Factors affecting success of Indian brands in Western countries

This research evaluates the factors that affect the success of Indo-western brands expanding into the West.

According to a report by Keller et al. (2014), the global apparel industry is growing rapidly while at the same time evolving due to a number of factors including changing demographics, effect of social media, global wealth distribution, customer expectations, and technological advancements. It goes on to state that for brands to succeed, they need to be agile and be able to rapidly adapt the business model to make the most of evolving markets while letting go of traditional practices.

East Asian brands have started to expand to foreign markets with the aim of providing a variety of both traditional and fusion fashion to their international consumers. However, in spite of a noticeable growth, Indian brands have faced issues such as cultural problems, lack of pricing strategies, etc. This research has tried to show the issues which are faced by Indian designers (with the main focus on Indo-Western brands) while trying to expand their business to Western countries.

Indo-western brands have really been trying to expand into the west for quite some time now but their efforts have not bore any meaningful fruits (Aaker & McLoughlin, 2010 p.35). There are various reasons behind this and some of the challenges that these indo-western brands actually face in their verge to penetrate the west. This particular write-up is going to discuss the concept of why indo-western brands have not been in a position to successfully penetrate the west and in doing so certain aspects about indo-western brands and designs and some market penetration strategies will be looked at. Due to various factors such as changes in technology among others, we’ve seen that the indo-western brand and designs have really been evolving. Fashion has taken a completely different turn and things are not the way they used to be a decade ago. Indo-western brands have really done well in various areas across the globe such as in some developing countries such as Kenya, Tanzania among others (Ackerman & Fisher, 2013 p.67). There has been a challenge, however, that has been noted in the western market. Indo-western brands have not been able to do so well.

It is also important to note that this report will focus solely on Indian brands and some of the issues that they have faced. Some of the common challenges noticed were; poor marketing strategies, cultural differences among others. These factors will be discussed later in this write-up.

Challenges faced by Indian brands in Western countries

Indian fashion brands have been trying hard to succeed in the western countries. Many areas of the Indian businesses have done well like its technological field, medicine research and its production and supplyand on academical fields. Even in the fashion industry Indian designers have worked at being creative and modern in their aesthetics, styles and designs in order to expand their brands in the western countries. This field being highly contemporary and competitive, they have not been too successful in focusing on the demands of their western customers when enlarging their market in those countries (Liu et al. 2016.)

Indo-western brands should learn to adapt and keep up with the constantly changing fashion industry, be it fast fashion, ecommerce, e-tailing, the digital race or the upcoming trends. There are a lot of opportunities in the near future. Studies shows that the fashion Industry and its buying power and audience, its target markets are fast shifting from the West to the upcoming Asian ad East-asian markets (Keller et al, 2014).

The emerging middle class from developing nations are going through a huge socioeconomic change, and countries like India, China, Indonesia etc. have started to emerge with higher spending power in recent years (Eizenberg and Salvo, 2012).

There has always been an argument that whether or not it is true that indo-western brands have been having a challenge in expanding to the western market. Well, this report aims to ascertain that it is indeed true that there has been a really big challenge in doing so. Various reasons and factors have been attributed to this and this report aims towards establishing some of these factors and how they have contributed the state mentioned therein (Gershon, 2013 p.77).

To identify and evaluate the factors on the challenges faced by Indian brands while expanding in Western countries. The research will also highlight the lack of strategic business management by Indian brands in order to expand to the West.

• To critically evaluate the existing literature on overseas expansion by the East Asian and Indo-Western brands to shed light on the different factors responsible for the growth of these brands in the western fashion market.
• To apply the qualitative approach method to assess the perspective of the broader target market with the help of focus groups. This is to mainly analyse issues preventing Indian (Indo-Western) brands from expanding to Western countries.
• To develop recommendations for Indo-Western brands that aim to expand internationally by informing them on how to make their brands sell in the west.

The fashion industry is known to be one which is always in flux with the customer’s preferences which is ever changing, and old trends being replaced by new emerging ones. Within this environment of constant change, designers, and brands must always keep themselves up to date on what consumers want, and how their tastes will change in the near future. This changing landscape creates many opportunities for entrepreneurs to come in and fill in the gaps in the market which are created by being innovative and satisfying demand. With this constant competition in mind and the never ending desire to thrive in such a huge global market, Indo-western brands and business have been attempting their best strategies to tap into the international fashion market.

