Decathlon Strategy

We are aiming at understanding how Recreational Equipment INC. (REI) achieved a competitive advantage through their strategies and how they implemented those strategies. REI differs from the other sporting goods stores in their quality product selection, complements, and excellent brand name promotion. These qualities enable REI to sell merchandise at premium price levels (Morse, 2003).

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Athletics Supreme’s sportswear prices are affordable when compared to higher priced competitors like Walmart Stores and Dick’s Sporting Goods with a pricing strategy designed and employed to offer competition to its rival companies. The company does not compromise on its quality craftsmanhip while still offering low prices because it is confident of its loyal consumers. The company’s pricing methodology is flexible and depends generally on the economic trends that might influence buyer behavior in targeted segments focusing on total customer satisfaction as a way of encouraging brand loyalty in a highly competitive

The concept of market structures and competitive strategies are important when attempting to compete in any market. Understanding what market structure your product falls under can help companies develop better competitive strategies and identify potential for loss and gains. The athletic footwear industry in the United States is highly profitable and continuously growing. In this paper I will identify market structure of the athletic footwear industry, the major retailers, and competitive strategies that can be used to maximize profits.

Obviously, there is a big number of driving forces in the athletic footwear industry. Each of these driving forces has different impacts—some of them can have a more considerable effect than others on figuring out how much cross-company differences influence market shares and a number of units sold. The first line of most influential factors includes comparative prices, S/Q ratings, and a number of models offered among the footwear competitors. These three most important competitive forces affect customer decisions of which athletic footwear brand to choose. Furthermore, the decisions of customers whether to purchase one brand or another are also influenced by such forces as advertising, celebrity endorsements, the number of independent retail

Sport is an ever growing aspect of our cultures, and as the access to different avenues of sport begin to present themselves we question the ability of sport organizations to expand globally. This review of literature will examine different avenues of sport and the research that has been done in regards to their effort to expand on a global scale.

As the hockey skate market matures and becomes more concentrated with a few large competitors (Exhibit 6),

A newcomer is going to have to build its way up the same way all the famous sporting goods brands have done it. Under Armour, Nike and Adidas/Reebok are aware of the possibility of new entrants in the market and that is why they keep advertising, establishing distribution channels, making marketing agreements, and keeping up brand loyalty in their customers.

The women's apparel market is highly competitive. With the launch of a new active-wear line from Harrington Collection's, more and more competitors will start to realise the potential value in in producing an active-wear line of their own. The active-wear market is growing so rapidly (expected to double turnover from 2007 to 2009), that eventually all of Harrington's competitors would likely be expected to launch a line of their own, relying on existing brand loyalty and high-scale advertising campaigns to capture market share and move units.

Threats: big competitors; loosing money in the process of implementation international strategy; lack of promotion; etc.

This article continues to explain that once a sports marketer creates a product and advertises it on a small scale, “Sports marketers get ahead by gradually representing bigger, more important and more prestigious sports teams, companies, associations, and athletes.” In other words, sports marketers need to have a plan of action to promote their product on a larger scale over time. Also, sports marketers spend much of their planning on the aspect of promotion. Mihai verifies that the category of promotion serves to prove that the product is desirable through advertising, sales, sponsorship and public relations. If a sports marketer follows these planning steps, his/her work will lead to a successful product with a large margin of profit.

The threat of substitutes in this industry is high in my opinion. I say this because there are so many companies in the industry that have varying sports apparel, footwear and accessories. Customers can easily substitute one product by using another similar product of another company.

Lucozade Sport uses a strategy which is specific to sportsmen and sportswomen in order to sell their product. I will be analysing the segmentation, targeting and positioning strategy that Lucozade Sport adopt while also talking about how Lucozade Sport’s marketing mix which ensures it stands out from other competitors. The information gathered has been collected from various websites and articles to do with Lucozade Sport.

Athletic goods industry still has unlimited potential and it is a growing industry at the moment. The sportswear is not limited to track and field anymore. It has become a daily-life goods that can be seen everywhere. Product diversification into fashion business opens up a new growth potential for athletic goods.

Preface ............................................................................................................................................ 3 Management Summary .................................................................................................................. 4 Background ..................................................................................................................................... 5 Scope and Objectives ...................................................................................................................... 8 Work