...Urban Outfitters Continuing Case Study 4 Marketing a Business Felicia Lee Introduction to Business BUS 100 May 30, 2011 Abstract Marketing is a process which a company draws potential consumers/customers’ interest towards its goods and services. This process involves activities such as research, promotion, selling and distribution. Urban Outfitters, Inc caters to the exclusivity, uniqueness, and distinctiveness of fashion to maintain their customer shopping experience entertaining, while Wal-Mart is considered a big box store. Obtaining an understanding “why” shopping is entertainment and therapeutic to consumers. Explain why Sears or Wal-Mart cannot effectively create a trendy counterculture image? Counterculture is a way of life and set of attitudes opposed to or at variance with the prevailing social norm (Oxford Dictionaries, April 2010). A creation of a counterculture by Wal-Mart or Sears might not succeed because of different reasons that play a huge role in the marketing techniques or tactics used by Urban Outfitters, Inc. Urban Outfitters, Inc. utilizes niche marketing and exclusivity as their main marketing technique or tactic while Wal-Mart and Sears are considered as large scale American department stores located throughout the United States. Unlike Wal-Mart and Sears...
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...URBAN OUTFITTERS CASE STUDY 1 Urban Outfitters Case Study: Marketing a Business Bus105 March 7, 2010 URBAN OUTFITTERS CONTINUING CASE STUDY: 2 Urban Outfitters have created an image and market like no other. Urban outfitters has exceeded the normal niche size companies; they have hundreds of stores worldwide. Explain why Sears and Wal-Mart cannot effectively create a trendy counterculture image. In order to have a counterculture image, a company must cater to the culture and lifestyle of those people, especially among the young, who reject or oppose the dominant values and behavior of society. Most stores that have a counterculture image sell exclusive items. Wal-Mart and Sears are huge retail stores; they carry an abundance of each item and cater to everyone. If they became a counterculture image store, they would exclude too many people and risk having to close stores in certain areas. Could the big box stores sell merchandise identical to Urban Outfitters? Explain your answer. It wouldn’t be a wise decision for the big box stores (Wal-Mart, Target, JC Penney’s, etc...), to sell items identical to Urban Outfitters. Urban Outfitters originally catered to colleges and university students, and they choose store locations near those places. Most of these big box stores adjust to their changing market and are located on or near major highways. Even if...
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...Urban Outfitters Continuing Case Study Part 4: Marketing a Business Introduction to Business – BUS 100 November 22, 2010 Abstract Urban Outfitters is a continuing case study that describes the basic components of the marketing process (product, promotion, pricing, and distribution). This assignment gives insight into several companies marketing strategies that businesses use to excel in customer service and satisfaction with their product(s) and or services. The study specifically addressed four questions regarding counterculture image, big box stores, exclusivity and the enjoyment of shopping. The study’s hypothesis was that a business must complete an external analysis in order to determine what changes are taking place in their city, county, state, country and around the world that could potentially impact its business? Also, it’s important to find out want and how they make their final purchase decisions. A company must be able to determine their potential, weaknesses, opportunities, and competition. Explain why Sears or Wal-mart cannot effectively create a trendy counterculture image. One reason as to why Sears or Wal-mart cannot effectively create a trendy counterculture image is because it would completely go against the general norm. This image normally targets a specific group of people. Wal-mart’s main focus is to help customers save money, which will hopefully result in them living better. Before opening Wal-mart...
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...Urban Outfitters Continuing Case Study: Marketing a Business Robyn Miller Professor Marietta Lewis Business 100 August 28, 2011 Urban Outfitters Continuing Case Study: Marketing a Business 1. Explain why Sears or Wal-mart cannot effectively create a trendy counterculture image. Sears or Wal-Mart cannot effectively create a trendy counterculture image because Wal-Mart, for instance, operates on a high volume low profit margin and Sears operates on a high profit margin. The only way this can be done is to have the products mass produced which make it impossible to be either trendy or counterculture. To be trendy counterculture is to be unique when going against other retailers. Sears on the other hand are higher priced but still mass produced items which they think will appeal to the general public. Neither Sears nor Wal-mart can make the changes that would be needed to adopt the image. If they do, they would risk turning off their existing customer base. Lastly, the extensive product selection does not lend itself to the image. Furthermore, the best either of these could do is create a mini-shop, given the current brand image, the trendy image may be a hard sell for "trendy" customers, that may be the target. 2. Could the big box stores sell merchandise identical to Urban Outfitters? Explain your answer. Yes and no. Yes the big box stores can purchase the items that are sold at Urban Outfitters and place the products on the shelves. These stores are trying to modernize...
