Retail Strategy and Change Management: H&M Case Study

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Retail Theory and Practice
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Main Body.......................................................................................................................................4
a) Identifies key relevant changes in the UK fashion clothing market........................................4
b) Suggests and discusses strategies and tactics that could be used by the retailer to respond to
the major changes occurring in the fashion clothing market.......................................................6
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
Reference List................................................................................................................................11
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Introduction
The retail industry has seen immense growth in terms of their trends in the market of the United
Kingdom. The fashion trends have changed over the passage of time and consumers are always
on the lookout for new trends that would assist them to develop a completely new fashion
statement. The study will focus on the changes that have been observed in the fashion retail
sectors and it will analyse certain theories that could be applied for understanding these changes.
The organisation chosen for the assignment is H&M (Hennes & Mauritz). H&M is ideally
regarded as one of the leading fashion retail companies in UK that provides their customers with
varied fashion options (hm.com, 2019). The study will also analyse the different issues that exist
in the fashion retail sectors and will provide suitable recommendations to overcome the same.
The use of important strategies and tactics will be done in the course of the study and will
enhance the organisational performance in UK fashion market.
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Main Body
a) Identifies key relevant changes in the UK fashion clothing market
The UK fashion retail market has been changing ever since the development of better clothing
options that have been available in the global market. In a recent study, it has been observed that
the UK market is aiming to grow their market value to 60.7 billion euro. Another important
development in the fashion retail market has been noted in terms of the level of expenses made
by the consumers. It was noted that the changes in the fashion trends have led to the increase in
the expenditure. In the year 2017, it was calculated that consumers in the United Kingdom was
57.8 billion euro. In most of the cases, it was seen that the amount of clothes purchased by
female consumers was almost double than that of male customers (statista.com, 2019).
The aforementioned stats are considered highly important in terms of the development of
clothing options for H&M. The management authority of the organisation looks to implement
some of the most attractive varieties, so that it enables them to attain the consumers’ attention.
This will allow them to increase their level of sales and develop a strong customer base. Another
important thing that the organisation should focus is that there is an increase in the rates of online
shopping (Hayes, 2018). Therefore, it is important for the higher officials of H&M to make sure
that they provide the consumers with options for online shopping. In the year 2017, almost 56%
of customers had opted for online shopping. However, it is important to understand that despite
the changes in the trends of fashion industry, there are individuals that prefer to purchase from
retail stores. As a result, the organisation receives enough scope for the development of their
business and enhances their growth of revenue generation.
Sustainability
Apart from these changes in the fashion retail industry, there has been a noticeable growth in the
rise of newer companies in the same sector such as Adidas, All Saints, Asda and other.
Therefore, it is important for the managers of H&M to make sure that they are able to measure
the level of competition that they might face in the operational market. Besides this, the issues
that develop in the retail sector might have a negative impact on the functioning of H&M and
might create hindrance in terms of their growth. One of the biggest challenges faced by retail
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companies is related to their level of sustainability in the market (Cameron and Green, 2015). It
is seen that companies often look to make use of toxic chemicals for dyeing the clothes. As a
result, it degrades the quality of these materials and customers start providing negative feedbacks
to the organisation. This has a negative impact on the overall organisational reputation.
Therefore, it is important for the organisations to make sure that they do not use too much of
these chemicals for increasing their sales, as it will end up spoiling the image of the organisation.
Besides this, it threatens their sustainability in the fashion industry.
Lack of advanced technologies
Another challenge faced by the fashion sector is the lack of advanced technologies. In majority
of the cases, it was noted that the fashion sector lacked their use of technologies for
manufacturing their products. As a result, it becomes difficult to maintain a certain standard for
the quality in terms of their manufactured goods. Most of the issues arise in companies due to
improper execution of important strategies and the weakness of the managers to implement them
in the workplace (Doppelt, 2017). Companies look to make use of important promotional
campaigns for gaining customers. However, in terms of execution the organisation suffers, as
they are unable to implement advanced technologies in the workplace. The consumer behaviour
plays a vital role in the functioning of the strategies, as well pertaining to the improvement of the
business. It is important to note down the consumer behaviour for the derivation of strategies,
which are useful for the business. Therefore, the fashion industry has been through the awareness
of the consumer taste and the changing trends in the market.
Use of Digital Technologies
The use of digital technologies is considered highly essential for the fashion retail companies.
However, companies often lack the use of digital technologies such as AI or VR. It is necessary
to understand that the use of these technologies will allow them to provide a great deal of
customer experience and will help them to develop a strong customer base (Goetsch and Davis,
2014). Therefore, the fashion companies should look to make sure that they think from a
completely different perspective, so that it will help them to provide their customers with better
clothing options.
