Abercrombie And Fittch Case
Abercrombie & Fitch is a department store which targets college students aging from 19 to 22 years of age. It has two offshoot brands: Abercrombie for consumers ranging from 12 to 14 years and Hollister Co. which targets high school consumers 15 to 18 years old.
This report will highlight the problems that A&F has been experiencing since 1992 as a result of the clear vision of the CEO, Michael Jeffres, which was to reinvent the brand as well as implementing a strategic plan to create a segmented target market (Blanchard, 2014).
Furthermore, this report will address the question whether the company should continue with the current segmenting strategy or should it widen its clothing selection to appeal to a greater number of potential consumers? …show more content…
Options
Should the company continue with the current segmenting strategy or should it widen A&F’s clothing selection to appeal to a greater number of potential consumers?
Firstly, it should be mentioned that every brand faces negative criticism no matter what their strategy is. Criticism is always present in the world of the 21st century. In the case of H&M for example, it placed large sized mannequins to show it accepts plus size women, but this raised an issue of promoting obesity (Blanchard, 2014).
Looking from the financial point of view for A&F, introducing large sizes would increase cost of production because more fabric would need to be used for production for bigger sizes. As stated in the article, “many clothing manufacturers have a set sizing system and changing their system line to accommodate bigger sizes would rise the cost for the manufacturers and lower margins for the brand.” (Blanchard, 2014). In addition, “the body proportions of average to larger women vary from the proportions of smaller women” (Blanchard, 2014).
As far as the marketing side is concerned, one could assume that adding larger sizes would increase customer satisfaction, increase the potential market and create a positive vibe around the brand. But would that lead to greater profits in the long …show more content…
This is because creating exclusivity in brands is a powerful strategy. When we look at other apparel luxurious brands such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Prada, they're all very exclusive in the sense that their target market is elite consumers. One might say they're discriminatory too, because of their higher prices. But their exclusivity creates a dream for any customer who's not under their target market to be under their segment too. And exclusivity also creates loyal customers. If we look at Apple iPhone’s and Samsung Galaxy’s specification, Samsung beats Apple, but why then does Apple charge higher prices? Because it targets the segment of upper-class consumers. It works more on the design and create its products in aluminum and glass, whereas Samsung uses plastic. Apple has same features as Samsung but with easier usability. A&F, Apple and Gucci make their consumers feel part of their exclusive community. And it works, it leads to a good number of loyal consumers and larger profits. They may not have a greater market share but their strategy works great with their business
This report will highlight the problems that A&F has been experiencing since 1992 as a result of the clear vision of the CEO, Michael Jeffres, which was to reinvent the brand as well as implementing a strategic plan to create a segmented target market (Blanchard, 2014).
Furthermore, this report will address the question whether the company should continue with the current segmenting strategy or should it widen its clothing selection to appeal to a greater number of potential consumers? …show more content…
Options
Should the company continue with the current segmenting strategy or should it widen A&F’s clothing selection to appeal to a greater number of potential consumers?
Firstly, it should be mentioned that every brand faces negative criticism no matter what their strategy is. Criticism is always present in the world of the 21st century. In the case of H&M for example, it placed large sized mannequins to show it accepts plus size women, but this raised an issue of promoting obesity (Blanchard, 2014).
Looking from the financial point of view for A&F, introducing large sizes would increase cost of production because more fabric would need to be used for production for bigger sizes. As stated in the article, “many clothing manufacturers have a set sizing system and changing their system line to accommodate bigger sizes would rise the cost for the manufacturers and lower margins for the brand.” (Blanchard, 2014). In addition, “the body proportions of average to larger women vary from the proportions of smaller women” (Blanchard, 2014).
As far as the marketing side is concerned, one could assume that adding larger sizes would increase customer satisfaction, increase the potential market and create a positive vibe around the brand. But would that lead to greater profits in the long …show more content…
This is because creating exclusivity in brands is a powerful strategy. When we look at other apparel luxurious brands such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Prada, they're all very exclusive in the sense that their target market is elite consumers. One might say they're discriminatory too, because of their higher prices. But their exclusivity creates a dream for any customer who's not under their target market to be under their segment too. And exclusivity also creates loyal customers. If we look at Apple iPhone’s and Samsung Galaxy’s specification, Samsung beats Apple, but why then does Apple charge higher prices? Because it targets the segment of upper-class consumers. It works more on the design and create its products in aluminum and glass, whereas Samsung uses plastic. Apple has same features as Samsung but with easier usability. A&F, Apple and Gucci make their consumers feel part of their exclusive community. And it works, it leads to a good number of loyal consumers and larger profits. They may not have a greater market share but their strategy works great with their business