1 International Marketing Strategy of T

Student Papers in Business Administration, No. 1 (2006)
International Marketing Strategy of T-shirts
Writing Style Instructor’s Choice Award Azusa Ida
Recently, there are many young people who wear the latest fashion and many kinds of clothes
stores exist. Then, if a Japanese apparel company tries to sell their products in the Japanese
market and in a foreign market, what kinds of products sell well in both markets? The purpose
of this paper is to investigate this issue as well as to find out some points companies need to
know when they do their marketing research and sales promotion. This time I focus on T-shirts
because most young people have some. I sent out a questionnaire about T-shirts to university
students in Japan and Australia. From the results, I found out effective strategies using some
examples when a Japanese apparel company sells their T-shirts.
最近ファッションに敏感な若者が多くアパレルショップも多様なものが存在している
と思います。そこで、もし日本のアパレル企業が日本と他国の市場へ向けて商品を販売
する場合、どのような商品が適しているかということを調査したうえで問題などを考慮
していきます。また、マーケティングリサーチや販売戦略を行う際にはどのようなこと
を重視するべきかについても検討します。今回は誰でも持っていると思われる T シャツ
についての調査を日本とオーストラリアの大学生を対象に行いました。そこから得られ
た結果をもとに事例研究などを交えながら、日本のアパレル企業が日本とオーストラリ
アへ向けて T シャツを販売するための戦略を考えました。
Introduction
My research subject relates to clothes because there are many young people who
like to wear the latest fashion.
They wear various kinds of clothes they like and there
are many clothes stores in town.
Here I define two kinds of clothes companies,
domestic companies and foreign companies.
I have studied business marketing at this
university and would like to know what differences or problems exist when foreign
apparel companies sell their own products in Japan. The reason why I chose T-shirts
as the theme of this research is it is common clothes for young people. In this paper, I
would like to examine the possibilities of differences in marketing strategies by taking a
look at consumers’ point of view.
My main question is “If a Japanese apparel company tries to sell its own products
in Japan and a foreign country, what difficulties do they have to consider?”
When this
company sells the same clothes in a foreign country, they need to consider different
1
Faculty of Business Administration, Hokkai-Gakuen University
strategies from what they use in Japan.
both markets.
They must think about marketing strategies for
Then they have to research in Japan and in a foreign country to
understand this matter.
By chance, this summer, I went to Australia; therefore I was able to take this
country as an example.
So, comparative data were taken both in Japan and Australia.
In this research, I focus on apparel markets of young fashion; therefore I collected the
data of young people in Japan and Australia.
Background
In this section, I will show three examples from the literature to understand what
successful keys exist when a company sells their products outside the country.
I take
two examples in which companies advanced to foreign markets and think what they did
to have a success.
I also take other example: how Japanese young people and
Australian young people think about the latest fashion or shopping, because I sent out
the questionnaire about T-shirts to young people in Japan and in Australia. I am going
to consider what T-shirts those young people would like and what strategies are good
for them when a Japanese apparel company sells the products in or outside the country.
First, according to Horide and Yamada (2003), A Japanese beer company made
inroads into the Chinese beer market.
That market was full of domestic companies and
foreign companies; however, the company was able to have a success.
their successful points?
How did they put their strategies into practice?
What were
Here are
some points why the company was able to have a success. In the Chinese beer market,
most customers liked light type beer and many domestic companies had put out light
type beer.
2
Domestic companies had products which were low-priced and
Student Papers in Business Administration, No. 1 (2006)
middle-priced.
The
government-managed
company
and
major
companies
monopolized the middle price market, and many local companies had products which
were for the low price market. However, those beers were not good quality because they
were produced with low costs.
by foreign products.
highly priced.
On the other hand, customers were apt to be influenced
Foreign beer companies had products which were strong type and
After this the Japanese company examined the Chinese beer market
completely, and they made inroads into the market which was the light type and
middle-priced.
This company was able to satisfy the customers’ foreign brands
inclination, interest in new products, light type taste, and reasonable price. Therefore,
they were able to have a success in this market.
Second, Yahagi (2000) indicates that European retail companies have advanced
into foreign market and there are three factors which are important points to advance.
The first factor is the push factor from the domestic market, the second factor is the pull
factor from the foreign market, and the third factor is the inside factor from the company.
The main reason European retail companies advanced to foreign markets is because
they cannot develop their business as they like by regulation.
The European retail
market is also in full growth and European economy hangs low.
These cause the push
factor.
On the other hand, there are foreign markets which are attractive to advance.
What is more, foreign customers would like products from abroad. These cause the
pull factor.
The inside factor means companies should develop their business
strategies and skills to grow. It is also useful to make inroads to foreign markets.
Third, I focus on young people in this research; therefore I have to know young
people who I sent out the questionnaire.
I sent it out in Japan and in Australia this time.
There is an example how Japanese and Australian young people think about the latest
3
Faculty of Business Administration, Hokkai-Gakuen University
fashion and shopping.
