Chapter 4 : The Marketing Environment

       In terms of Banana Republic’s marketing environment, the company places focus on several different aspects such as demography and consumers’ incomes. In fact, the company has created an entire consumer profile based on market research they conducted. Their target market is mainly males and females belonging to Generation X and Generation Y with a percentage of baby boomers belonging there as well. The Banana Republic customer values what Banana Republic calls “versatile work,” which means clothing that can be worn to both work and during free time. The Banana Republic customer also enjoys professional and classic styles. Looking at psychographics, they are fashion forward individuals and like to have more sophisticated outfits or to look sharp (men). The majority of these consumers are Caucasian and have completed some sort of undergraduate education.

As for economics, the Banana Republic consumer income range can be seen below :

Income Range	Percentage of Banana Republic Consumers
$0 - $50,000	10%
$50,000 - $100,000	23%
$100,000 - $150,000	36%
$150,000 +	31%

   As one can see, the company’s main consumers typically have a higher annual income. Due to Banana Republic’s higher prices, those consumers with the higher incomes are the regular Banana Republic consumers. 

       A great example of targeting this group of people was when Banana Republic launched their collection based off of the popular “Mad Men” television show. It was a  clear effort to make a mature collection aimed at consumers in their mid-twenties to middle ages with college degrees and professional employment. The prices of this clothing were higher, which demonstrates the company was not aiming to market this campaign to a younger demographic. 

Banana Republic's Mad Men Collection, displaying their business-like attire marketed to employed consumers