7-Eleven is one of the biggest convenience store chains around the world. In order to dominate the Swedish market, BVD helped 7-Eleven reposition their brand. The result was a more modern and put-together concept for the store. BVD also helped to further establish the company’s coffee.

Similar to 7-Eleven’s rebrand in Sweden, WD Partners is now designing a 7-Eleven in New York that will be different from the other chains throughout North America. Although this new New York chain has a different look, it will still feature the company’s old logos on its cups, napkins, etc. WD Partners claims this new branding for 7-Eleven has been nicknamed “7-Eleven Next Generation“.

TYPICAL 7-ELEVEN STORE: 

NEW 7-ELEVEN IN NEW YORK: 

Personally, the pictures of the New York 7-Eleven reminds of a grocery store (similar to Whole Foods). However, this new design grew on me. WD Partners believes the makeover will “reposition and rejuvenate the convenient stores to better capture the millennial and female demographics and better align them with the constantly changing customer base.”

As discussed in class, the female segment has caught marketers’ attention, so many companies are trying to attract this demographic. Since the New York 7-Eleven store appeals to me, I believe WD Partners has done a great job with rebranding.

As well, it is smart for 7-Eleven to adjust its traditional signature stores when entering different markets. In order to successfully expand into the competitive Swedish and New York markets, the company recognized they would need to adapt to fit the different cultures. Ultimately, I look forward to seeing how 7-Eleven continues to rebrand and how this will affect 7-Eleven’s customers.

References: 

http://www.brandingmagazine.com/2013/10/22/7eleven-nyc-concept-store/

http://bvd.se/7-eleven/

http://www.wdpartners.com

http://agbeat.com/business-news/7-eleven-concept-store-modern-super-sexy/

Forever 21 is a popular clothing store that is known for its trendy but inexpensive clothing pieces. As of November 2012, the company had sales revenue of $3.4 billion.

On the marketing side, Forever 21 truly understands teenage girls, which are their target consumers. Many girls are interested in fashion and want to follow the latest trends produced by their favourite designers. However, the majority of high school girls are price sensitive cannot afford Jeffrey Campbell boots or an Anna Sui design. This is where Forever 21, as well as other retailers such as H&M and Zara come in. Forever 21 and these retailers produce similar knock-offs to the designer brands and sells them at a cheaper price. With the cheaper prices, the quality of the clothing is not amazing, but it satisfies the need for their target consumer. Teenage girls like to follow trends, but styles quickly change. Ultimately, these girls are not looking for a shirt that will last them for ten years; they are looking for a peplum shirt that will last as long as the peplum trend.

The business and legal side of things at Forever 21 is more interesting. The company has had many lawsuits from designers such as Anna Sui, Diane von Furstenberg, and others stating the company has stolen their designs. Interestingly, instead of creating their own designs, it may be cheaper for Forever 21 to pay the settlements in the lawsuits.

Another reason for Forever 21’s dirt-cheap prices is due to low overhead costs. The company incurs relatively low designing costs (since a lot of their designs are knock-offs) and cheaper labour. 30% of the company’s merchandise is produced in Southern California and one factory worker said “she was paid 12 cents a piece to sew vests that sell for $13.80”, meaning “it would take 67 vests an hour to earn $8 minimum wage.”

Granted, the stealing of designs and shady labour costs is unethical, but it allows the company to stay up-to-date with the latest trends of fashion and produce cheap clothes. Ultimately, the operations of Forever 21 allows them to be able to cater to their target market and leads to their mass success in sales.

References:

http://canada.forever21.com/Product/Main.aspx?BR=F21

http://www.forbes.com/companies/forever-21/

http://jezebel.com/5822762/how-forever-21-keeps-getting-away-with-designer-knockoffs

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-secret-behind-forever-21s-dirt-cheap-clothing-2012-2