Chapter 4: The External Marketing Environment

In the November of the year 2010 G-Star opened up three stores. One of the stores was opened in Phoenix, Arizona while the other two debuted in Santa Monica and San Francisco which are in California. Thanks to its authentic cutting edge style, G-Star RAW has established itself as a distinguished brand in the denim market in 19 major countries worldwide, currently occupying 35 offices and over 100 showrooms. The use of raw denim materials has given the brand its unique look, offering denim in its purest form to true jeans fanatics. This sense of rough and pure is not only present in the collections but it is also recreated in each store’s atmosphere. G-Star’s team of interior designers have focused on enhancing the shopping experience by creating environments with natural and raw materials that match the label’s philosophy.

From product development to advertising, innovation is the company’s main feature. Denim specialists constantly come up with new designs that perfectly juxtapose street and luxury, while marketing and graphics teams develop innovative forms of communication and promotional activity around the brand. With 876 employees of many different nationalities and 6,300 points of sale in 65 countries, G-Star’s international appeal is clear. As global demand for the brand continues to grow, the company continues to open more stores in major cities, and three openings in the same month show just how confident they are in their results.

One of G -Star's biggest store location debut's was actually the development of their Shanghai location. Although G-Star has a mass network of stores across the globe totaling at about 6,000 boutiques globally, this particular opening appeared to be of a much greater significance for the brand as a whole. Though the Dutch brand has stores in Shanghai, this city-centre address is the brand’s largest store to date. The store measures 8,000 square foot over two levels and carries both men’s and women’s wear. The boutique features a jeans wall measuring 11 metres tall and a 250 square foot area dedicated to the brand’s shoes.