Market penetration strategies

The literature review will aim to evaluate the current state of the fashion industry and discuss the trends and factors which have helped as well as hindered Indian fashion brands to flourish in foreign countries. Moreover, it has analysed major challenges such as cultural diversity, economical status, language barrier etc. which has all been challenges for expanding Indian brands into the Western countries. According to Cayla and Eckhardt (2007), in spite of many challenges, the emergence of Asia as a growing force in the international stage, and it’s recognition in the west presents a big opportunity for modern Asian brands to find their feet and make a mark in western markets. In order to take advantage of these opportunities, Das (2007) advocates that Indian brands should leverage their existing strengths, and formulate strategies for international expansion by looking at the route which has been followed by brands which have successfully made this transition.

India, in the current international market is a very successful brand or a tag very much in fashion. Like everything else in the current world stage Indian culture has also become a saleable commodity (Sarulatha, and Sasirekha, 2017). But in terms of the global market , when it comes to becoming a staple for the average fashion junkie, India still has not provided anything significant. Being a global manufacturing hub, India has always been production oriented. They are still a developing nation and do not have the sufficient resources to create a sustainable fashion industry, thus its influence in the global fashion industry is also limited. Their factories are mostly outsourced to international brands like Levis and Nike. The products of these brands are too expensive for the Indian middle and lower classes, and most of their own markets are flooded with Chinese mass produced goods.

The conceptual framework below will explain and help the reader understand the reason and importance of this research, and how it intends to find gaps and opportunities, and bridge out the differences and create platforms, literature support and common grounds for Indo-Western brands expansion internationally to the right international markets.

According to Hellman (2017), Indians consider both Indian as well as western dresses/outfit son many occasions.  

The origination of fusion wear has modernized the Indian fashion industry to a high extent. It is assessed that top-notch brands focus on different elements in their collection. It still has a long way to go while considering the market potential for fusion wear in India in the near Past. However, in contrast to this, BOF (2018) stated that the ethnic Indian wear genre is used in current trends. It plans to lead the way for women’s wear in India. Indo-western brands have been tracking the dynamics of ethnic fashion in malls, as well as in standalone stores recently. Among the current generation, it is evaluated that fashion is starting to become a major concern for Indian individuals. Further, fashion is determined by the western dresses via social media influences and cross-cultural influences. It has also been analysed that India has begun to follow and be influenced by Indo-western culture wherein they consider traditional as well as western ensembles in their culture.   

Importance of adapting to changes in fashion industry

Kazi (2018) evaluated that the expansion of Indo-western wear is proving to be a boon for ethnic fashion in India. Since, customers are willing to consume and experiment products and it could lead to great demand for Indo-Western brands. This is a key reason that ethnic brands are generating a wide range of alternatives that a customer can explore for attending special functions.

The conceptual framework will look to outline the issues and challenges faced by the overall East Asian, Indo-Western/Indian designers while selling their products to the western consumers. There is also a lack of quality research done within this area with most research papers focusing on international brands expanding to India rather than the other way round. These can be considered as gaps in the current literature. In order to address these gaps, the current research framework has focused on the issues experienced by Indian designers while expanding their brands in Western countries. This paper aims to address these gaps in the current literature by undertaking a comprehensive research on this topic. Previous research within this field has focused on the positive factors of expansion of Indian brands into western countries. Moreover, they have not thoroughly discussed or defined the challenges faced by Indian brands while expanding to the West.

For many Indo-western brands and businesses, it has been a trial and error process, in terms of expanding into the West.

The main challenges have been that many East Asian designers lack creativity and modernity in their designs, their lack of contemporary and creative Western-oriented design thinking ends up creating unfamiliarity of the western consumer with these brands.

Lack of accepting modern approaches towards designing innovation in the Indian Fashion industry is a huge drawback for Indian Fashion Brands. Indian designers who have been in the spotlight in the international market have mostly stuck to designing Indian Fashion. Though it is justified to stick to one’s roots and feel pride for one’s culture, it needs to be understood that sticking to one particular idea restricts the audience towards Indian sensibility. Indian fashion designers need to blend their Indian influences with current fashion inclinations to create more successful products that can create an interest in the international market.

Though working with international influences may seem like an easy way to broaden one’s sensibility the real story is something else. A recent survey has mentioned that 91% Indian designers have tried presenting their portfolio regarding their brands in order to expand to its foreign counterparts(Todd, Leask &Fyall, 2015). However, they failed to do so because of the lack of materials, creative and contemporary ideas.

