Leeds Metropolitan UniversityBusiness School

Entrepreneurial Marketing

Dencowear Report

by

Julie Mombielova

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Executive Summary

Over the last 48years, Dencowear Ltd has been a successful manufacturer, proving unique uniforms in the UK. Dencowear Ltdhave managed to innovate their uniform designs and further expanded as years have passed, into establishing other brands within the Denco Group. Mainly the clothing is being manufactured in China.

Dencowear are proud to support breast cancer awareness. The Haven remains the only charity that promotes integrated healthcare specifically designed to support people through their breast cancer treatment. They provide up to date support, information and complementary therapies to people in need.

Dencowear Ltd is now a leading manufacturer for healthcare andmedical wear in the UK and voted best uniform supplier for three consecutive years. They were also the frst to establish a beautician uniform website, with large demands, and further demand in student college courses and Universities. Dencowear have extended their range of uniforms, to fashionable and modern ‘twist’ as Iian Sherman, the owner and co-finder of theDencowear Group explained, when presenting at Leeds Metropolitan University.

Other companies, such as care homes and spa’s are approaching Dencowear. This means there is a potential market for the company, to provide their product to those industries and expand further. Therefore this report will present future opportunities and recommendation of entrepreneurial methods tohelp Dencowear compete with competitors and solve the issues raised on Care Homes or Spa's & Salons).

I have decided to recommend entrepreneurial marketing methods,to the care home market, as I believe there are many

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opportunities in which Dencowear could benefit further expansion and success.

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

Table of Contents

Directors and Company Secretaries…………………………………………………...………1

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………2

The brands…………………………………………………………………………,,,………...3

What they do?

Who do they do it for?

Entrepreneurial Marketing vs Traditional

Marketing…………………………………………4

Dencowear Ltd Data…………………………………………………………………………..5

Care Homes……………………………………………………………………………………6

Opportunities

3

Challenges

Recommendations

Will the uniform benefit a visitor?

Will it benefit the patients?

Will is benefiting the care home?

Which entrepreneurial marketing methods could be used

to target this market?

Evaluation……………………………………………………………………………………,7

Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………..8

Directors and Company SecretariesPaul Beswick

17 Dec 2013 ⇒ Present day (4 Months ) Director

Anthony Sherman

before 14 Dec 1991 ⇒ Present day Director

Susan Sherman

before 14 Dec 1991 ⇒ Present day Director4

before 14 Dec 1991 ⇒ Present day Company Secretary

Daniel Sherman

20 Jul 1994 ⇒ 11 Nov 2005 (11 Years ) Director

Ilan Sherman

1 Oct 2009 ⇒ Present day (4 Years ) Director

12 Apr 1996 ⇒ 5 Apr 2000 (3 Years ) Director

Wendieann Walker

19 Jun 2012 ⇒ 17 Dec 2013 (1 Year ) Director

A lot of Gartner’s Entrepreneurial Characteristics can be seenwithin the company, and later discussed.

The Entrepreneur theme (including unique attributes such as risk taking, locus of control, autonomy, preservance, commitment, vision and creative)

Innovation Organization creation (Resource Integration and

Acquisition) Creative value For profit Growth Uniqueness Owner-manager – Iian Sherman

From this specific data it is obvious the business has been carried after generation and generation. I believe that this strongly shows strong entrepreneurship in the business. A business that has kept going for so long and innovated throughout the years, with further development, branding and ect.

Introduction

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Dencowear was originally formed in 1966 to provide coats for dentist’s surgeries. Two generations later and it has since grown into a successful manufacturer and supplier of work wear. Their core strength lies on their designs- bringing fashion into industries which previously had dull and unattractive clothing.

The Brands

Dencowear began as a small family business in 1966 and has since grown into a successful manufacturer and supplier of work wear.

Dencowear is a leading manufacturer of healthcare and medical wear in the UK.

Salonwear Direct is one of Europe’s leading salon, spa and health uniform suppliers.

The Salonwear brand of uniforms reflects the current high street fashion trends using a mix of luxury and quality fabrics.

Salonwear uniforms are worn by students at beauty colleges across the UK and professionals working within salon groups and spas.

