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The central purpose of writing this Case Study Analyses on The Gap, Inc. is to identify and isolate key issues and their underlying implications and offer practical solutions and plans for implementing those solutions.
This will be done by highlighting the social influences that influence the Gap, Inc. marketing strategy, segmentation strategies with respect to distinct retail markets, and positioning strategies that can be used or changed in a retail setting, as requested in the course assignment (as cited in the course module).
History, Development, and Growth
In 1969, Don Fisher opened the first Gap store in direct response to frustrations he was feeling as an inconvenienced customer. His objective was to provide a classic line of clothing in a wide variety of fits and styles and make the shopping experience easy and convenient for the customer. (www.gapinc.com).
Its unprecedented growth is a direct result of meeting a niche in the clothing market, at a time when The Gap was well positioned to meet the new demands of this "business-casual" trend, introducing other chains to expand its customer base, and aggressive expansion in the global marketplace.
Today, Gap, inc. is recognized as one of the world's largest specialty retailers. It. operates four of the most well known clothing brands on the planet: Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, and Forth & Towne. (www.gapinc.com).
Internal Strengths and Weaknesses
The Gap was bound for success early on because the utility of its product mix (Etzel, Stanton, Walker, 2004) was perfect for a specific market segment. The Gap offered a classic line of khaki pants and cotton button-down shirts (p.200), perfect for the new "business-casual" look, and gained great bra...
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...Gap needs to take a close look at its expenses and where they are occurring. It should stop looking at expansion and concentrate on its employees and customers.
Given the facts surrounding this case and their underlying implications, the Gap could do just these few things and see dramatic improvements. It needs to regain its core market and better utilize its current resources. That will solve most of the issues defined in this particular case. Keep it simple, make it fun! It works in education, business, and life! I'm sure it would work for the Gap as well.
Resources:
Etzel, M., Stanton, W., and Walker, B. Marketing. 13th ed. McGraw-Hill, 2004.
Richardson, J. Marketing. Ed. John E. Richardson. 27th ed. Annual Edition. Iowa: McGraw-Hill, 2004.
Stone, Brad. "Back To Basics." Newsweek: Online Posting. 142 4 Aug. 2003. 36-38. 8 Oct. 2005 .
One look at the common-size income statements for these companies can tell a story. While Jones Apparel Group was lagging at year ended 1998, even with a restructuring charge on Liz Claiborne’s income statement, 1999 was a different story. Huge growth at Jones lead to revenues double of that one year ago while Liz, while increasing, was quickly falling behind. The growth for both of these companies continued into the year ended 2000, but Jones Apparel Group’s results were brilliant compared to Liz Claiborne’s. One billion dollar growth in revenues as well as higher net income is making Jones Apparel Group the company of the future.
I would suggest that they incorporate more diversity in their ads and campaigns to reach different ethnicities if they want to continue to expand. Also, in stores, particularly the Willow Grove, PA location, is very large and spacious. Upon entering the store it is primarily women’s apparel and accessories, as well as men’s. Maybe the company can incorporate more of its products in this location, to provide consumers with more of a product assortment.
General Motors, is the automobile giant had problems within the company where equal employment opportunities (EEO) were not practiced. This resulted in the women and the minorities making complaints to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) about the disparate treatment that they encounter and the need for something to be done. Such discrimination was evident in the 1980’s and as a result of the complaints, a settlement of $42.4 million dollars was reached
Why are Gap ads so powerful? The concept of all of their recent television commercials is very simple, yet highly effective. An attractive young person, or perhaps a small group of attractive young people, is on a stark, white set. The actor/ model/ celebrity then sings and or dances around. The commercial ends with a catchy phrase about the Gap: Gap Rocks or Gap Swings, or something similar. It’s a simple concept, but somehow it works. What branding is about for this company is identifying through the elaborate cool-hunting market-research process what it is that the public cares about and are passionate about as a culture, and harnessing that to sell something very different. So it is, in a sense, a betrayal. The Gap's not selling music, they're selling clothing. By examining the institutions, sign systems, subject positions, and mediation used in the advertisements, perhaps an explanation to their success, and why the public allows itself to be duped, can be determined.
of the year. Chicago: NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group, Inc., 1999. 82-89. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. Print.
As a citizen of America you have definitely seen a store owned by Gap Inc. such as stores like Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, Etc. These stores represent an ionic and proud American store since 1969 which has multiplied since they opened their first store in San Francisco. This marked the first of many stores that would open and take over America. Gap became an icon as it started to multiply as larger variety stores came about. Such stores as Old Navy taking over the lower budget gap clothing to Gap as a middle budget and on to Banana Republic which serves as a high profile high budget Gap Inc. store. Gap Inc. To the eyes of Don and Doris Fisher opening the first store was more than just selling jeans; it was to serve the people and to gain integrity. They also wanted to create a lasting impression to the consumers. This has become the mission statement for Gap Inc. and has stuck with them ever since they opened their first store. Gap has broadened their products from the jeans that Doris and Don could not fit and made to the countless of apparel items and accessories that they offer.