Emerging opportunities in Asian and East Asian markets

Besides, Indian brands have tried to making Public Private Partnership (PPP) with western brands in order to expand their market in foreign countries. However, cultural diversity is a big issue for them due to which designers have experienced communication gaps with their consumers as well as their western partners. The purchasing behaviour of customers and their attitude reflected on the selling of Indian fashion accessories. In context of Bombay Selections Private limited has been noticed that the company has earned only 5% profits within its foreign market (zaubacorp.com, 2018). The reason behind it was that the company had produced sarees and the western consumers were not familiar with the ensemble completely. This indicates that the Indian designers failed to analyse the fashion preferences of Western customers. This also shows lack of market research and good PR marketing skills before promoting a product into a new market.

Designers have faced issues due to the huge price of their brands in foreign markets. As per the arguments of Roll (2015), the designers have purchased materials from foreign countries. These in turn have increased their production cost and as a result the prices of the products are high in the market. In such a case, western consumers preferred their local brands for its low price and the Indian designers incurred loss. For example, the Indian company Lakme organized a fashion week in USA where they were only able to sell around 13% of their stock (lakmeindia.com, 2018) due to its unfamiliarity with its foreign market.

Foreign brands are more familiar to their own local or western brands, rather than Indian brands according to the relevance of its style and designs. Their own local brands know the tastes and preferences of its Western customers which to a greater extent is unknown to the Indo-western brands at times. Though now, the new generation Indo-western designers and brands are making a better effort at learning and merging themselves with their international market. The earlier years of expanding businesses and brands into the fashion industry has been a big challenge.

According to Hellman (2017), some of the key factors holding back Indian brands from being successful globally are the lack of trust in Indian brands in the global market, lack of innovation

Among Indian brands, and them not being customer focused. This view has also been expressed in other articles (Srivastava, 2016).

The fashion industry has maintained a uniquely crowded market globally with all countries participating and competing in it. With such huge competition in the race there are setbacks and losses for few businesses which fail to reach up to the high standards cut out for  international expansion.

Conceptual framework for evaluating challenges faced by Indian brands

In spite of all the challenges, situations and experiences the Indo-western fashion brands face while trying to expand internationally, there has also been breakthroughs and positive outcomes with factors that have been responsible for the popularity and growth of Indian brands in the West.

The Indian fashion industry is just hitting maturity. In the last few Centuries, along with every other part of the Indian culture, Indian Fashion also suffered monumentally under the British Raj. Thumbs of workers in textile factories were cut off to prevent them from manufacturing ‘Muslin’ one of the finest fabrics known to mankind. As a result ‘muslin’ has now become an extinct commodity (Roy, 2018). This is just one example. The textile industry of India was decimated with the British importing factory made clothes from England while demolishing the cottage and handloom textile industry at the same time to eliminate competition. Even after this complete devastation of the Indian culture, the country has successfully managed to turn its fortune around and is currently standing at the precipice of triumph. Though it has a lot to earn it has already become a culture that is one of a kind and is instantly recognisable which contributes to its international brand value as a culture, and Indian culture has one of the highest brand value in the international consumer market.

Indian, and wider East Asian designers, and people within the fashion industry in India have tried to grasp and learn the details and the ways in which the western fashion industry works. These skills and knowledge are mainly learnt and acquired to attract their worldwide customers. Some new generation Indians have studied western fashion, and in doing so they have also pushed themselves to learning different languages in order to communicate with their foreign consumers. All of these efforts and skills have contributed to the growth of Indian brands in the West (Eom & Seock, 2015).

Some Indian and Indo-Western designers have started creating fine contemporary designs and workmanship in their products and this has helped consumers notice their brands in spite of its huge market price in the Western countries. They have also worked on the pricing, keeping in mind their import and overhead and their overall production budget. Some Indo-western brands have created fusion styles and fusion accessories in their collection in order to cater and blend into both cultures. For example, Louis Philippe has produced fashionable men’s wear where they have provided quasi formal look as well as crafted design for informal purposes (louisphilippe.com, 2018). By doing so, these brands have been able to earn a huge profit from foreign countries.

The fashion industry has a big trend now on growing brand loyalty amongst its customers by providing infinite choices to them (Liu et al. 2016). All fashion businesses, whether they be small boutiques to large global conglomerates are now trying to get the attention of consumers with an ever growing line of offerings from clothing to accessories, and consumers are spoilt for choice. Fashion houses and brands have tried to connect with the digital world in order to attract targeted as well as its general consumers. The industry has thoroughly evaluated their PR and advertising in digital channels, social media majorly, in order to cater to all of its customers worldwide via e-tailing, pop-ups, fashion shows celebrity promotions etc. globally.