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...Urban Outfitters Continuing Case Study Part 4: Marketing a business Introduction to Business – BUS100001041 Christopher Bell Instructor: Professor McNeil Strayer University December 1, 2010 Urban Outfitters Continuing Case Study Part 4: Marketing a business Explain why Sears or Wal-mart cannot effectively create a trendy counterculture image. Businesses such as Wal-mart or Sears are built around serving the most products to as many customers possible. Let’s start with Wal-mart. In 2010, Wal-mart served customers more than 200 million times a week at more than 8,600 stores around the world. You may recall hearing several mission statements in the many years of Wal-mart business. In early years Mr. Sam Walton was heard “To give ordinary folk the chance to buy the same thing as rich people.” This statement has evolved throughout the years into many slogans, but for most part they continue on with the same concepts. “Help people save money so they live better” and “Always low prices” are two more recent examples. Sears mission statement states “To grow our business by providing quality products and services at great value when and where our customers want them, and by building positive, lasting relationships with our customers.” If we look into the meaning of trendy counterculture the layers of the onion begin to peal back and we can get a better understanding of why these two giants are unable to capture that market. Trendy relates...
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...Urban Outfitters Continuing Case Study: Marketing a Business 1. Explain why Sears or Wall-mart cannot effectively create a trendy counterculture image. Sears and Wal-Mart do not solely devote time to the fashion business. They sell clothes because it is a necessity everyone has and to make money. That is their main goal. In doing so, they are like a high school teenager. They see a fashion trend in the magazine or in their case, big corporation see what the leading fashion industries are buying and follow suit. Then they mass produce that look, using cheap materials and most of the time the craftsmanship is poor. People interested in being trendy want to make a statement about who they are and are out and be different. The clothes sold at Sears and Wal-Mart is available to everyone and is not in any way unique. 2. Could the big box stores sell merchandise identical to Urban Outfitters? Explain your answer. Wal-Mart and Sears are unable to sell merchandise identical to Urban Outfitters because they mass produce there items and the clothes are often poorly made with low end quality material. They focus more on quantity instead of quality to meet the highest profitability. Urban Outfitters sell their merchandise for a higher price and sell a smaller amount of items to turn a profit; Sears and Wal-Mart must sell a significant amount more to make the same profitability. Also, Urban Outfitters makes sure they have the current trends, Sears and Wal-Mart stores are...
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...Urban Outfitters Continuing Case Study: Marketing a Business Jason A. Knight August 21st, 2011 Professor A. Garabedian 1. Explain why Sears or Wal-mart cannot effectively create a trendy counterculture image. Urban Outfitters can be credited for successfully creating a trendy counterculture image. They have been able to do this by targeting specific markets in key areas and locations, offering exclusivity, and promoting a certain lifestyle. Sears and Wal-mart have both established themselves as being highly successful and profitable business chains. However, even though these large chains have established themselves as strong contenders in the retail market Sears and Wal-mart cannot effectively create a trendy counterculture image. Sears and Wal-mart lack the ability to offer exclusivity and the ability to target specific markets. Both chains are just simply too large. Even though there are Urban Outfitters locations worldwide they still manage to offer a very specific selection of items on a small scale to accommodate the social and socioeconomic demographics of the area in which they are located. You can find a sears or Wal-mart in virtually every state in the U.S. and find the exact same broad range of products. There is really no differentiation, nothing that sets the stores apart. Literally just anyone has the ability to shop in these places and offering such a broad range of products, including groceries, clothing, and electronics attracts a wider range of people...