Kotler, p & Keller, K. (2006). Marketing Management (12th Ed). New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
American Eagle Outfitters is a fairly new company but they are doing extremely well because they have a clear grasp of who their target market is. They posses a fresh new hip look with great quality clothing at a reasonable price for consumers (http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gte201w/aeostrat.html). This is one of the main reasons why teenagers and young adults are so attracted to the company. American Eagle is aiming to appeal not only to the targeted 20 year old but also consumers between the ages of 16 and 34 years old. This will widen the gap between their major competitors because they are trying to appeal to more segments than just one. American Eagle seeks to be assessable, fashion orientated, and has a strong value proposition, which has allowed the company to thrive and take shares from competitors over the past five years. Not only is their clothing line very comfortable, bold and fresh, the store layout and atmosphere is also major key factors in American Eagle’s success over the recent years. AE also has a strong competitive advantage because of their short lead times and their ability to position themselves in high-visibility, high-profile locations in key markets. American Eagle’s cycle time is about five months from design to delivery, versus about nine months for The Gap and six months for Abercrombie. AEOS minimizes lead times by maintaining sourcing relationships with a few key manufacturers and producing much of the merchandise in North America, versus 9% for The Gap and a minimal amount for Abercrombie. AEOS has the ability to quick-source some of its simpler product categories in order to react quickly to sales trends. (http...
Polo Ralph Lauren’s key success factors derive from the company’s powerful identity. It is notorious for it preppy American style in the designer world, but it is also luxurious, elegant and thrives to always be a classic. It appeals to a wide range of consumers, even if a person doesn’t wear Polo they are at least familiar with what it is. The way the company markets itself is also a big part of its success. For a company that started out less than 50 years a...
With more than thousands of stores operating in over a hundred different countries, Tommy Hilfiger is one of the most recognized brands in the world when it comes to fashion. The designer clothes allow people to have the classy yet cool look at the same time. In this essay I will be discussing with you Tommy Hilfiger more specifically about the man of the company Tommy Hilfiger, Tommy Hilfigers growth as a global company, as well as its success and awards. As Hilfiger once said, “ The road to success is not easy to navigate, but with hard work, drive and passion, it's possible to achieve the American dream.”
The period success of GAP had taken a turn since 2002. Profits and revenue continued to decline. From 2008-2010, just in U.S, 6000 retail stores had been closed because of the financial recession; during this period, Gap closed more than fifty of its 3251 stores. The annual income of GAP had also been successively overpassed by ZARA in 2008 and H&M in 2009, which dropped down to the third in fashion industry (Liu, 2013). And continually, the company’s net income declined to $833 million in 2011, which is 17% less than it earned in 2010 (Exhibit 1) (Ciasullo, Blauvelt, & Lambert, 2012). In U.S, the largest market for GAP, the elder generation who bought Gap products in 1990s had gradually left Gap for different requirements with the increasing age, and Gap was unable to keep its success with the younger generation. In addition, although Chinese market currently has been the second largest market for GAP Inc., they still operate the GAP brand as a follower without any distinct positioning str...
When a company has endured tough competition, it is important to have established steps for accomplishing greater opportunities within an industry. If problems within a company are not handled accordingly, it will result in the termination of a company. According to the article, “Thus, the ability to manage change, while continuing to meet the needs of stakeholders, is a very important skill required by today 's leaders and managers” (McNamara). General Motors is one of the largest Automobile manufactures in the world and they are not excused from competition in the industry. In this paper an overview will be conducted of General Motors, the evaluation of two major competitors in the industry and the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and
Gap, although it was successful in the 1980 's and 90 's, it could not catch up the ground they lost in the 21st century. According to the figure 2.3 in chapter 2 of "Strategic Management In Action," the diagram shows that the critical success factors are the ability to embrace change, creativity and innovation capabilities, and being a world-class organization. The Gap in the 80 's and 90 's was the world-class organization when it came to the staple American fashion but they failed in creativity and innovation. As the trends of fashion changed in the 21st century the Gap could not adapt to the change. Instead, they lost their credibility and stores like H&M took over. When I think of the Gap, I think of over-priced boring clothes. There is
Fast Fashion may be the most significant disruptive in the retail industry today. Troublesome novelties, or product or services, that alter an prevailing market by presenting minimalism, suitability, convenience and affordability, have the most positive influence on a company. Because fashion is ever changing and technology is always evolving the amount of production time it takes for something to be manufactured
Thesis: From the 18th century to present time, the jean industry remains one of the largest, most influential clothing markets.