Strategic Planning For a Competitive Advantage

 The mission statement of G-Star Raw is remain a forward looking company that wants to continue making iconic products in the future. G-Star acknowledges the need to look into sustainable solutions. They feel as though they will only be a successful company so long as they create their products with minimal environmental impact. Which leads into their careful consideration of the materials used for their products. G-Star States "we can make a big move towards minimizing the environmental impact of our products that contribute to a more sustainable future without compromising on equality, comfort and design. Consequently we aim to gradually increase the use of sustainable materials in our collection.

The strengths of G-Star Raw as a brand are primarily the simple yet edgy look it gives off to the public. Another is the fact that G-Star takes on somewhat of an environmentalist approach when it comes to the production of its merchandise. The fact that they carry on somewhat of an army appearance when it comes to there denim attracts more of a variety because people like to see different which can also eventually influence them to buy it. 
One weakness that i noticed the brand has is the lack of support from families that do not have a great income. The brand has followed a differentiated market positioning strategy by focusing on a narrow market segment. The brand refers to the upper end of the middle market by positioning itself as a premium high street brand. As for audience brand has always addressed to the fashion leaders & innovators who can relate to the innovative values of the brand.Therefore families of low income are less likely to purchase G-Star Raw clothing due to its high pricing. 
As far as opportunities are concerned G-Star has set up an portion of the brand in which an employee can set-up his/her own franchise monobrand store with the help of G-Star's full-service Retail Solutions department. The monobrand stores are flagships which present the collection in an environment that conveys the philosophy, design aesthetic and raw authenticity of the G-Star Brand. 
A major threat to the G-Star Brand is the constant creation of fake e-mails that are sent out to random people stating their is a sale and while they pay online to the product their money is actually being paid to a totally different source. One example of a fake email that claimed to have been affiliated with the brand is gstarrawonline@gmail.com. 

G-Star does not have what the business worlds calls a "problem child" of their brand but indefinitely the "star" of their brand is indefinitely their denim products solely because of the fact that most people purchase clothing from G-Star of that material. G-Star's target market is the casual yet fashionable youth. What gives G-Star a competitive advantage is the fact that although they started out to be a totally denim based brand they took diversification approach and began to make T-shirts, hats and belts which led to them actually be known as more of an urban fashion brand. Being that the production was a success it gave them the edge that they were able to experiment with more designs and reach the other portion of their target market that is not a fan of denim products.

 Promotional Strategies that G-Star uses are organizing fashion shows in order to give everybody a chance to experience the brand. Also G-Star offers children and adolescents vocational training concentrating on both knowledge and skills the possibilities to learn a profession and have better chances for the future.  Distribution strategies that G-Star uses are the official website which is G-Star.com or the many store locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Also although they may not have designated stores in certain areas there are still retails that sell their product such as Century 21 Department Store and other places of that nature. Pricing Strategy for G-Star is understandable as far as their target market goes but at the same time it heavily disregards other people who are interested in the brand and can't afford it due to is middle class pricing. Of all G-Stars portions of the marketing mix i feel as though their Product Strategy is the most effective. Due to the fact that they use materials that won't have a negative effective on the environment such as recycled cotton, mechanically recycled nylon, organic hemp, organic cotton and mechanically recycled polyester alongside many other  materials.