ON-LIFE
Swarovski Gemstones
Business
I dette afsnit vil jeg komme ind på de to første faser i Design Thinking - processen; Understand og Observe. Her vil du få et indblik i Swarovski Gemstones virksomhed, og hvordan gruppen har forholdt sig til dem.
Understand & Observe
Projektet har til formål at designe et nyt koncept, en smykkeserie, som skal reflektere Swarovski Gemstones. Kollektion skal være tilpasset Swarovski’s Gem Visions book og have fokus på trenden Talisman & Symbols. Derudover var formålet at skabe en forståelse for og indsigt i en større smykkevirksomhed. Dette er blevet gjort ved hjælp af forskellige brand analyser, som vil blive belyst på denne side.
Kollektionen der skulle designes skulle være et kommercielt trendbaseret smykkekoncept til verdensmarkedet.
Mission, Vision & Values
Swarovski’s Business Mission
Swarovski’s business mission is to add sparkle to their customers’ everyday life through their numerous prod- ucts and services. They strive to only make responsible decisions which benefit the world, and use innovative approaches to stay on top of the market.
“Swarovski adds sparkle to everyday life with high-quality products and services that exceed our customer’s desires. We inspire our colleagues with innovation and reward their achievements while striving to expand our market leadership. We assume accountability for our actions as a responsible corporate citizen, and make decisions that positively influence our world”
Swarovski’s Business Vision
Swarovski wants to be more responsible and therefore they create stones in a more sustainable way, in order to meet the more sustainable mindset the world of fashion carries in our decade. Swarovski wants to bring more creativity and wellbeing into society, whilst still upholding natural resources.
“We are currently partnering with our suppliers to remove several phthalates and chlorinated phenol com- pounds from our supply chain by the end of 2016”
“and with the establishment of the Swarovski Foundation we aim to build on our heritage and bring light to people’s lives through projects which foster creativity, promote wellbeing, and conserve natural resources.”
Swarovski’s Business Values
Swarovski’s main values are rooted in philanthropy, which results in their focus on care for their employees and the environment, as well as a high quality of craftsmanship.
“Since it was founded in 1895, five generations of the Swarovski family have reinforced the company’s com- mitment to philanthropy and charitable giving. Care, quality, craftsmanship and creativity remain at our core, and with the establishment of the Swarovski Foundation we aim to build on our heritage and bring light to people’s lives through projects which foster creativity, promote wellbeing, and conserve natural resources”
PEST Analysis
Politics
Environmental awareness. Rules/regulations are sharpened - consumers expect more transparency The environmental awareness in Europe is expanding, because it’s mutually reflected through legislation di- rected at the consumers and back. The consumers have an opinion of the products they use, to a much larger extent than previously. This is related to whether it affects the environment negatively as well as whether it’s a health hazard or not. All of this has made the consumer more aware and thus expectant of better transparen- cy.
Economy
Staff (in this case; miners) have become more aware of their working conditionsAlong with the growing demand for transparency of companies, comes a stronger focus on rights and work- ing conditions. This includes the salary terms of the staff, as well as their safety conditions such as insurance. This can affect Swarovski if their staff demands higher salaries and better working conditions, which as a result can make their product more expensive to produce.
The economic inequality is growing - the volume/size of the target group can change.
Expansion of high-end shops and expansion of discount shops.
In Europe, more and more people become either richer or poorer, and thus, the middle class is diminishing. This can affect Swarovski, as the part of their brand that produces gemstones appeals to a middle class target group.
Social
Contempoary trend
After the financial crisis, it was no longer a trend for people of the middle class to radiate luxury/extrava- gance through consumerism. It became a more laid back style without focus on income, which took over. When Swarovski sell their diamond cut stones, they therefore appeal to a target group which is appreciative of elegance, sophistication and tradition, which is unusual and not representative of a very big part of the european market.
Transparency/sustainability
In Europe it’s becoming more and more common for consumers to demand a more obvious transparency within the companies they choose to buy from, especially in areas like sustainability, working conditions, contents in products, etc. This is something Swarovski should be particularly aware of, as they don’t seem to be very informative of where their stones come from. They need their brand to gain the trust of their custom- ers through trading methods, products, etc.
Technology
One world
The large expansion of the internet, including social media, has made it easier to market products in the whole world. This is a huge advantage for Swarovski, as it’s a sales channel which can be used a lot in the fu- ture. Methods of communication, such as Instagram, can make a brand go viral instantaneously - the world, in a way, becomes smaller (metropolises start to look alike; ‘international’ becomes the norm).
New technology and methods of production.
