Target Markets of SHEIN and Forever 21
It is neither a secret nor a deniable fact that fashion is one of the most critical industries in today’s world. Style has become one of the ways through which people express their personality and which helps them to be different from the people around them. SHEIN and Forever 21are two developing fashion retailers in this era. Although SHEIN was founded in China by Chris Xu (2008) and Forever 21 was founded by husband and wife, Do Won Chang and Jin Sook Chang from South Korea In Los Angeles (1984), both companies have worldwide fame. To understand the success behind those companies, it is important to look at some important marketing components.
To begin with, let’s start with analyzing one of the campaigns of SHEIN.
This one-minute advertisement (2019) shows the process of how SHEIN makes its products. Even if this video is short, one can get a very clear idea of the process.
In the beginning, we see how attentively each model is designed, how they are sewn, put on the website, etc. This is a marketing trick from the company as this way; the customers will understand how caring SHEIN is.
Thanks to this campaign, the viewer understands that SHEIN strives for perfection even in areas that cannot be seen.
Moving on, another essential feature in marketing is the communication strategy.
For that purpose, let’s look at one of the slogans of the company.
The company’s slogan states, “Shine in, Shine Out.” This slogan is in tandem with the company’s goal to become the best shopping platform for all clothing-related needs.
Overall, the company’s slogan succeeded because it gives the whole idea of SHEIN. This short phrase makes people believe that the company’s clothes make one feel beautiful and confident.
This means that the company is not working only on the appearance of its offerings but also cares about its customers’ comfort.
The last thing that we will be looking at regarding SHEIN is the target segment it has chosen.
In order to do so, let’s watch the following commercial.
These colorful and exciting commercial features are unique, independent, and self-focused women with different professions who believe that choosing clothes can give some hints to other people.
For instance, at the beginning of the commercial, we see a young curly-haired lady with a Hollywood smile on her face working at the office. The girl believes that people would get her positive energy and recognize her control through the white dress she wears.
The second girl is a model. She states that the clothes would help people understand her determination, passion, and power. Other girls involved in the advertisement also talk about their features: rhythm, brilliance, worth, determination, etc. In this way, people will also remember their style, their names, and them.
In other words, the commercial creators believe that clothes are a bridge between an individual and society.
This helps us understand that SHEIN is targeting Peacocks.
Now, let’s learn more about this target segment.
To begin, it is obvious that the representatives of this target segment are, in most cases, self-focused people who prefer to always stand out from the crowd. This is noticeable in the places they go, the people around them, and the clothes they are wearing. However, in some cases, this confidence and self-focused attitude cannot be real.
People belonging to this group always seek to follow a well-organized routine to make their lives easier. They always take care of themselves by going to the gym, spa salons, etc.
Leadership is one of their features, and being a leader is an essential factor in their lives. These people give huge importance to money, and money is the primary measurement of success.
Peacocks are amicable, easy-going people who tend to have many friends. These people enjoy being surrounded by their friends, going to different clubs and restaurants with them. On the other hand, peacocks have a more traditional view when it comes to relationships: to have one long-lasting relationship.
TV is one of the most used mediums for them. They are even considered to be top TV users. Nevertheless, in this developing era, Peacocks have started using the Internet pretty often. It is a medium through which they can always be in touch with their friends, family members, etc.
Attitude to shopping:
As the people of this target group take care of their looks a lot, they are always active in shopping. These people usually get their inspiration from various fashion magazines and start comparing themselves to the images of the magazines.
Although they always choose the clothes according to their taste, the representatives of this target segment cannot stay indifferent to trends. They believe that style and clothing are “windows to their souls.”
Now, it’s time to start a discussion about the second clothing company Forever 21.
For that purpose, let’s analyze one of the campaigns of the company.
So, the campaign, titled “New year, New Me,” represents sport wear clothes that the company has just launched. After watching the commercial, it becomes clear that there is a diverse choice of models: from skinny to more “chubby” girls, from girls with white skin to black ones. In this sense, we feel that equality is an important value for the company.
