Target Market.

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When you are trying to open up a retail store, you have to determine a target market. You need to know who will buy your product and use it and enjoy it. You can do this by determining the demographics, which are Age, Gender, Income, Education level, and what this person does for free time. You can also determine your target markets by doing surveys like the VALS. This separates your target market even further. It helps you determine how a person shops for certain things, if they are brand loyal, or impulse buying.

When doing the VALS survey, the results told me that I was an achiever and secondary an experiencer. After reading in the book, an achiever is involved in buying certain products and is a leading target for numerous products. I find this to be true. My secondary was the experiencer. The book describes this trait as fashion forward and describes the person who has impulse buying. This is true for me. I am always buying things just because they look cute, or are interesting without thinking about if I would use them.

When doing the target market in class for certain retailers, I thought we did the right target market. Our group had hot topic. When looking at the VALS diagram in the book, I believe that our person, Josh, would be a striver. He has an image he wants to keep. I feel that Josh watches a lot of TV and doesn’t read. I feel that our target market is for the strivers. He might not have good credit but he does care a lot about his image.

Source:

Levy, M, & Weitz, B (2009). Retailing Management.New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

How did NY and Company get here?

In 1918, Samuel A. Lerner and Harold M. Lane opened up a blouse shop in New York City. They thought they were doing good, so they expanded. They called the new store Lerner Shops. Lerner shops then expanded and in 1985 Limited Inc bought all 798 stores and when Limited Inc sold them, the new stores were called Lerner New York. Lerner New York then became New York and Company.

New York and Company is nationwide and has a revenue of $1.14 billion. Their headquaters is located in New York City, NY. They have over 550 stores all over. There are actually two here in Greensboro. I bet Samuel Lerner and Harold Lane would think their store would be a leading retailer in accessories. Their most major markets are in New York City, Houston, Atlanta, and Los Angelos. The collection for the fall was straight off the runway.

New York and Company have an assortment of apparel. The apparel is only for women. They have casual, wear to work, workout, denim, accessories, jewerly, handbags and initmates. A recent campaign ad indicated they were "Trendy Not Spendy" and "More Fash for Less Cash". New York and Company also helps out in the community and with charities. In September 2008, they sold pink lipgloss to help support Breast Cancer Research Foundation. In February 2009, They are selling signature red makeup bags for the American Heart Association.