7P’s OF NORTH FACE

PRODUCT

 The North Face sells its products under 7 broad categories and each of these serves as separate
product lines namely Jackets & Vests, products made of Fleece, Tops, Bottoms, Shoes,
Accessories and Backpacks.
 The offer jackets made of fleece, wind breakers for men; they offer t-shirts, polos, shirts, tops
for running and training for men; sports bras, Hoodies, tops and sweatshirts for women, tents
matching the needs of the consumer and sleeping bags according to the outside temperature.
 The product lines cater to men, women and kids.
 The products are also sold in collections namely, Nuptse, ’94 Rage, ’95 Denali, Black Rage and
many more.
 The products sold under their brand label also have certain technologies infused with them like
thermal regulation, odour management, vapour wick and boa laying system.
 The North Face sells products that are famous for its traditional design that is also practical for
customers to use.
 The products sold are sustainable, perishable and heterogeneous thus adding a credit to the
marketing strategies of North Face and making it all the more different from its competitors.

PRICE

 The pricing followed by The North Face is a competitive based pricing strategy. This is because
the data on competitors is easily available due to a large number of competitors that exists
within the industry.
 Prices for a few products for which either information is not available on competitors, or are
costlier to make are set a bit high. Also the products that are sold online also account for the
delivery charges and thus are sold at a greater price.
 The brand also uses product bundle pricing as well, where products are bundled together and
sold at prices lower than the total of individual items.
 They use an optional product pricing strategy for certain products, where it offers a price for the
base product and separate prices for the accessories that come along with it.
 North face can reach a market of lower income consumers while still appealing to the high
income consumers by having a premium pricing strategy but also using competitive parity thus
offering low prices.
 The brand offers no discounts for its products. They might offer for the products that are sent
to the old inventories.
 The brand offers a lifetime warranty on all their products which increases the value of the
product.

North Face offers for old inventories

PLACE

 The North Face sells its products through two marketing channels. The first is where it sells
directly to its customer through its online website. The second is where it sells to wholesalers
who then sell to different retailers located all over the country. These then sell to its customers.
 It follows an omni-channel distribution system where it has integrated its online and offline
stores to allow customers easy access to its products.
 The products are mostly sold off in speciality stores called summit shops which have helped
preserve the brand identity.
 The company sells its products to approximately to 1500 wholesalers in USA and 100
wholesalers in Europe and Canada.
 The brand has expanded its distribution system to other intermediaries to include retailers and
some department stores to introduce casual sportswear into the market.
 The brand has about 4000 retailers and departmental stores like Nordstrom and Foot Locker.
PROMOTION

 The North Face uses multiple media channels to promote its products. It uses traditional media,
which includes an advertisement on television and radio. This is beneficial due to its large reach
and ability to attract a large number of people. It uses online and social media advertising,
which is cheaper and beneficial due to the increasing usage of the internet.
 They also have innovative in-store promotions like placing a kiosk to show visual journals of an
athlete’s expedition and videos which are a center piece of their direct promotion.
 The North face offers service that when accepted by the customers, they receive text messages
informing them of promotional offers and deals at the nearest store.
 The brand has made a point to advertise themselves in magazines like Outdoor magazine,
Backpacker magazine highlighting their theme of exploration inciting people to explore
outdoors.
 The North Face also conducts in-store clinics and travel expos bringing outdoor athletes into
their store to discuss expeditions and to instruct consumers on outdoor adventure skills.
 The North Face products are a staple on Outside magazine’s annual buyer’s guide which
resonates well with the North Face target market.
 They publish products to the consumers with a more consumer based outlook.
PEOPLE

 The North Face stores are staffed with personnel that are knowledgeable about outdoor sports
which allow them to establish long term profitable customer relationships. Personnel selling are
an essential aspect of the brand integrity of North Face.
 The North Face has people working under its sales team that play a vital role in its marketing
efforts. These people have been trained in persuasive techniques, but also to show respect to
the business customers taking into consideration their preferences.
 The North Face has people working in its customer service department. These are contacted by
customers in case of any issues within the product, and these people guide customers through
the process of getting the issues resolved. These people are trained to respect the customers
and try their best to get their issues resolved.
 The North Face has people working with suppliers to obtain raw materials. These people play a
vital role in maintaining or improving the quality of the final product produced.
 The North Face has people working at retail stores who help the customer on site, by answering
any questions or helping them decide the product that best suits their needs.

PROCESS

 The North Face to make sure that its products are always available at retail stores has systems
installed where retailers can notify when their inventory levels are low. The North Face provides
them with more products while ordering its productions to replenish its stock. This ensures that
products are always available to customers when needed.
 The North Face has an online delivery process, where orders are received in the computer
system and based on these orders, the relevant product from the inventory is shipped to the
delivery service provider.
 The North Face is actively involved in researching market opportunities in order to understand
customer needs. It also develops understanding regarding customer needs through feedback
collected at store, its helpline or social media pages.

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

 The North Face sells its products in a distinct color packaging that easily identifiable on retail
shelves. These are placed on special shelves provided by the company, which also have a
distinct colour and design. This makes it easier for customers to locate such shelves in busy
retail stores.
 The North Face has an online website that is user-friendly and allows customers to view its
products in high quality images taken from various angles.
STP
SEGMENTATION