Comprehensive Marketing Analysis of J Barbour & Sons

This report provides a comprehensive marketing analysis of J Barbour & Sons, a UK-based clothing retailer. It begins with an introduction to the company and its market position, followed by an examination of its product categories, which include clothing, seasonal wear, shoes, accessories, gifting options, pet wear, and children's wear. The report identifies the key consumer segments targeted by J Barbour, such as college students, office professionals, children, and seniors. The core of the analysis applies the marketing mix (4Ps) framework, evaluating the product strategy, distribution channels (place), pricing approach, and promotional activities. The report also discusses the company's digital marketing efforts and concludes with recommendations for improvement. The analysis underscores the importance of a strong marketing strategy for long-term success in the competitive retail market.

J BARBOUR & SONS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

Executive Summary
Marketing is considered to be a crucial part of any organization and in order to ensure long
term success, it becomes considerably crucial for any firm to engage in considerable
marketing activities which will allow the firm to gain success within the competitive
consumer market. This report is based on the marketing analysis of the company J Barbour
& sons. The report follows a structured format whereby a brief introduction of the firm is
followed by the analysis of the different product categories as provided by the firm and the
chosen consumer markets. The latter half of the report analyzes the marketing activities of
the firm by making use of the Marketing mix tool and also examines the digital marketing
activities. Certain recommendations to improve the same have also been provided.

Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction.........................................................................................................................1
2.0 Demonstration of knowledge and understanding of J Barbour`s marketing activities.......1
2.1 Products and Services being offered................................................................................2
2.2 The consumer segments..................................................................................................3
3.0 Use of theory and application to J Barbour........................................................................4
Product...................................................................................................................................4
Place.......................................................................................................................................4
Price........................................................................................................................................5
Promotion..............................................................................................................................5
4.0 Evaluation and recommendation.........................................................................................5
5.0 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................7
6.0 References.......................................................................................................................8

4
J BARBOUR & SONS
1.0 Introduction
Marketing is considered to be an essential aspect of the organization and in order to
ensure long term success with the different consumers, the company in question would
require to ensure that they are successfully able to engage in the right kind of a marketing
mix which shall then ensure that the firm is able to build a sustainable competitive image for
themselves. According to Ahmad, Musa and Harun (2016), Marketing can be considered to
be a business procedure with the help of which the organization tends to create various
relationships and long term bonds with the other members of the supply chain as well.
Marketing can be considered to be a primary component of any business function. The
marketing activity of a firm begins with the action of conducting a marketing research in
order to understand the needs of the customers and is put to an end when the customer
gains the sales promotion activities at large. According to Hajli (2014), there have been
various trends in the marketing strategy which is generally adopted but the different
businesses, with digital marketing being the primary new style which is used by the different
companies to market their product.
Hence, the primary aim of the report is to highlight the marketing activities of the
chosen organization named, J Barbour & Sons. The J Barbour and Sons Company is a
clothing retailer as present in the United Kingdom. The brand sells a large variety of clothing
for all genders and ages and is largely popular for its unique design and dependable style. In
addition to this, the brand is also popular for its unique waxed cotton wear (Barbour.com.
2018). The report will follow a systematized format whereby a brief introduction of the
organization has been followed by the discussion of its marketing activities, offerings and
consumer market. The concept of digital marketing will also be discussed along with
provision of certain recommendations on the same (Chernev 2018). Digital marketing is
taken to be a crucial aspect of the organization and hence, it is important for the firm to
adopt the particular mechanism.
2.0 Demonstration of knowledge and understanding of J Barbour`s marketing activities
The particular section will lay down the different marketing activities of the
company. The section will be divided into two parts whereby the first section will lay down

