DOLCE & GABBANA
CONTENT
Abstract Pen Portrait
History Market Gap Analysis
Mission Statement Retailers Gap
Unique Selling Point New Range Overview
Marketing Mix: Product Trend Research
Marketing Mix: Place New Product Range
Marketing Mix: Price Price Architecture
Marketing Mix: Promotion Advertising
Marketing Mix: People Charity Event
Marketing Mix: Process New SWOT Analysis
Marketing Mix: Physical Evidence Comparative Shopping
SWOT Analysis Conclusion
Positioning Map References
Target Customer
ABSTRACT
This project is based on creating a new range for an existing company. I
have chosen to create a maternity line for Dolce and Gabbana.
Throughout this project I have researched Dolce and Gabbana, what they
stand for and who they are as a company. Also, I researched into
maternity wear and what is available currently. Finally I looked into
trends forecasted for the Spring 2014 in order to create a stylish and
relevant range of maternity wear for the Spring 2014 season.
HISTORY
The Dolce and Gabbana company was founded by
Domenico Dolce & Stefano Gabbana. The label was
established in 1985. Luxury goods, women's wear,
menswear, and children's wear are made by the
company. The brand’s headquarters are in Milan, Italy.
Dolce and Gabbana is present in over 40 countries, with
251 stores worldwide. Ownership of the brands that are
entirely headed up by the Group and the management
and control of the three operating divisions, Production,
Distribution and Licenses
MISSION STATEMENT
The Group’s mission is to create, produce and
distribute high end apparel, leather goods,
footwear and accessories under
the Dolce&Gabbana and D&G Dolce&Gabbana
brands, as well as to manage, through its
licensees, the production and distribution of its
fragrance and eyewear lines under the
Dolce&Gabbana and D&G Dolce&Gabbana
brands, and watches and jewelry under the D&G
Dolce&Gabbana brand.
UNIQUE SELLING POINT
The unique selling point for Dolce
and Gabbana would be the
brightly colored designs, and bold
prints inspired by Sicily and its
traditions. Also, leopard print and
lace items which are iconic to the
brand could be considered a
unique selling point for the
company.
MARKETING MIX: PRODUCT
Dolce & Gabbana offer women's wear, menswear, children's wear,
accessories, beauty products and jewelry. Their products use high end
materials in order to create luxurious goods appropriate for their target
customers.
MARKETING MIX: PLACE
The brand is present in 40 countries
worldwide. There are 251 mono-
brand stores, but the brand can also
be found in other department stores
such as Selfridges and Harrods. The
company’s headquarters is locate in
Milan, Italy. There are also branches
located in New York, Tokyo and
Hong Kong.
MARKETING MIX: PRICE
Prices vary significantly based on
what types of products and what
materials were used for production.
The general prices ranges are
women's wear: £150 - £99,000,
menswear: £70 - £3,000, children's
wear: £65 - £675, jewelry: £300 -
£21,000, beauty products £23- £64.
MARKETING MIX:
PROMOTION
Dolce and Gabbana promotes their company through magazines, social
Media, and their website. Their most effective promotion is through the
advertising campaigns visible in top magazines like Vogue all over the
world.
MARKETING MIX: PEOPLE
The founders of Dolce and Gabbana are
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana.
Stefano is listed as the President of the brand
and Domenico is listed as the chairman. They
met when Dolce was inquiring about a job
where Gabbana worked. Gabbana helped
Dolce learn about how to run a fashion firm
and then later they went into business
together.
MARKETING MIX: PROCESS
The Group has full ownership of the two brands, as well as the
management and control of the three operating divisions: “Production”,
“Distribution” and “Licences.” There are two manufacturing poles of
Legnano and Incisa Val D’Arno. The product is sold in store and on
their online website. Their website is currently able to deliver to 34
different countries around the world.
MARKETING MIX:
PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
Dolce & Gabbana reflects their attention to detail and beauty through
their packaging and crisp store layout. Their stores are extremely
organized and the clothes are easily visible as you can see in these photos
of their store on Old Bond Street, London.
SWOT ANALYSIS
Strength Weakness
The brand is luxury, the products Dolce and Gabbana is not seen as a
are high quality, and the designs true luxury brand to all consumers.
are original. There is also a very It can be seen as too ‘tacky’ for
defined target customer. some people or a bit garish with
their designs.
