Situation Analysis of Bec + Bridge in the Australian Fashion Market

This report provides a comprehensive situation analysis of Bec + Bridge, an Australian fashion label. It begins with an executive summary and an introduction to the fashion industry's growth and competitive landscape. The report conducts an environmental marketing analysis, examining in...Read More

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Global Market Management
Name
(Affiliation institution)

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Executive Summary
Bec + Bridge Company based in Sydney was founded by Becky Cooper and Bridge
Yorston in 2004 and started its operation as a denim line before it expanded into women wear.
Environmental marketing analysis costs of internal and external analysis. The internal analysis
involved analysis of core resources and capability competencies such as human, financial and
physical resources. The external environment provided an analysis of political, economic, social,
technological, ecological and legal. The analysis showed that Bec+Bridge Company has various
opportunities in the internal and external environment such as changing consumer behaviours
customers toward online shopping, economic growth, political stability, disposable income of
consumers and growth in the market. The company also faces threats and challenges such as high
taxation, COVID19 pandemic, lack of diversification putting capital in stagnation, intense
competition, change in the laws as well as high inflation and interest rates. Online and offline
marketing strategies with diversification and differentiation incorporation are the best strategies
for the company in the next five years.

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Table of Contents
Executive Summary.....................................................................................................................................2
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................4
3.0 Environmental marketing analysis.........................................................................................................4
4.0 SWOT Summary...................................................................................................................................8
5.0 Recommended marketing strategies for the next 5 years.......................................................................8
6.0 Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................9
7.0 References.............................................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
The Australian Fashion industry has experienced rapid growth for the past decades despite
several challenges such as intense competition, cautious consumer spending as well as rising rent
costs. According to IBIS World (2020), the revenue of the Australian fashion industry is
expected to rise at a rate of 1.8% annual as a result of Brick and Mortar companies in the
industry expanding to Online retailing to boost their business capacity. The growth has been
stimulated by the industry being flooded with Small and Medium organizations as well as
corporates. The competition growth has facilitated to the companies adopting various marketing
strategies to gain a competitive advantage. Therefore, the report provides a situational analysis of
Bec+Bridge Company. The report will focus on environmental market analysis, SWOT analysis
and provide recommendations on the suitable marketing strategies that Bec+Bridge Company
must adopt in the next five years to remain competitive.
2.0 Background to the company
Bec+Bridge was founded by Becky Cooper and Bridge Yorston who met at the
University of Technology in 2000 while studying Bachelor of Design in Fashion and Textiles at
the University of Technology, Sydney (Bec+Bridge, 2020). The formed Bec+Bridge in 2004
(Bec+Bridge, 2020). The organization has experienced rapid growth since its foundation and
operations in the fashion industry of Australia. Beck+ Bridge Company which is a Sydney based
company started its operation as a denim line before it expanded into women wear. Over the past
years, the company has faced some management and data integrity issues in its operations.
3.0 Environmental marketing analysis

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According to Wang, Chen and Chen (2012), Market Environmental Analysis is a
strategic tool that assists in the identification of external and internal forces of the
environment which influences how an organization makes decisions and operates in a
dynamic market.
Internal environment
The internal environment of a business includes organizations such as core competencies
and capabilities in human, financial and physical resources (Paulraj, 2011). Bec+Bridge
Company has a skilled and experienced employees who are creative and innovative. The
investment in human resource has enabled the company to gain a competitive advantage in
the fashion industry. The financial position of the company is strong as a result of sales from
new and existing customers. The company also offers a variety of payment options to
customers who shops either through its physical stores or online.
External environment
PESTEL framework is a tool that is widely used by organizations around the world to
conduct the marketing external environmental analysis (Dockalikova & Klozikova (2014,
November). PESTEL is an acronym of Political, Economic, Social-cultural, Technological,
Ecological as well as Legal factors that influences a business.
Political- The political stability of Australia has created an effective opportunity for
Beck+ Bridge Company to operate effectively. With no political interference, the company
has been able to deliver online orders made by customers effectively to various regions
around the world. However, high taxation corporate taxation of 30% has been a great
challenge for companies (Nassios et al., 2019). With consideration of intense competition in
the industry as Australia is an open market with minimal restrictions on exports and imports

