Giordano

1. Discuss and evaluate Giordano's product, business, and corporate strategies?

Product

* Giordano's is a retailer of men's/woman's casual clothes in Asia and the Middle East.

* Giordano's offered "value for money" clothing, with no more than 100 items in a store and 17 core items.

* Giordano's opened a Giordano's Woman's line for woman's apparel, Giordano's Junior for the junior market, and a Bluestar Exchange for the budget-conscious customers.

* Product was only half of what Giordano sells; service was the other half. Service was the best way to make customers return to Giordano again and again.

Business/ Corporate Strategies

* Flat organizational structure, which gave them the intensity to react to market changes on a day to day basis

* Relaxed management style where management worked closely with line staff. No separate offices for higher or top management. This closeness allowed easy communication, efficient project management, and speedy decision making.

* Very difficult and stringy employee selection. Every employee went through "attitude training," which tested employees character and service orientation.

* Everyone at Giordano, even office employees, worked in a store for at least a week.

* Service was key for Giordano, and employees were trained well and paid better.

* Maintain their award winning customer service techniques.

* Continue their unique and aggressive advertising and promotions which allowed them to become Advertiser of the Year form 1991-1994.

* Expansion within mainland Asia and beyond Asia.

* Value for money clothing, but still mid-priced but trendy fashion.

2. Positioning

* Giordano was positioned as value for money with outstanding service, but it was also emphasizing sensible but more stylish clothes. They also renovated its stores to reinforce its image and position it in line with globalization and changing customer needs.

* They are trying to become more trendier and good value and away from "cheap."

* They should not reposition themselves against competitors in current and new markets because Giordano's clearly distinguished themselves from its competitors with its high-quality service and cost leadership that gave great customer value that competitors couldn't match.

* They should also not have different position strategies in different markets because it will confuse the consumers and negatively affect the brand image. Rather they should create new brands like Bluestar for different product positioning market needs. They should follow the Gap model (Banana Republic, The Gap, and Old Navy positioning).

* The case states "It is a good brand, but not a great one. Compared to other international brands, it doesn't shape itself." Giordano doesn't need to reposition its clothes; instead they should shape their brand image of high quality service. They need to position themselves in foreign markets as an outstanding service store that a makes you feels good. Great service is loved everywhere, and will help the positioning of their clothes.

3. Key Success Factors

* Four key areas: computerization like The Limited, tightly controlled menu like McDonalds, frugality like Wal-mart, and value pricing.

* Giordano's knew the customer's needs and served them well. Giordano considered service a very important element, and it is in the blood of every member of the staff.

* Value for money merchandise through careful selection of suppliers, strict cost control, and resisting temptations to increase retail prices unnecessarily.

* Advanced IT that skillfully manages inventory and forecasts demand, allowed for lower prices and larger margins. However, its organizational culture to intelligently use the information is what set them apart.

* Focus on positioning, keeping store simple, and inventory management allowed for Giordano to get the best out of limited resources. They had 17 core items when other stores had 200 to 300.

* Aggressive and unique advertising and promotion were truly successful and beneficial.

Sustainability and future outlook

* As long as they kept a high commitment to excellence and great standards like unlimited try-on and no question asked exchanges the future looked great. The company had won customer service awards repeatedly, so it's very sustainable. Their future