Sustainable Marketing: A Case Study of Tengri

This report discusses the effectiveness of sustainable business practices followed by Tengri, a leading sustainable fashion brand. It explores their marketing mix strategies, positioning analysis, and sustainable marketing principles. The report identifies gaps and improvement areas for enhancing long-term sustainability.

Running head: SUSTAINABLE MARKETING
Sustainable marketing
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

1SUSTAINABLE MARKETING
Executive summary
The aim of this report is to discuss about the effectiveness of the sustainable business practices
followed by Tengri. In doing so, the marketing mix elements of Tengri are being discussed and
evaluated in this report along with the positioning strategy of them. It is identified that Tengri is
positioning their products based on characteristics. In addition, this report also critically
evaluated the sustainable marketing principles followed by them and identified a few gap areas
that should be mitigated to enhance the effectiveness of the sustainable business practices in
the long term.

2SUSTAINABLE MARKETING
Table of Contents
Introduction.....................................................................................................................................3
Marketing mix strategies.................................................................................................................4
Product.........................................................................................................................................4
Price.............................................................................................................................................4
Place.............................................................................................................................................5
Promotion....................................................................................................................................5
Positioning analysis..........................................................................................................................6
Sustainable marketing principles of Tengri.....................................................................................6
Effectiveness of the sustainable practices.......................................................................................8
Conclusion........................................................................................................................................9
Reference.......................................................................................................................................10

3SUSTAINABLE MARKETING
Introduction
In the current business scenario, sustainability is one of the major factors to be
considered by the business organizations in gaining competitive advantages. This is due to the
reason that sustainability issues are being faced by different stakeholders in different cases and
thus the marketing sector is of no exception. Companies are increasingly opting for sustainable
business processes in order to have to gain the long term viability in the current competitive
business state of affairs. However, it should also be noted that sustainability can only be
achieved if it is being implemented in ideal and proper manner considering all the relevant
factors (Bascoul et al., 2013). It is also being noted that number of business firms are opting for
sustainable marketing activities in order to gain differentiated approach in the market and it is
more evident in the case of newer entrants in the industry.
One of these organizations leading in terms of sustainability is Tengri from the United
Kingdom. It is reported that the entire business model of Tengri is being oriented around
sustainability. They are offering niche fashion lines in the United Kingdom but the materials are
being sourced from the herders of Mongolia. According to the reports, yarns are being sourced
in sustainable manner directly herders and their development are being given the maximum
importance (Tengri.co.uk, 2019). On the other hand, with the help of Tengri, native herders of
Mongolia are getting exposed to the global market and are getting bigger market opportunities
for their yak fibers. They have also initiated to have cooperative of over 4500 herder families
from which Tengri is directly sourcing their materials.
This report will discuss about the marketing mix elements of Tengri by which they are
gaining sustainability in the market. In addition, the positioning of the brand in the market in
comparison to their competitors will also be discussed in this report along with the extent to
which they are following effective process of sustainable marketing activities. In accordance to
the gap areas being identified, a few improvement clauses will be discussed, which will further
enhance the sustainability for Tengri in their long term business processes.

4SUSTAINABLE MARKETING
Marketing mix strategies
Product
Tengri is operating in the fashion and textile sector in the United Kingdom. However, the
products they are selling are not conventional as per the market trends but they are more in to
offering distinctive products to the customers. According to the official website of Tengri, they
are selling handmade sweaters, mufflers and socks from the authentic Mongolian yak fiber.
Thus, in the crowded market of number of global brands selling winter wears, Tengri is
maintaining their distinctiveness in the market. In addition, it should also be noted that
sustainability is also being maintained in the product strategy of sustainability. This is due to the
fact that their products are being marketed as sustainable products sourced from herders of
Mongolia (Turker & Altuntas, 2014). This is helping them in gaining differentiated approach
among the competition. On the other hand, it is also being identified that Tengri is having
number of collaborations with others brands to offer more diverse and distinctive products. For
example, they are having strategic partnerships with Huntsman bespoke Savile Row tailoring to
offer luxurious brand of clothesline. Moreover, Tengri is also having partnerships with Nile &
York in offering interior collections. Thus, it can be concluded that Tengri is having diverse
portfolio of products that is helping them in catering to different customers sections.
Price
It is identified that Tengri is following premium pricing strategy to justify their niche
product line. Tengri is still being considered as a medium sized company in the United Kingdom
and thus they are having limited access to the market and limited infrastructures. In this case,
they are not being able to cater to the larger sections of customer across the country. In
accordance to this situation, they are targeting a particular niche segment and maintaining their
exclusivity. Initiation of the premium pricing is also helping Tengri in maintaining their
exclusivity among the customers (McNeill & Moore, 2015). Following the sustainable business
practices is also causing more cost for Tengri and increasing the cost price of the products.
Sourcing materials from Mongolia and spawning them in to the final products with maintaining
the highest quality is incurring a good cost for Tengri and thus premium pricing is being