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of apparel products, the high corporate taxation has reduced the profitability of Bec+ Bridge
Company.
Economic- Australia is currently experiencing high inflation rates. According to Statista
(2020), inflation rates have risen from 1.6 in 2019 to 1.82% in 2020 in Australia. With high
inflation rates, Bec+ Bridge Company and other companies operating under fashion
industries have been forced to raise prices a move that has slowed down the purchasing
power with consideration income taxation is also high. The inflation rate has also facilitated
to high-interest rates which have discouraged borrowing for the businesses in Australia to
expand their operations. Growth of the economy in Australia has also created a disposable
income increasing GDP among Australians.
Social-cultural- The change in consumer preferences and buying habits have created an
opportunity for Bec+Bridge to raise its profits. Currently, Australians are consuming more of
fashion products as compared to the previous years' thanks to growth in technologies as the
products can reach customers easily. The rise in population has also created an opportunity
for Bec+Bridge Company. Currently, Australia has a population of 24.6 million which is a
growth of 1.6% from 2017 and it is expected to reach 34.6 million in 2047 (Simon, Jefferies,
Davis & Newaz, 2020). The rise in population has created demands for fashion products
which has facilitated to Bec + Bridge Company to makes more profits.
Technology- The access of technology and growth of the internet in Australia has created
more opportunities for Bec+ Bridge Company to expand its business and capture a wide
customer segmentation. With internet growth, consumers have shifted their focus on online
shopping providing opportunity for Bec+ Becky to increase its sales. Currently, 72% of the
entire Australian population (18 million) are active on the social media creating an

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opportunity for Bec+ Bridge Company to market its products (Simon, Jefferies, Davis &
Newaz, 2020).
Ecological- The eruption of covid19 Pandemic has been a great challenge for Bec+
Company as it has resulted in low sales. With uncertainties surrounding the pandemic,
customers have changed their behaviour to save more and spend less on fashion items.
Environmental acts have also affected how Bec+ Bridge does a business. The apparel
industry is the second polluting industry in the world after oil and petroleum industry leading
to fashion industry facing a lot of criticism (Akter et al., 2019).
Legal- Consumer protection acts have seen Bec+Bridge Company maintain its prices
despite the rising forces of microeconomics. Besides, the minimum wage bills have further
facilitated to the company to spend much on the salaries and wages of its staff.
Competition
Five of porter’s forces is an effective tool that assists the company to analyze the
industry’s competition (Baxter, 2019). The level of competition in the Fashion industry has
increased significantly due to low barriers to market entry. The free trade zone of Australia
has seen the market being flooded with both direct and indirect competitors. The competitors
have threatened the industry as new entrants offer their products at low costs as compared to
Bec+Bridge Company. With rapid competition, the bargaining power of customers has also
been high leading to Bec+ Becky to offer its products at a lower price hence marginalizing its
profits. Furthermore, direct competition has dominated the industry which has facilitated to
availability of substitutes. The customers have many alternatives in the company and
therefore pricing strategies such as psychological and market penetration matters much in the
industry. The availability of substitutes has forced Bec+ Bridge Company to lower its

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products. The increased in the number of suppliers in the market has seen Bec+Bridge
company get raw materials at low costs. The rivalry in the industry is high as companies keep
on changing the prices of their products leading to Beck+ Bridge to offer its products at a
slightly low price.
4.0 SWOT Summary
Strengths weakness
Strong customer base
Good reputation in the market
Geographic location offering both
physical and online shopping
Variety of payment methods.
Low diversified products capturing a narrow
segmentation.
Stagnation of capital due to lack of differentiated
products
Huge and expensive workforce
Opportunities Threats
Growth of online shopping
Changing buying patterns of
consumers.
Access of technologies among the
potential customers.
Availability of suppliers supplying
raw materials at low costs
Increased in competition in the industry
Change in microeconomics like inflations
Environmental impacts like of COVID19 pandemic
and environmental pollution Acts.
Government inventions which are costly like taxation
and laws. Strict market regulation in some countries
may restrict the company’s growth.
5.0 Recommended marketing strategies for the next 5 years
With consideration of changing habits of customers towards an online and growing number
of social media active users, Bec+ Bridge Company should put much focus on internet marketing
as well as offline marketing. The internet marketing will include marketing the company
products through social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Twitter.

