International Marketing Project: Debenhams Strategies and Analysis

This report delves into the realm of international marketing, focusing on the strategies adopted by Debenhams, a multinational retailer. It begins with an introduction to international marketing, defining its core principles and objectives. The report then explores current trends in the retail sector, highlighting challenges such as rising costs, weak demand, and the impact of online platforms, using the UK market as a primary example. It provides a detailed market structure analysis of Debenhams, including geographical spread, customer segmentation, and competitive positioning. Section 2 summarizes Debenhams' product and market focus, competitive advantages, and strategic marketing challenges, such as communication differences and increasing competition. The final section offers recommendations for Debenhams to enhance its global marketing efforts, including understanding cultural differences, forming local partnerships, and utilizing various market entry methods like foreign acquisitions and joint ventures. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of international marketing for brand expansion and profit generation, providing a comprehensive overview of strategies and challenges in the global retail landscape.

International marketing project 2

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Section 1...........................................................................................................................................3
Trend in environment and market for sector .............................................................................3
Market structure of sector .........................................................................................................4
Section 2...........................................................................................................................................5
Summary of product and market focus .....................................................................................5
Strategic marketing challenges ..................................................................................................6
Section 3...........................................................................................................................................6
Recommendation.........................................................................................................................6
The benefits of Implementation of strategy................................................................................7
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
International marketing can be defined as a business activity which is designed to plan,
promote, direct and price the goods and services to customers or user in various different nation
in order to earn profit. The report will cover a about the global marketing strategies which can be
adopted by a company's in order to compete with others. Report will also cover various trends
which is pertaining in market. It will also highlight the various challenges which a company has
to face while doing business internationally. In order to cover this points Debenhams has been
taken in a study.
Debenhams is a multinational retailer which is operating in United Kingdom and Ireland.
The company also has franchise with other countries. It was founded in eighteenth century. The
company is now operating in about 178 location across United Kingdom(Wang, Sun and
Uchida, 2018). Debenhams gives its customer a unique and differentiated product on its own
brands as well as other international brands. The company sells household products, range of
clothing and furniture.
Section 1
Trend in environment and market for sector
Retail sector has faced a huge failure in year 2018 in UK market. Many stores were
closed, business were failed and many people have loss the job(Retail Trends, 2019). The
industry is experience is huge pressure. The retailer are facing a problem with business due to
rising cost and weak demand. The reasons due to which industry is facing loss is Brexit, after the
Brexit negotiation global economy has been slow down and the trade war between China/US is
also one of the reason behind bad economy. Secondly due to wide use of online platform in order
to promote product it has been seen that some retailers are facing the difficulty in order to accept
this platform and are fighting in order survive in market(O'Brien, 2016).
A large number of stores has been closed as many of retailers in order to hold its position
in market has tried to restructure business which has resulted in closure of about 7,500 net stores
in 2018. It means that a percentage of store closure has been increased by 36 %.
In year 2019 the major trends which can be seen in retail sector are :
Innovating at scale : As the old retail stores have been closing new stores are coming in market
with new products and services. Now the retailers are opening large concept stores.

East beat west : with the new ideas and innovation china has overtaken the market around the
world. China is ruling the sector in terms of retail technology. The country has ability to develop
and introduce innovative products in market, a country use fully automated warehouse and
stores.
Re-inventing retail : As the consumer purchasing behaviour is also changing therefore retailers
are putting extra effort in order to meet the needs of customers. Customer does not want to buy
products which are trendy and fashionable but they are liking more the customized product.
Means the product which is more of their personal benefits and views.
Market structure of sector
Geographical spread of products : the company has about 165 stores in UK, and about 85 stores
and franchises worldwide. The company has stores in UK, Denmark and Ireland. And has
franchises is various other international locations.
Customer segmentation according to
Age : The company provides products for every age of customers. About 20% of their customers
are from age group 45-54.
Income level : According to statistics it can be said that Debenhams target lower middle class the
group which comes in second position is middle class and upper middle class.
Gender : The products are available for both male and female. The company provides clothing,
shoes and bags for both men and women. And also have clothing for kids.
Competitive positioning : In order to know the competitive position the marketing environment
of Debenhams and its competitors in which it is currently operating has been analysed using
various factors :
Market profile : Department stores of UK is the important part of high store retail. In year 2017
the UK retail sales has been recorded 34.5 billion British pounds. The market was dominated by
John Lewis and Mark & Spencer by 23.3 percent.
The Mark & Spencer , Debenhams has experienced difficulty in order to operateing in a
market. However overall revenue of Debenhams has increased every year but it was declined in
year 2018.
Competitive analysis : there are many competitors in market in which company is operationing.
The top companies are Asda, Tesco, John lewis, Mark & Spencer, Amazon etc.

