Muhammad Usman Mughal 071114

Waqas Farooq 071122

Naveed Hussain 071105

Shahryar 052124

This project is designed to provide a clear description about a new brand of jeans named Y-Gene in Pakistan. It includes firm’s introduction, objectives, market analysis and segmentation, targeting, positioning and differentiation strategies. This report further provides knowledge about product, price, place and discusses the promotional mix in detail. It also highlights the future plans of the firm.

We have tried our best to fulfill the requirements of task assigned to us. It purely depends upon the reader to read it carefully and understand it. Overall this assignment provides a brief knowledge about Y_Gene in Pakistan.

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

First of all we are very thankful to Allah Almighty, who provided us knowledge, energy and skills to avail opportunities and increase our knowledge and experience by completing this Project.

Secondly, we are very thankful to Mr. Kashif Farooq (Jeans Exporter) and Mr. Khuram Khan (Dress designer at Levis) for providing us valuable information that really made it possible for us to complete this project. Their guidance provided us every opportunity to understand the business.

Finally, we especially thank to our course instructor Mr.Jawad saleem, who guided us at every stage and provided us with valuable advices, so that our work completed successfully.

After five years of serving with a jeans manufacturing unit, four friend joined hands to launch their own brand of jeans on the basis of partnership. So a firm was established in 2004, as a result of partnership in which all of them contributed equal finance. Brand was started with an innovative name of “Y_Gene”. Firm started its work without establishing any unit and got its supplies of finished product from different units. Firm employed a team of fashion designers that developed their designs, cuts and colors and then suppliers were strictly supervised to observe those specifications by the company employed fashion designers. The brands of Levis, HANGTEN and CHENONE were regarded as competitors.

Analysis of the cost, projected budget of sales and estimated profit analysis are given in the coming pages. After three years company is in profit now. Initially it started with a 0-channel distribution from its own exclusive outlets but then to push the sales; product was placed on the well known stores of the country. Company is working as a local company and is not exporting yet. Company is working exclusively in men jeans and main focus of the brand is compassionate and fashion seeking youth of upper and middle income class.

Y-Gene

Profit oriented

CEO

FINANCE

QUALITY CONTROL

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

MARKETING

To achieve high market share and earn profit by establishing brand while generating huge circle of loyal customers

“We are satisfying our customers by providing them with high-fashioned, self expressive, high quality jeans, with diverse choice of colors, at reasonable price”

In Pakistan percentage of youth in the population is very high which is favorable for the business as the product is basically though for youth. Generation X and generation Y are in reasonable percentage in Pakistan. Young married and bachelors, professionals, semi skilled and skilled people are in favorable percentage to favor the product.

Upper class people are in less amount but they may prove highly profitable as they are gold and platinum customers. Purchasing power of middle class people is alsi rising because of flow of plastic money in the country. Theses two classes are regarded as potential customers of the company.

Infrastructure and structures are developing rapidly in the country and their present situation is also healthy and satisfactory. Communication systems and transportation of the material through road, railways and aerial channels is very much feasible.

As people are getting more educated, they are accepting innovations and pace of change especially in the fashion industry is really at rise. Change is accepted at a satisfactory readiness level and provides an opportunity to the up-coming company to experiment new styles and innovations.

People in Pakistan are becoming brand consciousness and this branding wave is at its peak. Among youth jeans is very much liked and it is getting inside the culture. Moreover psychographics are also favorable for launching a new brand of jeans. Innovations and new trends are liked by people.

As such there is no legal and political restriction to launch jeans in Pakistani society. However before launching the product, services of a qualified lawyer will help to deal with all the specifications regarding the trademark and logo registration and to get information about all the government liabilities necessary to be fulfilled by an upcoming company. Political stability will favor the business and FDI in last 7 years encourage investing in the business and provides a glimpse of the foreign companies as well on political situation.

Y_Gene has identified its customers as young working men, professionals, teenagers, upper class and middle class school. College and university students and passionate and fashion conscious people of upper and middle class.

Students are recognized as iron customers, whereas working men, professionals and on job males are recognized as gold and platinum customers.

Y_Gene has identified its competitors as Levis, Hang ten and ChenOne, Levi Straus, and Y_Gene is in direct competition with its competitors.

In its competition, Y_Gene is follower and is giving a “favorable” competition to its competitors.

As a follower firm has adopted “Adopter strategy” and has benchmarked its leader to give a better product.

Company is not having its own stitching unit and is getting finally finished and packed product from its suppliers. Firm’s fashion designers work in collaboration with theses suppliers to take work according to their specifications which are strictly observed in every step of manufacturing the jeans.

Initially firm came up with 0-level channel and product was sold only at company outlets. But in the recent years, to enhance the sales, company has adopted multi channel distribution and is placing its product on the renowned stores through out country like HKB in Lahore, ARY in Karachi etc.

Wile doing the research data was collected by using both, primary and secondary sources. In secondary sources we analyzed the data already present on internet and through other sources like competitors sales analysis etc. For gathering the primary data, a survey questionnaire was surveyed and personal interviews were also conducted. Moreover different colleges and universities were visited by our teams of fashion designer to assess to taste of the youth. It was also an activity of creating hype about the product before its launch.

