Ch. 4 - The Marketing Environment

Forever 21, Inc. runs in a highly competitive apparel market. As mentioned previously, their top competitors are H&M and Charlotte Russe. Both retail stores offer similar products at competitive prices in which attracts women in the age range of 18-34. Originally the company sold trendy clothing seen throughout South Korea. The company’s target market was young Koran American women in the Los Angeles area. Eventually women from other ethnicity started to notice the trendy styling of the company, and would soon become costumers.

Most of these women are motivated by the trendy, fashionable and frequently changing clothing styles on the market. Forever 21 is well known for their low and reasonable prices, and most women are on a lower budget because women between 18-34 are usually enrolled in college/university. As always, women are the first to worry about what to wear the next day, which is why Forever 21 offers "disposable" clothing. This means the clothes are inexpensive and are usually worn as long as that particular trend is in style. Since the trend can never last more than few months, teens and young adults are constantly updating their closet each season. Today two-thirds of the female population is considered  overweight. Clothing retailers are completely aware of this situation and therefore have been creating plus-sizes for women. For example: Forever 21's jeans for plus-size start from sizes 12 to 20.

Note: Forever 21's also takes into consideration what men would also want. By creating the brand for men 21Me, the company hopes to grab the attention of young men so they can also enjoy new trends at a cheaper price. 

Although Forever 21, Inc. has over 400 stores, advertising is one of their weak factors. In small markets, advertising is weak and this causes awareness to affect their profits. There is a low awareness for the men, maternity, and girl's clothing lines.

The purpose of communicating with consumers is to build a stronger relationship that will create awareness, drive repeat purchases, and a personal experience with the brand's personality and soul. Target market is given to the young and multi-taskers. These type of people are easily bored by the lack of stellar advertisements or marketing; therefore, the campaign must be memorable and engage females on a personal level.