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Maybelline's Marketing Strategies: Distribution Channels and Customer Behavior in Vietnam , Summaries of Marketing

review of marketing strategies

Typology: Summaries

2021/2022

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VIETNAM GENERAL CONFEDERATION OF LABOR
TON DUC THANG UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
FINAL-TERM ASSIGNMENT:
DESIGN AN OPTIMAL MARKETING
CHANNEL STRATEGY FOR AN ENTERPRISE
OPERATING IN VIETNAM.
Lecturer: PHAM VAN PHAT (Marketing Channels)
Group: 704113 – Shift: 3 (Saturday)
HO CHI MINH CITY, 2022
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VIETNAM GENERAL CONFEDERATION OF LABOR

TON DUC THANG UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

FINAL-TERM ASSIGNMENT:

DESIGN AN OPTIMAL MARKETING

CHANNEL STRATEGY FOR AN ENTERPRISE

OPERATING IN VIETNAM.

Lecturer: PHAM VAN PHAT (Marketing Channels)

Group: 704113 – Shift: 3 (Saturday)

HO CHI MINH CITY, 2022

LECTURER’S COMMENTS

LIST OF GROUP MEMBERS

Full Name Student ID Duty

1 Giang Hỷ Tiến 720K0159 Market background and context

2 Hồ Ngọc Trân

Needs and Problems identification

Conclusions, Channel motivations,

Limitations & Caveats

3 Tô Lê Trực

4 Trần Khánh Vy Approaching Needs and Problems

5 Trần Minh Quân^ Key findings/results

I. MARKET BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

1. Manufacturer and products overview:

Founded in mid-2007, L’Oréal Vietnam is the subsidiary of the famous L’Oréal corporation. Nowadays, L’Oréal Vietnam has quickly become a leading company in the country, with a mission to create safe, efficient, and technologically innovative cosmetics suited for all men and women. Today, we distribute and market 12 brands within four divisions:

_- L’Oréal Luxe (Lancôme, Yves Saint Laurent, Kiehl’s, Shu Uemura)

  • L’Oréal Consumer Products (Garnier, L’Oréal Paris and Maybelline New York)
  • L’Oréal Professional Products (L’Oréal Professionnel and Kérastase)
  • L’Oréal Active Cosmetics (Vichy and La Roche-Posay and Skin Ceutical)_ At L'Oréal Consumers Products, our mission is to democratize the best of beauty, and for us, beauty has to be sustainable. We embrace and enhance emerging trends to create the most relevant and sustainable beauty products and experiences, making them accessible to each and everyone all around the world, thanks to the diversity of our brands and their communities. Our Division holds the world’s #1 beauty brand with L’Oréal Paris*, the # makeup brand with Maybelline New York

Maybelline is an international well-like cosmetics brand, which was bought by L’Oréal in

  1. It is popular for affordable makeup products with good quality. With a clear big idea, the motto, as well as the slogan of this brand, is: “Maybe she's born with it. Maybe it's Maybelline.” Maybelline first appeared in Vietnam in 2007, this make-up brand quickly became popular with the public. Especially, with the foundation range “ITME” - which is described as matte and poreless, long-wearing, and especially oil-controlling. The variety of tone colors will help girls have innocent pale skin or a sun-kissed look.

2. Maybelline’s environmental factors include 5 main segments:

a. ECONOMIC

Thailand 13%

The US 10%

b. TECHNOLOGICAL

In today’s e-commerce era, your brand’s website determines your

brand’s visibility. And although Maybelline’s official website provides a

virtual try-on tool for the latest product, shades, and trends before you

buy, such as Foundation Shade Finder and Brow Play Studio,

Maybelline’s website interface is not quite invested and optimized

enough to display attractive and highly aesthetic photo ads.

Compared to its competitors, Maybelline has not been as efficient on

social media. Big names like Revlon, Lakme, etc. are constantly

updating their newest projects and campaigns, receiving positive

feedback from consumers which helps increase their interactivity and

visibility in the Vietnam cosmetics market. Nonetheless, Maybelline is

solely investing in stunning and intriguing TVC along with other

physical advertisement methods which strike right into the minds of

young people, helping Maybelline to have a stable position in the

thoughts of consumers and sellers.

c. COMPETITION

· L’Oreal (key competitor)

Maybelline's biggest competitor today is L'Oreal. Although both come from the same parent company, L'Oreal, these two brands are formidable competitors in the makeup industry.

