Introduction Vivi Boutique is a clothing boutique located in Northlake Mall in Charlotte, NC. When evaluating and analyzing all the stores in Northlake Mall, this store is surprisingly considered the weakest store in Northlake Mall. This was a surprise due to the fact that the items sold in the store look as if they are designed for fashionable young women between the age of 18 to 35. Other stores in this mall who also offer similar designs and clothing thrive. Vivi Boutique is the weakest store due to its low demand. The low demand is derived from the store’s costs, location, competition, and pricing. Demand While observing in the store for 30 minutes, three potential customers entered the store. A mother and daughter entered and while the …show more content…
A few that we found were the most impactful on the stores’ overall survival were the cost to lease the space, the cost to stock clothing, and the sunk costs from clothes that don’t sell well. Given the area in which the store is located: Charlotte, the average rent per square foot in the area: $27, and the actual square feet: 5,500 ft2. We estimated the approximate monthly rent for Vivi Boutique to be about $12,375. This is no small amount to pay per month, given that the store isn’t bringing in as much revenue as it should be to offset the cost, it could a be huge …show more content…
One of the more popular stores that is a direct competitor would be Charlotte Russe. Charlotte Russe demographics include an age group of 15 to 28 years old. This can be from entering in mature stages of high school to going into the workforce after graduating college. The culture surrounding this market can be seen as being fashion forward, having high levels of interactions on social media, and owning a strong value for efficiency and convenience. Charlotte Russe is located on the opposite side of the mall compared to Vivi Boutique but has been doing much better as far as customer engagement and sales. When walking in the mall and observing customers in Charlotte Russe, you can see a higher level of interaction. There were many more customers in the store which translates to more sales. I even recognized a few of the same customers I saw in Vivi Boutique browsing in there. The prices in Charlotte Russe were much cheaper than those in Vivi Boutique while still upholding strong clothing