Principles of Marketing Management

This report focuses on the marketing auditing plan of River Island Company, including macro and micro analysis, competitive analysis, and SWOT analysis. It discusses the company background, PESTLE analysis, and the impact of political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors on the company. It also covers the micro analysis of the company, its competitors, employees, suppliers, and marketing intermediaries. Finally, it includes a SWOT analysis of the company.

Principles of marketing
management.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In this report it has been discussed marketing auditing plan of chosen company. This
report has majorly focused on various market analysis factors such as PESTLE and SWOT that
company uses to identify competition from the market. Moreover it also also concluded analysis
of competition in market by using strategic groups and perceptual mappings.

Table of Contents
Principles of marketing management..........................................................................................1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................4
Introduction of audit....................................................................................................................4
Company/ brand background......................................................................................................4
Macro analysis(PESTLE model).................................................................................................5
Micro analysis.............................................................................................................................7
Competitive analysis...................................................................................................................8
SWOT analysis..........................................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Principles of marketing are refereed to as marketing ideas that an organisation use for
making effective marketing strategies (Park, 2020). These are the principles on the basis of
which an organisation make effective promotion strategies. Generally principles of marketing are
classified into four P's such as product, price, place and promotion. In this report, River Island
company is taking into consideration which was founded in 1978 in London United Kingdom.
The CEO of this company is Will Kernan and it majorly deals in Women's, Men's and children
clothing, footwear and many more (Visconti, Peñaloza, and Toulouse, 2020). This report will
include auditing of company which comprises given organisation background by analysis of its
current market, macro analysis of company with the help of PESTLE and micro analysis. Next to
it competitive analysis will also done. Moreover, SWOT and analysis of SWOT will be done
along with conclusion.
MAIN BODY
Introduction of audit.
Marketing auditing is refers to complete analysis or evaluation of market in order to
know whether that market would be perfect for achieving business goal in effective and efficient
manner or not. River Island company is operating in fashion industry and its has more thousand
of stores internationally. This company is owned by Bernard Lewis and their brothers in London,
United Kingdom. In this report an analysis of United Kingdom market will done in order to
know how given company is performing in market (Chernev, 2019).
Company/ brand background
Given company was started by Bernard Lewis. In initial times given company was used
to sell fruits and vegetables in market (Hua, 2019). In 1965, it has opened its 70 stores world
wide and was rebranded as Chelsea Giri after which it has became UK's first boutique chain. In
1978 management of company started expanding its business operations into several categories
which include children wear, women's wear and men's wear. In 2018, give organisation has also
expanded their business operations into home wares which include furnitures, utensils and
different decorative items and many more. Currently River Island is dealing in 250 high street
stores in United Kingdom and it is also selling products online through Riverisland.com. It also
use several third party websites such as Asos, Next and Very (Tuten, 2019).

Macro analysis(PESTLE model)
 Political- These factors include those things through which government may impact the
economy or particular industry in market. There are several things which are included in
political factors such as tax rates, fiscal policy and trade tariff (Bonaparte, 2019).
Fashion industry is highly remarkable industry is United Kingdom market, but it has
negatively affected due to recent lockdown which was announced by government during
coronavirus pandemic. Another way through which given industry is affected due to
Brexit policy which created several problems for fashion industry in their operational
functionality. In the terms of given company, changes in tax policy has majorly impacted
the growth and profitability of River Island company. Moreover, due to instability in
government, management of company has not made any investment for expanding their
business operations which negatively affected the long term income of company
(Cannon, Lohtia and Paulich, 2021).
 Economic- Several ways through which economy of country is affected such as inflation
rate which affect the purchasing power of customer, foreign exchange rate and many
more are all included in economic factors. In fashion industry several brand hire
manufactures from another country such as Bangladesh and China through which the
manufacturing cost of company can get down and they can easily sell their products to
customer at reasonable cost (Hopkins, Ferrell, Ferrell and Hopkins, 2021). In the terms
of River island company, it also hires its manufactures from another country for which it
can easily manufacture its clothes and other fabric items in low cost and can sell to
customer in reasonable rate. Due to which it becomes easy for customer to purchase
products of given company which has ultimately lead to rise in sales of company and
increase its profitability.
 Social- Different things such as cultural trends, demographic situation and analytics of
population are all the part of Social factors. In fashion industry, nowadays people are
demanding highly fashionable clothes especially college students in order to look more
appealing and attractive, which has increases the demand for branded clothes and make
fashion industry more profitable. In the terms of mentioned company, changes in
customer lifestyle due to which they are demanding fashionable apparels has increased
the business of given company and make it more profitable (Taylor, 2020).

