Ralph Lauren's Marketing Strategy: Target Market, SWOT Analysis

This report provides a detailed analysis of Ralph Lauren's marketing strategy, focusing on its product line, marketing objectives, target market, and brand positioning. It examines the company's products and services, branding and product strategies, pricing approaches, promotional mix, and distribution methods. A SWOT analysis is conducted to assess Ralph Lauren's internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats. The report concludes that Ralph Lauren has successfully established a profitable position in the fashion retail industry through its diverse product offerings and effective distribution strategies.

Running head: MARKETING STRATEGY ANALYSIS OF RALPH LAUREN
MARKETING STRATEGY ANALYSIS OF RALPH LAUREN
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1MARKETING STRATEGY ANALYSIS OF RALPH LAUREN
Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................2
Product line of Ralph Lauren.........................................................................................2
Marketing strategies, objectives and the marketing programs.......................................2
Target market of Ralph Lauren..................................................................................2
Positioning and perceptual map of Ralph Lauren......................................................3
Products and services offered, branding strategy and product strategy.....................4
Pricing strategy, pricing levels...................................................................................4
Promotional mix.........................................................................................................5
Distribution strategy...................................................................................................5
SWOT analysis of Ralph Lauren...................................................................................5
Conclusion......................................................................................................................6
References......................................................................................................................7

2MARKETING STRATEGY ANALYSIS OF RALPH LAUREN
Introduction
Ralph Lauren is a fashion designer, business executive and philanthropist of
American origin. The Ralph Lauren Corporation had been developed by him and the
organization has become a multi-million Dollar organization within few years of its
operations. The founder had stepped down from the position of CEO in the year 2015 and
remained the executive chairman of the company (Ralphlauren.co.uk, 2019).
The analysis will be based on the product line of Ralph Lauren and the different
marketing based objectives that have been set by the organization. The target market that has
been developed by the organization is also a part of the analysis. The internal environment of
Ralph Lauren will be analysed with the help of implementation of SWOT framework.
Product line of Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren has been operating in the retail industry by providing a diverse range of
products that are able to fulfil the needs and demands of the customers in an effective way.
The different products that are offered by the organization mainly include, men’s clothing
accessories, women’s clothing, kids’ accessories. The company offers clothing related
products from different brands that can fulfil needs of customers belonging to different
groups. The brands that are offered by Ralph Lauren in the market include, Ralph Lauren
Collection, Polo Ralph Lauren, Ralph Lauren Childrenswear, Chaps, Club Monaco and
Denim and Supply Ralph Lauren (Cacciolatti & Lee, 2016).
Marketing strategies, objectives and the marketing programs
Target market of Ralph Lauren
The target market or target consumers of Ralph Lauren mainly belong to the upper
middle class or middle class range. The amounts of disposable income that are possessed by

3MARKETING STRATEGY ANALYSIS OF RALPH LAUREN
customers who belong to these classes are high. The consumers of the organization are also
highly family oriented in nature and are able to provide value to the simple aspects. The
target market of the organization is based on different demographics that include, men,
women and children of different ages. The range of the target market of Ralph Lauren is also
quite wide that includes, the West Coast, The Northeast and The South. Different countries of
which the target customers are a part include, Canada, the United States, Europe, South
Korea, Japan, Latin America and Southeast Asia (Hartsfield, Johansen & Knight, 2017).
Positioning and perceptual map of Ralph Lauren
The Ralph Lauren Brand has been positioned in the minds of consumers as a premium
organization that is able to fulfil their needs with the help of high quality based products. The
position of Ralph Lauren is related to luxury market. The organization had developed a clear
target clear and positioned itself in the luxury category. However, the external changes have
influenced the ways by which Ralph Lauren is able to position itself in the industry
(Jaworski, 2018). The positioning map can be developed based on the types of consumers.
Athletic Elegant

