Retail Strategy Analysis of Woodrings Floral Gardens

Introduction

In the retail environment, the importance of an effective strategy cannot be overemphasized. Given the inherently competitive nature of the retail space, a retailer must ensure a clearly defined target market, a robust operational strategy, a strong positioning strategy, sustainable competitive advantages, and a well-considered retail mix (Bhatia 121–143). This paper provides a strategy analysis of Woodrings Floral Gardens (Woodrings), a company that retails floral gifts to customers within the State College area of Pennsylvania. Following a brief overview of the company, the analysis specifically examines the company's operations, target market, positioning strategy, competitive advantages, and retail mix considerations.

Company Background

With more than four decades in operation, Woodrings retails floral gifts to individuals and organizations within the State College area. The company is family owned and operated, and offers flowers for a wide array of occasions, including birthdays, anniversaries, baby showers, weddings, funerals, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Secretaries Week, Thanksgiving Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Christmas, and New Year, as well as corporate functions. The company also retails floral gifts for customers wishing to express love and romance, gratitude, and sympathy. In addition to flowers, Woodrings offers greeting cards, candles, gift baskets, fruit baskets, home plants, floral decorations, and floral arrangements. Committed to quality and service excellence, Woodrings is one of the most popular floral shops in State College.

Operations

Located on Allen Street, Woodrings offers floral gifts ranging from as low as $45 to as high as $150. The store is open Monday through Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The store is closed on Sundays as well as major holidays such as Independence Day, Labor Day, Memorial Day, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day. Though some customers may wish for extended store hours — particularly those who come from work late — the store's operating hours are arguably convenient for the majority of the company's target market.

Although the company primarily relies on a brick-and-mortar model, an option for online retailing is also available. Through the company's website, customers can place orders and pay using a number of options including VISA, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express. Deliveries are made within and beyond the State College area. The company charges an extra $9.95 for local deliveries, while charges for deliveries beyond the local area vary depending on factors such as distance. Combining the traditional retail model with the online retail model is one of the major strengths of the store. In today's world, online retail is increasingly becoming popular, with consumers ever more desiring the convenience of home or office delivery (Jain 151). For retailers, online retail provides an opportunity to target an even larger market.

Target Market

Success in the retail environment requires a comprehensive understanding of the company's target market. A company must understand the geographic, demographic, behavioral, and psychographic attributes of its target market (Bhatia 144–155). This knowledge provides a basis for formulating the overall business strategy, the operational strategy, and the marketing strategy. Woodrings primarily targets customers within the State College area. With a population of more than 40,000 people, State College is the largest designated municipality in Pennsylvania, providing a considerable market for floral products.

Demographically, the company targets middle- to high-income individuals and families — male, female, diverse age groups, all races, educated, working class, retired, and so forth. The company also targets organizations within the State College area. Behaviorally, the company targets first-time buyers, repeat buyers, and gift enthusiasts. From a psychographic perspective, the company targets individuals fond of expressing their emotions through floral gifts. On the whole, Woodrings mainly targets the middle- to high-income consumer within the State College area who wishes to express affection, romance, appreciation, and compassion through floral gifts.

Conclusion

Overall, Woodrings' retail strategy can be described as a success. Targeting middle- to high-income consumers within the State College area, Woodrings offers a wide range of floral gift items. The company has excelled in product quality, service excellence, delivery reliability, and customer relationship management, gaining significant competitive advantage in the floral marketplace. Positioning itself as the top provider of floral gifts, the retailer boasts a strategic store location, competitive prices, convenient operating hours, and a functional online retailing channel. The store's success further stems from its use of robust marketing channels that cut across both modern and unconventional techniques. Without a doubt, Woodrings provides important strategic lessons for small retailers seeking to thrive in competitive local markets.

Works Cited

Bhatia, S.C. Retail Management. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers, 2008.

Jain, Neelesh. Retail Management: A Realistic Approach. New Delhi: Global India Publications, 2008.

Zentes, Joachim, Dirk Morschett, and Hanna Schramm-Klein. Strategic Retail Management: Text and International Cases. 2nd ed. New York: Springer, 2011.