 Technological- This factor include changes or innovations happening in technology that
can affect the operational functionality of market either in favourable way or
unfavourable way. In fashion and retail industry, there are various online selling platform
through which seller can sell their products to customers not only in local market but also
in global market (Nurman, Harapan and Kesumawati, 2021). There are several platforms
such as Amazon, eBay and many more by which sellers can make their selling account
and can sell products online. In the terms of mentioned company, it has its own website
by the name Riverisalnd.com and it also uses several third party platforms such as Asos,
Next and Very by company is able to sell its products not only in their local regions but
in global context by which it can increase its sales and profitability.
 Legal- In this factor, several laws that can affect the internal and external functionality of
business are included. There are several example of legal factor are consumer laws,
safety and protection laws and many more are included in this. In fashion industry, there
are different strict rules and regulations due to which companies have outsourced their
operations to abroad. This has help companies to save their operational cost. But different
companies to whom work has been outsourced are using children for their production of
goods therefore they are promoting child labour. In the terms of mentioned company, it
has also outsourced their production work to another countries those are using child
labour in their production hence it creates negative image of company in market and has
negatively impact the performance of company (Ajanovic and Çizel, 2021).
 Environmental- This factor include all such things which has impact the environment of
company such as climate, weather, geographical locations and many more. In fashion and
retail industry, for the production of goods there are various type of chemicals uses which
are harmful for environment due to which air pollution and water pollution can cause.
Therefore in order to avoid environmental issues they are using sustainable fabrics for the
production of their goods. In the terms of mentioned company, it also uses different types
of chemical for the production of their goods which make product more appealing but can
negatively impact the environment. This would create loss making situation for company
and can negatively affect the image of company in market.

Micro analysis
This include various forces and factors that are close to an organisation which can affect
the performance as well as day to day operational functionality of business either in positive
manner or in negative manner. There are different components on the basis of which micro
analysis is done such as company, suppliers, customers, marketing intermediaries and many
more.
 Company- They are the most important part of business. If an organisation does not have
customer in market it cannot do sales of its products. In River Island business which
mainly deals in fashionable clothes and apparels has huge base of customer in United
Kingdom market. Therefore in order to attract more customer from market it can use
several marketing strategies such as giving discount to customer, apply buy 1 and get 1
policy which help an organisation to attract more customer and can rise its profitability.
 Competitors- They are considered as more crucial part of business and can make direct
impact of business strategies. It is very necessary for an organisation to know about their
competitors in market in order to carry on their business operations successfully. In the
terms of respective company, it has so many competitors in market place which can
negatively affect the performance of company in long run. Therefore in order to
understand competition in market mentioned organisation is using PESTLE analysis by
which management of company can understand that where does an organisation is
lacking from competitors how can it can improve itself better to beat competition from
market.
 Employees- There are considered as an asset for a company. Skilled and experiences
employee help an organisation to rise its sales in market. Therefore an organisation must
provide proper training to its staff members in order to increase sales of an organisation.
In the terms of mentioned company, management of an organisation provide training to
its employees regarding how to treat customer in proper way moreover it also provide
training to them regarding how to solve customer queries. Above all, an organisation can
also motivate its employees by giving several monetary incentive in the terms of bonus
and salary hike which will help to increase productivity of employees through which
sales of an organisation will also rise and make company more profitable.

 Supplier- They are considered as those entities who supply raw materials to an
organisation which they can use for production of their goods. In the terms of mentioned
organisation, it has signed a contract with DCX group who supply all kind raw materials
to an organisation for production of their goods. Therefore an organisation must maintain
strong relationship with suppliers which will help a company in getting edge over its
competitors.
 Marketing intermediaries- These are those entities which helps an organisation to
establish communication between an organisation and market. They include agent,
wholesalers, retailers and many more. In the terms of given company, It has good
marketing intermediary which help an organisation to promote its product through
various marketing channels. The proper and effective utilization of marketing
intermediary help an organisation to rise its sales and ultimately help to increase
profitability of an organisation.
Competitive analysis.
Strategic groups are considered as those rival firms who have similar competitive
approach and standing in marketplace. The main purpose of using strategic groups is to
identification of competition from the industry which enables an organisation to plan their
marketing and selling strategies accordingly. In the terms of River island, the two main
organisation which are dealing in same market are Whistles and Topshop. Therefore by applying
strategic group analysis in their business, management of an organisation would be able to plan
different marketing and selling strategies through which they can beat competition from market
(Candelo, 2019).
Perceptual model is a chart which is used by market analyst in order to understand how
target customer are perceiving companies products or services in market. The main purpose
behind this model is to identify reaction or feedback of customer towards products or brands in
market so that companies can work on negative feedbacks and responses. In the terms of
mentioned company, management of company is applying this model to identify how they can
work on customer feedback and make their products better than similar business competitors
which are Whistles and Topshop.
Strength River Inn Whistles Topshop

