Brooks Brothers Distribution Marketing Channels and Channels

Brooks Brothers Distribution Marketing Channels and Channels of Distribution Marketing channels are the means by which goods get to consumers. For apparel, this typically refers to the different retail channels that a company uses. In luxury goods, these can be described in the form of a matrix with one axis reflecting company-owned channels and non-company channels and the other axis reflecting online and bricks and mortar retailing channels.

Most luxury apparel firms use a mix of company-owned stores and boutiques within department stores -- or even just distributing in department stores. The strategy, as reflected by a wide range of such apparel companies, typically reflects the high-end merchandise in the company store and non-company channels offering clothes from any point on the price/quality spectrum. Brooks Brothers typically only offers high-end clothing, but does so through both its company-owned stores and through other outlets as well.

For example, Brooks Brothers has recently entered into a deal with Nordstrom to distribute Brooks Brothers apparel in about 30 Nordstrom stores nationwide (Palmieri, 2011). The company also markets on its own website, but the deal with Nordstrom allows that retailer to also market Brooks Brothers apparel on its website. Thus, Brooks Brothers may only offer a single line, but it does so through all four marketing channels typically used by firms in its industry.

This use of different marketing channels allows the company to make its goods more widely available, and to target a variety of different markets (Berry, 2010). Channels of distribution are slightly different, in that they reflect the behind-the-scenes movement of goods. Whereas consumers can see changes in the marketing channels, they may not see changes in the distribution channels.

Distribution channels are defined as "all the organizations through which a product must pass between its point of production and consumption." For Brooks Brothers, this includes bringing the products from their overseas point of production and then getting them either to the company's warehouse or to the warehouse of the retail partner, such as a Nordstrom. Distribution channels can influence customer service levels, inventory management and the costs associated with bringing goods to market.

Luxury goods companies often use unique channels of distribution, for example using a courier service like FedEx to do their shipping rather than using more basic truck-based freight forwarders. Such a tactic improves service but significantly increases the cost of the goods, which only works when customers are not price sensitive. For Brooks Brothers, there is expected to be an element of price sensitivity, so more conventional distribution channels are expected to be used. Distribution Channels as Marketing Strategy Distribution channels play an important role in marketing strategy.

The example above of using couriers is one example -- a luxury goods company like Hermes can ship an item halfway around the world between stores using a courier, so that a customer can have his or her demands fulfilled within 48 hours, even if the product is unavailable in that region (a customer in Singapore can order from a store in Vancouver, for example, or London). This allows the company a high level of service that differentiates it even from many other luxury goods firms.

For Brooks Brothers, the marketing strategy is also influenced by its choice of distribution channels. It was noted that the use of department stores allows the company to target different customers than it would at its own stores. Nordstorm argued that one of the values of Brooks Brothers is that it would attract customers ten years younger than the company's current customer base. The same works in reverse for Brooks Brothers -- it can gain exposure to an older demographic by retailing through Nordstrom.

Distribution channels also support the price component of the marketing strategy. The cost of distribution will in part dictate what the company needs to charge for its goods. Wal-Mart charges very low prices in part because it has a very efficient, low-cost distribution system. Luxury goods companies often do not engage in price competition, so for Brooks Brothers the distribution system is more likely to support product availability and customer service levels as its main contribution to the firm's marketing efforts.

Online, distribution is a critical element of the marketing plan. Brooks Brothers' website (2011) makes note of the fact that the company offers free shipping on orders over $200. In this way, distribution is directly related to price. The ability of the company to meet online orders quickly and effectively is dependent on its online distribution strategy -- whether it uses couriers, USPS or other means of getting the products to the customer.

Brooks Brothers can use its Internet distribution means as a way of either differentiating itself from other firms (such as the free shipping offer) or as a means of defining itself as a luxury good (matching the distribution terms of other luxury goods at a level that is superior to regular consumer goods). Channels as a Source of Competitive Advantage Flowing from the theory that luxury goods firms use generalization as a means of fitting into their category, competitive advantage means to adopt this generalization.

There is little seeking of competitive advantage within the luxury group. There are, however, two different types of channel strategies within the luxury category. Some luxury goods makers offer a high end brand through "high end" channels and a lower-end, more aspirational brand through more mainstream channels. Brooks Brothers -- indeed most of the brands under its parent company Luxottica as well -- only relies on one line.

Thus, while Brooks Brothers will utilize multiple marketing channels, it is careful with its partner selections because it going to sell the same lineup of clothing in department stores that it sells.