French Connection SWOT and PESTLE Analysis

Strength

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Weakness

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Opportunity

1. International markets and global networks: French Connection’s diverse and widespread network allows them to grow globally without the requirement of direct investments. The company currently holds around 21 showrooms outside UK borders. The wholesale accounts help in introducing the brand to the international community for enhanced exposure. The company enjoys a huge fan following all over the globe which is again a great thing for business. While a strong international brand they have not expanded too aggressively in the emerging markets. This is probably the biggest opportunity that the company can use for its growth. And more importantly since they already have a taste of international business it should not be too taxing on their part to penetrate and grow. Having said that, there is a huge demand and prospect for top o the line luxury brands and FCUK fits the bill perfectly here.

2. Rapid growth of E-Commerce: With the current wave of e-commerce hitting everyone in the world both business and customers included. It would be a great time to leverage and grow those capabilities to be a strong player in this space. While e-commerce mostly is for the conventional consumer purchases. There is an opportunity for a fashion first presence in the e-commerce space. French Connection can take the time to understand the segment and more aggressively operate in the online arena in addition to their brick and mortar offering. The interesting thing about ecommerce is that it is growing at a rate much faster than traditional retail and this is a great sign for future investments. It would be a great idea to get a stronghold in the market while still virgin. They can attest start by offering some ranges from the product line and more importantly a strong online platform is the only thing that can cross the locations barriers.

3. Extensive use of Social Media by target customers: In the current world that we live in social media has turned out to be a platform where everyone spends quite a sizeable fraction of their daily lives. Now this gives a company like French Connection immense opportunity to harvest. They can start by launching marketing campaigns on different social media platforms. The advantage of this over traditional marketing campaigns is the lower cost involved and on top of it campaign analytics can be performed which actually helps in understanding and identifying customers at a granular level. The data generated by users of social media platforms is a gold mine for a company like French Connection and can also aid in their new product development practices. The current trends and demand of users in the market can be tracked real time using social media analytics. The company should start to tap into this to gain a sizeable competitive advantage over its rivals.

Threat

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Political

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Economic

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Social

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Technological

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Legal

1. Misuse of brand name by celebrities: The famous comedian Dave Griffiths have been involved in a legal battle with French Connection for quite some time. He was threatened by French Connection for violating their trademarks. The issue started after he wore a home-made T-Shirt having a slogan of ‘CNUT- French Connection’ written over it, on stage. The clothing giant deployed its full legal powers against him. Griffiths fought against French Connection after he noticed that the company was selling its clothes parodying other brands like Gap, Lego, Jack Wills and Snickers. This act has made these companies stand against French Connection. The comedian has turned the tables on French Connection multiple times and reported them for copyright infringement. Griffiths won the legal battle against French Connection and now has a successful company selling King CNUT merchandise.

2. Trademark dispute over FCUK: A trial was ordered against French Connection for offensive ‘FCUK’ trademark. The High Court stated that the advertising campaign of the company very obnoxious and tasteless. Lawyers of French Connection had appealed to the court to stop an Internet Consultant using the website name fcuk.com. The fashion chain had suggested for an immediate injunction to bar the fcuk.com website, but the Court ordered a complete trial of the issue. The FCUK advertising campaign was a year old when the website’s domain name was registered, but French Connection did not register the FCUK trademark until some days later. The Court said that during the trial it will be able to review the registration of the trademark FCUK, and whether the registrar ought to have refused it on grounds that it was contrary to public policy because of its obscene connotations.

Environmental

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