Module 1 – Case

INTRODUCTION TO AND FUNDAMENTALS OF STRATEGIC MARKETING

Questions/Tasks

Assume that you are the newly appointed Marketing Manager for either Forever 21 or Tommy Stores. To quickly bring you up to speed on your retailer, your VP of Marketing has asked you to prepare a short report that answers the following question.

What is the target market for Forever 21®? Defend your answer.

Or

What is the target market for Tommy Boutiques? Defend your answer.

The Situation

Tommy Hillfinger^® is responding to (1) the current recession and (2) inroads by competitors bynarrowing its (1) target market, (2) product assortment, (3) promotion, (4) distribution (opening Tommy Boutiques), and (5) pricing.

Forever 21^® is responding to (1) the current recession and (2) inroads by competitors by wideningits (1) target market, (2) product assortment (making its clothes to fit regular sized (rather than just skinny) folks, and (3) distribution (opening stores in Sears).

Expectations

Hint: In Case 01, you are to define the target market for either Tommy Boutiques OR Forever 21.

From Introduction1 and Background1, you should learn that a market is

(1) prospective customers
(2) with willingness to spend, and
(3) ability to spend

Lots of companies(business buyers)/people with little or no willilngness or ability to spend, does not for a market make. And few companies/people with willingness to spend and ability to spend does not for a market make.

In terms of a good market, you should look at the numbers of prospective customers, their willingness to spend, and ability to spend at the same time you look at the type and number of existing competitors and/or type and number of ppossible competitors in the near future.

Considering what constitutes a good target market; your job is to use and reference the case-related readings and the background material to describe the target market for the product/store you chose to analyze and, from a product demand point of view, to explain why that strategy will or will not be successful.

In preparing your CASE1

1. You need to consider the ways in which the market for clothing is segmented. The key to building a case for or against what your company is doing, you should present the market struture for clothing how the market for clothing is segmented, the target markets served, and who competes in those markets.
   Is the buyer/wearer:
   • A Man vs Woman
   • A child vs adult
   • Big vs small
   • Short vs tall
   • Need Slim vs regular vs husky
   • Need Pleats vs no pleats

   Does the buyer want cotton, wool, blend, polyester, microfiber?

   In terms of price points:
   1. Is there any competition at the low end?
   2. Is there any competition at the mid range?
   3. Is there any competition at the high end?

2. If you define the target market based on demographic, socio-psychographic, and/or geographic factors; be careful to cite substantial differences in behavior (clothing chosen) of shoppers by age, income, gender, marital status, and family life style. If you don’t define the target market based on demographic, socio-psychographic, and/or geographic factors; you need to explain why those factors are not applicable for sellers of clothing.
3. Also, in terms of your defining the target market to be a ‘good market,’ you need to consider the ease with which competitors can duplicate products, method and content of promotion, and prices.

Note that this assignment does NOT require you to prepare a detailed essay. Instead use section headings for each of the topics you address in your paper followed by a discussion of each of those topics. Possible section/topic headings are:

Introduce the issue – what product/strore are you analyzing, what are the problems that clothing stores faces?

1. Analyze the issue: Possible Target Markets
2. Evaluate the Alternatives: Most likely Target Market
3. Come to a Conclusion: Target Market – defense of position

In terms of your defense, you need to consider the confusion, if any, there might between the current buyers and future buyers. Will there be enough of a difference between existing stores and the planned stores so that buyers know and see that difference?

Case Readings

These readings are an array of articles devoted to different ways marketers segment and target opportunities for developing customers.

Banjo, Shelly (2010). Forever 21 to Fifth, But it’s temporary. Wall Street Journal.(November 20). Available March 8, 2013 via ProQuest

Dibb, S. (2001). Marketing planning best practice: Abstract. The Marketing Review 2:4 (December):441-59.

Available March 8, 2013 at 
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/westburn/tmr/2001/00000002/00000004/art00005

Fassnacht, Michael (2009). The death of consumer segmentation? Rethinking a traditional marketing tool. Advertising Age.(April 23). Available March 8, 2013 at

http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/death-consumer-segmentation/135961/.

