Gul Ahmeds Brand SWOT Analysis:

SWOT Matrix:
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

1. Highest Market share 1. Demand for Lawn is so

high that sometime it
2. strong brand name that it
exceed their production
carries as its parent brand
capacity.
3. People across the country
trust the brand Gul Ahmed 2. Online shop is not fully
for it quality, novelty and functional (does not contain
eminence. all products of Gul Ahmed).
4. Creative designers.
3. Most of designs are out of
5. Offering personalization on
stock.
some of their products i.e.
order taking 4. Sometime designs are there
6. Not many competitors on in the magazine but are
the basis of one shop stop launched late.
7. Capitalizing on the
increasing awareness of 5. Perfumes and footwear are
diversion between income not profitable.
and economic classes and 6. There is not complete
recognizing shopping from exclusive distribution for
good branded stores and Ideas.
malls has become a status
symbol 7. Marketing not rigorously
8. Fully vertically integrated (most of the times, as
from fiber to fashion compared to competitors
9. Latest technology engaged. such as Khaddi and Sana
10. 99.99% design quality Safinas)
assurance.
11. An extensive chain of retail
outlets all over Pakistan.
OPPORTUNITIES SO STRATEGIES WO STRATEGIES

1. Growing Demand 1. Launch its brand in other 1. Make use of internet

countries. to cover lost sales.
2. Internet and online
shopping. 2. Follow the global trends in 2. Improve supply chain
fashion and make presence by integrating
3. Third party online retail.
in international trade expos department and
(Daraz and Yayvo etc.).
and shopping festivals. processes.
4. Global Trade and demand
3. Collaborate with some
for lawn.
designer to make impact in
5. Fashion Weeks in major fashion weeks.
cities.
6. International shopping
festival and other expos.
7. Another diversification that
holds a lot of opportunity is
to invest and venture into
cosmetics market.

THREATS ST STRATEGIES WT STRATEGIES

1. Big players in export 1. Dedicated mills for export 1. Drop perfumes and foot
markets (Such as Nishat market to increase export wears unless Gul Ahmed
Group). market share. develop as a prestige brand.
2. Small share of export 2. FDI in other countries to 2. Re launch perfumes with
market. take low cost advantage. some high profile celebrity
as brand endorsement.
3. Foreign exchange
(fluctuation) risk.
4. Volatile law and order
situation / political
instability.
5. Other established brands in
accessories, perfume foot
wear.

SWOT Analysis:
STRENGTHS:
The major strength Ideas has currently is the strong brand name that it carries as its parent
brand. It banks heavily on the brand name Gul Ahmed. People across the country trust the
brand Gul Ahmed for it quality, novelty and eminence. Especially in the clothing line their
quality is considered to be superior to their competitors.
Consequently the loyal customers of Gul Ahmed would want to buy or try other product
range that is being offered by Gul Ahmed. Apart from the regular customers of Gul Ahmed
clothing a lot of people who would want to buy other households might want to try ideas
because of the mere fact that it belongs to Gul Ahmed.
The fact that they are offering personalization on some of their products makes them different
from their competitors. For instance they are offering to embroider on the bed sheets etc
according to the individual customers. This is giving them an edge over their competitors.
Another Strength is that they dont have many competitors, so if they market tactfully they
can make a mark within no time. The concept of having a one shop stop is relatively
increasing as people find it convenient to buy all the household stuff from a single store.
Although it is becoming a popular concept but they dont have many competitors in the
market as the market is not very saturated.
One of the major strength they bank on is the increasing awareness of diversion between
income and economic classes. Shopping from good branded stores and malls has become a
trend. So, shopping from these big stores is becoming a status symbol. Now is the right time
to make the most out of this strength which is at its peak right now.

WEAKNESS:
There are a few weaknesses that Ideas has to take into consideration and work on for the
improvement of its business:
One of the major weaknesses is that they are overpriced for the variety they are offering.
Although it is competitive to their other competitors but the overall pricing is a bit too high
given the fact that the clothing prints and the material they are selling on other shops at a
lower price are being sold at a higher price in the ideas outlet. So, taking the clothing line
specifically, the items that are being sold at Ideas are also being sold at other shops so there is
no exclusive distribution for Ideas. In comparison to this the competitors have exclusive
distribution for their stores. The products offered there are not being sold anywhere else.
Another weakness is that they are not marketing themselves currently rigorously as compared
to Chen one and Bareeze which are their competitors. They dont have a television
advertisement at all and they dont usually advertise through print media as such. Only a few
bill boards are displayed around the town, which does not really give them visibility or make
their presence felt. So they really need to work on their marketing to make them known. As
opposed to this their competitors pay special attention to their marketing campaign and
design them well.
Another weakness is their display of items. It is too cluttered and shabby. Their outlets in
different cities have different ways of displays i.e. there is no coherence. Even the individual
outlet is not well displayed as compared to their competitors who have a very clear display
and each section is differentiated in a lucid manner.

