Costco Target Market Analysis

This critique will be reviewing the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV). The WISC-IV was authored by David Weschler and was published by PsychCorp, which is a brand of Harcourt Assessment Inc in 2003 (Plake, 2005). The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Fourth Generation can take anywhere from 65-80 minutes to administer and should be done individually (Plake, 2005). In The Sixteenth Mental Measurements Yearbook Plake (2005) states, an individual administering the WISC-IV should allow for an additional 10-15 minutes if using supplemental tests. The price of the WISC-IV can range anywhere from 725 to 1,075. For 725 dollars you will obtain the basic kit where you receive the administrations manual, technical

Costco has developed number of operational excellence that helped to achieve low cost operations. Costco’s operational excellences are efficient management of inventory and distribution, minimum merchandise handling, and bulk purchasing to reduce the price of the products. Also, Costco has the ability to offer leading national brands at low prices by getting great discounts from the manufacturers. In addition, Costco generates high sales volume and quick inventory turnover helps in reducing inventory-handling costs and increases the liquidity of cash. Quick realization of cash helped them to pay off their vendors and receive additional discounts for early settlement.

One of the main opportunities Costco has is more global expansion to specific targeted countries. Although operating in many countries, Costco is heavily dependent on the U.S. and Canadian markets. It still has the opportunity to expand into the Asian and Australian markets where it has a limited presence. Costco has the capability to operate about 100 stores in Taiwan, Korea and Japan combined and about 20 stores in Australia. It currently has 41 stores in Taiwan, Korea and Japan combined and 6 stores in Australia. There is clearly room for further expansion into these regions as well as the opportunity for massive expansion into China and India. When Costco enters another country it does everything in its power

Market segmentation is the first step in defining and selecting a target market to pursue and penetrate. Basically, market segmentation is the process of splitting up an overall market into two or more groups/classes of consumers. Each group of consumers is called as a market segment. Each group (or market segment) should be similar in terms of certain characteristics or product/ service needs. In business world, market segmentation is considered to be a most important tool in enabling marketers to better meet customer needs and requirements. It is the process of splitting the customers, or potential customers, in a market into different groups, or segments, within which customers share a similar level of interest in the same,

Operating margin/Return on sales (ROS) is the ratio of operating income divided by net sales or revenue, usually presented in percent. According to gurufocus’ statistics (October, 2015), Costco’s operating margins (3.12%) ranked higher than 53% of the 359 Companies in the Global Discount Stores industry (2.99%). Just like Gross Margin, it is important to see a company maintains its operating margin over time. Among the same industry, a company with higher operating margin is more efficient in its operation. It is also more stable during industry slowdown or recessions. In addition, according to Business Insider (Ashley, 2014), Costco’s revenue percentage change is 127.8% which is significantly higher than Walmart (70.24%) and Target (60.94%)

This chapter challenges all levels of knowledge, according to the ‘Bloom’s taxonomy’ method. Within this chapter the aim is to focus on a specific US clothing line called American Apparel, founded in 1989 by a Canadian named Dov Charney. Today, this company is based in all corners of the world, however its main quarters are in Los Angeles, California. The way in which this is evaluated is under sub-headings that will break down the analysis: American Apparel- public perception, target audience, tracing campaigns, and American Apparel versus their competition.

Because their business model is focused on keeping margins incredibly low, they do not fare well to their competitors in terms of gross margin or profit margin. Costco works to keep prices low by buying in huge quantity and never marking up any product more than 15 percent, which is less than the standard 25 percent at a supermarket or 50 percent at a departmental store. Costco makes up for these low margins by charging a $55 annual basic membership and $110 executive membership fee to its 81.3 million members. With more than 90 percent of its members renewing each year, the fee is evidently not a significant

