Marketing

The paper discusses the business operations of Carter's Inc. in the children's apparel industry, focusing on the Australian subsidiary. It analyzes the market demands, micro and macro environmental factors, and the marketing strategies of the company. The paper suggests improvements in customer relationships and online business activities to manage competition.

Running head: MARKETING
Marketing
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Executive Summary:
The paper discusses regarding the business operations of one of the established organizations
in the children’s apparel industry named as Carter’s Inc. The mentioned organization is an
American designer of the children’s apparel. The paper mainly provides the explanation of
the business activities of the Australian subsidiary of the mentioned organization. The paper
investigates the children apparel industry of Australia with a specific focus on the demands of
the market. In addition to this, the paper debates regarding the micro environmental factors of
the organization with a precise focus on aim, vision and customers of the company in
addition to the competitors of the organization. From the analysis, it is visible that the
organization is subjected to an intense level of competition in the mentioned market. The
analysis shows that the pricing strategy, quality of the products and the marketing
communication are the main factors that are promoting the increment in the intensity of the
competition. Apart from this, the paper delivers an important explanation concerning the
macro environmental factors of the industry. Along with that, the paper offers an essential set
of information regarding the segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies of the
mentioned company. In addition to this, the paper explains the marketing strategies of the
mentioned company with suitable communication regarding the products, places,
promotional activities and pricing strategy of the company. The much required improvement
in the customer relationships, online business activities along with the application of the low
pricing for the products that they offer to the customers has the potential to place the
organization in an improved position in managing the threat of the competitor organizations.

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Table of Contents
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................4
Overview of the organization:....................................................................................................5
Industry Overview:.....................................................................................................................6
Micro-environment:...................................................................................................................9
Macro environmental Factors:.................................................................................................10
Political:...............................................................................................................................10
Economic:............................................................................................................................11
Social:...................................................................................................................................11
Technological:......................................................................................................................12
Environment:........................................................................................................................12
Legal:....................................................................................................................................12
STP analysis of Carter’s Australia:..........................................................................................12
Market Segmentation:..........................................................................................................13
Targeting:.............................................................................................................................14
Positioning:..........................................................................................................................15
Marketing Mix:........................................................................................................................16
Price:....................................................................................................................................16
Products:...............................................................................................................................16
Promotions:..........................................................................................................................16
Place:....................................................................................................................................17

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Conclusion:..............................................................................................................................17
References:...............................................................................................................................19

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Introduction:
The impact of the competition in the modern business world is observed to increase in
a significant manner. The intensity of the competition is observed to increase in a notable
manner and that is pretty evident with the increasing number of new organizations entering
the market. The increasing level of competition amongst the organizations is observed to be
based on the quality of the products, the quality in the services of the employees of the
organizations and the capability of the organizations in identifying the preferences of the
customers and designing their products in accordance to the preferences of the customers
(Armstrong et al., 2014). Apart from these parameters, the success of the organizations in the
establishment of the strong supply chain and in the improvement of the quality of the
employees of the organization are seen to be crucial factors for the organizations in the
effective management of their business activities (Marketrealist.com, 2019). With a precise
focus on the increasing level of competition and the entry of the growing number of new
organizations, the concern for the senior management of the established organizations
regarding their growth and the survival of them is pretty prominent. Majority of the
established organizations are observed to put strong emphasis on the application of the new
strategies such as the application of the low pricing or the improvement of the quality of the
products and the services that they offer to the customers (Dunne, Lusch & Carver, 2013).
Apart from the mentioned strategies, many of the established organizations are seen to
undertake the strategies such as the increment of the product chain of the organizations or the
improvement of the customer relationship management system of the organizations
(Khodakarami & Chan, 2014).
The paper is focused in the description of the business operations of one of the most
reputed organization in the children’s apparel industry named as Carter’s Inc. The mentioned

