Target, Wal-Mart, and Home Depot will be winnowing their brands. Levi Strauss, the denim specialist which has recently acquired 73 stores all over the US has declared that it will continue its investment in brands, despite currency fluctuations and declining sales.

Wal-Mart is attempting to drive the quality higher, and lower the costs through its sustainable product index. The company is planning a survey focusing on climate, material, and natural resources. Based on the survey, a common database will be developed, which will analyze the global supply chain. The index thus developed will be a single source of data that will evaluate the sustainability of the products. This would revolutionize the shopping experience of the consumers, by putting the product information about the sustainability of the apparel.

Apparel retailer J. Crew Group Inc has instigated cost reduction programs to bring efficiency in areas of supply chain, and store operations. In high end stores, the era of putting a hefty price tag for luxury good seems to be over. High end shops such as Coach, Saks, and Neiman Marcus will be having more mid priced merchandise in their store racks. Sears and J.C. Penney are planning for self-service computers in their stores, which enables the customers to browse collections, or buy out of stock apparels. It facilitates the shopper to see every item available in the shop, and check if the desired apparel is available in the store or, online.

Higher consumer expectations will be an integral part of the future of retail industry. Adopting appropriate strategies will help the business to not only increase their sales figures during the slump, but also to maintain the level of customer satisfaction, and thereby expand their business arena in the long run. Implementing basic and predictable marketing tactics will help during the recession, and aid the business for the upcoming challenges in the future ahead.

References:

1)       http://www.morebusiness.com

2)       http://walmartstores.com

3)       http://www.starnewsonline.com

4)       http://www.allbusiness.com