The Marketing Mix of Reebok

This assignment analyzes the marketing strategies employed by Reebok, focusing on the four Ps of the marketing mix: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. It delves into how Reebok utilizes each element to compete effectively in the sportswear industry. The analysis considers Reebok's current market share, challenges it faces, and potential future directions for its marketing approach.

Marketing Strategy

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Reebok prides itself on creating innovative and stylish products or services. It is the
second largest maker of athletic apparel and is a leader in shoe industry. It provides various
range of products to its target market such as apparel, shoes and it targets to men, women and
children. It has captured a large market in the entire world and its main competitors are Nike,
Puma, etc. This report will state about internal and external analysis of Reebok which can be
done through SWOT and PESTLE analysis. This report will also evaluate the marketing strategy
of company which will be helpful in achieving the desired results or outcomes. It also explains
about the STP approach that is adopted by Reebok for capturing a large market share.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
PART 1............................................................................................................................................1
Internal and external analysis and critical evaluation of Reebok's competitive edge.................1
PART 2............................................................................................................................................5
Reebok' STP approach and its SMART objectives.....................................................................5
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Marketing strategy is an organisational plan which provides support in attaining desired
results in the best possible manner. This tactic is very important for a company that helps in
becoming a leader in the specific area. A business can make good strategy by conducting market
research through which it can know about the existing market situation or behaviour of
consumers. If company will have good marketing strategy then it will be able to attain
competitive advantage over its competitors (Armstrong and et. al., 2011). In short, it can be said
that marketing tactics are the foundation of marketing plan by which organisation can easily
serve to its customers. This present report is based on Reebok which is a global athletic footwear
and apparel company. There will be discussion about internal and external audit of company
along with highlighting its marketing strategy. Also, the report describe about firm’s STP
approach and SMART objectives.
PART 1
Internal and external analysis and critical evaluation of Reebok’s competitive edge
Internal analysis- In this analysis, business explores its internal resources such as
competency, cost position, competitive viability, etc. With the help of this, firm can identify their
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats which assist in attaining competitive advantage
over its competitors. This research can be done through SWOT analysis by which company can
use its full capability and can remove all its drawbacks that will aid in achieving the specified
targets in an effective and efficient manner. SWOT analysis of Reebok is as follows-
Strengths-
 It has good brand value and reputation in the market and is the largest seller of athletic
footwear and apparel in entire world.
 It introduces their products with perfect combination of technology and fitness in each
year.
 It sets the prices of its merchandise according to their target market.
 It uses effective advertisement that assists in making the brand popular in market.
 It is operating their business in more than 80 countries.
 It sponsors many international events like football, cricket, basketball, etc.
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Weaknesses-
 It is facing the biggest problem i.e. many people are selling duplicate products.
 Being a popular brand in the market, any controversial thing directly affects the brand
image (Ataman, Van Heerde and Mela, 2010).
Opportunities-
 It can enter into the new market by focusing on children’s section.
 Lifestyle section can be expanded and can be given with more focus.
 It can tie-up with sports academies and schools throughout the world.
Threats-
 It is facing more competition with international brand which means that it has limited
market share.
 No stability in international currencies is the reason that company has to face loss
 Fake imitations can cause loss to the brand.
External analysis- With the help of this analysis, company can know about external
factors which affects the business operations and creates hindrance in the activities of
organisation. For example: political, economic, etc. This analysis aids company to make an
effective strategy which will assist in attaining the specified target. This analysis can be done by
Reebok through PESTLE analysis which is given as below-
 Political- If any company is operating their business at international level, this factor is
the most influential. Government has taken various actions for the development of firm
and also, appreciated organisation to start their business at global level. Almost, all
countries make various rules and regulations for the expansion of business so that it can
remove unemployment situation from the nation and can earn income through tax
collection. Reebok evaluates the regulation of country and accordingly, expand their
operations in that nation.
 Economic factors- It includes various elements such as inflation rate, GDP growth rate,
currency values, etc. If there will be inflation situation in the country then consumers will
not purchase products that will reduce the income of it. If interest rate will be low then
customers will spend more on purchasing the goods or services. So, this factor affects
company's revenue and sales (Baker, 2014).