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...BUS100096VA016-1118-001 Assignment #1: Urban Outfitters Continuing Case Study Part 2: Creating a Business 1. Setting up a business can be a very challenging job. Having a beautiful dream thinking about the business while sitting in your nice office with all the amenities is not enough. It is great to have an idea, but you have to make that idea work. There are lots of challenges that face their owners when setting up a business. It could take years for a business to produce enough profits for the owners to be able to enjoy. Most businesses start small and in time, with experience, goodwill, and success, they can grow into bigger businesses. Here are three challenges that new business face: ➢ Idea/Concept: Many entrepreneurs face risks to create their own business because they do not have the right idea or concept. Sometime ideas and concepts are good but if customers will not buy what they are offering, the business will fail. Richard Hayne and his wife Judy along with an old college roommate, Scott Belair had a great idea. They wanted to open a small shop filled with unique objects that they could sell. The basically sold used second hand clothes, bohemian knickknacks, and “found objects”. Their customers would come for the unique “found objects” and were willing to pay what they were being sold for. Entrepreneurs- people who risk their time, money and other resources to start and manage business-business basics chapter 1 page 3 ...
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...Urban Outfitters Continuing Case Study Part 4: Marketing a Business 1. Explain why Sears or Wal-Mart cannot effectively create a trendy counterculture image. Wal-mart and Sears in large part created the idea and foundation for the thinking of bigger is better. How can they try and cater to the little man or sub-culture when they are the very corporation that killed the little man. The basic principles of a sub-culture are to go against the “norm”, and Wal-mart is one of the largest examples of the corporation normalcy. Therefore, the reasons above would be by answer to why they cannot effectively create a trendy counterculture image. 2. Could the big box stores sell merchandise identical to Urban Outfitters? Explain your answer. Of course they do in my opinion! Big box stores always take a look at what the market around them is selling best and most of (the trends), anything from clothing to kid’s toys or apparel or even house hold items. The big box store creates a cheaper, less quality product that they mass produce for less. For example, the latest fad for children even young adults is “silly bandz” (rubber bracelets that pop back to their original shape when you take them off, they have animal shaped ones, Disney themes, etc..). Now you see them everywhere but they are called something slightly different from the original brand and are most likely made of cheaper rubber as well and sell for less. Thus in my opinion how the big box stores cater to the “middle...
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...Urban Outfitters Continuing Case Study: Creating a Business Steve Jobs Introduction to Business Professor Mariatta Lewis July 31, 2011 Urban Outfitters Continuing Case Study: Creating a Business Starting a business can be very challenging. There’s always a positive and negative side to it and it’s not always easy. Entrepreneurs and business owners will always over come different challenges when setting up a business. Finances, location, and finding a good staff is all linked together but can be challenging when opening up a business. Finances have a big part to opening up a business. You will have to find the right lender and see who has the best interest rates for business loans. For example, if I was to start up my own restaurant I will need money to buy or rent a facility, buy restaurant equipment, or buying the food. First I will have to sit down and set up a business plan and see what is within my budget. If the bank qualifies you for a $100,000 loan you know that is your budget. Figure out what you need to get for the business, find the location, and hiring a staff. A good way to budget is find stores that sell cheap items and buy things in bulk. Budgeting money can be very challenging because when you have that large lump sum it’s easy to just buy whatever you see. So as a new business owner plan out what you need for the business and budget the money you got. Finding a location can be very challenging. Explore your options to see if it...
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...Urban Outfitters Continuing Case Study: Creating a Business Introduction to Business Prof. Maria Gambuzza Urban Outfitters Continuing Case Study: Creating a Business 1. Identify at least three challenges when setting up a business. Explain why they are challenges. One of the challenges when setting up a business is about finance. First and foremost, business needs to determine the startup cost. To be able to do that, they must identify all the expenses their business will encounter during their startup phase. The expenses will be either one-time cost, such as business license fee or going costs, such as leasing cost, supplies, etc… After that phase, business needs to find their capital sources. If they don’t have their own savings or can’t borrow money from friends or family, their option will be getting loan from banks. In the early state of the business, their inexperience “in financial matters often prompts banks to deny loan requests”. (1) Business owner needs to well prepare and organize to prove to their lender that they are the bank’s good investment. The other challenge is experience and skills. Many people are first time business owners who are inexperience and lack of skills. Some start a business because they see people doing successfully and think they can do the same. However, running a business smoothly and successfully requires owners to have skills and experience in all perspective of the business, including accounting, marketing, etc. The third...
