H&M Marketing Plan: A Comparative Analysis with Next Plc

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MARKETING PLAN

Executive summary
Marketing environment plays an important role in H&M which is one of the largest retail sectors
in terms of clothing and accessories for men, women and children. The company follows a
proper marketing plan to ensure its wide customer reach and sets up proper objectives so as top
position itself as the market leader. Its main competitor is Next Plc that deals in similar kinds of
product. Proper strategic planning and market segmentation will support in effective
achievement of targets.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction......................................................................................................................................1
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................2
LO2..................................................................................................................................................2
P3 Compare ways where H&M and Next applies market mix to market plan process to attain
the business objectives.................................................................................................................2
LO3..................................................................................................................................................7
P4 Evaluate a basic market plan for H&M..................................................................................7
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
References......................................................................................................................................11

Introduction
The current report is based on one of the leading clothing retail sector of UK that is H&M. It will
provide an analysis of elements of marketing mix and its application in the company. Further the
report will also focus on 7P’s of marketing mix and development of an effective marketing plan.
The marketing plan will further be executes to achieve the pre determined objectives in the
company. The current report will also produce a proper marketing plan and elaborated SWOT
and PESTEL analysis will be conducted. Further the various strategies of segmentation, targeting
and positioning will be discussed. The elements of marketing essential for the development of
H&M will be discussed.
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Task 2
LO2
P3 Compare ways where H&M and Next applies market mix to market plan process to attain the
business objectives
The application of marketing mix elements is the foundation to success of every business. It is
defined as a set of tools of marketing which is applied in the business to achieve business
objectives and influence its target market. There are 7P’s of marketing that includes product,
price, place, promotion, people, physical evidence and process (Abril and Rodriguez-Cánovas,
2016). These marketing mix tools are efficiently applied in organization H&M and its competitor
Next so as to achieve high profitability. A comparison of the elements of marketing between
H&M and next are as follows:
Table 1: Marketing Mix
MARKETING MIX
TOOLS
H&M NEXT
Product H&M deals in a wide range of
clothing’s, accessories and
garments for all age groups
including teenagers and
children. It provides products at
a very affordable rate keeping
in mind the price sensitive
nature of the customers. It
adapts to the latest fashion
trends and the tag line used by
the company of Everyday Low-
Price Product (EDLP)
influences the decisions of
Next is one of the major
competitors of H&M that deals
in similar variety of products
such as sportswear, footwear
and clothing. The clothing sector
has been limited to age groups
of 25-45 years. It focuses on
delivering effective quality of
products so that brand name can
be established.
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various customers. Some of the
products of H&M include
sportswear, lingerie, t-shirts and
cosmetics.
Price The H&M uses a particular
profit margin above cost that
means if production cost is
lesser in a particular region due
to cheaper availability of
products then the total cost also
tends to reduce. The production
techniques used by H&M
ensures that all its products are
affordable and cheap while no
compromise is made with the
quality of products (Zentes et.al,
2017).
The Next Plc. focuses on a
neutral pricing strategy which
slips in between price skimming
and penetrating strategy. It aims
at providing reasonable price to
its customers. The organization
also tries to bring in flexibility
during seasonal and promotional
activities so as to attract
customers.
Place The stores and outlets of H&M
have been established in high
crowd and famous areas in the
UK and other countries so that
it can be easily traced. The
company has also set up online
networks so as to increase the
ease of shopping online. A
large variety of products have
been placed on the online sites
so as meet varying customer
needs. It provides customer the
option of viewing various
items, related quality and
Next does not have as many
stores as H&M, although it has
established around 500 stores in
both UK and Ireland. Some
online channels have also been
established for the convenience
of customers. Small efforts have
been made in the form of
brochures, catalogues and
advertisements so that customers
get attracted to the products.
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colour before selecting any
product also providing 24 hours
of service.
Promotion H&M ensures that proper
amount of investment of time
and money is made on
marketing and promotional
activities so to reach its target
market. It promotes its brand
through channels of blogging
by famous models,
advertisement by famous
celebrities and also you tube
advertising. The online channel
and social media platform are
also an effective platform used
for advertising.
Next has a small online website
where promotional videos and
images are displayed showing
the visitors experience and
products offered. Not high level
of investment is done on
marketing. The main method of
promotion used by next includes
social media platform to interact
with customers and target a big
group of audience (Hackley and
Hackley, 2017).
People H&M is a multinational brand
that recruits both skilled and
unskilled employees in its
process of manufacturing and
selling with customer service. It
employs more than 1, 30,000
employees in all its 4500
outlets. Also customer care
executives have been appointed
to look after their queries 24*7.
Skilled managers, employees