Opportunities Threat
There is an opening to expand to a Other luxury brands which cater to
new range of maternity wear. No the same target customer or more
other luxury brand has begun to fill inexpensive options that offer
this gap. similar products.
POSITIONING MAP
High Cost
High quality Low Quality
Low Cost
TARGET CUSTOMER
Women
A woman in her 30’s who is involved in a
stable relationship with a wealthy man. She
is at the time in her life to begin a family.
She lives in the city and has a college
education.
Men
A man in his late 20’s or early 30’s who is
conscious of fashion. He is a successful in
his career and makes a good living. He
lives in the city and enjoys taking
advantage of city night life.
PEN PORTRAIT
Natasha is a good looking woman in her 30’s who is
originally from Russia. She now lives in a two bedroom
flat in Chelsea. Natasha is married and starting a family
with her husband. She enjoys going out and socializing
with friends and attending opening evenings and high
class parties. She is very dynamic and enjoys
pampering herself and shopping. Her passion is art and
literature and she attends many art galleries here in
London. When Natasha is not out on the town she is
home reading one of her favorite books like Wuthering
Heights. Now she spends her days preparing for her
baby while still looking fabulous and put together.
MARKET GAP ANALYSIS
After researching many different companies at different retail levels we
came to the conclusion that there is a great gap in the market. This gap is
seen in maternity wear, especially in the luxury goods level. If a woman
is willing to spend the money on designer maternity wear, there is no
available option at this time.
RETAILERS GAP
The retailers gap is that almost every fashion product is offered from
women’s to children’s wear, except for maternity wear. This is a great
opportunity for Dolce and Gabbana to expand their company one step
further. This is the next step as a retailer because the children’s wear line
has been a success and it has the same threats of high prices for clothing
only worn for a short period of time. This gap can cater to existing
customers who have the need for clothes to fit their changing body and
would like to continue to purchase their clothing through Dolce and
Gabbana.
NEW RANGE OVERVIEW
The future Dolce and Gabbana maternity range is for
Spring 2014. The range will offer blouses, trousers,
dresses, and coats that will be versatile for the
changing spring weather. There will be a variety of
sizes based on belly size or how far along a woman is
in her pregnancy. The colours and prints evoke the
look and feel of Dolce and Gabbana’s women’s RTW
fashion, while offering the size and structure
necessary for a pregnant woman.
TREND RESEARCH
I have researched the 50’s
remix trend as forecasted
on Fashion Snoops’
website. This trend is very
feminine and can be easily
translated into a maternity
line. The bright colours and
summery prints are also
ideal for a Dolce and
Gabbana spring line. All
the silhouettes may not be
transferable because of way
maternity wear must fit
and the hindrance of a
protruding belly.
TREND RESEARCH
Pulse Trade Show
At the pulse trade show
I saw some interesting
booths that helped with
my trend research. On
the left was a set up
that look like a 50’s
diner. This helped with
my idea of using the
50’s remix trend. The
macaroons on the right
were in pastel colors
that helped with my
colour choices in my
range.
NEW PRODUCT RANGE
This new product range features many styles that Dolce and
Gabbana are known for but created in a way that can be
comfortable for a pregnant woman.
NEW PRODUCT RANGE
This new range offers items that are fitted to show off a new curvatious
body or options with more room for comfort and ease of wearing.
NEW PRODUCT RANGE
PRICE ARCHITECTURE
The price architecture is very similar
to what Dolce and Gabbana Coats £1285
currently is selling their products at.
I do not think lower the costs would
help this range because if people are
looking for low costs they would Dress £1190
look to our competitors. Our target
is willing to pay the premium price
for the premium products.
Trousers £360
ADVERTISING-LAUNCH
Advertising is extremely important to launching a new range for a
company. The best approach for a Dolce & Gabbana advertisement is to
keep to tradition and use light and ocean as a key component to Spring
advertising. Having fashionable pregnant women enjoying the sun will
be a successful advertising campaign that will be seen in magazines and
on our website and social media accounts. Letting the picture speak for
itself and tell a story about the character within is essential to Dolce &
Gabbana advertising, with very simple Dolce & Gabbana at the bottom of
each picture in a neutral color like white or gray.
