A Marketing Expert ( Wheelen 20.12 )

Over the last 10 years’ gym memberships within the United States have increased from 41.3 million to 54.1 million. The biggest trend over the last few years is becoming fit, more and more each day people are finding ways to live fit and healthier lifestyles. From eating the right nutritional foods, working out and people just wanting to follow the latest and greatest trends. The increase in gym memberships and the amount of people working out leads to the increase in athletic attire. For this exact reason athleisure wear was born, it is the newest fashion trends were people wear athletic clothing regardless if they intend go to the gym or not that day. People are wearing it to the office, shopping, to run errands and other social events. Athleisure wear consist of articles of clothing such as spandex, leggings, yoga pants, sports bras and fashionable sweats. Over the last 10 years an increase in athleisure wear has spread at a rapid rate globally, particularly in the women’s fashion industry. Since 2013 the increase in athleisure wear apparel has grown by 14% and accounts for 18% of the total clothing retail market. With this trend still catching on, active wear is expected to continue to grow at an average rate of 3.3% annually. Due to this rapid increase in purchasing athleisure wear the apparel industry will continue to grow especially Nike because they are the market leaders in active sportswear. For that exact reason I believe that Nike is a

This paper will introduce a product and service which operates in the U.S. with the intent to expand within foreign markets eventually. The service that I chose is a current service in the food service industry that does exist but would benefit from enhancing it; there are market trends for the new service that would definitely satisfy potential customers’ needs and wants once the idea is brought to their attention. The goal is to bring the feel of the city’s fine dining and lounging experience to areas outside the city without having to travel far or spend more. The service is an

This report has been created with the intent to analyze the athletic apparel industry with a specific focus on Lululemon Athletica, Inc., further refered to as Lululemon. In this report you will find that the strengths and weaknesses of Lululemon’s current strategies and future goals are analyzed and compared to that of its closest competitors. In conclusion to the analysis, recommendations have been made to potentially guide Lululemon Athletica, Inc. in a positive direction in regards to its future endeavors. The following

a. Under Armour’s approach towards innovation is very unique, they think and plan out their projects thoroughly in order to create a one of a kind product that could be appealing to their consumers. The company has been extremely progressive throughout the years in order to stay ahead of the other competitive companies in their targeted industry. By constantly updating and coming up with different product lines, such as compression shirts and cleats, Under Armour is able to compete with other top athletic wear company’s in their market. If

These reviews represent Lululemon’s point “X” on the “Slippery Slope” diagram. In 2012 the company was given the first opportunity to approach their clothing quality problem however, as we know now, the company decided to disregard the product reviews falling into a time delay trap. The neglect on a product review in 2012 caused the company to pay millions of dollars by the end of 2013. With these actions it becomes apparent that the company’s moral minimum is not their primary factor. Lululemon’s supplier in Taiwan was initially blamed for not thoroughly testing the product, however, the supplier back fired by saying they were not responsible and had followed all of Lululemon’s testing protocols. In later articles, Lululemon’s admits to having faulty testing protocols. This breach of honesty is the first of many breaches against the moral

A recommendation that would be beneficial for Kudler is to provide online ordering. This will allow customers to check out Kudler's website, and this can be a way that Kudler can track how many people view their website daily. This will also allow Kudler to follow the areas such as zip codes to do mailouts, this would advertise their company and their products. Another recommendation that needs to be made is to have one set of GL codes for all three locations. They should have one inventory report that shows all of their products whether it is at another location. This will make it easier for management to follow the inventory lists and to pay more attention to the products that are being sold quicker than others. This will save time having to pull inventory reports for each location and to see what they sold.

Marketing refers to promote a product and or service by means of media like TV, radio, newspaper, and cell phone (Holliman & Rowley, 2014).

In addition, the company distributes their products through a network of 42 owned and leased distribution centers. As of December 29, 2012, they distributed their products via 39 distribution centers in the United States and three in Canada. The company owns four and lease 38 of these distribution centers. Furthermore,

|Little Black Bag (small circular purse) |22” Spinner (suitcase) |Lanyard |Case for iPhone 5 |

Retailers and wholesalers add value to the marketing system because they offer something that consumers want and not just in small stores but in big stores such as Costco and wal-mart. Retailing is good because it offers individuals a small amount of goods for their own personal use. Wholesale is good for companies and big families because it offers them with more product for a cheaper price. This can only benefit small and big business because they are offering goods to all consumers in all product areas.

Mission Statement: Under Armour’s mission is to provide the world with technically advanced products engineered with their superior fabric construction, exclusive moisture management, and proven innovation. Every Under Armour product is doing something for you, making you better.

However, ordering from the internet has allowed the company to enjoy much success serving small businesses and companies in the eastern Los Angeles suburbs. This success has led the company to expand beyond its traditional customer base of suburban Los Angeles into the heart of the downtown area. Such an expansion is risky for Mid-Town has decided it can afford to place

Although Under Armour has done well over the past few years, they face though competition from top players like Nike and Adidas. These larger companies have more resources and a greater presence in the international market. There is also a threat of new entrants, and since UA does not hold patents for its products, new and existing companies may begin to compete for a spot in the performance apparel market. Other threats include the company’s limited bargaining power (resulting from their diverse supplier base) and the leverage held by wholesale customers. Fortunately, UA does have the advantage of strong brand recognition, a reputation for innovative and high-quality products, and testimonials of world-renowned athletes, minimizing the threat of substitute products.

The corporate tax rate has just decreased from 35% to 21% which is good news for UA but not as much as companies that do more business in the US and also for a company that has significantly less debt than the highly leveraged Under Armour has (The Economist, 2018). Social factors are quite important for the retail industry and in 2017 a large demographic for clothing sales, teens, spent less overall and claimed Under Armour a brand they did not wear and athleisure in general to not be preferred attire anymore (Reagan, 2017). Thus, Under Armour’s demographics changed just in the last year with teenagers claiming to not be wearers of the brand, and also the trend of athleisure coming to an end. Technology is an external environmental factor that affects Under Armour, but not as much its competitors in the industry. When fitness bands were introduced the company also came out with their own line of bands that proved unsuccessful and were discontinued (Booton, 2017). Under Armour maintained their fitness apps however and they are able to have an edge over their competitors by having all of this information

Lululemon has chosen to place itself with a very focused target market. Initially, lululemon’s primary target was sophisticated and educated women who understand the importance of an active, healthy lifestyle. Since then, they have broaden there market target to include fitness apparel outside yoga for women and hit other large market segments, like men’s and female youths fitness apparel. Unfortunately, this target switch has happened very late in their growth, which can explain some issues, but there is a bigger problem within their original target market.