The Image Customers have of your Business

More importantly, it is likely that the people in this age bracket because of the fact that they are working professionals would have the money to opt for the suits (Matulich and Martin 2015). Moreover, the product will position itself as one of the most premier brands and for this the brand through the use of the premium pricing policy will ensure the fact that they are delivering the best quality products to the customers.A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers.

Running head: BRAND EXTENSION
Brand Extension
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1BRAND EXTENSION
Executive Summary
This report intends to analyze the concept of brand extension and for this purpose the product
Nike Business Suits as an extension of the brand Nike. For the purpose of this, the annual
report of Nike, Armani, Gucci and other peer-reviewed articles and textbooks have been
used. The report thus sheds light on the notions of brand and brand extension in the particular
context of Kapferer’s Brand Identity Prism. The report next states the target market that the
new brands needs to focus on, namely, the professionals belonging to the age bracket of 30-
44 years of age. The report next undertakes PESTLE analysis and finds that the business
market of UK is a congenial one for the product. The report next on the basis of Ansoff’s
Grid suggests the use of diversification strategy for the organisation. The report finally
concludes by concluding a competitor analysis of Nike with Gucci and Armani and finds that
the business suits that Nike intends to launch has all the necessary attributes to become a
successful brand.

2BRAND EXTENSION
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Methodology..............................................................................................................................3
Findings......................................................................................................................................4
Existing brand and Brand Values...........................................................................................4
Description of the Target Market...........................................................................................5
Analysis of the New Market..................................................................................................6
Explanation of the New Product............................................................................................7
Competition............................................................................................................................7
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7
References..................................................................................................................................9

3BRAND EXTENSION
Introduction
Barnes and White (2017) have defined “brand” as the overall experience or the
perception of the customers regarding the products or the services offered by an organization
and it is this perception or experience of the customers which distinguishes one organization
or product from others. This report will explore the concept of brand extension in the
particular context of the product Nike Business Suits which is seen as an attempt of the
organization Nike to extent their brand.
The American multinational organization Nike was founded by Bill Bowerman and
Phil Knight in 1964 and especially in the designing, manufacturing, development as well as
the marketing of sports footwear, apparels, accessories and others (Nike.com 2019). The
organization is currently operational in more than 170 different nations of the world and
holds monopoly in the sports footwear manufacturing industry (Nike.com 2019). For
example, the gross revenue generated by the organization in 2017 was $29.6 billion and was
ranked at the 89th largest organization of the world in terms of the revenue generated by it
(Nike.com 2019).
Methodology
The data or information which was needed for the completion of this report was
collected from the annual reports of Nike, Gucci, Armani and others. In addition to this, peer-
reviewed articles and textbooks were also to gather information regarding the theoretical
models and frameworks related to the concept of brand and brand extension. These sources of
information helped the researcher to highlight the different facets of brand extension in this
report.

4BRAND EXTENSION
Findings
Existing brand and Brand Values
As opined by Huang, Jia and Wyer Jr. (2017), the notion of brand has gained a
significant amount of prominence in the recent times and it is seen that the perception of a
customer or individual regarding the products or services offered by an organization. More
importantly, in the recent times it is seen that this experience or the perception of the
customers has come to take the place of the identity of the organizations and these
organizations are often identified or distinguished from one another through the perception or
the experience of the customers or through the notion of brand (Keller 2016). Furthermore, in
the recent times it is seen that the organizations in order to mitigate the fierce business
competition and also to earn a higher amount of revenue take the help of the strategy of
product diversification and extend the product range of their organization (Monga and Hsu
2018). This process, called by the name of brand extension, is often used by the organizations
to use their existing brand name or image or patents for the launch of new products or
services so as to boost their sales (Goedertier et al. 2015).
As per Kapferer’s Brand Identity Prism, the customers often see the products or the
services that they are using as an extension of their own image and this is one of the major
reasons why the modern customers like to explore the product options that they have at their
disposal (Matulich and Martin 2015). For example, as per this prism, the physical shape or
the iconography of the brand should be such that it is appealing for the customers and the
customers at the same time needs to be sure that through the use of the concerned brand their
personality will be reflected in an effective manner (Moon and Sprott 2016). More
importantly, a brand also needs to reflect the cultural values and also the self-image of the
customers in an adequate manner (Parker et al. 2018). Furthermore, the organization also
needs to ensure the fact that they maintain an effective relationship with the customer even

5BRAND EXTENSION
after the sale of the products or services (Martinelli, Belli and Marchi 2015). Lastly, the
organizations need to create or design the brand taking into effective consideration the
reflection or the demands of a particular target market (Yuan et al. 2016).
Description of the Target Market
The product Nike Business Suits will be specifically designed keeping into
perspective the requirement of the working business class men and women. Furthermore, the
suits will be available for individuals belonging to all ages however the main target market of
the product will be the individuals in the age bracket of 30-44 years of age because of the fact
that the individuals in this age group are working professionals. More importantly, it is likely
that the people in this age bracket because of the fact that they are working professionals
would have the money to opt for the suits (Matulich and Martin 2015). Moreover, the product
will position itself as one of the most premier brands and for this the brand through the use of
the premium pricing policy will ensure the fact that they are delivering the best quality
products to the customers. This new product will be using the supply chain system of the
organization Nike itself and also the communication, digital marketing strategies like content
marketing, SEO and others and promotional strategies followed by Nike itself (Nike.com
2019).

