Revitalization And Modernization Of Vera Bradley

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Vera Bradley has been hurt by weak overall sales momentum in the last couple of years, which has led to a greater use of promotions and marketing schemes in order to incentivize customer transactions, culminating in a sharply reduced level of operating profitability. Although the share price for Vera Bradley had a 40% increase in 2016, thanks to rebounding sales and earnings growth for the industry as a whole, their sales only rose 1% and net income fell 9%. (Vera Bradley 10K, 2018) Strategic issues Product revitalization and modernizing Vera Bradley has built an empire on quilted handbags, backpacks and luggage with cheerful explosions of floral and paisley. The Baby boomers and teens love this new innovative casual style. Yet between those …show more content…

(Anderson, 2015) Department stores such as Dillard’s, Macy’s and Nordstrom, have experienced challenges, the channel's long slump raises questions about the overall health and relevancy of the department store sector. Let's be honest; department stores for the most part are being 'out-retailed' by the specialty stores and online shopping. The favorable sales growth Vera Bradley showed in 2016 was driven by new store openings rather than an increase in comparable store sales. Although revenue rose 1% year-over-year in 2016 Q1, its total comps, including e-commerce, actually fell 4.6%. (Vera Bradley 10K, 2018) This is telling me that if Vera Bradley hadn't opened several stores during the quarter, their revenue would have declined. This also means that sales at the established stores are still declining year-over-year. In Vera Bradley’s proxy statement they attributed that decline to its intentional reduction of promotional activity, which boosted margins but reduced both online and brick-and-mortar traffic. (Vera Bradley 10K, 2018) This strategy creates a catch 22, to strengthen its bottom line, they must reduce promotions, but to generate stronger sales that feed into the bottom line, they need to increase promotions or open new stores. In 2010 Vera Bradley embarked on a new initiative to expand brand awareness in Japan. This was the first campaign designed to create recognition …show more content…

The traditional products are not attracting enough new customers to the brand. This issue is in part, simply the nature of the business. It is an innovative industry and competition is intense. Larger more established brands like Louis Vuittoisn, Gucci, Prada, Coach, and Kate Spade have a very strong brand image and loyal customer base. Vera Bradley`s current strategy is to follow the strategies of these established leaders in the market to maintain its business. Since the competition is intense, simply copying others will not be enough to continue growth. Vera Bradley is failing to innovate and differentiate their product

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