Fashion trends, by their very nature and definition are transient and represent the preferences of consumers in terms of the style, and clothing at a particular period in time, and may have their origins in various cultural, social and economic factors. Hence a fashion trend represents the affinity for a particular type or types of clothing among a population. There are different theories in academia regarding the evolution of fashion trends over time. One of these is the “Trickle Down” theory (Meadows, 2012) where popular people like celebrities and fashion icons define new trends by being the first ones to adopt new trends, and consumers are then influenced by these trends and popularize them by trying to emulate them. Another theory is “Trickle Across” in which fashion trends are spread among different groups of people. The third one is the “Trickle Up” theory in which it is the various sub-communities, and emerging street wear trends that influence the popularity of emerging trends. The ever evolving and changing nature of fashion trends means that fashion trends forecasting is a very important function within the fashion industry, and many new generation industry people like indo-western stylists, buyers, designers, and entrepreneurs want to grow their expertise in this area so that they are able to understand the buyers, which will help them meet the demand within their target market.

Then comes the role of international marketing and social media, and how it helps brands grow and reach its customers globally. This is a very strong tool which can bridge the gap between the East and the western markets and communities all over the world. It can help test the market and help research the right market for the products and direct the way where a brand could possibly find success internationally. The marketing and social media strategies are also useful for a brand to formulate its business plan, design the supply chain, and the marketing processes that are vital functions for a business that is looking to expand overseas and gain exposure in western markets.

“As technology gets more and more advanced and the world continues to become smaller and smaller because of it; those companies that market their product or service effectively internationally will take advantage of the huge growth potential that international markets now offer them”(www.cleverism.com, 2015).

The research methodology chapter focuses on the data collection, organization and integration to achieve the research objectives. The aim is to provide insight of the research process clarifying how different tasks will be undertaken to have the relevant information that will be useful in understanding the topic under study. The chapter will start by describing the methodology and the research design, data collection techniques, sample determination and data analysis process.

The study is based on the qualitative methodology. According to (Gibbs, 2008)

Qualitative method aims at understanding and providing an explanation of the meaning of the social aspects with limited disruption of the natural setting (Dowling & Suchet, 2016). Therefore, through the qualitative method, the research is able to provide the factors that are responsible for the growth of Indo-western brands and determine the best recommendations for the growth of such brands (Saunders, Lewis &Thornhill 2016, p.183). In order to get the correct information on the topic, industry people and consumers are the key sources for the qualitative data, thus their behaviours will provide the reality of the social-environment situation.

From the application of the research methodology, we will be able to address a systemic way for the data collection tool and make a reliable decision in context of the current issue (Mackey and Gass, 2015). Further, it is evaluated that the research methodology section could be imperative for the research to make a favourable decision and research with valid conclusion.     

The research approach facilitates to choose a certain method to reach at its valid conclusion. There are certain types of methods that are considered in this research, namely inductive approach and deductive approach (Lewis, 2015). The inductive approach is used for collecting the conceptual information towards the specified research matter while the deductive approach is to enable and make the research hypothesis and collect data appropriately. For conducting this study, the inductive approach will be practiced as it could be imperative in obtaining information on the factors and challenges faced by Indian brands while expanding in Western countries. This method can be most suitable as compared to the deductive method because the research is subjective in nature.       

In a research, two to three kinds of tools are considered, namely descriptive, explanatory, and exploratory method (Flick, 2015).  These methods play a diverse role in the accomplishment of any desired goal in the least amount of time and cost. For conducting this study, the research will use descriptive research design method as it facilitates the comprehension of the relationship between two or more variables. By doing this the research will determine the relation between Indo-western brands and international Western expansion. It could be effective for making a reliable conclusion in the context of the factors on the challenges faced by Indian brands while expanding to Western countries. The exploratory and explanatory methods could be quite costly and time-consuming hence these methods will not be considered for the research.  

This research study has considered many types of strategies to accomplish its aims.These strategies are the survey through questionnaire method, interview method, observation, content analysis, and case study. For systematically accomplishing the aim and objectives of this particular research, the study will use survey through questionnaire method as this allows to collect opinion and views of the research candidates towards the research issue. A survey can be effective for getting reliable and valid information in the context of the current issue (Brinkmann, 2014). Through this method, we will be able to evaluate content for the accomplishment of the research. A research strategy is basically a well arranged plan that is often step-wise that enables one to give a concrete direction of the thoughts to be conveyed by carefully analyzing obtaining the results from the various methods of data collection such as surveying, use of questionnaires, intervening, and case studies among others. For this particular research, questionnaires were prepared and as mentioned earlier they targeted both the western population as well as the Indian population. Various questions were designed that enabled one to give very important and circumstantial information regarding the issue under consideration (Mills, Phadke, Wiser, 2011 p.29).

