Target Market Segmentation Research Paper-Gap Inc.

Founded in 1969 by Donald Fisher and Doris Fisher, Gap Inc is largest clothing and accessories retailer in America. The clothing store began in San Francisco California, where the Fishers opened their first shop because they had been frustrated with the poor service and clothing styles offered at other retailers. The store was named the gap because it supplied clothing to teenagers and college students, the "generation gap" between children and adults.

All across America, in towns metropolitan and suburban, you will probably be able to hunt down a Target. Identifiable by its glowing red bullseye logo, Targets normally sprawl across city streets, and stand anywhere from 1-5 stories tall. Out of the many superstores consumers these days have to choose from, I chose to review Target.

Old Navy is a brand owned by Gap, Inc. As a whole, Gap’s purpose is “to make it easy for you to express your personal style throughout your life” (www.gapinc.com). The culture of Gap, Inc is governed by their key values: integrity, respect, open-mindedness, quality and balance. One way Gap achieves their purpose is through one of their four brands, Old Navy. The brand is known for offering on-trend apparel and accessories at great value. Old Navy's mission is to

A company called YuMe Inc. has recently surveyed over 5,000 consumers to “understand how cultural, environmental and life events influence purchase behavior, media viewing habits, device preferences and the impact on consumer marketing.” In that research they were able to segment millennials which made then realize that “by segmenting into different consumer models, companies can focus on the individuals who actually show interest in their product”. This is great for companies in choosing which approach to take when trying to reach these millennials. The results in sales become greater because the reach to a certain segment becomes more accurate. According to Mike Randazzo’s article “What Influences and drives millennial purchasing behaviors” Randazzo found that “while there are common characteristics that define the entire generation, there are more depth and nuance to the audience that advertisers should be aware of in order to influence this segment and drive high engagement.” This shows that if advertisers begin to lump a generation, in particular the millennial generation, into one segment the results will be

Old Navy’s history goes right where The Gap, Inc. was founded by Donald.G in 1969. Fisher, who founded his own clothing store out of frustration, when he couldn’t find a pair of jeans that would perfectly fit him. And since that time, The Gap’s retail clothing brand has been one of the most successful in United States history. Before Donald Fisher launched the first Gap store in San Francisco, he had been a prosperous real estate developer. It is fair to say, that Fisher’s first store was an immediate sensation. Young adults from the neighbouring San Francisco have flown to the stores to get low-priced jeans. And in just a few short years, the first Gap store became a huge retail chain composed of 200 stores, in over 20 states, and valued at an estimated $100 million dollars. By the late 1970s, GAP was growing at a rate of almost 80 new stores each year and generating about $300 million annually, which worth mentioning is a lot of money that days. In 1983, Millard Drexler was put in a position of a president of the company and was expected to lead the company into another decade of phenomenal growth. Dexter was a former president of another

Gap is an apparel retail company which was founded in 1969 by Donald Fisher and Doris F. Fisher and their headquartered is located in San Francisco, California. They are one of the closest competitor in international level. They offer most of their product all over the country, they have 3,700 stores worldwide. Gap product are personal care products for men, women and child who are under five. They were able to grow their brand through expansion, geographic and brand wise. Gap also have different niches of clothing brands under its name which are Old Navy, Banana Republic, Piperlime, Athleta and Intermix. Gap Inc. All of their product are available in company website and their owned store. The process to launch any kind of new lines of clothing involves an 9-month period of centralized planning, production and marketing which is responsible for member of elite fashion designer and corporate executives. Gap manufactured all most all of their product in third country which save them lots of money in labor cost because labor cost in those kind of country is relatively cheap. They have also continuing expanding their business internationally by opening more stores. Gap does aggressive advertising about their product to their potential customer

Market segmentation is usually regarded as one of the main elements of marketing, with benefit segmentation commonly referred to as the most meaningful form of segmentation. Even though the importance of segmentation is broadly accepted, limited research, do exist about cosmetic medical products (Mohr, Sengupta, & Slater 2010, 79). There are very few real examples of segmentation studies available. This article has focused on Johnson and Johnson products marketing strategy globally. The spread of global culture is normally facilitated by the rise of global capitalism, the proliferation of transitional corporations, homogenization of global consumption, and widespread aspiration for material possessions. International market researchers have discussed the breadth of convergence of cultural values across countries.

