Playing to win: an explorative study of marketing strategies of small ethnic retail entrepreneurs in the UK

Abstract

The paper is based on an explorative study of small ethnic retail entrepreneurs and their target consumers in the UK. The paper argues that the ethnic entrepreneurs engage in a number of marketing practices that reveal their competency, innovation and networking abilities to successfully compete in a competitive context. In doing so, the paper highlights the ambivalent nature of marketing practices followed by ethnic entrepreneurs revealing their role as bicultural mediators seeking to facilitate negotiations of multiple identities by their multi-ethnic consumers. The paper discusses implications for marketers of mainstream brands who are interested in targeting ethnic minority consumers.