GE REPORT

www.ccsenet.org/ijbm

International Journal of Business and Management

Vol. 6, No. 5; May 2011

Strategic Analysis through the General Electric/McKinsey
Matrix: An Application to the Italian Fashion Industry
Cesare Amatulli (Corresponding author)
Professor of Fashion Marketing
Faculty of Education Science, University of Bari
Piazza Umberto I, 70121, Bari, Italy
Tel: [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail]
Tiziana Caputo

Research Assistant of Marketing
Department of Business, Law and Environmental Studies, University of Salento
Via per Monteroni, 73100, Lecce, Italy
Tel: [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail]

Gianluigi Guido
Full Professor of Marketing
Department of Business, Law and Environmental Studies, University of Salento
Via per Monteroni, 73100, Lecce, Italy
Tel: [phone]
Received: November 3, 2010

E-mail: [e-mail]

Accepted: December 7, 2010

doi:10.5539/ijbm.v6n5p61

Abstract
Introduced in the early Seventies as a specific framework for the evaluation of investment opportunities as part of product portfolio management, the General Electric/McKinsey Matrix is still widely used for the analysis of competitive scenarios. In this study, this managerial tool is applied to the apparel sector and four well-known
Italian fashion companies are analyzed. The procedure for creating the matrix is described and a detailed presentation is made, for each company over a five-year-period, of the results relative to the two typical dimensions of the matrix: business competitiveness and industry attractiveness. Considering the current tendency of the majority of fashion and luxury companies to internationalize and develop multi-product and multi-brand diversification strategies, this study may be useful for marketers working in these sectors who intend to develop positioning and competitiveness analyses. Additionally, given the limited amount of academic studies on the

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