How Retailers Must Keep Up The Target Market

This implies that American Eagle Outfitters and Urban Outfitters either have higher sales or less inventory kept on their shelves than their competitors from the same industry.

When examining competitive advantage, it is also important to consider the market and take into account the existing competition against larger firms.

Substitutes: The threat of substitutes is high. The threat of online apparel stores has the potential of destroying the traditional retail industry business model (Bandt, 2000). The ecommerce platforms allow retailers expand their consumer base across national and global markets with lower capital requirements and improved efficiency.

Target sells its products from the high end of the market to the low end depending on the type of product in question. In regards to Electronics items where the caption rate is small, they price their items at the high end to ensure they meet their margins. However, in regards to Target’s name brand items, they price those at the low end, keeping the company as a discounted retailer. Target also sells designer items that range from mid to high range of the market. In 2013 Targets CEO Gregg Steinhafel adopted the philosophy “a penny saved is a penny earned”. He further mentioned that they company would be a penny higher in price than their competitors Wal-Mart (Davis, M 2013). Steinhafel stated that “We want to be a penny

The industry we have chosen is the department store-retail industry. Within this industry, we have chosen the department stores of JCPenney and Macy’s. We find this industry, as well as these two companies, interesting from a strategic perspective. JCPenney has recently undergone a massive strategic restructuring in regards to its pricing, brand offerings, and store layout, pushing it away from the typical department store strategy of discounts and coupons. Its new strategy has become much closer to Wal-Mart’s strategy of every day low prices. Macy’s, on the other hand, has restructured with a push from the economic

This report presents data describing the differences amongst the two department stores, their fundamental visions, and comparative statistics. Macy’s or Dillard’s: Differences amongst these competitors There are several aspects you can analyze from each department store. Major pieces do set each one apart from the other. Brand names carried by Macy’s and Dillard’s from an average shoppers point of view can go completely unnoticed unless price is involved. For trend shoppers brand names can either make or break a retail store. It can easily determine if he or she will walk to Macy’s or Dillard’s because they already know the store does or does not carry that brand. This is consistent with each department throughout both stores and

The intensity of rivalry and the threat of substitutes are strong components for J.C. Penney to consider as they continue to strive for increased revenue and market share. Their two primary competitors are Macy’s and Kohl’s, both of whom have fiercely competitive strategies to be strong retail operations. For instance, while Macy’s offers a multitude of promotional deals and is working hard to choose products based upon demographics and geographic segmentation, Kohl’s is attempting to reduce their inventory levels and improve their marketing strategies in order to become a stronger competitor in the department store segment of the retail industry. In order to compete with their competitors, J.C. Penney aims to focus on their previously successful promotions and home department segmentations by bringing in new reputable designers in order to attract a larger customer base. Due to the fact that the intensity of rivalry and threat of substitutes are both moderately strong in the retail department store industry, J.C. Penney ought to be diligent in their implementation of strategies in order to achieve success in the retail business.

Target Corporation has recognized itself as one of the top retailers in the United States market on the basis of excellent service quality, customer experiences, operational excellence, strong financial position, and a wide array of product offerings. Through its high degree of service orientation at physical outlets and adoption of fair business practices, Target Corporation has become the most distinctive retailer in the eyes of its potential customers. Being one of the top-notch retailers in the United States, Target Corporation has to carefully strategize on its business operations and marketing tactics so as to keep itself in the row of competitive brands of the industry.

The retail industry is highly competitive, with few barriers to entry. Each Company competes with many other local, regional and national retailers for customers, associates, locations, merchandise, services and other important aspects of the Company’s business. Those competitors include other department stores, discounters, home furnishing stores, specialty retailers, wholesale clubs, direct-to-consumer businesses and other forms of retail commerce. Some competitors are larger than JCPenney, have greater financial resources available to them, and, as a result, may be able to devote greater resources to sourcing, promoting and selling their products.” There are many factors that characterize competition, including advertising, service,

Retail stores, are one of the biggest and largest businesses around the world. They produce thousands of hundreds in revenues and they are some of the biggest employers industries. WALL-MART, IKEA, TESCO, ARGOS, MACYS, WALLGREENS and OFICCE DEPOT are some of the well-known retail stores that supply us every day with different kind of goods and services. For a better understanding, one of the main definitions of retail is: “...store commonly a shop or stall for the retail sale of commodities, but also a place where wholesale supplies are kept, exhibited, or sold…” What this means

Coach’s multi-channel retail network has enhanced product availability, and driven sales. The growth of the Coach Factory Store concept has been a success.

A marketing strategy is important for any product, and a big part of that strategy is the distribution elements and channels (Distribution, 2009; Marketing, 2011; Timberlake, 2012). Coach is very selective about how they distribute their products. They have authorized stores and outlet stores, as well as catalogs and a company website (Coach, 2012). They also allow some department stores to carry their products, as well as catalogues and specialty stores (Coach, 2012). A few duty free locations also have Coach bags (Coach, 2012). This is clearly stated on their website in an effort to dissuade people from purchasing a Coach handbag in a way that is illegal. It can also help prevent people from purchasing something they think is a Coach handbag but finding out later it is a copy or a fake. The target market for Coach is generally upscale, so Coach does not want the less expensive chain retailers carrying its product. There should be some exclusively with the Coach brand, and that can only be created and maintained by controlling what stores and locations can carry the Coach brand. Doing this allows the company better marketability when targeting specific groups or areas of a target market, such as upscale consumers.

H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB is one of the largest clothing-retail companies in Europe and across the world. The mission statement of the company has been to enhance quality and affordability. The company operates in more than 60 countries globally where it has also established physical stores (Alexander, 13). H&M has a strong financial performance, which is attributed to pricing strategies, product promotion, and its effective distribution channel. H&M has online stores that allow customers to place and receive the goods at their convenience. While the company continues to post positive financial performance, it still faces internal and external challenges. The change in tastes and preferences in the fashion industry has a negative effect on the company.

Macy's is one of the premier retailer franchises within the United States. To begin, Macy's Inc. is one of the nation's largest and well known department store chains. Started over 150 years ago, Macy's has continually generated excellent returns for its shareholders and employees. Currently, in the midst of a global recession, Macy's has generated huge profits with same store sales increasing 5.3% year to date. In 2012 same store sales increased 4.6% in the month of February alone (Macy's Inc., 2012). In fact, throughout the duration of 2012, Macy's is projecting even larger profits for its underlying business operations. Even though Macy's has experienced success with both its assortments and brand, its competitors haven't faired so well. Sears, due in part to part to a lackluster holiday season, has been forced to close nearly 120 locations to generate excess liquidity in an effort to shore up its balance sheet (Isadora, 2011).Other competitors who cater specifically to the middle class consumer have also lost significant amounts of market share as consumers trade down due to the economy. Macy's, with its ride array of assortments and products continues to grow as it attempts to capture market share from failing competitors. Macy's is also unique as it operates in a unique market demographic. It is upscale, but not to the extent of Saks Fifth Avenue or a Nordstrom. It is also not as low scale as a JC Penny

a. What process elements do you believe are critical to ensure your organization understands the target market and its needs today and remains knowledgeable and informed about trends as your business grows and technology and market forces change the market? Are there specific tools (e.g. CRM, big data tools) that should be part of your firm’s toolkit? If so, explain what value they bring, how they fit into your process, and way they are worth the investment of time, money, and mind share during the critical startup phase.