However as the company has many retails stores which help the company to maintain its
presence in market. Also the company has a high brand equity in the world in fashion which
helps company to stand out of others.
Method of delivering : Debenhams use both the online as well as offline mode in order to
promote its product to customers. The company focus on needs and wants of customers. The
company tries to introduce a various strategy in order to attract the customers. The company also
try to bring new innovative products which helps the company to gain the attention of customers.
Competitors of a company is the major threat to a company. The same tactics is also used
by the competitors. However company has a good relation with its customers. As he company is
customer oriented it try its best to satisfy the customers which help the company to stay ahead of
its competitors.
Section 2
Summary of product and market focus
The company has products for almost all types of customer. The company is able to fulfil
the needs of customers. The company is formed in year 1778. it started its work form a small
store as Draper' store. In year 1812 William Debenhams done a partnership and the name of store
has been changed to Clark & Debenhams. The store has started by providing the products such
as millinery, hosiery, lace, drapery and family mourning goods. Then both the partners has
decided to expand business by opening branches in Cheltenham and Harrogate. In year 1905 the
company has renamed as Debenhams Ltd(Bogomolova and et.al., 2015).
Now the company offers a wide variety of products not only of its own brand but also the
the products of internation brands. The company provides a variety of products such as Men's
clothing and footwear, furniture for home and garden, gift and toys, electrical appliances,
wedding wears, shoes, bags, outdoor accessories and luggage, kid's clothing and many more
items.
Current competitive advantage :
The company provides unique products worldwide which stands the Debenhams different
from others. The company is more customer focused it try to understand the needs of customers
rather than focusing on competitors. Debenhams is leading retail chain in UK. The company has

also won Lorraing kelly's High Street Fashion Award which is given to best fashion from British
High street.
It has been seen that due to innovation in Multi channel business the company has get
benefited. The company is focusing on building multi channel business in order to satisfy the
needs of customers.
Strategic marketing challenges
Some marketing challenges which the company face are
Communication style and language difference : the company can face a marketing challenge due
to different communication style in different countries. Therefore in order to effectively promote
product in market it become essential for the company to choose the right strategies in order to
deliver its message rightly to the customers.
Increasing competition : Many new entrants are entering in market due to closure of many stores
which is creating a huge competition in market. The company is also facing a huge competition
from the existing companies such as Mark & Spencer and John Lewis(Pantano and et.al., 2017).
Latest marketing : With the change of time the method of marketing is also changing therefore it
become essential for company to keep updated with the current marketing trends.
Section 3
Recommendation
From the above study it can be concluded that the retail market in UK is facing decline
due to many reasons. Therefore in order to remain in market it become necessary for Debenhams
to use the proper strategies.
The company should create a vision which will help the company to hold strong position in
market. Such as “ To fulfil every need of our customers and become socially responsible”
Objectives : To know the need of customers and try to fulfil them
To make the company socially responsible in order to serve better to society
Global marketing strategy : In order to go globally Debenhams should make use of following
marketing strategies :
1. Understanding cultural difference : While going globally it become essential that a
company should do the proper market research. For example the Chevrolet's Nova has
been failed in Spain the reason behind this is that No va mean no go in Spanish.

