A&F operates in the clothing industry. The industry is highly competitive and commoditized. In such an industry, success depends on the capacity of an organization to differentiate its products on offer. Hill and Ettenson assert that the manner in which customers perceive the brand of an organization is critical for success in all market segments. Indeed, A&F invests huge sums of money in building its brand image in the European markets to create a mass appeal for its target market segment. It mainly focuses on attracting customers who fit into values and social groups that comply with its brand image to make it possible to charge premium prices for the products. While A&F should continue with this marketing strategy, it is important to adapt its brand inventories to be consistent with the values and social groups of the European markets.
Direct-to-consumer marketing remains an important marketing positioning strategy for the organization. A&F brand was developed bearing in mind the needs of the US consumers. The appeal of such a consumer is different from the demand of a European consumer, as evidenced by Arthur, who was interviewed in October 2012. The marketing strategies are also developed in the context of the US consumer. The 48-year-old woman who was interviewed in July 2012 gave an indication of a successful marketing strategy for the European markets. The woman confirmed, ‘salespersons, and oh yes, this gorgeous hunk at the entrance with whom you can get your picture taken. OK, he was about my son’s age. So I thought it was a bit silly, if not unhealthy, to get my picture taken with him, but a lot of young girls were delighted to be given the Polaroid.’ The idea of targeting people between 40 years and above by hiring handsome boys and beautiful young girls is evidently misplaced in the European markets. Interactions with sales agents constitute an important shopping culture. The emerging question is, ‘how should market segmentation, targeting, and positioning strategies for A&F look like in the European market?’
For a firm to succeed in placing its brand strongly, it needs to determine its market segment. Market segmentation encompasses the division of consumers into subsets that are characterized by common needs in terms of the consumption of goods and services. Once the segmentation is done, appropriate market campaigns are set to target the subsets. Based on the experience of European shoppers, as discussed in the case, A&F needs to segment its market based on demographic factors such as age. It needs to target children, young adults, those between 25 and 40 years, and those who are above 40 years. For the young adults, targeting the products as explicitly offering sexual and emotional appeals applies well to the European market. Targeting the kids’ market segment by positioning the products such as offering the most popular children’s wear in Europe may also help to drive sales. The company targets the fashionable class by opening its stores strategically in big cities.
While positioning A&F products in the European markets, it is important to not only include young people in the experience marketing process but also employ older salespersons. Reporting on his A&F shopping experience, Arthur stated that he did not purchase anything from the organization stores because ‘atmosphere in the store did not stimulate his desire, his buying process was also hampered by the fact that the salespersons were unavailable and by the layout of the products.’ This observation underlines the need to change product displays to meet the configuration that a Paris shopper anticipates.
It is also evident that Paris shoppers’ purchasing culture does not resemble that of the American shoppers who may enter a store in search of a product without specifics in mind. With the growth of internet marketing, it is also important to create a mass appeal for A&F products through social media advertising. This strategy can help in positioning the products as not only casual wear for fashion-conscious people but as general wear for all people. This plan is important upon considering that positioning a product as fashionable may attract fewer sales when people become accustomed to it and decide to look for the in-thing elsewhere.