and other staff are appointed to
interact with customers
personally and ensure that their
In comparison to H&M, Next
employs around 49,000 workers
and staff. It has efficient
employees in all its outlets in
UK and Ireland. It is highly
focusing on increasing the
number of outlets which will
eventually result in increasing
the number of people so
employed.
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demands are fulfilled so that
effective branding and
marketing can be done.
Process The H&M has developed an
effective process of
manufacturing and designing its
garment sector, this ensures that
quality products are sold at
reasonable prices. Also, the
employees have been well
trained to the use of latest
technology for faster work. All
its production is done in a
sustainable manner so that no
harm is caused to the
environment and economy.
The next Plc. Is now focusing
on using the latest technology in
its manufacturing process to
enhance competitiveness and
diversify its production. It uses
simple manufacturing process to
attract its customers (Arrigo,
2018).
Physical Evidence The various outlets of H&M are
its physical evidence. The
company has its logo and
tagline that ensure the quality
of brand. The outlets have been
well designed to ensure
customer ease and provide
effective services. Further, the
online website of the company
is another vital method of
customer reach.
Next is also identified with a
unique logo and brand image
among the customers. It
provides good services at all its
outlet and the offline stores have
also been well managed by its
managers (Mensah and Osman,,
2018).
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LO3
P4 Evaluate a basic market plan for H&M
Overview of H&M
H&M was established in the year 2009 and currently is one of the most renowned brands of
clothing and accessories for all age groups. It has been currently earning revenue of more than
$25.191. It has developed effective methods of production and marketing which has resulted in
business expansion and increasing customer base. It not only has a number of physical outlets
but also provides customers with the ease of online shopping.
PESTEL Analysis
Political factors:
The H&M is a multinational company with its operations in a vast number of cities that have
different political conditions and stability. The organization needs to follow the regulations and
adjust to the political environment to ensure that they successfully operate in countries such as
Oman, Jordan and UAE that are highly politically instable (Thompson and McLarney, 2017).
Economic factors:
There has been a great impact of Brexit on the operations of companies. The H&M organization
has been able to cope up with its impact thus increasing its revenues by 7% through effective
strategic planning.
Social factors:
Customers are highly concerned about the money they are spending on buying things. It is vital
that the products much deliver quality and worth to the price paid. Also, the customers are
concerned about the reports and revenues of the organization; hence it is essential that quarterly
and annually reports are published that show the true and fair statement of the organization.
Technological factors:
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There has been a rapid movement in the society and customers have become technological
friendly. The H&M are now getting connected to the use of mobile friendly applications so as to
enhance customer’s ease of shopping. The websites has been designed in an attractive way so
that customer’s decision relating to purchasing can be influenced (Loureiro and Amorim, 2017).
Environmental factor:
The H&M company aims at using eco friendly and reusable items by 2030 so that environment
pollution can be reduced and all items are used that can be recycled. This will increase customer
attraction towards the company and reduce government regulations to be followed.
Legal factors:
There are many legal regulations that an organization needs to follow so as to sustain in society.
In the past few years the organization has been involved in various disputes and legal formalities.
This effects the4 branding of a company.
SWOT analysis
Strength:
 Branding and reputation of the company among the customers Presence in multinational countries Availability of financial resources
Weakness:
 Easy trust on the third parties
 Cheap affordable pricing affects the quality of product Follows every new trend in the market
Opportunities:
 Increasing market share
 Online selling options
 Increasing the number of products
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Threat:
 High level of market competition
 Technological innovation by competitors
 Changing policies of other countries
Marketing objectives:
 Diversification of products to enter into new markets
 Analysing the various factors affecting marketing in different countries
 Quality production at convenient pricing
 Following the latest fashion trends in market
The company aims at bringing new products in the market so that the group of target audience
can be increased by the coming financial years.
Marketing strategy:
Marketing strategy is the most important part of a company to ensure customer reach. These
strategies support in increasing production and profits, they ensure growth of customer base and
diversification of products to enter into new market segment (Amarkhil, 2018).
Segmentation, targeting and positioning strategy:
The market is firstly divided into various segments according to the various characteristics such
as age group, quality and status. In the targeting strategy the company targets the high status
people having more disposable income through collaborations with company such as Zara and
advertisements. This will ensure influencing customers that require luxury and branded products.
In the positioning strategy, the company tries to maximize its profit so that financial position can
be enhanced (Fahy and Jobber, 2015). This is done through quality improvement and cost
minimization.
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Conclusion
The current report has discussed a marketing plan for H&M organization, leading clothing and
accessories shopping brand and its competitor next. The elements of marketing mix have been
discussed for both the company to determine the strength and weakness. PESTEL and SWOT
analysis have been conducted so that the various strategies and areas of improvement of the
company can be easily determined. The H&M Company needs to make changes in its marketing
strategy so as to best capture the multiple markets.
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