Table of Content
I. INTRODUCTION
II. LENGTH OF TIME IN THE U.S.
III. UGG’S 4PS
IV. TARGET MARKET
V. SEGMENTATION CRITERIA
VI. POSITIONING STRATEGY
VII. DIFFERENTIATION
VIII. COMPETITION
IX. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
X. UGG AND ITS PROBLEMS
XI. COMPANY SUCCESS IN THE UNITED STATES
XII. SUGGESTIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS
REFERENCE
I. INTRODUCTION
UGG Australia, an idea that was originated in Australia, was brought into the United States
as a protected trademark thirty-five years ago. UGG becomes integrated into American life
style as a popular and generic footwear company and is a division of the Deckers Outdoor
Corporation. UGG was founded by Brian Smith in 1978 and is a registered trademark in
the United States and over 130 other countries for its brand of sheepskin boots and other
footwear, as well as bags, clothing, outerwear and other goods. Deckers also owns
registrations for their UGG Australia brand in various countries around the world. Deckers
is headquartered in Goleta, California with an e-commerce division located in Flagstaff,
Arizona. The UGG brand is best known for its “classic” sheepskin boots in the Australian
UGG boot style, worn by both men and women. UGG brand boots have been identified as
a fashion trend for men and women since the early 2000s. The range has expanded to
include not only footwear, but UGG brand bags, clothing, outerwear, hats, gloves and
other goods. Deckers has reported sales of $689 million under the UGG brand in 2008, an
increase from $14.5 million in 1995.
II. LENGTH OF TIME IN THE U.S.
Brian Smith landed in Southern California from Australia with a bag of sheepskin boots
and hope. The beaches of Southern California had long been an epicenter of a relaxed,
casual lifestyle, a lifestyle that Brian felt was a perfect fit for his brand. So he founded the
UGG brand, began selling his Australian sheepskin boots and they were an immediate
sensation. His UGG boots were introduced to the surf culture of the United Kingdom and
the United States by local surfers returning from surfing competitions in Australia. UGG
boots began to influence beyond the beach, exploding in big cities and small towns all
over, and in every level of society. By the mid 1980s, the UGG brand became a symbol of
relaxed southern California culture, gaining momentum through surf shops and other shops
up and down the coast of California, from San Diego to Santa Cruz. By the end of the 90s,
celebrities and those in the fashion world took notice of the UGG brand. A cultural shift
occurred as well – people were embracing, and feeling empowered, by living a more casual
lifestyle and UGG became one of the symbols of this lifestyle. By 2000, a love that began
on the beaches had become an icon of casual style. It was at this time that the love for
UGG grew in the east, over the Rockies and in Chicago. In 2000, UGG Sheepskin boots
were first featured on Oprahs Favorite Things and from that point on, the world began to
notice.
III. UGG’S 4PS
1) Product
UGG official website offers many products like sheepskin boots, shoes, slippers, clogs and
sandals, with other accessories such as handbags (including cross body, minis, totes, travel
bags, hobo style, satchels, manbags), and loungewear (for women, men, and kids).
However, UGG is commonly known to the world for its sheepskin boots. UGG is currently
in maturity stage in product lifecycle as a heterogeneous product. UGG boots are known in
Australia and New Zealand as a unisex style of sheepskin boot and are originated from
Australia, initially as utilitarian footwear worn by surfers for warmth in the 1960s. In
Australia, UGG is less popular and never considered fashionable in its country of origin;
UGG boots are being seen as a more of a “daggy” fashion sense and worn as slippers.
However, UGG has worked its way to success and become very popular and are always in
demand product in the United States. As a result, counterfeits of UGG boots have been
generated.
A counterfeit product is a fake or imitation made with the goal of tricking consumers into
believing it is genuine. Counterfeiters often host tables at flea markets and garage sales in
hopes of duping unsuspecting customers into purchasing fake UGG products. Often these
products look very real and may be difficult to detect if it is a fake UGG boot, shoe or
accessory. UGG has used the latest security features to help its customers know whether
they are buying an authentic product or a fake. Every authentic UGG Australia product
comes with a security feature contained in a reflective security label sewn into the left shoe
or boot and/or a security sticker on the shoebox, allowing instant authentication of genuine
UGG products. If the product has a material content label sewn into it, it will also have a
security label sewn in behind the label on the left boot or shoe and will work in the same
manner as the sticker. If there is no sewn-in label, a security sticker will be on the outsole
(the bottom) of the left shoe. For some infant and toddler shoes, the reflective security
sticker is adhered to the insert card included with the boot or shoes.
Examples of identifying the real versus fake UGG label:
The impact of counterfeiting is serious as UGG’s representative has stated: “You may not
know that buying counterfeit products has a significant impact on the global economy,
eliminating tens of thousands of jobs with legitimate businesses and costing the economy
