Urban Outfitters Continuing Case Study: Marketing a Business
Explain why Sears or Wal-Mart cannot effectively create a trendy counterculture image.
Well, for one, Sears doesn't want to create a "trendy, counter-culture image." Appealing to the counter-culture will turn off their main customer base, which tends to be mostly the parents and grandparents of those who would appreciate a trendy, counter-culture image.
If Wal-Mart went to a trendier line, it would cost them some of their reputation as saving money and probably lose customers as they would go to shop wherever they can find the same items for less. Wal-Mart does sell some name brand clothing, like Miley Cyrus, Ocean Pacific. Additionally, Wal-Mart and Sears spend millions of dollars a year reinforcing their current brand image in people's minds. This makes it impossible to change consumer's perception of what they represent in anything less than 10 years, even if they wanted to. They don't want to for fear of losing the current core customers they have.
Could the big box stores sell merchandise identical to Urban Outfitters? Explain your answer.
Big box stores could try to do knock-offs of Urban Outfitters merchandise. However, it’s not likely that they would sell the exact same stuff as Urban Outfitters. This is because some of their merchandise is private label, produced by them for sale in their stores only, and the company would not allow that stuff to be sold in other stores. Also, Urban Outfitters sells labels that are edgy and they are selective about where they sell their stuff. This means that they probably wouldn’t do business with a chain like Sears or Wal-Mart. Lastly, if some of their merchandise showed up in Sears or Wal-Mart, Urban Outfitters would move onto designing different merchandise.
Identify at least three reasons why exclusivity is valuable.
Exclusivity is valuable because it puts your business at a competitive advantage; if you have the exclusive product, which means it is well known and well trusted and
Well, for one, Sears doesn't want to create a "trendy, counter-culture image." Appealing to the counter-culture will turn off their main customer base, which tends to be mostly the parents and grandparents of those who would appreciate a trendy, counter-culture image.
If Wal-Mart went to a trendier line, it would cost them some of their reputation as saving money and probably lose customers as they would go to shop wherever they can find the same items for less. Wal-Mart does sell some name brand clothing, like Miley Cyrus, Ocean Pacific. Additionally, Wal-Mart and Sears spend millions of dollars a year reinforcing their current brand image in people's minds. This makes it impossible to change consumer's perception of what they represent in anything less than 10 years, even if they wanted to. They don't want to for fear of losing the current core customers they have.
Could the big box stores sell merchandise identical to Urban Outfitters? Explain your answer.
Big box stores could try to do knock-offs of Urban Outfitters merchandise. However, it’s not likely that they would sell the exact same stuff as Urban Outfitters. This is because some of their merchandise is private label, produced by them for sale in their stores only, and the company would not allow that stuff to be sold in other stores. Also, Urban Outfitters sells labels that are edgy and they are selective about where they sell their stuff. This means that they probably wouldn’t do business with a chain like Sears or Wal-Mart. Lastly, if some of their merchandise showed up in Sears or Wal-Mart, Urban Outfitters would move onto designing different merchandise.
Identify at least three reasons why exclusivity is valuable.
Exclusivity is valuable because it puts your business at a competitive advantage; if you have the exclusive product, which means it is well known and well trusted and