Positioning

I found this interesting article on The New York Times website: "A Netflix Model for Haute Couture" by Jenna Wortham . It's introducing a new business of renting dresses online like you rent movies from Netflix.

Even though there is already stores (most in the cities) renting dresses to girls and ladies who do not want to spend lots of money on a dress that they would probably only wear it once, 'Rent the Runway' (the website's name) is trying to make high-end fashions easier to access than stores on streets. Customers now can sit at home, choose the dress they like and have the dress send to their doorway. It is positioning itself of being more convenient than stores, especially for those people who do not have time to go to stores. Also, for customers who worry about cannot fit in the dress, the company has stylists who can advise customer about the texture and sizes of the dress. The company also offers 24-hour return, where it will send the right size to you with no extra fee.

I think this company can apply to the concept of positioning. The company knows that there is competitors out there, but they set their mission on enabling people to rent dresses in a more convenient and easier way which is different from the rental stores on streets in major cities. And I think it is a smart idea, since not every person have time or be able to go to the stores. The company then have a broader group of customers than those stores.

Chen, Hsiang Ting (Nita), Section G