MARKETING PRINCIPLES – MKTG1205B

TITLE INDIVIDUAL FINAL MARKETING PROJECT

LECTURE
STUDENT NAME
STUDENT NUMBER
DUE DATE 31/05/2021
SUBMISSION DATE 31/05/2021
NUMBER OF PAGES 14
WORD COUNT 2278 words 32/40 - HD

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TABLE OF CONTENT

I. INTRODUCTION 3

II. SWOT ANALYSIS 3

III. TARGETING STRATEGY 4

IV. DIFFERENTIATION & POSITIONING 5

A. DIFFERENTIATION 5
B. POSITIONING 5

V. CURRENT PERFORMANCE – 2Ps 7

A. PLACE 7
B. PROMOTION 8

VI. MARKETING OBJECTIVES 12

VII. RECOMMENDATIONS 12

VIII. REFERENCES 13

IX. APPENDIX 14

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I. INTRODUCTION
The family-owned shoe manufactory Van Thanh Group, later renamed as Binh Tien Imex
Corporation Private Company Limited (Biti’s) was founded by Mr Vuu Khai Thanh and Mrs Lai
Khiem in 1982 (Biti’s n.d.). Biti’s was considered as Vietnamese’s pride in the footwear
industry.

This marketing project dedicates to the Biti’s Hunter line. During the 2000s, global brands such
as Nike and Adidas started entering the Vietnamese market, being the huge threats of Biti’s
(Bui 2021). Due to lack of creation and innovation, Biti’s started losing their market and slowly
out-model. In 2016, when the Biti’s Hunter line was launched, it created a sensation and
marked the spectacular return of Biti’s (Nguyen n.d). Biti’s Hunter comes with a wide range of
colours with sleek designs and reasonable price, suitable for multiple purposes and
customers. With the intention of focusing on the mass market of Vietnam, Biti’s ’s Hunter is
more “sport-inspired” than specialised sport shoes, making it more versatile (Hiep hoi cac nha
ban le Viet Nam 2020).

II. SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

• Marketing Intermediaries: Biti's • Public: The iconic campaign took

Hunter is distributed through various place in 2017. Before that, Biti’s
online shopping channels such as was still considered old-fashion
Lazada and Shopee and domestic and uncreative.
distribution system including 156  Late bloomer. Biti’s reputation
marketing stores and more than 1500 blew late compared to other
retail stores nationwide (Biti’s n.d.). existing brands.
 Wide market distribution from offline to
online, which is very convenient for
consumers to purchase and stay
connected with the consumers and
sustain their profit regardless of Covid -
19.

• Public: The iconic campaign of Biti’s

Hunter with Son and Soobin Hoang
Son gained more than 5.2 million
interactions on multiple social media
platform, leaving an impactful and
unforgettable impression on
consumers’ minds (Brands Vietnam
2017).
 Changed the customers’ perception of
Vietnamese shoe brand (Nguyen n.d).
Successfully redefined their image,
bring vitality to help Biti’s regain its
attraction to young customers.

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OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

• Natural: Social distancing and • Economic: Sales of

lockdown have impacted people’s Vietnamese’s footwear industry
lifestyles, which led to a change in decreased significantly in 2020
consumer priorities. Since everyone (passport). Moreover,
has adopted working from home, approximately 45% of
therefore, many of them may want to Vietnamese household reported a
purchase casual items which they can decrease in disposable income in
comfortably wear at home 2021 compared to 2020 (The
(Euromonitor International 2021). World Bank 2021).
 Thus, slippers and sneakers are  This will impact consumers’
beneficial. purchasing power and purchasing
trends since they have to
• Technology: Each Vietnamese spent prioritise savings rather than
an average of USD $225 on online spending on footwear products
shopping in 2020 (Nguyen Quy 2020). (Euromonitor International 2021).
Moreover, Vietnamese internet users
who used e-commerce accounts for
nearly 77% of the population, most of
them are from 18-35 years old
(Nguyen Quy 2020) . The government
encourages people to participate in e-
commerce and expects 55% of the
population to shop online by 2025
(Nguyen Quy 2020).
 E-commerce reigns even more during
the pandemic.