Costco is a membership warehouse club. Costco is dedicated to bring members the best quality items in bulk with the best possible price. It started as Price Club in 1976. When it opened up in 1976 the only purpose the business had was serving only small businesses. But later found out that they would be better off selling to non-business members. In 1983, the first Costco was open. They first opened in Seattle. Costco was the first business ever to grow from zero to $3 billion in sales in less than six years. In 1993 Costco and Price Club merged to operate as PriceCostco and had 206 location generating $16 billion in annual sales. Seven years later Jim Sinegal channeled his expertise into co-founding Costco Wholesales with Jeff Brotman, as stated on Costco.com. Costco has a wide range of products. Costco products range from

In order to formulate an effective ad, the target audience must always be defined and understood. Starbucks Coffee’s target audience is families with young children. There are several factors involved in determining the target audience, and that is demographic, geographic, psychographic, and consumer insights.

In order to understand the success of Inditex’s best brand, Zara one has to understand their strategic choices, and at its core this revolves on having a good understanding of who Zara targets, and what makes this brand attractive.

Golden corral is the most popular buffet and restaurant across the United States being since 40 Years. They are the topmost under any criteria. You will never find end for meals for breakfast or lunch or dinner. With every meal, it can be taken as the number 1 option. In most important, Golden Corral Price will be very comfortable. It was first started in 1973 in North California. It provides a family friendly environment along with tasty food. You will feel that as the destination for both food and money. Their popularity is mainly dependent on their ability to offer various kinds of dishes. All buffets will be limitless. The prices will vary from age to age.

Segmentation, Targeting and positioning, also known as STP are an essential part in marketing today. This model is important for generating marketing communication strategies and it aids the marketers to prioritize schemes and deliver personalized and pertinent messages to diverse audiences. This approach is audience oriented rather than product focused in terms of communication, which results in conveying appropriate messages to the members who are more commercially appealing.

Common definition market, which means economic that’s approach customers in terms of people to find a goods or services they want, while segmentation is processes dividing specific part into many parts of some things. Market segmentation is mean an organization target its product, services, or ideas only to specific groups of consumers rather than to everybody, even if it means that other consumers who don’t belong to this target market aren’t attracted to it, for example is ASIMO might be suitable for housewife to do household works. Honda company has been targeted three major part of market segmentation that is include demographic, behavioral, and psychographic segmentation.

According to the ‘’Four types of market segmentation’’, which are presented by the British Library, when companies want to sell their products to their B2C customers, they always follow the behavioral, psychographic and profile segmentation. As for the behavioral segmentation, companies are really interested in understanding the factors and motives why people purchase products. For instance, one of the most common forms of behavioral segmentation is when consumers buy on different occasions (Christmas, Easter, birthdays, etc.). Moreover, as stated in the article, the «Psychographic market segmentation is another form of demographic breakdown that enables businesses to understand a potential customer’s habits, hobbies, spending habits and core values». Last but not least, companies always segment their customers according to their profile (location, sex, age, religion, etc.).

Carrefour had to segment their customers because they had different needs, behaviors, and preferences; therefore, it was difficult for the company to meet every consumer’s personal characteristics (Wedel and Kamakura 2012, p. 6). Carrefour also had to segment their customers because they needed to come up with a marketing mix that will help the firm meet the needs its customers in their target market. Market segmentation refers to the division of a market into segments that are identifiable and similar. These segments refer to a group of people or organizations that have one or more features in common, which prompts to have same product tastes and needs. According to Wedel and Kamakura (2012, p. 6-7), market segmentation is important because it helps the organization to use their resources efficiently and make better strategic decisions. For instance, Carrefour will not waste their resources on advertising because they have already identified a specialized market for their fruits. Market segmentation helps the company to serve better their customers and attracts more; thus, helps in gaining competitive advantage. Lastly, market segmentation helps organizations to create a sustainable customer relationship, which contributes to increasing their loyalty. It is because it allows the firm to provide products that satisfy customer needs and preference and they can cater for their changing pattern of behavior over time.