4MARKETING STRATEGY ANALYSIS OF RALPH LAUREN
Products and services offered, branding strategy and product strategy
The branding strategy of Ralph Lauren is based on the balance that has been
developed by the organization between simplicity and class. The personalities can be
expressed by the organization with the help of different branding based activities that are
performed in the clothing retail based industry. The branding of Ralph Lauren has always
been a perfect balance between the latest trends and the classics. The brand has been
developed for the consumers based on the ways by which the organization is able to provide
maximum levels of value to quality, style and exclusivity levels (Kotler, Kartajaya & Hooi,
2017).
Product strategy – The product strategy of Ralph Lauren is based on the vast product
portfolio that has been developed by the organization. The master brand of Ralph Lauren has
been effectively maintained in different brands that are offered to the consumers. Polo Ralph
Lauren is based on the complete line based on men’s Polo, gloves, scarves. The Ralph Lauren
Collection is another major brand that is offered by the organization. The products that are
offered under the different brands can cater to the needs of various customers (Menon et al.,
2015).
Pricing strategy, pricing levels
The major focus of Ralph Lauren is on the premium and luxury products that belong
to high price and high quality based segment. The prices of products are high in comparison
to the competitors and are aimed at serving the urban and rich people who are more
concerned about the quality rather than the prices. The pricing perspective that has been
implemented by Ralph Lauren is based on the dependency of quality of products on their
prices. The premium pricing strategy is implemented by Ralph Lauren in order to operate in
various countries of the world (Morgan et al., 2019).

5MARKETING STRATEGY ANALYSIS OF RALPH LAUREN
Promotional mix
The brand communications and promotions of Ralph Lauren are best-in-class and
have been helpful in developing a picture that is aspirational for the American life. The
primary promotional and advertising tools that have been used by the organization include,
television, print media and events. The organization has used different fashion magazines
like, Vogue, Vanity Fair and Cosmopolitan in order to increase the levels of awareness in the
fashion industry (Varadarajan, 2015).
Distribution strategy
The distribution based strategy that has been implemented by Ralph Lauren in the
fashion retail industry includes, whole distribution and retail distribution as well. The online
channels are also used by Ralph Lauren in order to reach the consumers within short periods
of time (Morgan et al., 2019).
SWOT analysis of Ralph Lauren
Strengths – The most significant factor related to the success of Ralph Lauren is
based on the leadership of the organization. The designs that are provided by Ralph Lauren
are related to recent trends.
Weaknesses – The huge number of sub brands has affected the focus of Ralph
Lauren. Inventory levels in the organization are also quite high (Kotler, Kartajaya & Hooi,
2017).
Opportunities – Growth opportunities are provided to Ralph Lauren in emerging
countries like China and India.

6MARKETING STRATEGY ANALYSIS OF RALPH LAUREN
Threats – The increasing competition levels from companies like, United Colors of
Benetton, US Polo and Van Huesen is a major threat to Ralph Lauren (Hartsfield, Johansen &
Knight, 2017).
Conclusion
The analysis can be concluded by stating that Ralph Lauren has been successful in
developing a profitable position in the industry with the help of its diverse product line and
distribution strategies.

7MARKETING STRATEGY ANALYSIS OF RALPH LAUREN
References
Cacciolatti, L. & Lee, S.H. (2016). Revisiting the relationship between marketing
capabilities and firm performance: The moderating role of market orientation,
marketing strategy and organisational power. Journal of Business Research, 69(12),
pp.5597-5610.
Hartsfield, S., Johansen, D. & Knight, G. (2017). Entrepreneurial orientation, strategy, and
marketing capabilities in the performance of born global firms. International
Business: Research, Teaching, and Practice, 2(1), pp.12-38.
Jaworski, B.J. (2018). Commentary: advancing marketing strategy in the marketing
discipline and beyond. Journal of Marketing Management, 34(1-2), pp.63-70.
Kotler, P., Kartajaya, H. & Hooi, D.H. (2017). Marketing Strategy For Value
Exploration. World Scientific Book Chapters, pp.175-190.
Menon, A., Bharadwaj, S.G., Adidam, P.T. & Edison, S.W. (2015). Effective Marketing
Strategy-Making: Antecedents and Consequences. In Proceedings of the 1997
Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference (pp. 224-224). Springer,
Cham.
Morgan, N.A., Whitler, K.A., Feng, H. & Chari, S. (2019). Research in marketing
strategy. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, pp.1-26.
Ralphlauren.co.uk (2019). Ralph Lauren UK | Luxury Clothing and Home Collection.
[online] Ralph Lauren. Available at: https://www.ralphlauren.co.uk/ [Accessed 16
Mar. 2019].

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Varadarajan, R. (2015). Strategic marketing, marketing strategy and market strategy. AMS
review, 5(3-4), pp.78-90.