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The following section will address the challenges that have been pointed out above. It will allow
the fashion companies to know about the right set of strategies and tactics that should be applied
in the workforce for enhancing their market performance.
b) Suggests and discusses strategies and tactics that could be used by the retailer to respond
to the major changes occurring in the fashion clothing market.
In order to implement changes in the workplace, it is important for H&M to make use of
important change management models that could be applied in the workplace. It will assist them
in developing the competencies of the employees and enhance their functioning in the
workplace. One of the models that can be used for managing change in a successful manner is
Lewin’s Change Management Model. The application of the model has been done below in a
detailed manner.
With the aid of this model, the management of the company is able to split the processes and
ensure that change is being implemented in the right manner. The three major steps included in
the model are unfreezing, make changes, and refreeze. The process of unfreezing allows the
organisation to unfreeze their processes and perception about certain aspects of the market. This
step helps the organisation to conduct an in-depth analysis of their processes. It provides them
with scope to know about the flaws in the process and they can take measures to overcome the
same in the workplace (Pugh, 2016). After this step, the higher authority is able to make the
necessary changes in their business process and guide the employees to understand the same.
This can be done with the aid of proper communication in the workplace and enabling the
employees to deal with the changes in a better manner. After the change has been implemented,
the management can now look to refreeze their processes and ensure that the same is being
followed in terms of execution of the business ideas. Therefore, it will allow them with proper
scope to function according to the trends that they have noticed in the retail market.
H&M should make use of this model to understand the recent changes that have developed over
the passage of time. However, the organisation should know that this particular model could be
highly time consuming if the requirements of the model are addressed in a proper manner. It will
allow the company to function in a stable manner. However, the usage of this model could be
misleading at times. It might highlight a certain aspect of the organisation and portray it as a
major issue. However, the aspect is not an issue and could have been easily resolved by proper
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communication in the workplace (Simoes and Esposito, 2014). Therefore, it becomes highly
significant for the management of H&M to implement the model after analysing the
departmental functioning to avoid any kind of discrepancies in the organisation.
Another important model that could be implemented in the workplace of H&M is the ADKAR
Model. This model is considered highly efficient in terms of providing the organisation to
implement change in their workplace authentically. The prime aim of this model is to ensure that
the individuals taking part in the process of changed management are being managed in the right
manner (Worley and Mohrman, 2014). The implementation of the model allows the management
to develop goals in terms of addressing change in the workplace and it helps them to allocate
specific individuals to specific tasks. The ADKAR model is abbreviation for awareness, desire,
knowledge, ability, and reinforcement. Inside the premises of the workplace, it is important for
the management to understand the need for change and spread awareness for the same. This will
help the employees to prepare themselves for the changes that will be implemented in the
workplace. Besides this, the employees and managerial staffs should show their desire for
participating in the change management process (Hord and Hall, 2014). They can also show their
interest in the process by supporting the entire process. This will help the organisation to
implement change easily.
Apart from this, the individuals engaged in the process of change should have the required
knowledge about the ways in which change can be implemented. This will allow smooth
operations in the workplace and it will be easier for the employees to achieve their tasks. They
should make use of their abilities in the workplace to display their skills and required behaviour
for overcoming the workplace challenges. The final step in the ADKAR Model is known as
reinforcement that allows the dignitaries in the organisation to make sure that the employees are
being able to work in the changed environment and they are able to sustain the same for the
development of H&M. As a result, it will be easier for them to know about the fashion industry
trends and analyse the same in the lights of their business.
Apart from the change management models, there are certain strategies that can be applied in the
workplace for managing change successfully. Some of the important strategies have been listed
below in a detailed manner:
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Strong Leadership
Leadership plays a key role in terms of change implementation within the organisational
premises. It is important for the higher officials to appoint an individual that is able to take care
of the team member and work with them at the same time (Booth, 2015). With the help of proper
guidance from the leaders, the employees of H&M will be able to work towards their desired
goals. Besides this, the leaders will be able to understand the issues and challenges faced by the
employees and will resolve the same. In order to mitigate the issues, that take place in the strong
leadership areas, the relations with the PR and the communication can be enhanced in a better
manner. The issues that can arise are conflicts in the business and so on. A controlled and
sustained team can handle this easily.
