Location, Location, Location

The Harris Teeter located on Lawndale Rd. in Greensboro, NC is located in a community center. The center is anchored by a Target. The advantage of a community center is it's lower occupancy cost. Also, there is plenty of parking available in front of the store. Some of the disadvantages are that there are few restaurants in the shopping center and not much pedestrian traffic compared to a larger power center.
This Harris Teeter has a somewhat decent location. There are many Harris Teeter's in the area and this one is the one I usually go to when I need to get a large amount of groceries. I believe it is easy to get in and out of the shopping center. Although there are not many retailers in the actual shopping center there are many that surround it. This Harris Teeter is in a good location for local people who just need to get there basic groceries and go home.

Why some retailers failed?

Circuit City is one popular retailer that has failed. Circuity City was popular before Best Buy. This specific retailer failed, because it tried to compete with Wal-Mart and Best Buy. As of January Circuit City could not find a buyer. They also could not get the right financing to support the company. The store did not have the right marketing tools or merchandise to compete with best buy. Either people are going to shop at Best Buy for the more name brand products and go to Wal-Mart for better prices.

According to the article I read from the consumerist website what started the end of Circuit City was the fact that they stopped carying major appliances. Also, Circuit City had bad store floor plans. There way for handling customer service changed and became unsuccesful.

I believe that Circuit City fell behind in the time and could not keep up with the expansion of Best Buy. Best Buy offers great customer service from choosing the right product to maintenance of the product once you purchase it. I hardly ever saw Circuit City commercials. All in all I think that the need for the store went away, because the same products could be bought elsewhere that had more variety and depth.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29547230/

http://consumerist.com/5134586/why-circuit-city-failed

Target Markets

VALS uses a questionnaire to place consumers into eight segments. These segments are innovators, thinkers, believers, achievers, strivers, experiencers, makers, and survivors. The segments range from high resource/high innovation to low resources/low innovation. Motivation is categorized into ideals, achievements, and self-expression.

I took the VALS survey and these were my results: "Your primary VALS type is Experiencer, and your secondary type is Striver. The primary VALS type represents your dominant approach to life. The secondary classification represents a particular emphasis you give to your dominant approach."

I think these results are pretty much accurate. I always like to try/experience new things. I don't like my life to be the same everyday. As a student though it is hard to experience new things everyday when I have such a heavy course load. VALS says that experiencers spend most of their money on fashion, entertainment, and socializing. This is definetly true for me. I think that I am somewhat of a striver in the sense that I love meeting new people and to show people the skills I have learned. The part I do not relate to as a striver is I do not believe money is everything in life. I believe it is better to surround yourself with the people who care about you then to get rich and have no true friends.

http://www.sric-bi.com/VALS/types.shtml

Behind the scenes of J. Crew

J. Crew started out as a mail-order catalog and then expanded into what it is today. The first store opened in 1989, which ironically was the year I was born! The store opened in New York City. Today there are 206 retail stores. There are also 69 J. Crew outlets. As most retailers do, J. Crew has a website that was created during the year of 1996. The website includes a wide selection of styles and colors.

The current CEO of the company is Millard "Mickey" Drexler. He joined the company in January of 2003. Since he has been the CEO of the company he has set very high standards. J. Crew has nothing but the "finest fabrics, craftsmen and mills from Europe and the US." Drexler has brought new inspiration and creativity to the company. The company's headquarters are in Manhattan. J. Crew has distrbutions centers in Lynchburg, Virgnia and Asheville, NC.

Information from www.jcrew.com, www.wikipedia.org

J. Crew: My Favorite Retailer

www.jcrew.com

As a big fan of shopping I always try to go to as many stores as I can to check out the variety of clothing out there. It is hard to pick a retailer that is my favorite, because I shop at many places. If I had to choose though I would pick J. Crew. Out of all the places to shop I think I have the best experience at J. Crew. Some of the reasons I like J. Crew have to do with their store layout, the quality of the merchandise, their variety of merchandise, their service, and their internet website.

Right when I step into J. Crew I feel comfortable about being there and not stressed. There are many stores that I walk into and feel as if I am just another customer and feel overwhelmed. J. Crew has a very organized store lay out. Their displays are always colorful and coordinate very well. When walking in the mall the store always catches my eye. Once inside everything is very neat.

I love the variety of clothing you can purchase, from business to casual to dresses for parties. They also sell cute accessories and handbags. Their clothes are more conservative, but cute. Also, the quality of their clothing is fantastic. I have never had an issue with something I have bought from there. The store always has a wide selection of colors out for the customer to purchase.

The service at J. Crew is wonderful. When in the store someone is always available to help you and if you choose to shop on your own they will respect that. The checkout is usually pretty quick and the people who work there are very polite. I always have a good experience at the store. If I am not in the mood to go to the actual store, I use their website to see an even wider selection of clothing. The website is classic looking and easy to locate and buy clothing. It represents the store very well. I believe J. Crew represents the classic, but fun and stylish American woman.

The economy and retail industry

The current economy has caused many changes in the retail industry. People are struggling to buy the things they need and are losing jobs. This causes people to buy less luxury items. Retail stores such as Wal-mart are having better business, because of their discount prices. The average person is less likely to save up to buy a designer bag or dress. They are now more likely saving for more practical items.

The housing crisis is effecting the home retail industry greatly. Real estate prices are going down. The need for home goods are going down. Consumers are less worried about the look of their houses and more worried about how they are going to support their family through the financial crisis.

Our Guest Speaker!

First of all Elyse did a wonderful job in presenting about her job. The way she spoke to us was both inspiring and easy to relate to. I learned that you must pay your dues to a company before you can jump into a nice paying job where you can to what you love. I loved having someone who came from the same school as I attend an seeing how she has found a place where she can fit in. It's overwhelming to think that after graduating we are pushed out into the real world. There are so many jobs and opportunities out there, it is hard to figure out exactly what we want to do.

As a speaker Elyse was able to give us the information we needed, but add fun to it. The samples she showed us were really cute! I also thought it was cool that we got to see a strike off, because we had learned about that in our textbook. It is interesting to see how what we are learning now is going to used in our future.

I think that Elyse has a great future ahead of her and she is an inspiration to anyone in the CARS major. Through the work of connections and skill she was able to find a place of work for the time being and is able to benefit the company. An important part of a job is to be doing what you love. Even though she started out making lots of copies, she now can take something she loves to do and be a part of the working community.