Basically, this research is more of qualitative than quantitative. As mentioned earlier, it seeks to determine the reasons as to why and some of the factors that have contributed to Indian brands not penetrating market. In under to understand this, then there are various key primary approaches that need to be considered and understood (Chowdhary, 2018 p.99). For instance, one should have a clear understanding of the nature of the western market as well as the nature of the Indian brands. This forms the basis of this particular research. These two aspects should therefore be understood so that this research can be a success. 

Sampling plays a very important role in any research whatsoever. In many cases it’s often quite tiresome or even impossible to fully observe and/or interview an entire population. Sampling comes in here. A sample is therefore made that fully represents the entire population and an interview of survey is done for that selected population (De, 2018 p.91).For our case, there are various western countries that Indian brands are trying to penetrate. Carrying out interview of all these countries and all people would be quite tedious. Therefore a sample was taken that represented the western countries. The sampling that was done was very particular and specific. The sampling technique that was used was the stratified random sampling.

Research design refers to the blueprint for the study that provides guidance to the data collection and analysis process, thus deals with majorly fours issues; the research questions, the relevance, the data collection, and analysis. According to Ngulube (2015, p.128) research design is categorized into three major classes: descriptive, casual and exploratory research.

A research design is basically a strategy or rather a technique that is often used to integrate different components of a certain study so as to be in a position to address the research question in a very satisfactory manner. It should also be noted that these various components should be arranged in a very logic and coherent manner (Gupta, 2014 p.83).As indicated above, the aim of this particular study is to categorically identify as well as evaluate some of the crucial factors that cause challenges to Indian brands as they try to expand in western countries. First and foremost, there would be a literature review that will specifically seek to review some of the important aspects concerning the issue under study that has already been conducted by other researchers and scholars (Rajaram, 2014 p.88).In doing so, this component will highlight a number of aspects such as statistics that are available regarding the issue of Indian brands penetrating into the west among others. Secondly there would be the research methodology; well this component of this study will specifically focus on the means and methods of data collection. This study being qualitative in nature, only qualitative methods of data collection will be explored. Here it would be noted that quite a number of qualitative techniques of data collection were used such as use of case studies, use of questionnaires, interviews both direct and indirect interviews were used (Mann & Byun, 2011 p.56).

It is however, important to note that answering the research questions and meeting the aims and objectives of the entire study is the main purpose of a discrete and concrete research design (Jones, 2011 p.19). Various variables will be identified as indicated in the research question and there would be a thorough explanation of what each of these variables mean. A relationship will then be identified that links up these various variables so as to be in a position to nail down the research question in a much perfect manner thus meeting the aims and objectives of the study. As mentioned earlier, this study aims to determine why Indian brands do not penetrate the western market. There would be an explanation of the nature of both the European market as well as that of Indian brands. From the nature of these two variables, then a connection will be identified and the reasons for the failure of Indian brands to penetrate the Western market will be highlighted. This nature of these two markets will be conducted through a thorough analysis of various case studies and other forms of empirical data (Krishnamacharyulu, 2010 p.30). The use of questionnaires and interview will however, be the main source of information that would be exploited in this particular study. These questionnaires and interviews will target both the Indian population and the western population.

Exploratory research emphasizes on finding thoughts and insights; the causal research design aims at identifying the cause and effect relationships in variables under the study; while the descriptive research design is majorly concerned with the determination of the frequency with which an aspect takes place or the relationship between the variables under the guidance of the hypothesis (Boros, 2018).

The research is designed to investigate the international expansion of Indo-western brands rising from India. To specify the data required to understand the international expansion of indo-western brands in India, an appropriate research design is needed that will ensure accurate data is collected, managed, recorded, coded, and analysed, and the results presented to the stakeholders.

According to Houghton, Hunter &Meskell (2012) research philosophy aims at defining the basis, description and progress of knowledge under the topic of the study. Research philosophy aids in assembling the hypothesis and beliefs of the topic to attain precise strategy of facts gathering. Houghton, Hunter & Meskell (2012) identifies three philosophies: positive, interpretivism and realism research philosophies. Based on the topic the research has choose to use the interpretivism method. Taking into consideration positivism philosophy requires the researcher to conduct factual information collection through observation method since it is entirely dependent on measurable data. On the same note interpretivism philosophy focuses on collecting socially composed data that is significant in assembling accurate, reliable and valid information required for the study (Corbally, 2014). Conclusively, realism research philosophy composes a mixture of interpretivism and positivism philosophies, thus which is linked with gathering both socially formed and observed data.