5
J BARBOUR & SONS
the current product offerings of the company and the different consumer segments In
addition to this, the different marketing activities as adopted by the firm will also be
presented.
2.1 Products and Services being offered
The J Barbour company has a wide range of products and services to be offered to
the different members of the target market (Chaffey 2016). All these products are
specialized in the waxed cotton material. Their products can be divided into the following
categories:
Clothing: J Barbour offers a wide range of clothing for the different genders which
includes product lines like skirts, tops, tunics, blouses, night wear and other casual wear for
the women (Malhotra and Peterson 2014). On the other hand, the company also offers
products like shirt, pant, denim, t-shirt, shorts and other clothing items which tends to
ensure that the company is successfully able to cater to the needs of all the customers as
present.
Seasonal wear: The brand also offers seasonal wear with respect to seasons like
winter. The winter wear Christmas collection of the J Barbour is very popular and involves a
large number of products each of which will be jackets, boots, good warm clothing and
others.
Shoes: The brand offers a large number of shoe types. This offering involves different
shoes for men and women. For the women, the product line involves Slippers, boots,
Wellington and other types. For the men, the product involves boots, trainers, slippers and
wellington.
Accessories: The different accessories as offered by the brand comprises of products
like belts, handbags, clothing accessories like scarves which adds to the style of the brand`s
products (Marinchak, Forrest and Hoanca 2018).
Gifting options: Thee brand offers a large number of gifting items as well for the
different consumers. This is highly applicable in the case of festivals and special occasions
like Christmas and Easter.

6
J BARBOUR & SONS
Pet wear: Moreover, J Barbour also has a good line of products for the pets whereby
it offers special accessories and clothes for the pets.
Children wear: Lastly, J Barbour also offers a good range of children wear whereby
the firm is able to make an offering of various clothes, winter wear, shoes and accessories to
the different customers and ensures that the firm is successfully able to engage in a long
lasting relationship with them.
2.2 The consumer segments
Clothing can be considered to be a common product and hence, the different
consumer segments which the firm caters to are as follows:
1. College going crowd: The College going crowd can involve both girls as well as the
boys. The college goers are generally very specific about what they wear and the
brands they use. Moreover, UK has a large number of colleges and for this purpose,
this consumer segment forms one of the popular consumer segments and hence,
this forms a major target market for the brand.
2. Office professionals: The office professionals also form a major share of the target
market for the company. This is because, J Barbour offers a large range of formal
well for both the genders which makes it possible for them to purchase good quality
clothes at affordable prices and also ensures that the firm is successful able to gain a
consistent target market (Barbour.com. 2018).
3. Children below 14: The J Barbour wear offers a good collection of children wear as
well. From jacket to frocks to pants and shoes, the brand has a good collection of
winter wear for the children which makes it possible for the firm to perform well and
engage in considerable success.
4. Seniors above 60: As per the demographic segmentation, J Barbour also offers
comfortable clothes for the seniors and ensures that along with fashion, these
seniors can ensure the convenience of comfort as well (Ngai, Tao and Moon 2015).
5. Overall, with respect to marketing, the firm makes use of a combination of both
modern and traditional ways of marketing. With respect to the modern way of
marketing, the firm makes use of mediums like mobile marketing, internet marketing
and other social media marketing techniques, however, it needs to be noted that the

7
J BARBOUR & SONS
use of digital marketing on the side of the firm is not consistent (Hollensen and
Raman 2014).
3.0 Use of theory and application to J Barbour
The marketing mix theory can be effectively used in order to understand the manner
in which the organization seeks to plan its offering and the manner in which it ensures that
the firm is successfully able to gather a large base of consumers. The given section will
discuss the marketing mix of J Barbour which is a luxurious clothing store and seeks to
analyze the planned offering of the firm (Barbour.com. 2018). The marketing mix can be
defined as an essential tool of evaluation and re-evaluation of the business tools which
helps a firm to understand its strategies. The marketing mix of J Barbour has been done as
follows:
Product
The product forms the most essential offering of the marketing mix. It comprises of
the product strategy used and the kind of offering which company chooses to make. The
product line as offered by J Barbour can be stated to be quite simple in nature with a
mixture of luxury and style. The products are made of waxed cotton which makes them
suitable for the climate (Foxall 2014). The products which are offered by the brand can be
stated to be highly fashionable and in this context, it can be stated that J Barbour follows a
rather niche strategy by offering the best products. It adheres to all genders and even has
offerings for children. In addition to this, although the firm`s main forte is clothes, it offers
accessories, shoes and pet wear as well (Felix, Rauschnabel and Hinsch 2017). The company
is largely popular for its unique quality and design.
Place
The brand has around more than 30 stores and provides its products in various other
stores as well like Harrods, Harvey Nicholas and John Lewis. In addition to this, the brand
also has a worldwide coverage. Earlier the brand was only restricted the rural areas but later
on it planned to extend into the fashionable line and has since diversified its portfolio
offering and aligned it with the latest fashion (Scott 2015). The brand also has an online e-
commerce website through which it is able to portray the products of the firm and sell
them. The brand also has its offerings available in Marks and Spencer’s for wider coverage.