OPPORTUNITIES:
One of the major opportunities that await Ideas is the fact that they can expand their business
greatly. This expansion can be both:
Locally

Internationally

Locally there are many cities that are still unexplored but they do have a lot of potential.
Apart from that they can also participate in different business festivals where they can put
their stalls and displays. So taking part in such activities would not only bring awareness for
their brand but also make it easier for them to enter the markets that are still untapped by
them.
Internationally there is a huge potential for them to setup their stores. For instance Chen one
is doing exceptionally well in Dubai, so that shows that there is a huge market for such stores.
What needs to be considered is that they need to open their stores in markets where there is
potential and the right kind of consumers that would be able to shop from this brand.
Another diversification that holds a lot of opportunity is to invest and venture into cosmetics
market. As they are a reliable brand and offering a home concept shop, offering cosmetics
would also be successful. Cosmetics market is huge with little local players. People would
consider their cosmetics range reliable and of good quality because of the mere factor that
their parent company has a great name as far as quality and reliability hold. They can give
their cosmetics a different brand name but can display them on ideas outlets. They are already
making perfumes so making a complete range of cosmetics would only help them.

THREATS:
The dominant threats to Ideas currently are:
Political Instability

Rising production costs

Competitors

The major threat to any business currently is the political situation in the country. Strikes,
riots and other instabilities are increasing by the day. It affects the businesses adversely. It not
only affects the sales of the store but may also cause damage to the outlet itself.
Secondly, the rising costs of production that includes the costs from materials to all the
overhead costs are making it difficult for the textiles industry to sustain. Although there is no
threat of sustaining the business but it does increase the cost of production which in turn
increases the price. So, the current economic crunch is also a threat for them to develop more
efficient ways and means of manufacturing and commuting their products to their outlets.
Last but not the least the threat is from their competitors. Chen one is famous for their grand
sales, discounts and the offerings that they have for their prestige customers. They also have a
long established their name in this business of selling almost all the households at one shop.
But if they make the most of their strengths and take up the opportunities that they have, it
wont take them long to match up to their competitors in the market.

BCG MATRIX

STARS QUESTION MARK

PRET LINE MENS STITCHED WEAR

ACCESSORIES

CASH COWS DOGS

LAWN FOOT WEAR

MENS UNSTITCHED PERFUMES
HOME TEXTILE
CONCLUSION
Gul Ahmeds online shop www.gulahmedshop.com has been online for a while, and is one of
the first e retailing in the textile sector, but the problem is not all of their products are
currently available one internet. Being the market leaders in e-retailing, they should invest
resources to fully capitalize this, as the trend in Pakistan are changing.
Mostly it happens on the first day of launch of their new collection, which is done twice a
year (one in winter and other in summer), the customers (mostly ladies) rush into ideas and
Gul Ahmed shop and start purchasing whole lot of a design and as a result that design get
short in the market. And customers who come become frustrated when they cant find a print.
Gul Ahmed is facing serious supply chain issue in this area, when it cant meet the demand.
One thing that can be done in this is the use of online shop to make sure availability of all
their hot designs for a sustainable period of time. This will be a one good strategy to retain
their customers.
Recently Gul Ahmed has done a great job of making out of the box TVC camping #Mein
Perfect Hoon which they aired on most of national TV channels during the prime time. They
also used the same theme in several other communication media such as billboards, magazine
and newspaper ads, and on radio. Gul Ahmed should try to come up with more of such
campaigns especially during the start of the season such as summer and winter, at least. Since
textile and especially Lawn industry has become hypercompetitive and there is a lot of clutter
amongst the brand communications, thus, in order to stand out of the crowd, to avoid clutter
and to increase brand awareness and make ones brand top of mind brand, one has to be
innovative. Also TVCs are not much common in this sector, thus having one or two
campaigns throughout the year will help increase awareness and recall, building brand loyalty
and equity.
Gul Ahmed can also use more of nontraditional communication channels like facebook and
twitter to interact with their customers and to get feedback. This online medium is one very
effective way of analyzing consumer choices. Google analytics and facebook page analyzer
can provide very useful information about user preferences. For instance it can tell you which
are the most favorite design liked by the audience, based on that information Gul Ahmed can
start producing more of that particular design and meet that customer demand.
Apart from these pull marketing strategies, Gul Ahmed should support these with the push
strategies and focus a bit more on consumer promotions such as buy one get one free or other
sales promotions, Since, sales promotion has become industry norm, Gul Ahmed should stand
out of the clutter and lead the competition by having sales before competition and introducing
fresh arrivals both online and instore ahead of competition.