The research aims at understanding the Indian-Western fashion market in different aspects such as the factors affecting growth, entry into other markets, and consumer preferences of the brands, and provides proper recommendations (Dean, 2018).The interpretivism process requires the study to interpret the elements of the study since access to reality is usually socially constructed through various ways such as language, shared meanings and consciousness.

Sampling method permits a researcher to select a suitable sample size for conducting this study. The research has considered two kinds of methods namely probability and non-probability sampling method. Furthermore, the probability sampling method tool can enable the study to select the research candidates and get their opinion towards the research matter (Lewis, 2015). This method facilitates each study to give equal chance for their candidates to participate in the research. Non-probability research method facilitates to select the research candidates on behalf of certain factors such as age, gender, experience, region, and education. For this research, we will use a probability sampling method and use the simple random sampling method that will be effective for getting results without biases in the study. This method is effective for getting a reliable outcome (Flick, 2015). 

Population forms the border group under the study that is intended to provide data for the analysis and generalization. However, the population at times is large and makes it difficult to collect accurate data; the study opts to have samples to authenticate their results. Sample size  means a subset of the population size that is intended to participate in the research study either through qualitative or quantitative method (Farghaly, 2018).  Purposive sampling method will be used to select the participants since it is the only method that will ensure participants who have the required information to participate in the process.

Data collection process is the utmost important part of the research methodology process as it aids in computing the data. Fletcher (2016) identifies two common methods used in data collections: primary and secondary information assembling. The primary data gathering aims at directing response from the participants while the secondary data collection method aims to collect data from the past works related to the topic. Based on the research topic and the research method, the best technique will be primary data collection that will be majored on the focus group to provide views, beliefs, meanings, insights in regard to the indo-western dressings.

Focus Group discussion (FGD) is part of qualitative research methods applied in social science and is characterized by a preset semi-structured interview, always conducted by a skilled facilitator to stimulate accurate responses and ignite debate among the participants. Since the aim of the research is to gain views, factors and personal preconditions on the Indo-Western brands, FGD becomes the best data collection and technique essential in marketing, and thus able to provide better recommendations for market entry of the brands. The focus group will be a mixture of ages from 20 to 60 years since they are a bracket that is much focused on the fashion industry.

According to Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2016)the recruitment process is very crucial since over-recruitment might bring management challenges while under-recruitment will pose under discussion of the participants; therefore suggest a range between 6-8 participants for each meeting for the success of the FGD. The participants finally added up to 5 candidates from within the fashion industry from New-Delhi and India and the UK.  They were chosen to ensure that the FGD would yield premium results as regard to the research.

The participants comprised of people who have travelled internationally and lived abroad, they all work well within the fashion industry as designers, Creative director’s ad stylists of well known international magazines, and from technical field as well, and this is done through convenience sampling. From this FGD, the research is capable of linking the participant’s perception and their socio-cultural that controls their decision making on the Indo-Western brands.

Descriptive and inferential are the commonly applied statistical data analysis methods by researchers. Rutberg and Bouikidis (2018) denotes that descriptive research as the method that record data from cluster members and summarizes the figures in the system of the group characteristics to enable the derivation of men; mode, median, standard deviation and use of charts. While the inferential statistics entails the exploration of precise groups of a sample from the whole population magnitude and enables the respect to generalize the population (Gupta, Mohan et al, 2018). Qualitative data analysis starts during the discussion period when rich data is generated from the participants. The stage will be followed by familiarization with the data with an aim to immerse the details and get the sense of the data, and then followed by identification of the thematic framework so as to help the research to arrange them accordingly. Focus group discussion generally yields qualitative and observational data that requires intensive analysis to have accurate and clear results. Rutberg and Bouikidis (2018) suggest that the best analysis methods used in qualitative research on FGD.

The data obtained from the various interviews conducted both direct and indirect interview was very significant. The questionnaires as well as the various surveys conducted provided a concrete and a significant amount of data that played a very crucial role towards pinning down the research question.

First and foremost, it was noted that international market penetration is quite dynamic compared to local and/or domestic market penetration.  International market penetration is much more complex and it requires the highest degree of flexibility and aptitude.  Basically, before the entry into any foreign market whatsoever, it’s often necessary that one determines the cost-benefit issues that would arise as a result of entry into that particular market.

