Target Audiences

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.

Forever 21: a few facts

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.