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 Social factor- Mostly, young people take part in sports events and they look for
comfortable shoes and apparels so that they can play comfortably during the game.
Therefore, the products of this brand are getting more popularity among young people.
 Technological- Reebok uses proper technology in their products so that it can serve to
their consumers accordingly. It has developed its own website by which it can sell their
products online.
 Environmental- Reebok has taken many actions by setting responsible standards at
workplace and used that technique which has less impact on the environment. This
company provides fair and safe working conditions to its employees and also follows
various rules and regulations that govern this industry.
 Legal- Reebok is abide by many laws and regulations such as it has to pay tax where it is
operating their business and also toned to follow imposed laws like labour laws, local
policies, etc.
Position of Reebok - It has a good brand value and reputation in the market. Its position
reflects that every people are different and have different taste and preferences. So Reebok
provides goods or services as per target market requirements so that they can become loyal
towards its merchandise (Berthon and et. al., 2012).
Reebok has captured a large market share with the help of its marketing strategy which
also provides competitive advantages over its competitors. Its major competitors are Nike, Puma,
etc. which is not much successful as Reebok.
After merger with Adidas, Reebok has continued to implement its old strategy. Firm
creates its position as a premium sport and lifestyle brand which is focused on fitness and
training.
Marketing mix strategy- At present, this company has made its own separate identity in
the market which is associated with comfort, fashion and a particular trendy image. It includes
four elements which are given as below-
 Product- Reebok is a multinational company which provides goods related to sports
and fitness. It provides a large range of products to each segment like children, women
and men. Its main merchandises are related to sports, apparels and footwear. It uses the
latest technology in their offers which provides maximum comfort to the target market.
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 Price- For capturing a large market share, Reebok adopts a common pricing policy. In
apparel section, it adopts penetrating pricing policy at first that means it sets low prices
at introductory phase and when demand starts rising then it charges a reasonable price.
In other products, it adopts skimming policy in which it sets high prices so that
consumers associate this brand with quality. In 2006, it adopted destroyer pricing policy
which has main objective to tackle the growing popularity of Puma and Nike (Chan, Ip
and Cho, 2010).
 Place- Reebok has established its brand name and presence in the global market. It
invests more in the distribution infrastructure for creating and establishing a retail
ambience that is uniform and fully international. Its outlets are exclusive that creates
qualitative environment. For selecting a store location, it hires professionals who have
proper knowledge about the market and know in which market consumers will come
more.
 Promotion- For creating awareness about their products or services, Reebok adopts
unique way of promotional activities. It hires sportsmen of various fields. For example-
in cricket, Yuvraj Singh and in race, Narain Kartikeyan, etc. It also sponsors events such
as cricket, football, etc. so that maximum people can know about the same. It also
provides many offers to their consumers such as vouchers, discounts, etc. and also uses
other mediums for connecting with their users like advertising online, on billboards, etc.
For making a different identity in the market, it has adopted many tag lines such as: “I
am what I am”, “Have fun while you run” and “Take the gym with you” which makes it
unique from other competitors.
This tactic provides many benefits to company such as with the help of this, company is
able to achieve its specified target as well as able to attain competitive advantages over its
competitors.
Reebok is known for its innovative and comfortable footwear and sports apparel. Its
products' USP [Unique Selling Proposition] is that it designs unique and stylish goods without
compromising with their quality. This USP aids company in achieving competitive advantages
over its rivals. Because of its uniqueness, it has adopted a large market share and also, become a
leader in the entire market. It is performing very well at global level which can be evaluated from
the following points which are given as below-
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 Market share- It has captured a large market share as compared to its competitors. It has
attained approx. 46% market at international level while Nike has captured aorund11%
only.
(Source: Market share of Reebok, 2017)
 Increased sales- It provides innovative design of goods or services to its target market so
that it can attract a large number of consumers. By serving this, company has attained the
specified results. It has increased the sales of company as well as growth of it. Now, it is
the biggest seller of sports shoes, apparels, etc.