Therefore it is necessary for Debenhams to understand the culture of market in which
company want to enter.
2. Tie up with local partner : The company can also use this strategy the reason behind this
is that the existing company in same market has deeper knowledge about market
therefore this strategy will help company to better understand the local market. It is one
of the best marketing strategy for going globally.
Strategic option and market entry methods
Foreign Acquisitions : With the help of foreign direct investment company can acquire other
firm which is located in a market which company wants to enter. It will help the company to
hold the position in a market for long term(Panwar and Malhotra, 2018).
Direct exporting : The company can directly enter the market without any intermediary. This
strategy will help company to have protection over trademark, goodwill and patents. Due to
fewer intermediary high profit share can be gained by a company(Strategic option for global
expansion. 2019).
Joint ventures : Or the company can do joint venture with other company. Means the company
has to share risk, reward and allocate resources and distribute operational responsibilities and
after successful completion can disband the venture(Killing, 2017).
The benefits of Implementation of strategy
How it will help in gain competition advantage
The strategies which has been discussed above such as tie up with local partners and
understanding culture these both strategy will help the company to gain competitive advantage. It
will help company to implement right marketing strategy and attract target right customers.
The strategies will also help company to allocate resource properly and to manage the portfolio
efficiently. The various strategic option can also be used by company in order to enter the new
market. For example joint venture will help company to increase its capacity and share risk with
the partners as well as company can also tap the greater resources such as technology, finance
and specialised staff. Similarly direct exporting will help company to have better knowledge of
market in which the company wants to enter(Atkin, Khandelwal and Osman, 2017).

CONCLUSION
The international marketing can be a good way in order to earn profit and for brand
expansion. By the use of various marketing principles the need and wants of wide variety of
customers can be met. The study helps with understanding the current trend in retail sector. It
also helps with knowing what are the challenges which company has to face while going
internationally. Such as communication and language difference, competition in market etc. The
study also helps with knowing various aspects of doing business globally and attaining
competitive advantage in a market. The various marketing strategies can be used by a company
in order to do work internationally. The study also helps in understanding what type of market
entry methods can be used by companies in order to enter new market. These methods will of
great use to a company in order to gain competitive position.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Atkin, D., Khandelwal, A.K. and Osman, A., 2017. Exporting and firm performance: Evidence
from a randomized experiment. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 132(2). pp.551-
615.
Bogomolova, S. and et.al., 2015. Price promotion landscape in the US and UK: Depicting retail
practice to inform future research agenda. Journal of Retailing and Consumer
Services, 25. pp.1-11.
Killing, J.P., 2017. How to make a global joint venture work. In International Business (pp. 321-
328). Routledge.
O'Brien, J., 2016. TrackerSense: An entrepreneurial marketing start-up. SAGE Publications:
SAGE Business Cases Originals.
Pantano, E. and et.al., 2017. Does innovation-orientation lead to retail industry growth?
Empirical evidence from patent analysis. Journal of Retailing and Consumer
Services, 34. pp.88-94.
Panwar, A. and Malhotra, A.K., 2018. A study on entry methods in international market for
service sector based Indian public sector undertakings. SMART Journal of Business
Management Studies, 14(1). pp.69-81.
Wang, L., Sun, J. and Uchida, S., 2018, April. Text Line Extraction Based on Integrated K-
Shortest Paths Optimization. In 2018 13th IAPR International Workshop on Document
Analysis Systems (DAS) .(pp. 85-90). IEEE.
Online
Retail Trends. 2019. [Online] Available through
<https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/consumer-business/articles/retail-trends.html>
Strategic option for global expansion. 2019. [Online] Available through <
http://www.manzellareport.com/index.php/trade-finance/403-strategic-options-for-
global-<expansion>

1. Trends in international market
2. Hoe company will develop globally
3. How to develop sustainable long term global marketing strategy