Marketing Strategy of Forever 21

Forever 21 is the Fashion apparel brand which is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The American apparel brand was founded in 1984 and the first store was called Fashion 21 which further grown into clothing line of stores with brand name XXI Forever, Love 21, Forever 21, and Heritage.

Most of the apparel of the brand (around 60%) are made in China and is exported to other Asian countries, America, UK and Middle East.

Segmentation, targeting, positioning in the Marketing strategy of Forever 21 –

The Companies in the clothing industry uses the mix of the psychographic, demographic and geographic segment.  The variables like age, expectations, gender, income group, region, family size, loyalty, social class, price sensitivity, personality attributes, and lifestyle. Forever 21 uses above segmentation strategies for the same.

Mass targeting strategy is used by the company to be competitive in the fashion industry and target the customer group with the distinctive features and offerings.

The speciality retail store has positioned itself based on young, trendy and fashionable offerings which create the image of being young or ahead of fashion. The company has positioned itself based on value-based positioning strategy.

Marketing mix – Here is the Marketing mix of Forever 21.

SWOT analysis – Here is the SWOT analysis of Forever 21.

Mission- “To offer customers with an unprecedented selection at affordable prices and to be always changing and always in style”

Vision- “Not Available”

Tagline-“Fashion is for everyone”.

Competitive advantage in the Marketing strategy of Forever 21 –

1.Trendy and affordable pricing:

The brand has always been known for its fashionable offerings in the budget price which will suit the wallet size of the customer and make them feel that it is value for money.

2. Limited presence:

The company has the limited presence in most of the markets it is into which is helping the company in optimizing its operational cost and at the same time focusing to its most profitable and sustainable outlets.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

BCG Matrix in the Marketing strategy of Forever 21 –

The company operates in two notable business segments i.e. clothing for men’s and Women’s. However, it is known for women’s clothing and its men’s clothing business still being laagered in the industry.

Women’s clothing business vertical is starring in the BCG matrix while the men’s vertical is the question mark in the BCG matrix of Forever 21.

Distribution strategy in the Marketing strategy of Forever 21 –

The Company operates with fashion stores under different brand name FOREVER 21, Love 21, XXI Forever, and Heritage 1981. It has built a network of more than 600 stores in last 30 years and is planning to open 600 more stores.

The company distributes its offerings through mix channels of distribution such as franchised outlets, company-owned outlets, retail chains, and e-commerce websites.

The average store size of the FOREVER 21 store is 38,000 square feet, while that of the largest is approximately 162,000 square feet.

Brand equity in the Marketing strategy of Forever 21 –

Forever 21 has been ranked 103^rd in the Forbes list of Americas Largest Private Companies (Dec 2016) and has been valued at $8 billion (based on Market Capitalization method). The brands’ revenue stands at $8 billion as of Dec 2017.

The company have been sponsoring and participating in various fashion shows which have helped the company in increasing the brand visibility in the market and thereby the brand recall.

Competitive analysis in the Marketing strategy of Forever 21 –

Forever 21 competes in the market based on assortments, replenishment of stocks, availability, price, penetration to the emerging as well as developed nations and fashionable and trendy clothing.

It competes with companies such as Chanel, Zara, Only, Madame etc in one or more segments.

Market analysis in the Marketing strategy of Forever 21-

Sluggish domestic growth, government regulations, political, import tariffs, labor cost are affecting the industry not only to domestic market but also to exports.

Change in lifestyle, urge to look good, migration of customers from rural to urban centers, improving the standard of living and rapid acceptance of fashionable and trendy clothing in the emerging markets are some of the factors leading to the growth of the companies operating in this industry.

Customer analysis in the Marketing strategy of Forever 21 –

Customers of the brand are from the middle, the upper-middle-class majority of which live in urban centers and are in the age group of 15-40 years.

The customers of the brand are more of fashionable, love to wear trendy dresses, have to urge to look smart and confident.