Luxury and Fashion Management for DFS Group - Essay Example

Final Proposal: DFS Group Affiliation with more information about affiliation, research grants, conflict of interest and how to contact Final Proposal: DFS Group Introduction: I chose Duty Free Shop (DFS) as my placement company because I was interested in the fashion and luxury products industry, in which this company offers over 700 of the world’s most popular brands under one luxurious setting. I believe that the working experience in DFS will provide me ample exposure to the luxury industry. Furthermore, I have applied for Luxury and Fashion Management in SKEMA Business School and the internship in DFS, which belongs to the LVMH Group, will facilitate a great opportunity to the investigator in SKEMA. A friend of my mother is one of the Directors of DFS in China and, hence, he has offered me an opportunity to work in the company’s Beijing office. Organization: DFS is one of largest luxury travel retailer operators on a global level that offers products across different segments of luxury products such as fashion, accessories, beauty products and perfumes, jewelry and watches as well as alcoholic beverages and tobacco. The assortment of their products covers over 700 of the world’s top brands that the traveling segment of customers prefers most. The company operates through their stores in airports as well as Luxury T Galleria in downtown area Department Stores. In total, they operate over 420 locations worldwide in ideal tourist locations. Founded in 1962 by Robert Miller and Charles Feeney, with the first duty free store at Kai Tak International Airport in Hong Kong, the company has cherished a vision of offering travelers quality merchandise, a local experience and exceptional services. This novel idea of all in one place helped attract many customers in the ever evolving travel industry. Chan (2013) notes that DFS Group, an operator of duty-free shops controlled by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA (MC), currently has plans to open their first stores in Europe to cater to Chinese consumers who travel there frequently. Service: DFS brings together topnotch brands and customer tailored services in a sophisticated and pleasant shopping setting for travelers across the world. Similarly, the outlets of DFS serve as luxury shopping destinations in downtown locations. On the other hand, the airport stores of DFS provide ultimate convenience for customers traveling to different nations on a daily basis. Today, DFS operates in 11 countries and across three continents. Employing more than 9,000 associates, DFS provides a seamless retail experience and presents the world’s leading brands to over 200 million world travelers each year at its 14 downtown Gallerias and across major international airports. DFS offers over 700 of the worlds leading brands found in one luxurious setting, complementing every aspect of the customer’s lifestyle. Problem Statement: Immediately after taking up the job at DFS, my director informed me that DFS had social media problem in that their Weibo account, through which they host a micro-blog, has not been able to generate much interest in the customers. She also revealed that the system has not been able to enhance the quality of interaction between DFS and their customers. Therefore, she wanted me to come up with a strategy to improve the ability of Weibo to attract more customers and to increase their interaction with DFS. Weibo, which is also known as Micro Blog in western countries, is a network like Twitter. The Weibo platform of DFS is aiming to advertise the brand and the target groups are customers travelling to Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore. DFS’s Weibo system functions by sending messages to their followers about their Global events, new products and other special promotional endeavours. The company has around 100,000 followers but they hardly receive any comments under their messages. The problem of DFS is how they can optimize social media to facilitate a good relationship with their followers through effective interaction. The main issue they have with the system is that most of their followers are not able to view or read information that DFS posts in the Weibo as soon as they send it, apparently due to certain snags in their communication system. DFS has two main competitors, Shilla and Lotte which are based in Korea and they have a large number of followers in Weibo. They also receive more comments under each message they post regarding their products. DFS, on the other hand, feels that their offers and information regarding the products and services are not received properly by the customers due to lack of effective and efficient communication. Thus, they want to connect more strongly with customers and provide them information instantly through social media like Twitter and to become more competitive than their rivals by enhancing their customer interaction with the help of Weibo. Though there is no major disparity in the strength among these three companies, the other two companies have been able to attract more followers than DFS. Therefore, the International Marketing Manager of DFS has become concerned about their failure in attracting enough followers in order to sustain the competition and to find suitable solutions. However, they are certain that the failure has not been caused due to the use of wrong social media tools, which in this case is Weibo. It appears that DFS has not been using the Weibo to its optimal potential, which has preempted them from making the communication channel more effective. On the other hand, their competitors performed much better by applying the same tool. Weibo, as the experiences of many firms show, is indeed a powerful tool in promoting both individuals and enterprises. Before further analysis, the researcher recognized the necessity of interpreting “What is the Weibo?” and “How powerful Weibo is in promoting DFS among its international customers?” Description of Micro Blog: Micro Blog is a free web service that allows communication through Email, Micro Blog, Online Group, Instant Message, Voice Message and Multi-Media. The basic principle of Micro Blog is similar to that of Twitter and the users are allowed to post text-based messages of up to 140 characters. The major appeal of Micro Blog is that it has both immediacy and portability and messages can be received in all types of computing devices such as cell phones. Rouse (2009) finds that Micro Blogging is a web service that allows the subscriber to broadcast short messages to other subscribers of the service. The Uses of Micro Blog: Micro Blog uses a variety of topics so as to connect its users from diverse backgrounds from across the world. Micro Blog can be used in various fields relating to fashion, entrainment, politics and travel amongst many others. So it is highly efficient in promoting business products and service and connects with customers with common interests on an international level. The communication process through Micro Blog is highly efficient, fast and cost effective. Besides, it is a highly sophisticated way of communication and the consumer can be connected at all times with through