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organization is one of the excellent American designers of the children’s apparel. The paper
primarily focuses in the elaboration of the business operations of the Australian subsidiary of
the mentioned organization. The paper analyses the children apparel industry of Australia
with a precise focus on the demands of the market. Along with that, the paper discusses
regarding the micro environmental factors of the organization considering the customers, aim
and vision of the company along with the competitors of the organization. In addition to this,
the paper provides a significant description regarding the macro environmental factors of the
industry. Apart from this, the paper provides important information regarding the
segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies of the mentioned company. Along with
this, the paper elaborates regarding the marketing strategies of the mentioned company with
appropriate communication regarding the products, places, promotional activities and pricing
strategy that the mentioned organisation follows for their products.
Overview of the organization:
As mentioned, the organization is one of the very few companies of the American
children’s apparel industry that are able to provide quality in their products. The organization
was established in the year 1865 in the name of William Carter Company in Needham,
Massachusetts of United States (Carters.com, 2019). The organization was founded by
William Carter. The company currently operates at 1050 number of locations and that is
considered to be one of the strong point of the organization in conducting a profitable
business in the mentioned industry (Carters.com, 2019). The company is currently
headquartered in Atlanta. The company has the expertise in serving optimum quality products
clothing products specifically designed for the children. The excellence of the mentioned
organization in the manufacturing of the quality products is pretty evident with the generation
of 3.4 billion US dollars as revenue in the year 2017 (Carters.com, 2019). Many of the
business analysts are also seen to consider the operational brilliance of the mentioned

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organization as one of the main factor responsible for such significant success. The
organization was observed to have 20900 number of employees operating for them in the
year 2017 (Carters.com, 2019). One of the main subsidiaries of the mentioned organization
was the OshKosh B'gosh. The business operations of Carter’s is observed to be operated by
mentioned subsidiary. The main medium of the business operations of the mentioned
organization in Australia is the departmental stores of OshKosh B'gosh along with the online
business operations of the mentioned company (Oshkosh.com, 2019).
Industry Overview:
The infants’ and the children’s clothing is observed to have a stable growth in
Australia even after rapidly pulsating condition of the retail market. The mentioned nation is
observed to have a significant growth in the population of the people of 14 years and less and
that is one of the major factor that influences the organizations operating in the mentioned
industry in increasing their business activities (Ibisworld.com.au, 2019). Along with the
mentioned increment, the high immigration rates of the mentioned nation is observed to
trigger many of the new organizations in entering the mentioned market for improved
business operations. The revenue of the baby clothes segment of the mentioned market is
expected to be nearly 500 million US dollars in the year 2019 (Statista.com, 2019). The
organizations operating in the mentioned industry is expected to generate a revenue of 19.93
US dollars per person which has the potential to influence many of the established children
clothing manufacturers of the nation (Statista.com, 2019). Hence it is pretty evident that the
mentioned industry provides a lucrative revenue per customers.
With a precise focus on the significant growth of the mentioned market, it is pretty
evident that the demand of the mentioned market is expected to increase in a rapid manner
and that is pretty evident with the estimation of increment of the volume of the baby clothes

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segment to 91.60 million units by the year 2023 (Statista.com, 2019). From the statistics of
the demands, it is visible that the market for the baby clothes section will expand in a
significant manner and that will make sure that the organizations operating in the mentioned
industry be able to conduct a profitable business. As the demands of the market is pretty high,
it is evident that the consumption rate of the people of the mentioned nation will also be
pretty high. The average volume per person in the mentioned industry is expected to be 3.89
units in the year 2019 which specifies the significant demand of the mentioned market
(Statista.com, 2019). One of the important parameter of the sustainable business is the
economy of the mentioned region and the purchase intention of the customers. The customers
of the mentioned industry are observed to have the tendency of becoming loyal customers
and that is pretty evident with the portrayal of the intention of repetitive purchases from the
part of the customers of the organizations operating in the mentioned industry.
The customers of the nation are observed to have the capability of providing
appropriate prices to the products of the organizations operating on the mentioned industry
and that is pretty visible with the average price per unit of the products of the mentioned
industry. The mentioned industry experiences an average price of 5.13 US dollars on per unit
of baby clothes (Statista.com, 2019). Though the Australian baby clothes segment is
subjected to a significant growth, the largest contributor of the global child apparel industry is
observed to be United States. With a market volume of 8405 million US dollars in the year
2019, the United States child apparel market is observed to generate largest amount of
revenue (Statista.com, 2019).
With a precise focus on the dynamics of the market, it is visible hat the established
operators of the industry are losing the market share in a significant manner and one of the
prime reason of that is observed to be the sharp rise in the business operations of the online
retailers in the nation (Ibisworld.com.au, 2019). Apart from this, the capability of the online