DCW is a brand that can be seen across power stations. Industrial work wear incorporates

specialist features such as flame retardant and heavy duty fabrics to the highest standards.

Uniforms 4 Healthcare is a new website designedespecially for those in the healthcare and

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medical sector. This requires Uniform4healthcare to manufacture and source apparel with correct, neutral styling maintaining breathability and comfort. Uniform 4 Healthcare strive to keep quality high and costs low in fitting with all of our brands.

What they do?

Dencowear Ltd supplies and manufactures work wear uniforms to sectors which include Hair, Beauty, Spa, Cosmetic, Colleges, Leisure, Catering, and Healthcare.

Dencowear Ltd has innovative garments which use some of the highest quality fabrics due to a dedicated and creative designteam.

Dencowear Ltd is an international company with clients in manycountries across the globe. Dencowear use high standard dispatch systems and couriers to ensure turnaround times are fast.

Who do they do it for?

Dencowear work directly with our customers to bring them high quality and design-led work wear solutions.

Their list of clients includes.

- The University of Salford- Npower- University of Leeds- Freedom Back Clinics- Transform cosmetic surgery group- Sheffield Hallam University- Malmaison Hotels- Hand Picked Hotels- Haribo

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- NHS

Entrepreneurial marketing vs Traditional MarketingS. Kraus, R. Harms and M. Fink said that the term entrepreneurial marketing has come to describe the marketing activities of smaller new ventures.

Traditional Marketing refers to marketing method, that emphasise mainly on the 'Four Ps' principles. It comprises of Product, Price, Promotion and Place. A marketer has to consider the 'Four Ps,' before launching a product or offeringa service.

Entrepreneurial marketing utilises a tool kit of new and an orthodox marketing practises to help emerging firms gain a foothold in crowded markets. This was possibly born out of necessity as they would more than likely be working with limited budgets and few resources. However, large international organisations are following suit and are now involved in entrepreneurial marketing as a key part in their marketing activities. Collington believes that entrepreneurialmarketing is not about a single marketing strategy and more about a marketing spirit that differentiates itself from traditional marketing practices. Most common features of entrepreneurial marketing include innovation, risk taking and being proactive, Entrepreneurial marketing campaigns try to highlights the companies greatest strengths while emphasizing their value to their customer, focusing on innovative productsor exemplary customer service is a way to stand out from competitors.

Operating under four brands ( Dencowear, Salonwear Direct, DCWand Uniforms 4 Healthcare) the company is unsure of how their

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branding approach works for their Dencowear range. Work is currently being undertaken on the Dencowear brand itself. In addition marketing communications to date have related to online website activity plus printed brochures. Within these there has been a focus on discount rates which jar with their intended image of up-market, fashion-conscious designs.

Further opportunities exist for marketing communications in area of video usage, mobile marketing communications and more entrepreneurial approaches however they are unsure of which approach would work best for the company, particularly in terms of Salonwear Direct and Dencowear brands.

Dencowear Ltd Data

Care HomesPoll Results: should care staff wear uniforms in care homes?

Some 57% of more than 1,000 people surveyed werein favour of the idea,

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with 34% against and around 8% saying maybe. 24 February, 2014| By The Press Association

Opportunities

Iian Sherman managing director of Dencowear Ltd said his mission is ‘to make people look and feel great’ in their uniforms. There are opportunities which exist in care homes for Dencowear’s ‘modern healthcare’ brand. The importance liesin being able to supply staff working in care home with the most appropriate uniform which complies with each care home policy. All care homes are different, working with patients that have different health problems. “Uniforms present a consistent professional image for staff and the service. They also make it easy for service users and their families to pickout our trained dementia staff and they also contribute to theeffective control of infection,” says Janet Rowse.

On the other hand some care home managers say that uniforms can give care homes an institutional feel and a non-uniform policy can make residents feel more at home and more relaxed. Mental health staffs often don’t wear uniforms for this reason. But an opportunity lies in this area and can be tackled with correct Entrepreneurial marketing, to convince organizations, currently not using uniforms.