In terms of price, L'Oreal's makeup products will have a slightly higher price than Maybelline from 100,000 VND to 200,000 VND. Although both are positioned in the affordable segment, Maybelline has the upper hand in offering products of similar quality but at a more economical price for users. In terms of products, Maybelline has a variety of products from foundation, mascara, eyeliner, lipstick to eyeshadow, eye makeup remover... In each product category, Maybelline also has a variety of colors to suit all skin colors for customers to choose the color that suits their preference. Contrary to Maybelline, L'Oreal does not have many items, and the color palette is still not as diverse as Maybelline. Compared to the number of Maybelline SKUs, L'Oreal is somewhat more modest, less than 10 product categories. The reason here is because L'Oreal not only focuses on makeup cosmetics but also focuses on facial and hair care cosmetics. This has made L'Oreal not focus on developing makeup products, so it has not yet offered many choices for customers. This is also the major drawback of L'Oreal when compared to Maybelline. In terms of price, L'Oreal's makeup products will have a slightly higher price than Maybelline from 100,000 VND to 200,000 VND. Although both are positioned in the affordable segment, Maybelline has the upper hand in offering products of similar quality but at a more economical price for users. Regarding promotions, Maybelline and L'Oreal both regularly organize promotions on e-commerce platforms as well as at points of sale. But Maybelline always has higher sales. Besides, in addition to discount promotions at the point of sale and on e- commerce channels, Maybelline also organizes minigames to attract customers and brand activation activities. In terms of place, Maybelline and L'Oreal are simultaneously distributed throughout health and beauty stores as well as supermarkets. Customers will easily find both Maybelline and L'Oreal in the same store or supermarket. Maybelline and L'Oreal shelves are often placed next to each other, which also creates difficulties and confusion for customers when choosing between the two brands. The identity of these two brands is almost the same. This is also a challenge for both brands when they have to compete with each other while both coming from the same parent company. But on e-commerce platforms, it can be clearly seen that Maybelline has a higher sales effect than L'Oreal.

itself as “affordable”, Maybelline mainly targets all women from 18-40 years old, with prices ranging only from 100.000-150.000 VND for mascara, which is suitable for students, scholars, and low-medium income women. Maybelline Vietnam does not have any flagship stores or showrooms, instead, they distribute their products through wholesalers like BigC, Co.op Mart, Lotte Mart, etc., e- commerce channels: Tiki, Lazada, etc. and retailers like Hasaki, Nuty Cosmetics, etc. which makes it easier to reach consumers from everywhere. In addition, Maybelline also continuously runs various trade marketing campaigns such as product giveaways to stimulate buyers and increase competition without lowering product prices.

e. LEGAL

Maybelline is in the beauty industry and its nature acts as a facilitator for the production of dupe cosmetics. The company has to constantly battle counterfeit products that are readily available in the market and such dupes have negative effects on the market share of the original brands. A number of beauty bloggers compare and contrast these dupes with the products of the original Maybelline brand itself and post content on a variety of social media platforms such as Instagram and YouTube. These dupes are highly promoted through Instagram accounts and receive a lot of followers from worldwide users, manipulating the enthusiasm created by the brands and then offering similar characteristics to their originals. The owners of these highly successful brands have often taken to social media to express their dissatisfaction with the dupe culture that is especially prevalent in the beauty industry. Moreover, Maybelline is for beauty with no animal testing. Since 1989, Maybelline has not tested the safety of our products on animals, 14 years before regulations required us to do so. We believe that scientific and regulatory advancement of non-animal methods is only possible through multidisciplinary cooperation, which has made us at the forefront of non-animal methods for over 40 years. Also, political factors for the cosmetics business in Vietnam include: Free trade agreements: CPTPP, EVFTA Strict regulations on quality control of cosmetics, skincare products VAT: 10% Import preferred duty for cosmetics/skincare: 10-27%

