COMPETITIVE STORE SURVEY

As a new buyer for Perry’s Department Store, it is your responsibility to “shop ” the competition that you
believe would compete with your department. Choose a local department store or specialty store that
would directly compete with Perry’s and complete the survey.

Buyer: Briana Miller and Danielle Veesaert

Store you are shopping: Pacsun Date: January 25, 2018

Day of the week: Friday Time of day: 3:45 p.m.

Store location: Battlefield Mall, Springfield, MO

Type of retailer: Specialty retailer

Part I Customer Profile

1. How many customers were in the store or area when you were shopping? If there were an unusually
large number of customers, why?

Around 4-6 customers were present when we were shopping.

2. What was the average age of the customers? How many were men? How many were women?

The average age of the customers was between 17 and 25. There were mostly women with
only 2 men walking in during our shopping time and around 4-5 women.

3. Were any customers making purchases?

There were not any customers making purchases, but there were a couple of customers trying on
the merchandise in the fitting rooms.

4. Were there enough sales associates to accommodate the number of customers?

Yes, we believe there were enough sales associates to accommodate the number of customers.

5. Do you think this was a typical customer sampling for the store or area? Was it a luxury consumer?

We think there is a typical customer for this store, usually being the age range of 17-25 in groups of
friends. These are not luxury consumers.

6. Did the store environment parallel the type of customers present? (Did the visual presentations
accurately reflect the type of customer?)

We found that the clothing and merchandise offered does represent the customer base fairly well,
however we found the merchandising of the store was not the best it could be to represent its
customer.
7. Summarize the customer profile by describing the target customer for this store or area.

The target customer for Pacsun is an individual between the ages of 17-25, either male or female,
any religion, ethnicity, or political party affiliation. These customers enjoy streetwear and
comfortable apparel, as well as trendy brands such as Kappa, Brandy Melville, and Adidas.
However, with most of the store’s merchandise being branded, the customer is most likely middle
class and is more concerned with brand loyalty than getting a good deal on their apparel.

Part II Visual Presentation

1. Diagram the layout of the department on another sheet of paper. Was it easy or difficult to shop?
Why?

We find the store easy to shop, there is a clear designation of the men’s and women’s sides of the
store. In addition, the customer can physically see all of the merchandise displayed in the store with
the wall face-outs and table displays. However, since the store is broken up into brands, the
customer might not be able to make a complete outfit from one brand’s section of the store. For
example, one brand’s area might include most if not all tops, with little to no options for bottoms. In
addition, the store is set up based on promotions, which goes along with the brands as certain
brands participate in the in-store promotions while others, like Brandy Melville, never does. Lastly,
we found the store set-up to lack in its ability to push sales.

2. How many and what type of fixtures did the department contain?

This retailer contains 8 racks, including 4 single racks, 2 rollaway racks, and 1 “H” rack. There are
2 circle tables, 10 rectangular/square tables and about 4-5 shelving units per separated wall section.
Lastly there are 3 fitting rooms to accommodate the customers.

3. How was the department merchandising visually arranged? Was it displayed by color, category,
size, or a combination of elements?

The merchandise in the store is visually arranged by brand where each brand has its own shop that
generally includes, shelving units, a rack and a table. There is not orientation by size or by color
except for in the clearance section where there is some organization by color in the wall.

4. What kind of signage was used? Describe.

The signage used in the store was small plexi frames on the tables as well as some large overhead
marketing above each shop. There was also a menu sign just outside of the store’s entrance. The
table frames and menu were more based on promotional marketing whereas the overhead
marketing focused more on branding and visually appealing marketing.

5. Summarize your comments on the store’s visual presentation.

Overall, we feel that the store’s set-up allows customers to shop with ease and allows for the brands
to capitalize on individuals shopping exclusively from their collection instead of mixing and
matching with the competing brands represented in Pacsun. However, we find that the store’s
overall appeal is not expressed in the best ways through their current markeing efforts in the store
and feel like there could be more personalization towards the brand’s customer.

Part III Merchandise Selection

1. What type of merchandise is stocked? List a minimum of five categories or classifications.

The merchandise stocked in Pacsun includes: jeans, hoodies, crop tops, t-shirts, skirts, hats, shoes,
pants, jackets, outerwear, blouses, and tank tops.

2. What vendors are carried? List a minimum of ten.

Some of the vendors carried in Pacsun includes: Vans, Adidas, Brandy Melville, Champion, Kappa,
Obey, Playboy, Tommy Jeans, Guess, and Kendall and Kylie.

3. What are their private labels? How do they compare in quality and price?
Their private labels include their self-named brand “Pacsun” as well as P.S. Basics. Compared to
the branded clothing the private label items are about half of the price. For example, a Guess tshirt
is priced at $44, while the Pacsun tshirt is priced at $24.99. The quality slightly differs, but the
biggest differences in the items is the logo printed on the clothing.

4. What are the price points? Lowest? Highest? Average?

The price points of this store ranges quite a bit. The lowest priced item from clearance was $5.99,
while the highest priced item was a pair of Adidas shoes at $100. The average price of merchandise
is around $39.99.

5. Was the selection “broad and shallow” or “narrow and deep”?

The selection of merchandise is both broad and shallow and narrow and deep depending on the
type of merchandise. Overall however, there seems to be a more broad and shallow approach to
appeal to a wider audience and give more options of types of apparel.

6. Did there appear to be sufficient sizes? How could you determine this?

There were not sufficient sizes available as some styles only had two sizes available while others had
many units but most in the same size. Therefore, there was not a proper size run of all of the
merchandise.

7. What was “front and forward”? What was in the back of the department?

New and trendy merchandise and brands were front and forward, while older and clearance
merchandise was at the back of the store. In addition, shoes and accessories were placed at the back
of the store.

8. Was clearance merchandise available and where was it located?

Clearance merchandise was available and was located in the back of the store on the back walls as
well as on a couple of clothing racks.

9. What percentage of the merchandise was new or current? What percentage appeared to be basics?
What percentage was clearance?

We found that about 30% of the merchandise was new, 50% of the merchandise was basics, and
about 20% of the merchandise was clearance.

10. Were there any novelty pieces?

There did not seem to be any novelty pieces in the store. Nothing was a one of a kind item.

11. Did the merchandise meet your customer analysis?

Yes, we feel that the merchandise met the needs of Pacsun’s customer base.

Part IV Overall Review

1. Why do you think this store will provide competition for Perry’s?
2. How can you overcome the strengths of the competitor, and take advantage of their weaknesses?