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retailers in introducing the products at a considerably competitive prices is seen to be the
fundamental reason responsible for the increment in the intensity of the competition faced by
the conventional brick and mortar organizations of the mentioned industry (Ibisworld.com.au,
2019). Under such situation, majority of the organizations are seen to be focused in the
improvement of the in store experiences of the customers as that has a potential to enable the
organizations in the effective retention of the customers. Hence, it is visible that the
increment in the level of competition between the online channels and the departmental stores
of the organizations will increase the demands of the market. Under such situation, increased
number of new organizations are expected to enter the market which will certainly increase
the threat of substitutions for the established organizations of the mentioned nation.
Considering the scope of innovation in the mentioned industry, it is visible that the
majority of the organizations are able to put strong emphasis on the evaluation of the
preferences and demands of the customers. With a precise focus on the increasing level of
competition in ṭhe mentioned industry, it is understandable that the organizations are trying
their level best to form the much required customer loyalty amongst the customers through
promoting the customer communities and improving the customer relationship management
systems. Under such situation, the improvement of the customer relationship management or
the identification of the preferences of the customers, are seen to have significant scope of
incorporation of the technology and the innovative ideas. For the identification of the
preferences of the customers and design the products in accordance to the requirements of the
customers, the incorporation of the Radio Frequency Identification Device is one of the top
most priorities for the organizations operating in the mentioned industry (Al-Sakran, 2013).
Other than this, the improvement of the user interfaces of the websites of the organization has
the scope for incorporating innovative solutions which has the capability to reduce the
concerns of the customers in purchasing from the online stores of the organizations.

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Micro-environment:
As the company believes that the childhood is a celebration, the company has the
mission of designing cute characters and colourful prints in their products for the children to
inspire them the spread the joy and love that they bring into the lives of the people
(Borcherding & Bubonia, 2015). The company has the mission of supporting the childhood
with the production of the optimum quality products which includes ethical sourcing of the
good quality raw materials, improved manufacturing of the products along with the best in
industry shopping experiences.
The vision statement of the company is pretty significant in stating the urge of the
company in the development of the creative leadership, spirit of the competition along with
the innovative teamwork for becoming the best in the business to provide increased amount
of benefits to the customers, shareholders and the employees of the organizations
(Oshkosh.com, 2019).
The company has the excellence of producing optimum quality child wears and is
capable of providing attractive designs in their products.
One of the major strength of the company is the quality of the products that they offer
to the customers. The strong supply chain of the mentioned organization is one of the crucial
reason of the success of the organization in the improvement of the quality in their products.
Apart from this, the organization is observed to have a strong presence in the market
with 1050 number of departmental stores in the parent company and along with that, online
retail business of the mentioned organization is seen to be significantly efficient in providing
the required opportunities to the company in increasing the amount of sales (Oshkosh.com,
2019).

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The company is seen to have significant opportunity in establishing itself in the
emerging markets and along with that, the company has the chance to form tie ups with the
schools and colleges for the increment in their business activities.
The organization has a significantly efficient customer relationship management
system in place for communicating and interacting with the customers. The company uses
their official website for communicating to the customers regarding the new offers, features
of the products, discounts, the introduction of the new products along with relevant
information regarding the products and services that they offer. Apart from this, the company
uses the mail subscriptions for their loyal customers where they communicate regarding the
launch of the new products, features of the new products along with the news regarding the
discounts and rewards for the customers.
Two of the main competitor of the mentioned organization are observed to be the Gini
& Jony and Gymboree (Giniandjony.com, 2019). Both the above mentioned organizations are
seen to have the excellence in applying low pricing for the products which forces Carter’s
Australian section to be involved an absolute price war (Forbes.com, 2019). On the other
hand, one of the main basis of the competition amongst the mentioned organizations is
observed to be the quality of the products and the efficient customers services which helps
the organizations in effective communication with the customers of the organizations.
Macro environmental Factors:
Political:
Australia has significantly strong trade relations with the other countries of the world
owing to the several associations such as the World Trade Organization, G20,
Commonwealth Nations and OECD (G20.org, 2019). However, the country is seen to face
considerable amount of criticism from the part of the neighboring countries such as New

