FORA sunglasses

: revision of the brand positioning strategy in light of future strategic goals

Abstract

Through the analysis of a brand positioning practical dilemma of FORA Sunglasses, this thesis provides an examination of marketing contents such as brand identity, market positioning, and the importance of having a strong brand at consumers´ eyes. FORA is a Portuguese brand that produces vintage sunglasses since 2013. Its identity and market positioning rely on its sunglasses´ production process: a handmade manufacturing process in Portugal, which ensures the brand high quality and uniqueness, something the managers are not willing to give up. Having only one sunglass factory located in Portugal operating to serve its whole customer basis, FORA needs to explicitly address the issue of how to fulfill the requirements of increasing demand and shortening response times associated with future expansion. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to study, through primary and secondary research, whether this strategy presents an adequate added value for the consumer, so that giving it up would mean a brand loss which isn´t worth the corresponding production process competitiveness gain Main results showed that moving production to a different country wouldn´t mean a major loss to FORA, as it only influenced its perceptions of durability. However, if the brand considers to enhance its competitiveness through industrializing the manufacturing process, it should be more careful, as such an option could negatively affect consumers’ product quality perceptions, key drivers of their ultimate product buying decisions.

Date of Award	22 Jul 2016
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Pedro Celeste (Supervisor)