We can notice the diversity of the costumes, which means that each person can find clothes based on their preferences.
By creating this campaign, Forever 21 wants to bring light to improving physical and mental health and focus on the overall wellness of its customers. During this global pandemic, it is more than essential to pay attention to our health, and this commercial is spreading awareness about that.
Another important thing to discuss is the company’s communication strategy.
In order to do so, let’s pay attention to this slogan: “Buy it now, or it’s gone.”
This slogan seems to be more like an encouragement to the company’s customers. It makes the customers believe that they would surely regret not buying their proffered clothing at that moment and thinking that they would still get a chance to have it later.
A little bit hidden message of the slogan the company tries to transfer is that it has qualified, unique, nice-looking and comfortable clothes toward which nobody can stay indifferent.
Besides, this slogan means that the company prefers quality over quantity, and the uniqueness of their offerings is hidden behind “quality.” Forever 21 does not produce much from the same type of clothing, which means that you will probably not find your friends or classmates wearing the same outfit as yourself.
Also, this slogan emphasizes the fact that Forever 21 is making fashion accessible for every person, and everyone can afford to buy products from this brand because they are cheap.
Now, let’s identify Forever 21’s targeting strategies.
Let’s start with the following commercial.
From the beginning of the commercial, we see several teenagers with stylish outfits. It is noticeable that all of the people included in the video like to enjoy their lives and are pretty risky (in this case, it refers to the choice of their clothes).
Each of the teenagers is unique in their way, and they are also easy to remember. For instance, there was a girl with pink hair; another one had a more Asian look, the boy had birthmarks on his face, which gave an exciting charm to his appearance.
One can notice how comfortable and stylish these people have and how happy and satisfied they are with their looks.
Throughout the commercial, we understand that Forever 21 is one of the supporters of the American club “The boys and girls.” Boys & Girls Clubs of America is a national organization of local chapters that provides voluntary after-school programs for young people.
The company states that they are proud to continue supporting the club, and for that purpose, they are asking their customers to buy graphic tees, as $1 of them is donated to the club.
At the end of the commercial, the viewer can also see the price of the tees (starting from $9.99), which is not expensive, and most of the customers can afford them.
All this discussion leads us to conclude that as a target segment, Forever 21 has chosen Breakouts.
What do we mean by saying Breakouts?
To get to know them, let’s look at some of the key features of their characters.
Lifestyle and Values.
The representatives of this target segment give massive importance to themselves and spend a lot of time on their personal enjoyment. This can be noticed even in their appearance. For example, they can purchase some expensive clothes to look wealthier. In other words, they tend to stand out in a crowd.
Men Breakouts are usually extremely masculine, and they believe that men should not cry, drink strong beverages, etc. The representatives of this group want to move up in life and be respected.
Most people from this target segment are fond of being leaders in their working environment as they like to control their surroundings. However, they are also great team members.
These people are usually not interested in the ingredients of what they eat; they never care about additional calories. The environmental issues do not bother them, too. Air or water pollution and global warming are not topics that might make these people worried.
The representatives of this target group spend most of their free time hanging out with friends at home or other places, mainly discos or pubs
Shopping Preferences.
Breakouts are shopping lovers as they love to spend time on themselves. Even if these people do not need that product, sometimes they can buy it just because they “gotta have it.” So, in that sense, we can say that Breakouts are spontaneous shoppers.
When it comes to branding, this target segment is not very loyal to brands; they are accustomed to exploring and trying new brands.
Some other interesting facts:
Breakouts are addicted to watching TV, and they believe that it’s the greatest medium to get information. They usually turn on the TV when arriving home. On the other hand, these people are also average press readers. However, when it comes to radio, they mostly focus on fun topics: horoscopes, shopping, star gossip, etc.
To sum up, this post was dedicated to SHEIN and Forever 21- the leading fast-fashion retailers in the world. The post discussed key marketing features that have led to the companies’ success. Specifically, we took a look at the communication strategies, target segment, and two campaigns of both companies.
We hope you could find answers to your questions regarding this topic. To see more posts like this, please check out our main website.