3. MAYBELLINE’S 4P

a. PRODUCT

b. PRICE

Maybelline has projected itself as a brand with a charming, stylish, intelligent, cool, hip, and unflappable image that is daring as well as modern with a sophisticated outlook. Maybelline targets urban females and working-class women as well as teenagers. Maybelline has adopted a medium-low pricing strategy but offers high- qualitative products. As the brand faces stiff competition from other rival brands it has implemented a competitive pricing plan to gain an advantage in the consumer market. It has kept its product prices a little lower than similar products of competitors and this has helped to gain a larger market share in the cosmetics industry.

c. PLACE

Because the majority of cosmetic users are living in urban areas, Maybelline mainly chooses large cities as their main distribution points. For instance, if you are living in an urban area, you can almost see Maybelline products in any large shopping mall or many resellers such as Hasaki, Guardian, Watsons,... However, Maybelline websites are not widely known by many people. The reason for this is that the website hasn’t been updated for a long time, the interface is not user friendly,... This is a major weakness for Maybelline since this is the age of technology, having a weak website means that Maybelline can lose a huge potential market in this area. Moving on to e- commerce platforms, we can see that the top 3 platforms which customers use to buy Maybelline products are Shopee, Lazada,... The reason why many people prefer Shopees to other platforms is that Shopee has many promotions apart from the company's promotions, free ship, …. In contrast, e-commerce platforms such as Sendo, Tiki,... are

but few people do it. The website also does not regularly update new products and promotions. Maybelline's campaigns carried out on social networking platforms have not yet attracted much customer interaction.

2. From the intermediaries’ perspectives

It is difficult to control the number of goods in the warehouse, leading to out-of- stock or backlog. Products are not regularly checked for expiry date and packaging, which causes customers to sometimes buy products that are close to the expiry date or the packaging is broken. Transportation of goods is also one of the concerns of intermediaries due to the often long delivery time, and the risk of goods loss and damage before being delivered to customers. Retailers must race to increase sales of brands other than Maybelline and overall store sales. How to be unbiased for any brand currently in the store is also a concern of many retailers.

3. From the customers’ perspectives

Customers experience products running out of stock on peak shopping days and discount codes or vouchers also seem to be harder to apply these days. Sometimes customers receive unsatisfied products due to different descriptions from reality, this is common among customers who purchase products on online platforms. Customers also sometimes buy products with unusual signs such as near expiration, altered texture, damaged packaging, etc. Cosmetic stores are quite far from customers' accommodations, making customers feel uncomfortable when making purchases. This is rare in big city centers such as Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, and Hai Phong... but quite common in rural areas or in the vicinity of big cities.

III. APPROACHING NEEDS AND PROBLEMS

1. Type of research design:

Exploratory research design : Qualitative research (In-depth interview)  Sampling techniques : Judgmental technique  Sample size : 15 samples (12 users and 3 retailers)  Interviewing methodology : Unstructured interview, projective technique

2. Target respondents:

e. CONSUMERS:

Demographic :  Gender: Female  Age: 16 - 35  Occupation: Students, office workers, models, outdoor jobs…  Income: under 3 million VND to 25 million VND Geographic : mainly in urban areas. Psychological : Girls prefer to buy cosmetics with a cheap price but quality must be guaranteed. The psychology of wanting to use foreign goods, specifically the US, but at Vietnamese prices. They look for products that are oil-resistant, water-resistant, and long-lasting on their skin in order not to spend a lot of time reapplying makeup because the makeup is easy to slip off due to sweat or excess oil on the skin Behavioral : Young girls often have to wear makeup due to the attribution of their work, which requires contact and communication with many people, so they need a neat and polite appearance. In addition, they also need to wear makeup to hang out with friends and family. They often buy Maybelline cosmetics on offline and online channels.

f. INTERMEDIARIES:

Retailers with authentic distribution of Maybelline products in major cities of Vietnam