6BRAND EXTENSION
Analysis of the New Market
Political factors  Highly stable government (Keller 2016)
 Initiatives for the development of trade and commerce are
taken by government (Monga and Hsu 2018)
 Connection with Commonwealth nations and European Union
(Gov.uk 2019)
Economic factors  One of the largest economies of the world (Keller 2016)
 Active trade relations with EU and other nations
 Free trade policy (Gov.uk 2019)
Social factors  People like to dress up in business suits irrespective of their
gender (Yuan et al. 2016)
 The people are very concerned about the their pride and the
way they look (Parker et al. 2018)
Technological
factors
 One of the most technologically advanced nations of the world
(Keller 2016)
 Active associations with other nations
Legal factors  Organizations needs to follow the corporate laws of UK and
EU(Gov.uk 2019)
Environmental
factors
 Paris Agreement 2016 (Gov.uk 2019)
 Environmental Protection Act (Gov.uk 2019)
The organization taking the help of Ansoff’s Grid is going to follow the strategy of
product diversification so as to gain success in the new business market. In this regard, it
needs to be said that the other suit marking organizations just offer business suits to the men

7BRAND EXTENSION
however the brand under discussion here will offers business suits to both men and women
and that too in different style sets so as to capture the market (Huang, Jia and Wyer Jr 2017).
Explanation of the New Product
An analysis of Nike Business Suits as per Tauber’s Brand Extension Options reveals
the fact that it is an entirely new product from the perspective of the organisation because of
the purpose (Matulich and Martin 2015) for which it has been designed. Furthermore, unlike
the athletic cloths of the organisation which are made from polymers and others these suits
will be made from cotton and other similar materials and for packing them special large
envelops made from recyclable plastic will be used. The product, Nike Business Suit, will
position itself as one of the premier brands in the suit making industry.
Competition
Nike Armani Gucci
Customers for
business suits
Both men and
women
Men Men
Pricing policy Premium Premium Premium
Online presence Yes Yes Yes
Brand value Positive Excellent Best brand of Italy
Key areas served Worldwide Worldwide Worldwide
Source: (Nike.com 2019; Armani.com 2019; Gucci.com 2019)
Conclusion
To conclude, I personally believe that the brand extension of the organization Nike
will be a successful because it has all the necessary attributes that it takes to make a brand
success as becomes evident from the competitor analysis. Furthermore, the positive brand
image of Nike can be used by it to gain success in the business suits manufacturing industry.

8BRAND EXTENSION
The unique brand positioning of Nike and also the fact that it will offer business suits to both
men and women are likely to make this brand extension a success.

9BRAND EXTENSION
References
Armani.com 2019. Armani Home. [online] Available at:
https://www.armani.com/wx/armanicom [Accessed 19 Jan. 2019].
Barnes, A.J. and White, T., 2017. I Don’T Care If You’Re Committed, But “We” Do: How
Group Brand Connections Affect Access-Based Brand Extension Evaluations. ACR North
American Advances.
Goedertier, F., Dawar, N., Geuens, M. and Weijters, B., 2015. Brand typicality and distant
novel extension acceptance: How risk-reduction counters low category fit. Journal of
business research, 68(1), pp.157-165.
Gov.uk 2019. Welcome to GOV.UK. [online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/ [Accessed 19
Jan. 2019].
Gucci.com 2019. Gucci Men's Collection | Shop Gucci.com. [online] Available at:
https://www.gucci.com/us/en/ca/men-c-men [Accessed 19 Jan. 2019].
Huang, Y., Jia, Y. and Wyer Jr, R.S., 2017. The effects of physical distance from a brand
extension on the impact of brand‐extension fit. Psychology & Marketing, 34(1), pp.59-69.
Keller, K.L., 2016. Reflections on customer-based brand equity: perspectives, progress, and
priorities. AMS review, 6(1-2), pp.1-16.
Martinelli, E., Belli, A. and Marchi, G., 2015. The role of customer loyalty as a brand
extension purchase predictor. The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer
Research, 25(2), pp.105-119.

10BRAND EXTENSION
Matulich, E. and Martin, G.S., 2015. The Effect of Perceived Fit on Consumer Expectations
of Brand Extension Success. In Proceedings of the 1992 Academy of Marketing Science
(AMS) Annual Conference (pp. 284-289). Springer, Cham.
Monga, A.B. and Hsu, L., 2018. How Consumers’ Styles of Thinking Can Control Brand
Dilution. GfK Marketing Intelligence Review, 10(1), pp.40-45.
Moon, H. and Sprott, D.E., 2016. Ingredient branding for a luxury brand: The role of brand
and product fit. Journal of Business Research, 69(12), pp.5768-5774.
Nike.com 2019. Nike home. [online] Available at: https://www.nike.com/ [Accessed 19 Jan.
2019].
Parker, J.R., Lehmann, D.R., Keller, K.L. and Schleicher, M.G., 2018. Building a multi-
category brand: when should distant brand extensions be introduced?. Journal of the
Academy of Marketing Science, 46(2), pp.300-316.
Yuan, R., Liu, M.J., Luo, J. and Yen, D.A., 2016. Reciprocal transfer of brand identity and
image associations arising from higher education brand extensions. Journal of Business
Research, 69(8), pp.3069-3076.