FMPD (Fashion Merchandising and Product Development)

Project Objective:  "This research project aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the ominchannel marketing, retailing, and supply chain strategies adopted by various retailers and brands."

Research Needs:  (1) Your company and their current retail strategies, and (2) Omni-Channel retailing (What is it?  What are other companies doing?  What has been successful for your company's competitors?).  

Research Key:  Search for articles and information from a variety of reputable sources. 

• Obtaining different ideas and perspectives will make you better informed and will lead to better recommendations for the company you are researching.  The more you know and understand, the better your report will be.
• For example, do not rely on the company website for ALL of the information on your company!   The company website is an extremely valuable and important source of information, but it is all biased and one-sided, not giving you the perspective of experts outside the company.

MarketLine Advantage offers reports on over 100,000 companies from around the world. The reports typically include a corporate description, key statistics, news, products and services, SWOT analysis, company history and more.

Watch this 2 minute video for a demonstration on locating a MarketLine Company Profile.

The company website can be a great place for certain types of information when doing company research. Just keep in mind the inherent bias of the information on a company's own website.

Look for this type of information:

• Business description
• Company brands and products offered
• Better understanding of the image the store is trying to portray & the consumers they are targeting
• Social media presence and promotions
• Basic financial information.
• Social responsibility efforts
• Customer services offered such as loyalty programs.

A.  Look for links titled something like About Us or About the Company.  (These are typically at the bottom of the page.)

Here's where you can often find information about company brands, corporate history, community services programs, sustainability efforts.

B.  Also look for links labeled for Investors or Investor Relations, (Also typically at the bottom of the page.)

Locate the Annual Report as it can be a great place to find information such as a detailed business description, "year in review" analysis, and strategic directions, often including current or planned retail strategies.

Don't be intimidated by its size & in-depth financial information as you can skip through all of that & just read the interesting and applicable information!

C.  The company website is also a great place to learn about a retail store's customer services and loyalty programs.

Found under the "About Us" link at the very bottom of the Buckle home page, this page gives a nice, brief business description and offers a menu at the left plus three tabs at the top for more information. 

Choose the Investors tab to locate the Annual Report where you can find statements such as this:  

"Over the past year, we expanded our omnichannel capabilities by ..." and "... invested in new capabilities to enrich guest relationships, better understand their intent and behavior, and improve the personalization of every interaction."