Retail Theory and Practice: An Analysis of Lulu Guinness

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Retail theory and Practice Assignment

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Retail and Fashion Retail.................................................................................................................4
About Lulu Guinness.......................................................................................................................4
Key relevant changes within the UK fashion retail.........................................................................5
Changes within the micro environment...........................................................................................8
Suggestions and discuss the strategies and tactics.........................................................................10
Recommendations..........................................................................................................................12
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................13
References......................................................................................................................................14

Introduction
The research is conducted in order to know more about the fashion retailing. Chosen
organization is a UK based company Lulu Guinness. With the help of the organization, the
discussion will be about the basic changes in the UK fashion retail. PESTEL analysis will be
done on the organization. Also, changes in the macro environment for fashion retailing will also
be discussed. At the end, the research will be concluded mentioning some specific examples and
recommendations for the betterment.

Retail and Fashion Retail
Before starting the research, let’s discuss about the two most important points- Retail and
Fashion retail. According to (shopify, 2019) retail is defined as the manufacturing the goods and
services and selling it to the customers. A company manufactures a product, which is then
bought by the retailer and sold it to the customers for their own use. Retailers are considered as
the shops and their managers from where you buy the products. There are four major categories f
retailers:-
Hardlines- Furniture and cars are considered as the hardlines. Hardlines can be defined as the
things which last for a long period of time.
Soft goods and consumables- soft goods and consumables are defined as the basic amenities of
a common man. Examples of soft goods and consumables are clothing, footwear and personal
care products.
Food- this contains the basic food items like cheese, meat, bread, eggs, butter, etc.
Art- products like books, paintings, hangings and musical instruments (Shopify, 2019).
Fashion retail specifically defines that products related to fashion like garments, footwear,
earrings, etc are manufactured. These products are then bought by the retailers and are displayed
in the stores. These products are then bought by the customers. Ranges of products differ
dependent on the designer and the brand. Retailers and the fashion company keep a smooth
communication with each. They communicate in order to provide the new stock for the
customers (Igi-global, 2019).
Source- Twitter, (2019)

About Lulu Guinness
Lulu Guinness is a famous fashion brand in London, United Kingdom. It was established in1989.
They started as a handbag company later expanding the business and operating globally. Now
this established brand produces clothes and accessories of all types from vintage to modern. The
brand name is after the owner of the brand “Lulu Guinness”. The brand produces fashion
products only for women. It can be said that this is fully women fashion brand (Luluguinness,
2019).
The brand gained popularity because of its classy shapes, exciting editions and accessories. The
company also sells their products online as well in the stores of China, Taiwan, United Kingdom,
and Thailand. Year 2017 was a remarkable years for the brand. The brand introduced ready to
wear products and footwear, after which the profit and sales of the company were commendable.
Lulu Guinness is known under the top most famous fashion brands (Luluguinness, 2019).
The brand’s logo is the lips of women with red lipstick. The reason behind this logo is the owner
herself. Lulu has never seen without the red lipstick by any media person. The red lips are the
trademark of Lulu and so is the logo of the brand. In the year 2009, Lulu Guinness received “The
Independent Handbag designer” awards and ICONOLAST Award for “Lifetime Achievement in
the Handbag Design”. Lulu also showcase her other talents from her website. She launches her
music and uses this platform to promote Paloma Faith. Lulu Guinness believes in giving the best
of clothing to the women. They use the best quality of the fabric and manufactures clothes and
other wears for the women. The bags and other footwear provided are also of the best quality of
leather (Luluguinness, 2019).
Key relevant changes within the UK fashion retail
In this section, the discussion is about the changes that occur in the macro-environment as well
as the changes in the fashion retail. Also, PESTEL analysis will be done.
Macro Environment or Macro Economy is the term which is used to define the economy as a
whole. Rather than studying about a particular region or sector, whole economy is taken. Macro
Environment helps in knowing the overall behavior of the economy towards your brand. A brand
which is established and is operating globally needs to see the behavior of the overall economy.
This way, the company can analyze the consumer behavior and can also now the likes and
dislikes of the customer. According to this behavior, a company can manufactures goods and
products of their choices and demands. This way, an organization will be able to achieve success.