5SUSTAINABLE MARKETING
initiated. Profitability of Tengri is also being maintained with the help of premium pricing along
with creating a sense of desire among the premium customers.
Place
Products of Tengri are available both in online and offline markets. The official website
of Tengri is having dedicated section for online marketplace from where customers can directly
buy their stuffs. In addition, the online marketplace of Tengri is available across the world and
customers from different regions can book their stuffs without any added shipping fees. On the
other hand, products of sustainability are also available in different offline stores of their
partners. In these stores, Tengri branded products are not available but materials of them are
being used (Li et al., 2014). Thus, it can be concluded that online medium is the only available
medium for sustainability for their products. However, presence only in the online medium is
also having advantages for Tengri due to the fact that it is causing low cost of retailing for them.
In addition, the premium sections of customers, which they are targeting, are more available
through the online mediums and thus this strategy is moderately favorable for Tengri.
Promotion
In terms of promotion also, sustainability is being given the major importance by Tengri.
This is due to the reason that promotional activities of Tengri are focused on communicating
the sustainable practices of them to the customers. Some of their promotional activities are
conducting fashion shows, online marketing and social media marketing. However, other than
the paid media, Tengri is also focused on leveraging earned media also such as positive word of
mouth. They are known to conduct fashion shows with the sole objective of awareness for
sustainability, which is further helping them in aligning their business objectives with that of the
promotional activities (Kant Hvass, 2014). Social media marketing is also helping them in
communicating with the customers and determining their feedback regarding the business
process of Tengri. However, on the other hand it is also being identified that Tengri is not
considering conventional mode of promotion involving print and electronic media due to the
fact that they are targeting a niche market segment.

6SUSTAINABLE MARKETING
Positioning analysis
Tengri is having less direct competitors in the market of the United Kingdom due to the
fact that majority of the fashion brands of the United Kingdom are catering to larger customer
segments with more diverse portfolios. In addition, majority of the brands are not sourcing
their materials in sustainable manner as Tengri. However, some of the major competitors for
Tengri are Primark, Burberry and Alexander McQueen. All these brands are catering to the
premium customer segments by in more holistic manner and their products are more
mainstreams in nature compared to that of Tengri (Akpoyomare, Adeosun & Ganiyu, 2013). It is
identified that all the major players operating in the United Kingdom are offering conventional
products and they are more focused on styles and trendy. However, on the other hand, Tengri
is more focused on maintaining sustainability in their products with less variability and
trendiness. Thus, in comparison to the competitors, Tengri positioned their products on the
basis of sustainability and price.
In this case, it is can be concluded that positioning strategy of Tengri is based on the
product characteristics due to the fact that materials used in their clothesline are the major
point of differentiation with other brands. It is seen that in their online marketplace that style is
not given the major concentration rather the comfort and quality of the materials are. Thus, the
positioning strategy of Tengri is well effective compared to their competitors due to the reason
that it is distinctive compared to others. In addition, positioning on the basis of the quality of
the materials is also justifying the high end pricing also for Tengri.
Sustainable marketing principles of Tengri
There are number of sustainable principles being followed by Tengri in their business
operations. One of the major principles is the sourcing strategy. Unlike the popular trend in the
market, Tengri is sourcing their raw materials directly from the herders of Mongolia without the
involvement of the intermediaries. The major advantage of this strategy is the transfer of exact
value to the herders and helping them in their social development (Boons & Ludeke-Freund,
2013). Thus, on one hand, Tengri is gaining competitive advantages by communicating their
sustainable sourcing process and on the other hand, herders the getting the proper value.