 SO Strategy: Utilising distribution system and partnering with other celebrities to

release content encouraging people to use e-commerce during the pandemic.

III. TARGETING STRATEGY

The “sport-inspired” shoe segment accounts for 70% of the footwear industry demand with
main customers are teenagers and young adults (Hiep hoi cac nha ban le Viet Nam 2020).
Understanding customers’ behaviours and insights, Biti’s Hunter has successfully adapted a
differentiated targeting strategy to attract and enhance its position in the product line. Their
main targeted customers are children and adolescents whose ages are from 6-25 years old.
Their personality traits are active and youthful. As students only have pocket money and
young adults might have just started their careers, therefore their income is relatively low.
These two segments both love following trends and get exposed to the internet at an early
age (Cổng thông tin điện tử Quốc hội 2020) . Thus, Biti’s Hunter is a compatible option as the
average price is 700.000 VND which is relatively low compared to other well-known brands
such as Nike or Converse (Nguyen n.d). Since both adolescents and children concern about
trendy looks, versatile and reasonable price so they can have multiple pairs for different
occasions. The youthful, energetic and colourful designs with an inexpensive price of Biti’s
Hunter appeals to the targeted segments and fulfil their requirements.

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IV. DIFFERENTIATION & POSITIONING

A. DIFFERENTIATION
1. Image differentiation
Biti’s logo consists of two colours: red and blue. These two opposite colours create a strong
impression at first sight. The blue symbolised the colour of vast sky and immense ocean while
the red dot symbolises the image of the sun always shining, and the two semicircles represent
the sails. It represents the company's desire to bring products to not only domestic people but
also to the world (Bransol 2018). Additionally, the collaborations with Son Tung MTP and
Soobin Hoang Son have successfully conveyed the right message of the product to customers
(Nguyen n.d). People will instantly be reminded of Biti’s Hunter when mentioning Son Tung or
Soobin Hoang Son, enhancing the brand awareness of the product.

2. Distribution differentiation
The advantage of Biti’s huge distribution intermediary across the country is to create a large
coverage of Biti’s image to customers and make purchasing Biti’s Hunter easier for
consumers. Biti’s stores appear in both malls and markets, making Biti’s more beneficial than
other brands such as Nike or Adidas since they appear mainly in malls or have official stores.
In addition, Biti’s is adopting e-commerce by partnering with shopping channels Adayroi,
Lazada or Shopee to connect with more customers during the pandemic (Biti’s n.d.). The
combination of competitive price and convenience generates a higher chance of Biti’s being
on the top of people’s mind when they shop for footwear.

B. POSITIONING

1. Attributes
Style is the second most important attributes influencing customers purchase decision
(Rahman 2018) . Despite the impacts of Covid-19, Biti’s Hunter is becoming a more popular
footwear option among Vietnamese youngster due to its youthful and dynamic designs
(passport).

In terms of price, Biti’s is in the middle segment – with a price of about 500.000 VND to
1.000.000 VND (Nguyen). I am going to compare Biti’s Hunter X with 3 different brands:

Biti’s Hunter X 800.000 VND (Biti’s n.d.)

Adidas Stan Smith 2.400.000 VND (Adidas n.d.)
Vans Old Skool 1.400.000 VND (Vans n.d.)
Vina Giay 800.000 VND (Vina Giay n.d.)

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2. Positioning Map

3. Value Proposition
Their designs are not really creative. Most of their product designs look like other popular
brands (Biti’s n.d.). Most of their product designs look like other popular brands. Looking at
the comparison between Biti’s Hunter and Adidas Ultraboost and Vans Old Skool, it clearly
shows the similarities.

Adidas Ultraboost 4.0 Biti’s Hunter X 2K19

Vans Old Skool Biti’s Hunter Street Americano

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Since Biti’s Hunter is fast fashion, it is doing well with providing Vietnamese youth with trendy
style at reasonable prices. Despite the similar design, their prices are two to three times lower
than other well-known brands. Therefore, they are providing “the same for less” compared to
other competitors.

