Protecting Gul Ahmed Fashion from the Threat of Customer Neglect
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Binary University of Management & Entrepreneurship Topic : Protecting Gul Ahmed Fashion from the threat of Customer Neglect in Pakistan Author Name: Nuslia Nushra Akhter Field: Master’s in Business Administration (2018) 0 PROTECTING GUL AHMED FASHION FROM THE THREAT OF CUSTOMER NEGLECT 1 Declaration I hereby certify that the work embodied in this Research Project (THESIS) is the result of original research and has not been submitted for a higher degree to any other University or Institution. NUSLIA NUSHRA AKHTER (Signed) 2 Acknowledgment I would like to take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude and deep regards to my Instructor, Mr. Farrukh Adeel for his exemplary guidance, monitoring and constant encouragement throughout the course. The support, help and guidance given by him and my family from time to time shall carry a long way in the journey of my life on which I am about to get on. I also take this opportunity to express a deep sense of gratitude to the employees of GUL AHMED for their support, valuable information and guidance, which helped me in completing this task through various stages. 3 Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... 6 Chapter 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 7 1.1 Background of the Project ................................................................................................ 8 1.2 Objectives ....................................................................................................................... 13 1.3 Problem Statement ......................................................................................................... 13 1.4 Research Questions ........................................................................................................ 14 1.5 Sequence of the chapters ................................................................................................ 14 Chapter 2 Literature Review ....................................................................................................... 16 Chapter 3 Methodology ............................................................................................................... 30 3.1 Source of Data ................................................................................................................ 30 3.2 Type of Research ............................................................................................................ 31 3.3 Data Collection Method ................................................................................................. 33 3.4 Conceptual Framework .................................................................................................. 33 3.5 Designing of Questionnaire ............................................................................................ 34 3.6 Research Sampling ......................................................................................................... 35 3.6.1 Target Population ....................................................................................................... 36 3.6.2 Research Sample ......................................................................................................... 37 3.6.3 Sampling Technique ................................................................................................... 37 3.7 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................. 38 3.7.1 Descriptive Statistics .................................................................................................. 38 3.7.2 Analysis Tests ............................................................................................................. 38 Chapter 4 Findings and Analysis ................................................................................................ 40 4.1 Descriptive Analysis ...................................................................................................... 41 4.1.1 Demographic Profile of the respondents .................................................................... 41 4.1.2 Central Tendency Measurement ................................................................................. 44 4.3 Results of the Questionnaire from Retailers .................................................................. 58 4 4.4 Scale Measurement – Alpha Cronbach Test .................................................................. 61 4.5 Inferential Analysis ........................................................................................................ 61 4.5.1 Pearson’s Correlation Analysis .................................................................................. 61 4.5.2 Regression Analysis ................................................................................................... 61 4.6 Analysis and Projection of Financial Results ................................................................. 62 4.7 Critical Analysis of Gul Ahmed Fashion ....................................................................... 69 Chapter 5 Conclusion and Recommendations ............................................................................ 77 5.1 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 77 5.2 Implications .................................................................................................................... 78 5.3 Limitations ..................................................................................................................... 79 5.4 Recommendations .......................................................................................................... 80 Appendix 1 – Survey Questionnaire ............................................................................................. 85 References ..................................................................................................................................... 89 5 Abstract The research aims at investigation of the factors that could potentially cause customers neglecting the brand of Gul Ahmed Fashion. The relationship of customer and the brand is very important for the growth and development of the business. A brand should keep on adapting to the dynamic circumstances in order to protect it from the threat of customer neglect. There are two variables in this research i.e. consumer preference and brand selection. The relation between the two is checked with the help of regression analysis. The data for this research is collected via questionnaire which is analyzed afterwards and results are compiled in the light of literature review to formulate the theory that Gul Ahmed fashion has a major market share, great branding and marketing strategies, satisfactory customer service but it needs to work on it prices and keep on enhancing the quality of its products in order to protect itself from the neglect of the customers. 6 Chapter 1 Introduction The consumer of the current times is rationale and wants to maximize the level of satisfaction. It has become the lifestyle of the customer to look for the brand that creates high value in their daily lives. Customers these days are more inclined towards aesthetics in every aspect of life. Due to these characteristics of consumers, the organizations heavily focus on the product differentiation and try to bring out newness in their products in order to make them successful. The consumers prefer to get the products that have differentiated attributes and features when they compare with the available alternatives and substitutes and get maximum utility. The value of a brand refers to the premium value realized by the company from its products due to recognizable name and image in contrast to the generic equivalent. The entities can create a strong brand value for their services and products by making these easily recognizable, superior in quality, reliable and easily memorable. With the concept of globalization, customers have become very aware and have so many options of products available for purchase. They look out through the market to attain maximum benefit from each purchase they make. They associate themselves with the brand different from others in appearance and have something new to offer. The best way to create a strong brand value is the differentiation of product with the use of aesthetics such as visual design that has the ability to shape consumer perceptions (Van Rompay et al., 2012). The marketers are keen to focus on the brand building activities in order to increase the customers’ preference for their particular brand. They are busy in building brand loyalties at the heart of their business plans to ensure that consumer do not neglect their brand (Morris, 1996). Market place is unpredictable and the product differentiation is getting diminished with the 7 passage of time with the increase in the competition and pressures to get loyal customers for the brand (Shocker et al., 1994). The need for an effective management of brand loyalties and their value for consumers are of high importance and the businesses need to work on it in order to get successful (Webster, 1992). The emphasis on the brand loyalty is much as old as seventy years (Copeland, 1923) yet there is a lack of scientific process that can help the brands in