Who can get this done

Discussion 1 Reply to this 

The Recreational Equipment, Inc., or REI, is the nation’s largest consumer cooperative outdoor gear and clothing company (Hoover’s Inc., 2016.  Recreational Equipment, Inc. Competitors).  Two competitors the REI Company needs to worry about are L.L. Bean Inc., and The Sports Authority Inc. (Hoover’s Inc., 2016.  Recreational Equipment, Inc. Competitors).

REI Inc has more than 138 outlets in over 30 states since being formed in 1938 (Hoover’s Inc., 2016.  Recreational Equipment, Inc. Competitors).  They have an annual revenue of $2217.131 million; they achieve this by selling high end gear and private-label goods (Hoover’s Inc., 2016.  Recreational Equipment, Inc. Competitors).  They also offer gear repair in their stores (Hoover’s Inc., 2016.  Recreational Equipment, Inc. Competitors).  They sell via outlet stores, as well as online and through catalogs (Hoover’s Inc., 2016.  Recreational Equipment, Inc. Competitors).

L.L. Bean, one of their competitors, also uses catalogs, however, they dominate the catalog world.  (Hoover’s Inc., 2016.  L. L. Bean, Inc. Competitors).   Since their establishment in 1912, L. L. Bean has grown to offer outdoor gear and children’s apparel in 200 million catalogs yearly, including 10 specialty catalogs, thus blowing REI, Inc. out of the water (Hoover’s Inc., 2016.  L. L. Bean, Inc. Competitors).   L. L. Bean, Inc. also holds stores within the Northeastern United States, Illionis, China, and Japan (Hoover’s Inc., 2016.  L. L. Bean, Inc. Competitors).  They even operate online (Hoover’s Inc., 2016.  L. L. Bean, Inc. Competitors).  Their annual revenue in millions this past year was $1560 million (Hoover’s Inc., 2016.  L. L. Bean, Inc. Competitors).

Although REI, Inc. is the largest outdoor gear and clothing seller, The Sports Authority, Inc. is the number one sporting goods chain (Hoover’s Inc.  2016.  The Sports Authority Inc Competition).  Being founded in 1928, they now have over 450 stores, in more than 41 states, and even Japan (Hoover’s Inc.  2016.  The Sports Authority Inc Competition).  Not only do they sell outdoor gear and clothing, but they offer sporting equipment as well, all in the name of premium brands (Hoover’s Inc.  2016.  The Sports Authority Inc Competition). They rent gear out as well (Hoover’s Inc.  2016.  The Sports Authority Inc Competition).

Not only does The Sporting Authority, Inc. have an insane amount of yearly revenue, at $2655.879 million, but their satellite stores do well too (Hoover’s Inc.  2016.  The Sports Authority Inc Competition).  Their satellite stores operate about 10 outlets that sell premier brands (Hoover’s Inc.  2016.  The Sports Authority Inc Competition).  Both the Sports Authority, Inc., and their satellites sell online as well (Hoover’s Inc.  2016.  The Sports Authority Inc Competition).  

   Each of REI, Inc.’s  competitors seem to sell the same products as well as their larger competitor, however, they branched out and offered other products as well.  For example, L. L. Bean, Inc. also offers children’s apparel, and the Sports Authority, Inc. rents out outdoor equipment such as skis and snow boards, etc. (Hoover’s Inc., 2016).  Recreational Equipment, Inc. only offers outside gear and clothing; their competitors seem to be acting smarter, rather than harder (Hoover’s Inc., 2016.  Recreational Equipment, Inc. Competitors).

Based on their respective websites, L. L. Bean, Inc. seems to portray their products more to fashionistas, or in other words, their fashion devoted shoppers (www.llbean.com).  L. L. Bean, Inc., seems to be doing larger sales through their ‘everyday’ clothing lines rather than their outdoor clothes and gear (L. L. Bean, Inc., 2016).  This can be derived from their webpage due to their immediate selections.  For instance, their webpage contains 10 drop down arrows of selections (L. L. Bean, Inc., 2016). Their first 4 selections are clothing; in fact, only 3 of the 10 immediate selections include outdoor related merchandise (L.L. Bean, Inc., 2016).Even the front web page of their webpage is women in dresses (L. L. Bean, Inc., 2016).L. L. Bean may be a competitor who  offers outdoor gear, but according to their sales numbers their apparent demographic of online fashoinistashoppers, I feel majority of their sales comes from apparel outside of the sporting world.

