Product Offerings Analysis -- REI

Product Offerings Analysis -- REI

The intent of this analysis is to compare the marketing mix that REI and Sports Authority are using to promote their snowboard product offerings. Each has unique core strengths as leading sporting goods retailers. Of the two however, REI has chosen to rely on a highly integrated multichannel management strategy that includes both online and offline selling and service channels.

Comparing REI and Sports Authority on the Marketing Mix

In comparing how each have chosen to position their snowboard offerings in terms of features, benefits, availability, promotion and pricing, REI has taken a much more focused approach to sharing the extensive expertise they have in the sport of snowboarding, the breadth of their accessories offered and expert-level guidance in selecting a snowboard. Sports Authority focuses more on pricing, availability of a broad range of snowboards. The product lines at Sports Authority are defined into the All Mountain, Freestyle, Women's, Kids' Toy Snowboards and Snowboard packages. Sports Authority relies on features and functions to differentiate their product strategies. REI on the other hand has differentiated on snowboards, accessories, watches, clothing and specialized items only used in snowboarding including specialized goggles and stomp pads. Instead of leaving their product catalog just at the feature and function level however, REI offers an exceptionally strong depth of insight and expert advice on how to get the most out of snowboarding equipment. By taking this approach through the use of online advisors and the commitment to a multichannel selling strategy, REI is positioning itself to be the trusted authority in snowboarding.

Both REI and Sports Authority rely on multichannel selling strategies, as each has retail stores and large, well-supported websites. Of the two however, REI has chosen to differentiate more on knowledge of specific areas of sports, publishing and providing this content electronically through catalogs, expert user guides and in their stores, kiosks (Sullivan, 2004). REI's commitment to being the trusted advisor in the sports areas they concentrate on is a proven strategy in its industry as North Face has successfully implemented this same approach to gain consumers' and sports enthusiasts' trust (Kusterbeck, 2008). Of the two companies, REI has been more successful therefore in transforming their expertise into a competitive advantage, and supporting an effective multichannel selling strategy too.

Assessing the Impact of an Expert-Driven Multichannel Strategy

Where Sports Authority has centered its marketing overall and website specifically on product features and a product line grouping by demographics, REI has centered their multichannel strategy on becoming the trusted advisor in snowboarding. The difference is that REI drives its product mix based on knowledge of the buyer and creates channels to inform and sell at the same time. The kiosks in their stores have access to all 78,000 items in their catalog, creating a virtual trusted advisor anytime anyone in the store needs assistance (Sullivan, 2004).