneaker-loving group of Vietnamese
youngsters (notice the scroll bar, a shorter bar means more results to be scrolled
through).
 D. The popularity of Vietnamese rappers have risen dramatically after the
“Rap Việt” show.

E. ​Our focus group.

 F. ​Discussion guide for focus group.

Objective 1: To understand the general behaviors, interest and trends

among Vietnamese youngsters.

Can you introduce yourself (Name, Age, Hobby)?

What is your hobby/What do you do in your free time?

Do you use social media? What are some social media channels that you use?

What types of content do you think the youngsters look for while using social
media?

What are some of the trendy influencers/celebrities/viral figures that are the most
iconic right now?

Do you imagine any kinds of products being synonymous with those influencers
you mentioned?

Are you more willing to buy that product because they promoted it?

Can you give us 2 adjectives to describe the current generation of Vietnamese

youngsters? Why do you think so?

When you see a product that you thought was ugly being increasingly popular,
do you feel as if it is actually pretty/cooler than before?

When you hang out where do you go and with whom?

Do you take pictures when you go out?

Do you mind how you look/your outfit when you go out?

Objective 2: To understand how much Vietnamese young generation knows

about Skechers compared to its competitors.

What kinds of footwear do you choose when you go out?

List out a few, about 3 brands of footwear brands that you think are currently the
most popular among Vietnamese youngsters.

How did you know Adidas (the most common brand answered above)?

Which shoe brand you are currently into/wearing ? Why?

Suppose there is an exact same copy (quality, design, price) of the shoe you are
wearing but came from an unknown brand, would you buy from them instead of
the brand you mentioned? What if the copy is even better in some aspects?

Have you ever heard of the brand Skechers? What do you know about Skechers?
What do you think about Skechers?

Imagine Skechers and your favourite brand are two people walking into the
classroom, what will they be like?

Would your opinions about Skechers change if everyone around you starts to
wear/compliment the brand?
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