V. CURRENT PERFORMANCE – 2Ps

A. PLACE

Biti’s applies a multi-channel distribution system with both direct and indirect marketing
channels including 156 Marketing Stores, 199 official retail stores and more than 1500 retail
intermediaries (Biti’s n.d.). Additionally, Biti's also distributed through Co.op Mart, Aeon Mall,
and other e-commerce platforms namely Lazada, Shopee and Adayroi (Biti’s n.d.). Along with
a multi-channel distribution system, Biti’s also applies contractual VMS since they have
policies of becoming agencies (Biti’s n.d.).

The pros of having a dense distribution network are

large coverage of brand image without Biti’s having to
spend much on investing in the market, hence
boosting sales and market shares, proving by the
leading position in the market of 2.7% (figure1)
(Euromonitor International 2021). Moreover, it creates
shopping convenience as customers can easily find
and purchase Biti’s Hunter products. However, it would
be difficult to manage and conflicts may happen across
agencies due to the difference in prices. It would
impact consumers experience, thus, affects Biti's
Hunter’s reputation.

Figure 1: Brand Shares of Footwear

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B. PROMOTION

1. Promotions Strategies
Biti’s applies both pull and push marketing strategies. Not only they market directly the
products to consumers but also to the potential sales representatives by providing delivery
support and sales incentives (Biti’s 2019).

2. Promotion tools:
Advertising: In terms of traditional advertising, Biti’s Hunter displays their product on several
billboards on the streets and on top of the retail stores. Besides, they promote through digital
medias including their own websites and Youtube channel, and social media advertising.

Billboard Top of retail stores

Official Website Official YouTube

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Online Newspaper

Public relations: In 2017, Biti’s initiated an online discussion regarding the campaign “Di de
tro ve” released in collaboration with Soobin Hoang Son to engage young people to participate
and raise brand awareness. In terms of special events, Biti’s has creatively held a try-on event
using VR technology, allowing customers to try different products before purchasing.

Online discussion VR Event

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Buzz marketing: Biti’s has successfully redefined the brand image after the campaigns with
Son Tung, Soobin Hoang Son and other KOLs. The success from the promotions has surged
Biti’s reputation and gained them so much profit.

Biti’s Hunter X x Son Tung MTP Di de tro ve – Soobin Hoang Son

Go for love x Huong Giang Idol

Proudly Made In Vietnam

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Sales promotions: Biti’s applied discounts and vouchers on special occasions to stimulate
consumers’ purchasing desires. They also give away advertising specialties as a
complimentary when people shop at their stores. Additionally, they operate contests to engage
people attention, helping to increase brand index.

Sales Promotion Advertising Specialties

Voucher Photography Contest

Biti’s is doing well in fostering awareness of Biti’s Hunter through utilising Kols, holding
specials events, extensive public relations, and creating rational advertisements and extensive
strategies for sales promotion. With such well-invested and diverse promotion strategies, the
number of people acknowledging and purchasing Biti’s Hunter saw a significant increase,
driving the sales up. Nonetheless, the process is costly. Having collaborations and special
events cost quite an amount for Biti’s (Son Tung is a rank-A celebrity), especially since they
are doing it multiple times. The campaigns “Di de tro ve” has been up to season 5, yet the last
three parts did not gain much attention from the public.

3. How do 2Ps work together?

With a wide distribution system and extensive promotion strategies, Biti’s Hunter can reach
different potential customers segments. It broadens the coverage of Biti’s, stimulating the
curiosity of customers and making them want to try for themselves. Biti’s Hunter’s name is
associated with a dynamic and youthful image, creating a sustainable direction for Biti’s.