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...A study on the franchising opportunities and the barriers to it in Pakistan A Proposal Submitted by: Faizan mujtaba malik TP027822 BA (hons).International Business Management In Partial fulfilment of requirements of the programme Bachelors of Arts in International Business Management Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation 06-11-2013 Abstract Recently countries over the world have been in a very fast economic development race with the most modern and appropriate strategies and technologies. However, franchising has been of the most successful and useful strategies that helped in the development and improvement of countries. On the other hand Pakistan is one of the developing countries that suffer from the lack of such strategies and technologies that would play the role in the economic development of the country. This report provides an overview of franchising strategy with its advantages and drawbacks. Moreover the report is about the market in Pakistan and provides a much clear image of the environmental factors and current situation in the country. The aim of research is to study the opportunities of franchising in Pakistan as well as the challenges that organizations face in the market of Pakistan specially in franchising. The research focuses on the environmental factors, political and social and cultural factors and its impact on the franchising market in Pakistan. The report also focuses on how technology and infrastructure can...
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...The Second Hand Industry; does it hold a Sustainable Future FTMG20295 N0300561 Catherine Mellor Word Count: 5471 CONTENTS PAGE Abstract i List of Figures/Illustrations ii 1.0 Introduction Page 3. 1.1 Background Page 3 - 4. 1.2 The UK High street Page 4. 1.3 The UK economy Page 4. 1.4 Rationale Page 4, 5. 1.5 Hypothesis Page 5. 2.0 Methodology Page 5. 2.1 Research Methodology Page 5. 2.2 Secondary Research Page 5. 2.3 Primary Research Page 5 -6. 2.4 Aims and Objectives Page 6. 2.5 Beneficiaries...
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...markets—creating a localized U.S. brand instead of an imported Chinese brand. We see an opportunity to compete against established, slow moving companies there by being more customer-focused than they are. To win over those customers we have two approaches—speed and differentiation. — Zhang Ruimin, CEO Haier Group1 The Haier Group was one of China’s most accomplished and important companies, with estimated global sales in 2007 of $16 billion. Founded in 1984 as the Qingdao Refrigerator Company, the original company was a collectively owned enterprise in the same northeast coastal municipality that produced the popular Tsingtao beer. Haier became a conglomerate electrical home appliance and consumer electronic products company. Its core business was white goods—refrigerators and freezers, ranges, and microwave ovens, dishwashers, and washing machines and dryers—and room air conditioners. Later, it diversified into mobile telephones, television receivers, personal computers, and even financial services and pharmaceuticals. Overall it produced 96 different product lines comprising 15,100 different product specifications. It employed over 35,000 people worldwide. Haier was one of the world’s seven biggest home appliance makers—along with LG (Goldstar) Group and Matsushita headquartered in Asia; Whirlpool and GE in America; and Electrolux and Bosch-Siemens in Europe. Haier was widely regarded as China’s “Most...
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... Manfred Krafft ´ Murali K. Mantrala (Editors) Retailing in the 21st Century Current and Future Trends With 79 Figures and 32 Tables 12 Professor Dr. Manfred Krafft University of Muenster Institute of Marketing Am Stadtgraben 13±15 48143 Muenster Germany mkrafft@uni-muenster.de Professor Murali K. Mantrala, PhD University of Missouri ± Columbia College of Business 438 Cornell Hall Columbia, MO 65211 USA mantralam@missouri.edu ISBN-10 3-540-28399-4 Springer Berlin Heidelberg New York ISBN-13 978-3-540-28399-7 Springer Berlin Heidelberg New York Cataloging-in-Publication Data Library of Congress Control Number: 2005932316 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilm or in any other way, and storage in data banks. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the German Copyright Law of September 9, 1965, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer-Verlag. Violations are liable for prosecution under the German Copyright Law. Springer is a part of Springer Science+Business Media springeronline.com ° Springer Berlin ´ Heidelberg 2006 Printed in Germany The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific...
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