The development of a strategic omnichannel strategy for fashion retail brands : the case of Tommy Hilfiger

Abstract

The retailing landscape has moved into a new era which can be described with one buzzword: Omnichannel. Omnichannel is seen as a structural change of the whole retailing industry. Special attention in this respect is not only placed upon the ‘if’ but rather the ‘how’ to implement an omnichannel strategy within the company’s organisation. The real challenge for retailers in terms of building an efficient omnichannel management strategy is to connect all distribution channels to accompany all consumers during their buying process. To remain competitive in the digital age, traditional brick-and-mortar retailers face the challenge of reacting to ever-changing consumer behaviours. For retailers this brings along a sustainable change within distribution channels, supply chains and working cultures. Although, omnichannel management is one of the major topics discussed in current literature, studies focus on single facets only but rarely on the big picture. Accordingly, there is hardly any process model that guides organisations in determining an appropriate omnichannel strategy and therefore many organisations struggle to implement an omnichannel-strategy successfully. In addition all existing works in the literature either miss a practical example or do not place sufficient emphasis on the special requirements of the fashion industry. This work entitled ‘The development of a strategic omnichannel management strategy for fashion retail brands: the case of Tommy Hilfiger’ devotes special attention to the research question of ‘what is the best way to build an effective and holistic omnichannel management strategy for fashion retail brands?’ The research’s aim is to build a holistic and effective omnichannel management strategy based upon the case study of Tommy Hilfiger. This research employs an inductive exploratorybased research of a cross-sectional case study approach. Tommy Hilfiger is the subject taken for detailed investigation within this thesis. The outcomes of this thesis are: a) an approach to solutions and an effective and holistic omnichannel management strategy for fashion retail brands; b) the creation and development of a standardised omnichannel process model with integrated channel architecture, thereby aligning marketing activities aimed to creating an omnichannel consumer offer, as well as the set-up of appropriate operational functions; and c) the development of a holistic omnichannel transformation roadmap for fashion retail brands, based on the practical case study of Tommy Hilfiger. Research findings conclude all outcomes within an omnichannel process model. This includes ten steps towards omnichannel implementation, including key focus areas of consumer focus, omnichannel definition, rolling vision statement, role of the channel strategy, IT infrastructure, change management, strategy implementation, organisational set-up, wholesale business, and omnichannel test field