New methods of technology such as 3D printing are constantly developed, and becoming more and more accessible.
The four P’s
Product
Swarovski sells jewellery, accessories and various articles to use in a home setting. Most of their jewellery is shiny, voluminous and contain their own uniquely cut crystals. Apart from these finished products, they also make and sell Swarovski genuine gemstones. All of Swarovski’s jewellery is made from brass, and is either plated with palladium, rose gold or rhodium. This is all the information we are provided with, concerning the materials they use.
Price
To find out what the prize range on their webshop is, we have focused on their fine jewellery where the prize renge is from 220- 13460 kr.
Promotion
Swarovski is good at promoting themselves, especially on Instagram, where they post new pictures everyday. They also post a lot of photos on their Facebook page, where they’re quick to reply to any questions - often within the hour.
Another way of promoting their brand, is by continually collaborating with well known brands from the fash- ion industry, such as Victoria’s Secret, Versace and Jean Paul Gaultier.
Place
Swarovski has three different websites, with three different focus points. The first one, www.swarovski.
com ships worldwide, and is directed primarily at the consumer, in a B2C approach. The second one, www.swarovskigroup.com provides more information about Swarovski as a brand, and is intended for B2B as well as B2C. The third one, www.swarovskigemstones.com is made for their B2B customers, and is a place for their larger customers to find information about their gemstones.
SWOT
Internal Situation
Strengths
Weaknesses
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Strong brand. It’s an international brand so they have a large target group. Furthermore, they’ve branded themselves in such a way, that the customers have confidence in their products.
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Large variation in prices. It’s possible for them to attract many different target groups.
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Fast support. Through contact on Facebook, they reply within an hour.
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Strong marketing. The consumers trust the fact that they’ll receive a good product. They have many collaborations with other strong brands.
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Weak transparency. In relation to the materials, and where they come from.
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Large variation in prices. Confusing for the consumer, as to whether Swarovski is a brand they can afford.
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Weak website. The website is weak; the consumer isn’t informed of the fact that there’s more than one website.
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Price and quality are not related. Breach of confidence between consumer and brand. The consumer has the immediate impression of buy- ing a product of a better quality than the one they actually purchase.
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No segmented branding
External Situation
Threats
Opportunities
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Materials upgrade. It would be possible to change the materials; maybe use pure gold and silver; thus you could improve the quality of the product.
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Multibillion brand. They have a large economic capital, which means they have a great opportunity to market their prod- ucts.
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Segmented trend. They have the opportunity to make trend material and redirect according to the various continents and markets, instead of one comprehensive booklet.
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New tech. Can be used to create new possibilities.
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Many new commercial brands of jewellery During recent years, many new commercial brands have arrived on the jewellery market - this is defi- nitely a threat to be taken into consideration.
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New tech. Could create additional competitors who want to create the same new product.
Positionering Map
Similarities between the companies: All five companies focus on the mass market and are late movers. They’re very accessible and have a broad design aesthetic. The only company shying away from the rest is Carré, which has a narrower design aesthetic and a far better understanding of trends, which means they move fast- er than the rest.
There’s a larger gap between the companies when it comes to precious/semiprecious/fake materials and the durability or the lack thereof. Carré and Pandora have a better quality of durability, and use a wider range of precious materials compared to Swarovski, SNÖ and Kranz & Ziegler. The choice of materials is often con- nected to quality and durability.
Spidergram
Parameters
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Quality: As a consumer, a certain quality (such as precious metals) is expected of the products.
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Price: The price should be consistent.
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Trend: An understanding of what’s trending in the ongoing season.
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Trust/Confidence: Whether, as a consumer, one manages to have confidence in the brand, and believe in their products.
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Accessibility/Visibility: Easy to access for the consumer, which makes it easier to purchase (visibility through marketing and placement in retail stores).
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Visual brand aesthetics: The consumer should be able to visual regonize the connection between the brand and the product.
Visual analysis
Billeder fra Pinterest
USP
Swarovski Gemstones has immense experience when it comes to cutting gemstones, which makes them the most reliable company to trade with. They offer a wide variety of choice, with a large range of colours and styles.
They have their very own method of cutting gems, which is unique only for them. They are able to cut their stones with their pure brilliance cut, which is the same cut as the Tolkowsky diamond; the ideal diamond.
Talisman, amulets & symbols
A talisman is an object that gains power from its wearer, or that obtains powers over time, from the beliefs of its wearer.
An amulet is an object with an already existing power, ascribed to it by society. It’s often protective, and gives the wearer a sense/feeling of safety.
A symbol is often an object, which is representative of something else; something immaterial.
