Marketing Channel Strategy

END-USER ANALYSIS
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in home audiovisual electronic goods instead offers a very large line of receivers, 
speakers, and high-fidelity equipment, offering the deepest assortment of models, 
styles, sizes, prices, and so on.
Not only is the extent of the product array important, but also critical is which 
assortment of goods is offered to each target consumer and where items are placed 
within a store. JCPenney, the U.S. mid-scale department store, had sought to 
change its image from “your grandmother’s store”—and a relatively downscale 
one at that—to a trendy fashion boutique. It signed an exclusive distribution 
agreement with Michele Bohbot, the designer of the Bisou Bisou clothing line, 
previously only sold in boutiques and upscale department stores. It also hired 
David Hacker, a trend expert who looks for emerging fashion trends to attract 
the so-called Holy Grail of retail: 25- to 35-year-old women, who account for 
$15 billion in annual clothing revenue. This target market is a much younger, 
fashion-forward shopper than JCPenney’s traditional, 46-year-old, female buyer. 
And indeed, at a Bisou Bisou fashion show in the Bronx, New York, JCPenney 
attracted almost 100 young women. One of them, laden with shopping bags, 
noted the difference: “I guess I’m going to have to start coming to JCPenney 
now. Wow!”
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Instead, the strategy failed, because JCPenney’s core customer base, composed of 
suburban women making slightly above the national median income at an aver-
age of $63,412, sought a practical assortment of clothing and liked to use coupons 
when shopping, to feel as if they were getting a deal.
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The retailer also had to fix 
a serious inventory management problem that led to massive stockouts during 
Black Friday. As it continued to experiment, JCPenney realized it had made some 
assortment errors too; sales of men’s shoes rose when it placed them next to men’s 
clothing, rather than next to women’s shoes. Similarly, fashion jewelry located 
near Liz Claiborne brand options enhanced sales, because in both cases, female 
shoppers could see how the shoes and accessories would look with the main cloth-
ing items they were purchasing.
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The combination of the right assortment and quick delivery is a winning service 
output for Hot Topic, though. This chain of more than 600 stores targets teen girls; 
its CEO and directors often go to concerts to find popular new trends that can 
be turned into new store merchandise.
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Hot Topic can roll out a new line (e.g., 
t-shirts with a popular band’s logo) in just eight weeks, whereas its competitor The 
Gap often needs up to nine months to bring new products to store shelves. This 
speed is critical when the right assortment is fueled by fads, which flame and fade 
very quickly.
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