Global Strategies Report: Contemporary Issues in Branding, MKTG 60248

This report analyzes the global strategies of the Japanese fashion label Human Made, examining key aspects such as emerging concepts, counterfeiting, competition from China, the power of brand communities, and the negative impact of social media. It delves into sustainability challenges, brand development, and the advantages and disadvantages of brand extension and brand stretching strategies. The report also explores the impact of BRIC and CIVETS countries, changes in culture on brand equity, and concludes with recommendations for the brand. It covers various challenges faced by the brand in the global market and provides recommendations to tackle them.

Running head: GLOBAL STRATEGIES
Global strategies
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Emerging concept and principles...............................................................................................2
Counterfeiting........................................................................................................................2
Competition from China........................................................................................................3
Power of brand communities.................................................................................................3
Negative impact of social media............................................................................................4
Sustainability challenges........................................................................................................4
Developing and growth of brand................................................................................................5
Advantages and disadvantages of brand extension and brand stretching strategies..............5
Impact of BRIC and CIVETS................................................................................................6
Changes in culture and the growth in brand equity................................................................6
Conclusion and recommendation...............................................................................................7
Reference List............................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
Human Made is a Japanese fashion label store that was started in the year 2010 by DJ
NIGO who is a music producer as well as a fashion designer. The brand was started as the
founder was not being able to collaborate with other companies regarding the trendsetting
and revolutionary idea that he had with respect to street wear fashion. The company also
makes good quality clothes and the trends mostly reflect the period of 1960s. In the year
2011, the flagship store of the company known as COLDCOFFEE opened in Shibuya,
Tokyo. The company also collaborated with Coca Cola to celebrate the 100 years of the
brand’s bottles in the year 2015 (Human Made Online Store, 2019).
The company has a small but strong brand portfolio due to its constant innovation in
the line of street wears. This allows them in meeting the needs and demands of the customers
belonging to various segments. The company also tries to understand the needs that are
present among the customers so that the clothing can be made accordingly, which will result
in increasing the level of sales. However, it is also important for the company to understand
the global strategies as well as the threats that are present from the other brands (Human
Made Online Store, 2019).
Emerging concept and principles
It is very important for the company to understand the principles of brand strategy so
that it can help in improving the level of sales. This will also help in increasing the
competitive advantage of the company in the Japanese market. Fashion brands face a lot of
competition due to the constant upgradation of the textile sector (Fernandes 2013).
Counterfeiting
Counterfeiting is a process where the same products are being provided by other
companies at a cheaper price. This is done so that the parent company loses its competitive

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advantage in the market, which will hamper the profit levels as well. In a clothing business, it
is really important for the companies to maintain its advantage in the market so that it can add
values within the customers by providing premium quality of products (Wilcock and Boys
2014). The process of counterfeiting results in illegal benefits for the companies in a financial
manner. The quality of the products are not good, which may cause irritation on the skin of
the consumers due to the low quality product. The counterfeit products are available in the
market at a cheaper price, which attracts more number of customers. The colouring agents
along with the fabric are of cheaper quality that may cause allergic reactions on the customers
(Meraviolia 2015).
Competition from China
Chinese products pose a threat to most of the global brands, as it is available at a
cheaper price due to the low cost of production. China is slated to be at the top of the fashion
industry due to its high rate of production. China is also adopting the street wear fashion
trend and according to a report published by Nielsen, it was seen that there was a 62 percent
rise in the sale of street wear fashions, as there has been a growing interest among the
consumers (Turkyilmaz and Uslu 2014). Most of the consumers are interested in buying local
brands, which is the major reason for the failure of international brands in the market.
Power of brand communities
Brand community is based on the level of attachment that the customers have with
respect to the product or its attributes. Most of the well-known fashion brands research the
market in a thorough manner so that it can result in understanding the needs. This results in
creating a connection between culture that is present in the market and the individual
identities of the customers. Since the company has been formed in a recent times, it will be
difficult for them to compete with the established brands present in the Japanese market
(Wirtz et al. 2013).

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Negative impact of social media
Social media also has negative impacts that may affect the business of the company.
One of the major disadvantage is that the return on investment is difficult to measure using
this platform. The campaigns that are done involves a complex process that is impossible to
measure. Another problem is that multiple users are being able to communicate with each
other, which may have a negative impact on the business as well (Chauhan and Pillai 2013).
This will make it impossible for the company to rectify any minor mistakes that they have
done on the social media platform as well. The reviews that are posted by the customers may
also harm the business due to the negative comments. These comments can be seen by other
people and may influence their decision in buying the product (Yu, Duan aand Cao 2013).
Sustainability challenges
Sustainability is one of the major challenges that the companies in the fashion
industry are facing. The company needs to analyse the commercial viability of sustainability
so that it can help them in taking up the strategies. It is very important for the company to
focus on the best materials that are available such as premium quality cotton so that it can
help them to be sustainable in nature. The use of the advanced technology will help in
improving the products in a proper manner by reducing the cost of production to a great
extent. It is also necessary for the company to show their recycling methods to the customers
so that it can help in gaining a competitive advantage in the market. The confusion in the
minds of the consumers can also be removed with respect to sustainability due to the better
way of labelling the products. The recycling that will be done by the company needs to be
advertised to the consumers so that they have a proper knowledge regarding the efforts that
are being taken up by the company (Lyon and Montgomery 2013).

