Place element - Dolce & Gabbana vs. H&M

This post is concerned with the place element of the marketing mix (4Ps) and how upmarket brands and low-costing brands approach this element.   

The place element is concerned with a product being available when appropriate in the right location.  A marketing manager tries to make products available to as many consumers as possible and to keep the costs of storing and delivering the products at a low. The Place element deals with distribution, how does your consumers find your products – online, store, etc. The product must be available in a place which is sufficient for your customers and they know exactly where to go to purchase them.  

The place element also deals with logistics – how is the business going to transport their products to their consumers? Channel distribution is also equally important within the place element of the marketing mix, as this involves the process of moving a product from the producers to the customer, and the products are often sold through an intermediary. Retail businesses will look at their competitors and either gain from their ideas or try and differentiate themselves from their methods.  

Dolce&Gabbana -  

Dolce&Gabbana are renowned for being a luxurious worldwide brand. As of 2015 they had 4,547 staff and 323 stores globally, selling only Dolce&Gabbana products. One of their marketing strategies to make their clothing products available to a wider market of consumers is by selling their clothing lines in other premium department stores, for example Harrods in London.  

In order to develop and market themselves worldwide their distribution policies are headed by cordinated management. This includes the long term innovation of their headquarters in Milan and its offices across the world in New York, Tokyo, Sao Paulo and Hong kong.
Dolce&Gabbanas' development is controlled by the Dolce&Gabbana group and management and they are in control of distribution, licenses and production.  

As well as selling their clothing lines within their retail stores, they also make them available online from the Dolce&Gabbana official online store. They ship their clothing globally and also allow the customers to navigate their nearest Dolce&Gabbana store using their online shop.

H&M (place) -  

H&M are a popular low-costing brand which sell up-to-date fashion throughout the year. Their logistics are simple and unique, they do not own any factories but instead they have their clothing products made in 920 independent suppliers with around 1,900 factories. These suppliers are in Europe and Asia including Turkey and India. It means jobs are created for those organisations supplying products for H&M. In order to make sure their products are being made adequately and to a sufficient standard, they regularly check on their supplier's progress and work. Therefore, H&M's approach to the place element of the marketing mix is different from premium brand Dolce&Gabbana, as they prefer not to own any factories and purchase directly from a supplier.  

H&M currently have 4,200 stores globally in 64 markets and are continually developing and looking to open new stores for their consumers. H&M emphasised "We want to make sustainable, good-quality fashion accessible to as many people as possible." (H&M group, 2016) Showing their concern with the place factor of the marketing mix and their commitment to customers in making affordable clothing for everyone.  

Below is an exclusive video showing you the inside of a brand new H&M store in New York, which has been opened to allow for more people to have access to a H&M store in the city with more variety of clothing products and other items.  

H&M also have an online store which allows for individuals to purchase H&M products online worldwide, as a commitment to their customers needs. They ship worldwide and offer a wide range of clothing products, which allows those individuals who do not yet have a H&M store nearby, the opportunity to also purchase their items. H&M are committed to their cusomers and want to offer them the best retail experience "We believe in endless possibilities and we are always dedicated to create the best offering for our customers." (H&M group, 2016) 

Their channel distribution is simplistic in that it is straight from the supplier to the customer. They do not use an intermediary which means that H&M save money and can justify selling their clothing at low prices.