Approach adopted for the research included questionnaire that included different open –ended and closed-ended questions to assess the taste, demand and expectations of the people from a new brand. Theses questions were designed in a way so that data donor can express its views in open-ended part and then in closed-ended part of the questionnaire, peoples response under certain possibilities were assessed. Personal interviews of people were also conducted. Armature fashion shows were organized and sponsored in different fashion schools and colleges, which not only provided the opportunity of assessing people’s expectations but also became a source of awareness of brand among people, before its launch.

Data donors were contacted in both physical and indirect ways. Questionnaires were given by hand and interviews were conducted physically. In fashion shows behavior of people towards different type of styles and colors were also observed.

Market was segmented while considering following characteristics

On the basis of above segmentation, attractiveness of different segments was considered. Profitability analysis of different segments and compatibility of different segments with our product’s features, following segments were targeted.

Product specialization is the strategy adopted by the firm. Only one brand of jeans was launched in all the markets of the country and all outlets were selling the same brand.

Cluster

Positing attributes are deliberately chosen as abstract as they are not having any limit and provide a better room for the positioning

Product is differentiated as high fashioned and self expressive. Firm’s image, logo and symbol are also a differentiation feature of the product. Product has a very masculine oriented name which rightly and precisely describes its exclusiveness for high fashioned and style seeking males.

Company is having its own outlets as well as product is placed at renowned stores of the country. HKB in Lahore, ARY in Karachi etc are its retailers and are having very good market place which is further helping the brand to gain more worth.

Added advantage of buying the jeans from its outlets is that fashion designers are deployed on the outlets that provide advice to the customers to buy jeans that best suit their physique.

Services provided by the fashion designers are added benefit of buying product from the outlets of the firm.

Brand’s innovative name, logo and symbol is its differentiation features.

Jeans itself is the concrete product and is having tangible benefits.

Abstract attributes are those attributes that are not measurable. Abstract attributes are the major focus of the marketers today as it has opened up a horizon for focusing on wants rather than on the needs. Y_Gene is focusing on the following abstract attributes in its advertisement campaigns as well.

Y-Genes initially came up in the market with a promotional price strategy which was introductory and for a short period of time. It helped the brand to grab the attention of its potential customers.

Presently Y-Gene is following brand pricing. Even though, psychological discounts are given on at special events e.g. Eids, charismas and new-year etc.

Initially company had placed its product on its own outlets only. Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi were selected for opening outlets having in consideration the percentage of potential customers, developed infrastructure and easy availability. But then in the coming years, to push the sales further company decided to palce its product on the renowned store and shopping centers of the country. This strategy helped company a great deal because in many cities company found developed and well reputed stores to place its product. Several incentives were given to theses well reputed retailers to better place the product.

So initially company was following zero level channel but then it switch on to selective distribution. The objective behind this strategy was to push the sales and to achieve a higher volume of sales to get more profit. Different retailers and stores are evaluated on the basis of their performance in the sales time to time and it further helps the company to take decisions in the future about the selection of retailers or about the incentives and measures to be taken to improve the sales further.

Company is following four tools of promotional mix

All theses promotional tools are briefly discussed in the following lines.

Initially informative ads were designed to create hype about the product. Then persuasive ads were used after the launch of the product and youth was persuaded by focusing on the exclusiveness of the brand as men’s wear.

Mission of the ads were decided to be informative, before the launch of the product, and then persuasive after its launch

Objective Company was not having very huge finances for advertising so the method adopted by the company was objective task method.

Message was decided by the company to be innovative and when before launching the product commercially, teams of fashion designers used to go to different colleges and universities, the format of the messages as shown and evaluated by the response of the people and then response was assessed.

In execution of the message, company used a specific life style in its ads to create an appeal for the youth.

Following media vehicles were used invariably by looking at company’s objectives, reach of theses media vehicles, frequency, impact.

All are discussed in following lines

Before launching the product media hype was created among the people by placing billboards in busy and posh areas of concentrated potential customers. On these boards people were informed about the innovative name of the product and most of the attributes advertised were abstract. Theses billboards were having messages like;

As the main focus was youth and working man of a specific life style , then ads were on-aired on the times and channels, where opportunity to approach the target audience was maximum.

TV channels like PALY, MUZIK, MTV, AAG, ARY, GEO were selected and were used to advertised at the times when our target audience was expected to attend the message. Youth are more interested in the music channels, so they were approached through theses channel. For our target market of working youth males, we approached them in some business programs and on the times when there were opportunity to portray our message to them.

Banners informing the customers about the new offerings were placed at the places where target audience was more likely to attend it.

Fashion magazines and weekly magazines were used as media vehicles of printed form, as our target market is more likely to expose over these magazines.

Workshops are organized by the Y-Gene in the fashion schools and colleges to introduce innovative trends and fashions among the youth.

Amateur fashion shows are sponsored in the schools, colleges and universities. Moreover free passes of the professional fashion shows are given to our gold and platinum customers. Similarly in promoting the sales, on every purchase from the outlet, customers are given coupons to get enter in the draw to get free tickets of the fashion shows.

Our website is having enormous information about our offerings and is providing knowledge about the trends and fashions. Our sales force at the company outlets keeps the particulars of our gold and platinum customers and then by calling and e-mailing, theses customers are informed about the new offerings by the outlet.

Since the launching of the brand, it has faced several problems. Some of those problems are stated below.

On the basis of the entire report we can summarize following lines.

Brand has completed almost three years of its creation and is now planning to increase its business. Future plans of the business are summarized below.

Following conclusions are drawn

In the light of all above findings and conclusions, following suggestions and recommendations are valid