Andrew's Pharmacy

I chose to visit a pharmacy located in Winston Salem NC. called Andrew's Pharmacy. It is located at 1305 S Hawthorne Rd Winston Salem, NC 27103. This pharmacy is located independently on a corner but it is directly next to a Community Shopping Center. Clearly, this retailer is based on convenience due to the fact that it is solely a pharmacy and convenience store. The location of the store is moderately easy for costumers to park. Traffic is heavy around the location area but since the store is right next to a Community Shopping Area, it is easy for costumers to park in the shopping center and walk to the pharmacy from there if they wish.

The advantages to this location is that it is in a high traffic area therefore business can be carried out well. However, since it is in a high traffic area, it is difficult for pedestrians and parking therefore a potential problem is presented because costumers may chose not to shop at Andrew's Pharmacy due to difficulty assessing parking.

The location of Andrew's Pharmacy is in a middle class neighborhood that benefits from the pharmacy because there is not a close pharmacy within two miles. I feel this location is the most suitable for this convenience store because it is needed in this location and it is located in a high traffic area. If parking was more assessable, this location would be perfect for Andrew's Pharmacy.

Failing Retailers

One of the biggest surprises in lieu of the economy has been the failure of businesses which two years ago were booming. Some of these businesses include Circuit City, Toys R Us and Goodys. At a time when the American Economy was booming, these bussineses and many others were doing extremely well. Because of this, these companies going out of bussiness have left many people puzzled as to why they cannot survive but other similar bussinesses are able to make it.

Although these bussinesses may have appeared promising, it turns out there were many problems that were never fixed and never needed to be because our economy was prosperous enough that "perfect bussiness tactics" weren't required. According to an article from Time Magazine called "Why Circuit City Busted, While Best Buy Boomed," written by Anita Hamilton, Circuit City was making very bad bussiness choices escpecially in 2007. In 2007, Circuit City laid off its highest paid hourly employees and replaced them with cheaper workers. Clearly this led to the downfall of Circuit City costumer service. This is only one reason as to why Circuit City could not hold on. There were also quite a few accounting errors that also aided in its down fall.

Another interesting aspect of the many recent retail failures is how good internet retailers are currently doing. At the time when gas prices went through the roof around December, internet retailers were making high sales. Why waste the time and money to go to a store when you can just buy what ever you need through the internet? According to eCommerce Optimization, "... we have seen the Internet change the way in which consumers shop and buy the items they like. Online shopping has become increasingly popular since eCommerce first began and industry trends do not show any signs of this trend slowing down any time soon."

Although some of the bussinesses collapsing are multichannel, it seems that the most successful bussinesses are solely based through the internet such as Amazon and Ebay. It is possible that if companies who are multichanneled managed their internet sales more efficiently, many problems would not arrise. The most interesting part is yet to come. When the economy is back on its feet, will so many bussiness failures still be happening?

Target Market

The VALS system of consumer classification, divides all consumers into one of eight different categories. The eight categories include the Thinkers, Innovators, Experiencers, Strivers, Survivors, Believers, and Achievers. On the VALS scale, the Innovators have the highest resources and the Survivors are located at the bottom with the lowest resources and lowest innovation. The VALS classification is used by many businesses to define it's target market. Each classification defines the buying habits and personality traits of the specific consumer. 

This system of classification seems logical on a macro scale but not on a micro scale. It does not seem physically possible to define all consumers in the world into only eight groups. However, it is possible for businesses to track exactly what and when one is consuming and then make it possible to pass judgements on a given consumers lifestyle. But when a business is defining its target market, more than the typical personality types should be considered. In my personal opinion, I feel it is possible to purchase like a survivor with the mind set and personality of an innovator. 

I feel I am a Thinker but after taking the VALS survey, I have found I am an Experiencer/Innovator, but I have for many, many years lived like a survivor and believer. I lived a very meager childhood which I only had the essentials, but I was always happy. I would like to consider myself on the cutting edge but I know I do not have the necessary resources to live and consume that way. The VALS system is a helpful and effective way to define a target market on the entire macro scale, but when confined to a small population, the system is too general to be completely accurate and effective. 

History of H&M

H&M's evolution started all the way back in 1947. At this point the founder of H&M, Erling Persson, opened a store called Hennes in Vasteras, Sweden. At this point, Hennes only sold women’s clothing. Erling then bought a hunting store called Mauritz Wildforss in Stockholm. This occurred in 1968. At this point the merging store name became Hennes and Mauritz. Along with the purchasing of Mauritz came the sale of men’s clothing. 1982 was the year that the expansion of H&M began. At this point in time, H&M stores are located all over the world and along with the sale of men’s and women’s clothing are also kids apparel, accessories and cosmetics.

According to http://company.monster.ca/hmhenca/, the H&M concept is as follows:

Our business concept is to offer fashion and quality at the best price. Our goal is
to ensure that the business is operated with the minimum use of resources and with
as little impact on the environment as possible.

A positive and enjoyable working environment is a quality on which H&M focuses. According to H&M’s website,

H&M has created an open and fun work environment that offers workers the chance to express their initiatives and ideas…

H&M also provides unbelievable benefits to the employees such as

· Medical & Dental Coverage

· Life Insurance

· Retirement Plan

· Vacation

· Holidays

· Bereavement

· Employee Discount

H&M had a very humble beginning many years ago but has flourished into an amazing business. H&M has become a very common name that many young adults could talk about for hours. Although there are so many H&M’s in the world, there are very select locations of H&M in North America. In 2004, two H&M’s were opened up in Toronto. As far as the US, however, only large cities contain an H&M. As I stated in the previous blog, the closest H&M is in Washington, DC. H&M is an excellent retailer to support due to the environmentally friendly work ethic, excellent treatment of employees and unbelievable selection of apparel.

http://company.monster.ca/hmhenca/.

www.hm.com

My Favorite Retailer

I feel it is difficult for me to choose my favorite retailer because I typically purchase my clothing through many. However, if I had to choose just one, I would have to say my favorite is H&M. Many people might have misconceptions about this retailer because there is a plethora of positive and negative information that can be found about this retailer. H&M has an extremely fast push out time for the lines and offers clothing for men, women and now children as well. H&M also offers extremely inexpensive clothing. Many skeptics do not like H&M because of the low quality of clothing that is offered hence why it is so inexpensive. I like this attribute because the apparel sold is high fashion and low price meaning as new lines come out one is able to revamp their wardrobe as they desire.

According to hm.com, there are over 1700 stores in 34 countries. However, there are no H&M's located within a 80 mile radius of Greensboro, NC. I first heard of H&M while I was living in Bethlehem, PA and found out there was a location right across the New Jersey border around 30 min from my house. Ever since then, my retailing experience was changed. Another reason why I love H&M is because of the large selection of clothing. You are guaranteed to find something you like. H&M started out as a Swedish women's store in 1947 called Hennes which is Sweedish for Hers. This is another reason I like shopping at this retailer because it shows that it has lasted for many years and is a strong competitor.

My final two reasons that H&M is my favorite retailer are that it is a highly recognized brand and also the brands enviornmental awareness. According to Wikipedia, H&M is the 64th most recognized brand in the world. H&M is a supporter of UNICEF in Uzbekistan and focuses on cotton and the enviornment, according to hm.com. I would highly recommend this retailer to anyone who is looking to shop at a high fashion, large selection and low price retailer.




www.wikipedia.com
www.hm.com