Case Study:
The dynamic of the industry has showed that we can seize the opportunity to overhaul the bedding industry through differentiating ourselves from retailors who provide cotton sheet with Egyptian cotton. When it comes to bed sheets,Egyptian cotton is considered as the most premium option within the bedding market due to its softness and durability.Most of our biggest rivalries such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., J.C. Penny, and Target Corp.have become entangled in a controversy over whether their suppliers are supplying their stores with higher-grade cotton products with inferior fiber. We need to figure out an appropriate strategy to raise consumer awareness about the benefits of organic cotton when customers are losing confident on the dirty secrets of Egyptian cotton.
Trend
The home textiles industry, according to Fortune.com, is a $22 billion potential market that withonly a little brand loyalty and no brand leader.Earlier this year, the Cotton Egypt Association expose that only 10% of "Egyptian cotton" sold by retailers tested using a DNA-based authentication program did contain cotton from Egypt (Business Insider). As mentioned previously, within the industry, we are facing a lot of competitors such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., J.C. Penny, and Target Corp. Most ofthese large retailers are investigating the product specification issue. Target's refund is just at the tip of the iceberg. Customers may potentially lose their confidence on global retailors' ability to police the global supply chain from cotton field to store shelf. It is believed that the DNA tagging label would help to trace all the way backs to the source of cotton.However it still have a long way to go because of the increase pressure on production cost. Therefore, it is reasonable to be skeptical of the Egyptian cotton industry.
Opportunities
This market trend highlights the market potential for luxury alternatives for Egyptian cotton bedding products such as organic cotton bedding products.As a creative organic cotton bedding retailor, we could trace Egyptian cotton suppliers' supply chains from Egypt to the U.S. to guarantee 100% authenticity of our cotton quality.While selling to customers directly from our e-commerce site, we are able to cuts out the distributors and retail-store markups and offerour consumers anaffordable price for high-quality and organic sheets. Our philanthropic program to donate about 10% of our actual profits to Not For Sale (an anti-human-trafficking group) will also help to build an environmental-friendly and social-responsible brand image. We would be able to catch this opportunity by raising customers' awareness on 100% organic cotton convincing our customers that our cotton is just as good as Egyptian cotton.
Recommendations
With a separate sub-page that specifically explains the similarities and differences between organic cotton and Egyptian cotton in terms of the look, the feel, and the strength, Boll & Branch would be able to help customers better understand the organic cotton products. Boll & Branch may consider the cost and benefit of utilizing revolutionary DNA technology to mark and track cotton to ensure its purity from farm to finished product. A brief introduction about how the DNA technology works (better in video format) would also give customers a better insight. This is a unique way to differentiate itself from other retailors.
Additionally, it is time for Boll & Branch to use digital marketing to generate even more growth. Since consumers tend to research and compare products before they make purchase, online review networks can be something we should work on. Picking the appropriate review sites and social media to build brand awareness and loyalty among a massive audience of prospective customers is critical for Boll & Branch. For example, Boll & Branch can partner with well-known bloggers on YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest that focus on reviewing brands. These bloggers often have a solid following base that strongly relate to them. Ball & Branch may send out sample product and ask them to try and make positive reviews. In this way, Ball & Branch may quickly captures the attention of potential customers who followthose bloggers or searches for hashtagswe use and driving new customers.
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