Blog # 5

One of my favorite grocery stores where I love to go to shop for my groceries is Food Lion. Food Lion is located in a strip shopping center, right on the I-501 boulevard between Roxboro and Durham. One of the advantages that Food Lion has over grocery retailers in Roxboro is that Food Lion has suitable parking; the parking lot is big enough for the customers of Food Lion to manuever in, along with other customers from other grocery stores. Another advantage that Food Lion has over the other grocery retailers is that a lot of customers who pass through Roxboro and Durham on the I-501 Boulevard can go to Food Lion for convenience shopping; they can shop there to get whatever they want or need and then leave. A third advantage is that Food Lion has very little pedestrian traffic-none that is serious.

One of the disadvantages that Food Lion has being located where it is is the traffic flow. The traffic flow on the I-501 boulevard is not as great as the traffic flow on the upper boulevard, where some of the other grocery retailers are located, such as Lowes Foods and Wal Mart Supercenter, which is the reason, at times, why they get better business than Food Lion. Another disadvantage that Food Lion has being located where it is is the accessibility of traffic in the area where it is located. It is much harder at times for people to get into the Food Lion parking lot because of the heavy congestion of traffic. I like the location that Food Lion is located in because it is closer to where I live, plus, I can go there to get whatever I want or need, even do some comparison shopping, and then go about my business.

Financial Strategy for Circuit City and Sharper Image

In the last several months, like seven or eight, there have been a few retailers that declared bankruptsy and closing. Two of these retailers were Circuit City and Sharper Image. Although Circuit City made it clear that, in November last year, that it was filing for bankruptsy and closing 155 stores, I think the main reason why Circuit City had failed is because it is in competition with two of the biggest names in the consumer electronics business, Best Buy and WalMart. Other reasons why I think that Circuit City's business had failed is because the sales associates did not have enough customer experience about the retailers merchandise. Plus, Circuit City made many bad management decisions over the years and had fired many experienced sales people.

Sharper Image is another retailer that had failed in the retail business. The main reason why the Sharper Image retailer failed was because of increased compettion from other top retailers. Another reason why this retailer failed was because of three straight years of losses, plus the company was $199 million dollars in debt, and the sales trade had declined since 2004. Third, the retailer received litigation about its Ionic Breeze air purifier. Lastly, Sharper Image had suffered from very low consumer and market confidence.

Blog #3: My opinion of the VALS survey and target audiences for retail stores

When I went online to do some research about some of the target for retail stores, such as R.E.I. and Target, I decided to do the VALS Survey. After I completed the survey, I didn't think that the VALS Survey was accurate. One of the reasons why I thought that this test was not accurate was because some of the questions that I responded to did not apply to any of my interests or my lifestyle. Although I didn't think that the VALS survey was accurate, I also didn't that, based on my responses to the questions on the survey, that the lifestyle that I was classified in actually fits my personality.

Although I didn't think that the VALS survey was accurate or agree to it, I do think that this survey corresponds with the target audience of R.E.I. This survey asks plenty of questions that pertains to the lifestyles, attitudes, and hobbies of the target market of the R.E.I. retailer. Plus, this survey also asks questions about how the target person spends his/her money and time. Lastly, this survey corrresponds with R.E.I.'s target audience because this survey can correspond with target audiences of any age, even in the 30-45 year old category.

Ross "dress for less"- history

Ross stores, mainly ROST, a chain of American off-price department stores, is the nation's third largest off-price retailer. Ross department store was first opened in San Bruno, California, in 1957 by Adali Baer. Ross' format was changed to an off-price department store in August 1982, when Stuart Moldow and Donald Rowlett took charge of the Ross business. Modow became chairman of Ross department store and Rowlett became new president of Ross, following Ross' acquisition.

Today, the ROST company operates 771 stores in 21 U.S. states and Guam, covering a majority of the country, except fpe New England and Alaska. Some of the U.S. states where Ross is established are California, Washington, Utah, Arizona, Texas, and, yes, including North Carolina.Ross also operates dd's Discount's chain of clothing and furniture stores, which are created to cater mainly to lower-income customers with lower prices. Ross stores' main mission is is to offer competitive values to customers by focusing on these main objectives: to achieve an appropriate level of brands and labels at strong discounts throughout the store, meet customers needs on a more regional basis, and deliver an in-store shopping experience that reflects the expectations of the off-price consumer. Today, some of Ross' competition include T.J. Maxx, Stein Mart, and Marshalls.

My favorite retailer: Ross

My favorite retailer in the world and the place where I always go to shop is at Ross. Ross is a very popular retailer where I love to go to shop to "dress for less."I love to shop at Ross for five reasons. One, Ross sells many different types and varieties of designer apparel such as Lee jeans and Levis jeans and also Nine West apparel. Ross also sells other kinds of apparel made from designers such as Carolyn Taylor, Spencer Jeremy, and Pria.

Another reason why I love to shop at Ross is that Ross sells apparel in different sizes. Ross sells apparel in many sizes from petites to junior/misses sizes to women's sizes. Ross also sells apparel in Men's sizes, too. The third reason why Ross is my favorite retailer to shop at because Ross sells its apparel at discount sizes. For example, at Ross, a pair of jeans, in any size or style, will cost you $14.99, whereas, if you go to other retailers such as WalMart or Catos to shop for a pair of jeans, it will cost you $18.99 to $26.99. That's the same for if you decide to buy a sweater from Ross, it will cost you anywhere from $13.99 to $19.99, whereas, if you decide to go to retailer like Catos, a sweater will cost you around $21.99.

A fourth reason why Ross is my favorite retailer is that Ross not only sells apparel, but it sells other items, such as handbags, belts, scarves, and shoes. The handbags that are sold at Ross, such as BabyFat and Nine West, are sold at discount prices lower than anywhere else. Ross not only sells handbags, but it also sells items for the home such as bed linen, bath towels and cloths, picture frames and rugs. The last reason why Ross is my favorite retailer is because Ross has excellent customer service. Whether I need help with something or I am just looking around in the store, the employees at Ross are always willing to help me out.

RCS 261-About myself

Hi, my name is Karen Cates.I am 32 years old and I am originally from Roxboro, North Carolina. In my family, I have my mother, father and two sisters. I graduated from Person High School in 1995. I am a senior at UNCG and I major in Consumer Apparel and Retail curriculum , in apparel product design. Idecided to major in apparel product design because I love fashion, it is my passion, and I love to draw and design clothes. One day, I would like to be a fashion designer and have my own line of apparel, just like Donna Karan and Calvin Klein, who are two of my favorite designers in this world. I would also like to be a fashion designer because fashion really inspires me-a lot. Some of my hobbies are drawing and painting, shopping, and dancing, although I do not go to nighttime clubs at all.