the internet, even when they travel. Thus, Micro Blog gradually developed as an ideal space for sharing information, giving users the power to pick and collect the information he or she needs to assess. Since this is a spontaneous activity, it can contribute to form concrete invisible groups within it platform. Allton (2012), therefore, contends that Micro Blog is a “great way to support” the business websites, internet marketing and communication with the customers. An Efficient Online Marketing Tool for DFS: Weibo is one of the most famous online marketing tool and the applications of this online service in unlimited. Therefore, most of the companies and individuals have been successful in promoting their products and services through this medium. How Weibo can be Useful to the DFS Group? Weibo has many features which are compatible with the business model of DFS Group. Since the company has retail businesses all over the world, it needs an online interactive platform to attract more customers across the globe. The age distribution of most Micro Blog users is corresponding to DFS target group. The age distribution can fall from 18 – 60 years as they offer many products which can suit these age groups. Thus, the diverse applications of Weibo can be an ideal platform for DFS to connect to people from different backgrounds and integrate this wide range of consumers under one umbrella through the internet, which is commonly available in every nook and corner of the world. Research Objective: The main objective of this research is to give suggestions and recommendations on how to attract more online users by using primarily the Micro Blog within one year. The research will also identify the snags in the communication system of the company and offer suggestions on how to overcome them. Main Question: 1. Whether Weibo’s Micro Blog is a suitable platform for DFS to reach out to their customers through social networking? 2. If so what applications can the company use to increase the number of followers and also to enhance the quality of interaction with them? Sub Questions: 1. What factors led to the company’s failure in attracting sufficient online customers? 2. What is the relationship between social media and company marketing? (Literature Review) 3. What is the role of social media in enhancing customer relation? (Field Research) 4. What are the possibilities of using social media, to promote a company brand? (Literature Review) 5. What is the target customers’ image of DFS brands? Theoretical Framework and Research Methods: Jere and Davis (2011) propose “Uses and Gratification Theory” as one of the most useful framework for understanding “consumer motivations” relating to the use of media (1). Therefore, this framework will be deployed in the research to understand the interaction between media and users, especially the media user’s nature and motivation to interact with this online tool. This is especially so in the context of the findings that consumers in the modern day consider internet as the most reliable source for “information gathering” (23). The research study will also be based on the concept that communication serves the primary purpose of “transmission of information” and, thus, Micro Blogging can be an efficient and effective tool for overcoming the current problems of DFS as it can help the company in reaching out to its customers (Mondi, Woods & Rafi 2007: 436). Limitation: A major limitation of this study is that it focuses on the application of internet and social networking media as the source for gathering information by consumers. Thus, it does not take into account other platforms such as magazines, especially those distributed in-flight, to promote the customer interaction in DFS. On the other hand, “Uses and Gratification Theory’’ is only a guidance and more research will be needed in this area as Jere and Davis (2011) further point to the limitation of UGT in that different people use the same medium for different purposes and, therefore, the popularity of the internet cannot always be an indicator that consumers will be using this platform extensively for interactions through Micro Blogging. Research Methods: The research will envisage the collection of both primary data and secondary data. For collection of primary data, the researcher will conduct a field survey to obtain information from relevant sources. The conclusion derived from primary data analysis has vital meanings, which will provide useful points towards the central question and recommendations. For secondary data collection, the researcher proposes to conduct an exhaustive review of literature published on the topic so as to derive a better understanding of the issues. Field Research: This will be done through the distribution of online questionnaires, which will be designed to collect information from the target population of customers using social media. The questions will be designed based on the analysis and literature review. According to Colorado State University, “Field research can be an extraordinarily exciting and rewarding experience leading to important discoveries and breakthrough ideas.” In addition, it will provide the most reliable information from the customers using the Micro Blogging of DFS and other companies through their direct experience from these interfaces. Literature Review: For secondary data collection, the researcher proposes to conduct an exhaustive review of the published literature on the subject through visits to libraries and searching in the internet. In order to find the most reliable information to the issues that DFS confront, the researcher will review the most recent publications including business and communication journals and other relevant sources. Blumler and Kant’s ‘Uses and Gratification Theory’ is the basis of the literature review. This theory suggests that the relationship between the media and users, especially the media users’ need to be studied to understand the potential of social media. References Allton, M. (2012). Microblogging as a Business Marketing Tool. In http://www.thesoc ialm ediahat.com. Retrieved March 31, 2014, from http://www.thesocialmediahat.com/article/microblogging-business-marketing-tool Chan, V. (2013). LVMH’s DFS Group Plans To Open First Europe Shop in 2016. In http://www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved March 31, 2014, from 错误！超链接引用无效。 Colorado State University, . (2014). Conducting Field Research. In http://writing.colostate.edu. Retrieved March 31, 2014, from http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/guide.cfm?guideid=23 Jere, M. G. & Davis, S. V. 2011. An Application of Uses and Gratification Theory to Compare Consumer for Magazine and Internet Usage among South African Women’s Magazine Readers. South African Business Review, 15 (1): 1-27. Mondi, M., Woods, P. & Rafi, A. 2007. Students’ Uses and Gratification Expectancy Conceptual Framework in Relation to E-Learning Resources. Asia Pacific Education Review, 8 (3): 435-449. Rouse, M. (2009). Microblogging. In http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com. Retrieved March 30, 2014, from http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/definition/microblogging Read More