Competitive and Aspirational Shopping Report

Courtney Ott24 September 2015

This free spirit sees the beauty in open spaces, embracing American heritage lifestyle.

Genuine and real with a down-to-earth style.

A laid-back nature that is cool, relaxed and uncomplicated.

Anything goes for this all-American, who wants reliable on-trend apparel that can weather any adventure or social situation.

the brand

who he isAuthenticOriginalCasual

Independent

• All American style

• Likes to be up with the trends

• Affordable price point

• Pre-teen to young adult

• Cool, classic, stylish, not overly

trendy

• Pieces mom can buy and know are

quality and will last

• Solid mix of trends and staple

pieces

Competitive Product Analysis• What JCPenney and our direct competitors are offering to our

customer in stores• What we currently have out there for him in terms of product and

brand message

Aspirational Brand Analysis• What our aspirational competitors have in terms of product in store

and brand message• What trends can we aspire to offer our customer

Shopping on Social Media• An internal, competitive, and aspirational look at Arizona’s strengths,

weaknesses, and opportunities• How our customer interacts with this world

Conclusions• What is Arizona doing well• What can Arizona do better

approach

Competitive Shopping Anaylsis

Arizona by JCPenney’sUrban Pipeline by Kohl’s

Old NavyAmerican Rag by Macy’s

• Denim based, Americana inspired brands• Mid-tier brands

• Attainable and desirable

ArizonaBrand Essence: all American, cool, stylish, not overly trendy, good quality

Price Range: mid-tier

Print Trends: Navajo prints, faded effects and coloring, wide range of plaids, novelty prints

Kohl’sBrand Essence: urban, street inspired, trendy, youthful

Price Range: mid-tier

Print Trends: photo real, graphics, colorful plaids

Observations: felt dated and out of style, almost no all over prints and textile design, heavy on graphics

Old NavyBrand Essence: youthful, trendy, current, all American, casual, lively, playful, optimistic

Price Range: mid tier

Print Trends: faded effects, strong color, classic plaids, novelty prints, graphics

Observations: a serious direct competitor for Arizona, textile design is very youthful, current and fast fashion inspired

MacysBrand Essence: strongest juniors brand, boutique heritage, on trend, mature

Price Range: moderate

Print Trends: vintage inspired colors and prints, classic denim, trendier but classic prints

Observations: have a more mature and subdued feel, could help them reach a wider range of customers, higher price points than Arizona

Aspirational Shopping Analysis

Hollister Co.American Eagle Outfitters

Abercrombie and FitchH&M

• All American style• On trend and relevant

• Have brand awareness and presence• Speak to the customer through a lens of desire for their lifestyle

HollisterBrand Essence: Cali inspired, youthful, modern, trendy

Price Range: moderate

Print Trends: athleisure inspired, photo-real graphics, novelty, textural prints

Observations: broad range for the male consumer, have a focused brand awareness

American EagleBrand Essence: adventure and explorer inspired, all American, trendy and youthful

Price Range: moderate

Print Trends: Navajo and tribal, cooler, less saturated tones, pops of color in accents, rugged stripes, graphics

Observations: AEO has grown recently, their displays for men were equal to their women’s, use color the correct way for their brand and prints

Abercrombie & FitchBrand Essence: all American, authentic, trendy, classic, East coast inspired

Price Range: moderate

Print Trends: ditsy florals, textured stripes, ivy league inspired graphics

Observations: A+F doesn’t have a clear identity or customer for their men’s department, lacked focus but still had some interesting textiles

H&MBrand Essence: youthful, fast fashion, novelty, trendy

Price Range: mid-tier

Print Trends: novelty prints, caricatures, graphic illustrations, photo-real, wide variety

Observations: wide variety of textile design, have fun ideas to consider but keep true to the Arizona brand

Textile Trends IdentifiedAnalyzed current textile trends during competitive shopping and online

Textural/ Small Scale

Pattern Placement

Faded and Distressed

Textural/ Small ScaleSmall scale prints that create a texture and have a tessellating feel.

Pattern PlacementIntentional pattern placement creating a color block effect with pattern fills.

Faded/ DistressedWorn effect paired with vintage color schemes create a distressed appearance, adding enhanced quality. Works well for more traditional and heritage inspired textiles.

Arizona Strengths & OpportunitiesAuthenticOriginalCasual

Independent

Strengths• The Basics: We do the basics well, providing core styling pieces to build a wardrobe

• Brand Identity: we have a strong brand heritage and identity that we stay true to• Direct Competition: Arizona is more relevant and on trend in textile design than Kohl’s

Opportunities• Trends We Missed: “Outdoor Athleisure” (tech prints/ explorer outdoor) & “Textural Prints”

• Enhanced quality: Leverage textile design to create a quality feel

social mediaOur guy is highly social and influenced heavily by peers and pop culture and social media.He is adventurous, involved inside and outside of school, likes to be outdoors, and is aware of and follows trends.

InstagramCasual and contemporary looks that portray a stylish and laid back guy. Ranges from a more sophisticated and older consumer to a quirky, more youthful one. There is not a strong young men’s presence on the JCPenney Instagram.

TumblrBetter young men’s social media presence on JCPenney’s Tumblr, “Bend the Trend,” but still over 85% directed towards young women. Posts include various flat lays of young men’s outfits, showing the consumer how to wear the trends.

aspirational social mediaArtistically photographed, blogger like posts mixed with real world and relatable photos. Portrays a funny, relatable, and cool guy who is an explorer and someone everyone wants to be friends with. Stronger men’s presence on shared Instagram brand accounts.

aspirational social media

OpportunitiesEdge out our direct competitor on Instagram

Meet our customer where he is already at

• Shop-able posts on Instagram

• Blogger endorsed product posts

• Show our consumer how to wear and style our products

• Direct our social media towards young men instead of diluting with

other cross category content

• Move content currently for young men on JCPenney’s Tumblr and

post to Instagram, directing it to right source

• Portraying the brand lifestyle verses the product

• Letting our brand message show through our product

Recommendations & Conclusions for

Arizona

• Brand awareness needs to be portrayed in product

• Create desire and quality through textile design

• Need stronger social media presence

• Omni-channel shopping is key