Other opportunities from becoming a care home uniform suppliercould also emerge in:

-Nursing/care Students

-Pharmacists Support

-Medical receptionist

-Transportation Agencies

-Care/nursing homes

-Adult day care

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-Assisted Living

-Hospice

Challenges

Not all homes require/need/want a uniform. This could be very challenging for the Dencowear, if it is decided to tackle thisfield. If Dencowear would use appropriate and convincing entrepreneurial marketing, there could be a chance to make long term contracts with various organizations. Dencowear are different, how? Why? And what can they do to change a non-using uniform care home to a using uniform care home by Dencowear.

If Dencowear wouldn’t want to go into this type of field of convincing non using uniform care homes, a major challenge issue would be competitors which already are providing uniforms to care homes that need them, also competing with them, price wise ‘ we are not the cheapest but not the most expensive’

It is necessary for dencowear to take into account the importance of appropriate uniform precautions that should be are taken to ensure that contamination to and from fabric/uniforms does not occur, as this might lead to the transmission of microorganisms to people or the environment, potentially causing infection." Although Dencowear are alreadymaking personalised clothing and amend pockets, trims ect. Much more research has to be done to make uniforms constantly popular and top supplier/brand out there.

Competitors

There are thousands of suppliers in the UK and internationally, supplying current care homes with staff uniforms.

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Suppliers of clothing to carers and nurses in the care sector:

-Supplyou Ltd

- Spectra Corporate

- Fixxon Ltd

- Crescent Services (GB) Ltd

- The Uniform & Leisurewear Company

Reccomendations

Dencowear could target more luxury care homes that are private

owned such as :

All these types of care homes are a interested in being unique, branding all their properties. Luxury care homes are always updating on their systems, in benefit of the customer. Emma Laming, one of the care professionals who will be workingat the home when it opens at the end of July, says: “What really sets this apart is how the care and services are designed around the individual’’.

Uniform plays a big role in Care homes. At Sirona Care and Health “Research into colour psychology shows that bright colours can have a positive effect on staff and service users so with help from local school children we developed a rainbowcollar on different brightly coloured tops.” When it comes it comes to health care, Dencowear should consider these designs,the type of people that are in care homes? How can Dencowear’suniform be the right one?

Will the uniform benefit a visitor?

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Appropriate branding.

Appropriate identification. Consistent professional image for staff and the service. Different uniforms denotate different grades of staff and visitors.

Will it benefit the patients?

Suitable designs, such as colour psychology, different coloured uniforms for different patients/department.

Uniforms can reduce some of the anxiety and confusion that dementia patients feel as it signposts to them who the care staff are and indicates who is there to help them.

Will is benefit the care home?

Contribute to the effective control of infection.

As mentioned previously Dencowear could target the luxurious care homes in the UK and Internationally. Dencowear currently target the public and private been the majority, with their brands. But this doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea when it comes tocare homes, mostly luxury care homes.

Which entrepreneurial marketing methods could be used to target this market?

Basic Ideas

Radio, tv, newspapers, direct mail, word of mouth, Yellow Pages, Flyers, Billboards.

Creative Ideas

Of course consistently keeping hard-to-find (Unique) in stockcan add up to a competitive advantage over much larger competitors.

Consumer Tribes

In addition Dencowear could set up yearly Fashion shows, inviting all the Dencowear Group customers in the business.

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Not only would Dencowear uniforms be modelled but their new designs and styles could be presented at the show. Dencowear’sclients present, will not only be from one field but all of them (Dencowear, Salod Direct, DCW, Uniforms4Healthcare). Creating consumer tribes, have the potential to deliver a higher ROI than heterogeneous social networks. Although this is not a common passion all clients share the same supplier.

Dencowear could design a catalogue specifically for the uniforms which will be modelled at the show, specifically for the clients, to analyse and share their view and feedback on Dencowear’s Uniforms Presented

Private Cat Walks

Private cat walks are another way of marketing, personally sending models and selected uniforms to be modelled to the specific client. This could work very well with Luxury care homes due to their ability to afford to pay for alterations and specific designs.

Digital Marketing

Dencowear is currently using digital marketing, their product is available for sale on their website. Dencowear also use various marketing techniques to market their product through Amazon, E-bay, Thomson Local, Mister What, Facebook, Twitter and many more other websites. This is very good use of digitalmarketing the company have been using. The company needs to bea critical mass of users and early adopters can grow this using their networks as Metcalfe’s Law indicates.

