Banana Republic Vs J. Crew Essay

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Two of J. Crew’s major and growing competitors are Gap and Banana Republic. Banana Republic, Gap, and J.Crew share several similarities, in that they have similar design aesthetics, target markets and store atmospheres/locations. Banana Republic focuses on a trendy take on work basics. Gap focuses on a classic American style with a trendy twist. J.Crew focuses on classic designs and a simple, clean style.
The main point of difference between all of the brands is their perceived quality and the pricing. J.Crew is a better fitting, high-quality brand preferred by consumers that can afford that price bracket (Ellespann, 2013). Banana Republic then follows in both price and quality, attracting consumers with middle-range pricing. The brand also has less of an assortment of business and casual clothing than J.Crew or Gap, so it is perceived by some as more of a specialty brand for trendy business clothing. Compared to the other brands, Gap is the least expensive and perceived to be of lowest quality although their greater assortment of product makes it attractive to entire families of consumer.

Market Environment
As of September 2015, corporate profitability in the U.S. has been strong and “recent volatility has been below what one would expect at this point in the bull market” (Samuels, 2015). Stock valuations have become more attractive as
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Crew include intense competition and increase labor wages in US (J. Crew Group, Inc., 2013). The company competes with a great deal of companies that are in the women’s apparel, men’s apparel, kids apparel, shoes, jewelry, and accessories markets. Some of these companies penetrate a bigger market because they are larger and have greater financial resources, which put J. Crew at a disadvantage. This could cause J. Crew to lose its place in the market to other competitors. Lastly, the increase labor wages in the US could have a huge impact on J. Crew’s costs, which will ultimately affect the company's profit

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