Table of Contents
Introduction
One of the biggest reasons for producing the quality products is to compete with the new market players. On the contrary, the added value provided to the customers, via any product, changes drastically when it is of higher quality. The product chosen for evaluating the perception on its quality is clothing. Alternatively, the organization which will remain as this study’s focus is Michael Kors. The company was founded in 1959 by Michael David Kors. It is famous for selling and marketing premium-quality apparels and accessories. Other things sold by the organization are fragrances, footwear, jewelry, and watches. The thesis statement of the paper is- “the consumers often perceive that the expensive products decipher higher quality, where quality and price are directly proportional to one another with several other underlying intangible tangible components”.
Discussion
The competition in the international market, in respect to the fashion premium-range clothing, is quite high. For example, if a person is looking for expensive apparels then he or she can mostly find the same under the brands such as Michael Kors, Tommy Hilfiger, Christian Dior, Gucci, Burberry, Chanel, Prada, Hermes, and Ralph Lauren. They all are popular in the overseas markets, across the globe. Hence, the business strategies are changing at a rapid rate. For instance, the company like Michael Kors has opted for the differentiation strategy to sell its products at a larger volume with a higher profit margin per unit. Oftentimes, the customers perceive its unique products to be of better quality, in comparison to its competitors.
There are several aspects which the consumers analyze before buying any apparel. However, if he or she seeks something within a lower budget then definitely, other brands must be chosen instead of Michael Kors. Furthermore, the company capitalizes its unique designs, patterns, and other elements by charging a premium price.
It is easier to distinguish amongst the varying qualities of cloths merely by extracting knowledge about a brand’s personality and value. For example, some of the moderately-priced products, which are embedded in the customers’ mind, can be found under the brands, H & M, Mango, Zara, and Marks and Spencer. On the contrary, the Michael Kors’ products are categorized under the premium clothing section, at every instance. Thus, it is quite transparent that the perceived quality is dependent on brand value and personality.
On the other hand, a conspicuous consumer can never get satisfied with the product of Zara despite of its quality, trendiness and sophistication. However, the same customer can purchase an apparel of Michael Kors, at a much higher price. It is mostly because of his or her trust on the brand. Oftentimes, the concepts such as the performance, value, and efficiency are related to the word ‘quality’. Alternatively, when a customer gets similar and high-quality products from a particular brand, he or she purchases from it every time. It is also evident in the case of Michael Kors.
Even the quality is largely perceived to be a product’s inherent characteristics. Some of the other important elements associated with the quality are the size, color, and style. Thus, the apparels sold by the Michael Kors are also subject to examination before reaching any verdict about their quality. According to the consumers, a bad quality product simply means that a chosen subject hardly provided the anticipated usage results. For example, the fabric used by Michael Kors for making the apparels is more superior and classy, in comparison to the H & M’s cloths. On the other hand, the apparels’ quality can also be judged in terms of the aspects such as the color, texture, exposure of the zipper, patterns, linings, and buttonholes (Korfiatis, GarcíA-Bariocanal & Sánchez-Alonso, 2012). A good quality dress has all its patterns matched with one another. Even the aforesaid fabric tags are aligned with the cloth’s quality. Therefore, in the case of Michael Kors’ apparels, all the above-mentioned aspects are in place. Hence, it can be said that Michael Kors has one of the highest quality products in comparison to its competitors.
When other products are taken into consideration, it can be observed how the quality is not only about different tangible aspects rather many intangible elements also remain intricately interlinked while judging the same. For instance, the Michael Kors aims to provide a superior service quality within its stores (Wong, 2017). It also means that the enhanced customer experience can help in keeping a better perception about the Michael Kors’ clothing.
Apart from all these things, many surrogate indicators are also available for evaluating the Michael Kors’ apparels, including the recommendation of a near and dear one, brand name, brand personality, and its perceived image. On the contrary, the quality may not be dissected via direct examination or inspection rather the intrinsic cues are put to use (ACR, 2017). Alternatively, another implicit reference point related to the quality is price. For example, Tommy Hilfiger and Gucci are the two most expensive clothing brands. Even Michael Kors has also been added to the same list. Hence, it is also expected that their products are bound to be of good quality.
Arguably, many people think that the apparels of Michael Kors are no more exclusive and thus lacks originality. As a result, the deteriorating quality issue can be witnessed in this case. In fact, the company is not able to sustain the products’ high-end and premium image thereby rapturing its market position. For example, the Michael Kors’ dresses are available in almost every discount stores, nowadays. According to a customer, the apparels bought from the Michael Kors’ stores emit a feeling of mass-market products (Singer, 2013). The perceived quality of Michael Kors has suffered during the previous years, due to the inconsistent positioning in regards to communication as well as the selling of clothing.
The quality perception is set by a brand’s price point, design, style, and image. The product range of Michael Kors is perceived to be of better quality merely because of the sophistication, classiness and product differentiation aspects. For example, its apparels were differentiated in terms of designs, colors, patterns, textures, and varying fabrics, by the customers. However, a customer proclaimed that previously, he used to perceive that MK was more of an upscale modernist, having a current and classy vibe (Singer, 2013). Surprisingly, its present products are extremely disappointing and proved to be mere imitators. Furthermore, the apparels’ uniqueness has lost because of the excessive discounting.
Conclusion
From the above-paper, it can be inferred that the Michael Kors’ clothing hardly fulfills the checklist of the quality products. MK has tarnished its image by bringing a distortion in the perceived quality and image of its apparels. For example, the price of Michael Kors’ products must be aligned with the classiness and uniqueness aspects. However, the brand failed to do so thereby deteriorating the overall quality of its clothing.
- ACR. (2017). Defining and evaluating quality: The consumer’s view.
- Korfiatis, N., GarcíA-Bariocanal, E., & Sánchez-Alonso, S. (2012). Evaluating content quality and helpfulness of online product reviews: The interplay of review helpfulness vs. review content. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 11(3), 205-217.
- Singer, J. (2013). Michael Kors – A tale of two brands.
- Wong, S. (2017). Michael Kors wants customers to feel like they’ve met Michael Kors.