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Zealand and organizations such as UN for the deportation laws of the mentioned nation along
with inappropriate treatment to the refugees in regards to the human rights.
However, the mentioned nation is seen to have a stable political condition inside the
nation which is one of main factor that places the nation in a good position for bulk
investment from the part of the multinational organizations. The general changes in policies
such as the economic policy is seen to increase the effectiveness of the nation in front of the
corporate organizations.
Economic:
The nation is seen to be in the list of the top 15 largest economies of the world and
along with that, the growth of the economy of the mentioned nation is pretty prominent with
the 2 percent rise in the nation (Finance.gov.au, 2019). Apart from this, the household income
in the nation along with the business investments is expected to have a sharp rise in the
nation. On the other hand, the inflation rate is also expected to have a significant rise in
coming years. However, the expected growth of the revenue of the mentioned industry which
touches 500 million US dollars in the year 2019 is pretty significant in stating the opportunity
that the industry offers to the organizations operating in it (Statista.com, 2019).
Social:
One of the significant trend that helps in the evacuation of the growth of the
mentioned industry is the rise in the population of the country. As mentioned earlier, the
population of the age group of 14 years and less is increasing in a significant manner nad that
provides the basis for many of the organization in conducting a profitable business in the
mentioned industry (Statista.com, 2019). A multicultural society where 5-10 percent of the
population is considered to be the upper class in terms of the income group and majority in
the middle class income groups is expected to be a significant place for investment.

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Technological:
The mentioned industry includes the scope of significant amount of technological
incorporation. The marketing and the promotional campaigns of the organizations operating
in the mentioned industry along with the improvement of the user interfaces of the online
retailers operating in the mentioned industry have the possibility of incorporating the
technology and improving the effectiveness of their approach to the customers. The tech
savvy customers of Australia is expected to have a high level of acceptance to the technology
and the innovative solutions.
Environment:
As the products of the mentioned industry are designed for the children or the
toddlers, the companies are expected to have a close concentration on the ethical sourcing of
the raw materials and in the sourcing of the materials that have no side effects for the
children. The sourcing of the raw materials are expected to avoid any sort of the disruption to
the ecological balance of the nation.
Legal:
The government of Australia is seen to have established an efficient tax structure and
along with that, the organizations operating in the mentioned industry are expected to follow
the labor and employment legislations of the nation which covers the aspects such as industry
standards work and pay characteristics. In addition to this, the organization are expected to be
mindful about the legislation of the sourcing of the products and the suppliers regulations for
avoiding any sort of violation of the fundamental legislations of the industry.
STP analysis of Carter’s Australia:
STP is one of the most important marketing application that decides the business
potentiality in a competitive ground. The three major components, such as segmentation,

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targeting, and positioning demonstrate the clear connection between the actual market and
the ability of the company to compete in such market. The information obtained from the
previous discussion implies that the company has been much inclined towards implementing
the innovative strategies to promote their brand. However, it is quite important to pay
attention towards appropriate market segments in order to strengthen the brand image. The
following section of the study will clarify the clear ideas regarding the STP process that the
company has been following.
Market Segmentation:
Carter’s has been growing their market share since couple of years. The company has been
focusing on five major business segments, such as OshKosh Retail, Carter’s Wholesale,
International, Carter’s Retail, and OshKosh Wholesale (Insideretail.com.au, 2019). It is
quite needless to say that the company is mostly paying their attention towards enhancing the
quality parameter while manufacturing the apparels for new born to seven years old children.
Since its establishment in 1865, the parent brand OshKosh achieved the most attention as the
high quality children apparel. The brand majorly focuses on play-clothes for both the toddlers
and the young children. In the year of 2005, the OshKosh brands merged with Oshkosh
B’Gosh Inc and created the attractive portfolio (Insideretail.com.au, 2019). The company has
implemented their strategy of creating the greater value proposition for their customers to
drive sales growth. It concentrates majorly on developing the high-volume, essential, and
core apparel products for the toddlers and the young children. The company believes that
these product segmentation creates the greater brand image by being less dependent on the
changes visible in the fashion market. The company has even created the tremendous buzz in
other country like United States where it secured the consolidated net sales of 33.6% in the
year of 2013 (Forbes.com, 2019). The high quality materials and growth of the net sales in
the retail business are thus considered as the major segments of the brand. Along with these

