Core Values

2. Identify your core values. What really matters to you?

"Brands today represent more than a product, service or brand identity (the name and logo, design and voice of the brand). A brand is synonymous with the business and the style behind the product or service; it encompasses the people working for the company and a philosophy and spirit that sustains it. Brands offer a set of values, a vision and an attitude." At Xandria Marie we are committed to creating strong relationships with our customers, team members, and communities. “A brand makes value visible: value in the product or service and value in the corporation”

Customers:

At Xandria Marie, our number one priority is our customers. We work hard to gain the trust for our customers. “The ‘own brand’ also offers a one-stop shop for the customer – if they trust the brand, they can buy all their goods under the same label” Our customers are ultimately what keeps us going, so we would love to do the same, by being dependable, reliable, loyal, and by supplying our customers with the best quality possible. We work hard to provide our customers with the most accurate information on the products that we carry, such as measurements, fabrics, materials, finishes, and color. “The brand communication must be authentic and true to the product or service that is being offered” We employee only the most enthusiastic and friendly team, who work hard to provide customers with a great shopping experience. Xandria Marie is also passionate about designing for all body types. We do not believe in the labels "real women" or "model- size 2." Women who are considered to be a model size are not fake so we don't think they should be considered unreal. We want to dress all of the fashionable women no matter what their body type is. We also want to make sure that our designs are accessible and affordable. "At the heart of every brand is its audience. The consumer is no longer simply the person buying the product or service, but a broad spectrum of ‘stakeholders’ who include customers through to employees to external agencies and local communities. Each stakeholder may experience the brand in a different way, but there should be consistency in brand behavior. The relationship between the brand and the consumer is two-way – what the consumer thinks of the brand matters as much as how the brand projects itself to the consumer. This two-way interaction is at the heart of managing the brand perception. This is where branding happens: it is the dialogue that helps create and sustain a relationship between the organization and its audience. And good branding, according to the experts, must engage."

Team Environment:

"Many brands may succeed in communicating to an audience, but fail to engage. Engagement happens by identifying and exploiting the magic in a brand: the insight or idea that connects to the audience. It can be an intuitive process and requires a mix of strategic business thinking and creative ideas. The thinking and creative process must never stop." The XM Team is a huge part of keeping the company successful, so we strongly believe that with strong communication and getting input from our team, we will continue to be successful and grow together. We are committed to involving our team with every project that comes our way; we want to create a fun and enjoyable work environment. Our team members are the ones who directly work with our customers so with a great environment comes more satisfied and loyal customers and an increase in sales. "Brand style must capture the ‘spirit’ of the brand – the emotive element that makes us like or dislike a brand, or be indifferent to it. Style is shown in the way the brand projects itself in form, function and service. It can project an attitude we either empathize with or dismiss."

Local Community: “The 18-24 youth market is wired, educated, cynical and irrational. They’re into brand authenticity. They believe that companies should give back something to the world in which they operate” The communities that we conduct our business in are very much important to us as our customers and team members. In each store location, customers will be able to donate a percentage of their purchase to a local charity of their choice. We also believe in shining the light on local talent, so twice a year we will work with a creative local artist or designer to provide our customers with exclusive, fresh, and inspirational pieces that they can always incorporate with any outfit. "Brand style comes from the core – that is, the values of the brand. Brand values are the belief systems behind the brand. They are usually described as succinct adjectives that are often associated with archetypal characteristics: fun, rebellious, winning or inventive, for example. The designer must integrate the values into any brand communication, and their creative ideas should work around these."

Citations:

Davis, M., and Baldwin, J. (2006). More Than a Name: An Introduction to Branding. AVA Publishing. Page 27, 30, 32, 57, 82, 111, 147

Primary Product

1. Identify the primary "product" (service, resource, special ability, etc.) you have to offer others.

"Many people associate brands and branding with multinational corporations, but brands exist wherever there is a competitive marketplace. They help us select one product or service over another in a complex world of increased choice, especially where the differentiation between products is slim or difficult to evaluate. Many products now have a broad range of standards and similar features or, in other cases, the service or product may have become a commodity competing on price and quality. "

“The product is the face behind the brand – the focus of the user’s brand dialogue and the physical interface that they react to. Brand and product cannot compensate each other; a dog in a dress is still a dog!” At Xandria Marie we offer apparel, shoes, and accessories for trendy teenage girls and young adults. We represent the risk taking chic style of the unordinary girl. The XM girl is unique, detail- oriented, bold, and spontaneous. She doesn't just stick to one identity; she has one for every day of the week, month, and year. The XM girl is always busy but definitely finds time to fit style in to her everyday life.

"...a product (or service) is the thing that you buy and use." All of the merchandise that we supply is simplistic but are statement pieces at the same time. Versatility is always on our minds and on the minds of our customers. You will be able to dress up or be warm and cozy with any of our pieces. Our color palette is mainly made up of neutrals: black, white, nude, beige, ivory, and gray, but we do like to put a surprise on all of our pieces by adding a pop of color or incorporate an intricate pattern/texture/ detail. We don’t create boring or mainstream clothing; you could get those at one of the stores down the block from your house if you really wanted to. We are worth the trip!

