Assignment
Retailer: Free People, Competitor Brands: Reformation and Madwell
Retailer and retail brand are both Free People, Reformation and Madwell are Benchmark competitor, they are not aspirational brands.
Retailer's background information
? History of Retailer and Brand-Reminder that Retailer and Brand are often not the same. Example would be: Macy's is the retailer and INC. is the brand.
? Competition and history of the brand (label you selected)-2 Competitors of the brand...not the retailer. As I used the example on the previous slide, "INC" from Macy's...who is the competitor for INC, not the competitor for Macy's.
? Mission Statement? Vision Statement? Core values? Typically this would be the retailer not the brand.
? Store Count and Other Information. Can be U.S. or Global.
? Financial Information-refer back to the work you did in FM116 using Hoovers and/or income statements to support this information. If your company is a private company, do your best to find any info on their "financials".
Defining Retailer's Customer Profile
? Define the point of view/shopping attitude. i.e.: Preppy...fashion forward, classic...etc.
? Retail Shopping (Other retailer's or brands that your customer shops? Online and/or brick and mortar). Again, if INC. was your brand, where else would the INC. customer shop...not where would the Macy's customer shop.
? Benchmark Brands (Other Brands that are best in class to your brand. I.e. If my brand was Aritzia...I might consider Madewell and Anthropology as my benchmark brands. Use your two examples of Benchmark brands for your shopping on the competition grid. These Benchmark brands might be your competitors from slide 11.
? Aspirational Brands (Brands your customer would like to shop if they had a little more income). Aritzia might be Theory or Rag and Bone.
Shopping the Competition
? Write a few sentences about your observations in shopping the competition. Discuss both the stores and the styles you placed in the grid. What did you learn? What trend or styles did the competitor carry that you should have had? What trends are they still presenting that you think look "old"? What trends are they still presenting that you think look "new"? Other insights?
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.