7SUSTAINABLE MARKETING
According to Lii et al., (2013), initiation of the sustainable marketing activities should hold some
value for the end customers as well due to the fact that the core objective of any marketing
activities is to meet the requirements of the customers. In the case of Tengri, sourcing of
authentic yarn from the herders of Mongolia is enhancing the quality of the end products. It is
stated in the official website of Tengri that their products are breathable, water resistant and
hypoallergenic. Thus, the customers are getting the products with highest quality for their value
(French & Russell-Bennett, 2015).
Another major sustainable principle followed by Tengri is wildlife management. This is
due to the fact that wildlife especially the wild yaks are the major sources of generating fibers.
It is reported that Tengri is having dedicated group, which is working on Mongolia directly with
the herders. They are responsible to ensure that the wildlife and species are not getting
affected in any way and they are being maintained sustainably. Majority of the fashion players
operating in the United Kingdom are not responsible for the backward integration unlike Tengri.
According to Kumar, Rahman and Kazmi (2013), determining the interest and welfare of all the
associated stakeholders is one of the major clauses for sustainable marketing. This is due to the
reason that sustainability can be achieved only when the interest of all the stakeholders will be
considered. Thus, in the case of Tengri, wildlife is one of their important stakeholders and
considering their interest is the evidence of sustainability in their business process.
Sustainability of the business process can be also be enhanced if the external
stakeholders are having the same level of evidence and experience. In the case of Tengri,
customers are involving in sustainable process by not buying the products but also touring
through the production process. It is reported that Tengri also conducts sustainable tour
programs for the interested with which they are being taken the remote Mongolian regions
from where the materials for Tengri are coming (Andrepoulou et al., 2014). The visitors are
being given the authentic local ambience and the taste and local cultures. This is helping in
creating awareness among the visitors about the importance of protecting these species along
with the social and economic development of the nomadic tribes. According to Popkova,
Dubova and Romanova (2013), effectiveness of the sustainable process will be more if all the

8SUSTAINABLE MARKETING
stakeholders can be involved in the process. In the case of Tengri, providing the visitors with
practical experience of sustainability is helping them to engage with the external stakeholders
more effectively. This is further cementing the brand penetration about Tengri among the
customers. It is also being reported that Tengri follows the fairshare business model, which
involves equal share of profitability among all the internal stakeholders. Thus, with the help of
this strategy, herders and other stakeholders across the supply chain are getting the fair share
of the business revenue (Katrandiev, 2016). This is another example where the involved
stakeholders of Tengri are having the practical outcome from the sustainable business
practices.
Effectiveness of the sustainable practices
Even though there are number of sustainable business practices are being initiated by
Tengri, effectiveness of some of them is not at par to the desired level. This is mainly due to the
fact that Tengri is a medium size organization and they are lacking in resources for extensively
following the sustainable practices (Dabija & Pop, 2013). One of the major shortcomings of
their sustainable practices is the limited coverage in the market. According to Brindley and
Oxborrow (2014), sustainable practices will be more effective with the involvement of more
number of stakeholders in the process. However, due to the fact that Tengri is operating in the
niche market segments, the awareness is also limited and restricted. Thus, it is stated by the
authors that Tengri should follow the marketing principles of mass marketing or societal
marketing for the mass market customers. This is due to the reason that initiation of the mass
marketing will help to cover more customer segments and this will further increase the
awareness. On the other hand, it is stated by Domegan et al., (2013) that end customers should
be more involved in co-creating a value from the sustainable business process. This will also be
effective due to the fact co-creation will help in involving the external stakeholders along with
the fact that they will be able to experience own contribution towards sustainability (Beng &
Omar, 2014).
It should also be noted that premium pricing strategy and narrow product diversity is
also responsible for less effectiveness of the sustainable practices of Tengri. According to

