A Brief Case Study: Giordano

Giordano has achieved its high levels of success because it has been able to adapt to market conditions and changing consumer attitudes, this in turn allowed it to identify that repositioning its branding was a better way to exploit the market. Without this action Giordano would not have experienced such great success. Out of necessity Giordano had to adapt to a changing market. Economies in the Asia- Pacific region have shifted toward higher retail density in an attempt to reduce high remonstration costs.

This is seen as a move to assure economic efficiency in the region.

As a result Giordano faced greater competition in Taiwan and had to create a new strategy to refresh its brand image in the region. Further, the move to reposition as a value for money retailer better suits the market Giordano was operating in. The strengths retailers in the region are those with a ‘more-for-less” approach to products and services. This formed the foundation for Giordano positioning strategy. By moving away from its high-priced wholesaler mage, Giordano was better able to compel its consumers.

Similarly, Giordano also had to adapt to the changing consumer attitudes/ preferences.

Consumers in Giordano distribution region were more familiar with ‘alee for money businesses. Thus it was an obligation that Giordano reposition or risk alienating its target market. However, another factor that may contribute to Giordano success is that it has a phonetic brand name that is universal throughout the countries it distributes to, egg: ‘Giordano”, “Giordano Concepts”, “Giordano Junior” and “Giordano Ladies”.

It has been suggested that brands that use a phonetic name instead of translating it into the local language have better brand name retention. Furthermore, the physical quality of the product is still the ultimate determinate for consumers, not the brand name itself.

Therefore, while Giordano has capitalized on consumer brand name retention through a universal name, its main contributor to its success was the quality product it sold and the favorable consumer perception this had created. Irish relates back to its repositioning strategy, which is value for money.

Without an already established reputation for quality, Giordano would have been unable to reposition with the same success as it had. Therefore, it is evident that without repositioning itself Giordano would not have achieved the same levels of success it has experienced. This is ultimately asserted when observing Jimmy Laic’s comments about consumers and their concerns.

This demonstrates that Giordano was able to reposition itself and achieve success because of its close understanding of its target markets.