Factors of Macro Environment are:-
Source- (business-to-you, 2016)
PESTEL analysis is defined as the study or a toll used to examine the macro-environmental
factors on the organization or the brand. This analysis is often used in the collaboration with
“SWOT” analysis and “Porter’s Five Forces” in order to comprehend the internal and external
factors. These factors are necessary to know better the structure of the organization. PESTEL is
the abbreviation used for the macro-environmental factors like Political, Economical, Social,
Technological, Environmental and Legal Factors (Business-to-you, 2016).
Political Factors
These factors define what changes government makes in the working of the organizational
structure. These changes can be change in government policies, taxation and foreign policies,
labor laws and laws regarding environmental policies (Business-to-you, 2016).
Economical Factors
Economic factors define the economic performance. These factors determines the economic
growth, inflation rates, bull and bear markets, consumer’s income and unemployment rates.
Economical factors have a long-term influence on the organization. These factors affect the
demand and supply of the organization. These factors can have negative and positive impact on
the organization (Business-to-you, 2016).

Social Factors
Social factors determine the population’s trends. Population trends on the basis of size, growth
rate, income distribution, career, safety, health, lifestyle, values, norms and belief. These factors
help in better understanding of the target audience. Marketers use and study these factors in order
to know the behavior and attitude of the target audience (Kim, et.al.2014).
Technological Factors
These factors affect the internal working of the organization. Technological factors refer to the
innovation, automation, technological instruments, research and development in the organization
which affect the market. Advanced businesses use the best technology for the production of
goods and services. The better is the technology, the more are the customers (Kim, et.al.2014).
Environmental Factors
The scarcity of resources, raw materials and low-maintenance of environmental sustainability is
well known by all. Therefore, in order to preserve the environmental sustainability, many
companies are involved in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and many environment
preserving acts. Environmental factors include the ecological factors like weather, climate. These
factors affect the sectors like agricultural, farming, tourism and insurance.
Legal Factors
Legal factors are the laws which are made by the government for the consumers. The laws are
made by the consumer so that the organization cannot fool the consumer. These laws are
employment laws, copyright laws, patent and safety laws, consumer protection laws and
discrimination laws (Kim, et.al.2014).

Source- (business-to-you, 2016)
Changes within the micro environment
Micro environmental factors are the factors which affect the organization. Micro environment
factors work on the micro units of the company. Where macro environment factors include
political, economic, social, technology, environmental and legal factors, on the other hand micro
environment include employees, competitors, shareholders and media, customers and suppliers
(Gitau, et, al. 2017).

Source- (Toppr, 2019)
Micro economic factors affect the working of the organization. These factors include-
Competitors, Suppliers, Employees, Shareholders, Media and Customers.
Customers
Marketing strategies are used in order to attract more customer base. More customer base will
help in making the organization successful and famous. Therefore, marketers use those strategies
which directly hit the minds of the target audience (Gitau, et, al. 2017).
Competitors
A company should be aware of the competition. In the race to become successful, a company
needs to compete with the outside companies and organization. Under this, a company can
mention why they are better from others, how the products are better, what makes a company
different from its competitors and what services a company offers that the competitors don’t
(Gitau, et, al. 2017).

