Mantero Seta Spa Is One

Mantero Seta Spa is one of the largest textile manufacturers in Italy supplying silk and other fabric material to fashion houses in the country. By 2000, the company had over 1000 employees and a turn over of $200 million. Mantero has been in operation since 1903 and with more 100 years of experience behind the organization, the company now enjoys a very positive reputation within Italy and outside. The company has achieved this level of success through hard work and serious dedication. Below is an analysis of the company's strategy and strengths.

The mission of Mantero Seta should revolve around three key areas: i.e. expansion, communication and technology adoption. The company stands for much more than fashion alone. It stands for class, culture and experience. Its values must therefore be an integral part of its mission statement but it needs to have a broader vision as it enters a new era in fashion.

Objectives: To improve communication with clients- old and new To adopt technology at a faster rate To expand into foreign markets To invest more on Research and Development Strategic Analysis: Mantero has always been a very well integrated company that believed in performing most of the tasks connected with production completely in-house. In other words, Mantero has not been outsourcing any of its major production units or even the more significant smaller segments.

But it has acquired help of specialized companies in taking care of some parts of the production though under strict scrutiny. It has always prided itself on producing the fabric completely in-house where it is turned from raw material into high-class material for fashion houses around the world. However in the beginning of 2000, things began to change for Mantero on the buyer front.

Even though its buyers had been used to the inelasticity of the market in which Mantero operated, their decision of purchase was affected by certain political and geographical changes including economic slow down of 2001 and SARS in the Far Eastern region. Those factors coupled with a very strong Euro placed immense pressure on Mantero's profits and despite being a leader in its niche market, Mantero faced financial crunch. Mantero also faced social issues that it had not been prepared for.

When expansion took place, it was seen that the markets in China and UK were not as affluent as the one in Italy and hence while fashion houses could afford Mantero brand, it was still not easy to convince them to buy since they had already used quality material at significantly lower prices. Industry Analysis Fashion Industry has always been very fickle.

It doesn't show loyalty to one brand or one designer rather it chooses to go with the tide if the tide appears to bring better quality and more chic. The fashion industry is divided into three major segments, high, medium and mass.

While the mass industry remains static in terms of brands and loyalty, it is the high and medium fashion segments that change often because in they are ruled by the customers who have great influence on the market but still the big players like Givenchy, Dior and Versace would still know how to play the market and give minimum leverage to the customers. The industry has been divided into trend setters and followers.

While setters enjoy greater influence, followers are dragged along by the companies catering to medium and mass segments. In this industry, it is the supply chain that matters the most because that tends to help in cost reduction and improve profitability. Customer/Marketplace Trends As already mentioned, the trends keep changing and are often set by the higher segments of the market which is composed of trend-setters.