They have a good variety of products to shop for. Wal-Mart has many competitors, but one of the strengths that the company has the ability to lower the prices for their customers need. Wal-Mart can be consider a unique store because of one special strategy that they have. The strategy consists of comparing the prices of the other stores, if the other store has an ad of a lower price than Wal-Mart, then they will give it to them to the same price. Many costumers is one of the plus that they give to Wal-Mart because this means that they don’t have to go store by store catching all the specials that they have.
Some products are sold under their own branded labels, but also carry name brand clothing as well from designers, some which are only exclusive and are not available in competitor’s stores, such as Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Rockport, DKNY, and Vera Wang. Another value added service that Moores has added to their stores is in-house tailoring to ensure that the newly purchased clothing items fit properly. Moores also has a rental side of the business, in which customers can rent tuxedos for formal occasions. The rental side appeals wedding and prom customers, as it is much cheaper for them to rent the products for the one day occasion than purchase and allow the whole party
External customers – Are most common in sales where a company sells a product to a customer. Three types of customers Loyal Customers- These types of customers are less in numbers but promote more sales and profit as compared to other customers as these are the ones which are completely satisfied. These customers revisit the organization over times hence it is crucial to interact and keep in touch with them on a regular basis and invest much time and effort with them. Loyal customers want individual attention and that demands polite and respectful responses from supplier. Discount Customers- Discount customers are also frequent visitors but they are only a part of business when offered with discounts on regular products and brands or they buy only low cost products.
Zara's efficient operating model results in a short product life cycle and is a key differentiator over other retailers. Zara performs the design process in house and produces a high variety of more than 10,000 designs, which allow Zara to mix and match items and sell products quickly to maintain higher gross margins than other retailers. Zara also conducts low pre-season inventory purchases, which allows them to be flexible and supply inventory based on current consumer demand rather than projected consumer trends. Furthermore, Zara automatically places orders in response to current fashion trends, and its tight controls over their distribution process are very accurate and effective for Zara to differentiate themselves from other competitors. To conclude, Zara's effective control and flexibility over most steps in the supply chain differentiates them in the marketplace.
What is the key factor that makes Lush successful in the UK? Introduction Lush is a cosmetics retailer in the United Kingdom which manufactures and sells products related to cosmetics. It is known for its handmade pattern as well as the use of fresh ingredients. At first, Lush was only a small store set up in Poole, England in the 1970s, but it soon developed into one of the most successful UK companies in decades. By now, Lush has over 900 stores, located in more than 50 countries worldwide (lushcountries.com, 2014).
Roddick had already opened a second shop before her husband’s return of being gone 10 months. When Anita Roddick opened her first Body Shop, she did not expect to get rich. She just hoped to survive. Her plan was disarmingly simple—she would create a line of cosmetics from natural ingredients and rather than rely on vanity to sell her products, she would appeal to her customers’ concern for the environment. Through a combination of low-key marketing, consumer education and social activism, The Body Shop rewrote the rulebook for the $16 billion global cosmetics business and made Roddick one of the richest women in England.
(Primark 2011)Their target consumers are who believe in fast fashion. Primark completion with M&S and ASDA who are placed above it and New look below it as its biggest rival. Primark produces fast fashion it only takes them 6 weeks to convert fashion catwalks into the hands of their customers. It is said that Primark Quality of the products is not great but its value for money. The most attractive strategy of Primark is about cost cutting strategy is by cutting cost of the volume of the turnover meaning the company can negotiate cheap price from its manufactures in China and East Europe then they take a smaller profit margin per item than some other high street stores (Ergo 2011) see Appendix 1.
In 1985, Cahn decided to sell the company to Sara Lee for roughly 30 million dollars. Sara Lee took this opportunity to develop Coach’s name by expanding production and designing more products and styles of handbags. After a decline in prices between the years of 1997 and 1999, Lee decided to take the company public by selling 17% of the firm. Even today, Coach is a well-known handbag designer and will continue their success as long as they keep producing new, fashion forward designs. Coach’s success is partly due to their successful marketing strategy.
By minimizing handling of goods through the use of direct shipments form the manufacturer to the store, as well as the use of cross-docking techniques where items are shipped to a cross-dock and then distributed to stores, Costco is able to minimize handling time. This minimized handling enables Costco to cut costs due to less labor involved. Costco also buys items from retailers on the grey market at deeply discounted prices that it can pass onto its customers. Often times, because Costco has such a rapid inventory turnover, Costco is able to buy products and sell them before the invoice is due, often taking advantage of early payment discounts, and in essence, the vendor finances purchase, and Costco is able to pass those savings onto its customers. I think that Cosco’s biggest weakness is that they are not overly forward-looking.
When it comes to prices, both Sephora and Ulta have a large number of similar products that are carried in both of the stores. For these brands and products the prices are exactly the same because the prices are given by the manufacturer, not determined by the store, and will remain the same at all retailers. There is the exception of professional sales, which are professional members of the cosmetic industry who are able to buy these products at a discounted rate with their cosmetology licenses. Ulta, however, does carry a larger number of haircare products seeing as they have a salon inside of the store. Although not as extensive as Ulta, Sephora does carry some hair care products as well.