Strategies for fashion brands in the era of e-marketplaces : a case study on Zalando and fashion retail in Europe
SONAR|HES-SO
- Gumenyuk, Polina
- Blaquart, Florence (Degree supervisor)
- Genève : Haute école de gestion de Genève
127 p.
Bachelor of Science HES-SO in International Business Management: Haute école de gestion de Genève, 2024
English
The fashion retail sector has been transformed in recent years, with a decline in the share of the physical market, an increase in the online market and the emergence of new business models. The e-marketplace model is particularly successful, as consumers benefit from vast product choice and shop with convenience, while fashion brands can access a vast network of potential customers and get their brand known. The Zalando e-marketplace is today the leading fashion e-retailer in Europe, with over 51 million active customers and more than 6’000 partnered fashion brands. However, by associating, Zalando not only becomes a partner but also a competitor of fashion brands. The objectives of this research are to understand what strategies can fashion brands adopt to compete against their direct competitors, and how does the partnership between fashion brands and e-marketplaces influence the overall success of fashion brands.
Nevertheless, physical fashion retail is still twice the size of online fashion. Brands are pursuing a variety of strategies to make the most of their opportunities, some of them, like Mango, by focusing on physical retail, others by focusing on the customer experience and product renewal, and some even by deciding to exist solely online and to sell through their own channels exclusively.
The online survey and interviews revealed that physical stores are still important to consumers, but that they expect them to respond better to their needs. The literature review and survey also showed that the brand is losing out on e-marketplaces such as Zalando. This means that fashion brands need to pay attention to a number of factors when they decide to sell their products through the platform, including not forgetting to continue to highlight their brand elements, as well as continuing to develop their direct sales channels in parallel.
But above all, fashion brands need to know their target audience and offer them their brand experience, which is proving complicated on platforms like Zalando. There are several important aspects to consider when developing a brand strategy, including emerging trends, such as social networks and influencers, but also the increasing value in long-term durability and sustainability of consumers.
The key lies in knowing how to weigh the pros and cons of a partnership with an e-marketplace and, in the case of a partnership, knowing how to manage the terms and the effects on the brand.
Nevertheless, physical fashion retail is still twice the size of online fashion. Brands are pursuing a variety of strategies to make the most of their opportunities, some of them, like Mango, by focusing on physical retail, others by focusing on the customer experience and product renewal, and some even by deciding to exist solely online and to sell through their own channels exclusively.
The online survey and interviews revealed that physical stores are still important to consumers, but that they expect them to respond better to their needs. The literature review and survey also showed that the brand is losing out on e-marketplaces such as Zalando. This means that fashion brands need to pay attention to a number of factors when they decide to sell their products through the platform, including not forgetting to continue to highlight their brand elements, as well as continuing to develop their direct sales channels in parallel.
But above all, fashion brands need to know their target audience and offer them their brand experience, which is proving complicated on platforms like Zalando. There are several important aspects to consider when developing a brand strategy, including emerging trends, such as social networks and influencers, but also the increasing value in long-term durability and sustainability of consumers.
The key lies in knowing how to weigh the pros and cons of a partnership with an e-marketplace and, in the case of a partnership, knowing how to manage the terms and the effects on the brand.
- Language
-
- English
- Classification
- Economics
- Notes
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- Haute école de gestion Genève
- International Business Management
- hesso:hegge
- Persistent URL
- https://sonar.ch/global/documents/330899
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