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VI. MARKETING OBJECTIVES

Vietnam is currently one of the countries with the fastest-growing internet usage rate in the
Asia-Pacific region with 66% of the population are internet users and nearly 55% of them are
e-commerce shoppers (Cổng thông tin điện tử Quốc hội 2020) . According to IMF, Vietnam’s
PPP in 2020 was USD 10.000 and this will likely be increased despite the impacts of the
pandemic (Ha 2021). Moreover, with a wide distribution, Biti’s has maintained its leading
position in sales in 2020, posting a retail value share of 3% (Euromonitor International 2021).
The Covid-19 outbreak has influences people’s preferences as they may prioritise comfy
home clothing rather than working clothing, thus, sneakers and sandals are more favoured
during this period. Hence, Biti’s has a high chance to increase brand shares to 2.9% by the
end of the first quarter of 2022.

VII. RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Promotions:

For the upcoming Children’s day, Biti’s can consider hiring famous family KOLs namely Gia
dinh Cam Cam or Gia dinh nha Xoai to promote the Biti’s Hunter’s kid line using their personal
social medias such as Instagram, Tiktok and Facebook. That would increase the brand index
of Biti’s. In addition, Biti’s should take into account partnering with famous KOL Chau Bui who
has recently honoured by Forbes Asia in the Under-30 category, to release content for
promoting home exercise during the epidemic outbreak (Forbes 2021). Chau Bui already has
a great reputation in the public and a solid fanbase consisting of young people who fit perfectly
within the customer segments of Biti’s Hunter . Carrying a strong and independent image,
Chau Bui will be an ideal KOL to collaborate with. The campaign should issue challenges to
get people's attention and engagement. Not only that, Biti’s can extract a part of the profits
from the campaign to donate to the national Covid-19 relief fund.
In parallel with advertising campaigns, Biti’s should have sales promotions, especially through
online sales channels, to encourage people to shop online and avoid mass contact. This not
only helps Biti’s increase revenue and market share but also helps Biti’s build a good image
in the eyes of the public.

2. Place:

Biti’s should pay attention to the store decoration and product arrangement to attract
customers' attention. Lighting, decoration, and product display play vital roles in enhancing
sales for shoe retailers (Allahdadi 2020). For example, with the new product of Biti’s Hunter x
Cong Tri (a world-famous fashion designer), Biti’s should decorate the store according to the
main colour of the shoes, have a separate counter to introduce it and re-setup the lighting and
sound system that matches the sophistication of the product. Yet, considering the epidemic
situation, Biti’s should not arrange all stores to advertise, but should only choose a few typical
stores in each area to organize and avoid crowds. Furthermore, they should have incentives
or coupons for people who check-in online and make purchases of the new products at the
stores.

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VIII. REFERENCES

Adidas ‘adidas Giày Stan Smith - trắng | adidas Vietnam’, viewed 30 May 2021,
<https://www.adidas.com.vn/vi/giay-stan-smith/FX5502.html?cm_mmc=AdieSEM_Feeds-_-
GoogleProductAds-_- SEA-_-FX5502-0005&cm_mmc=AdieSEM_Google-_-adidas-
SEAPAC-eCom-SSC-B-Brand-Multiple-None-VN_VN-SEAPAC-eCom-Paid_Search-_-SSC-
VN-_-PRODUCT_GROUP-_-
dv%3AeCom&cm_mmc1=VN&cm_mmc2=&cm_mmca1=VN&gclid=CjwKCAjwqcKFBhAhEi
wAfEr7zULI5ZnV-7bGX5BPXxNJnbiYGwPrQv1WIwzbGLLJ2-
RwKaE5QkOaYRoCmd8QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds>.

Allahdadi, M 2020, ‘Interior design of shoe stores and its impact on customer satisfaction’,
Alzahra University, viewed 31 May 2021,
<https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347933656_Interior_design_of_shoe_stores_and
_its_impact_on_customer_satisfaction>.

Biti’s 2019, ‘THỬ NGHIỆM MÔ HÌNH HỢP TÁC CỬA HÀNG ĐẠI LÝ CHUẨN 100% BITI’S –
Biti’s’, viewed 30 May 2021, <https://bitis.com.vn/blogs/news/thu-nghiem-mo-hinh-hop-tac-
cua-hang-dai-ly-chuan-100-biti-s>.

