Sustainable Management and Marketing: Resource Issues and Value Propositions of Top Brands

This document discusses the resource issues faced by top brands like Gap Inc., Nike, Adidas, Mark & Spencer, Aditya Birla, and Asos and how they manage them sustainably. It also explores the value propositions of these brands. Gap Inc. is reducing the use of non-sustainable fibres and water, Nike is reusing materials and factory scrap, Adidas is using robot technologies and recycled polyester, Mark & Spencer is becoming a zero net waste business, Aditya Birla is using sustainable packaging material and recycling plastics, and Asos is reducing packaging and reusing waste. The document also discusses the value propositions of these brands.

SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT
AND
MARKETING

1
Issues of Resources
Brands Resource Issues How used/managed
Gap Inc. Lesser availability of water The water from natural
sources is used within the
organisation. They are also
using the recycling approach
so as to ensure that lesser
amount of water is wasted in
the overall process.
Nike Lack of employees Skill development initiatives
are taken by the companies to
make sure that employees
can be used for multiple
works. They are also
outsourcing their operations
so as to manage people
especially in the support
activities (Nike, 2018).
Adidas Resource Diversity This company has faced
issues related to the resource
diversity as they do not have
resources in terms of variety
and it is managed through
help of outsourcing
companies. They are also
trying to enhance the
numbers of suppliers that can
help the company to manage
the issues related to resource
diversity (Adidas, 2018).
Mark & Spencer Employee relation related
issues
This company has faced
issues related to managing
their relations with
employees and it is managed

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with the help of Human
Resource Management of the
company and employee
Union. They have made
changes in their employee
skills and they also have
enhanced their rewards and
incentives program so as to
ensure that they have better
employee relations (Mark &
Spencer, 2018).
Aditya Birla Material related issues This company has faced
issues related to the
management of quality of
materials. They have
managed it with the help of
suppliers from different parts
of the world.
Asos Economic resource related
issues
In the brink of UK’s
recession, companies like
asos is facing issues related
to the management of
economics. It is managed by
the company with the help of
adding new investors in the
pool (Asosplc, 2018).
Resource Loop
There is a resource loop that is used by all the organisations and it comprises of three
different set of loops.
Company
name
Narrow Slow Close
Gap Inc. They are reducing the They are also reusing This company has

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use of fibres that are not
sustainable. They are
also reducing the use of
water (GapInc. 2019).
material through the
help of lean
management
approach.
developed a recycle
mechanism where they
are reusing all the
materials that have been
wasted.
Nike Alone in 2015, Nike
utilised 54 million
pounds of factory scrap
to turn it into a material
that is used in the Nike
products.
They are reusing the
materials such as
thermoplastics. In a
shoe program Nike
reused 30 million pair
of shoes.
More than 90% of the
excess scrap materials
are reground and
converted into new film
to begin the process
from the start.
Adidas They are applying the
best technologies such
as robot technologies to
reduce the use of
materials for making of
product (Kell, 2016).
They have a plan to
utilise the recycled
polyester for the
firm’s products.
Adidas is making its
shoes with the help of
recycled plastics.
Mark &
Spencer
They have made a plan
for becoming a zero net
waste business by
reducing the amount of
waste that is generated
in the manufacturing
process.
This company is
reusing the packaging
material to make sure
that same packaging
material can be used
multiple times.
This company also has
utilised circular
economy to make sure
that they are recycling
everything so as to gain
multiple benefits from
the same resources.
Aditya Birla They are using
sustainable packaging
material for ensuring
that they are able to
reduce the use of plastic
materials for their
products.
They are known for
using materials that
stays for long term
and reusing water for
other purposes once it
has been utilised for
other processes within
the firm.
They are upgrading the
technology by doing
research in the areas
where they can recycle
the plastics more
efficiently which can
again be utilised by the
company for producing
new products

