Introduction
The Banana Republic is a retail apparel company operating in Canada. The company sells a wide variety of men’s and women’s apparel. The three categories of men’s suits sold by the Banana Republic include Modern suits, tailored suits, and Br Monogram. The modern suites have a natural shoulder seam with a relaxed armhole. The design has enough room overall. The tailored suits have a natural shoulder seam like modern suits, but with a higher armhole and slightly trim overall. On the other hand, Br Monogram has a designed shoulder seam, which is designed with the highest armhole and a trim fit overall.
Marketing of men’s men’s suits
The Banana Republic Company has been working hard to market lensmen’s suits over the years. This has been done through print and outdoor advertising. In addition, the company has used direct mails, in-store displays, as well as its website to advertise lensmen’s suits. Furthermore, the company advertises lensmen’s suits on the editorial pages of several fashion magazines and publications (Cardona 6).
The Banana Republic Company uses promotions to leverage the strength of its products in the market. The recent collaboration with Mad Men to promote its products across all stores in North America underscored the company’s commitment to strengthen its brands in the market. Through this marketing strategy, the company maintains a customer database that enables the company to communicate directly with customers (PR Newswire, para. 5).
The men’smen’s suits should be sold through market niches due to the increasing competition from specialty stores and discounters. This will involve the narrow definition of the market segments to establish market niches and concepts. A strong understanding of the developed niche markets enables the company to gain a strong understanding of the target markets. In this case, the company can take advantage of its large network of stores in the provinces to market the three brands of men’smen’s suits. Niche markets will also enable the company to innovate its products for the specific and differentiated target markets. Additionally, niche marketing will enable the company to have a strong understanding of consumer trends. Thus, the company will develop a strategy to increase its sales volume in the niche market created.
Target market
Market segmentation, targeting, and product positioning are important components of a marketing plan for any company. Research reveals that the company has several target markets. The Banana Republic Company targets the male and female market segment. The target market is segmented by age, income, minority, and Caucasian segments. The target market includes working men and women, as well as college and university students. The income segment targets customers with an income range of $50,000 to $80,000.
The potential market segment for the company is the women’swomen’s segment, which has shown positive growth in the recent past. The purchase of women’swomen’s clothing is strong as compared to the other men and unisex segments. This is according to the 2003 sales statistics depicting the Canadian retail apparel industry. The sales of women’swomen’s clothing accounted for almost half of the dollars spent on purchases of clothing and accessories in Canada (Lin para. 4). From these statistics, the women segment represents the most potential target market segment by the Banana Republic Company.
Competitive climate
The apparel industry in Canada is characterized by high competition and fragmentation. The distributors, retailers, importers, manufacturers, and licensors are critical to the competition in the industry. Market competitors can devote significant financial resources to strengthening their brands. Intense competition, coupled with many other industry dynamics, may result in reduced sales volume, high costs, and decreased profit margins. The Banana Republic competitors come from established regional and national, departmental chains, discounters, and specialty stores, as well as independent retail stores (Gap Inc. para. 9). The main products for the Banana Republic include Club Monaco for men, H & M for men, Levi’sLevi’s, Sperry Top-Sider for men, Bass for men, Zara men, and Urban Outfitters for men. The major competition areas include marketing to diverse market segments, merchandise sourcing, marketing support, brand recognition, pricing, response to customer fashion demands, and product design.
Product image
Creating a good product image is helpful in strategically positioning the product within the market (McLoughlin and Aaker 48). In order for the company products to remain appealing to the consumers, it should improve the image of the products offered in the market. This can be done through market research to gather information to understand fashions, color, styles, price, fabric trends, and competitive forces that could be sources of innovation to improve the product image. After all these, the company can focus on marketing its capabilities to create a strong brand identity. Thirdly, the company can directly control the marketing of the product by franchising its stores. The matrix below shows how the product can be positioned in the market. This depends on the market segment being served by the company.
From the chart above, the company should position men and women in suits in section 3. In this section, the product is less endangered by intense market competition and offers great chances for making marketing adjustments in the future.
Conclusion
Research results show that the apparel retail industry in Canada is highly competitive. The company has to position its products in the market strategically in order to withstand competitive pressure from other players in the industry. This can be done by improving product image through innovative product design.
Works Cited
Cardona, Mercedes M. “Differentiation Works For Banana Republic.” Advertising Age 75.6 (2004): 6. Print.
Gap Inc. Sharing American style around the world. 2012. Web.
Lin, Jane. A new look: retail clothing sales in Canada. Business and Trade Statistics. 2003. Web.
McLoughlin, Damien and D.A. Aaker. Strategic Market Management: Global Perspectives. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley, 2010. Print.
PR Newswire. Banana Republic; AMC and Banana Republic Extend ‘Mad Men’ Marketing Promotion for a Second Year. 2012. Web.