Gap Inc. is a global apparel retail company. They offer accessories, apparel, and personal care products for men, women and children. Their brands include Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Intermix, Athleta, and Piperlime (however they decided in January 2015 to close the Piperlime brand). Gap Inc. has company-operated stores in the US, Canada, the UK, France, Ireland, Japan, Italy, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, and franchise agreements with unaffiliated franchisees to operate Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy stores throughout Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa (Gap Inc. 1). By the ranking of revenue, Gap’s top eight major competitors include TJX Companies, Nordstroms, Ross Stores,

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.

The fashion industry is a multibillion dollar industry and caters to the demand in the style of clothes depending on the trend and is always evolving and changing. The luxury fashion industry caters to wealthy and affluent customers, whereas premium fashion companies cater to people within the middle income to upper middle income range. The price ranges of fashionable products are higher than regular common apparels, where premium fashion products are higher priced and luxury fashion products are the most expensive. There are many popular luxury and premium fashion companies, which have been marketing and retailing fashion products for a very long time. Hugo Boss is one of those companies that caters to both the premium markets and luxury markets and the brand has become recognizable due to its collections of men’s suits.

Market segmentation is the division of a market into different groups of customers with distinctly similar needs and products or service requirements (Croft, 1994). Its major purpose is to pull scarce resources and ensure that the elements of the marketing mix, price, distribution trends, products and promotion are premeditated to satisfy the particular needs of the different customer groups. City Grill’s main approaches to market segmentation, could include using the breakdown method where they can view the market as to consist of consumers who are in essence the same, having similar tastes, and so forth. Their duty could only be to identify groups which share particular differences. Alternatively they

The Gap Inc 1. Case Summary The Gap, Inc is a chain of retail stores that sell casual apparel, shoes, and accessories for men, woman and children. Headquarter in San Francisco; the stores operate under a variety of names including: Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy Clothing Company, Gap Kids, and baby Gap. All merchandise sold by chain is private label.

Gap, whose headquarters is located in San Francisco, California was found in 1969. It is the biggest specialty retailer in the United States (2016). There are five primary divisions which are The Namesake Banner, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Intermix, and Athleta operated by Gap company. According to Gap’s website, the company has about 135,000 employees and owns 3,727 stores throughout the world in September 2008. Approximately two thirds of the stores are located in the United States. The main product of the Gap company are clothes, accessories for men, women, children and babies (2016).

The Gap began as a single store in San Francisco in 1969 managed by Donald and Doris Fisher. At first the only items sold were Blue Jeans and records; which at the time was becoming part of Americans standard wardrobes. Most importantly Mr. Fisher emphasized great prices and a good fitting jean compared to Levi Strauss & Co. As the years went by Gap Inc. began to sell more than just blue jean; specializing themselves in products for men, women, and children. The company prides themselves in casual-style and urban chic clothing which is commonly associated as American classic wear. The product line features a wide variety of casual apparel such as denim, khakis, and T-shirts; footwear, personal care products, accessories and fashion apparel. Today the company constitutes of five main brands in the marketplace: Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Athleta, Intermix, and Piperlime. Gap Inc. is a widely recognized brand with a strong recognition in North America as well as breaking into the retail scene in major cities all around the world; currently operating 3,280 stores combined. The mission statement of The Gap stores is: “Gap Inc. is a brand-builder. We create emotional connections with customers around the world through inspiring product design, unique store experiences, and compelling marketing.”

We will be targeting a consumer market. Pop Tarts are a product that should be able to show up in stores across South Korea. The average disposable income per capita is 18,035 USD a year. While this is not necessarily high by any means, South Korea does have the 12th largest economy in the world (“Korea Life Index,” 2015). Within the consumer market, there are several target markets that we could go for in South Korea. What would seem to be the most obvious would be children, ages 5-12. This is the main target market for Pop Tarts in the United States. One might think that this would be the route one would want to go. In the United States, Pop Tarts are often advertised using silly and cute cartoon commercials and use endorsements, such as Disney Channel or Nickelodeon stars, that would appeal to younger children. While this style could possibly work in South Korea, I feel that it would not be the best way to go about making Pop Tarts popular.