Summary and critical analysis of an article i will attach - Assignment Example

Your full April 12, Article Summary and Critique The given article by John F. Frank covers howTarget achieved its private label brand success. The article starts with an interview between the PL Buyer and Annette Miller, Target’s senior vice president, merchandising grocery. Miller asserts that Target has been able to make emotional connections with its customers. The launch of up & up household items made it stand out against national brands. Target’s food merchandising mix is easy for the customers to buy in recession.

Target’s food owned brands makes the company stand out against its competitors due to the quality and innovation of its private label brands. Miller further asserts that Target meets the needs of its guests by striving to invest in new product development and conducting brand research. Target’s efforts in achieving the best quality have made it a weekly destination for shoppers. The article further introduces Target and its private label brands, asserting that the Minneapolis-based store offers discounts to its guests in recession, making it a hit with customers.

Target takes a non-traditional approach to take private label to a brand level. Target’s private label strategy revolves around consumer research, marketing through national ads and in-store displays, and strategic thinking. Jim Hertel, managing partner with Willard Bishop, asserts that Target focuses on its store image rather than price image, which increases its appeal for the consumers. This strategy makes Target work with the slogan of “Expect More, Pay Less”. In 2009, the company put off its label and bull’s eye image form the household items that the consumers considered as basic.

However, it was accepted as a mistake because no other marketer was doing so, and the change was adjusted in the new up & up household products, which were launched in June 2009. But the Target brand name was replaced by the up & up line in these products. Target also promoted couponing in the up & up line that could be printed from the Web. This proved to be a good marketing idea. The couponing was targeted on baby wipes, which attracted the mothers’ interest. Target also moved upscale by marketing brands like Choxie chocolate line.

It distinguished Market Pantry from Archer Farms. Target also faces some challenges like rolling out its PFresh food format across it store network. It has to spend more than $2 billion to refurbish 740 stores to make them incorporate the PFresh fresh products collection. The article is an excellent introduction to Target’s private label brands. It introduces Target’s marketing and selling strategies to new customers. The reader gets to know how Target has developed into a renowned private owned label, which consumers love to buy.

The most convincing thing about Target that the article talked about is that the company focuses on its store image rather than price image. This is the finest thing that is apt to attract consumers. However, the article has been written in a complicated, professional tone and language, which is quite hard to understand for a layman in first reading.