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The strategy will enable Bec +Bridge Company to explore new markets that will increase its
sales and revenues. Besides, the company should diversify its products to add more varieties to
survive the intense competition in the market with consideration of the change in
macroeconomics forces like inflations rates. According to Mendoza-Abarca & Gras (2019)
diversification strategy involves a company expanding its operations by adding markets and
products ranges in its portfolio. With the economy growing steadily, marketing the diversified
products especially at this time the government is restricting movement due to COVID19 will
reach more customers. Furthermore, with consideration of research by Daystar, Chapman,
Moore, Pires & Golden (2019) on “Quantifying apparel consumer use behaviour in six
countries” that indicates that countries like the United States and the United Kingdom have 14 to
19% of total profits of clothing businesses coming from online businesses, online marketing
provides the best opportunity for Bec+ Bridge Company. To cater for offline customers, Bec+
Bridge Company should focus on offline stories like advertising over mass media, billboards and
also direct selling.
6.0 Conclusion
Bec + Bridge Company operates in a dynamic environment with intense competition. The
company can utilize political stability, economic growth, changing patterns of consumers
towards the online, high population as well as growth of the internet to maximize its profits.
Effective marketing strategy to gain a wide customer segmentation and returns are the suitable
strategies that Bec + Bridge Company can use to remain competitive in the market and curb
microeconomics challenges.

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7.0 References
Akter, S., Ji, X., Sarker, M. M., Cai, L., Shao, Y., Hasan, M. K., ... & Quan, V. (2019). Clean
Manufacturing and Green Practices in the Apparel Supply Chain. Open Journal of
Business and Management, 8(01), 104
Baxter, G. (2019). A strategic analysis of Cargolux Airlines International position in the global
air cargo supply chain using Porter’s Five Forces Model. Infrastructures, 4(1), 6.
Daystar, J., Chapman, L. L., Moore, M. M., Pires, S. T., & Golden, J. (2019). Quantifying
apparel consumer use behaviour in six countries: Addressing a data need in life cycle
assessment modeling. Journal of Textile and Apparel, Technology and
Management, 11(1).
Dockalikova, I., & Klozikova, J. (2014, November). MCDM Methods in Practice: Determining
the Significance of PESTEL Analysis Criteria. In European Conference on Management,
Leadership & Governance (p. 418). Academic Conferences International Limited.
IBIS World. (2020). Clothing Retailing in Australia - Market Research Report. Retrieved from IBIS:
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25annual&aqs=chrome..69i57.1434713j0j7&sourceid=chr
Mendoza-Abarca, K. I., & Gras, D. (2019). The performance effects of pursuing a diversification
strategy by newly founded nonprofit organizations. Journal of Management, 45(3), 984-
1008.
Nassios, J., Madden, J., Giesecke, J., Dixon, J., Tran, N., Dixon, P., ... & Freebairn, J.
(2019). Construction of the database for OMAGE (Oman Applied General Equilibrium)
model (No. g-289). Victoria University, Centre of Policy Studies/IMPACT Centre.
Long, L. E., Leung, C., Hong, J. S., Wright, C., & Young, C. J. (2019). Patterns of internet and
social media use in colorectal surgery. BMC Surgery, 19(1), 52.

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Paulraj, A. (2011). Understanding the relationships between internal resources and capabilities,
sustainable supply management and organizational sustainability. Journal of Supply
Chain Management, 47(1), 19-37.
Simon, L., Jefferies, M., Davis, P., & Newaz, M. T. (2020). Developing a theoretical success
factor framework for the tendering phase of social infrastructure PPPs. International
Journal of Construction Management, 1-15.
Statista. (2020). Australia: Inflation rate from 1984 to 2024. Retrieved from
https://www.statista.com/statistics/271845/inflation-rate-in-australia/
Wang, C.H., Chen, K.Y. and Chen, S.C., 2012. Total quality management, market orientation
and hotel performance: The moderating effects of external environmental
factors. International journal of hospitality management, 31(1), pp.119-129.
.