 Profitability- With the increase in sales, its profitability rate has also increased. Firm has
earned more profit in comparison to its competitors (Fifield, 2012).
PART 2
Reebok' STP approach and its SMART objective
Reebok is the biggest sportswear manufacturer in the world and has made a strong
positioning in market. It provides better quality of goods or services which provides comfort to
its consumers. Today, STP approach is popular in modern marketing because it aids in focusing
on the target market and also, helps in serving them.
STP approach- Segmentation, targeting and positioning is a modern approach that is
used by most of the companies as with the help of this, organisation can identify their target
market and serve them in an effective and efficient manner (Fraj, Martínez and Matute, 2011).
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Illustration 1: Market share of Reebok, 2017

 Segmentation- It means to divide the heterogeneous market into homogeneous market so
that company can serve to the customers easily and effectively. Homogeneous consumers
are those who have same needs and wants while heterogeneous market means those
person who have different tastes and preferences. Reebok can segment their market on
the following basis which are given as below-
◦ Demographic- According to this concept, enterprise bifurcates its market on the basis
of gender, age, income, etc. Reebok has divided their market on the basis of gender.
◦ Geographic- In this, corporation segments their market on the basis of area, location,
state, cities, etc. (Griffith, 2010)
◦ Psychographic- It refers to personality and emotions which are based on the
behaviour, attitude, buying behaviour, personality, hobbies, etc.
Segmentation is an important step for satisfying the needs of consumers as with the help
of this, company is able to know about the requirements of its end users.
 Targeting- After segmentation process, organisation should decide a specific market as
its target market. It can be defined as a group of people to whom company wants to serve
their merchandise. While selecting the target market, Reebok should keep in mind the
following things which are given as below-
◦ Whether the market has potential to generate more profit or not and if it will generate
the desired results
◦ Whether its retail outlet will be able to satisfy the needs and wants of segments or not
◦ How much investment is required for starting a business.
If Reebok wants to target higher income group then it should have products with good
quality so that it can satisfy the needs of consumers. Reebok can select their target market on the
following basis-
 Single segment concentration- In this, company focuses only on one market such as
Reebok is focusing on higher income of people.
 Product specialization- In this, Reebok launches the products which appeals to a
specific group. For example- Reebok launches sports shoes for only sportsmen.
 Full market coverage- In this, company introduces products for the entire market with
various offerings (Kim and et. al., 2012).
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On the above mentioned basis, Reebok can select the target market which will provide
more benefits. Reebok should have different strategies for various markets so that it can serve
them as per their requirements. Before selecting a target market, company should focus on the
following factors-
 To identify the lifestyle, age, income and gender of its consumers.
 Should also understand their social status in the society.
 Positioning- After deciding the target market, it needs to be created positioning platforms
by which it can generate specified target (Kumar and et. al., 2013). Positioning means to
create a positive brand image in the minds of its consumers so that they will get ready for
purchasing its products. It totally depends on the perception of people that how they are
perceiving the goods or brand. Marketing positioning totally depends on price, products
and service provision because if its products will have good quality then it will create a
positive image in the minds of target market.
Reebok has segmented their market of footwear for-
 Men
 Women
 Children
It serves the footwear according to the market that means it produces different shoes for
men and women so that it can get attention from a large number of people.
SMART objective for creating brand awareness-
Every company is running their business for attaining certain goals and objectives and
everyone has different targets based on its size and scope. In this report, sub-brand is “running
footwear” which is designed by Reebok according to the requirement of consumers. Marketing
objective is essential because it helps in driving various strategies and also assists in improving
the complete range of business process. Reebok has following SMART objectives for creating
awareness, market share and growth in sales volume which is given as below-
 Specific- If the firm will have specific objective then it can focus on a particular area
which will aid in increasing the efficiency of company. Generally, most of the
organisations want to achieve many marketing objectives at a same period of time. If
Reebok wants to increase sales of running footwear then it should prepare a distinctive
plan and needs to carry out activities accordingly. Overall, it can be concluded that
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objective should be specific. For example- Enterprise wants to gain 25% market share for
running footwear which can be done through promotional activities. So, its main
objective is to do more promotional activities.