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segments, the company is even concentrating on developing their customer relationships and
product diversification to gather more customers’ attention. It also much helpful for gaining a
strengthened brand image while expanding the business in overseas countries.
Targeting:
With the effective growth in the high quality children apparel market, Carter has
gained the attention of most of the millennial mothers. It has now strengthened its position as
the most demanding millennial brand in the retail market. The major target market of Carter
is the young or expectant mothers. Therefore, it can be stated that the company is not only
falling under the millennial demographic segment, also stretching their product segments for
the expectant mothers. The current digitalization of the company has also secured their
business location in the online forums. The omni-channel or the digital platforms, which are
mostly driven by the mobile phone have become the major focal points for the millennial
mothers (Keenan, 2019). The company is vastly concentrating on the emerging technologies
to drive their marketing strategies and providing the excellent shopping experiences for the
customers.
Considering the psychographic segment, Carter’s has been more inclined towards
spreading the brand awareness in social media. Smartphones have thus become a major part
of attaining the customers worldwide. Most of the customers, in today’s date, present their
interests in online shopping. In fact, they even like to present their reviews over the online
platforms and gain the information regarding the products from various sources (Borcherding
& Bubonia, 2015). Considering this behavior, the company has invested a significant
resources and time in improving the mobile websites. The major motto of developing such
websites is to create the personalized shopping experiences for their determined target
market.

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Positioning:
The company mostly operates in United States and has their subsidiary in Australia.
However, focusing on the extended market segmentations, the company has been now
strengthening their position in the digital platforms and websites (Oshkosh.com, 2019). The
social platform is the easiest way of getting access to the shopping sites much conveniently.
In fact, in this current era of the digitalization, it has been observed that the online shopping
sites help in connecting people from different corners of the society and countries. The
company has already set the aim of developing effective customer relationships to gain more
benefits in increasing sales ratio.
Therefore, it is the major focus of the company to display more product
diversification to catch attention of diverse customers from different corner of the world.
Social media sites browsed through user friendly smartphones thus help in achieving such
purpose. Along with the physical presence in the supermarket areas, the company is even
strengthening the position in the digital platforms as well. The customers can search for more
details through browsing the websites. Moreover, the customized option helps them in
selecting their preferable children apparel. It serves well for developing the product
diversification. The customer reviews even help in creating the positive word of mouth
(Barmina, Mestanko & Skidan, 2019). Despite the competitive scenario, the continuous urge
towards establishing high quality product segmentation is thus driving the company towards
developing a remarkable brand identity.
The millennial mothers are thus the major target customers who are mainly interested
in purchasing the high quality and sustainable product in the children apparel category. The
domestic expansion of the company is also helping in completing their target market
segmentation and fulfilling their desires to secure the competitive edge. In addition to this,
the development of the effective management and strategic choices, the company is also

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expecting the major growth in the incurred costs from the invested amount. The profitability
will determine the sustainable future of the company by ensuring their competitive place in
both the domestic and international market.
Marketing Mix:
Price:
The organization has the reputation of the being a quality provider. However, the
intense level of competition in the mentioned industry has forced the organizations in the
application of the competitive pricing of the products and that is pretty evident with the close
pricing of the products of OshKosh, Gini & Jony and Gymboree (Gymboree.com, 2019). The
company is expected to apply the low pricing strategy for the products in order to compete
with the mentioned competitor organizations.
Products:
The mentioned organization us seen to have the expertise of providing optimum
quality toddler clothes. The design of the products of the company is seen to be one of the
unique selling propositions for the products of the organization and that is pretty evident with
the success that the mentioned organization is able to achieve.
Promotions:
The mentioned organization is seen to promote their products in both the forms which
are the online and offline mediums. For the online medium, the company is seen to use their
social media platforms in a notable manner specifically Facebook. On the other hand, the
company has the possibility of using YouTube for the promotional videos which has the
potential to share the experiences of the customers regarding the products of the mentioned
organization (Barmina, Mestanko & Skidan, 2019).

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Considering the offline section, the organization has the expertise of marketing their
products in the promotional or launching events. Apart from this, the company is expected to
advertise regarding their products in the newspapers and the business magazines as that has
the potential to aware the customers regarding the features of the products of the mentioned
company.
Place:
The organization is expected to take part in the marketing and promotional events in
each and every city in which it operates, so that the company be able to improve their
recognition as a brand.
Conclusion:
On a concluding note, the objective of the paper was to analyze the micro and macro
environmental condition of the Carter’s Australian section along with the industry in which it
operates. From the analysis, it is pretty evident that the mentioned organization faces
significant amount of competition from the part of the organizations such as Gini & Jony and
Gymboree along with the online retailers operating in the region. The main factor that is seen
to affect the business operations of the mentioned organization is the intense level of
competition of the industry. With a precise focus on the growth of the industry, it is visible
that the mentioned organization has significant scope of improving the business and the
generation of their revenue with the further improvement in the online business activities,
customer relationships along with the application of the low pricing for the products that they
offer to the customers.

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