So...pretty much everyone knows that when opening a business, location is the number one thing to consider.Location can make or break a business. Placing a fine dinning restaurant in the middle of a poverty stricken community probably isn't going be successful because the people who live near it cant afford to eat there and the people who can will not go there because of where it is located. That wasn't the best of examples but you get my gist.
I am a freshman college student and having stores near by is important to me because i would rather walk there than drive. I do have my car here but I'm a BROKE college student who doesn't want to spend the little bit of money i have on gas. On that note, I decided to analysis the location of a nearby store that I find myself entering at least once a week--Walgreen's. I attend UNCG and there is a Walgreen's on the corner of Spring Garden St. and Aycock St. There are many advantages and disadvantages of this Walgreen's.
Advantages include:
Location close to the campus
Variety
Only one nearby competitor(CVS)
Disadvantages include:
It is a long walk from my dorm!
The prices
Traffic at the intersection
This Walgreen's obviously has a high amount of pedestrian traffic because there are so many college students who are just like me; we don't want to drive. (Actually, we must park our cars so far away from our dorms that by the time we get to our cars, we might as well continue walking because we would more then half way there!) With such a large amount of their customer's being pedestrians, parking isn't a problem. Even when I do drive I don't have any problem parking. Is this a good location? Yes I believe it is. It is extremely convenient to the students of UNCG and convenience is always great (at least to me, it is).
Recently, Many retailers have declared bankruptcy and/or are shutting down stores. Circuit City, Linen's and Things, Club Libby Lu, and Goody's are just a few retailers who have declared bankruptcy and are closing down stores. Why have these retailers failed?
Club Libby Lu is a place for young girls, ages 6-12, where they can get all dressed up as Disney princesses, Hannah Montana, or other characters. The girls are also given makeup and/or temporary tattoo's to put on. Sometimes, the girls would put on a show (singing) outside of the store and all around the mall. Libby Lu was bought by Saks Inc. in 2003 but was found to be non-profitable and all stores have been shut down but why? The prices in this place were extremely high; too high for mommy to take her daughter and daughters friendsin such a crappy economy.
Im sure most of you have heard of Circuit City. Its an electronic store. They have (or should i say had)your flat screen televisions, laptop, digital cameras, etc.Circuit City was the second top electronic retailer so how is it possible that such a retailer has filed bankruptcy? Well, Circuit City attempted to compete with Walmart and obviously, Circuit City lost. ANYONE WHO TRIES TO COMPETE WITH WALMART WILL LOSE!
Target audience is something all retailers should be aware of. Not every retailer can target every audience; its just impossible. I am going to be researching some retailers to find out what their target audience is and whether not the target audience chose is the best choice.
A target audience can be decided with many combination's. The target audience can be based on age, gender, occupation, marital status, whether or not you have children, home value, and the location at which you live. There are so many more but those are just a few i could think of myself.
I recently took the VALS survey. VALS is a website that attempts to explain the psychology of markets. Everyone falls under one of or a mix of the following 8 groups: innovators, thinkers, believers, achievers, strivers, experiencers, makers, and survivors. Innovators enjoy the finer things in life.Thinkers are conservative and practical consumers. Believers are predictable and tend to purchase the same things. Achievers favor prestige products. Strivers are as impulsive as their finances will let them be. Experiencers spend a large portion of their income on fashion. Makers buy basic items. Survivors are cautious consumers. When I took the survey, I was told I am an achiever and an experiencer. I find this to be true. I do favor prestige items. Id much rather have the name brand than the off brand that looks exactly the same. I do spend a large portion of my money on clothing but that's just because i have nothing else to spend it on. I don't have bills or children so I just spend my money on me.I do believe the VALS system works so if someone is ever opening a brand new retailer, this system may be something to refer to figure out who they want to be their target audience.
As i stated in my previous post, Forever 21 is my favorite retailer for the following reasons:
Cheap but chic clothing
Getting to know the company through employment there
Up to date fashions
Convenience
Atmosphere
I was asked to gather facts about my favorite retailer so that is exactly what i am going to do. Forever 21 was founded in 1984 by a man named Don Chang and his wife,Jin Sook. The first ever store is located in Highland Park District of Los Angeles, California. the first store was actually named Fashion 21 and it still holds that name today. The store did extremely well within its first y, ear and eventually Mr.Chang began opening stores every 6 months. In 1989 the name of the store changed from Fashion 21 to Forever 21. In that same year, the 1st Forever 21 to be in a mall had its grand opening.
Forever 21 is no longer just an American store.By 2005, Forever 21 had 355 stores around the world. Forever 21 has two stores in Arab Emirates and one store in Singapore. Mr.Chang is thinking of expanding to South Korea, Russia, and the UK. There are also stores in China. The largest Forever 21 store is located in Pasadena, California. The store is 40,000 sq. ft. and consists of two levels.
The Forever 21 company consists of several brands.Forever 21, Forever XXI, For Love 21, and Gadzooks 21. Forever 21 bought out all 44 Rampage stores from Charlotte Russe. Forever 21 also bought all 150 Gadzooks stores in 2005. Forever 21 is a huge company I expect it will continue to grow.
My favorite retailer would definitely have to be Forever 21. I had never heard of Forever 21 until about 3 years ago (that was when my hometown got a Forever 21 store in the nearby mall).
I applied to work there and got the job. Working there and being able to get to know the store is one reason why it is my favorite retailer.I learned that each section is inspired by something or someone. I remember my first couple of months there, there were sections inspired by designers. There were once sections named after chocolate bars!
Since I did worked there and I know the store, it was extremely convenient to shop there.I would be cleaning and straightening the store and would always find something cute that i would want to try on and/or buy.Another reason Forever 21 is my favorite retailer is because the styles of clothing in the store is always up to date but sometimes too much close to the real thing but it obviously didn't bother me. New merchandise is constantly being put out on the sales floor and the floor set is easy to follow if you pay attention to the types of things that are in different sections.
I enjoy shopping at Forever 21 not just because they have the most up to date fashions but also because the mood of the store is usually set well. Forever 21 music is suppose to put the customer in a good mood. The idea is if there is good up beat music playing, customers are more likely to come in the store. I can tell this works because once, the CD player in our store was broken and we had no music and the store was completely dead. Last but not least, I love Forever 21 because of the prices! I can look like a million bucks without paying that much!