Eye catching window
display- Rive Inn has
a attractive and eye
catching window
display through which
customer can easily
attract towards store
and make purchases,
which would help to
rise in sales of
company.
Good customer
service- Staff of
respective
organisation provide
wonderful and
satisfactory service to
customers. They listen
to customer problems
peacefully and provide
relevant and
appropriate solution to
them. This makes
customer feel
respected and they
repeat the purchases
again and again which
help to rise in sales
and profits of firm.
Good Brand identity-
Mentioned
organisation has good
identity among
customers in market.
Therefore it is
considered as strength
for an organisation.
Worldwide stores-
Topshop company has
stores in worldwide
area due to which it
has its product sales in
different parts of
world. Hence this
helps to rise in sales
and profitability of an
orgaisation.
Weakness Unable to handle
several customer
Lack of
advertisement- Given
Lack of quality of
products- Sometimes

problem together-
River Inn provide
good customer service
but sometimes due to
lack of staff it is
unable to handle
customer queries
because they have to
work on operational
functionality. Hence
this lack of staff is
considered as one of
the main weakness of
respective
organisation.
company spend less
amount on
advertisement it does
not use various social
media platform.
Therefore it does not
have enough global
reach which is
considered as main
weakness of an
organisation. Only the
people of its country
are aware about it and
people of other
country are not aware
this brand. Hence this
is considered as main
weakness of an
organisation.
it has been noticed by
customer that the
quality of its products
is not per price they
charge from customer.
Hence, this can reduce
the customer base of
company which can
negatively affects the
profitability of
company.
SWOT analysis.
Strength
 Stores in different location- River
island has more than 350 stores
worldwide in different locations such as
United Kingdom, Middle east , Europe
and many more,which help to increase
revenue of an organisation.
Weakness
 Not offer discount- Given organisation
does not offer discount to customers
especially customers like other firms
such as Topshop. Hence this force
customers to visit to their competitors
which include Whistles and Topshop
thus lead to downfall of profit of firm.
Opportunities Threat

 Make collaboration with celebrities-
River island company can make
collaboration with celebrities in market
which would help an organisation to
promote its products to customers.
Collaboration with celebrities help to
develop good image of company in
 Rise in taxes- If government rises the
tax rates in market then it would
negatively affect the profits because
rise in taxes force firm to rise its
products price which would ultimately
negatively affect the profitability of
firm.
Analysis of SWOT analysis.
 Strength- The first strength of firm is that it has different stores in various location. This
is considered as main strength of an organisation because various location of an
organisation helps to rise in sales of company as revenue come from different location
which would make company more profitable and lead to rise in sales of company.
 Weakness- Mentioned organisation does not offer any discount to customers especially
students. Hence in order to cope up with this weakness mentioned organisation can start
giving discount to customers which would help to increase sales of company and make it
more profitable.
 Opportunities- For boosting its sales among customers and make good image of its
products in market mentioned company can hire celebrities from market which would
help to increase customer in market and ultimately lead to rise in sales.
CONCLUSION
On the basis of above report its has been concluded that Marketing management plays a
very important role in overall functionality of business. With the help of marketing management
a business can attain its objective of earning profit by fulfilling the need and demand of
customer. In the report it has been discussed marketing auditing of an organisation by stating
information about the company and the market in which auditing has taken place. Moreover
micro and macro analysis of an organisation also done by using PESTLE analysis. Next to it
competitive analysis of an organisation has also been done. Finally SWOT and analysis of
SWOT has been done.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Park, S., 2020. Marketing management (Vol. 3). Seohee Academy.
Visconti, L.M., Peñaloza, L. and Toulouse, N. eds., 2020. Marketing management: A cultural
perspective. Routledge.
Chernev, A., 2019. Strategic marketing management: Theory and practice. Cerebellum Press.
Hua, H., 2019. Mobile marketing management: Case studies from successful practices. CRC
Press.
Tuten, T.L., 2019. Principles of Marketing for a Digital Age. SAGE.
Bonaparte, Y.L., 2019. Sustainable outcomes of an experiential learning project in a principles of
marketing course. Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science, 29(1), pp.7-14.
Cannon, J.P., Lohtia, R. and Paulich, B.J., 2021. Blended Learning in Principles of Marketing:
The Effects of Student Differences on Student Performance. Journal of Marketing
Education, p.02734753211058357.
Hopkins, C.D., Ferrell, O.C., Ferrell, L. and Hopkins, K.H., 2021. Changing Perceptions of
Marketing Ethics and Social Responsibility in Principles of Marketing. Journal of
Marketing Education, p.0273475321995553.
Taylor, R., 2020. Reframing Delivery of Principles of Marketing: Moving Bored Students to
Board Room Employer-Needed Kick-Ass Skilled Grads. Academy of Business
Research Journal, 2, pp.52-66.
Nurman, A., Harapan, E. and Kesumawati, N., 2021. Education service marketing
management. Journal of Educational and Learning Studies, 4(1), pp.51-56.
Ajanovic, E. and Çizel, B., 2021. A guide to the successful use of case study in marketing
management research. In Handbook of Research Methods for Marketing Management.
Edward Elgar Publishing.
Candelo, E., 2019. How Platforms are Reshaping Automotive Marketing Management.
In Marketing Innovations in the Automotive Industry (pp. 131-140). Springer, Cham.
River Island,2021.[online]. Available at:<https://www.retail-week.com/companies/river-island?
authent=1>
Swot analysis of River Island, 2016.[online]. Available at:
<http://izzycrawley.blogspot.com/2016/01/river-island-swot-analysis.html>