Week 4 BOC: Final

“Several years of close collaboration with the German Sports Institute of Cologne resulted in revolutionary running shoes using natural motion. BIOM, as the shoe was called, became an immediate success.”

“We constantly strive to reduce the environmental impact of our operations while increasing the positive impact we have in our global communities. We have a responsibility to be an environmentally responsible neighbor and conserve resources for future generations through sustainable development.

ECCO owns and operates the production of leather, the production of shoes and retail stores worldwide. This enables us to fully integrate best environmental health and safety practices and design into all our businesses and operations. We can develop new initiatives and implement sustainable solutions efficiency throughout our operations.

“Running, interval and jogging. Light weight; appreciate the integrated tongue design that only opens to the outside. These are literally the most comfortable shoes that have ever been on my feet.”

I chose ECCO Retail LLC as one of my other brands. They started the company in 1963 but didn’t establish the company in the U.S. until 1990, which is 23 years in the making. Ecco is a lifestyle brand only made for a particular type of customer that would spend money on quality and not quantity. With their innovative European style, and color choice, they’ve made the breaking point of combining a fashionable shoe with comfort. As far as competitors go, they haven’t ad anyone match the product, most of these competitors are; Clarks, The Walking Company, Rockport’s, and Aerosole are some of their competitors, but non of them can compare to the way they make and produce the product. The product that I chose within the brand is the ECCO Biom technology, which is short for biomechanical. The idea of the shoe is that it is a performance shoe. Meaning that you can use it for running, walking, jogging, and any other athletic sport you can think of, even golf. What makes Biom so special is that they put so much research into the shoe that they actually scan 2,500 pairs of feet to get the right fit for the shoe line. The shoe was made to fit anatomically to fit your feet, and has a low to the ground profile so that you were made to feel like your wearing no shoes, or you’re barefoot. Studies do show that walking barefoot is good for you because you create more balance for yourself, and you aren’t confined to a shoe where it grips your foot and you’re dependent on the shoe for comfort. While using Biom you depend more on your feet than the shoe, creating the motto, which is the shoe, should always follow the foot. Biom has been a great feat for Ecco, and is one of the best selling shoes in the stores around the U.S. Not only is it a great shoe, but also it is designed very well with great materials such as Yak Skin, and Polyurethane. This brand goes to show you that you don’t need to be extravagant to be well known, you just need to be very minimalist and fashionable. 

Week 4 EOC: Discussion Questions

1.              Explain the social element of luxury brands, and explore how this concept relates to some of the challenges facing luxury brands, such as counterfeiting and parallel markets

Luxury brands are meant to be for people who want to feel satisfied, or someone that feels established so that they can feel important or good about themselves. That’s why most people who can’t afford the luxury brands grab brands from different vendors in order to look like they bought it from the store, or maybe they get some sort of knockoff.

2.              What is the meaning of a lifestyle brand? Why are most luxury brands described as such?

Lifestyle brands are brands that fit your lifestyle. It’s basically a definition all on it own. An example of this would be, if you go out nightly and spend money like crazy on food, clothes, and other materialistic things, and then of course you would choose a brand that would fit that specific type of lifestyle. Luxury brands are describes as such because it only caters to a specific market or specific people who shop for luxury.

3.              Explain how luxury brands seem to defy traditional marketing principles

Luxury brands mostly sell themselves, in terms of people who actually shop at those brands. It only caters to a specific niche market. When a luxury brand becomes exposed to that certain consumer, it tends to spread the word around, therefore setting the basis for a luxury brand.

                           

Week 3 EOC: Apple Juice Scandal

“Beech-Nut Nutrition Corporation paid US$2.2 million, then the largest fine issued, for violating the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by selling artificially flavored sugar water as apple juice. John F. Lavery, the company's vice president for operations was convicted in criminal court and sentenced to a year and a day in jail; Niels L. Hoyvald, the president of the company, also convicted, served six months of community service. Each of them also paid a $100,000 fine.”

“They were accused of not selling the quality apple juice that they promised. In 1982 the company was investigated and it was found that they were not even using apples at all! No apples in their apple juice!! Mostly sugar and flavor.

Beech Nut instead of discarding it’s last shipment and omitting this product decided to make some last minute money off of it by marketing it aggressively. Eventually when investigators were close on their heels again they shipped it all to be sold in the Caribbean.”

      Beechnut who started as The Imperial Packing Company in 1891 whose reputation was tarnished for selling phony apple juice. Labeling sugar water with flavoring as apple juice sounds like a complete fraud. If they were going to do that, they should at least be truthful and come out with it instead of lying to the public about the scheme. Now the person in charge of it is held accountable and the company had a bad reputation, they may have paid there dues, but what about today? Should we still trust after an incident that happened 10-13 years ago? Well, it’s all up to the mother, and the people who knows about the brand and who have tried it. 

Week 3 BOC: Mid-Term

“Kryolan has been a partner on I AM She, Miss Universe India pageant since its inception in 2010. It has an amazing range of products to suit every skin type across countries, and their commitment to quality is what makes them an outstanding brand!”

“During all these years in the body painting industry Kryolan Professional Make-up has always been an integral part of our make-up bags. “

“Being part of the Kryolan International Make-up Team to create make-up looks for the new corporate design of Kryolan Professional Make-up was such an honor.”

“What makes me love Kryolan Professional Make-up is the quality of their products. Their make-up makes my skin look healthy and beautiful on the outside.”

“I have been using Kryolan products as an invaluable part of my kit for over 30 years in the field of make-up and hair for movies, TV and theatre.”

      I chose Kryolan Professional as the brand; as for the product, I chose the T.V. Paint Stick Professional make-up foundation. Kryolan started in 1945 as a theatrical make-up company in Berlin, Germany. The company slowly moved into the U.S. and made specific contacts in 1976. The Kryolan type of consumer is a makeup professional who works in pageants, T.V., commercials, and advertisements. Kryolan doesn’t have a specific competitor, but their closest competitor would be make-up forever and they do more stage and high-end makeup. As of right now Kryolan still specializes in theatrical make-up, drag performers, and the miss universe competitions. This make-up brand has now become a lifestyle, and therefore people choose that type of lifestyle. I personally use Kryolan for drag performing.

The product that I chose was the T.V. Paint Stick Foundation. What the foundation does is gives you a full coverage of your face leaving any skin showing painted. It comes in 250 different shades and great on all skin types. It withstands HD lighting and filming conditions, but still stays true to its color. It is really an amazing product to use, when exposed to those types of conditions. For a closing statement the website also has a message from the their clinical credentials which state “We’ve always made our products to the state-of-the-art. In fact, the raw materials we use are of highest purity exceeding the requirements and expectations for cosmetics.
To meet outstanding quality standards is our goal. That is why we cooperate with leading dermatologists and accomplish ongoing clinical tests to ensure excellent skin compatibility.”

     Kryolan professional makeup has dominated a specific range of consumers here in the U.S. for 38 years and still continues to produce and market to the masses. Even though the brand is made theatrically, you can still use the makeup for everyday use, if you want your makeup to last longer. Overall, Kryolan professional makeup can either be used in the day or in the evening. Either it’s for an event or maybe you just want to look good.