Final Customer Purchasing from an Intermediary of the Product

Acquire Steps: Acquire steps include all activities the customer completes preceding the purchase of the product. These steps include the customer's efforts needed to identify and evaluate Intermediaries and travel to the Intermediary location.

B.
Resources: Reduce resources required for the use of the product

2.
Time: Reduce the time the customer must spend with the product

A. Reduce steps the customer must use with the product

Bring products closer to the customer
Increase number of channels used to serve current customers

Increase sales channels serving current customers

No.	Year	SIC	Note
1	2002	4813	Virgin Mobile leases its transmission capacity from Sprint and sells it services through 21 Virgin stores, 450 Best Buys, 1050 Target stores and some 2200 other stores.
2	2002	5000	Traditional and online retailers' websites aren't getting great enough return on their investments, so retailers are looking to use their stores as a showcase for their Web sites. This effort is part of a broader strategy by retailers to integrate their selling "channels:" mainly brick-and-mortar stores; catalog operations and the Internet.
3	2000	5092	The Net appears to be convenient for pet owners because most tend to buy the same stuff regularly and welcome the convenience. Most customers order from whoever has the special because sometimes it's even free.
4	2002	5169	ChemConnect is now the biggest online exchange for chemical trading, with volume of $8.8 billion in 2002. One key to ChemConnect's survival is speed. It was first to market, launching an Internet bulletin board in 1995. It was also the fastest and best fund-raiser among its dozens competitors, including CheMatch.com. Many sellers wish there were more buyers online in the industry.
5		5600	Aca Joe (men's clothing) will enter the mail order business next March through a joint venture with specialty catalog supplier Hanover House.
6	2001	5621	Coldwater Creek Inc. is an upscale women's fashion retailer that sells clothing, accessories, and home products online, by catalog, and in stores.
7	2004	5632	Claire's is in just about every mall in America with close to 3,000 stores, and millions of teens and tweens wear its earrings, bracelets and hair clips. The chain accessories store is focusing on other avenues of growth, for instance its presence Europe where it has more than 700 stores.
8	2004	5632	Claire's accessories store chain might expand smaller mall stores by taking over adjacent mall space where possible. It could also put more than one store in a mall. The company already boasts multiple locations in several malls.
9	1999	5699	The Gap retailer started selling merchandise online in late 1997, an early convert to the then-revolutionary idea of apparel retaining on the Web. Now, that gamble is starting to pay off. Gap's online sales have tripled over the past year, according to Jeanne Jackson, the chief executive of Gap's Banana Republic store who is also overseeing Gap Inc. direct the online unit.
10	2001	5699	Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has 354 stores, located mainly in malls, as well as owning the chain retailer Hollister Co. The store additionally sells on line and through a quarterly catalog.
11	1999	5712	Two other big furniture makers – Ethan Allen Interiors and La-Z-Boy – both plan to sell their wares online in cooperation with their own networks of retail stores. These stores will handle such tricky functions as making deliveries, handling repairs and accepting returns.
12	2000	5719	Williams-Sonoma Inc.'s created an e-commerce site and bulked up on inventory figuring it would generate a surge of holiday orders and help promote sales at its core catalog and retail units.
13	1991	5734	Computers are being sold everywhere: office-supply outlets, dept. stores, warehouse clubs, and consumer electronics chains. Latest trend is computer superstores.
14	2004	5734	Customers who call Dell but do not qualify for the computer maker's credit option are routed to the Aaron-Rent-call center. Aaron has about 70,000 computers out on rent, and most of those are made by Dell. Dell denies about 10% of prospective customer for credit reasons. Under the new program, many are potential rental clients.
15	2002	5944	Tiffany's high-end jewelry store is beginning to embrace the middle class, a risk for its exclusive image. Over the past decade, the retailer has almost tripled its stores in the U.S. and shifted its promotions to advertise more lower-priced goods. There are currently 44 U.S. retail locations and 82 more abroad. The expansion plan includes 80 to 100 stores in America in the next 10 to 15 years. The stores will also be built in a smaller format, allowing them to move into smaller markets and easily double up in larger areas. Compared to 755 locations of Zales, Tiffany's is still limited in distribution, but their increase in stores also means a decrease in exclusivity.
16	2003	5999	Staples' slogan "Staples. That was easy" is highlighting the fact that customers can buy from Staples' catalog, stores or Web site–and that each of those channels is designed to serve as a sales pitch and back up for the others.
17	2001	6012	Washington Mutual, once one of the few corporations allowed to sell insurance and financial products, is now facing increased competition with changes in federal regulations. In addition to an inviting environment, the company is opening up bank "stores." The stores have been effective and the company has seen increased new accounts and activity. Loans are available for cars and mortgages. Because the stores are not equipped with vaults, they are cheaper to build and put less of a strain on company finances
18	1987	6021	First Nationwide – the 7th largest thrift – has succeeded by catering to Middle America. To join with Kmart to set up banking stations in as many as 1,000 of Kmart's 2,200 stores.
19	2000	6211	E-Trade also announced a pilot program to build E-Trade financial service centers within Target Corp. stores, another step in adding at least a few bricks to the clicks.

<< Return to Acquire Steps