Guerrila marketing

Personal Branding Management is a success when it is driven from self-packaging. When Iian Sherman presented at Leeds Metropolitan University, he explained how packaging there product gives an instant ‘wow factor’ to the client. This is a

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way of marketing, gets people talking about it instantly and leaves a large impression on the client. This could be done with every client, especially with the first ones approaching you. Providing those samples of fabric, description of the benefits and how you can unique uniform wear for their organization. Especially in care homes, you can show them how your uniform can make staff, patients, visitors and ect easierand more professional.

Grassroot also known as guerrilla marketing starts from the group up. Instead of launching a message you hope you will appeal to many customers. You target your efforts to a small to a small group and hope the group will spread your message. Dencowear could make use of guerrilla marketing, by providing samples and give them away to the client. Dencowear already use discounts on their websites. Another recommendation would be using social network and uploading new designs and uniforms, asking for feedback and ideas. e.g. opinion formers.

Innovative marketing

Innovative marketing is extremely important. This is how a product is made more appealing to clients and viewers from around the world. Keeping up to date with technology facilitated marketing will provide instructional opportunitiesand connectivity of faculty to traditional, new, and divert audiences. Always spotting marketing trends is a great way to help you innovate.

EvaluationAdopting entrepreneurial marketing processes means engaging inmarketing processes emphasizing opportunity creation and/or discovery, evaluation, and exploitation (Shane and Venkataraman, 2000). Appropriate use Entrepreneurial marketing

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will help Dencowear Ltd get more noticed to an advanced level,creating more customers for the Dencowear Group.

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Bibliography

Article-Should care staff wear uniforms in care homes? Janet Rowse, chief executive, Sirona Care & Health 07/01/14 http://www.carehome.co.uk/news/article.cfm/id/5/should-care-staff-wear-uniforms-in-care-homes [Assessed 06/05/14]

Article-Should care staff wear uniforms in care homes? Jeremy Garman, director of sales and marketing, Sunrise Senior Living(2014) http://www.carehome.co.uk/news/article.cfm/id/5/should-care-staff-wear-uniforms-in-care-homes [Assessed 06/05/14]

Collinson, E.M. and Shaw, E. (2001) Entrepreneurial marketing:a historical perspective on development and practice. Management Decision, 39 (2). pp. 761-767 [Assessed 06/05/14]

Crane, F. et al (2009) Marketing for entrepreneurs. Chapter1 [Assessed 06/05/14]

Dencowear (2015) http://www.dencowear.co.uk/index.htm [Assessed 06/05/14]

Dencowear are manufacturing in the UK (2014) by uniforms4healthcare. http://www.uniforms4healthcare.com/blog/manufacturing-in-the-uk/ [Assessed 06/05/14]

Estimated date: http://urlm.co.uk/www.dencowear.co.uk

Is there a future for luxury care homes? By Nick Triggle Health correspondent, BBC News (2012) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18955672 [Assessed 06/05/14]

Looking back at nurse uniforms (2013) by uniforms4healthcare. http://www.uniforms4healthcare.com/blog/looking-back-at-nurse-uniforms/ [Assessed 06/05/14]

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Presentation to Leeds Metropolitan University -EntrepreneurialMarketing Module by Iian Sherman managing director of Decowearltd. [Assessed 06/05/14]

S. Kraus, R. Harms and M. Fink . (2009). Entrepreneurial Marketing: Moving beyond Marketing in New Ventures. Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management. 1 (1), 1-6. [06/05/14

Salonwear (2015) http://www.salonweardirect.co.uk/ [Assessed 06/05/14]

Shane, S., Venkataram, S(2000) “the promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research” Academy of ManagementReview, Vol. 25 No.1,pp.217-26. http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do?contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkhtml&contentId=1552875

Should care home staff wear uniforms? http://www.cairntechnology.com/should-staff-in-care-homes-wear-uniforms [Assessed 06/05/14

Timmons, Jeffry A. New business enterprises; Entrepreneurship;Handbooks, manuals, etc. pg.796 (1994) [Assessed 06/05/14]

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