Research proposal for marketing problem

Research Proposal

In the MEASURES PART, IF YOU REFER TO MY REQUIREMENTS FORWARDED EARLIER THERE IS NO MEASUREMENT OF HOW THE HYPOTHESIS DEVELOPED WILL BE ANALYISED.

ALSO IN THE MEASUREMENT, PROFESSOR HAS ASKED TO DEVELOP A QUESTIONNAIRE RELATED TO THE HYPOTHESIS DEVELOP. THE QUESTIONNAIRE AND HYPOTHESIS SHOULD BE RELATED TO EACH OTHER.

WHAT ARE THE INDEPENDENT AND DEPENDENT VARIABLES IN THE HYPOTHESIS.

EXPLAIN WITH REFERENCES THAT WHY THE HYPOTHESIS IS DEVELOPED, AND DELETE FILLER SENTENCES.

ALSO THAT THE HYPOTHESIS DO NOT MAKE ANY SENSE. THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO BE MEASURED ACCORDING TO WHAT OBJECTIVE IS. .

SIMPLY DELETE THE QUALITATIVE RESEARCH AND FOCUS ONLY ON THE QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH... IT HAS TO BE A CONCLUSIVE RESEARCH..

IN THE QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH METHOD-- U SHOULD ALSO JUSTIFY WHY YOU HAVE TAKEN (FIFTY CUSTOMERS) FROM
(THOSE FIVE TOP SALES GENERATING STORES)

WHEN YOU EXPLAIN THE QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH METHOD PLEASE JUSTIFY WHY U HAVE TAKEN, WHAT YOU HAVE TAKEN
Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies Giordano: positioning for international expansion Jochen Wirtz,

Article information: To cite this document: Jochen Wirtz, (2011) "Giordano: positioning for international expansion", Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, Vol. 1 Issue: 1, pp.1-13, https://doi.org/10.1108/20450621111110500 Permanent link to this document: https://doi.org/10.1108/20450621111110500

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https://doi.org/10.1108/20450621111110500
https://doi.org/10.1108/20450621111110500
Giordano: positioning for international expansion

Jochen Wirtz

As it looks to the future, a successful Asian retailer of casual apparel must decide whether to

maintain its existing positioning strategy. Management wonders what factors will be critical to

success and whether the firm’s competitive strengths in merchandise selection and service are

readily transferable to new international markets.

To make people ‘‘feel good’’ and ‘‘look great’’ (Giordano’s Corporate Mission).

In mid 2009, Giordano, a Hong Kong-based retailer of casual clothes targeted at men,

women, and children through its five company brands, Giordano, Giordano Concepts,

Giordano Ladies, Giordano Junior, and BlueStar Exchange (BSE). It was operating over

1,800 retail stores and counters in some 30 markets worldwide. Its main markets were

Mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan. Other countries in which

it had a presence were Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Middle East, and North America. In

September 2008, there were 1,757 Giordano and Giordano Junior stores, 46 Giordano

Ladies stores, 29 Giordano Concept stores, and 111 BSE stores. Sales had grown to

HK$4,950 million (US$561 million) by 2007 (Exhibit 1). Giordano stores were located in retail

shopping districts with good foot traffic. Views of a typical storefront and store interior are

shown in Exhibit 2. In most geographic markets serviced by Giordano, the retail clothing

business was deemed to be extremely competitive.

The board and top management team were eager to maintain Giordano’s success in existing

markets and to enter new markets, especially in mainland China. Several issues were under

discussion. First, in what ways, if at all, should Giordano change its current positioning in the

marketplace? Second, would the factors that had contributed to Giordano’s success in the

past remain equally critical over the coming years or were new key success factors (KSF)

emerging? Finally, as Giordano sought to enter new markets around the world, were its

competitive strengths readily transferable to other markets?

Company background

Giordano was founded in Hong Kong by Jimmy Lai in 1980. In 1981, it opened its first retail store

in Hong Kong and also began to expand its market by distributing Giordano merchandise in

Taiwan through a joint venture. In 1985, it opened its first retail outlet in Singapore.

Responding to slow sales, Giordano changed its positioning strategy in 1987. Until 1987, it

had sold exclusively men’s casual apparel. When Lai and his colleagues realized that an

increasing number of female customers were attracted to their stores, he repositioned the

chain as a retailer of value-for-money merchandise, selling discounted casual unisex

apparel, with the goal of maximizing unit sales instead of margins. This shift in strategy was

successful, leading to a substantial increase in turnover. In 1994, Peter Lau Kwok Kuen

succeeded Lai and became Chairman.