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(Getinthering, 2019).
Asos This company is
reducing the amount of
packaging produced in
the beginning.
They are reusing the
waste that is generated
in the supply chain to
make their new
products.
With the concept of
refashion they are
recycling all the
garments that are
unwanted or not sold
(Asosplc, 2019).
Value dimension
Gap Inc.
Gap Inc.
Value
proposition
They are producing quality products at reasonable prices for customers of
all ages. This has helped them in creating a better customer-partner
relationship.
Value creation
and delivery
They have high speed product development mechanism which ensures that
the supply and demand is maintained. Their key partners are American
Express, Converse, Motorola, Apple Inc., Hallmark and Emporio Armani
(Gap Inc. 2018).
Value capture They are generating revenues from the sources like shops and online sales.
The major cost includes online shipping and packaging, freight charges and
the cost associated with sourcing operations. They customer loyalty is not
very high.
Nike
Nike
Value
proposition
Their customer segment includes people that are young and mainly
associated with sports. They also have a healthy customer-partner
relationship.
Value creation
and delivery
Technology, innovation and strong supply chain are some of the major
sources of value creation. They have partnered with many of the local
suppliers so as to ensure that value is delivered to the people the way it is

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created (Nike, 2019).
Value capture They have their shops and online platform from where they generate
revenue sources. The customer loyalty is also on the higher side.
Adidas
Adidas
Value
proposition
Young and children. Customer-partner relationship is high.
Value creation
and delivery
Production mechanism and distribution network helps them in creating
value and at the same time delivering it to their consumers.
Value capture They sell through both online and offline channels and the loyalty of
consumers is also on the higher side.
Marks & Spencer
Marks &
Spencer
Value
proposition
People of all ages and they have higher relationship with customers and
their partners.
Value creation
and delivery
They have resource utilisation mechanism and customer-centric approach is
helping them in creating and delivering value.
Value capture They have their own stores and they also sell through online mechanism.
Customer loyalty is moderate.
Aditya Birla
Aditya Birla
Value
proposition
For people of every age group with high customer-partner relation.
Value creation
and delivery
Use of highly advanced technologies helps them in creating value for the
firm and it is delivered through the help of suppliers that this company has
(Aditya Birla Group, 2019).
Value capture They are generating revenue flows through the help of distributors. The

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customer loyalty is on the lower side.
Asos
Asos
Value
proposition
For every segment in the society and they have a healthy customer-partner
relationship.
Value creation
and delivery
Technology mechanism is their biggest source of creating value. They have
many stakeholders from the society with whom they aim to achieve
sustainable future.
Value capture They are selling through the online mediums to capture value. Their
customer loyalty is on the lower side.

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References
Adidas, 2018. Annual Report. [Online] Available at:
https://report.adidas-group.com/fileadmin/user_upload/adidas_Annual_Report_GB-2018-
EN.pdf. [Accessed on 26th September 2019]
Aditya Birla Group, 2019. Investors. [Online] Available at:
https://www.adityabirla.com/investors. [Accessed on 26th September 2019]
Asosplc, 2018. Annual Report 2018. [Online] Available at:
https://www.asosplc.com/~/media/Files/A/Asos-V2/reports-and-presentations/26-10-2018-ar-
v2.PDF. [Accessed on 26th September 2019]
Asosplc, 2019. Corporate responsibility. [Online] Available at:
https://www.asosplc.com/corporate-responsibility/our-business/packaging-and-waste.
[Accessed on 26th September 2019]
Gap Inc. 2018. Annual Report. [Online] Available at: https://investors.gapinc.com/static-
files/ec74f4f6-ba44-4819-a1e2-4e1a50fbb44a. [Accessed on 26th September 2019]
GapInc. 2019. Six Ways Gap Inc. is Becoming More Sustainable. [Online] Available at:
https://corporate.gapinc.com/en-us/articles/2018/04/six-ways-gap-inc-is-becoming-more-
sustainable. [Accessed on 26th September 2019]
Getinthering, 2019. Event Overview. [Online] Available at:
https://getinthering.gribb.io/event/abg. [Accessed on 26th September 2019]
Kell, J. 2016. Here’s How Adidas Plans To Drastically Cut Down On Waste. [Online]
Available at: https://fortune.com/2016/04/14/adidas-cuts-water-waste-usage/. [Accessed on
26th September 2019]
Mark & Spencer, 2018. Sustainability. [Online] Available at:
https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/sustainability. [Accessed on 26th September 2019]
Nike, 2018. Annual Report. [Online] Available at:
https://s1.q4cdn.com/806093406/files/doc_financials/2018/ar/docs/nike-2018-form-10K.pdf.
[Accessed on 26th September 2019]

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Nike, 2019. Collaboration. [Online] Available at: https://purpose.nike.com/partnerships-
collaborations. [Accessed on 26th September 2019]