Boden - strengths and weakness (uni report)

[HerRoyalNotness]

I need to pick a company to write a marketing report on for a uni course, I thought I'd go with Boden. I need a little help to get started and to base my marketing ideas on.

What in your opinions are their strengths and weaknesses?

My perceptions
Strengths:
good quality esp kids clothes
Bright colours for both boys and girls

Weaknesses:
Price
Perception of middle class mummy supplier

I need 6 of each and would be interested to include your views/perceptions

Who would you say are their competition? I though of joules and sea salt, but joules turnover is half and sea salt not in the same ball park at all.

Would next be a competitor? Who else?

I think they are so successful because they don't have an equivalent competitor.

Joules is not quite the same - fewer patterns, smaller range and Seasalt too frumpy/mumsy/outdoorsy/casual.

Next are not in the same ballpark at all.

There used to be a company called Racing Green who were very similar to Boden at the time -mid 1990s, early 2000s. They did a similar line in "posh mail order" of simple, robust, smart-casual basics in natural fibres. They went bust (and I still miss them) and Boden went more elaborate.

Strengths - excellent kids clothes, some of women's holiday clothes and swimmers that last .

Weaknesses - inconsistent fit even in the same style garment . Given up on most of the women's range because can't trust sizes and being abroad PITA to return .

I have never ever had a voucher and spend zillions every season

White Stuff.

I think Banana republic to be Bodens rival for type of clothing though it tends to be more classic.
Joules is too horsey .
Sea salt too hippy
Next too cheap in terns of fabric and quality and colours .

I agree that the balance of discounts as a "buy it now!" vs the risk of making them look cynical and overpriced is tricky for them. Customers are starting to realise that only a mug pays the full price and there'll always be another code along in a minute. See also, M&S, Gap, Pizza Express.

Boden £10 vouchers used to be great. You could find a kids tshirt for £14, find a code for free postage, and you would have a great bargain- a t-shirt for £4.

The last few I've been sent have had a minimum £30 spend. Boo. I haven't used any of them.

I'd say competition wise; Fat Face, Joules, or JoJo Maman Bebe or Polarn o Pyret for kids, however I imagine they'd probably consider for ladies brands such as Hush, Toast etc to be competition?

The constant discounting reminds me of Lands End, and I wonder in fact if they see themselves as a competitor for LE. Since they launched in the US some years ago there have been a number of styles they do (like shirt dresses before they were fashionable) that are more popular over there. It wouldn't surprise me if the 'quirky British' branding wasn't primarily directed at the US market. I was watching Paddington with the kids today and there was exactly the same 'quirky British' styling which was obviously designed to appeal in the US. The constant discounting may be partly because that is what Lands End does.

If I were doing this for a Uni project I would be looking at how big a share of the business the US is.

Actually, the comparison with Lands End is probably the best, for women, kids and men
White Stuff - too hippy (and no kids wear)
Hush - too trendy (and no kids or men)
Toast - too serious (and no kids or men)

Strengths:

A huge selection of petite womenswear compared to any other store at all. Maybe except for gap. But there is more selection in Boden as gap is all much of a muchness

Free delivery and returns

Fantastic boys stuff - range of colours, appliqué rather than transfer, co-ordinating but not matchy matchy, very wearable

Weaknesses:

Any too much sleeveless and linen and basically clothes that require a flat stomach in the womenswear

They do hit an empty spot in the market- when I first had dc they were the only decent clothes mail order company- everything else was next or littlewoods. Joules, crew and seasalt are trying to hit the same quality bracket, but have a much more limited range.

I like the sleeveless dresses, but agree waists on the dresses tend to be way too high!

I'm a sucker for a £10 voucher, but do agree the constant discounts are a bit annoying- doesn't everyone just google for 20% if they only have %10 or 15% codes?!

White stuff and hush are much poorer quality. Fat face can be closer, but again doesn't have the range. I never find anything g I like in mint velvet, I reckon they are the anti Boden for 40 somethings!

Strengths - great customer service, free (and speedy) delivery and returns, some really good quality items and their tops and dresses fit me well.

Weaknesses - the constant gamble of whether to hold out for a code or voucher. Trousers are dreadful on me and some stuff is just not up to the quality of other items.

