Target audiences and segments

  The target market for the Ann Taylor shopper, the profile that we came up with would probably fall under believers, innovators, and maybe achievers.  There are parts of each of those that have the descriptions that we had for our shopper.

  

  In the textbook, it mentions that retailers are realizing that categorizing people by demographics turns out to be inaccurate and may miss (or include) target markets they may have wanted (or not).  Depending on what type of product the retailer is selling, groups can be broken down by demographics or be on a broader or more selective level.

Targeting ONE type of consumer is risky.  In our Ann Taylor profile, our "typical" shopper is an older, successful, classic not trendy mother.  I am none of those things.  I have bought things at Ann Taylor just because they are nice clothes.  The clothing used to be much more conservative, but it seems now that they are widening their focus group to include a bit younger customers.

As far as my results (below) for the most part it is accurate.  There are a few things that are way off, but I don't really fit any "standard" that is generally set.

• Welcome to VALS™ • The VALS™ Types • More about VALS™ • GeoVALS™ • VALS™ Survey • Survey Help / VALS™ FAQ • VALS™ Brochures • Publications Striver/Achiever Your primary VALS type is Striver, and your secondary type isAchiever. The primary VALS type represents your dominant approach to life. The secondary classification represents a particular emphasis you give to your dominant approach. Want to learn more about VALS™? Get our Understanding U.S. Consumers handbook. http://www.sric-bi.com/VALS/types.shtml

Sephora's Story

Sephora is the toy store for anyone interested in makeup, perfume, and beauty products in general.  It's no wonder that the company that owns Sephora is worshipped by those same people; LVMH.  

Beginning as a lone fragrance shop in France by Dominique Mandonnaud in 1969, the intention was to have a fragrance store that was self service instead of having more staff than products.  The 1970's proved to be a decade of change for Mandonnaud.  Creating new fragrance stores with a different retail model and approach to the typical store.  Mandonnaud decided to include cosmetics along with the existing fragrance selection (http://www.answers.com/topic/sephora-holdings-s-a).

The "Shop 8" stores continued to expand and open other stores.  The "Sephora" brand was exclusively at Boots (a UK retailer) and was purchased by Shop 8 in 1993.  The chain of stores took on the Sephora brand name.  In 1997, LVMH acquired Sephora that consisted of 75 fragrance stores.  In 1998, the US became the target for a new market and New York saw the first international strore.  In 2003, a change was implemented with the brand "Sephora" cosmetics being sold exclusively (http://www.answers.com/topic/sephora-holdings-s-a).