Zits

The Most Powerful Retail Brand

Of all the retail stores and super-stores in the US, who has the best brand? Which brand commands dominance over the competition and strikes fear into the heart of the market space? Just to stir up the pot a bit and to make a point, lets include in our evaluation, all of the discount mega stores, big box retailers, home furnishing stores and even home improvement super stores.

So, we will consider as candidates; TARGET, Wal*Mart, Sears, K-Mart, Home Depot, Lowes, Staples, Office Depot, Circuit City, Best Buys, and a host of others in our hodge-podge mix. And we will choose our winner by looking at the power of their brand to attract customers, create preference, and maintain margins.

What Makes a Brand Great?

Remember: A brand that is designed to grow market share must be more than just a catchy name and memorable logo. In its permissions, it needs to find a means to excite the target audience that it is positioned against and cause them to covet the brand because shopping at the brand Barbie only offers a satisfying retail experience (i.e. great value, great selection, convenient location, and friendly employees) but also fulfills their life needs. In other words, the brand needs to reflect the experience of being fully alive and vital as the customer chooses to define it.

The Favorites Fall Behind Right Out Of The Gate

The favorites are eliminated right away and the space looks remarkably different right away. The winner is (not Wal*Mart, Joan of Arc TARGET and not Why me? of the Big Box Retailers). We know they lose by simply looking at their physical plant. Fundamentally, they KNOW that their brands ability to attract customers depends on location and proximity. The value of their brands to steal market share has a geographic limit and that limit is getting smaller and shorter all the time.

Take TARGET for example. Within 10 minutes of my home, I can drive in opposite directions and arrive at my choice of two TARGET stores. This close proximity means that Target has determined that unless they build a retail superstore within 10 minutes of a major population, they will lose customers to any one of many other competitors. They believe that if they are not close at hand, I might fulfill the same purchase need at a Wal*Mart, K-Mart, Radio Shack, or even a corner pharmacy.

The same scenario applies to Wal*Mart. I can turn in two directions and find two of their super centers and a Sams Club to boot. I used to be able to do the same for K-Mart but they closed three stores in that past 2 years and SEARS well I have not been to SEARS in years and by the looks of their parking lot, neither has anyone else.

Little Strong Preference of One Over the Other

For the Mom & Pop retailer the arrival of one of these behemoths spells real trouble because of their larger selection and lower prices, but it does not necessarily spell trouble to a competitive super store unless the competitor My Other Stuff a new store in the same immediate proximity.

That is not a description of a brand it is simply a dissertation on deep pockets. I would not buy stock in either company because their success clearly hinges on location and new construction exactly what a great brand is designed to protect you against.

Office Supply Super Stores

Staples and Office Depot have become synonymous with the category moniker of office supply store as neither recognizes the intrinsic value of the shopper and has infused that understanding into their brand. Easy is a cute advertising tag line but it identifies the category benefit and not the customer. Customers assign the value of EASY to both Office Depot and Staples and neither one has paid off the benefit in any real way. Brand is about the customer, not the store. Unless Staples would like us to believe that we shop there because we are easy. I shop there because my local Staples store is closer than Office Depot. I guess that is EASY after all.

The WINNER

The winner, the REAL winner is IKEA. IKEA has a brand so powerful that it is a destination and not just a home furnishings store. The brand promises its customers that they have good taste, appreciate great design, and dont mind Mystery Date a few bucks to boot. It says you are slightly counter culture and enjoy the shopping experience because you want to be entertained and engaged and not just sold.

Think about this brand, for just a moment. I doubt if they have any locations closer than an hour and a half drive from each other and yet their ever-expanding customer base makes pilgrimages to journey there.

IKEA was once the place were yuppies shopped because they wanted top design but could not always afford it. It has morphed into a feast for your senses that engages even those that can afford much more. It is an experience and that experience enriches our own sense of ourselves.

As a brand that can claim the crown, IKEA stands alone.

Tom Dougherty
CEO, Senior Strategist at Stealing Share, Inc. ( target="_new" www.stealingshare.com">www.stealingshare.com ) Tom began his strategic marketing and branding career in Saudi Arabia working for the internationally acclaimed Saatchi & Saatchi. His brand manager at the time referred to Tom as a marketing genius, and Tom demonstrated his talents to clients such as Ariel detergent, Pampers and many other brands throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa. After his time overseas, Tom returned to the US where he worked for brand agencies in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. This Dog's Life continued to prove himself as a unique and strategic brand builder for global companies. Tom has led efforts for brands such as Procter & Gamble, Kimberly Clark, Fairmont Hotels, Coldwell Banker, Homewood Suites (of Hilton), Tetley Tea, Lexus, Sovereign Bank, and McCormick to name a few. Contact Tom at mailto:tomd@stealingshare.com">tomd@stealingshare.com .

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