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Developing and growth of brand
Advantages and disadvantages of brand extension and brand stretching strategies
The advantages of brand extension strategy is that it helps in maximizing the
knowledge of the consumers. It is always difficult for the company to launch a new product
and promote it in the market whereas they can improve the existing brand and communicate
with the potential customers. It will also help in gaining the trust of the consumers due to the
useful features that will be added in the product. This will help in creating value proposition
for the product in the new market as well where Human Made wants to expand globally
(Pfeffer, Zorbach and Carlev 2014). The extension of the brand will also result in lowering
the cost for the company, as it will allow them to extent the features of the existing brand
rather than launching a product. This will result in enhancing the visibility of the brand in the
market, as the advertising cost will be reduced to a great extent. Additionally, the relationship
with the loyal customers will also strengthen due to the increase in the level of competitive
advantage for the company (Boons et al. 2013).
The disadvantages of using brand extension strategies is that it creates a dilution of
the existing image of the brand. This poses a great risk for the company, as the dilution of the
brand may result in lesser amount of sales thus, hampering the profits. The brand capital of
the company also gets diluted due to this process, as the associations that are already present
seems to get lost. Another major problem of extending the brand is that there is a chance of
cannibalization. This happens when the sale of the particular product may get decreased and
not compensate the brand equity as well. There is also a chance of a disaster to take place,
which may hamper the image of the brand in the market. In the fashion industry, the
extension of the brand may result in the quality being hampered, which may lead to certain
risks among the customers (Osborne et al. 2014).

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Impact of BRIC and CIVETS
The bilateral trades in the BRIC and CIVETS countries have improved to a great
extent due to the policies of globalization. The rate of exports have increased to a great extent
in the past 10 years followed by their imports as well. This has taken place due to the rise in
the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) that has taken place due to the impact of trade. The major
exports that take place in the BRIC countries are fuel and other raw materials that plays an
important part in the clothing industry (Ferraro and Briody 2013). This has taken place due to
the presence of Indian and Chinese industries that are manufacturing the products at a
cheaper labour cost. The presence of cheaper local brands in the other countries pose a major
threat for the established brands, as the price is relatively cheaper when compared to branded
products. The abundance of cheap labour cost allows the local brands in flourishing, which
happens by assessing the needs and demands of the customers through a proper market
survey (Campbell and Burton 2013).
Changes in culture and the growth in brand equity
There has been recent changes in the culture, which is affecting the brand equity of
the companies as well. The companies need to follow it so that it can result in increasing the
level of consumption in the market. The factor of globalization has affected the companies in
a positive manner, as it has enabled them in understanding the culture where they want to set
up their business globally. The expansion from the Japanese market in to Chinese or Indian
market will help the company in increasing its sales due to the opportunities that are present.
The global markets are flexible in adopting the new line of fashion due to the increase in the
level of promotional activities and advertisements (Manyika et al. 2013).
International brands like Gucci and Burberry follows the global culture in a proper
manner, which enables them in attracting the customers in an efficient manner. The booming
markets need to be capitalized by the companies so that it can enable them in increasing their

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level of sales (Guillien and Garcia-Canal 2013). The companies need to respect the culture
that is present in the relevant markets so that it does not hurt the sentiments of the customers.
It is important for the company to survey the market in a proper manner so that they can get
to know the preferences, which will enable them in increasing the product portfolio in the
target market. The pattern of consumption of the clothing industry by the consumers need to
be identified that will allow in increasing the level of sales as well for the company (Peng
2016).
Conclusion and recommendation
Thus it can be recommended that Human Made needs to address the process of
counterfeiting in a proper manner. It needs to have a registered trademark in the global
market for its product portfolio so that it can prevent the duplicity by the local brands. The
garments need to be manufactured with the help of a particular fibre sourced from a trusted
supplier so that the competitive advantage can be increased by the company. The labelling of
the products need to be done in an appropriate manner, which will enable the customers in
identifying the brand in an easy way.
The use of social media will be done to promote the products of the brand in a
positive manner so that it can create a mass appeal among the customers. This will result in
making the brand sustainable in the market. The Chinese competition can be reduced by
providing premium quality of garments, which can be easily identified by the customers
through the name of the brand. The global opportunities in BRIC and CIVETS countries can
be done by following their culture closely so that they can understand its importance. The
company can go in to a partnership with the established local brands in these countries that
will allow the customers in identifying the brand as well.

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Reference List
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