Attached is a list containing 22 of the most prevalent brands in the fashion industry in addition to their corresponding brand values as of 2016. For this assignment you will be creating a strategic group map by following the instructions outlined below and then submitting the completed document as a PDF file.

1. Spend a little time thinking about the fashion industry and how brands compete and differ from one another. Your goal here is to settle upon a pair of dimensions to use for your group map. (Tip: Do not use brand value (or any other outcome such as stock price, revenue, or growth for that matter) as a dimension. Also try to avoid using dimensions that are highly correlated, for example do not use price and quality as those dimensions typically go hand-in-hand.)
2. Once you have settled on a set of dimensions you would like to use for your strategic group map, you should draw the map and plot the brands. I recommend using power point to draw your final maps and not worry about being too exact in where you place the brands (and later on groups) on the mapthe idea is to create a rough representation of strategic groups to help you see patterns.
3. Once you have plotted the brands on the map you are ready to start identifying groups. You should identify groups based on looking for brands that occupy similar locations on the map (i.e., brands that are similar to each other based on the dimensions you selected).
4. Now that you have identified strategic groups it is time to label your groups. I would like you to come up with your own descriptive labels for each group (e.g., if this was a strategic group map of the auto industry you might group Audi, BMW, and Mercedes together and then label the group German Luxury.)
5. It is time to redraw your map using groups rather than brands. Now remove all the brands from the map and replace them with the groups you created (be sure to list what all the brands make up each group in a table or key). You should size the bubble that represents each group in proportion to the market share of each group (i.e., if a group accounts for a large portion of the market, then the bubble representing that group should be large too). Keep in mind market share is not equivalent to brand value, for example Louis Vuitton has enormous brand value but sells only a small portion of volume in the industry. You will need to do a little research online to get an idea of each brands market share.
6. Take a little time to admire your work, you are ready to try and interpret your map (if you are wondering whether or not you did yours proper, I included a sample map to help you with the formatting SAMPLE GROUP MAP.pdf). Did you notice any groups that contain a particularly high concentration of companies with large brand values? Write a couple paragraphs explaining which group you think is the most attractive (i.e., if you had to invest in one of these groups where would you put your money?). You should justify your reasoning based on Porters 5 forces (e.g., explain how your group might be less rivalrous or is in a better bargain position against their suppliers).

SAMPLE GROUP MAP