Business Analysis : Boots Company

A brand is what can either attract people to you or make people avoid you; people would identify you by the brand you portray. One can communicate their brand through actions and words. “It is essential to understand that wherever we are, in whatever we do, we are all building our brand”.

In this report I will be talking about how Boots could use relationship marketing in the concept of the 7 P’s, the ladder of customer loyalty and total product concept.

A brand is a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller 's good or service

footwear products through Europe, United States of America and Asia Pacific. With 700 employees at its three sites in

Footwear International is a multinational manufacturer and marketer of footwear that has 83 companies in 70 different countries. One of these locations is

Ed Stack, Dick’s son, and two of his other children later bought the brand from their father and have opened nearly 500 stores throughout the United States. Ed is the current CEO and Chairman of the company. The North Face, Nike, Under Armour, Primed, Reebok, Adidas, and Fitness Gear are just a few brands that the company offers to its loyal customers. Footwear, fitness gear, team sports equipment, apparel, golf services and

Branding is about establishing an image of how you would like to be seen and thought of by others. In business, for instance, those people are usually consumers. In other words, companies want clients to think of them in a positive light so they purchase their products.

Foot Locker is one of the top competitors in the athletic shoe industry. Foot Locker Inc. accounts for a market leading 40% of industry revenue (IBISWorld, 2014). Foot Locker’s first retail location was opened on September 12, 1974 in City of Industry, California. Initially a subsidiary of the F.W Woolworth Company, Foot Locker Inc. has since becoming the successor corporation to its former parent company, and now operates approximately 3,450 retail locations under its different brands (Footlocker Inc., July, 2013). They compete with other athletic shoe stores like Adidas and Nike, as well department stores like Target and Wal-Mart. Since 1974, Foot Locker Inc. has launched different brands, namely, Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker, Champs, and Eastbay, to cater to consumer demographics, and adapt to changing consumer preferences.

Founded in 1901 in Illinois by Charles R. Walgreen, Sr., Walgreens was a subsidiary of Walgreens Boots Alliance. In the most recent years, Walgreen’s corporate strategy has been focused on mergers and acquisitions, the first of which occurred in 2014 when Walgreens purchased the remaining stake in Boots costing the company approximately $15.3 billion. (Walgreens, n.d.) With this acquisition Walgreens became the largest pharmacy/health/beauty combination retailer in the world, operating in all 50 states and 12 countries internationally. (Schauber, 2014)

Regarding John’s Boots, their brand image is from they produce the quality products to the consumer like comfort to wear and good material.

According to the American Marketing Association (AMA), a brand is a “name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competition”. However, as Keller highlights, a brand is also “something that has actually created a certain amount of awareness, reputation, prominence, and so on in the marketplace”. Therefore, a brand is an identity created to differentiate itself from the competitors and to be remembered in consumer’s mind.

Branding is a tool to make the goods of one producer different from another producer (Keller, 2003). Carroll (2008) asserts that branding is a sign of quality, and it is helpful to increase

The break up and the demise of BSC altered the dynamics of the UK footwear industry leaving Clarks as the largest vertically integrated UK shoe company. (Source: Clarks Web Site)2.3 The shoe market in the UK is dominated by imports, which mirrors the clothing industry. Manufacturing abroad has become the norm with almost all UK shoe companies. This is driven by lower costs, including labour, materials and general manufacturing costs. Clarks recently closed down its last factory in the UK (Ilminster, Somerset), with all manufacturing now being undertaken in Portugal and other low cost countries. (Source: Key Note Report)2.4 Clarks is recognised for making comfortable, durable and well fitting shoes. The product is not regarded as a fashion item. Clarks' target its products at infants/young children through to 15 year olds and adults in the age range 45 - 50. The company offers a wide range of products such as sports, smart, and casual shoes and boots.

McCarthy, Perreault and Quester define branding as "the use of a name, symbol, design or combination of the three to identify a product" and more particularly a brand name as "a word, letter, or group of words or letters used to identify a product" (Basic Marketing, a managerial approach; 1997).

Long before now has branding been considered as one of the peripheral aspects of business. Manufacturers, investors and other key players focused on the product without paying much attention to the consumer. But as the business landscape got tougher, marketing became not just an integral part of business but one of the fundamental principles of success.