Anthropologie is a lifestyle retailer in the United States and a subsidiary of Urban Outfitters based in Philadelphia. Its product comprises women’s apparel and a customer base of women aged 30-45 years old. The business issues of their merchandising function include the flow of goods in the store meaning enough inventories in the store and offering diversity every other day, the effect of the economy on Anthropologie as it sells expensive products, and finally the display of merchandise as a promotional strategy. The thesis question explores the possibility of expanding into Thailand and analyzes the market comparing it to the existing market in the US. This requires an industry overview of their competitors, market, and industry trends.
The literature review focuses on the U.S domestic market size and trends showing past performance followed by the commercial history of both Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters and experiences with expansion strategies. Spain-based leader in fashion retail, Zara, is scrutinized for global expansion strategies and finally the East Asian market indicating strategic considerations, potential markets, and gaps in the literature review. It covers research design showing the research strategy, the method used, and justifies the choice of qualitative interview method with no questionnaires and open-ended questions.
Finally, the study establishes that Anthropologie should expand into Thailand as the market is insensitive to the ever-changing external environment. Thailand’s inflation rate is not high hence products are affordable, have high labor force participation, and have a high rate of private expenditure. There’s also government support to the industry and Thailand citizens appreciate culture and innovativeness. Another fact is the economic relationship between US and Thailand hence growth potential in terms of profitability coupled with the similarity between their consumers meaning similar tastes and preferences. Incorporating e-commerce in marketing strategies ensures successful expansion.
Other facts include the presence of a large consumer base in Thailand that can be easily segmented, use of already established distribution outlets, Thailand being a developing country, the firm’s investment in research, tourism, and finally the target customers constituting the largest percentage of the population.