 Measurable- Objective should be measurable so that success of marketing plan can be
evaluated. Marketing plan needs to be measurable on the basis of total profit, revenue
generation or quantity sold. Reebok has the main objective with regard to running
footwear, that is, to sell 30% more. As mentioned above, its objective is to do more
promotional activities. It wants to spend 10% of its profit on advertisement (Kumar and
Rajan, 2012).
 Achievable- Target which is set by company is to be achievable that means, goals should
be attained with in specific period of time . It determines to do promotional activities in
that way which can be achieved with in specific period of time. This objective is
achievable which can be attained easily and effectively.
 Realistic- Motive should be real not imaginary which can be attained easily. For creating
brand awareness and increasing sales of running shoes, Reebok has objective to do more
promotional activities through online advertisement, billboards etc. All these goals are
realistic which is possible to achieve in an easy and effective manner.
 Time bound- Goals should be set in a manner which can be attained within specific
period of time. If target will not be time bound then activities will not be completed with
in time period then growth of the company will not be possible. For example- for
increasing sales or profitability of running shoes, Reebok has decided that promotional
activities will be done through online advertisement and its objective should be achieved
with in three month of launching of this product. So, goal should be time bound that can
be achieve with in specified time if company will not decide time then it will not be able
to achieve its objectives and will also not be able to evaluate the success of marketing
plan (Lusch and Vargo, 2014).
If Reebok wants to increase awareness, market share and sales or growth of running
shoes then it should do more promotional activities that will assist in attaining these results. The
SMART objectives help to evaluate the working of marketing plan. It also provides support in
attaining the best results. Every company should keep SMART objectives that will improve the
process of marketing and support in attaining the competitive advantages over its rivals.
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Marketing mix for running footwear- This strategy helps the marketers to determine a
products or services that should be offer to the target market. It includes some elements which
are as follows- Product- Reebok offers various types of merchandise to its target market but its main
offer is running shoes which are made as per the requirements of consumers. These shoes
are made of better quality which provides comfort to its users. By wearing this, people
can walk easily and comfortably because its soul is very smooth. These footwear are
made different for men, women and children. For men, these are heavy in weight but for
women or children, they are light weighted (Morgan, Katsikeas and Vorhies, 2012). Price- Reebok keeps the prices of running shoes as per income of target market. At initial
phase, it adopted penetrating pricing in which firm sets the prices low for attracting more
consumers. When this product was launched in the market then company adopted
skimming pricing strategy in which prices were set higher but high value products have
high quality. Place- Place is an important element for selling firm’s offerings. Reebok sells their
products through online, retail outlets and with the help of franchising. It adopts
exclusive distribution policy in which one outlet is opened in a city. Promotion- Promotion is highly important for creating awareness about the products or
services. Reebok adopts a unique style of promotion. It promotes their goods through
advertisement in the newspapers, online, billboards, etc. It is very helpful in increasing
the sales and revenue of company. People- People are the most important element because they drive company in right
direction and helps in achieving the desired results or outcomes. It includes employees
and customers who help in the success of firm. Process- For serving the customers, company has to follow a process. Reebok should
decide an easy process so that people can afford it easily (Marketing mix, 2017).
 Physical evidence- It is a type of proof which ensures that services have been delivered to
the customers. For example- in tangible service, guarantee or warranty card will be
considered as a physical evidence.
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CONCLUSION
It can be concluded from the above report that marketing strategy is important as it helps
in carrying out marketing activities in a systematic manner that assists in achieving the desired
results as well as assist in attaining competitive advantages over competitors. It has been
assessed that business should make their strategy after knowing about the external and internal
environment so that it will not create disturbance at the time of formulation of tactic and plan
will be carried out smoothly and effectively. Also, it can be articulated that SWOT and PESTLE
analysis are very helpful in knowing about the internal and external environment. After
conducting this analysis, company can make effective and efficient strategy because it knows
about all factors that may create disturbance in the growth of organisation. It also concluded that
enterprise should set SMART objectives because it helps in improving the business activities or
process that aids in the success of company.
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