SWOT Analysis

Aeropostale SWOT Analysis

Sacoya Pedersen Savannah Diebold Hannah Hancock Cameron Tolman

Marketing 1030-7th Period Kammerman DESCRIPTION ● Aeropostale operates mainly in the United States with 914 stores across the United States along with seventy-five stores in Canada. ● Competition: Aeropostale is in competition with American Eagle, Hollister Co, and Abercrombie and Fitch. ● This company is mainly mall based so it is relatively a smaller store. The stores may be smaller, but the revenue per square foot is about five-hundred and fifty dollars. ● Apparel: Aeropostale offers menswear, women's wear, and a large selection of accessories like sunglasses to earrings and rings. They have three different lines, P.S. kids, live love dream, and Aeropostale. P.S. kids is targeted to children ages four to twelve and was created in competition with 77 kids. The regular Aeropostale line is targeted to teenagers ages fourteen to seventeen, men and women. ● Hours: The hours vary depending on where the Aeropostale is located, but the normal business hours are Monday- Sunday 10am-8pm. The founder of Aeropostale is Thomas P. Johnson. ● MSS Delaware inc. and Bear Stearns owns Aeropostale and bought it in 1995 then changed its name. Strengths ● Recognizable Brand Name- They have their name on all of their apparel, making it well known. ● Abundance of Stores- There are 914 operating stores in the United States and seventy-five operating stores in Canada. ● Good Employers- Aeropostale made the list of the hundred best companies to work for. Weaknesses ● Not Fashion Based- They stay with their simple designs with the logo plastered all over and don't change with the changing fashion trends. ● Low Number of International Stores- There are only nine operating stores in Canada. ● Small Store Sizes- Aeropostale is mainly mall based so it is relatively a smaller store with a large revenue per square foot. Often seems too overwhelming and crowded in the store. Opportunities ● International Expansion- In places like Russia it has been found that about 3.1% of the peoples income is being spent on apparel. Aeropostale establishes a strong retail base in these regions they believe they can garner some success. Japan has a $110 billion market which offers good potential for value-focused brands. ● Direct To Customer Business- Growing Internet usage has surged online apparel sales in the U.S. Marketer forecasts the online apparel sales in the U.S. to increase to $90 billion by 2016. This is compared to 2012 when it was $45 billion. The retailer started its global shipping in 2011 and currently ships to about 100 countries. It is offering a greater variety of products over the Internet and is using latest technologies for mobile websites. ● Expansion of P.S. from Aeropostale: Serves a larger demographic than Aeropostale's namesake brand. It is only limited to about 100 stores in 20 states in the U.S. Which is a potentially huge chance for expansion. Threats ● Over Dependence On A Few Vendors- Aeropostale sources about 84% of its inventory from only five vendors. Delay in supply or a change in strategy of any of these vendors can really affect the company. This could result to inventory shortage which weighs on the comparable store sales growth. ● Delay in International Expansion- Gap, Abercrombie & Fitch and Guess are expanding internationally. Aeropostale does not have any strong plans on international expansion. Aeropostale might find it difficult to compete in these markets later. Research ● Founded in 1993, named in Fortune magazine's top 100 companies to work for. It’s owned by the founder Thomas P. Johnson. ● Products/Services- retailer of casual apparel and accessories. ● Employees- There is a total of 25,766 employees in all 989 stores. ● Locations- They have their headquarters in New York, New York. With 914 operating stores in America and 75 operating stores in Canada. ● Business- Depending where the Aeropostale is located, on average, stores are open Sunday through Monday from 10am- 8pm. RECOMMENDATIONS ● Current Style- One suggestion is to less plastering the logo all over everything. Teenagers don't like having "Aeropostale" plastered all over everything they wear. The style of clothing needs to be re-evaluated and look at what is in style currently. ● Marketing- They don't send out coupons through the mail or advertise the discounts very well. If they started sending coupons through the mail, it'd potentially bring in more business. By also being able to register for texts that get sent out for "deal of the week" or specials , it would bring it more people. People love deals and sales on clothing.