Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Assessment 1
STRATEGIES IN 2017
S3559786
RMIT University
Semester 1
2017
RETAIL SURVIVAL AND GROWTH STRATEGIES IN 2017
Executive Summary
The following analysis report has been written to communicate a response to the assessment brief
part of the subject Fashion and Textiles Merchandising Management. The purpose of this report is
to present a detailed analysis, based on the findings through secondary research, on ways in
which international competitors have changed the Australian Fashion Retail industry.
Undertaking this report has involved identifying, researching and analysing emerging global issues
that are impacting the Australian industry. The brief required to support findings through evidential
and credited sources, as it benefited research with a valid outlook on the Australian market.
The report has been broken into five major sections based on the Australian Fashion Retail
industry. The following sections will include detailed information on the market, a discussion of
factors impacting the industry, a brief description of two global brands that have entered the market
and two local brands that have been disrupted from international retailers. Results are concluded
with a summary of three important factors that will affect the Australian industry in the next five
years. These factors are based on an opinion supported by findings in the previous sections.
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RETAIL SURVIVAL AND GROWTH STRATEGIES IN 2017
Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction...................................................................................................................4
5.0 Local Brands Affected by the Disruption of Global Brands Entering the
Australian Market ................................................................................................................. 10
5.1 Marcs And David Lawrence (M Webster Holdings Pty Ltd.) ................................................................ 10
5.2 The Iconic ............................................................................................................................................................................ 10
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RETAIL SURVIVAL AND GROWTH STRATEGIES IN 2017
1.0 Introduction
Presented in the following report is an analysis regarding the ways in which international retailers
have changed the competition in the Australian Fashion Retail industry. With an overview of the
Australian market, it gives a clearer insight of the industrys situation through detailed information
about the characteristics of the market. Additionally, figures have been provided to highlight
aspects of the industry, such as the growth rate and market shares of the top performing
companies.
Factors that are currently impacting the Australian industry have been briefly detailed through five
most important issues. This has been analysed through the PESTE elements, to gain a broad but
concise insight on impacts across the five spectrums. These factors have been selected through
findings of valid sources, and secondary research from experts with knowledge of the industry.
Through the discussion of these factors, it was recognised that some aspects correlate and
Taking the factors into consideration, two global brands are discussed on how they have
successfully disrupted the Australian retail market. The fast fashion Spanish retailer Zara and the
UK online retailer ASOS, have been selected to understand their methods of success when they
entered the market. In relation to this, two local Australian businesses, Marcs and David Lawrence
and The Iconic, have been looked into on how they have had to adjust their business strategies
The report is concluded with a summary of the analysis, and focuses on three most important
aspects that will impact the Australia Fashion Retail industry in the next five years. This conclusion
has been derived from personal thoughts with no further research, simply based on previous
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RETAIL SURVIVAL AND GROWTH STRATEGIES IN 2017
The Australian Fashion Retail industry is estimated at $19 billion, with a current growth of 4%
annually: the reason being of the fundamental expansions to online stores for brands to grow in a
competitive industry (IBIS World, 2017). Increasing development of new technology has lead to
accessible and convenient shopping for consumers through ecommerce. Despite the rising
competitive prices, most traditional brick-and-motor retailers have found beneficial factors of
developing an ecommerce site by making use of strategies that support the aim to be a multi-
channel retailer. The diverse segments in the retail market are crowded with choices,
predominantly covered by many small independent businesses. Competition factors, such as price,
style and quality, have greatly affected Australian companies facing the pressure of rivalry from
In relation to internal competition, there is an immense focus on competing for consumers on the
basis of price, quality, on-trend fashion, brand status and customer service. Consumers want
exclusivity and new fashion trends, in which retailers must adopt new styles fast to stay on target
with profitability and demand. Competition can vary between the high-end retailers and the
merchants who target low to middle income earners. Brands that have a premium status do not
compete on price instead they sell at higher prices with the finest quality. In contrast to retailers on
the low-end spectrum who largely compete on price. External competition in Australia is
fundamentally focused on department stores, such as Myer and David Jones, who can offer a
selection of exclusive local and overseas labels. They have the ability to source large quantities of
products from overseas at a discounted or wholesale price, affecting the competition with other
clothing retailers at a sharper level. More importantly, there is more pressure for traditional brick-
and-motor stores to capture consumers from new competition of online retailers (IBIS World,
2017).