Blog 5: Food Lion's Location

Food Lion is a very popular grocery store located all over the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. It prides its self on having very low prices for quality goods. They have an MVP customer car program so that customers save more. I visited two Food Lion's in Greensboro recently, one on Coliseum boulevard, and one on Market Street.

Both locations were in shopping centers with lower priced stores. The store on Market street shared a shopping center with a Marshall's, Dollar General, and also an ABC store. The store on Coliseum was located right across from a Family Dollar, a CVS, and an urban clothing store. The parking lots for both stores and what seemed like an infinite amount of parking which mad lots seem very empty. Because of all the parking though pedestrians were able to get spots closer to the store and it seemed easier to get in and out, even though only one entrance was accessible when I visited. The lots did not have very good upkeep, and there were stains and trash all over the parking lot along with the pavement being cracked.

I feel like these two locations work out well for Food Lion. Food Lion usually attracts customer that make less money, and even though the one on Market is across from a Harris Teeter, it definitely attracts a different target market. Because the shopping centers these stores are in include many off price retailers locations most likely have lower rent and upkeep which keeps prices down. These locations work because they are convenient for Food Lion's target market. The people who shop at the stores near Food Lion most likely shop in Food Lion too because they are all lower price retailers.

Blog 4: Steve & Barry's failure

Everyday when we turn around more and more stores are closing and filing for bankruptcy. Whats to blame? Is it the economy? The stores? Well I think its a little bit of everything. Steve and Barry's opened up about 20 years ago to appeal to the college crowd. They sold college wear for very cheap, usually under $10 a t-shirt. As they began to become more popular, they began to take on a new thing, regular clothing. They licensed brands by Sarah Jessica Parker and Amanda Bynes in pursuit of become more upscale an fashionable. The clothes in the store were never priced over $20, so they still had very cheap clothes.

It seems to me, that they bit off more than they could chew when they began selling regular clothing. It wasn't what people wanted from this store. The clothes that they sold were not all that great, and they were trying so hard to be an upscale store that they failed. They just were not strong enough to stick around in an economy thins bad. Maybe if they would have had some better advertising and display techniques they could've lasted. They should have just stuck to their original plans instead of trying to do everything extra big, and maybe they would still be around.

Sources:
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/business/34830124.html
http://arborweb.com/articles/steve___barry_s_closing.html
http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/11/18/steve-and-barrys-set-to-throw-in-the-towel/

Blog 3: VALS Survey

Before I took this survey, I never thought about what type of consumer I was or that it was so sophisticated. But after taking this survey, I learned a lot about my shopping habits, and I was able to think about and reflect on them. My primary category was experiencer and my secondary category was achiever.

My primary category being experiencer was 100% accurate. I am young as it says and very impulsive. I have made some of my best investments on impulse.I also love sports and social activities, and new possibilities. Also,I spend my income on the exact things it says in the description which is clothes, entertainment, and social activities. I also love to look good an have the best things before anybody else. I am also very enthusiastic and love fashion.

Some of the aspects of the achiever category do fit me but definitely not all of them. I'm not overly conservative or cautious, nor am i conventional. But I do value intimacy greatly and I am goal oriented. My life is centered around my family and my career, which is school right now. I also am busy and like to save time as it says achievers like to do, and image is important to me.

I definitely think it corresponds with our target market. We had Hot Topic and the entertainers category definitely fits the description for a Hot Topic shopper. Innovative, off-key and risky are definitely pictures I get into my head when thinking of someone who shops in this store. People who shop in this store do value entertainment and fashion, and they are also usually young.

Sources!

I forgot to post my source for blog 2!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria's_Secret#Basic_store_facts

Blog 2: Victoria's Secret History

Last week in my blog, I wrote about Victoria's Secret as my favorite retailer. So this week I am going to provide some history and extra information about this being my favorite retailer. This store was originally created for men who wanted to look for sexy lingerie outfits for their significant others with out having to feel embarrassed in department store lingerie sections. Roy Raymond, a Stanford graduate opened up the first store in San Francisco in 1977. He originally opened four stores and had a catalog. His stores were beneficial to men because of the helpful staff and the way the stores were decorated.

After five years of thriving business, he sold the stores to Limited Brands who still own some of the stock today.Much of the share in Victoria's Secret stores and Bath and Body Works now belongs to Sun Capital Partners. Now one of the top selling lingerie stores, Victoria's Secret sells sunderwear, sweatpants, make-up, fragrances, etc. They want to rid the stigma that all lingerie stores have, which is one that they are sleazy. Victoria's Secret has 1,003 lingerie stores in the United States and 100 beauty stores, and these stores gross $3.7 billion yearly. They use yearly fashion shows and beautiful models called Angels to make all of this money.

Blog 1: My Favorite Retailer

Out of all retailers, my favorite is definitely Victoria's Secret. I really like the aesthetics and feel of every Victoria's Secret I have been in. The stores are very well lit and the construction and feel of the stores are always comfortable. One reason i really like this store is because of the friendly and well trained staff. They are always very helpful and always offer to give you bag to help carry your stuff. They will also help fit you and they know about everything the store has to offer. Another reason I really like this store is because the merchandise is actually quality. Often times I really feel like I am paying for extremely low quality goods from other stores, but with Victoria's Secret I always feel like I am getting quality.

Another reason I really like this store is because of the sales. The sales last for long amounts of time and during these times you can get these high quality goods for extremely low prices which is an extremely smart way for them to make profits off of out of season goods. I also like this store because it is a specialty store and i can get a good variety of what I m looking for when going there. They offer lots of everything in their category which means i never get disappointed when going there looking for what i want. Lastly I like the services they offer. They are able to measure anyone and give them their sizes without any problem and they also offer extended sizes that aren't necessarily the most common sizes.