Chapter 4 - Pearson

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dia76827_ch04.qxd 11/29/04 7:55 PM Page 78 78 SECTION I Introduction to Fashion Retailing TABLE 4.1 The VALS Segments Segments Characteristics Motivations Purchases Innovators Thinkers Achievers Experiencers Believers Strivers Makers Survivors Successful, sophisticated, highesteem Mature, satisfied, comfortable, conservative, reflective Goal-oriented lifestyles; focus around family, place of worship, and work; politically conservative Young, enthusiastic, and impulsive Conservative, conventional concrete traditions; established codes of religion, family Trendy and fun loving, active consumers Practicality, self-sufficiency Few resources, cautious Image, new ideas, technologies Open to new ideas Image, stability, self-discovery Variety, excitement, risk Ideals Achievement, money, emulating purchases of people with greater material wealth Self-expression, tradition Safety and security Upscale, niche products and services Durable, functional, value products Established, prestige products and services that demonstrate success to their peers Fashion merchandise, entertainment, socializing Familiar products and established brands Stylish products Basic, practical, value products Brands, discount prices Source: www.sric-bi.com/VALS. Achievers, according to VALS research, purchase established, prestige products from such fashion designer retailers as Ralph Lauren. (Courtesy of Ellen Diamond) Demographics Demographic information is used differently by the various retail classifications. Brick-andmortar organizations, for example, are more concerned with population density than are offsite operations such as catalogs and Internet Web sites, because their customers come from the geographic trading areas in which their stores are located. Off-site retailers, in contrast,
dia76827_ch04.qxd 11/29/04 7:55 PM Page 79 CHAPTER 4 The Fashion Consumer: Identification and Analysis 79 have no real boundaries, since consumers with computer access or a mailing address can examine their product assortment anywhere. Age classification, however, has implications for every type of retail classification. Therefore, retailers need to assess the population trends that most affect their consumer bases so they can determine the best use of their resources to attract them. POPULATION CONCENTRATION Brick-and-mortar fashion retailers in particular must evaluate the areas in which their potential customers reside, because if can affect the specifics of the merchandise mix that they stock. People living in the suburbs, for example, might have more casual lifestyles than their urban counterparts, so their fashion needs are in the lines of informal comfortable clothing. Those who live in the major urban cities, have a busier, faster-paced lifestyle, so their dress is often more high fashion or career oriented. Studying these different regions will help fashion managers determine which of these groups will buy their products. If people from more than one geographic concentration will patronize their stores, merchants should carefully assess their needs and lifestyles to determine which products might appeal to both types of customers. Often, major retailers with stores in downtown, central trading districts and suburban shopping malls tailor their merchandise mix to fit these communities’ specific needs. The downtown flagship might, for example, stock a greater mix of career dress and the suburban branches might have a greater concentration of sportswear. CLIMATE DIFFERENCES If a store has its units in just one geographical climate, then merchandise emphasis and assortment, are comparatively simple to determine. Those fashion retailers that exclusively operate southern outlets, for example, stock a mix that includes swimwear in each of their units. Larger companies, such as Banana Republic and Casual Corner, that have stores that cross into different climate zones must address the different merchandise needs dictated by their locations. Lightweight clothing fits the everyday needs of customers shopping in the stores in the year-round warmer climates, and heavier garments are in demand during the winter months in such areas as the northeast. Fashion retailers must carefully consider their merchandise differentiation to make certain that the right assortment is available at the right time and place; improper merchandise allocation could adversely affect overall company profits. AGE GROUPS Although age consideration is an important factor in the merchandising of most retailers’ assortments, it is fashion merchandise that offers more variables than any other product classification. A look at consumers on the street immediately reveals that dress varies considerably among the different age groups. Within the same geographical location, a teenage girl wearing a micro-mini skirt in the latest style can be seen walking along with her grandmother, who is attired in a more conservativly fashionable outfit. Given the different needs of the many age classifications, it is vital that the right styles are being marketed to the right groups. By segmenting the consumer market into age categories, retailers are able to determine the size of each group, its potential for growth or decline, and its distinguishing characteristics. In this way, they can assess which groups are better to target for fashion merchandise and what their specific buying preferences are. Age groups may be segmented in a number of different ways. Recent designations used by marketers to describe particular segments, especially as they concern fashion merchandise, include baby boomers, people born between 1945 and 1959, and generation X and generation Y, people who were ages 18–34 at the beginning of the twenty-first century. More traditional age classifications have been established by the U. S. Department of Commerce, and they are described below with their implications for fashion retailers.
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Chapter 4 - Pearson

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