Marketing Mix and Positioning Analysis of Tengri

The paper studies the sustainable marketing strategies of Tengri, a UK based fashion brand excelling in the production of woollen clothes. It presents the Marketing Mix of Tengri, focusing on the theory of the 7Ps of Marketing, after which, a positioning analysis with respect to its market competitors would help to assess the current and future business prospects of the company.

Running head: MARKETING MIX AND POSITIONING ANALYSIS OF TENGRI
MARKETING MIX AND POSITIONING ANALYSIS OF TENGRI
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1MARKETING MIX AND POSITIONING ANALYSIS OF TENGRI
Executive Summary
The paper aims to study the sustainable marketing strategies of the British company
‘Tengri’, which excels in the production of woollen clothes. It takes its raw materials in the
form of fibres from the Khangai yaks of Mongolia, which are transported for manufacture
and sale in the UK. As a new entity in the market, the company has earned a considerable
reputation, by continually overcoming several barriers. The paper presents the Marketing
Mix of Tengri, focusing on the theory of the 7Ps of Marketing, after which, a positioning
analysis with respect to its market competitors would help to assess the current and future
business prospects of the company.

2MARKETING MIX AND POSITIONING ANALYSIS OF TENGRI
Table of Contents
Introduction...............................................................................................................................3
Background of the Company......................................................................................................3
Marketing Mix............................................................................................................................4
Product...................................................................................................................................4
Place.......................................................................................................................................5
Price........................................................................................................................................5
Promotion..............................................................................................................................6
People.....................................................................................................................................6
Process...................................................................................................................................7
Physical Evidence...................................................................................................................7
Positioning Analysis of Tengri against the Competitors............................................................7
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................8
Reference List...........................................................................................................................10

3MARKETING MIX AND POSITIONING ANALYSIS OF TENGRI
Introduction
The corpus of sustainable marketing involves implementation of marketing
strategies which are socially and environmentally responsible. As such, it is often associated
with the term ‘Green Marketing’ (Ottman 2017). It aims to build a healthy relationship with
all the stakeholders, chiefly the consumers, by promoting sustainable use of natural
resources for a better future. Sustainable marketing encompasses positive interactions with
the ecological environment and a sensitive approach to the needs of the future generations,
or the entire global society at large (Zeriti et al. 2014). It involves sustainable development
of the business prospects, whereby the needs of the present generation are adequately
addressed without compromising the interests of the future generations. This form of
marketing emerged as a long term effect of the Industrial Revolution, which has continually
been leading to climate change, loss of biodiversity, depletion of the non-renewable
resources at a rapid pace all of which are detrimental to the well-being of the human race in
the long run. A raging disparity in the lifestyle and economic standards of various nations
has furthered the need for this form of marketing. In the modern age, with the rapid
advancement of technology, consumers are becoming more aware about the social and
environmental impacts of the business processes they indulge in (Abdul-Hamid et al. 2017).
This has brought a significant change in the market demands, and the consequent business
strategies involving marketing and sales. ‘Tengri’ is one such company whose business
standards follow a holistic approach towards sustainable marketing since its very inception.
Background of the Company
Tengri is a UK based fashion brand which excels in the production of woollen
garments. However, its business traverses international boundaries as its raw materials
come from the fibres of Mongolian yak and purchases supply directly from cooperatives
which links them to more than 4500 nomadic families in the mountainous regions of
Mongolia. The company was formed by Nancy Johnston, after her first visit to Mongolia,
when she was moved by the lifestyle of the nomads, which was integrally related to their
nature and the animals (Tengri, 2018). The term ‘Tengri’ denotes a pantheon of the god of
skies in native Mongolian tongue, and thereby connotes the integral relation between the
company’s business and Mother Nature, and the limitless possibilities of well-being which

4MARKETING MIX AND POSITIONING ANALYSIS OF TENGRI
this integration is capable of. Tengri redefines the textile and fashion industry by producing
fine quality of woollen products prepared directly from natural, undyed, hand-combed yak
fibre. The chief source of Tengri’s raw materials is the Khargai region of Mongolia and has a
transparent supply-chain management. This makes Tengri a fine example of the efficient
cross-cultural international business. One of the chief aims of its business processes involves
offering a better lifestyle to the nomadic tribes of Mongolia. The business of Tengri is built
upon three pillars of sustainability, namely social, environmental and financial. Few key
areas which are addressed within the corpus of Tengri’s business involve – provision of
Fairshare, reducing Land Degradation, creating a Social Impact, Partnerships for
Developments, responsible use of Technology, and providing Innovation and Education
(Tengri, 2018).
Marketing Mix
Attempting a marketing mix of Tengri involves a theoretical approach to the
sustainable marketing strategies implemented by the company. It involves a study of the
certain interrelated elements concerning the marketing strategies of Tengri. These elements
are product, place, promotion, price, people, processes and physical evidence (Lovelock and
Patterson, 2015). A study of these elements is aimed to create values for the enterprises of
the company. An analysis of this literature is important in pointing out the measures and
activities adopted by Tengri to achieve the marketing goals of the company. A company can
operate most efficiently when all these elements work together effectively.
Product
The repertoire of Tengri’s product line involves a wide variety of winter wears
ranging from different kinds of sweaters, jackets, scarfs, blankets, socks and beanie hats.
Besides, Tengri also collaborates with other companies and contributes to production of
comfortable cushions, pillows and bed-covers. Made from high quality of yak fibres, Tengri
ensures the delivery of good quality of not only their own products, but also the
collaborated ones. This helps to establish the goodwill of the company. The CEO and
founder of the company Nancy Johnston claims that the products are “as soft as cashmere
and warmer than merino wool” (Al 2018). Besides, the products also ensure safety by being
hypo allergic and thermal regulating. Unlike its competitors, Tengri makes considerable use
natural processes than artificial, thereby catering to the luxury of the customers. The fibres

