Hunter Boots - Case Study Example

Although re-branding is a term that is thrown around a great deal within the world of product development and marketing, the reality of the matter is that re-branding is merely an umbrella term for a host of marketing theories and concepts that necessarily are entailed within such a process.  Utilizing the case of Hunter Boots and the case study that was provided concerning how the firm was able to rebrand and ultimately turn the company around from near insolvency to rampant sales generation and growth, this brief analysis will be able to draw a high level of inference upon the means by which re-branding is effected as well as pointing to some of the key marketing concepts and theories that are oftentimes utilized in order to bring effective re-branding about.  As such, rather than merely restating the case study in question, this particular analysis will seek to define the means by whereby Hunter Boots was able to effect its rebranding and turnaround via several different applications of marketing strategy and theory.  Moreover, rather than merely elaborating upon some of the marketing mechanisms that Hunter Boots utilized in order to bring the firm back from the brink of extinction within the marketplace, the analysis will close with a particular word of warning.  Such a word of warning is of course with relation to the fact that such a rebranding process that is ever-mindful of the realities of the marketplace is demanded to be perpetually engaged with if such a firm wishes to continue to have a place within the market. 

One of the very clear and present realities of the way in which markets behave and interact with the consumer and vice versa is with respect to the rapid level of change and fast-changing consumer tastes.  As such, the market for Hunter Boots had all but died out prior to the successful rebranding that took place.  In this way, the relevant stakeholders of the firm found it necessary to institute a series of marketing theories and concepts in order to evoke a level of positive change within overall sales of Hunter’s line of boots.  The first of these was to seek to reposition the brand.  Whereas previously Hunter Boots had experienced a degree of appeal among wealthier segments of British society, the allure had since been lost as the style and limited product choice had come to be seen as stodgy and outdated.  In such a manner, repositioning the brand to make it appeal to a broader audience was direly necessitated.  Running tangentially to this need and reality of repositioning the brand, the firm found it expedient to seek to leverage the “upmarket”.  This of course is a marketing concept that is useful to understand with regard to the target market that the firm is attempting to leverage.  With regards to how Hunter Boots sought to upmarket the product line, it was the understanding and realization of key individuals within the management of the firm that successful rebranding should not deviate too far from the original strength and stigma that Hunter Boots originally entailed.  In such a way, the ultimate intention was to market Hunter Boots as something of a chic aspect of “haute couture” that denoted a degree of sophistication and wealth.  In such a way, the rebranding effort utilized consumer desire to represent this exclusivity as a means of not only increasing sales but also increasing the price per pair of boots by approximately 20% (Coster, 2009).

Two further marketing concepts that were heavily utilized in order to engage the consumer were with respect to the level and extent to which product differentiation and expansion of the product line were effected to increase overall sales.  Whereas before the restructuring and rebranding of Hunter Boots, there were only two specific product offerings that the firm was able to exhibit, as a result of the rebranding efforts, the firm set out to explosively increase the overall number of styles and colors that the line offered.  For instance, the article noted that the firm currently offers 25 different styles of tall and short boots in over 30 different colors.  This of course represents a rapid expansion of the product line as a means of integrating the product with a maximum number of consumers with different tastes.  Naturally, the results speak for themselves.  Whereas before, the firm had not been able to generate sales due to a stodgy image and dull and rather bland product line, the rapid and diverse increase in the overall number and style of products offered not only served to expand the product line but also to engage the consumer in a more compelling and nuanced manner.  Ultimately, such an action not only represents the means by which the company was able to increase the size of its product line but also the level to which product differentiation tied directly back into increased levels of sales for Hunter Boots.

Although the case of Hunter Boots which was presented within the case study was impressive, it cannot and should not be understood by the reader that this re-branding process is a one-time fix for profitability, growth, and sales figures.  Unless Hunter Boots wants to go the way of Crocs and a litany of other firms that have experienced run-away success for a period of time, rapidly grown and differentiated their product offerings, and ultimately fallen off their prominent pedestal, it will be necessary for the firm to continue to exhibit market-oriented and informed decisions.  Although the growth strategy and rebranding have been successful, such a strategy is as time-sensitive as consumer tastes and will be necessary to update on a quarterly basis to ensure that future profitability is also assured. Such a truism can be said for any industry; however, due to the fact that Hunter Boots is directly integrating with the fashion industry, this is even truer.