Marketing Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Marketing Planning - Essay Example ............................................ 3.0 How are we going to get there?.................................................................................. 4.0 Implementation........................................................................................................... 5.0 Ethical issues............................................................................................................... 6.0 Possible problems........................................................................................................ References Appendix Marketing Plan: Sainsbury’s 1.0 Introduction J Sainsbury Plc is a supermarket chain in the United Kingdom currently maintaining a 15 percent market share (Thompson 2010). Sainsbury competes with major supermarkets such as Tesco, Morrison’s and Asda. Tesco, the company’s main competitor holding 28 percent of market share in the UK for this industry, has maintained its leadership position through innovation in p roduct and service delivery as well as global brand loyalty. Sainsbury offers traditional products in the food category and has recently diversified to include clothing styles that are exclusive to the supermarket. Sainsbury is recognised not only for its high quality products, but for its emphasis on corporate social responsibility which provides the company with a positive brand reputation. However, Sainsbury’s is unable to outperform its main competition, which is attributable to lack of effective promotion. This marketing plan focuses on building revenues through marketing of the company’s new clothing line, branded under the name Tu. The Tu line targets young adult female consumers, providing lightweight and contemporary clothing with a fashion-forward design and motif. The company had, until recently, believed that the Tu line was a â€Å"stand alone brand† (Sainsbury 2011, p.3). However, the Tu clothing line cannot support revenue growth for the supermark et chain without creating a brand personality and developing a more effective promotional campaign. 2.0 The marketing plan This section highlights the rebranding strategy necessary to achieve brand recognition and brand preference in the young female target market and relevant audits of the current situation faced by the Tu clothing line. 2.1 Current situation Currently, the Tu clothing line provides Sainsbury with ?680 million in sales revenues (Reid 2013). This is insignificant considering the costs of distribution, manufacture and importation of materials utilised for production. Sainsbury is attempting to compete with such companies as Marks & Spencer and Zara which produce similar fashion merchandise under a fast fashion model. These competing organisations have well-established brands and consumer loyalty for providing relevant and modern fashion styles, making it difficult for the company to lure consumers to the Tu brand. Additionally, the Tu brand boasts 60 percent of its c urrent sales volumes stemming from impulse shoppers, meaning that consumers are not actively seeking to shop for clothing at Sainsbury’s market, instead purchasing whilst shopping in the supermarket for food products. Sainsbury’s corporate leadership recognises this shortcoming and points out that consumers have â€Å"tight budgets† and the business must â€Å"create outfits that catch attention† (The Guardian 2012, p.2). Sainsbury is also redeveloping the in-store experience to enhance the clothing shopping experience, adding fitting rooms and floor models that emulate the fashion floors of