3. Information needs

4. Secondary data objectives

6. Questionnaire:

a. FOR CONSUMERS:

o Age o Occupation o Income o Do you usually buy Maybelline products at the stores or buy online? If you buy online, which channel do you buy from? If you buy at the point of sale stores, where do you buy it? Why? o Can you easily find Maybelline products at shopping malls, beauty stores, etc.? o Do you have trouble purchasing Maybelline or constantly running out of stock? o If you were buying a Maybelline product at that place but it's out of stock, how and why did you make your decision? o How do you feel about Maybelline's pricing compared to other brands? o Do you find Maybelline's promotions attractive to you? Why or why not? Which promotion is most attractive to you? o Among the brands appearing at the point of sale, what motivates you to buy Maybelline products? o How do you feel about the appearance of Maybellines’ stalls at the point of sale? o How do you feel about the interface of Maybelline's shopping website and e- commerce platforms? o Do you get support when buying Maybelline products at the point of sale or online channels? o How do you feel about the attitude of the staff when you make a purchase? o Did you have any trouble making a purchase? Why is it difficult for you? o What are your expectations when buying Maybelline at the point of sale or online sales channels?

b. FOR INTERMEDIARIES:

o Store size o Maybelline in-store sales

o Interview retailers o Transcript o Collect and synthesize the respondent’s answers o Draw findings and results

IV. KEY FINDINGS

1. Consumers

a) DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS WHERE CUSTOMERS OFTEN BUY

MAYBELLINE PRODUCT

The majority of Maybelline customers regularly buy Maybelline products at beauty stores and on e-commerce platforms. A small number of customers buy Maybelline products at supermarkets and malls. There are no customers making purchases on Maybelline's website. → Maybelline's website is not developed and not really strong in selling like other channels. The ability to increase sales volume on the website is likely very difficult.

b) MAYBELLINE DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL AWARENESS AND DENSITY

All the respondents said that they can easily see Maybelline's booths at distribution channels such as shopping malls, beauty stores, and supermarkets, ... This shows that the Maybelline brand is spreading widely in Vietnam. Everywhere, consumers can search for Maybelline products in any place selling cosmetics. At the same time, this also proves that Maybelline is also occupying a large market share in the Vietnamese cosmetic market. People choose to buy online because they receive attractive offers and promotions from Maybelline stores as well as discount codes provided by e-commerce platforms themselves. They also prefer to shop online due to the convenience and home delivery.

c) THE RISKS THAT CUSTOMERS MAY FACE WHEN MAKING

PURCHASES AND THEIR DECISIONS

Most of the respondents said that they do not often encounter problems or are out of stock when purchasing Maybelline products. However, some respondents said that they often experience out-of-stock situations during peak sales, especially for hot-selling items. This shows that Maybelline manages its distribution channels well in terms of providing sufficient quantities for channels as well as limiting out-of-stock for buyers. When respondents were asked “If you were buying a Maybelline product at the store or online store but it was out of stock, how would you make your decision and why you decided that?”, a few respondents thought that they would Go to another store to buy Maybelline products if the current store is out of stock. There are also respondents who will choose to buy alternative products at the store, as this saves them time buying. Besides, there are respondents who decide to wait for the store to restock and come back to buy. Customers who often buy Maybelline cosmetics on e-commerce platforms are also willing to wait for restocking so they can receive good promotions or gifts when they return to buy. But one factor that influenced their decision was urgency. For example, when they are busy or urgent, they will choose to buy alternatives to Maybelline. If they are not in a hurry or have free time, they will go to another store to buy or can also wait until their favorite store restocks, they will come back to buy.

d) HOW FACTORS OF PRICE AND PROMOTION AFFECT THE BUYING

BEHAVIOR OF MAYBELLINE CUSTOMERS

All respondents said that Maybelline products are affordable, and suitable for students and people with low income or who do not want to spend too much money on cosmetics. But the quality of Maybelline is completely commensurate with the price, although it is a European-American cosmetic company, the price is very Vietnamese. Just like other brands on the market, Maybelline is also said to have a much more economical price. Promotion is also a factor that motivates customers to buy a product. Most girls find Maybelline promotions appealing to them. Because promotions will help them buy products at a cheaper price than usual, as well as have the opportunity to receive more gifts. The promotions that will be most attractive to them are direct discounts on product prices, vouchers, and gift-giving. For those who buy on e-commerce platforms, programs like flash sales or super brand day are also attractive to them. On these days, Maybelline in particular and all products in general are heavily discounted, promotions can be combined together so that buyers can buy goods at the lowest price.