Friday, February 8, 2008

Retail Life Cycle

After class on Wednesday of this week, I learned more about the retail life cycle. The stages are: Introduction, Growth, Maturity, and Decline.

When I consider the boutique that I work for called FlyButter Boutique, I can now better understand as to the various stages that the company has been moving in.

The store opened at the end of July 2007, which can be considered as the introduction stage for the company. During this time, the company was offering prices that would gain customer interest, but still yield a profit.

Secondly, is the growth stage. This took place when the store had it's grand opening party and the store gained a significantly large amount of money from sales. This later, added to the increase of sales and customer referrals.

Thirdly is Maturity, which is the state that the company is now facing. Since we are a store that carries men's and women's clothing, we have seen a maturity of women's more so than the men, sales have increased.

And lastly, the final stage is decline. Now, it can be said that the store is being faced with a decline in the men's wear. So with that, the store is having to reposition itself to maintain sales and customer interest.

Friday, January 25, 2008

A SWOT For Amelia

STRENGTHS

Very Friendly, Compassionate, Patient, a Very Good Listen

WEAKNESS

Not Aggressive Enough, Lacking Details, Becoming Distracted by Others, Not Wanting Too Much Responsibility

Opportunities

Saving More Money, Stepping Into A Management Position, Traveling To Become Diversified

Threats

Caring Too Much About How Others See Me and Think Of Me, Family Wanting Me to Live Close By, Leaving My Church, Men, Fear

Meditating for A Mission

Amelia's Mission Statement for 2008

Amelia O'Neal's mission for 2008 is to continue to be the "Best Amelia" that she knows how to be. This entails not allowing the perception of her family, friends, and peers to distract her from her aspirations in school, church, as well as professionally.


For the academic year of 2007-2008, my mission is to obtain Dean's list for at least one of the two semesters. I also strive to keep my motivation, as to attending the majority of my classes.

For personal aspirations for the year of 2008, my mission is obtain an internship for the summer of 2008 that will continue my desires to becoming a buyer for a major corporation.


Making The Goals A Reality


In order to make my academic goals a reality, I plan to be at least ten minutes early for each class that I have. Also, I will sit in the very front of the classroom. That way, I am focused and involved in the learning experience around me. On top of that, I will use any and all idol time to study and prepare for the next class.

Making my personal goals a reality will be done by constantly checking the internet and teachers for any upcoming internships for the summer of 2008. In addition to that, I will stay in close contact with my district manager for the retailer that I currently work for, who can help me stay updated with any possible chances of an internship within the company I work for, which is New York & Company.

In-Store vs. On-Line

n the society that we live in today, everything is done by electronics...everything is digital. Shopping has fallen into that same category. Now, don't get me wrong, people are still shopping in stores, but a large portion of the world are now becoming techosavie. Even the children who are growing up these days are learning how to do most everyday functions, online or electronically.

When it comes to shopping in retail, this has become one of the most impersonal experiences. Today, people never have to wait in lines...never have to deal with rude sales associates (if such a thing exist)...never have to deal with unnecessary accessories.

But the alternative to this particular situation is that, when consumers decide to shop more on-line, this tends to cut back on the in-store experience, as well as jobs for retail workers. So, who is right and who is wrong? Are the people who want to provide a personal experience wrong? Or are the people who want to avoid long lines? No one is right or wrong. The only thing to really understand is that people realize that our world is changing each day, and we have to be willing to understand the ever-evolving world that we encounter each day.

Friday, December 7, 2007

RCS 362 Reflection

I will say that I learned a more out of this class than I thought. And in reality, just about everything that I learned in RCS 362, has in some way, shape, or form connected with my MKT 424 Consumer Behavior class. True, it is a marketing class, but I believe that it tied in everything to make more sense of what was taught in RCS 362. I enjoyed the class discussions which helped to cause what was taught, to be applied to everyday life situations. With that being said, I think I am ready for RCS 261...I think.

Black Friday

So, clearly Black Friday has been done and over with for some time, but I thought that I would reflect on it from my stand point. I work for a store called FlyButter Boutique. In the store we sell men's and women's clothing, jewelry, and accessories. Even though we had $5 off hats, $10 off all jeans, 25% off of purses, and so on...business was not as great for us. Why? Well the reason I believe is that people were so caught up with sales as larger locations, that they didn't take the time to think about how they could purchase the same types of items for a much lower price. So, the conclusion that that experience has shown me is that, it's not always about marketing and the advertisements...it's about consumer behavior as well. It's about why a consumer buys or does not buy a particular item. It amazes me how people (especially in Greensboro, NC)want to look the part of living a glamorous life, but don't want to pay the price for it...it does work that way...all the time.

RCS 362 Exam...

So, oh my gosh, I didn't get every question on the exam correct, but I feel as though it went well overall. I really appreciate the exam review that was given the week of Thanksgiving...it really helped. There were a few questions that stomped me, but for the most part, everything was clear and straight to the point.