Competitors - I buy a lot of Boden at the mo because nowhere else seems to do similar things. I needed some reasonable quality cotton summer dresses for a hot holiday. Couldn't find anything elsewhere so bought 4 from there at varying discounts.

Hush is just not quite me and I don't like the quality for the price, Next is dreadful this year, M&S is too hit and miss, Seasalt, again not quite there and Joules is even more distinctive than Boden. White Stuff is ok now and again but a bit too old.

If this is a marketing report, you'll need to focus on their marketing.

Define their strategy- differentiation/focus/niche? Their branding strategy would fit into this.

I don't know too much about the brand but some strengths could be:

Clearly defined brand personality (need to describe this)
Clearly defined target market
Online/catalogue/direct business model leads to reduced overheads and labour costs
Supply chain - probably very flexible and there may be backward integration which gives them more control and less volatility. You'll need to find sources.
Majority of their advertising is online which facilitates highly targeted campaigns where KPIs can be monitored and tracked.
Sterling exchange rate positively impacting Eurozone sales

Weaknesses
Online-only model limits sales opportunities (I think they're online only, correct me if I'm wrong)
Could be seen to be overly conservative and staid in terms of brand personality
Overuse of sales promotions may weaken and cheapen the brand

I'm sure there are more but the key to you doing well in this report is to provide sources. For example if you wish to state that the direct/online business model reduces overheads you'll need a source such as Kotler for this.

If thus is marketing then you need to look at how they work their customer lists rather than whether people like their clothing.

Off the top of my head...

They are masters of marketing their catalogue in a world where that sort mail order marketing has all but diedover 20 years - look at Freemans catalogue/rise if credit cards/no more 30p a week pay off.

They have a definite brand identity - upper middle class, aspirational, middle aged, a sort of anti-fashion-(Boden goes its own way, there isn't much from the catwalks in their offer unlike Zara or Whistles). Their price points are aimed at a particular market - but they discount heavily and frequently and that is made into an 'event'

Their marketing is brilliant - how many catalogues a year? Sent To whom? When do they send vouchers? How about Customer feedback/reviews? (They have embraced them) don't forget that their customer database is a significant asset for them - it us worth a lot of money.
They are brilliant at personalising everything they send to you - letters in the first person from 'Johnny' if you don't complete an order they send you reminder emails. They are constantly in touch, constantly refresh their catalogues. I think they were among the first catalogue companies to wake up and do this and do it in conjunction with the web. Brilliantly.

Basically they work that database analyse sales and work it again. I don't like their clothes but they are fantastic at marketing.

If you need to provide recommendations on how they could improve or expand then focusing on building sales outside the UK would be a good one. As mentioned upthread they don't do free p&p and returns to Ireland.

Given the young demographics and recent baby boom in Ireland (citation needed) this would be an obvious market to target. Culturally both countries are very similar (citation needed) so it would be low risk from that perspective. The euro-sterling exchange rate also makes uk purchases very attractive to Irish people at the moment.

Yy to their database being their biggest asset

I agree with BogQueen. If you look at how the brand has developed they have been incredibly clever.

internetretailing.net/2017/03/boden-boosts-add-basket-rates-mobile-use-personalisation/

An interesting thing to look at is what advantages being a catalogue company brings - I think they have a few shops but I think the lion's share is online sales.

Why haven't they rolled out stores across the U.K. Or even concessions in dept stores such as John Lewis? do they get bigger profit margin from online/mailorder? Is the database their main asset rather than bricks and mortar and therefore having a really well researched/focused/detailed marketing strategy is a fundamental part of ensuring their asset - database- grows and retains customers.

The margins are much better online, as I said reduced overheads, labour costs, no rent, warehousing facilities only needed.

If they stocked in JL or similar they'd have to pay a chunk to them for the privilege.

Their marketing is very seductive but now, for me, I resist it because of prices that are constantly racked up and sizes and cuts that are completely unpredictable. So many things I have received are just plain weird in the cut that I just can't be bothered any more.

The point about international is a good one. I live abroad currently. I don't think the delivery is a bad price but I do always remember how many parcels i have had to return when in the UK and it stops me from ordering, even though I can get some of the postage price back through PayPal it's too much hassle.

They have started using bloggers like Carrie at WishWishWish, Rosie the Londoner and Liberty London Girl to try to get to a younger (and in the case of Carrie) hipper customer.