Moses (2002) indicates that Japanese young people like
shopping more than young people in other countries. The author also mentions that
Japanese young people are keen customers and they think brand name is more important
than price. I think they have enough money to buy it; however, do they really think
brand name is important when they buy something?
In the case of Australia, most
young people think America leads the latest fashion.
They like touching the outside
world through fashion, entertainment, and internet; however, do they really think
America and Europe lead the latest fashion?
As mentioned above, there are some successful elements when companies sell
their products outside the country.
If companies don’t have a plan to advance to
foreign markets, they have to advance to foreign markets according to circumstances.
In either case, it is a good chance for companies because they could increase their
business opportunities. How can companies find the market to advance?
I think they
have to examine the markets and know about customers’ preference.
I made a
questionnaire which included questions to know about these things.
Data & Results
I made a questionnaire which includes questions about T-shirts.
Here are some
questions: “What are the three most important factors you think of when you choose to
buy a new T-shirt?”, “How much money do you usually pay for a new T-shirts?”, “How
much money do you spend on clothes for a month?”
I sent the questionnaire out to 45 young people in Japan and 45 young people in
Australia. They were mainly university students.
results with graph.
4
Here are the three questions and
Student Papers in Business Administration, No. 1 (2006)
78% Japanese young people and 52% Australian young people answered design
of T-shirts was the most important factor when they buy a new T-shirt. 48% Japanese
young people answered price of T-shirts was the second most important factor; however,
only 24% Australian young people answered price was the second most important factor.
Many Japanese and Australian young people think design of T-shirts is the most
important factor when they buy a new T-shirt.
This result was the same as I had
expected.
Figure 1. What are the 3 most important factors you think of when you choose to buy a
new T-shirt?
Most Important
Design
Latest fasion
Comfortableness
Japan
Australia
Material
Brand name
Price
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
2nd Most Important
Price
Comfortableness
Latest fasion
Japan
Australia
Material
Brand name
Design
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
5
Faculty of Business Administration, Hokkai-Gakuen University
With regard to the question about the price when they buy a new T-shirt, most
Japanese young people answered from 2,000 yen to 5,000 yen and most Australian
young people answered from 2,000 yen to 6,000 yen.
Therefore, the question about
the price they pay for a new T-shirt had the same result in Japan and Australia.
Figure 2. How much money do you usually pay for a new T-shirts?
Price they pay for a new T-shirt
6000yen5000-6000yen
4000-5000yen
Japan
Australia
3000-4000yen
2000-3000yen
1000-2000yen
500-1000yen
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
The next question is about the money when Japanese and Australian young people
spend for their clothes per month.
Most young Japanese people answered from 5,000
yen to 20,000 yen; however, most Australian young people answered from $20 to $200,
which is 1,800 yen to 18,000 yen.
Therefore, the question about the money they spend
did not have the same result in Japan and Australia.
were more scattered than Japanese samples.
6
In general, Australian samples
Student Papers in Business Administration, No. 1 (2006)
Figure 3. How much money do you spend on clothes for a month?
Japan
30%
20%
20%
15%
5%
00
5,0
2
¥
5%
00
0,0
2
¥
5,0
¥1
00
00
0 ,0
1
¥
,00
¥8
0
3%
0
,00
¥5
3%
0
,5 0
¥2
¥0
Australia
17%
15%
15%
11% 11%
9%
9%
7%
2%
$5
00
$3
50
$3
00
$2
00
$1
50
2%
$1
00
$8
0
$6
0
$5
0
$3
0
$2
0
2%
Discussion
Through this research, I found differences between the Japanese market and the
Australian market.
I figured out some key elements and problems which a Japanese
company should think about when they sell T-shirts in Australia, which is a different
market from Japanese. Here I would like to propose four suggestions.
First, from the result of the important factors, many Japanese young people and
Australian young people think design of T-shirts is the most important factor when they
7
Faculty of Business Administration, Hokkai-Gakuen University
buy a new T-shirt.
In addition, Australian young people tend to follow the latest
fashion more so than Japanese young people. I think Japanese young people would
like clothes which look cute or cool, and they are also the latest fashion in Japan. On
the other hand, Australian young people would like clothes which are the latest fashion
currently popular in Europe or in the United States.
Therefore, from the designing
point of view, if a Japanese apparel company tries to sell their T-shirts in the Japanese
market, they should focus on whether they are cute or cool in Japan.
And if they try to
sell their products in the Australian market, they should put out the latest T-shirts in the
world.
Second, if companies consider the price of the T-shirts they sell, both Japanese
and Australian young people would pay from 2,000 yen to 5,000 yen.
Therefore, this
company can put out their T-shirts for this range of price for both markets. However,
the range of money that Australian would spend for their clothes also varies, so it is
equally important for a company to consider putting a wide variety of price for their
T-shirts to sell in Australia.
Third, I saw many clothes stores in Australia and found clothes in various colors
and sizes.
