Rue 21 location strategy

Rue 21 Location Strategy
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Rue 21 Location Strategy
Rue 21 is a popular fashion retailer that is mostly known for selling clothes that belong to both men and women (Rue 21, 2016). Evidently, Rue 21 has prices that attract their customers, and the prices are also well moderated in a way that their competitors cannot match them. Rue 21 has a superior fashion sense, a factor that enhances their brand loyalty. Their flexible real estate strategy and the sourcing model also enhance their competitive advantage. This paper discusses the Rue 21 location strategy and their prospects of expanding to the global markets.
The Rue 21 target market is mostly comprised of girls aged between 11and 17 years. Despite the fact that most of these girls who are categorized between these ages are not in a position to drive, Rue 21 ensures that their locations are accessible even without a car. Good evidence is where most of the Rue 21 stores were located in strip centers. It is much easier for consumers to shop in strip malls without having to drive from one store to another or even walking long distances (Yang & Peter, 2006). Therefore, Rue 21 takes advantage of the traffic in these areas. The company understands that creating human traffic is not easy and is determined to take advantage of existing traffic. The company shares their location with major retailers such as Wal-Mart for the possibility of sharing the customer traffic as this will increase the volume of their sales.

It is also clear that Rue 21 is found in rural locations, especially where there is minimal competition. They understand that there are increased sales in areas with less competition (Chuwiruch, Jhundra, & Boonlua, 2015). The use of the medium sized space in a strip mall has contributed to the success of the Rue 21. Additionally, the advantage of using a strip mall is to take the advantage of the customer traffic. On the other hand, the disadvantage of these strip malls is losing customers bigger brands within their surroundings.
The regional malls are also working well for Rue 21 strategy. Mostly, such an option is preferable as regional malls are less favorable as compared to the strip malls. They do not require the customer to drive to its location. Likewise, the advantage of Rue 21 stores in a regional mall is the customer traffic since a majority of consumers comes to do other services within the malls. It was noted that back in 2012, only 17% of the Rue 21 stores were located mostly in the outlet stores, thus making it the least popular location. Certainly, Rue 21 does not own any real estate, and it is much beneficial that many leases have early cancellation clauses. This allows Rue 21 to terminate their lease once the required sales goals are not achieved. Therefore, it enhances their flexibility in operating their stores countrywide. However, the regional malls are strong brands and Rue 21 can easily lose their customers to these malls.
Evidently, Rue 21 should expand beyond the United States to tap into the opportunities in the global markets. Currently, Rue 21 is a brand that will easily be identified in the international markets. However, expansion into the international markets with comes with some challenges. First, Rue 21 will find it challenging to find reliable brands in, such as Wal-Mart in rural areas in the global market. Therefore, they may not enjoy the similar traffic they enjoy in the United States. Secondly, different countries have varying real estate agreements (Chuwiruch, Jhundra, & Boonlua, 2015). Therefore, managing short-term lease agreements may be challenging for the company.
References
Chuwiruch, N., Jhundra-Indra, P., & Boonlua, S. (2015). MARKETING INNOVATION STRATEGY AND MARKETING PERFORMANCE: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK. Allied Academies International Conference. Academy of Marketing Studies. Proceedings, 20(2), 82-93.
Rue 21. (2016). About Us. (Online) Retrieved on 19/11/2016 from http://www.rue21.com/store/jump/static/AboutUs/4400002?ici=footer_global&icn=AboutUsYang-Im, L., & Peter R.J. Trim. (2006). Retail marketing strategy. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 24(7), 730-745. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02634500610711888