Preview Case British Home Stores

Preview Case British Home Stores

BRITISH HOME STORES (BHS), THE retailer which is part of the United Kingdom's Storehouse Group, recently embarked on a eampaign to revamp

its staid image. BHS has long been noted for its good quality and value­for­ money range of clothing, household furnishings and appliances, and food. This long­established institution has been a big player in Britisli high streets. The problem, however, is that in the face of increasing high­street competi­

Preview Case­. British Home Stores • 755

tion and retailing innovations in the 1990s, the stores no longer came across as 'exciting' to consumers. A marketing executive at BHS put the problem this way: 'Not enough people get up in the morning and think "I must go to BHS". Shoppers just drift into the store from the high street. Unlike Marks & Spencer, the BTIS brand is "too neutral". There appeared to be a big gap between consumers' perception of what the BHS brand offered and the reality ­ good quality and well­priced products, besides the convenience of its high­street location. When you go in the store it is actually better than you expected!'

To remedy the situation, BHS spent three to four years developing a new image and culture ­ a young, energetic organization ­ and defining the store's 'value propositions'. (These moves were all part of the restructuring

and recovery of the Storehouse Group itself.) The BUS brand is promoted on three platforms: fashion­moderate products, which are up­to­date but main­ stream, not at the cutting edge of fashion: consistent and appropriate quality; and low prices that are attractive to mothers on tight budgets, who are by far the largest group among BHS's customers.

The company undertook a vast brand­building exercise. The retailer's goal was to communicate its revamped positioning to its target market and to attract shoppers to the store.

BTIS uses several promotion tools to communicate its new message to its customers. A chief component of its communication programme is TV advertising. The ads are adapted to show each season's clothes and can be extended to other BUS lines (e.g. lighting), lii­store 'events', such as beach parties, are staged to display the season's fashions. These are organized in stores around the country to gain local publicity and as a general pro­ motional tool.

The BUS logo has also been revamped. The new logo is a 'more feminine, more fluid' version of the one it replaces and seeks to communicate the feeling of 'excitement and energy' that is to be associated with the brand. To support the repositioning of the BUS brand, the company had to refurbish its stores and replace die old fascias in order to reflect its new image. Not only do the iusides of stores display the new logo, but carrier bags and labels also carry it. Moreover, store interiors have been revamped with a new look that communicates the brand's new and fresher image. In­store design shows off merchandise to greater effect and'allows it to breathe'.

BHS uses advertising to raise consumers' awareness of the BHS brand. The ad campaign is also about elevating the brand in the minds of people to whom it might be neutral. The public relations and sales promotions exer­ cises, like the in­store events, are used to draw consumers into the stores in order for them to see what the store really has to offer. The company also uses other elements in the marketing mix ­ product quality, the way merchandise is presented in the store, its logo and low price ­ to communi­ cate its total offering to its target market. BUS has to co­ordinate all these

aspects to get the most out of its promotional programme. 1