Marketing Objectives
To attain an increase of 10-15% in its existent "Swiss-made" watch market segment by late-2021.
To achieve a 10% increase in its e-commerce sales of the "Swiss-made" watches by mid-2021
To attain a 15% increase in the smartwatch brand's awareness in the emerging markets (specifically the urban commuters' market) by the first quarter of 2021.
To increase its urban commuters market share by 5% by the late-2021
To expand its fossil loyalist fossil market by 10% by the end of 2021
To harness the newest digital technologies that will help with the launching of the modernized fossil smartwatch by early 2021
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To launch the revolutionized analog smartwatch by the third quarter of 2021
Fossil Group Company's Marketing Strategy
The brand has grown as of 2020 because of its marketing strategies encompassing marketing investment, product innovation, and customer experience. Fossil's marketing strategies have promoted the attainment of its goals and objectives (MBA Skool Team, 2019). The firm mainly defines its marketing strategies through a marketing mix of the 4Ps- product, price, promotion, and place.
Product
Product decisions and how they will be leveraged
Fossil maintains its products' relevance by engaging in constant anticipation of its customer needs for the different categories of its products. The firm has assigned all of its products with a team of designers and brand specialists who take up the responsibility of leveraging the firm by identifying customer preferences and deducing fashion trends worldwide (MBA Skool Team, 2019). Moreover, the designers and brand specialists generate volume purchases for the firm by developing style-right offerings.
Brand name
Fossil regards its brand name as one of its invaluable assets as it the business' foundation and serves to market the firm across product lines, distribution channels, and several geographical areas. Notably, since the firm's inception in 1984, it has acquired and licensed other brand names such as Adidas, Karl, Armani, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Relic, Tory Burch, Michele, and Zodiac, among others (MBA Skool Team, 2019). Fossil's success has been heightened by its ability to offer a broad range of appealing and tasteful branded products that meets its customers' preferences. Fossil owns most of its distribution stores, enabling it to execute a brand image that enhances both the licensor's and its own proprietary brands.
Quality
Fossil always banks on the development of distinct designs that reinforce its unique strengths. The firm has built an extremely detailed and functional curated collection. All of its stores have a vintage concept and a comfortable ambiance that is pleasant, well-lit, and cozy (MBA Skool Team, 2019). Fossil brands have an edge because the company collaborates with other classic celebrated brands. Moreover, the firm offers its customers quality watches of enduring design and heritage. That has invested largely in technology through the acquisition of misfit, which amplifies its quality further.
The scope of the product line
Fossil is a global firm that designs, markets, and distributes fashion accessories to consumers. The firm's key offering is the fashionable lines of men's and women's watches (Strandberg, 2005). Moreover, it has extensive lines of designer handbags, sunglasses, and leather goods of small sizes such as belts,
Warranty
Fossil warrants that its packaged products and accessories will be free from defects in their artistry and materials from the period they are purchased to up to two years of their usage. The warranty is a voluntary offer by the manufacturers of Fossil's products (Strandberg, 2005). Additionally, the firm provides product rights that separate from those provided by consumer laws. The rights provided by Fossil include, but are not limited to, the non-conforming products (Womack, 2020). The warranty benefits of Fossil's products add to and do not replace the rights that consumer law provides.
Packaging
The firm uses packages its products, especially watches, in tin cans and wooden boxes, to increase their customers' nostalgia as they use their products and return for more.
Price
Pricing Strategy an expected volumes
List Price
The firm's watches fall into four categories: the fine watches whose prices range between $150 to $20,000, the designer watches, the modern-day fashion watches whose cost ranges from $40 to$149, and the bulk market watches range from $5 to $39 (Womack, 2020). Compared to its competitors, Fossil's products are concentrated on its mid-priced ranges because the mid-prices are attractive to millennials who purchase several prices because they perceive the watches as accessories.
Discounts
Fossil realizes that its customers like saving money. Therefore, the firm allows its customers with discounts or promo codes to redeem for anything that ranges from both men's and women's smartwatches to tote bags, wallets, and even jewelry (Womack, 2020). Moreover, the firm allows coupon codes to be used for the purchases of gifts. The firm offers free shipping for all its products, especially smartwatches, handbags, and embossed bags.
Bundling
Currently, Fossil uses bundle pricing, where it bundles products together and sells them at prices lower than if they were sold individually.
Payment terms and financing options
Fossil allows only payment through credit and debit cards. The firm has recently engaged in discussions with its lenders to amend the covenants under its credit agreement terms.
Leasing options
Fossil's leases comprise spaces for retail stores, offices, distribution centers, and warehouses. The firm's leases do not offer an implicit rate, and thus it uses a borrowing rate that is estimated and incremental ( Fossil Group, Inc., 2020). The leases offered by Fossil have options that allow the renewal of its discretion.