Dodes, Rachel (2010). Levi aims for high-end halo. Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition, April 14).

Available March 8, 2013 via ProQuest

Greenberg, Karl (2010). Macy’s presents self as tourist destination. Marketing Daily (May 10).
Available March 8, 2013 at
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/127829/

Grubb, Edward L & Grathwohl, Harrison L (1967). Consumer self-concept, symbolism and marketing behavior: A theoretical approach. Journal of Marketing. 31:4(October):22-8. Available March 8, 2013 via ProQuest.

Harden, Mark (2011) Sports Authority launching new store brand. Denver Business Journal.(August 18).

Available March 8, 2013 at
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2010/05/10/daily36.html?s=industry&i=retailing_restaurants

Herman, Valli (2010). Trends: Kept out of the club; Why the fashion world caters to the slim and shuns the full-figured majority. Los Angeles Times. (October 24):P1. Available March 8, 2013 via ProQuest

Elizabeth Holmes, Elizabeth (2010). Talbots politely shows granny the door. Wall Street Journal(Eastern edition, April 12):B1. Available March 8, 2013 via ProQuest

Irwin, Tanya (2010). Among gen Y affluents: Chanel, BMW top brands. Marketing Daily (May 5).

Available December 2, 2012 at
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/127529/#axzz2DvaorsQe

Ives, Nat (2009). A decade of evaporating ad pages for BusinessWeek, Forbes, Fortune: Three top business-news books now split a much smaller pie. Advertising Age (July 14). Available March 8, 2013 via EBSCO.

Kaplan, David (2010). Fit for local tastes: National chains like Macy’s are finding it pays off to be less uniform by tailoring their merchandize for each area. Houston Chronicle (October 23. Available March 8, 2013 at:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/7260539.html

Lee, Edmund (2010). FTC reviews complaint about online marketers’ targeting practices: Privacy groups aim to attract attention of two incoming commissioners. Advertising Age (April 8). Available March 8, 2013 via EBSCO

Lockwood, Lisa (2010), Hilfiger targets younger consumer with Tommy Stores. WWD: Women’s Wear Daily (October 22). Available March 8, 2013 via EBSCO.

Mahoney, Sarah (2010). Gens X/Y, rich households hike private-label sales. Marketing Daily (May 6).

Available March 8, 2013 at

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/127527/#axzz2DvaorsQe

Marsh, Ann (2009). How to market in a downturn. Bnet.com. CBS Interactive Inc.
Available March 8, 2013 at:
http://www.bnet.com/2403-13237_23-322730.html?tag=content;col 1

Rainey, James. (2010). New life for Jewish journal. Los Angeles Times (May 12):D1. 
Available March 8, 2013 via ProQuest

Reda, Susan (2010,). Guess what? Men shop too! And retailers are paying attention. Stores (April).

Available March 8, 2013 at
http://www.stores.org/stores-magazine-april-2010/
guess-what-men-shop-too

Reda, Susan (2010). When they’re 65. Stores (April). Available March 8, 2013 at
http://www.stores.org/stores-trends-april-8-2010/when-they%E2%80%99re-65

Sheth, Niraj & Cheng, Roger (2010). As growth slows, phone rivals start dialing up prepaid services . Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition, May 14):B1. Available March 8, 2013 via Proquest

Spencer, Mimosa & Passariello, Christina (2010). Hermes sales underline luxury-goods revival.Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition, May 7):B6. Available March 8, 2013 via ProQuest

Talley, Karen (2010), Sears seeks trendier ‘vibe’ with Forever 21. Wall Street Journal. 256:70(October 22):184. 
Available March 8, 2013 via ProQuest

Tschorn, Adam (2010) TRENDS; Really? $200 Dockers?; The ubiquitous brand is hardly casual about its bid for high-end business, hoping to wean consumers away from denim. Los Angeles Times (April 11):5. Available March 8, 2013 via ProQuest