Competitive Analysis

The main competition for Molly Brown Swimwear is Everything But Water. This is a national chain that has a location at The Fashion Show Mall on Las Vegas Boulevard. It’s a small store with swimwear lining the walls from floor to ceiling. The store carries a couple of the same brands, including L Space, Vitamin A, Despi, Cia Maritima, Nanette Lepore, Luli Fama, Sauvage, Letarte, and VIX. The variety of product of each of these brands, however, is much smaller than Molly Brown’s offers. Also, Molly Brown’s has the capability to get any suit a brand is currently offering because of the good relationships the company has formed with the designers. The designers themselves make special advertising campaigns just for Molly Brown’s to use on the company website. “In an overcrowded, competitive marketplace, relevant and engaging branding can ensure efficacy for a quality product, service, group, individual, or commodity. Not only does branding identify and distinguish, it builds equity.” (Advertising by Design, Landa, p. 049) Molly Brown’s has done a better job of branding themselves online with their infamous website. Women are always coming in the store excited to see the brands they have become so familiar with by using the website. Everything but Water’s website is useful, but there is actually more available in the store than online. “We have to generate ideas and content that people will seek out, that pulls people in across media. When so many people stay continually connected throughout the day by mobile phone or computer, each person decides which advertising messages they care to receive and where to hear or view them.” (Advertising by Design, Landa, p.048) They have a nationwide presence with their stores that Molly Brown’s doesn’t have, however, so in order to stay competitive, Molly Brown’s has to maintain a better online presence. “We can think of a brand construct as a developed personality-a strategic concept incorporating a positioning platform based on the product or group with insights into the brand and the prospective audience.” (Advertising by Design, Landa, p.049) Molly Brown’s online presence and brick and mortar locations offer their target market a cohesive look that is in touch with their style and the look they want to create. The website for Everything but Water is rather plain and boring and doesn’t speak to a very clear target market. “Emotional benefits are not based on a tangible characteristic of a product or service but rather on subjective experience.” (Advertising by Design, Landa, p.050) Molly Brown’s also has a blog that is used to form an emotional bond with customers.