SWOT of Dior

STRENGTHS: Dior itself has so many strengths, but those which have drawn the company out the ground is the individuality and strong sense of narrative and the creation of ‘the dream’. Over the years Dior has created such a passion for the brand, and the need for it, which is why, 60 years on the company is still ever moving with the fast paced industry. 

WEAKNESSES: Although the company is very well developed, it has only a few downfalls, due to the change of designers over the years, at points there has been very little stability within the business, and the change of the personalities being injected into the brand has meant that in some cases there has been a large change in style and designs of certain pieces. 

OPPORTUNITIES: Dior is very aware as a company, and keeps up to date with all events. The Dior Harrods event in 2013, promoted the brand once again and allowed a whole range of audiences to view the garments and styles. The experiences which Dior choose to exploit are perfect opportunities for sales, and for the audiences. 

THREATS: Along with threats comes strong competition within the industry, and in this case, the threats lie with Chanel, and the fact that there is such a strong connection between the two brands. However, threats also lie with the designers, as in the short stay of the designer Bill Gaytten in 2011 for Dior, this can cause threats as it can have a lasting effect on the brand essence. 

The work behind a Campaign

• First of all, a press release is pushed to the audience to announce campaign a year in advance – making the product desirable, making them realise just what is coming and to inform the press. 
• Then, the company will tip off fashion magazines and press so it gets around to everyone; causing excitement.
• Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are also key to promoting the campaign. conversation about the brand. 
• The press are therefore interested in the designer to make the product, then get  photographs of it, then it gets sent to PR enabling them to have physical products to show, then exclusives are pushed again with pre released images. 
• The, all of this information reaches the media, the interest to the customer and is given to the audience in sections: 1 glossy, 1 weekly, 1 cover, 1 sunday newspaper. 
• They then pick the images, no one has the edge to the other they all have to have the images at the same time – 2/3 months before hand, a teaser. 
• Possibly an interview with the designer, something to tell, the story is then told about the collection or product. 
• Beginning of November more images are released to all medias, final push – billboards on oxford street, placements are then chosen and bought for maximum promotion.
• Then when the product is realised, a follow up story is created, and normally the words ‘SOLD OUT’ are used – meaning a sense of exclusiveness.

THE COMPETITOR

The biggest competition of the Haute Couture world, Chanel, has just released their new Chanel No.5 advert; created by Award Winning Director Baz Luhrmann including the beautiful Gisele Bundchen, it is such an interestingly passionate new promotional element to the brand. Let alone it is set in the beautiful, dreamy land of New York’s Queensboro Bridge, the whole setting, theme and narrative of the advert is beauty, as well as the luxury in living somewhere so beautiful. Adverts such as these cause such a threat to Dior as it has pushed the opposing brand into the publics eye, which is exactly the opposite of what Dior would have wished for, however this is so common within the industry.

‘In the end, it’s about romance and passion – and I want to spend weeks in the Chanel archives!’

Luhrmann wanted to create something desirable, something that all women wanted; a successful career, a luxury house, a beautiful daughter and the lifestyle which was portrayed, meaning that women will buy into the dream to have their own journey that Bundchen is displaying, they want success, and having the perfume will bring this. 

Now, we simply need to wait to see how Dior reacts, as J’adore and Chanel No.5 will now be the two main adverts to watch this Christmas, as the final push for promotional aspects of the perfume industry begin.

DIOR vs CHANEL

When looking at the competitive market of the fashion industry, there are two names in the couture world which have battled it about for years and years: Chanel and Dior. These two are the giants of the couture world, and have such a targeted market, however, product placement and store placement are vital for this competitive market, having the best position within the market. This can be set up through the companies themselves, they choose exactly where they’d like a new store to be built, or is can be done by organisations such as John Lewis, Boots and Selfridges. 