Place (Distribution)
Fossil distributes its products through department stores, specialized retail stores, outlets owned by the company, watch and jewelry stores, bulk market stores, and its website ( Fossil Group, Inc., 2020). Moreover, the firm offers its broad product collection through the websites of third parties.
V. Decision Variables
A. Fossil's distribution channels
Fossil is characterized by a diversified distribution network consisting of watch and jewelry stores, mass-market outlets, department stores, retail and factory outlets, e-commerce platforms, and specialty retail locations ( Fossil Group, Inc., 2020). As such, the firm avails its product through a broad network. Notably, most of Fossil's products are usually spotted in cruise ships, airlines, international retail stores, and international websites.
Motivating the channel
Fossil works with distributors and retailers located in its home country and abroad. Depending on the firm's marketing activities, its distributor margins usually range from 3% to 30% of its sales price, while that of the retailers ranges to 60% ( Fossil Group, Inc., 2020).
Criteria for evaluating distributors
Fossil evaluates its distributors by evaluating their history of handling and selling similar products, reviewing their knowledge of the firm's local market, the distributor's ability to foretell the firm's future trends, and its capability to predicting a shift in the needs of the firm's customers.
Locations
By the end of December 2016, Fossil's products were sold in 150 countries across the world by 80 independent distributors and 23 own-company sales. The firm had a network of 230 company-owned stores and 132 outlets by December 3, 2016.
Logistics
The firm has a strong relationship with its suppliers who ensure it receives, stores, and distributes its products. The firm effectively manages its infrastructure to optimize its entire value chain and to strengthen its competitive position in the market ( Fossil Group, Inc., 2020). Moreover, the firm owns warehouses that it controls, allowing it to make on-time deliveries that translate to high-profit margins.
Promotion
Advertising, including how much and which media
For its cooperative advertising, Fossil partners with major retail customers with whom it shares the advertising and promotional expenses. Fossil uses merchandising materials, such as posters, fixtures, fixtures, and signs, coupled with in-store visual support ( Fossil Group, Inc., 2020). The firm largely promotes the shop-in-shop concept for all its products, especially watches and jewelry. Lastly, the firm provides its customer with numerous customized and pre-printed advertising inserts meant to promote its products by focusing its customers' attention to its products.
Public relations
For instance, in its campaigns, the #CallingAllCurious campaign, Fossil collaborates with artists, fashion bloggers, photographers, and directors to study how its line of product blend and perform in its industry and the world at large ( Fossil Group, Inc., 2020). The firm used Instagram to encourage more consumers to participate in the purchasing of its products actively.
Sales promotion
In the past eras, Fossil partnered with Indiana Jones to feature models who advertised its products in their campaigns, making them a hit. Fossils' sales promotion activities increased its sales ten times within two years between 2013 and 2015 (Fickenscher, 2017). In 2015, the firm increased its sales further by engaging in sales promotion activities such as the #CallingAllCurious
Digital marketing
Fossil's digital channels, characterized by heavy online traffic coming from its e-commerce and third market places, have been performing well, especially in the past 18 months. The firm's digital channels have been responsible for a third of the firm's 2020 total sales.
References
Fickenscher, L. (2017). Fossil watches heading for ‘an epic blow-up’ . New York Post. https://nypost.com/2017/11/28/fossil-watches-heading-for-an-epic-blow-up/
Fossil Group, Inc. (2020). Fossil group, Inc. Reports first quarter 2020 financial results and provides COVID-19 update . GlobeNewswire News Room. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/06/03/2043240/0/en/Fossil-Group-Inc-Reports-First-Quarter-2020-Financial-Results-and-Provides-COVID-19-Update.html
MBA Skool Team. (2019). Fossil marketing mix (4Ps) strategy . MBA Skool-Study.Learn.Share. https://www.mbaskool.com/marketing-mix/products/17699-fossil.html
Strandberg, K. W. (2005). Fossil, the great American watch company . EUROPA STAR is an international watch magazine bringing news and business analysis on the global watch industry, the latest timepieces, and luxury events in Switzerland and around the world. https://www.europastar.com/magazine/features/1000751981-fossil-44-the-great-american-watch-company.html
Statista. (2020, February 27). Fossil group: Number of stores by region worldwide 2019 . https://www.statista.com/statistics/912484/fossil-group-number-of-stores-by-region-worldwide/
Womack, B. (2020, August 13). Fossil group – amid large drop in sales – leaning more on digital in a big way . Dallas Business Journal. https://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2020/08/13/fossil-group-digital.html
