Competitor SWOT Summary of The North Face and Patagonia

Over the last 10 years’ gym memberships within the United States have increased from 41.3 million to 54.1 million. The biggest trend over the last few years is becoming fit, more and more each day people are finding ways to live fit and healthier lifestyles. From eating the right nutritional foods, working out and people just wanting to follow the latest and greatest trends. The increase in gym memberships and the amount of people working out leads to the increase in athletic attire. For this exact reason athleisure wear was born, it is the newest fashion trends were people wear athletic clothing regardless if they intend go to the gym or not that day. People are wearing it to the office, shopping, to run errands and other social events. Athleisure wear consist of articles of clothing such as spandex, leggings, yoga pants, sports bras and fashionable sweats. Over the last 10 years an increase in athleisure wear has spread at a rapid rate globally, particularly in the women’s fashion industry. Since 2013 the increase in athleisure wear apparel has grown by 14% and accounts for 18% of the total clothing retail market. With this trend still catching on, active wear is expected to continue to grow at an average rate of 3.3% annually. Due to this rapid increase in purchasing athleisure wear the apparel industry will continue to grow especially Nike because they are the market leaders in active sportswear. For that exact reason I believe that Nike is a

The North Face is a subsidiary of the VF Corporation. VF is one of the world’s largest apparel manufacturers with $7 billion in sales. This gives the company incredible financial flexibility, industry experience and management support. The North Face is also a market leader in innovation and technology. Two of their major innovations are Thermoball and Fuseform. Thermoball ushered in synthetic insulation that mimics the properties and the capabilities of dow, while Fuseform completely changed

In the athletic apparel industry, as in any industry, it is key to stay in touch with the current trends in order to keep your products relevant. With Lululemon focused on such a niche activity it will be important that they explore other markets within the sports apparel industry in the future so as to stay relevant. We can see the company’s first steps in doing just this when they recently introduced their men’s apparel line. A summary of the athletic apparel industry’s external environment are listed in Exhibit 1.

The North Face as an American outerwear company is the main competitor of Canada Goose among many premium jacket market.

Lululemon Athletica Inc. thrived off its 5 key elements in their growth strategy which helped to acquire a stronger revenue base that enabled them to have a differentiated product line,design and culture. Trademarked fabric and technology helped their brand loyalty which enabled them to get products in and off the shelves in a 2 month period. Additionally 95% of its inventory was sold at regular price. This was attainable because of the strategic multi-channel approach used to enhance its market presence

Athletic apparel has come a long way from the era of pairing a dowdy gray cotton sweatsuit with tennis shoes. Now, athletic apparel promise to hug the body with materials that insulate the wearer from cold weather, while wicking away sweat to boost performance. Running shoes can be synced with computers to measure performance. Other advances in sports apparel include tagless T-shirts and fabrics that manage odors. Technological advancements allow manufacturers to maintain or increase prices and keep consumers loyal to their brands. Consumers have responded to the high-tech offerings, with athletic apparel sales reaching $60 billion in 2008, according to NPD Consumer estimated data. In this report, we analyze two apparel

The women's apparel market is highly competitive. With the launch of a new active-wear line from Harrington Collection's, more and more competitors will start to realise the potential value in in producing an active-wear line of their own. The active-wear market is growing so rapidly (expected to double turnover from 2007 to 2009), that eventually all of Harrington's competitors would likely be expected to launch a line of their own, relying on existing brand loyalty and high-scale advertising campaigns to capture market share and move units.

Under Armour’s business strategy towards market segmentation is broken down into three different basis; Age, Gender, Uses. The first major market segmentation is by age, different age groups demand different products and Under Armour has produced certain merchandise to appeal to each generation. The second is Gender, both male and female respectively make up roughly 50% of the market equally.To appeal to females UA produces apparel in brighter colo, as a fashion forward athletic wear. While for males they they cater toward masculine vibe of tight fitting and resistant to wear and tear. Lastly, UA segments by the range of uses for their products.

The Canadian Apparel Federation is facing numerous challenges as the apparel industry is very competitive and consumer tastes and preferences are constantly changing. Our study will present some of the major trends developing in the apparel industry and what companies can do to capitalize on the market and distinguish themselves from the competitors.

Strategically, a company is made up of multiple components that are geared towards their success but can also lead to their downfall. By having a strategy, companies like Patagonia are able to create and sustain a competitive advantage in the corporate world (Burrus, 2003). As a high end American sportswear company, Patagonia has achieved many of their goals set, including staying true to their core values of protecting the environment. Patagonia has far exceeded the holistic idea of corporate culture, and has sustained a powerful image in the corporate world.

40% of VF’s total sales. The North Face offers technically advanced products to extreme athletes and

Patagonia has refrained from focusing on attracting the next generation customer for fear of diluting the brand and chasing fashion trends. We recommend that Patagonia explore the opportunity to either:

Companies in this industry also attempt to differentiate themselves by technical advancements in the apparel. Companies compete to find the technology that consumers believe will help their overall performance in sports and activities; whether it’s a sweat wicking shirt or lighter shoe, consumers seek the product they believe will give them the greatest advantage. Overall, the rivalry amongst competitors is a strong force that ultimately lowers the profitability of the industry.

The first challenge facing Moods of Norway is expanding the business to U.S. This is always a profitable but risky opportunity for every firm, including Moods of Norway. The company with “free styling” wants to “just go to the U.S. and see what happens” (Austin, O’Donnell, and Krogh 2009, 15). However, U.S. market – one of the most difficult markets in the world – has many implicit challenges for Moods. Firstly, their brand is

The essay is based on case that is titled “marketing sports equipment”. Outlined within the essay are three target markets, the consumer sales promotion that should be offered for each, most effective and non-effective media platforms for the target market, and the recommended partners.