2. ABOUT SAAB
Born in Beirut
Developed an interest of dress making in early age
At age nine, he made clothes of his sisters with the use of
curtains and table clothes
Opened his first atelier in Beirut in 1982
Began designing luxurious evening gowns and wedding
dresses
3. AS A DESIGNER
Focused on Haute Couture
In the 1990s, moved to a larger atelier in Beirut and organized
exclusive fashion shows in Europe
Opened a salon and showroom in Paris in 2000 and a flagship
store in Paris opened in March 2007
ES opened its first U.K. boutique at Harrods in July 2008
In June 2010, he opened its first flagship store in Dubai’s
prestigious Dubai Mall
4. GOAL OF THE COMPANY
"Attract, select and maintain customers who place
significance on high-end, one-of-a-kind designs made
from the finest fabrics and materials”
5. EXHIBITS
Exhibit 2 highlights the quantity of millionaires by country
World’s high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) grew 17% to 10
million in 2009 despite a contraction in world gross domestic
product (GDP).
The highest change is shown in Australia while other important
figure to be mentioned is 23.8% in United Kingdom
Exhibit 3 shows the public relation and marketing expense as
percentage of sale of year 2008. The highest amount is 87.4% of
Fashion Shows, which means that highest number of
advertisement is done through fashion shows
6. Exhibit 4 shows that in 2006 Haute Couture; the highly
personalized and customized product of the brand made the
major chunk of the sales revenue making 60 percent of the
sales as compared to 40 percent made by ready to wear (RTW)
and accessories.
After 2006 there was a change in the break-up of the sales
revenue as RTW brought in higher sales as compared to Haute
Couture
In 2007 RTW accounted for 54 percent of the total sales
whereas Haute Couture made 46 percent and the following
year that is 2008, RTW made 59 percent and Haute Couture 41
percent
7. Strengths
Well established brand.
Direct ownership of stores (except for Dubai)
One of the few certified couture house
Weaknesses
Weak presence in multi brand shops
Specifically restricted to luxury clothing line
Poor Current Ratio
Still low sales in Asia and Russia
8. Opportunities
Rise in high-net-worth-individuals (HNWI)
Immense potential in Asia (Increasing number of millionaires)
Online sale of RTW
Threats
Decline in Haute Couture
Tapping the affluent
middle class
Changing clothing trends
To mix luxury and affordability
Casual dressing on the rise
Upcoming competitors in RTW line
9. PROBLEMS
Change in trends
In US, ladies endorsed the brand by wearing couture day wear
to luncheons, parties and events while women in the Middle
east and Russia did not showcase these dresses thus defeating
the purpose of advertisement through word of mouth
Change in preferences and trends which were changing from
class unique handmade clothing to clothing line which was
more casual
Competitors were shifting into the ready to wear field and
giving tough time to the company
10. SOLUTIONS
The industry is facing a downward trend and this is an external
factor to ES, thus combating this fall requires an extra effort.
Opening a slightly less extravagant line, within the existing
haute couture line, can provide a cushion with the new line
On the ready to wear part, the company can beat other new
competitors by increasing its volume as it is offering its ready
to wear line at selected places only
11. There was an upsurge in HNWI from year 2008 to
2009, especially in China, where millionaires grew by 31%
from 2008 to 2009. Thus, China is a lucrative market for ES to
tap
ES should also adopt an online business model for the RTW
line. Prospective customers should be able to buy select RTW
things online
There is a shift in trend from luxury clothing to more casual
clothing where Customers nowadays are well informed and
seek value for money in every purchase; hence ES should seek
to expand his RTW line
12. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Since Elie Saab is planning for further expansion both globally
and their product portfolio they need to be extra cautious about it
because the brand name is at stake
Asian market serves as a potential interest but there are number of
other factors that have to be considered including the distribution
channel
As far as the product portfolio is concerned the management
should keep adding products but they need to keep Haute Couture
as their core product since the brand is known from this highly
customized premium offering
From an advertising perspective the company should make more
use of celebrity endorsements to further enhance its image as a
premium product