Blog 5: Walgreens

Walgreens, America's favorite drugstore. There seems to be one on every corner nowadays. Walgreens is a one-stop shop for all of your convenient needs whether it be snacks, makeup, personal hygiene items, getting photos developed, or just filling your prescription, Walgreens usually always has what you're looking for.
In Greensboro, NC there is a Walgreens on the corner of Spring Garden st. and Aycock along with a CVS right across the street. In my opinion, this gives Walgreens an advantage in sales because people that are turning or are coming from the right are more than likely going to go to Walgreens before CVS. Another tacktic used by Walgreens to increase sales is by saturating the market, by having a Walgreens every few blocks just as McDonald's and Starbucks practice. Other advantages for this store include the fact that it's less than a year old so it still looks brand new and very clean which can be an advantage over CVS since it's outdated. Also, since Walgreens is directly across the street from UNCG, students and pedestrian traffic is increased and people coming from UNCG will more than likely stop at Walgreens before CVS since it's closer.
A big disadvantage for this store would be that parking is such a pain. The parking lot is set up where you can't get out but one exit to turn a certain way so there is really only one exit for each road which could cause alot of congestion on busy days. Despite parking, this particular Walgreens is in a really good location that is within a busy intersection and in a good location for lots of pedestrian traffic.

Blog 4: Retailers who have failed

Growing up as a young girl in the late 90's, if you didn't shop at Claire's, you definitely weren't "cool". Claire's is like heaven for an eleven year old girl. Claire's sold a variety of items such as jewelry, purses, sunglasses, makeup, and even pierced ears. They also always had hip new gadgets that were looked upon as cool or cute such as colored face plates for cell phones and ipods, cool key chains, and colorful notebooks to take to school. When I recently heard that Claire's was closing a lot of their stores in 2009, it almost brought a tear to my eye. Not because I shop there now, but because it was the one store I went in every visit to the mall when I was in my tweens and teenage years. According to ShoppingBlog.com, Claire's is closing 119 of there 3,000 stores in 2009 due to filing bankruptcy twice in 2008. In my opinion, I think Claire's failed because in 2007 another company bought out Claire's and I don't think they had the proper training or knowledge to keep the business afloat obviously or they wouldn't have had to file bankruptcy the following year after they bought them. Retail Strategy is the key to building a successful business and keeping it afloat. One missing piece in the puzzle could cause your whole business to crash and burn. According to wikio.com, "As a result of the difficult retail operating environment and the current challenging economic conditions, the Company is currently assessing the recoverability of its goodwill and other intangible assets as well as its fixed assets and expects to record a material non-cash impairment charge for the quarter ended January 31, 2009. The size of the impairment charge will be determined after further analysis and finalized prior to the filing of the 2008 Annual Report on Form 10-K. Any such impairment charge would be non-cash, would not affect any of the terms of the Company's Credit Facility or Indenture agreements, and would not have any effect on our liquidity or cash flow."

http://news.prnewswire.com/ViewContent.aspx?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/02-27-2009/0004980022&EDATE=
http://www.shoppingblog.com

Blog 3: Target Audiences

If you are opening up your own business or company, it is important to have knowledge and understanding of your target audience. No matter what your ending goal is, the first step is to know your business and what you are offering. Once you know this you can target your audience and then tailor your offerings to meet their needs. Target audiences are usually determined by Age, Gender, Income, and Social structure but a more indept way to target audiences is by doing surveys to determine more about the customers personality. The VALS market segments are very accurate and that the survey is also very accurate. I read through each segment option and then took the survey and it was as if they hit the nail on the head. I was considered to be in the "Experiencers" target audience along with being an "Achiever" with a close second. I can definitely agree with that because I do like to dress trendy and be fashionable but I also have high expectations of myself along with very high career goals and strong family oriented characteristics. I think companies that use the VALS segment and profit can benefit a great deal from this because it gives them knowledge on their target consumers and helps them to decide what upcoming trends and fads their target audience is purchasing.
As for my group on Tuesday, we had Lane Bryant as our company and I don't think our target audience was what we had in mind. After reading about VALS, I think our consumer should have probably been older, between the ages of 28-45 , with a middle class income, plus size, and someone who isn't into the "latest trends" but still wants to have a sense of fashion without looking totally helpless.

Blog 2: Favorite Retailer Research

• Guess was founded in 1981 by four brothers, Georges, Armand, Paul, and Maurice Marciano. They were born in southern France and were influenced by the culture and style, which motivated them to move to California in 1977 to start their business. Guess was one of the first companies to create designer jeans which started out selling in department stores until they came out with their own store.
  

• The company has successfully granted licenses for the manufacture and distribution of many of its product categories, including kids & baby apparel, watches, footwear, belts, fragrance, jewelry, swimwear, handbags, small leather goods, eye wear, and leather apparel. GUESS? has licensees and distributors in Europe, South America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

• Guess has several different lines in their collection which include: GbyGuess, a lower priced line sold mainly through outlet stores and Marciano, up-scale runway inspired line. Guess' main competitors include Abercrombie and Fitch, Express, American Eagle, and Gap. As of January 2007, the Guess wholesale business was represented in over 940 doors in the United States. Guess has approximately 157 retail stores in the United States, including full-priced stores, factory stores and Guess Kids stores, and 51 stores in Canada. Guess also has approximately 236 international stores.

• Awareness is essential at GUESS?. The GUESS? Foundation was established in 1994 as an extension of the company's view of the need for philanthropy and of its sense of corporate responsibility. The scope of the nonprofit organizations it supports grows each year. The Guess foundation devotes attention for financial assistance, and is a benefactor to organizations that work in many areas, including those improving public education, assisting the homeless, and preserving and protecting the environment. The Guess foundation also supports disaster relief, as well as cancer and AIDS research and treatment, among others. Guess community outreach donates time, money, food, and Guess merchandise to help organizations that reach the needy in many communities.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guess_(clothing)
http://www.marciano.com/About.aspx

Blog 1: Favorite Retailer

Guess has been my favorite retailer since high school. Their style is always fashion forward, sexy, and fun. Their racy advertisements in the past have cost them lots of controversy but yet earned them a lot of awards too such as the Clio award. The main reason why I love Guess is because I always feel like they have styles that you don't find in everyday apparel stores. They rarely even have a plain shirt in their stores without having some kind of logo, zipper, unique tie, embellishment, or buttons that set it apart from the normal apparel stores.















The Marciano brothers founded Guess in 1981 and since then they have created multiple branches of the retailer. Guess: moderate prices, G by Guess: lower prices, popular among teenagers, and Marciano: high priced, runway inspired styles. I actually flew to New York last summer to visit the Marciano store in Soho. I think I purchased three things and the total was close to $500 so it's definitely pricey but I was definitely satisfied. Finally, I am in love with Guess purses. They're affordable and very stylish and usually come in every color so you're almost guaranteed to find one that will match your taste. Guess has also partnered with department stores such as Belk and Dillard's to sale their purses but the best deal of all is if you wait a few months, you can usually find that $100 Guess bag in a discounted department store such as T.J Max or Ross at a fraction of the cost!