Survival of the Fashionista

Robertson Boulevard is a street located in Los Angeles which passes through the incorporated cities of West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Culver City. Unlike any other street, Robertson Boulevard is considered the “Mecca” for many celebrity shoppers. With a variety of unique boutiques, designer clothing and jewelry stores such as Agnes B, Curve, Lisa Kline, Beach Bunny Swimwear, Erica Courtney and Kitson Boutique, there is no wonder why it has become a haven for paparazzi.

According to Apparelnews.net, 1969, Odd Molly and Armani Exchange recently debuted on “Glitzy St” this past week. With so many high-end retailers located on Robertson Boulevard, how does Kitson compete?

First and foremost, Kitson needs to establish a business or competitive level strategy. Our textbook, Crisis Management in the New Strategy Landscape by William Crandall, John Parnell and John Spillan, states that a business strategy “focuses on who the company should serve, what needs should be satisfied, and how a business should develop core competencies and be positioned to satisfy customer needs.”

So I created a business strategy for Kitson. The first step is to serve the consumer, which in Kitson’s case, is a small niche of upper class divas with a lot of dough. This particular niche has expensive taste. Therefore, their needs consist of designer labels, original merchandise and an atmosphere where they can be treated like royalty. Kitson positions itself to satisfy these needs by selling high-end labels like Juicy Couture, Marc Jacobs and Michael Kors online and at the boutique.

Next Kitson must determine whether the business should compete primarily by minimizing its costs relative to those of its competitors or through differentiation, which is distinguishing them self by offering unique and/or unusual products. Since the prices at Kitson are only fit for a queen, the company would take the second option and differentiate itself from the pack. Kitson already does this very well. Unlike its competitors on Glitzy St, the company does not specialize in one particular label. Although they do sell products made by the company, Kitson also offers a very diverse selection of clothing, jewelry and accessory lines, which makes them unique. Additionally, since the company’s products sell at high costs, it makes Kitson a magnet for celebrities, because seriously… what kind of star would want to wear average clothing?

Now let’s not forget that each business strategy has its own crisis-related vulnerabilities. Particularly in businesses emphasizing on differentiation, the constant threat of shifts in consumer tastes can pose a major problem for the company. Therefore, Kitson cannot just keep up with the Joneses; they must constantly survey the industry. This means doing focus groups, in order to know what’s hot and what’s not. Also, Kitson executives should attend fashion weeks in NYC and Europe, and constantly launch new product lines. The fashion industry is tough and it all comes down to survival of the fashionista.

Peace, love & fashion!!