A Case of Segmentation of Lacoste

A CASE OF SEGMENTATION: LACOSTE

"Lacoste does not use price as an excluding factor." That is, the target wearer is described in psychographic, not demographic, terms. It is a brand for the arrived, for the early adopter "who runs a successful business, is respected in his field, has two children and no plans of having any more" according to SLA. The consumer "works harder and plays hard," and appreciates the value of finer, non-fashion-led leisure wear. Puneet Malhotra, an employee of Junach Pvt. Ltd. (a franchisee which runs seven outlets), says that most customers are "30 plus".

Lacoste's perceived value stays high because its wearers form a club of like-minded folk, snooty to the extent that all club members are. As the brand's wearers are walking-talking advertisements on the desired social circuitry, the prospective buyer charmed by the kind of people he see wearing the crocodile.

The quintessential Lacoste wearer is a mobile phone-equipped, leisure-loving. globetrotting yuppie in his 30s or 40s, bent on staying fit, and a keen golfer or weekend tennis buff, he's a great spender of self-earned money, casual at the right times, global in his thinking and with little time for woolly "intellectuals" who refuse to admit that clothes are a personality statement or think that getting mournful about Indian poverty is achieving more than what he does with his time (adding to GDP growth).

Of course, the audience is only a subset of India's wealthy. Casualness and leisure are not well-in-graned concepts here, shown by the weak response to Club Med's activity packed foreign holidays. "People come with an 'I am sorry' look when forwarding their leave application, "says Kochar, lamenting the stigma attached to splurging. Thanks to the Gandhi-Nehru legacy, "the belief is, if he's so rich he must have had a hand in some scam. We are not comfortable with wealth, with success."

Change has begun. Back in 1993, Lacoste came with the understanding that there were about half-a-million potential buyers. In four years, the tribe is said to have doubled. "Of these, about a lakh are buying Lacoste," believes Kochar. Не predicts that the group should swell by half in the next five years. By then, much of the current segment of 20s, in fashionable professions, with good degrees from premier institutes, "in the words of Darlie O. Koshy, professor and chairman, apparel marketing and merchandising. National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT). "Their purchasing power is rising, aspirations are high and they can afford to buy on impulse as they pay by plastic."

QUESTION

1. Discuss Lactose approach for segmentation of their market.

2. Who are the early adopters?