From the data obtained, it was also found out that western market penetration not just for indo-western brands but also for other brands as well requires an art of good and/or perfect timing. Timing is very important here, this is mainly because the western market is quite dynamic and complex in nature. It’s a market that changes its test and preferences quite fast and therefore timing should be made before an entry is made into this market. Other factors about the western market that should be considered so as to facilitate penetration of Indian brands are the strict government policies and regulations. It was also noted that there are already other western brands and are dominating the market in the western countries. These dominating brands made a quick entry and they have a very high market share advantage. This has been attributed to various reasons but the data obtained shows that it’s because they made a quick entry and had the time to make an impression that is still concrete to customers.

The findings of this study agreed with what previous studies had indicated. This study was very consistent and it clearly and strongly indicated that the Indian brand is very successful in the international market. For quite some time now, the Indian culture has proven to an extremely stable commodity (Milligan & Kirby, 2010 p.303). However, it is also important to note that the Indian brand has only broken the international veil in various developing counties but in the western countries the Indian bran has not yet been in a position to provide anything significant. Basically, the Indian brand has been considered as just an average fashion junkie (De, 2018 p.45). Various reasons have been attributed to this. First and foremost, it is important to note that India is just another developing country and they do not have the necessary resources required to be in a position to create a much more sustainable fashion industry so as to have an influence into the larger fashion industry.

Moreover, the Indian brand is considered to be much less superior compared to some other already established western brands such as Nike, Adidas and Levis. The Indian brand cannot outdo these already established brands which have been in a position to make an emotional influence to the western market. The customers in the western market therefore see the Indian brand as just an average brand (Khaire & Hall, 2016 p.201).

The study is very reliable. This is so because the results and findings obtained from this particular research just like other researches can be reproduced by other researchers at different times. It is, however, important to note that the time frame is a factor here. It can really influence the nature of the results to be obtained (Alon, Littrell, Chan, 2010 p.33).As we all know, market trends change each and every day due to the continuously changing technology. Different results could therefore be obtained once this same research is conducted sometime in the future. In regard to validity, this particular research and its results are very valid. This is so because the research was focused on both geographical regions. It is believed that valid information was obtained from the various participants from both regions (Arkolakis, 2010 p.40).

Ethical consideration could be imperative for conducting suitable behavior during the research issue. There are certain factors that could be considered by the investigator to eliminate the ethical issue namely plagiarism, data manipulation, university guidelines, and references (Brinkmann, 2014). Moreover, the research will also secure the confidential information of research its participants that they shared at the time of conducting the research. It is evaluated that the study will also use ethical norms and comprehend the code of conduct during the research as it will be imperative for the accomplishment of the desired goal and objectives (Lewis, 2015).  

The research was conducted in a very ethical manner. All ethical considerations were looked at and there was no breach of any ethical considerations. For instance, the confidentiality of the participants was fully assured. Information obtained from participants was solely used for the research purpose and it was confidential (Bain, 2010 p.89). Moreover, there were no any cases of data manipulation in this research, data obtained was used as it is wand it yield the results that have been discussed above. Finally, no cases of plagiarism were noted. 

The research limitation could adversely impact on the research outcome. There are certain factors that might influence the research outcome like time, cost, and lack of research skills. Hence, the study will concentrate on these factors and make a reliable decision in the context of the current matter. It is evaluated that the data collection research activity could be costly and time consuming that could impact on the research outcome. Apart from this, it is also evaluated that lack of research skills could also create issues in the accomplishment of a research task (Mackey and Gass, 2015). 

For this particular research there wasn’t much limitations faced. However, the focus group size was a small one, due to the time constraint. Getting the few five candidates together in a room and one via skype to join our discussion took some extra coordination work, since everyone was not present at the same time. This Focus group came together finally after four attempts to get the whole group together in a room.

The research was conducted in a very ethical manner. All ethical considerations were looked at and there was no breach of any ethical considerations. For instance, the confidentiality of the participants was fully assured. Information obtained from participants was solely used for the research purpose and it was confidential (Bain, 2010 p.89). Moreover, there were no any cases of data manipulation in this research, data obtained was used as it is wand it yield the results that have been discussed above. Finally, no cases of plagiarism were noted. 

