Margarita Duque

Learning about Consumer Behavior has been completely captivating. It has given me an inside view of why a business such as Lululemon Athletica manages to be so successful. This is why, I will take you on my journey; share with you the process as to how I came to adopt the Lululemon brand.

1:Awareness

When I immigrated to Canada, I saw Lulu’s logo sporting all over town and I was curious to find out the why. Finding out the price of a pair of their pants shocked me. There was no way I would ever spend over $100 on a single piece of gym attire. In disbelieve, I assumed people bought the brand merely influenced by social factors.

2: Interest

The fact that all my group of friends owned a pair of lulu’s really got me thinking, why are so many women willing to drop cash like that on a single exercise attire? Initially, it was the stylish components and the social aspect of everyone wearing them that ignited my interest for the brand. I began to keep an eye on the brand,analyzing their products and consumer’s responses to them.

3: Evaluation

It did not take long to realize that everyone who own a pair of Lululemon pants love them. It seemed like people had a love affair with their workout clothes. As a laggard, I was very reluctant to try a new product. It took months of evaluation. I opted to buy other pairs of work out pants for the sake of saving money.

4:Trial

December 25, 2010 was the day when my view of Athletic apparel changed for good. I was tired of wearing lousy slacks to the gym and I decided to give Lululemon Athletica a chance.

5: Adoption

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I was told  “Once you buy Lulu, you never go back”. All I have to say is that the purchase of my first Lululemon pants has evolved into a life long attachment to the brand. Lululemon Athletica has surpassed my expectations. In brief, this company hits home runs when it comes to understanding consumers.Plus, they use the most powerful basis of segmentation; both behavioral and psychographic. All it takes is a visit to their blog to see what their manifesto is all about!

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbDpamSXX7M&feature=related[/youtube]I am delighted with the sophistication Joe Fresh brand is marketed. Their commercials, for example, are done with such elegance and simplicity; one could not guess the clothing is found at “Super-Store”, a massive discount food store.The notion of tacky, cheap looking clothing from giant home outlet stores does not apply to the Joe Fresh brand. Without a doubt, their collection has more of a classy flare. Many pieces are basics and can be worn season after season. But they indulge the fashionistas too. There are a number of pieces that are runway inspired and that are trending in all the fashion magazines. Joe Fresh is a brand that is able to differentiate itself from the other cheap brands out there. It delivers convenience, quality and affordability.

Loblaw Company, creators of Joe Fresh understood customer needs. By launching a clothing line in their grocery outlets, the store becomes a convenient spot for shoppers to kill two birds with a stone. Loblaw recognized the time poor society trend, especially true amongst moms.Naturally, the brand would have to be cheap since the customers who were walking in their stores for groceries were price- conscious. They use this strength of having their targeted consumer already at a location to woo them into buying clothing. But how did they do that? They offered superior quality and design in combination with affordability.

Sure, one can get a $10 Top at Wal-Mart for the same price, but its style and quality just do not measure up to Joe Fresh’s.Loblaws companies understand that low prices cannot be the only competitive advantage. They manage to once again deliver an innovative brand that not only satisfies the need to save but also creates a need for consumers to keep coming back for more.

“If you want to do luxury you need to be specialized because if you do everything, you are a brand…you’re not in the luxury business.” -Diego Della Valle, chairman of Tod’s group.

This is great insight and I could not agree more. In order to be successful, a firm need to choose a segment in the market. In the case of Tod’s, it targets affluent consumers who seek high quality footwear. By choosing to be specialized, Tod’s sets a point of difference from the rest of the competitors. It does not try to compete with the variety and trendiness of many mainstream competitors. Rather, it focuses on delivering costumer the best quality on their limited selection of products. Creating a sense of scarcity is a key quality in the luxury business.  People in this segment look for specialty products that are carefully produced. If a luxury company aims for expansion, its products loose exclusivity; the key quality consumers “need” in a luxury product.

check out  the interview here!

I was delighted to find out about a local company who integrates social responsibility in all aspects of their business. As a social enterprise Common Threat is a business driven by a social cause, investing   resources to maximize the “profit”; social benefit to the community. It is a cooperative business which joins forces with sewing social enterprises to “sew with purpose”. Common Threat has an environmental purpose.It only uses recycled material to make their products, mainly donated fabric, turning into a practical product such a re-usable lunch bag.  The company takes full advantage of its resources to maximize the benefit to the environment; not only is fabric otherwise “unusable” sewn into a recyclable bag, but the fact that this product is itself eco-friendly and locally made is even more awesome as this can help reduce plastic and energy usage. Furthermore, the company also has a social purpose. It empowers people by hiring and offering training to those recovering from mental illnesses, and minority groups. Common Threat exemplifies that when social purpose meets business mentality, the benefit to society is maximized.

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Aly Jeth is an inspiring entrepreneur whose passion and job is to educate children on multiculturalism. The concept of cultivating tolerance and social diversity at a young age is extremely ingenious and useful in today’s increasing globalized world. Many think entrepreneurs are driven by profit, but to Ali, the motivation to start  Big Bad Boo Studios was far more meaningful. He knew that even if he was successful in his target market, the financial return would not be substantial enough to cover the major start-up expenses. But he took the risk and it sure pay off. He was overwhelmed with the positive response from consumers and the surprised with the high demand acquired from other segments of the market. He knew immigrant parents would love the product because it would teach their young children about their roots, but the high request from schools and libraries to carry his product was unexpected. Big Bad Boo’s innovative line of multicultural cartoon series and books has a great positive impact on the next generation of businesses.  Think of all the problems and training time saved, not to mention the new opportunities created if  all CEOS, managers and employees of companies would have been  brought up with a socially diverse-mindset. Globalization is changing the way we do business, and thanks Big Bad Boo’s Studios the next generation of business leader will embrace diversity as the Mixed Nutz series taught them.