8
J BARBOUR & SONS
Hence, it can be stated that the firm has greatly revised its strategy, with respect to which it
can be stated that the firm has been able to widen its channel which was quite limited
earlier.
Price
The pricing strategy can form an essential aspect of the marketing mix of an
organization and with respect to this, it can be stated that it becomes essentially important
for any business to form a robust marketing strategy which would then assist the business in
performing well (Bresler and Lubbe 2014). The pricing range of the brand can be stated to
be quite high. With respect to this, it can be mentioned that the firm intends to engage in
the pricing technique which involves premium pricing strategy (Godey et al. 2016). This is
because the product being offered by the firm is rather unique and premium and hence,
each jacket as offered by the firm costs around a minimum of 120 pounds, the firm cannot
appeal to all and thereby tries to maintain a competitive positioning by engaging in this
strategy.
Promotion
Lastly, the promotional strategy forms an essential aspect of the marketing mix and
tends to seek the attention of the target audience. The promotional mix as used by the firm
comprises of elements like newspaper advertisement, billboards, word of mouth and
television advertisement (Barbour.com. 2018). In addition to this, with the recent change in
technology, the firm has been successfully able to adapt to the internet technology and uses
techniques like sending out newsletters, emails, mobile messages and other such
techniques. This helps the firm to seek an advantage and gain the best of both the worlds
which would then ensure success.
4.0 Evaluation and recommendation
Hence, from the given analysis, it can be stated that J Barbour has been performing
considerably well as a company and has created a unique position for itself in the market by
making an offering of unique products as available in fashionable styles which create a good
positioning in the minds of the different consumers (Stelzner 2014). This image not only
assists the firm in ensuring that it is able to provide stylish as well as comfort products. The
firm follows a premium pricing strategy which is the reason why it can be stated that J

9
J BARBOUR & SONS
Barbour is following a differentiated strategy which helps the firm in differentiating its
product from the general competition (Changer 2016). The channels which the company has
been using since the last few years have changed considerably and recently, over the last
few years, the company has taken actions to extend upon its distribution base by not only
selling the products at an exclusive store their own retail outlets but also in regular retail
stores like Harrods’s and Marks and Spencer’s. However, with respect to promotion it can
be stated that the firm has adopted a rather safe style of settling upon a combination of
using the traditional means of advertising as well as the modern means (Stephen 2016). The
firm makes use of newspaper advertising, billboard, local television, magazine, social media,
e-commerce websites and other such techniques. However, based on the analysis, it can be
stated that the firm is required to improve its digital marketing techniques as the firm has
not been taking considerable measures to improve upon the same.
According to Weinstein and Pohlman (2015), the digital marketing can be defined as
a method of advertising whereby the medium of the advertising exists between the
channels like the social media, search engines, websites, email and mobile marketing with
the help of applications. The paid search is common technique which is adopted by brans
across the world so that when any consumer searches the internet for specialized jackets, J
Barbour will be the top most choice for the consumers who would like to make the specific
purchase. Content marketing can serve as another technique which could help the firm to
gain considerable success in the long run and ensure long term growth for J Barbour by
promotion the goods of the firm (Tuten and Solomon 2017). The email marketing is also a
useful technique usually used by the marketers to promote their goods with the designated
target audience (Barbour.com. 2018). Lastly, marketing automation and the use of mobile
applications and notifications can be deemed to be a useful method for J Barbour to market
its goods. In this manner, J Barbour will be able to ensure that it is successfully able to gain a
larger share of the market. The different recommendations which can be given to the
company based on the same are as follows:
1. J Barbour needs to focus on a digital marketing strategy which focuses on the
engagement of the different consumers. In this way, the company will be easily able
to ensure that the customers, who are the main reason behind the media strategies
get hooked to the purpose of the firm.