ADVERTISING-LAUNCH
These two advertisements
evoke a mood of relaxation
and happiness. These
images hold true to the
Dolce and Gabbana
lifestyle, while celebrating
the form of a pregnant
woman. The beach scenes
are the perfect set up for a
typical Dolce and Gabbana
fashion shoot. I added the
faint Dolce and Gabbana at
the bottom of the photos to
match existing Dolce and
Gabbana advertisements.
CHARITY EVENT
Dolce and Gabbana will team up with
Matthew McConaughey, a celebrity face of
Dolce and Gabbana, to support his foundation
Just Keep Livin. This foundation supports
children to have a healthy lifestyle. This keeps
with the family theme of launching a maternity
line. This is a great way to promote the
company in a good light as well as giving
support to someone who has helped the
company move forward with promotion of our
products.
CHARITY EVENT
This charity event would
be a Masquerade Ball. The
proceeds from the tickets
will be donated to the Just
Keep Livin foundation. The
guest list will consist of
designers, fashion editors,
celebrities, bloggers, etc. It
will be a black tie event
with dinner served around
8pm and dancing for the
rest of the evening. It will
be a high class event with
high class company.
NEW RANGE SWOT
ANALYSIS
Strength Weakness
The brand is luxury, the products The cost of the clothing will be
are high quality, and the designs very high compared to the
are original. There is also a very competitors currently in the
defined target customer. maternity market.
Opportunities Threat
There is openings to expand Because this will be the first
further into new products for new luxury range it could be seen as
born infants as well as maternity overpriced and unnecessary for
wear. Also, products for new only a few months. Other
mothers like diaper bags. companies with more inexpensive
options could pose a threat.
COMPARATIVE SHOPPING
Next is one of the competitors
to the new range of maternity
wear. Their style is much more
casual and the cost is much
lower. This is due to their lower
quality materials and
construction. It is difficult to
compare these two companies
because they are in no way
similar or targeting the same
customer. Unfortunately with
creating a new range at an
unseen price range we have to
look for unrealistic competition.
COMPARATIVE SHOPPING
Topshop is another
company I looked at as a
competitor. This popular
brand is much lower cost
than Dolce and Gabbana
again, but the trends are
much more similar. The
clothing is much more
fashionable, but because of
the cost the target markets
are much different.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, a new luxury range of maternity wear is a great new
direction to take Dolce and Gabbana above and beyond. They will have
no direct competition at their luxury price point and will be a huge
success among high class women looking for higher quality maternity
clothing. A lot of research went into the creation of this range plan and it
would be beneficial to the company to move forward with the proposed
plan.
REFERENCES
2009 masquerade ball charity. (2009). Retrieved from
http://patientsweb.org/rabekah/MasqueradeCharityBall.html
Babycenter. (n.d.). Are you having trouble finding maternity clothes you like?
Retrieved 2013, from Babycenter: http://www.babycenter.com/4_are-you-
having-trouble-finding- maternity-clothes-you-like_1463742.bc?pollId=1463742
Birkett, M. (2011, january 13). Maternity wear fashion shoot. Retrieved from
http://www.behance.net/gallery/Prenatal-Maternity-Wear-Fashion-Shoot/910304
Dolce & Gabbana. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.dolcegabbana.com
Dolce & Gabbana. (n.d.). Retrieved from Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/DolceGabbana
Fashion snoops. (2013). Retrieved from fashionsnoops.com
REFERENCES
Just keep livin foundation. (2013). Retrieved from
http://www.jklivinfoundation.org/
Maternity. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.next.co.uk/maternity
Maternity. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.topshop.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Cata
logNavigationSearchResultCmd?catalogId=33057&storeId=12 556&langId=-
1&viewAllFlag=false&sort_field=Relevance&categoryId=2085
37&parent_categoryId=203984&beginIndex=1&pageSize=200
Matthew mcconaughey partners with dolce & gabbana to raise money for j. k. livin. (2011, june
28). Retrieved from http://www.examiner.com/article/matthew-mcconaughey-
partners-with-dolce-gabbana-to-raise-money-for-j-k-livin
Six months pregnant miranda kerr. (2010, november 18). Retrieved from
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35965850@N04/5187618515/
