COMPARISON OF MARKETING STRATEGIES

Men's fashion traditionally does not garner the same attention as women's fashion with designers and models often generating as much news in women's fashion as the clothes themselves. However, men's fashion is a significant market, with strong competition at various price and quality levels. Designers who want to market clothing at the high end of the price spectrum do so by focusing on product quality, but also by creating an image of exclusivity for the product. Customers who are willing to pay $1,000 and more for a single suit expect that only a select number of retailers will carry those suits; conversely, the market for these products is small enough to where designers must be careful where they place the suits to avoid saturating the market. Zegna and Hugo Boss are two of the competitors in the high-end men's clothing market, and their marketing strategies bear some similarity to each other as well as considerable difference. This research considers the marketing strategy for both companies, the use of the Web to further the marketing strategy, and recommends a future direction for Zegna.

Both Hugo Boss and Zegna target the high-end market for their clothes. As early as 1997, both companies had broken the $1,000 barrier for suits, a level that was considered significant. At that time, there was a considerable difference between an $800 suit and a $1,000 sui

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ss participates in a wide variety of products, including clothing for men and women, fragrances, accessories and related items. These are high-quality items, but are also considered to be more commercial than Zegna's offerings, including Zegna's work for other designers. Increasingly, Hugo Boss is viewed as moving toward expanding the company's products to a broader audience, both by virtue of the type of products it chooses to create--including racing sunglasses--as well as the outlets in which it chooses to market them. DISTRIBUTION STRATEGIES Zegna sells its products through its self-branded stores, some of which are franchised, as well as through independent retailers. In addition, the company uses some major retailers for distribution, including Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. In general, while Zegna does not make its products difficult for the consumer to purchase, it does use a limited number of distribution sites that both enhances the exclusivity of the brand and also gives the designer greater control over how its goods are sold. By comparison, Hugo Boss maintains a wider distribution strategy than Zegna. In mid-2002, Hugo Boss had 30 stores in the United States that bore its name and sold only its product
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Approximate Word count = 2176
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)