9SUSTAINABLE MARKETING
Burchell, Rettie and Patel (2013), social marketing will only be successful when it will cover the
maximum area of market. However, with the premium and niche marketing approach, this is
not applicable for Tengri. As per the authors, if Tengri can enhances their product diversity and
initiate their business in more mainstream approach then larger customer sections can be
attracted. The pricing should also be made more competitive in order to attract the customers
in budget. This will increase the awareness regarding the sustainable practices of Tengri in the
market and will help them in having more resources for further development. However, on the
other hand, it is also identified that sustainable strategy of Tengri is successful to a certain
extent due to the fact that their brand value is getting amplified due to this. The entire growth
process of Tengri is depended on the sustainability that they follow. The extent to which the
nomadic tribes of Mongolia are getting advantages is due to this business and marketing
approach of Tengri. Therefore, it can be concluded that sustainable marketing principles
followed by Tengri are effective enough, but there are number of areas of improvement also
being identified (Meler & Magas, 2014).
Conclusion
This report concludes that the proper and effective coordination among all the
marketing mix elements of Tengri is helping them in maintaining their sustainability as well as
the brand identity. Positioning analysis of Tengri is also being done in this report, which
identified that their products are positioned in the market on the basis of characteristics, which
is much unique in nature. However, it is also being identified that there are number of gap
areas evident in the sustainable practices of Tengri, which should be mitigated in order to
enhance the effectiveness in the long term.

10SUSTAINABLE MARKETING
Reference
Akpoyomare, O. B., Adeosun, L. P. K., & Ganiyu, R. A. (2013). Approaches for generating and
evaluating product positioning strategy. International Journal of Business
Administration, 4(1), 46.
Andreopoulou, Z., Tsekouropoulos, G., Koliouska, C., & Koutroumanidis, T. (2014). Internet
marketing for sustainable development and rural tourism. International journal of
business information systems, 16(4), 446-461.
Bascoul, G., Schmitt, J., Rasolofoarison, D., Chamberlain, L., & Lee, N. (2013). Using an
experiential business game to stimulate sustainable thinking in marketing
education. Journal of marketing education, 35(2), 168-180.
Beng, L. G., & Omar, B. (2014). Integrating axiomatic design principles into sustainable product
development. International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing-Green
Technology, 1(2), 107-117.
Boons, F., & Lüdeke-Freund, F. (2013). Business models for sustainable innovation: state-of-the-
art and steps towards a research agenda. Journal of Cleaner production, 45, 9-19.
Brindley, C., & Oxborrow, L. (2014). Aligning the sustainable supply chain to green marketing
needs: A case study. Industrial Marketing Management, 43(1), 45-55.
Burchell, K., Rettie, R., & Patel, K. (2013). Marketing social norms: social marketing and the
‘social norm approach’. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 12(1), 1-9.
Domegan, C., Collins, K., Stead, M., McHugh, P., & Hughes, T. (2013). Value co-creation in social
marketing: functional or fanciful?. Journal of Social Marketing, 3(3), 239-256.
French, J., & Russell-Bennett, R. (2015). A hierarchical model of social marketing. Journal of
Social Marketing, 5(2), 139-159.
Kant Hvass, K. (2014). Post-retail responsibility of garments–a fashion industry
perspective. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, 18(4), 413-430.

11SUSTAINABLE MARKETING
Katrandjiev, H. (2016). Ecological Marketing, Green Marketing, Sustainable Marketing:
Synonyms оr аn Evolution оf Ideas. Economic Alternatives, spe (1), 71-82.
Kumar, V., Rahman, Z., & Kazmi, A. A. (2013). Sustainability marketing strategy: an analysis of
recent literature. Global Business Review, 14(4), 601-625.
Li, Y., Zhao, X., Shi, D., & Li, X. (2014). Governance of sustainable supply chains in the fast
fashion industry. European Management Journal, 32(5), 823-836.
Lii, Y. S., Wu, K. W., & Ding, M. C. (2013). Doing good does good? Sustainable marketing of CSR
and consumer evaluations. Corporate social responsibility and environmental
management, 20(1), 15-28.
McNeill, L., & Moore, R. (2015). Sustainable fashion consumption and the fast fashion
conundrum: fashionable consumers and attitudes to sustainability in clothing
choice. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 39(3), 212-222.
Meler, M., & Magaš, D. (2014, January). Sustainable marketing for sustainable development.
In Reykjavik 11th International Academic Conference.
Popkova, E. G., Dubova, U. I., & Romanova, M. K. (2013). Designing the territorial marketing
strategy on the principles of cluster policies. World Applied Sciences Journal, 22(4), 571-
576.
Tengri.co.uk. (2019). The Tengri way — Tengri. Retrieved from
http://www.Tengri.co.uk/sustainability/
Turker, D., & Altuntas, C. (2014). Sustainable supply chain management in the fast fashion
industry: An analysis of corporate reports. European Management Journal, 32(5), 837-
849.