How does Fragonard create a diverse product range to expand the brand?
- mahtabkazemi
- Nov 29, 2020
- 3 min read
What Is Product Diversification?
Product diversification is a process by which businesses attempt to expand their market reach and customer base by delivering products somewhat different than the ones for which they are known. These new products can simply be extensions of existing brands or they may be entirely new. By engaging in product diversification, a company can extend its business into new areas and markets, thereby increasing their opportunities for profit.
Brand building delivers sustainable competitive advantage in a world where there are few other sources. By creating and reinforcing desirable associations for their brands, companies can create demand for their products even if they enjoy no tangible advantage over those of their competitors. This advantage doesn’t just drive sales more strongly; it impacts pricing power and, consequently, the ability to boost profitability. Brand building doesn’t just drive incremental volume; it also delivers incremental margin. The two together drive long-term profitability in a way that short-term data-driven offers simply cannot.
Fragonard wants to give more space to men in its collections. Accessories, clothing with a first range of printed cotton shirts, Ikat style, bathrobes, toiletry bags now complete the fragrances in a boutique dedicated to the male universe, open since May in Grasse, stronghold of the family home . “Finding a gift for a man is often a puzzle, with this new store we are responding to a recurring request,” explains Agnès Costa, Managing Director, who, with her two sisters, is at the helm of Fragonard. The "corners men" is fitted out in boutiques in Cannes and Paris and a real men's collection, with in-house creations, is available from 2020.
This desire to diversify into fashion , with already collections for women and children, and an art de vivre range for the home, dates back some twenty years. It has since shaped the identity of the brand, which has managed to reconcile, through quality craftsmanship, the attachment to the Grasse region and the attraction for distant destinations. Over the years, Fragonard has expanded its network of points of sale, around twenty in France, including around fifteen directly operated stores. “We have received offers from investors on several occasions to finance the extension of our store network, but we are not interested. Staying small means doing what you want, when you want and how you want assumes Agnès Costa. " With the exception of a store in Milan, opening up to the international market mainly involves online sales (around 20% of turnover) to build customer loyalty. Most of them discovered the company and its products when visiting its production sites on the Côte d'Azur or its museums, six in number, three in Grasse and three in Paris. Fragonard had also used this method before. The first product line included perfumes and soaps, but has gradually increased the variety of its products, including clothing, children's products, cosmetics, accessories, etc.
In this article, I should also mention the Fragonard museums in Grasse, Eze and Paris. In Grasse, you can also visit the Musée Jean-Honoré Fragonard, which presents the works of three painters from Grasse, and the Provence museum of costumes and jewelry. In inaugurating the Jean-Honoré Fragonard Museum in the heart of the old town of Grasse in 2011, Fragonard paid a double tribute. A tribute to the famous painter of course, originally from Grasse and son of a perfume maker, and a tribute to Jean-François Costa, a great lover of 18th century French art and a patient collector.
The Perfume Museum, one of the Fragonard's museums, was inaugurated in 1975. This was the very first perfume museum to open its doors in the town of Grasse: a particularly bold initiative at the time. To top off the manufacturing workshop tour experience, Jean-François Costa (the father of the current directors) wanted to offer his visitors the opportunity to see antique objects that tell the history of perfume from antiquity to the present day. Precious perfumery objects (Egyptian blush spoons, medieval pomanders, etc.) are showcased alongside paintings of women grooming and antique Provençal furniture.
References:
Commentaires