The Sports Authority, Inc.’s webpage is an even mix between REI, Inc.’s and L. L. Bean, Inc.’s webpage.  The Sports Authority, Inc.’s webpage does star an ad for fashionable apparel; however, it is shown in a sporting event (Sports Authority, Inc., 2016).  Also, they are more geared towards athletic sales, for National League sports teams, sporting activities, and even outdoor gear (Sports Authority, Inc., 2016).  Whereas L. L. Bean, Inc. offers everyday outfits, The Sports Authority, Inc. offers sporting outfits and apparel (Sports Authority, Inc., 2016).  Their target market is clearly active individuals seeking either necessary equipment for outdoors or sporting activities, or athletic wear for said activities (Sports Authority, Inc., 2016).  I have confidence that their sales are solely on active and or outdoor products, for they are the only products I see being sold, unlike L. L. Bean, Inc. (Sports Authority, Inc., 2016).  

Grading the three competitors on a 1-5 scale, with 1 being the highest, and 5 being the lowest, I feel they fall into line quite easily.  I feel the customer’s level of importance for REI, Inc.’s outdoor products as a number 2.5.  The rating I would give L. L. Bean, Inc.’s customer’s level of importance on outdoor products a 5, and their everyday apparel a 1.  Finally, I would give The Sports Authority, Inc.’s customer’s level of need for outdoor or active items a 1.  This would make the outdoor merchandise scale look like: 

The Sports Authority, Inc.

REI, Inc.

L. L. Bean, Inc.

I chose this level of rating by comparing their company size as well as websites.  I personally feel that although REI, Inc. is the largest seller in the United States, The Sports Authority, Inc.’s ratings as the number one seller within the United States makes the Sports Authority corporation the number one seller comparatively.  I also feel that with L. L. Bean, Inc.’s marketing target being for fashion pushes them to the lower tier of the comparison because their outdoor wear is minimal versus the vast amounts sold by the other two competitors.

References:

Hoover’s Inc.  (2016).  L. L. Bean, Inc. Competition.  Retrieved on April 11, 2016 from http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/competition.L_L_BEAN_INC.e1dd9a9a04b523bd.html

Hoover’s Inc.  (2016).  Recreational Equipment, Inc. Competition.  Retrieved on April 11, 2016 from http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/competition.RECREATIONAL_EQUIPMENT_INC.5e693121ac16f88e.html

Hoover’s Inc.  (2016).  The Sporting Authority Inc. Competition.  Retrieved on April 11, 2016 from http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/competition.THE_SPORTS_AUTHORITY_INC.b32f0fefbfd7caa0.html

L. L. Bean, Inc.  (2016).  Retrieved on April 11, 2016 from www.llbean.com

The Sports Authority, Inc.  (2016).  Retrieved on April 11, 2016 from http://www.sportsauthority.com/home/index.jsp

Discussion 2 Reply 

Search the Internet for two REI competitors. Analyze each competitor's overall positioning in the market. How closely does each company appear to match REI and its product lines? 

The two competitor companies that I chose to compare to REI are L. L. Bean and The Sports Authority. I broke down below how each company appears to match REI and its product line.

L. L. Bean, Inc.- This company sells products that are for outdoor wear such as general clothing, hiking, hunting and fishing, Cycling, and any outside furniture’s. Yes, L. L. Bean does compare more to REI because it sells the same types of products

The Sports Authority, Inc.- This company covers all types of sport activities. Yes, they do cover things that REI does but they expand their products to all sports or activities.

Write a comparison for each competitor's site. Include your best guess of each competitor's target market segment, based on the information provided on its Web site and the competitor's product line.

REI is targeting anyone who has interest in outdoor activities such as hiking, camping, climbing, cycling, kayaking, or doing activities in the snow.

L. L. Bean- By the looks of their website their main target is women because of the picture that shows when you first open the webpage. With the looking at their website, L. L. Bean also has a target for people who have an interest dealing with outdoor activities such as hiking, camping, and cycling.