When you walk into the fragrance section at Selfridges, first on your left you’ll find Dior, right at the door, and about 6 meters away you’ll see Chanel. This close placing of the leading brands is no coincidence. As I am interested in Dior, this was such an incredibly experience to be able to talk to the experts about the fragrances, and a chance to smell, touch, hold and get to grips with Diorissimo, which is such a magical smell. The two companies often find an overlap with the customers visiting, as they go to one first, then visit the other. Both are very sophisticated in look, and the colours are very monochrome to allow the products to speak for themselves. This is a perfect technique, as both brands are so well known, they can keep their publicity to a minimum and allow the products to speak the dream and the story behind the brand. 

Selfridges is the perfect place to find both Chanel and Dior, and both are such in-depth brands, but Dior, in my opinion, in this store has prime placement as you have to walk past the stand to get to Chanel; perfect for the competitive market.

ALEXANDER WANG – H&M

On November the 6th, all eyes and ears will purely on the Alexander Wang collection for H&M. The fashion world is now on edge waiting for the full collection to become released, the American sportswear with his own twist. Following Isabel Marant, Versace and even Stella McCartney, this collection in particular has become a very popular look which not only his target audience want; but the dropped prices have attracted a much broader audience for purchase. These events are so vital to the way the fashion world works, as it allows each and every one of us to have a piece of the design collection’s dream, we are all able to make our own story with the garments. Alexander Wang is someone who I have previously looked at in great detail, and I have to say I am incredibly excited to see this collection.

The FINAL clustering

Within the UK, there is only 1 remaining piece of Art Nouveau Sculpture, which is the middle of Piccadilly Circus – Eros, the statue of love. Carnaby street which is a short walk away in the 1960’s used to a very unique little boutique street, however it has now become very much the same as other shopping streets within London. However, Newburgh Street was the first street to be the Alternative London Fashion Week, here you can find so many interesting and one off shops which is why it has made its name on the map over the years – which is were Mac, Liberty and many other shops live. 

However, the final part of the trip leads me to Covent Garden, home of so many luxury shops and fashion clusters; but most importantly it is one of the areas where you will find Chanel and Dior right next to each other. This placement did not happy by accident, right opposite the main square, it is a prime location for the two Haute Couture giants. Though this is where you will also find Apple, one of the biggest in London, which is very important to note as there is not a large push between technology and fashion – which is what has been promoted and publicised on this years Apprentice. The Dior shop was so incredible to visit, and the staff where incredibly informative, telling us about the life of Dior, and how the company works. Dior in Covent Garden in a beauty boutique, and the first in London when the company expanded from Paris; which is why this store in particular is vital to the understanding of Dior.

Throughout this walk, I learnt so much about the store placements, why and how the stores are categorised and very strategically placed to help the consumer become tempted by more than they set out to look at. This is a vital part of the fashion industry, and clustering takes a very long time to perfect, as this is so key to the way the brand is viewed, and by who. This walk was incredibly useful for my knowledge, and taught me an awful lot about London, as well as the Designer Clusters.

Store Placements

Next I headed to the home of Madame De Pompadour’s home, the mistress of Louis XIV; now home to the Wallace Collection which is a house which burst of Paris, from the huge staircase to the ‘Gold Room’, it not only developed my understanding of Vivienne Westwood’s inspirations for a lot of her designs, but it made me incredibly excited for Paris; which was exactly one month on Sunday! Around the Wallace exhibition is home to a lot of wealthy Londoners, which suits the exhibition perfectly. 

Walking back along Oxford Street, we now walked the entire street of Bond Street; both old and new. This was one of the main sections of the whole day which really stood out to be, and made an impact on my understanding of the placement within the fashion clustering. Old Bond Street is full of luxury fashion houses, such as Tiffany, Chanel, Dior and Louis Vuitton. Like Balenciaga, Louis Vuitton has tried to create a unique experience for the customers, and another unique selling point to the brand. This store has been redesigned to feel like you, as the consumer, are inside a jewellery box! This strange idea, is actually incredibly effective, as the tall ceilings and the sectioned store allows the store to have something extra in comparison. However, there is one more important factor which I noticed about Bond Street, There is a large Chanel store opposite to Vuitton, however, there is now a Dior being built right next door to Chanel; this push of competitiveness is key to keeping up to date with what the other is planning, and will help both to develop and continue to cluster together to re-enforce their position amongst rivals.

