Taking a French brand global
Luxury wedding dresses' brand
The charismatic founder of one of the most prestigious wedding dress brands in the world, based in Paris’ 6th arrondissement, wanted to take the brand global. The aim: to reach discerning brides wherever they live in the world.
The challenge: A three-year plan for brand growth
The brand wanted to expand overseas, but recognized the major differences in how weddings are prepared and celebrated from country to country. The impact of these differences on how women shop for their dress is significant: in France and Italy, wedding dresses are sold via small designer boutiques, whereas in the US, they are more typically found in large department stores. The brand wanted to understand these differences thoroughly before deciding on an overseas brand expansion strategy. It commissioned Strategic Research to explore the market, devise a growth strategy for the brand and define a 3-year action plan.
Defining the customer experience… then translating it for an overseas market
We began by defining the brand platform, created via interviews with directors on the business, its vision and mission. We also interviewed customers. The idea was to drill down to the essentials of the customer experience, and the features that set the brand apart from the competition. We used this research to create a Strategy Canvas and define a target positioning to conquer new markets.
In parallel, we estimated the size of the market for countries identified as priority targets: what proportion of weddings could the brand’s offer reasonably target? What revenue could be generated from this consumer base? Combining these elements enabled us to create a variety of paths to growth for the brand. In a workshop composed of the brand’s different stakeholders (directors, the fund, consultants) we evaluated each of the paths and voted for the two most attractive.
We then established a business model for each: investments, initiatives the brand would need to put in place, and potential revenue. A formal action plan was provided at the end of the project.
The work carried out by Strategic Research for this project represents a key example of our ability to combine different techniques to solve a strategic problem: extracting insights from qualitative research; creating a brand platform; estimating market size; and bringing together people with different experience and expertise to work towards a common goal. In short, helping our client make a decision that is vital to their business.
