Introduction
Belk is a middle range to upper scale American departmental chain store that came to being in 1988. Its founder was Henry Belk with its location being Monroe, North Carolina. It is the largest departmental store company that is owned and also operated by a family. It has two hundred and ninety nine locations in sixteen states. Notably, the company is in its third generation of leadership from the Belk family. Belk stores provide national brands, as well as, private label fashions in terms of shoes, cosmetics, apparels, registry of weddings and also home furnishings. The flagship locations of Belk are comparatively bigger and sell high end products with an increased specialty in merchandise brands. Essentially, the following article will research on its target customers, identify its suitable location in Los Angeles, develop a consumer profile and lastly justify how the consumer profile will fit its current customer profile.
The target customers for Belk are thirty-five to fifty-four-year-old women who have families regarded as middle and upper-income earners. They are often style-conscious women who work out of their homes and buy for themselves and families updated fashions, as well as, quality merchandise. Notably, Belk maintains its focus on the target customers by investing in research and working on the client feedback for purposes of updating the characteristics, as well as, the needs of the customers. Belk constantly seek to maximize the convenience and also the satisfaction of its clients by efficiently managing its inventories. Through this, the company achieves higher levels of inventory of the required merchandise, merchandise signing, visual display and also an efficient layout of the store. As a result, the customers can access a quick and an efficient transaction during the sale.
Belk has a goal of expanding its market to women between the age brackets of fifteen and thirty-four in its promotion of the latest apparels, jewelry, private brands and also cosmetics. With a constant rise in online sales and the use of social media, Belk harbors the opportunity of widely reaching to women through Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and the Belk Inc. app. Belk company has significant merchandise initiatives that have a focus to provide its target customers with a comprehensive assortment of updated and properly branded fashions which would meet the lifestyle needs of its clients. (Vault.com, 2016) Through the efficient production of goods, the enterprise has been able to earn customer loyalty in its outlets. As a result, it aims to expand its market share while at the same time beating its competitors such as Dillards and Von Maur at their own game.
Suitable store location for Belk store in Los Angeles
An appropriate location for Belk store in Los Angeles area would be Huntington Park, CA. This is a city that is located in the district of Gateway Cities in the Southeastern part of Los Angeles County, California. Huntington City has several factories in its vicinity that promote commercial activities. The city was named after Henry Huntington. It was incorporated as a suburb for street cars for those workers who toiled at the quickly expanding industries that were located in the Southeastern downtown, Los Angeles. The Pacific Boulevard is a stretch along the city which has been regarded as the primary commercial district which would adequately serve Belk stores. (Huntington Park, 2016) This is because the stretch mostly serves the working class population of the city together with those residing in the nearby cities such as Cudahy, Downey and also Bell. This creates a general influx of population to the city necessary for Belk to thrive and promote more of its merchandise.
Consumer profile for Huntington Park, CA
On the first account of demographics, Huntington Park, CA had a population of fifty-eight thousand one hundred and fourteen. This was according to the last census that was conducted in 2010. Its racial makeup was Hispanics- 51.2%, whites 1.6%, non-Hispanic whites 0.8%, Asians 0.0%, African Americans 1.3% while other races made up 3.8%. The housing units in the city are fifteen thousand one hundred and one with an average household income being twenty-eight thousand nine hundred and forty-four dollars with a twenty-eight percent of its population living below the line of poverty.
According to its geography, Huntington Park is located to the Southeastern side of Los Angeles. Before the abolition of the judicial townships, San Antonio Township was previously its location. This happened sometime in 1960. As stated by the United States Census Bureau, the total area of the city is 3.0 square miles which are approximately the 7.8km square of all the land available. The cities that surround Huntington area include South Gate, Vernon, Bell, and Maywood. Besides, areas that have been considered unincorporated such as Walnut Park, as well as, Florence-Graham are just adjacent to it. (prezi.com, 2016).
The city has a comparatively large population thereby influencing its shopping patterns. Besides, the shoppers are highly informed and as such, they would quickly switch to another brand if they believe that the latter provides more quality than the one they are accustomed to. Their buying power is also expected to rise with the increase in the population of the residents as a result of the creation of more opportunities for its members. (Hsprod.investis.com, 2016). The growing population offers a look at the changing shopping patterns that has been eminent in the city within the past couple of years.
The behavior of the consumers at Huntington Park is, however, a bit difficult to predict. The consumers have a tendency of interacting with the alternatives available in the market. In other cases where they would have a purchase intention, that would not automatically result in a purchase of a commodity. For this, Belk store would have to come up with proper mechanisms of ensuring that the client's intention of buying is facilitated. Through this, it can maximally accrue a broad array of sales.
Justification of the consumer profile
The consumer profile as having been mentioned above enormously fits Belk Company. The large population in the area is direct influences the rate of the disposable income which is experienced within the community. A detailing of the demographic information has a direct impact on the provision and sale of the merchandise as produced by Belk. Generally, Huntington Park is instrumental for carry out the business just as is proposed by Belk. Essentially, the industries in the city provide a ready market for the goods and commodities that are manufactured by the firm. Belk has over time been known to produce high-end products. As a result, the customers are always inclined towards purchasing its products. Their behavior thus resonates with the provisions that have been availed by the company. Belk can also adequately determine the shopping patterns of the population because of the economic activities.
In conclusion, the above article has presented a discussion on the department store simulation primarily based on Belk family business. It has enumerated the target customers of Belk as being the women mainly between the ages of thirty-five and fifty-four years old. Secondly, it has identified Huntington Park as a suitable location in Los Angeles for Belk to conduct its business and open up its other outlet. Besides, there has been a development of a consumer profile followed by a justification for the same.
References
Hsprod.investis.com. (2016). BELK INC -. Retrieved 17 January 2016, from http://hsprod.investis.com/site/irwizard/blkib/ir.jsp?page=sec_item_new&ipage=4096439&DSEQ=1&SEQ=4&SQDESC=SECTION_PAGE&exp=&subsid=41
Huntington Park, C. (2016). Huntington Park, CA - Huntington Park, California Map & Directions - MapQuest. Mapquest.com. Retrieved 17 January 2016, from http://www.mapquest.com/us/ca/huntington-park-282041080
prezi.com. (2016). Belk Marketing Plan. Retrieved 17 January 2016, from https://prezi.com/9o2zksnr9qre/belk-marketing-plan/
Vault.com. (2016). BELK, INC. Company Profile|Vault.com. Retrieved 17 January 2016, from http://www.vault.com/company-profiles/retail/belk,-inc/company-overview.aspx