Biti’s ‘About Biti’s’, viewed 30 May 2021,a, <https://bitis.com.vn/pages/ve-biti-s?view=en>.

Biti’s ‘Hunter Nam – Page 2 – Biti’s’, viewed 30 May 2021,b,
<https://bitis.com.vn/collections/hunter-nam?page=2>.

Biti’s ‘Trang bán hàng trực tuyến của Biti’s Việt Nam’, viewed 30 May 2021,c,
<https://bitis.com.vn/>.

Biti’s ‘Liên hệ hợp tác – Biti’s’, viewed 30 May 2021,d, <https://bitis.com.vn/pages/lien-he-

hop-tac>.

Brands Vietnam 2017, ‘Campaign: Biti’s - Đi để trở về’, viewed 30 May 2021,
<https://www.brandsvietnam.com/campaign/209-Bitis-Di-de-tro-ve>.

Bransol 2018, ‘HỆ THỐNG NHẬN DIỆN THƯƠNG HIỆU CỦA BITI’S’, viewed 30 May 2021,
<https://brasol.vn/blog/he-thong-nhan-dien-thuong-hieu-cua-bitis>.

Bui, T 2021, ‘Tất tần tật chiến lược Marketing của Biti’s Hunter năm 2021’, ATP Academy,
viewed 30 May 2021, <https://atpacademy.vn/chien-luoc-marketing-cua-bitis-hunter/>.

Cổng thông tin điện tử Quốc hội 2020, ‘CẦN TRANG BỊ CHO TRẺ EM KỸ NĂNG SỬ DỤNG
AN TOÀN TRÊN MÔI TRƯỜNG MẠNG’, viewed 30 May 2021,
<https://quochoi.vn/tintuc/Pages/tin-hoat-dong-cua-quoc-hoi.aspx?ItemID=44315>.

Euromonitor International 2021, ‘Footwear in Vietnam’, , no. February, pp. 1–35.

Forbes 2021, ‘Chau Bui’, viewed 31 May 2021, <https://www.forbes.com/profile/chau-
bui/?sh=33e9076b7623>.

Ha, C 2021, ‘Quy mô kinh tế Việt Nam vượt 1 nghìn tỷ USD theo sức mua tương đương’,
BÁO ĐIỆN TỬ CHÍNH PHỦ NƯỚC CHXHCN VIỆT NAM, viewed 30 May 2021,
<http://baochinhphu.vn/Kinh-te/Quy-mo-kinh-te-Viet-Nam-vuot-1-nghin-ty-USD-theo-suc-
mua-tuong-duong/418480.vgp>.

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Hiep hoi cac nha ban le Viet Nam 2020, ‘Case study: Thành công của Biti’s Hunter ’, viewed
30 May 2021, <http://hiephoibanle.com.vn/case-study-thanh-cong-cua-bitis-hunter/>.

Nguyen, M ‘Biti’s Hunter - Cú lội ngược dòng của đế chế giày dép Việt | Vietcetera’,
Vietcetera, viewed 30 May 2021, <https://vietcetera.com/vn/bitis-hunter-cu-loi-nguoc-dong-
cua-de-che-giay-dep-viet>.

Nguyen Quy 2020, ‘Nearly half of Vietnamese shop online: report ’, VNExpress International
, viewed 30 May 2021, <https://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/data-speaks/nearly-half-of-
vietnamese-shop-online-report-4149511.html>.

Rahman, O 2018, ‘Online consumer choice: footwear design and visual presentation’,
Journal of Textile and Apparel, Technology and Management, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 1–19.

The World Bank 2021, ‘Vietnam Overview’, viewed 30 May 2021,

<https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/vietnam/overview>.

Vans ‘Old Skool | Shop Shoes At Vans’, viewed 30 May 2021,

<https://www.vans.com/shop/suede-canvas-old-skool>.

Vina Giay ‘Giày Sneaker Nam’, viewed 30 May 2021, <https://vinagiay.vn/sneaker/giay-

sneaker-nam.html>.

IX. APPENDIX

Figure1: Brand shares of footwear

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