5MARKETING MIX AND POSITIONING ANALYSIS OF TENGRI
are obtained from naturally bred yaks of Mongolia, rather than artificial cashmere industry
(Tengri 2018). The ‘Savoir Beds’ which makes use of Tengri products has been
acknowledged a number of times in many different magazines and newspapers for its
quality and luxury (Tengri 2018). The Warrior collection of Tengri includes hand-knitted
jumpers, tailored Warrior trousers, coats, shorts, beanie hats, scarves and gloves. The Rider
collection, which came up in 2015 were made in Scotland and London, where high quality of
craftsmanship and innovation added on to the value of the Mongolian Khargai yarns. Eco-
friendly business procedures give the competitive edge in the market. However, the
company has lesser products for children as compared to elders. Also, limited supply of raw
materials at times results in limited edition of clothes.
Place
The place of Tengri’s operation is most unique. Since its raw materials come from
Mongolia, the company engages in cross-cultural business across the east and west. This
faces the company with certain inherent challenges. This is because Tengri’s business is
entirely dependent on verbal interaction and collaboration with the herders. All these leads
to problems pertaining to verbal communication due to the language barrier. The
differences in cultural dynamics, spacio-temporal frame and differences in technological
developments impedes the business processes of Tengri (PA Business Support 2018).
Nevertheless, the transparency in the supply-chain facilities helps to gain the trust of the
nomadic suppliers as well as the customers, although they belong to different zones of the
earth. The products are available both online as well as in lots of showrooms and customer
service displayed by the company is excellent. The business of Tengri spans across the entire
UK, including England and Scotland, and it had started establishing a market in the UAE. As a
considerably new business Tengri also tasted success in the Vancouver Fashion Week of
2017 where it launched its Rider collection (J 2018). Nevertheless, the company should look
to further spread its business in the international market, for which it has an excellent
scope, given its eco-friendly business procedures.
Price
The business of Tengria aims to increase value to the customers. As such its products
are made from fine quality of imported wool. Besides, the manufacturing and processing are
also done in with the use of highly efficient machines to deliver the best quality of products.

6MARKETING MIX AND POSITIONING ANALYSIS OF TENGRI
Therefore, the high manufacturing cost has a significant bearing on the pricing of the
products. The products are priced at a considerably high rate, compared to its competitors
(Tengri 2018). As a new business this has posed significant threat to the business prospects
of the company. But nonetheless, high price of Tengri products also marks also indicates
that the products are exclusive. However, as a new business, the high price was not
sufficient for portraying this exclusivity of the products. As such Tengri, with the support of
P.A. Business Support Team, had successfully engaged in Crowd funding campaign, which
acted as a fine promotional measure, besides providing justification of their high pricing (PA
Business Support 2018). They attempted to raise 1million pounds from crowd funding for
business growth. The company also offers free shipping for delivery of its products.
Promotion
As mentioned earlier, the crowd funding, besides raising money, also acted as a
promotional strategy. With an increasing amount of environmental awareness among
people, the crowd funding strategy was effective, provided the people had to be convinced
of the transparent and eco-friendly business processes of Tengri in order to get a part of the
people’s hard-earned cash. The move required a considerable amount of focus and clarity
about its prospective aims. It also helped the company to justify the high pricing of their
products. Publishing of interviews and blogs also worked as favourable promotional
strategies. The honesty of the CEO in claiming that she has little ideas about business and
Tengri and the business aims to contribute in making the world socially and environmentally
a better place to live worked well with the customers (i-genius | Social & Impact
Entrepreneur Business & Enterprise 2018). Collaborated business, and providing high quality
of clothing in the ‘Savoir Beds’ also helped in Tengri’s promotion , which was furthered by
newspaper and magazine articles (Tengri 2018). Since the company depends highly on the
online promotion, it must seek and opt newer channels and platforms, chiefly online, but
also offline, to pitch its business more in the international market. This should be one of the
core internal aims of the company for sustainable marketing. If the core values which are
endorsed by the company are properly projected, Tengri has every possibility of flourishing
in the international market.