I think in Japan, we have fewer variations in colors or sizes than in
Australia.
Therefore, for a Japanese company to advance to Australia, they need
T-shirts with various colors and sizes.
Forth, if a Japanese apparel company sells their T-shirts in Australia, they have to
do sales promotion for the market in which they sell their products. Morokami and
Fujisawa (2004) emphasize the importance of promotion strategy, especially
advertisement, when companies advance to foreign markets.
They also mention that
promotion is influenced by the culture of each country and it is not also the image of
8
Student Papers in Business Administration, No. 1 (2006)
products but also the image of the companies. Therefore, companies which advance to
foreign markets always have to pay attention to their promotion strategies.
Davies and
Yahagi (2001) indicate companies which advance to foreign markets have to keep their
own business know-how or skills when they sell their products in other countries. As
mentioned above, companies should accept cultural differences and local ways when
they do sales promotion in foreign countries. On the other hand, they should keep
their own business strategies when they produce or sell their products in other countries.
Conclusion
This paper has attempted to investigate what strategies are necessary when a
Japanese apparel company sells the same clothes in Japan and in a foreign country.
Therefore, I researched about T-shirts in Japan and Australia.
First, if a Japanese apparel company sells their new T-shirts in the Japanese
market, they should put out the T-shirts which are cute or cool as these are also the latest
fashion in Japan.
I think the Japanese apparel market is very small because the
population in Japan is not so large.
Therefore, if this apparel company tries to sell
their products in Japan, they have to do market research completely and they need to
know consumers’ preference to make products that satisfy their customers.
Second, if a Japanese apparel company sells their new T-shirts in the Australian
market, they should put out the latest T-shirts in the world. Then this company needs
to research in other European countries and the United States because Australian young
people tend to follow the latest fashion there. In addition, this company has to prepare
T-shirts with various colors and sizes for the Australian market.
They also need extra
promotion strategies for the Australian market which are different from what they use in
9
Faculty of Business Administration, Hokkai-Gakuen University
Japan. They also have to research and understand consumers’ preference or their
culture completely.
Then they can do sales promotion that is accepted by the market
they sell their products.
Third, the price of T-shirts this company sells for both Japanese and Australian
markets can be almost the same.
However, for the Australian market, they need a
wider price range than for the Japanese market.
Finally, I think there were some problems in the questionnaire. I wrote wrong
information in this questionnaire for Japan; therefore I was not able to collect exact
samples about one question or compare the results between Japan and Australia. I also
should have defined the questions more clearly; some people did not understand some
questions completely.
References
Davies, Ross, & Yahagi, Toshiyuki（矢作敏行）. (2001). 『アジア発 グロー
バル小売競争』 東京：日本経済社
Horide, Ichiro（堀出一郎）, & Yamada, Teruhisa（山田晃久）. (2003). 『グロ
ーバルマーケティング戦略』 東京：中央経済社
Morokami, Shigeto（諸上茂登）,& Fujisawa, Takeshi（藤沢武史）. (2004). 『グ
ローバル・マーケティング』 東京：中央経済社
Moses, Elissa. (2002). 『ティーンズ・マーケティング―1000 億ドル市場の
攻略法』 東京：ダイヤモンド社
Yahagi, Toshiyuki（矢作敏行）. (2000). 『欧州の小売イノベーション』 東
京：白桃書房
10
Student Papers in Business Administration, No. 1 (2006)
Appendix A
The questionnaire of T-shirts
1.
What is your age group please circle.
①10-19 ②20-29 ③30-39 ④40-49 ⑤50-
2.
How many T-shirts do you have? Please choose one. (
①1-9 ②10-19 ③20-29 ④30-39 ⑤40-49 ⑥50-
3.
What are the 3 most important factors you think of when you choose to buy a new
T-shirt?
Please choose 3 factors in the order of importance
most important (
) 2nd most important (
) 3rd most important(
)
①price ②design ③material ④comfortableness ⑤latest fashion ⑥brand name
4.
How much money do you usually pay for a new T-shirts? Please choose one.
(
)
①$5-9 ②$10-19 ③$20-29 ④$30-39 ⑤$40-49 ⑥$50-59 ⑦$60⑧none of fee above (reason)
5.
How much money do you spend for T-shirts throughout the year?
About $(
)
6.
How long do you wear each T-shirt? Please circle one.
① one season ②1 year ③1-2 years ④2-3 years ⑤3-4 years ⑥4-5years
⑦more than 5 years
⑧ It varies (please specify the reason)
)
Reason:
7.
How much money do you spend on clothes for a month?
About $(
)
8.
How much is the total price of today’s outfit?
About $(
)
9.
How do you get your money for your clothes? Please circle the most important
source of your funds for clothing.
① salary ② allowance ③ someone buy them, for me
④ other sources (
)
☆Thank you for answering my questions☆
11
Faculty of Business Administration, Hokkai-Gakuen University
12