On the first question from the group about the different factors responsible for the growth of Indian brands in the Western fashion market, the candidates came with the following answers. Candidate 1 said that the globalisation of fashion trends and the fashion companies have made it responsible for the expansion of Indo-western brands. Candidate 2 talked about the exotic textile and embroidery work from India which are well known all over the world, and the cheap labour and production cost that has made it possible for Indian brands to thrive internationally. Candidate 3 and 5 agreed that globalisation encourages the expansion of markets around the world, and that this has been the driving force behind expansion of Indo-Western brands to the west. Candidates 2 and 3 also agreed on the quality of the textile and yarn that India produces e.g. cotton and silk that are attractive to international consumers, whereas candidate 4 talked about the want to be western mentality of Indians and their brands, and the bigger spending power of developed countries. For this question, the focus group finally arrived to the conclusion that the main factors responsible for the growth of Indo-western brands internationally are globalisation, and the existing capability in production and manufacturing. For the second question about the issues preventing the east Asian brands internationally, candidates 1, 3 and 5 agreed on the lack of familiarity of eastern fashion among western consumers, cultural differences between the two markets as the major factors that is preventing the expansion of indo-western brands. Candidates 1 and 4 talked about the high cost of running businesses and the expenses incurred preventing such aspiring brands from expanding internationally. Candidate 2 talked about quality control and testing of the products, and their associated costs. With this, the group arrived to the conclusion that one of the main issues holding back international expansion are cultural factors between countries, and the export costs and prices. On the third question on the preferences of western consumers with regard to Indo Western brands, all of the candidates had their own opinions. Candidate 2 and 4 agreed on maintaining an Indian element to their brand, while candidate 1 talked about western consumers being more familiar with their own styles of fashion and brands rather that Indo-western brands. Candidate 5 talked about the varying choices of consumers in the western markets. The group arrived to the conclusion that in the end it is all about understanding the trends on the market and the international clientele well, and keeping in mind that Indo-western brands can be of many different types. The fourth question about what pricing strategy can be followed by Indo-western brands to become competitive in the market, candidates 1 and 3 agreed to study the western markets and the target consumers carefully before setting up a pricing strategy, psychology pricing and competitive pricing for the market segment in the area that they are looking to cater to. Candidate 2, 4 and 5 agreed that Indo western brands are reasonably priced, just that they should export in large quantities so that pricing can be cheaper for bulk orders. With this the group arrived to the conclusion about understanding their target consumers and market better, and to arrive to a better pricing strategy by selling at competitive rates with the help of bigger orders. The next question on which international markets, Indo-western brands are likely to have success, candidates 1, 2 and 5 agreed that Indo-western brands are likely to have success in markets which have strong ties to India, and a mixed community where they will have a better chance at faster brand recognition. Candidate 4 had the opinion that wherever a business could thrive and the international access is easy, that is where a brand should have success. The group arrived at the conclusion that brand familiarity matters while expanding to international markets. Finally on the last question about recommendations which could be provided to Indo-western designers for international expansion, candidate 1 and 3 spoke that designers and businesses should look at adapting their designs to cater to the taste and sensibilities of the western markets in order to grow their business there. Candidates 1 and 5 agreed on adaptation and a thorough market research in order to grow a business. Candidate 2 and 5 further talked about bigger export quantities, candidate 2 talked about the importance of supply to well-known departmental stores, and having good agents to promote the brands internationally, to which candidate 5 and candidate 1 added that having a local distributor or agent in an international market is a good option to grow the business further. The recommendation of the group was to adapt and cater to the tastes of the market where you intend to expand, have good local agents and distributors, export in bulk to help costing, and a thorough market research.

Conclusion

The purpose of the research is to study the international expansion of indo-western brands rising from India, thus entails exploration of customer and industry peoples values, perspectives and behaviours towards the fashion changes in India and western regions. The research has used qualitative research approach, through the focus group to collect data. The collected data then analysed through qualitative analytical approach to achieve the objective of the study. The results of the focus group have shown that there is both a risk as well as a reward element to Indo-western brands looking to expand globally. While on the one hand, expansion to western markets is challenging for brands, and difficult to get right, there are big opportunities for brands that are able to bridge the gap effectively and become successful.

For Indo-western fashion brands to become successful, they must ensure that their business strategies are geared towards fulfilling the requirements of their particular market segments. One of the ways that this can be achieved is by studying existing Indo-western brands and finding out what business strategies they have used to successfully expand to foreign fashion markets.

Taking an example of the UK in terms of international expansion, the UK market is becoming increasingly diverse. A recent report showed that minority ethnic groups in the UK now make up 12% of the UK population, and have a significant purchasing power of £300 billion with some of the groups being the most affluent within the UK (Mediatel.co.uk, 2012). To appeal to this market for multi-cultural fashion, entrepreneurs need to implement new business models within this consumer segment which address the wants of these particular customers. Within a marketing perspective, Indo-Western and East meets west fashion is part of a wider consumer marketing strategy, which needs to be used by businesses in order to appeal to a diverse society in the current day and age.

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