Marketing Analysis free essay sample

The North Face is a retail and manufacturing corporation of equipments and outdoor apparel also improving in casual sportswear and outdoor sports equipment markets. The North Face is one of the lead servers in casual sportswear market, rather than specialty market. The products offered at REI has great variety, one of the product category is fitness clothing product line. Men’s fitness clothing includes shirts, shorts, hats, gloves and mittens, pants, jackets, vest and gaiters. Fortune Magazine has ranked REI number nine in 2011. 100 best companies, 2011) The North Face is a well-known brand and popular among youth and college students. North Face is The product availability is very less in men’s running clothing it is limited. The current availability in mega sale for men’s running is two socks product, which are of North Face at 35%, which is not enough for to grab customer’s attention at the sale products. They offer outdoor school, which provides begin ning to advanced-level classes and outings in many different activities like kayaking, rock climbing, mountain biking, camping skill and mountain biking for families and individuals. REI offer’s about hundred and sixty men’s fitness clothing, which has hundred and twenty running wears also includes hiking and yoga clothing’s pricing, is any where from dollar twenty to two hundred, out of which eleven items are on sale. The North Face is a well-known brand and popular among youth and college students. Due to high price of the brand many counterfeit The North Face products. The North Face has over fifty retail store locations in United States and many others around the world. North Face offer’s thirty-one products but are strictly men’s running clothes pricing from dollar twenty to hundred and fifty. The North Face doesn’t offer any sale items on official website but there are many places The North Face products are offered on sale like Macy’s carry the brand and offer’s fifty percent sale on fleece jackets. REI offer’s more variety over The North Face even REI it self carries the brand itself. The price ranges for both are same if not looked at clearance and sale. REI offers sale priced tems on the official website itself which The North Face doesn’t a customer has to look at other stores for discount on North Face. According to Michael Fickers’s article ‘REI Explores New Heights’ Recreational Equipment Inc is expanding business basically everyday of the year. REI’s sales are increasing in 2000 sales rose by nearly 7 percent. The North Face is a well-known brand and popular among youth and college students. Due to high price of the brand many counterfeit The North Face products. The North Face has over fifty retail store locations in United States and many others around the world. The product distribution channels are organizations way to distribute the product of service they offer to the customers. It is very important for organization to get their product to users at the right place and at the right time. There are two types of channel of distribution methods: Indirect distribution which involves distributing your products by the use of an intermediary for example a manufacture selling to a wholesaler and then on to the retailer where as Direct distribution involves distributing direct from manufacturer to consumer. North Face use indirect distribution for their products. The products are sold at different stores some third party retails store like North Face Retail stores, North Face Outlet Stores and North Face online store through out world. The North Face products are often sold at sports authority places; north face retail stores and other high-end stores like Macy’s. The products are priced high but the price is justified because of the material being used, brand recognition and lifetime warranty of the product offered by the company. The customers can easily access the products through the website or local stores. The Men’s GTD crew full sleeve is $42 and shorts are $55 comparing to REI the men’s full sleeve is starting at $29. 50 and shorts are priced at $55. So, many clothing’s are priced same and some are higher than competitors. The price is competitive to highly technical offerings but well above most competitors. The North Face offers many things with their products like lifetime warranty. The products are fully warranted for defects and tears for lifetime, which is a big plus for customer’s advantage. The pricing is not much different from REI if not compared with sales. As North Face doesn’t offer many clearance or sale items on their website but seasonal promotions are always available. The product material is much superior and the brand is well recognized worldwide. The product technologies feature PrimaLoft Eco insulation, which is a good example of environmentally preferred ingredients, used in North Face’s Products. Many of North Face products are made out of 00% recycled fabrics. Communication is the â€Å"promotion† part of the marketing mix. The marketing communication focuses on product and service of the company compared to corporate communications. Marketing communication is concerned about creating customer demand for product and service and positing the product in the market. North Face provides customers with promotions through store clearance, coupons and sales. A successful communication channels is when the customer can difference between your and competitors message. â€Å"The classic model of effective communication postulates that the sender’s message will be most effective when the sender has correctly anticipated the needs and preferences of the receiver, that is, when the sender’s encoding of the message corresponds with the receiver’s decoding of it â€Å"(Shannon and Weaver 1949). North Face communicates direct and face-to-face which gives high communicating control over situation, receives feedback immediately, and has two-way direction of message from the company and customer. They use personal selling because they get in contact with customers on daily basis at retail stores Every employee at North Face represents the service from the CEO of the company or to a employee who greets the customers at front door. It is said the first impression is the last impression. A customer who receives a great service at North Face will go and tell others about the service received and one mistake will take that away. North Face provides people with best equipments to use for their enjoyment and for daily purposes. North Face makes sure there stores have enough stock in stores to fulfill customer requirement to do so they have great communication between distribution and stores. North Face has more of a push strategy because they advertise their service at the best so customers feel comfortable and safe using their products for any adventure. North Face care about the customers and keep a safe and health environment so; customers chose their service over other companies. North Face provides customers with various types of gadgets need to be safe at camping or other sports activities; clothing’s to be safe from a mosquito bite or be comfortable in a cold weather. North Face provides direct service to consumers instead of going through other channels. They reach customers through the retail stores nationwide and through their website. North Face accomplishes main objectives of promotion, which are to present information to consumers as well as others by providing a safe and healthy environment for their customers. Increases demand and differentiate services because at North Face they make sure all the rules and regulations are followed provided by the law. They make sure customers are satisfied with the equipment being provided to them. Also not reach to customers the products are sold at different stores some third party retails store like North Face Retail stores, North Face Outlet Stores and North Face online store through out world. Promotion strategy is to communicate with others about the service and convince them to use the service being provided. North Face has loyal customers whose families have been with North Face for generations. Customers feel comfortable using North Face’s products to be safe during any activity they are involved in or their children are involved in. North Face is using Facebook as external social touch point, which is a great way of communication with customers. North Face has uploaded over hundred videos to provide customers with information about the products and activities. North Face provides iPhone app to feature mobile shopping so iPhone customers can shop anytime anywhere through their iphone. North Face advertisements portray outdoors activities that seem impossible but customers want advantage and North Face makes customers feel North Face makes these activates possible with their product and services. North Face has a successful promotional strategy that generates customer’s interest in the company’s products. Looks, style, durability, ability and brand are the most important attributes that a consumer is looking for when purchasing. Consumers are wearing sneakers for their style and appearance, as well as for their performance and North Face reaches this in market.