Performance Monitor
An important strategy to implement change in the workplace is to monitor the performance of
the employees. With the aid of this, the management is able to provide regular feedbacks to the
employees and make them understand the mistakes that they have made in their work. This helps
to reduce the flaws and allows them to function in an authentic manner. Besides this, it helps to
increase the organisational productivity (Bradley, 2016). Therefore, the management of H&M
should be capable of monitoring the performance of their employees to eradicate any kind of
faults in the business. The performance can be monitored by the use of the SMART criteria and
setting objectives to comprehend the changes in the consumer taste of the individual.
Appreciate Participation
There are several instances, when the employees want to participate in the process of change
management. The higher authorities of the organisation should allow them to share their ideas
and use these ideas to implement change in the organisation. Besides this, they can invite the
employees to participate in the process, as it will enable them to meet with the workplace
requirements (Basile and Faraci, 2015). This affects the organisation in a positive manner and
assists them to operate freely. The strategy that can be used for encouraging participation is the
use of the teamwork, which is vital for the functioning of the business.
Training
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It is evident for the organisation to understand the requirements of the employees and ensure that
they are being provided with enough scope to develop their functioning in the workplace. As a
result, the managers of H&M should look to provide adequate training to the employees so that
they are well versed with the organisational requirements. This will allow them to operate in the
best of their abilities and they will be able to ensure that the changes in the workplace are being
implemented in the right manner. It is important to take into account the use of the issues and
instances, which are imperative to the company. For comprehending the organisational
requirement, there should be communication channels and meetings. The training will be
provided for the purpose of allowing the employees to make use of artificial intelligence (AI)
and VR technologies in the workplace.
Implementing e-commerce
The implementation of e-commerce strategy is considered essential in terms of providing the
organisation with immense growth and development. H&M should ensure that they are creating
an online portal for understanding the changes in the market (Chaffey, 2015). There has been an
increase in the number of customers making use of online shopping. This will allow the
organisation to reach to a wide variety of customers and enhance the experience that they gain in
the market. Therefore, it will help to increase their sales and help them to function in a flawless
manner.
Therefore, it can be observed that the management of H&M could use the use of the above-
mentioned models and strategies to implement change in the right manner. This will allow them
to know about the fashion trends prevailing in the market and will assist them to overcome the
challenges that they face in terms of their production and sales.
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Conclusion
In order to ensure that retail companies are functioning in the right manner, it is necessary to
implement change in the workplace according to the market. It will allow the organisation to
provide better services to their potential customers, as they will have a definite idea about the
preferences of their customers. The study highlights the models and strategies that could be used
by the management of H&M to change their current process of business. These strategies help
the organisation to know the current market trends and provide a better understanding of the
retail market. Besides this, the study highlights certain issues that create hindrance in the
business of the organisation. These issues have been mitigated in the course of the study.
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Reference List
Basile, A. and Faraci, R., 2015. Aligning management model and business model in the
management innovation perspective: The role of managerial dynamic capabilities in the
organizational change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 28(1), pp.43-58.
Booth, S.A., 2015. Crisis management strategy: Competition and change in modern enterprises.
Routledge.
Bradley, G., 2016. Benefit Realisation Management: A practical guide to achieving benefits
through change. Routledge.
Cameron, E. and Green, M., 2015. Making sense of change management: A complete guide to
the models, tools and techniques of organizational change. Kogan Page Publishers.
Chaffey, D., 2015. Digital business and e-commerce management. London: Pearson Education
Limited.
Doppelt, B., 2017. Leading change toward sustainability: A change-management guide for
business, government and civil society. Routledge.
Goetsch, D.L. and Davis, S.B., 2014. Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: pearson.
Hayes, J., 2018. The theory and practice of change management. Palgrave.
hm.com, 2019. Fashion and quality clothing at the best price | H&M GB. [online] Available at:
https://www2.hm.com/en_gb/index.html [Accessed 27 Jun. 2019].
Hord, S.M. and Hall, G., 2014. Implementing change-Patterns, principles, and potholes. Pearson
Education (us).
Kuipers, B.S., Higgs, M., Kickert, W., Tummers, L., Grandia, J. and Van der Voet, J., 2014. The
management of change in public organizations: A literature review. Public administration, 92(1),
pp.1-20.
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Matos Marques Simoes, P. and Esposito, M., 2014. Improving change management: How
communication nature influences resistance to change. Journal of Management
Development, 33(4), pp.324-341.
Pugh, L., 2016. Change management in information services. Routledge.
statista.com, 2019. Topic: Apparel market in the UK. [online] Available at:
https://www.statista.com/topics/3348/apparel-market-in-the-uk/ [Accessed 27 Jun. 2019].
Worley, C.G. and Mohrman, S.A., 2014. Is change management obsolete?. Organizational
Dynamics, 43(3), pp.214-224.
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