Introduction
The report presents the results of research to determine whether Kohl’s, a popular retailer, is capable of competing with Walmart, which is the largest retailer in the country, in the ladies’ sneakers merchandise category. For data collection purposes, both retailers’ stores were visited on 11/9/2019. The first location is a Walmart store with an address at 750 Middle Country Rd, Middle Island, NY 11953. The second data acquisition location is one of Kohl’s stores having an address at 999 Montauk Hwy Unit 21, Shirley, NY 11967.
Merchandise Analysis
Ladies’ Sneakers at Kohl’s
Kohl’s, a well-known retailer in the United States, sells multiple categories of goods, including clothing and footwear. Ladies’ sneakers belong to the number of adequately represented merchandise categories at the discussed retailer’s stores. According to observations, the store at 999 Montauk Hwy Unit 21 offers seven brands with different price policies. Concerning the depth of the assortment, the store sells ladies’ sneakers in seven styles to meet a variety of customers’ needs. Among the available styles are sneakers for walking and running, shoes suitable for cross-training, sneakers using the air max and air-cooled foams, shoes with memory foams, and fashion athletic sneakers. The number of available colors is about fifty, which includes multi-color options, most popular colors, such as white or black, and trendy colors in different undertones. To take customers’ varying physical characteristics into account, the store sells ladies’ sneakers in eleven sizes. In the order of increasing, the price points for the available brands are $39.99, $44.99, $49.99, $59.99, $54.99, $64.99, $64.99, and $79.99.
The store being analyzed offers products manufactured by seven national brands with different degrees of popularity in the U.S. and abroad. The names of the national brands carried include New Balance, Puma, Nike, Adidas, Skechers, Under Armor, and FILA. Out of all brands distributed by Kohl’s, 100% are national and 0% are private, which means that the retailer does not offer exclusive products in the category in question.
Prices are another point of analysis helping to generalize on the retailer’s ability to compete with Walmart. In reference to price ranges, as of 11/9/2019, the most expensive ladies’ sneakers at the store were $79.99 per pair, whereas the most affordable ones retailed for $34.98 per pair. With respect to price emphasis, the dominant price point is $64.99. Out of 76 items in the category, 63 are available at a discounted price, whereas 13 are regular price items. Value-priced and everyday low priced women’s sneakers retailed for $34.98 and $54.99, respectively. Information concerning the exact number of such items compared to the number of regular price goods was not available during the data collection session.
The details of merchandise presentation to the target customer also deserve attention to reach informed and correct conclusions. All items in the merchandise category are located in the left aisle of the store, to the right of the front entrance. In the discussed store, ladies’ sneakers are displayed in the center of the aisle and take 5 blocks, each of which is about 5 feet wide and 6 feet in height. Each pair of ladies’ sneakers has a small e-tag (8 square inches) and a bright red call out tag (12 square inches). Basic information about brands, current and usual prices, manufacture sites, sizes, and footwear materials is accessible to customers.
Kohl’s claims to offer high-quality customer service, but no evidence of its availability was present at the time of the visit. Information about store personnel’s attitudes toward customers was also unavailable. No communication between them was observed since all clients preferred to make decisions without assistance. Overall, the store was quite clean, but about one-fifth of all goods was not organized properly and in a convenient way. Based on observations, typical customers are presented by children and men and women in early adulthood.
Ladies’ Sneakers at Walmart
The store located at 750 Middle Country Rd, Middle Island, NY 11953 sells multiple categories of goods, including women’s sneakers produced by four different brands, the majority of which are private. Sneakers are available in at least five styles, including the use of such technologies as memory foam, O2, arch support, gel cushion, and lightweight outsole. Continuing on the range depth, Walmart offers 27 variants of colors when it comes to ladies’ sneakers. As observations demonstrate, the price points for the available brands are $9.98, $12.88, $16.96, $17.87, $18.87, $19.87, and $24.98. Dr. Scholl’s is the only national brand in the range, whereas the rest of the brands (Avia, Cool Wave Memory Foam, and Athletic Works) are private. Therefore, 25% of all brands are national, whereas 75% are private.
In terms of prices, as on the day of the visit, they were quite moderate and varied from $9.98 to $24.98. Judging from the proportion of goods at reduced and regular prices, the dominant price point was $9.98. Out of 487 items, 294 pairs of sneakers were regularly priced, and 193 were sale items. Value-priced and everyday low price items retailed for $9.98, but the exact number of such goods compared to regularly priced items was difficult to estimate.
As for the location and presentation of the merchandise, ladies’ sneakers are located in the back of the store aisle. They are displayed on merchandise shelves that are 35 feet wide and 5 feet in height in a well-organized way, which improves customer experiences. All items in the merchandise category have standardized bright yellow tags that are 8 square inches in area. The labels display the most necessary details about items, including shoe sizes, brands, prices and discounts, places of manufacture, and materials. The availability of customer service and the store team’s attitudes toward customers cannot be positively evaluated since no assistance was offered during the visit. Considering neatness and cleanliness, about one-twentieth of all goods in the category were disorganized. Finally, Walmart is visited by people belonging to all age cohorts and different income levels, which makes it challenging to describe the typical customer.
Conclusion
In summary, despite its advantages linked to the assortment, Kohl’s does not seem to be the largest competitor of Walmart in the women’s snickers category. Walmart’s strategy is targeted at the broad masses and unpretentious customers, which is clear from its moderate prices and a large number of items in the discussed category. In all fairness, Kohl’s outperforms Walmart in many instances, including the number of available brands, colors, models, and sizes. However, prices at Kohl’s are about three times higher than at Walmart, which significantly limits the number of people that can afford these products. Apart from that, since Kohl’s does not distribute private brands, all products available at its store can be purchased from other retailers and official shops, whereas Walmart’s product selection actually demonstrates uniqueness.