7MARKETING MIX AND POSITIONING ANALYSIS OF TENGRI
People
People constitute the central area of focus for the business of Tengri. The business
aims to provide a better lifestyle to the nomadic herders of Mongolia (Tengri 2018). Besides,
the high quality of its products, aims to cater to the well-being of its customers. Thus the
innovative business and manufacturing processes is socio-economically as well as
environmentally beneficial for all the stakeholders. In spite of geographical and language
barriers, the company finely manages its business through engaging social interactions
(Tengri 2018). The transparency promotes recruitment of staff or service personnel who are
capable of representing the company’s core values to the customers.
Process
As mentioned earlier, the business is processes are designed to ensure quality
lifestyle of all, including the future generations. The requirements and allocations of
resources follow a similar pattern, whereby natural renewable resources are used. The
latest innovations in textile research and development are adequately mixed with
traditional craftsmanship methods and this combined usage helps the company to highest
quality of fabric (Tengri 2018). The fabrics used are hundred percent natural and undyed,
they are water and odour-resistant. The business process of Tengri is environmentally
sustainable and wildlife friendly.
Physical Evidence
The business of Tengri operates across international borders, and starkly different
socio-economic groups. The transparency provides the customers access the entire
processing of the business, which is highly beneficial for the goodwill of the company. The
Kangai yak fibres which are used, are hand-sorted into four natural colours: cocoa, tan, and
the rare, extremely valuable silver and platinum (Tengri 2018). All the commodities used in
the business processes are tangible for the customers. The quality of the products itself
serves as artefacts which would remind the customers of the service performance of the
company.
Positioning Analysis of Tengri against the Competitors
Tengri is a design house based in London is instrumental in creating natural along
with sustainable products that helps in the pioneering of a new heritage. The garment and

8MARKETING MIX AND POSITIONING ANALYSIS OF TENGRI
the apparel of the company have been ethically sourced from remote places and this
provides a competitive edge to the company over the competitors. The partnership of
Tengri with other heritage manufacturers within Britain has helped in ensuring the integrity
of Tengri and provided it with strong positioning as compared to the competitors. The
competitors of Tengri are the fashion brands called Anna Valentine, Ben Sherman, Cook Son
and Co and Cotton Traders. Anna Valentine creates clothing and personal luxuries that has
made it a popular brand in the UK fashion industry (Annavalentine.com. 2018). They do not
however make use of traditional skills and superior quality fabric for making the garments
like that of Tengri. Tengri helps in providing sustainable income to the farmers that has
provided it with a strong position in the UK fashion industry. Ben Sherman is another British
clothing brand that sells sweaters, suits and the accessories primarily to the male population
in United Kingdom. Ben Sherman has the latest collection in relation to men’s clothing and
suits in different designer styles. The cost of production of the garments of Ben Sherman is
high and this makes the prices of the garments high as compared to the fashion label Tengri.
The company makes use of Monglolian yak fibre for making the garments and the
purchasing of the supply directly from the co-operatives makes it superior as compared to
fashion brands like Ben Sherman.
Cook Son and Co also makes use of expensive fabric for making the garments that caters its
clothes for the affluent consumers (McDonagh & Martin 2015). Tengri has not taken
recourse to any kind of measures for gaining the market share and the identity of the
fashion brand has helped in improving lives of the nomadic people. The simple and
contemporary looking logo of Tengri helps in reflecting the values of the company and its
people. The work has projected the strength of the Mongolian people and their traditional
and noble way of life (Welford 2016). The products of Tengri symbolizes longevity along
with happiness that provides the company with an advantage over the competitors that
solely focus on the aspect of fashion. Cotton Traders is another British clothing company
that offers competition to Tengri. Cotton Traders provides clothing for the people of all
kinds of sizes but the business model of the company makes the cost of the end products
much higher as compared to Tengri. Tengri has supported the cause of the animals and the
land that has helped in creating a difference for the company (Lacoste 2016). Opaque
nature pertaining to supply chain of Cotton Traders and distance between that of the source
of the products and that of the final owner creates the space that creates distorted pricing

9MARKETING MIX AND POSITIONING ANALYSIS OF TENGRI
for the company. On the other hand, Tengri is built on the element of trust along with
innovation that results into the creation of a superior positioning for the company.
Conclusion
Therefore, it may be concluded by saying that Tengri is one of the best examples of
the sustainable business and marketing, which should be followed by other companies as
well. It adequately makes use of renewable natural resource, the Khangai yak fibres of
Mongolian nomadic herders to be precise, without harming the animals. Besides, the
company is also one of the best exponents of international supply-chain management. In
spite of this, the company has not been able to make considerable impact on the
international market. However, this can be neglected, given its newness as compared to its
international competitors in the market. Genuineness, honesty and transparency constitute
the major USP of the business, which had also made the crowd funding a success. Without
compromising on the quality, the company must look to increase the product line as well as
adjust the pricing to increase its customer base. Tengri should take into consideration its
market position with respect to its competitors like Lacoste, Ben Sherman or Cotton Traders,
chiefly in the context of pricing, quality and other services, figure out the loopholes, and
capitalize on them to optimize their business.

10MARKETING MIX AND POSITIONING ANALYSIS OF TENGRI
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