10
J BARBOUR & SONS
2. Develop a responsive design: Although J Barbour is engaging in a considerably good
strategy for the firm, it needs to strategize adequately and see to it that it is
successfully able to engage the customers by presenting them with a design which is
response as well as reciprocating in nature (Balakrishnan, Dahnil and Yi 2014). This
will assist the company in earning a high return on investment.
3. Moreover, J Barbour also needs to ensure that the mobile strategy of the firm is
quite responsive in nature so that the firm is easily able to use it even when the
other mediums become obsolete (Ashley and Tuten 2015). In this manner, it will be
able to reach out to the different customers quite easily.
4. Use the 1:1 medium of approaching the customers: The digital marketing procedure
has made it considerably easier for the brand to communicate with the consumers
on a 1:1 basis with the motive of seeking consumer attention. In this manner, they
will be able to ensure that personalized messages can be sent to the different
customers. By making use of these strategies in the domain of digital marketing, the
firm will be able to ensure that it is able to attain the set objectives.
5.0 Conclusion
Therefore, from the given analysis, it can be stated that J Barbour is a leading luxury
clothing brand as present in the United Kingdom and in order to ensure long term success, it
is required to engage in exquisite marketing strategies which will not only assist the firm in
gaining the attention of the target audience but also go a long way in ensuring that the firm
is able to gain a larger share of the competitive market and that it is successfully able to
increase its revenue base. The given report was based on the marketing activities of J
Barbour and the manner in which the firm has been performing in the particular
competitive domain where comfort and style are the main factors influencing the different
consumers. The marketing activities of J Barbour were analyzed, by making use of the
marketing mix and the firms digital strategy was also discussed which was then followed by
a discussion on the different digital marketing strategies which can be adopted by the firm.

11
J BARBOUR & SONS
6.0 References
Ahmad, N. S., Musa, R., and Harun, M. H. M., 2016. The impact of social media content
marketing ,SMCM. towards brand health. Procedia Economics and Finance, 37, 331-336.
Ashley, C., and Tuten, T. ,2015. Creative strategies in social media marketing: An
exploratory study of branded social content and consumer engagement. Psychology and
Marketing, 32,1., 15-27.
Balakrishnan, B. K., Dahnil, M. I., and Yi, W. J. ,2014. The impact of social media marketing
medium toward purchase intention and brand loyalty among generation Y. Procedia-Social
and Behavioral Sciences, 148, 177-185.
Barbour.com., 2018. J Barbour & Sons. [online]. Available at:
/https://www.barbour.com/barbour-wax-holdall (Retrieved on: 19 Dec. 2018).
Bresler, M., and Lubbe, I., 2014. Marketing management. Pearson
Chaffey, D., 2016. Global social media research summary 2016. Smart Insights: Social Media
Marketing.
Changer, G., 2016. Social media marketing. Pearson
Chernev, A., 2018. Strategic marketing management. Cerebellum Press.
Felix, R., Rauschnabel, P. A. and Hinsch, C. ,2017. Elements of strategic social media
marketing: A holistic framework. Journal of Business Research, 70, 118-126.
Foxall, G., 2014. Strategic Marketing Management, RLE Marketing.. Routledge.
Godey, B., Manthiou, A., Pederzoli, D., Rokka, J., Aiello, G., Donvito, R. and Singh, R., 2016.
Social media marketing efforts of luxury brands: Influence on brand equity and consumer
behavior. Journal of business research, 69, 12. 5833-5841.
Hajli, M. N., 2014. A study of the impact of social media on consumers. International Journal
of Market Research, 56, 3. 387-404.
Hollensen, S. and Raman, A., 2014. Social Media Marketing. Marketing Canada-Journal.
Malhotra, N. K. and Peterson, M., 2014. Basic marketing research. Pearson.

12
J BARBOUR & SONS
Marinchak, C. M., Forrest, E. and Hoanca, B. ,2018. Artificial Intelligence: Redefining
Marketing Management and the Customer Experience. International Journal of E-
Entrepreneurship and Innovation, IJEEI., 8, 2., 14-24.
Ngai, E. W., Tao, S. S., and Moon, K. K., 2015. Social media research: Theories, constructs,
and conceptual frameworks. International Journal of Information Management, 35, 1, 33-
44.
Scott, D. M., 2015. The new rules of marketing and PR: How to use social media, online
video, mobile applications, blogs, news releases, and viral marketing to reach buyers
directly. John Wiley and Sons.
Stelzner, M., 2014. 2014 social media marketing industry report. Social Media Examiner, 1-
52.
Stephen, A. T., 2016. The role of digital and social media marketing in consumer
behavior. Current Opinion in Psychology, 10, 17-21.
Tuten, T. L. and Solomon, M. R., 2017. Social media marketing. Sage.
Weinstein, A. and Pohlman, R. A., 2015. Customer value: a new paradigm for marketing
management. In Proceedings of the 1997 Academy of Marketing Science, AMS. Annual
Conference, pp. 132-133. Springer, Cham.