Employees
An organization should highly trained and experienced employees. Employees are the main roots
of any organization. Therefore, it is necessary that a company should have a creative, energetic
and enthusiastic staff. The efforts of the staff will help in making the company successful (Gitau,
et, al. 2017).
Suppliers
A company should make sure that the supplies of the goods should not be delayed. If the
company is successful and famous, but the supplies are delayed, it will hamper the whole
organization. Make sure that the product should get delivered as soon as possible (Farooq, 2017).
Media
An organization should make a good relationship with you the media and the media persons. The
way a company interacts with the public, says a lot about the company. Media’s positive
behavior towards the business will increase the reputation and the customers. Opposite will
happen if a company shows negative attitude with the media.
Shareholders
Shareholders will have both positive and negative effect on the customer. The better will be the
organization; there is a chance of higher investments. Shareholder defines the status of the
company. Investors see whether the company is eligible for granting money. If the outcome of
the company is positive, the investors will invest their money. This will help the organization
grow and the investors will be benefitted as well (Farooq, 2017).
Suggestions and discuss the strategies and tactics
Discussed above are the macro and micro environment factors. Macro environment factors affect
the economy as a whole whereas the micro environment affects the behavior of the organization.
The macro environment factors which are most relevant and influenced the UK based famous
women brand Lulu Guinness are Technology and Social.
Lulu Guinness is a shopping brand. It is obvious that the company needs to have the best
retailers. These macro environment factors do affect the retailer. Talking about the technological
factors, then retailers are open to new options. With the help of the technology, the retailers can’t
be closed to a single company. They can have more companies whose products can be provided
to the customers. Also, the retailers don’t have to roam around for the payment. The advanced
and developing technology has made the online transactions easier and safe. This way the
company will deliver the money into the retailer’s account. Lulu Guinness has made contacts
with the best retailer and makes sure that the product is delivered to the customers on time
(Treadwell, 2019).

Retailers are affected by the social factors. Social factors are defined as the factors which
determined the behavior of the population. These include age, income distribution, population
size, health, safety, values and norms of the society. Sometimes, the retailers are under pressure
to provide goods and products which are environment-friendly, have warnings like expiry,
placed warning stickers on those products which are harmful for the society. Retailers also have
to see if there is any product or goods and services which are controversial or can hurt the
sentiments of the people. The retailers have to remove those products as this can disturb the
peace of the society (Treadwell, 2019).
Talking about the micro economic factors, the most relevant factor is the Suppliers and the
Employees.
Lulu Guinness makes sure that the products are delivered on time. It is their motive to deliver the
products on time. Lulu Guinness maintains a smooth and a healthy communication with the
retailers. They also keep a track on the retailers to see the exact position of the retailers
(Treadwell, 2019).
The same applies to the employees of Lulu Guinness. The employees of the organization are
highly trained and organized. They have a good knowledge about the fabrics, dyes and the color
combinations. The employee, as they say are the roots of the company. The employees decide
the future of the company. The growth and downfall of the company is the efforts that an
employee gives. Lulu Guinness has a team of highly trained and qualified employees. Every
employee has its own personal qualities (Treadwell, 2019). The employee there has a very good
knowledge of clothes. They also know to mix and match the product to make new products.
After all, this is what Lulu Guinness is famous for. Lulu Guinness has provided a platform to the
employees to showcase their talents and make the best out of the clothes. The staff of the
company is highly energetic and creative. Here are some of the reviews of the employees:-
Sales Consultant says, “Brilliant team in Portsmouth, frequent contact with head office. They
were able to help sales assistants progress within the company and gain experience such as
marketing internships. The manager at the Portsmouth branch was supportive, kind, helpful and a
joy to work alongside. The culture is also fantastic- hard working employees given lots of
training, a fun place to work and frequent social outings. Highly recommend!”

Recommendations
Retailers have gone to a great height by selling goods and services from different companies and
organization. But, this is slowly becoming a problem for them too. As discussed above, with the
advancement of technology, the retailers have opened doors to new opportunities. They are now
collecting order online and selling it to customers. But this collection is not from a single
organization, but from many of them. With this, the time for delivery is highly delayed. An
average retailer has up to 5 organizations. Taking the material and then sending it to the retail
stores on time is very difficult. Therefore, it is recommended that the retailer should stick to only
one company. This will help in maintaining the smoothness and on-time delivery.