DOI 10.1108/20450621111110500 VOL. 1 NO. 1 2011, pp. 1-13, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 2045-0621 j EMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIES j PAGE 1

Jochen Wirtz is an

Associate Professor of

Marketing at NUS Business

School, National University

of Singapore, Singapore.

This case is based on published information and quotes from a wide array of sources. The generous help and feedback provided by Alison Law, former Assistant to Chairman, Giordano International Ltd, to earlier versions of this case are gratefully acknowledged. The author thanks Zhaohui Chen for his excellent research assistance.

Disclaimer. This case is written solely for educational purposes and is not intended to represent successful or unsuccessful managerial decision making. The author/s may have disguised names; financial and other recognizable information to protect confidentiality.

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PAGE 2 jEMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIESj VOL. 1 NO. 1 2011

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Management values and human resource policies

A willingness to try new and unconventional ways of doing business and to learn from past

errors was part of Lai’s management philosophy and soon became an integral part of

Giordano’s culture. Lai saw the occasional failure as a current limitation that indirectly

pointed management to the right decision in the future. To demonstrate his commitment to

this philosophy, Lai took the lead by being a role model for his employees, adding:

[. . .] Like in a meeting, I say, look, I have made this mistake. I’m sorry for that. I hope everybody

learns from this. If I can make mistakes, who [. . .] do you think you are that you can’t make mistakes?

He also believed strongly that empowerment would minimize mistakes – that if everyone

was allowed to contribute and participate, mistakes could be minimized.

Another factor that contributed to the firm’s success was its dedicated, ever-smiling sales

staff of over 11,000. Giordano considered front-line workers to be its customer-service

heroes. Charles Fung, executive director and general manager (Taiwan), remarked:

Even the most sophisticated training program won’t guarantee the best customer service. People

are the key. They make exceptional service possible. Training is merely a skeleton of a customer

service program. It’s the people who deliver that give it form and meaning.

Giordano had stringent selection procedures to make sure that the candidates selected

matched the desired employee profile. Selection continued into its training workshops,

which tested the service orientation and character of a new employee.

Giordano’s philosophy of quality service could be observed not only in Hong Kong but also

in its overseas outlets. The company had been honored by numerous service awards over

the years (Exhibit 3). Fung described its obsession with providing excellent customer

service in the following terms:

The only way to keep abreast with stiff competition in the retail market is to know the customers’

needs and serve them well. Customers pay our pay checks; they are our bosses [. . .] Giordano

Exhibit 2 Typical Giordano storefronts

Source: Take from SM7, Exhibit 2, p. 512

VOL. 1 NO. 1 2011 jEMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIESj PAGE 3

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PAGE 4 jEMERALD EMERGING MARKETS CASE STUDIESj VOL. 1 NO. 1 2011

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considers service to be a very important element [in trying to draw customers] [. . .] service is in

the blood of every member of our staff.

Giordano believed and invested heavily in employee training and has been recognized for

its commitment to training and developing its staff by such awards as the Hong Kong

Management Association Certificate of Merit for Excellence in Training and the People

Developer Award from Singapore, among others. Fung explained:

Training is important. However, what is more important is the transfer of learning to the store.

When there is a transfer of learning, each dollar invested in training yields a high return. We try to

encourage this [transfer of learning] by cultivating a culture and by providing positive

reinforcement, rewarding those who practice what they learned.

Giordanoofferedwhat Fung claimedwas ‘‘an attractive package inan industrywhere employee

turnover is high.’’ Giordano motivated its people through a base salary that probably was below

market average, but added attractive performance-related bonuses. These initiatives and

Giordano’s emphasis on training had resulted in a lower staff turnover rate.

Giordano was only too aware that managing its human resources (HR) became a major

challenge when it decided to expand into global markets. To replicate its high-service-quality

positioning, Giordano knew it needed to consider the HR issues involved in setting up retail

outlets in unfamiliar territory. For example, the recruitment, selection and training of local

employees required modifications to its formula for success in its current markets owing to

differences in the culture, education and technology of the new countries. Labor regulations

also affected HR policies such as compensation and welfare benefits.

Focusing Giordano’s organizational structure on simplicity and speed

Giordano maintained a flat organizational structure. The company’s decentralized

management style empowered line managers, and at the same time encouraged fast and

close communication and coordination. For example, top management and staff had desks

located next to each other, separated only by shoulder panels. This closeness allowed easy

communication, efficient project management and speedy decision making, which were all

seen as critical ingredients to success amid fast-changing consumer tastes and fashion

trends. This kept Giordano’s product development cycle short. The firm made similar

demands on its suppliers.