Segmenting our target group
Roza - our contact from Swarovski - described her vision of an ideal persona to us, using very few words. The basic key words were young, modern, front runner, new angle and futuristic. Based on these keywords we decided on some facts and characteristics for our persona. The segments we ended up using are as follow;
She was to be a woman, aged 18-25. She left home and geographically she could be living anywhere in the world, but probably in Scandinavia, and definitely in a metropolitan environment, as we thought that would make her more open minded and liable to have a better insight when it comes to subcultures and more diverse lifestyles. She earns about 10.000 DKK before taxes a month (roughly half is from SU and the other half is her salary from her job). She’s studying something creative (e.g. folk high school, journalistic, web design..).
From a psychographic perspective we imagine she loves to travel and has an active lifestyle that revolves around her strong political opinions when it comes to products etc. This could be a problem for her, as her opinions and actions don’t necessarily match, when she has such a low income. The good thing about this is that she can become inspired to use alternative solutions, that are more cost efficient and creative. She has strong relations to her friends and family, and sees herself in those relations as well as in celebrities, subcultures and other people she finds interesting. Her generation has been raised with technology, and has an enormous knowledge when it comes to the online world. This means that our segment is very active in using social media; sharing, communicating and connecting constantly. Whether our persona is posting and liking things herself, or just actively following others, she will still ultimately have an immense understanding of what’s going on in the world.
Interviews
We interviewed 10 girls on KEA campus to find our persona. We asked them:
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What their relationship to their friends was like.
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How they used social media.
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Whether there was something they couldn’t live without in their everyday life.
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Whether they had any very important items on them/with them all the time.
From those questions we found these pains and gains:
Pains
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Lack of contact with family and friends.
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Feels pressure from the outside world and social media to look a certain way.
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Fear of changes.
Gains
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An urge to take a time out in their day to day life.
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An urge to have an item that reminds of family and friends.
Minerva
The target group of people aged 18-25 years, are usually people who recently left home. This means they’ve gone from being very affected by the values of their parents to being individuals who try to find their way to consciously choosing their own values. Based on this, our target group is in the grey area, which reaches out towards all of the various areas. This is because they’re affected by a lot of external factors, such as friends and social medias and thus they don’t necessarily follow their own core values.
Persona
Our persona is Thilde. Thilde is a 24 year old girl, who moved from Svendborg to Vesterbro, in Copenhagen.
Thilde is a friendly, extroverted girl. She is a very intuitive young woman in the early stages of her career, who is driven by her instincts – for better or for worse – and makes impulsive decisions.
Once a week she goes boxing to unwind and take a time out from her hectic lifestyle.
She greatly appreciates inner values, and closeness to friends and family is an important factor in her day to day life.
She recently moved from Svendborg to Vesterbro in Copenhagen, and thus she misses her family and childhood friends. When she works on her media projects, she likes to sit in her regular café ‘Kaffe’ on Istedgade. She sits at the café for hours on end sometimes, because this is a place where she forgets her surroundings and the mere concept of time.
She finds that she spends too much time on social media, but it’s a necessity that comes with the job, where she needs to stay up to date on all the new trends. Her style is very simple, but she has a lot of personal items, with great emotional value, which she wears to add a unique touch. Apart from that, she always wears colourful and extremely special sneakers, which is a big passion for her.
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DART-Analysis
Beauty Ideals: People begin to embrace a far more varied body image, with a wider accept of the extremes, such as very skinny/obese, handicapped in one way or another, varying skin tones (there’s a famous model, Winnie Harlow, with the skin disease Vitiligo) or maybe just hairy bodies!
New Arts: In the art world, conceptual human installations become more frequent, and this might be a sign that we want to become closer/more in touch with the art we’re involved with. This can be seen many places, such as in music, theatre and art galleries.
Body Art – Blackwork: As people become more in touch with themselves, and stand by their own decisions, a tendency like blackwork tattoos (covering old tattoos with new, totally black, elaborate designs) becomes very popular.
Craftsmanship: We see smaller businesses with a larger focus on quality and craftsmanship. The plant trend of the 70s has evolved to a level where people grow their own gardens, e.g. on the balcony (we even have this sort of thing at KEA campus).
Travelling: We notice how people are drawn towards a more individual way of travelling, with a focus on the authentic experiences one can gain from travelling outside of the tourist destinations. In particular, the pilgrimages are booming to such a degree, that the demand cannot always be met.
Social Media: When it comes to the online world, it seems that people want to get away from the obsessiveness with constantly being available online, and are trying to escape in some way. This has something to do with wanting more of the individual relations, and a lack of connection with “the real world”.