Target Markets

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Being in the fashion industry, whether you are the designer, merchandiser, sales associate, it is critical to know your target market. Determing what kind of merchandise to sell is easy by being knowledgeable of your customers age, gender, what TV shows they watch, what kind of music they listen to, etc. Knowing your target market well, will ensure success.

Believe it or not there is a science behind consumers and what drives them to buy a pair of shoes, or a paticular pair of pants. The VALS segments places adult US consumers into different categories. These eight categories include innovators, thinkers, achievers, experiencers, believers, strivers, makers, and survivors.

http://www.sric-bi.com/VALS/types.shtml

Our group's retailer was GNC. GNC is a company that sells a variety of health supplements, vitamins, diet and energy products, as well as herbs. I believe GNC's target market would be considered achievers. Achievers are goal oriented and very family oriented. They place a high standard on image and prefer prestiege products.

When I took the VALS survey, I was labeled an experiencer/innovator. I like to take chances and experiment with clothes and accessories. I am interested in new ways in technology as well as new ideas. I definitely consider myself an experiecer. I'm very enthusiastic about the new trends. I also am placed in this category because I spend much of my income on apparel and accessories.

Behind H&M

Fashion and quality at the best price. That is H&M philosophy. As I stated in my previous post, H&M is my favorite retail store to shop at. They were established in Sweden in 1947 by Erling Persson. They have now grown to be located in 33 different countries and have around 1,700 stores around the world. H&M largest market is in Germany where they have close to 215 stores.

H&M stands for Hennes and Mauritz. It first started out selling only women's clothing but have since branched out to cater to everyone.

One of the ways H&M if different from other stores is having collaborations with different designers. They first designer to have a collection sold in H&M was Karl Lagerfeld in 2004. Since his collection drew huge crownds they have since had several more collaborations with Stella McCartney, Viktor & Rolf and even Madonna. I'm really looking forward to the collection by Matthew Williamson that is supposed to debut in the Spring and Summer of this year.

I found this really cool video from 2 years ago. It's of an H&M fashion show in NY.
Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji2yXSUdkvs

Favorite Retailer

I have many stores that I shop in regularly but I have to say that my favorite store is one that I do not get to shop in as often as I would like. My overall favorite retail store would have to be H&M. Some of the reasons H&M is great are, the prices, the atmosphere, wide variety of products and customer service.

One of the reasons H&M is so great are the prices. They provide great trendy clothes, shoes, and accessories at decent prices. I do not like to buy trendy clothes that are expensive that will only last a season or two. Being able to buy the trendy item for cheap is always great. One of the ways H&M are able to have the best price for their product is because they have very few "middle men" and they buy in bulk. It is obvious the buyers and merchandisers know their target market very well which allows them to have efficient distribution.

It doesn't matter if you're looking for a dress for a cocktail party, a tailored suit for an interview, or an outfit for everyday wear, H&M will have it. In H&M you will find they have different departments catered to a woman's lifestyle. Along with carrying apparel in their stores, they also have a wide range of accessories to go along with their collections.

Another way H&M stays unique and up-to-date is having exclusive collections designed by high end designers. These collections are specifically designed with the everyday women in mind. These exclusive collections allow the everyday women to own a piece of clothing designed by high end designers such as Karl Lagerfeld who had one of the many collections featured in H&M stores.