Mayfair to Regent Street

 

Mayfair is now the new fashion area in London, especially down Mount Street, where Balenciaga can now be found, along side Marc Jacobs and Celine. After many articles about Balenciaga in particular, I though it only right to have a little visit inside; not only is the brand very passionate about Luxury, but it has created a very unique changing room – the hexagonal shape was covered in mirrors, with cushions and a very simplistic yet large changing space – which for some reason reminded me of a space ship shape! This unique selling point for the brand increases the awareness as the store has something extra for the customers; which is keys within the competitive market. 

Just off from Mount Street, you can find South Audley St – which is the next sub section of London to be colonised by fashion itself. A shop which I have been to visit on many occasions is Thomas Goode, where you will find the most beautiful and exotic flowers in all of London. The whole shop is split into many different sections, ceramics, books and 2 large elephants in the window, which are now insured for £1 million each! This alone tells you a lot about the price tags of products within Thomas Goode, though each product is so personal and created to the highest standard. Along from here, and heading towards Grosvenor Square you can find Browns – which was who put John Galliano a place within the fashion industry, pushing Dior forward. As well as Issey Miyake and the Mrs Bernstein boutique.

Next, I headed to the home of British Vogue – Hanover Square, which is where the Conde Nast newsagent and Vogue house itself can be found; which is in fact where you can find all of the global titles ever published by Conde Nast. This was one of the main attractions of ‘Vogue’s Night Out’, and is somewhere that I can remember visiting time after time. 

DESIGNER CLUSTERING

Despite the wet and windy weather on Monday, I headed out at 9am to gain a true understanding on where shops are placed within central London; looking and individual brands and their key locations. How fashion brands create a visual presence on the hughstreet and the shopping districts; creating a strong and well developed awareness of the market level clusterings. In particular, I was focusing on Dior and the way the company had presented themselves to the audiences, and how they enticed their target market in competition with other big brands. 

To start the exercise off, I started at Oxford Circus, making my way to Conduit St, which is where a lot of luxury brands are found – Vivienne Westwood, Donna Karan, Moschino, and most importantly Sketch – which is the original show room in London that Dior used to use; a lot of presence of the Dior company still lies there, and the feel of the brand is very much still present. Down this hughstreet is one of many Dior stores; this one predominately selling shoes and bags – which allowed me to explore the new Diorissimo bags for the first time. Then onto Saville Row – the home of tailoring in London, and where Henry Poole & Co and Norton & Sons can be found; all lined up offering something different with their tailoring. Each and every store looked sophisticated and well thought out – which is vital in that particular section of the fashion market. What was also very interesting is that I was able to watch a lot of adjustments and actual tailoring take place, as the lower level of the shop was visible from the street; letting the customers have a more personal experience with the individual store. 

With this close knit shopping sector, there are many different classes of shops; Haute Couture all the way to Economy, which was very interesting to look at the precise grouping and classes and where each shop was placed within the market. Stella McCartney is several doors down from the famous Hartnell Gallery, which sat right next to Matthew Williamson; this close connection between the shops is a clear grouping of the Brand Diffusion market. The hierarchy of fashion is something that is taken very seriously, and walking along Bond Street, Mayfair, Oxford street and even Conduit Street, it is very easy to identify the target audience for that particular street – a very in-depth and personal shopping experience.

Positioning between DIOR and CHANEL

The positioning between Dior and Chanel shops, boutiques, perfume and cosmetic stores in Central London. This is vital to understanding both companies and the competitive market which they face. The placements are to re-enforce the Couture element of both brands; and having them so close can cause a lot of friction, but it also allows both to become the better brand as they’re so close to the competition, they’re able to work side by side to push one another, as well as uniquely improve and challenge not only the other brand, but the customers choice.