Citations:

Davis, M., and Baldwin, J. (2006). More Than a Name: An Introduction to Branding. AVA Publishing. Page 12, 27, 170

Week8 EOC: Subliminal Advertising

The gasoline company Shell Oil, eager to find the reason behind their decade long slump, they tried everything from: psychographic memory triggers, dream therapy, tangible manifestation exercises, they even asked customers to mold a figure out of clay expressing their feelings towards the company. Nothing worked! “‘All the techniques…— they’re all legitimate tools for arriving at consumer insight,’ he says. ‘But they only operate on the surface level.’ To craft a more potent appeal for its brand of gasoline, Oeschle concluded, Shell would have to go deeper — much deeper.” So they decided to call in Hal Goldberg, a consumer researcher who specializes in focus groups conducted under hypnosis. Hal took customers all the way back to when they were infants and then he said “Tell me about your first experience in a gas station.” All of the customers’ responses were similar, tying them to their family. “It dawned on us, as a result of this process, that we’d better figure out how to favorably impact people from an early age,” he says. Many companies use this form and many other forms of subliminal advertising, in order to persuade their customers to keep being their products. What is subliminal advertising you may ask? Well subliminal advertising is a “Promotional messages the recipient is not aware of, such as those played at very low volume or flashed on a screen for less than a second. Its effectiveness is not supported by scientific evidence, and its use is considered a deceptive business practice in some jurisdictions.” I am not too sure what to think about this method that businesses use to capture the attention from customers. It is both good and bad in certain ways. It is good because businesses are able to find out what it is that its customers want, need, and expect from them, but on the other hand it is bad because it “forces” you to purchase from a brand without you even knowing why you felt you needed to.

Citations:

Subliminal Advertising Definition. Retrieved on September 1, 2013 from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/subliminal-advertising.html

The return of the hidden persuaders. Retrieved on September 1, 2013 from http://www.salon.com/1999/09/27/persuaders/print

Week 7 EOC: Retail PEST

"No brand exists in a vacuum, and a PEST analysis helps a company determine the political, economic, social and technological environment the brand will live in."

Political:

Environmental Policy- “Forever 21 is committed to reducing its environmental footprint throughout its global operations. Environmental sustainability is a key responsibility and we can play an integral role in ensuring that our impact is minimal in the countries where we source materials and products through to the markets where products are sold.” Forever 21 plans on doing this by transporting its products by sea so that they can help reduce carbon emission, they now use energy efficient lights in their stores so that they can cut down on energy usage, and they have committed to recycling all shipment boxes.

Taxation- To import Forever 21 clothes into a country the tax rates can range from 0%- 27% and that doesn’t include some of the additional taxes that are charged from other country fees.

Competition- “Analysts Lorraine Hutchinson, Paul Alexander, and Jessica A. Lebo at Bank of America warned that competitors need to start paying attention to the privately-held retailer right now.” As Forever 21 keeps growing and doing what they do best, giving its customers the latest trends at low prices, it will run over its competition. Forever 21 has expanded worldwide, broaden its customers to not just teens but to the entire family, and they are no longer just in malls they now take on bigger and better locations. They have put a dent in big teen retailers such as Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle, and the Gap, due to its extremely low cost on clothing. Forever 21 sells jeans that can cost around $15 whereas other retailers average pair of jeans cost $30.

Consumer Protection- Forever 21 protects its customers by setting a privacy and security policy which are “…intended to protect your privacy and provide you with a safe and secure experience in fashion, style and shopping.”

Economic:

In a time of hardship and struggle Forever 21 is having tons of success with expanding their business and product range, while other retailers are struggling to stay afloat. Instead of moving to smaller locations they have expanded its square footage into the 100,000s. They now have over 480 stores in 8 countries and project revenue of more than $3 billion a year. Each time a customer visits a Forever 21 store they spend an average of $21-$40.

Social Demographics:

Forever 21’s target demographic is from the age of 12 to 34, but they primarily target women from the age of 16- 24. They mainly target women, but they also carry men’s and kids clothing as well. The income that their customers typically have is $20,000, with a college education. “The primary target consists of highly fashionable women on a lower budget. They are motivated by the trendy, fashionable and frequently changing clothing styles on the market. These women want runway looks for a reasonable price. They also like the idea of “disposable” clothing that makes it possible for a woman to outfit herself for a party one week, and then come back the following week to find something completely new and hip to wear and still have enough cash left over to treat herself to lunch or the latest CD”

Technological:

Forever 21 typically conducts its research in the form of online surveys they will send out Facebook messages out to its customers and ask them to take a survey, such as the survey they gave out to better understand why college students preferred Forever 21 over other stores. This form of research has appeared to be very effective for them as they have a response rate of 92.9%.

Citations: 

Davis, M., and Baldwin, J. (2006). More Than a Name: An Introduction to Branding. AVA Publishing. Page 192

Forever 21 and Corporate Social Responsibility. Retrieved on August 24, 2013 from http://www.forever21.com/Htmls/CustomerService/en-US/socialresponsibility.html?8/26/2013

Import duty & taxes for Forever 21 women’s clothes. Retrieved on August 24, 2013 from http://www.dutycalculator.com/dc/127733-import-duty-rate-for-forever-21-womens-clothes-is-27/

The Competition Should Be Terrified of Forever 21. Retrieved on August 24, 2013 from http://www.businessinsider.com/forever-21-dominating-teen-retail-market-2013-3

Privacy & Security. Retrieved on August 24, 2013 from http://www.forever21.com/Htmls/CustomerService/en-US/privacy.html

Forever 21 bursts retail boundaries with huge stores, aggressive growth. Retrieved on August 24, 2013 from http://www.timesdispatch.com/business/forever-bursts-retail-boundaries-with-huge-stores-aggressive-growth/article_ece0f546-d103-5f8f-bcb0-b599ce6bb05d.html

Forever 21 Inc-Account Planning Briefing. Retrieved on August 24, 2013 from http://kaylathorn.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/account-planning-briefing.pdf

Forever 21 Research of College Students. Retrieved on August 24, 2013 from http://ethnographyprojectpur3500.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/write-up.pdf