Going For the Look

Hey Everyone! Just wanted to let you guys know that this is my first monthly essay this year. I'm really bad at writing essays so please let me know what I did wrong. I KNOW my structure is bad, so please don’t hold back on the comments. Thanks!

Explain Cohen's argument and discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with his analysis. Support your position, providing reasons and examples from your own experience, observations or reading. Your essay should be as well-organized and carefully written as you can make it.

Retailers defend the approach to hiring based on image as necessary and smart, and industry experts see the point. "In today's competitive retail environment, the methods have changed for capturing the consumer's awareness of your brand," said Marshal Cohen, a senior industry analyst with the NPD group, a market research firm. "Being able to find a brand enhancer, or what I call a walking billboard, is critical. It's really important to create an environment that's enticing to the community, particularly with the younger, fashionable market. A guy wants to go hang out in a store where he can see good-looking gals."

Explain Cohen's argument and discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with his analysis. Support your position, providing reasons and examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.

“Retailers defend the approach to hiring based on image as necessary and smart, and industry experts see the point.” I agree with the point Marshal Cohen is trying to make about it being smart to hire people so that they can project “the image” to the people. But I don’t agree with his point when he says that “it is necessary”. It is possible to sell products, in this case: clothes, without having to only hire people that “fit the image”. Sure they can have advertisements with models and people that fit the image, but by hiring people that are skinny, tall, and have a pretty face, they risk losing customers that do not.

Companies shouldn’t only focus on the people that fit their image. They should also focus on the people that don’t fit their image. If they make cute trendy clothes and say that anyone can where them, but they only hire people that fit their image, then they are implying that only certain people can wear their clothes. If they focus on making clothes that literally anyone can wear, then they can still sell their clothes to many more people and hire anyone who is capable for the position rather than those who are pretty and trendy.

“It's really important to create an environment that's enticing to the community, particularly with the younger, fashionable market. A guy wants to go hang out in a store where he can see good-looking gals." I also don’t agree with this statement. People think that if they have pretty, young people working at the store, then that place must be popular because “everyone would want to go there”. Sure some guys want to go to the store and see some good-looking gals, but not all guys do. It’s just an excuse they use so they can hire good-looking people. The store probably is popular, but it’s probably driving away many potential customers. Those potential customers are the people that don’t fit the image and feel inferior to the workers and other people. Their target market is supposedly everyone because they say “anyone can wear their clothes” but they end up losing the people that don’t fit the image when they hire good-looking people.

 

Because they focus on “the look” they lose the potential customers of those who are too young, too old, not pretty enough, and those who don’t have a good figure or features. Even if the people are the right age, some or most don’t even fit their image. Each time they decide who fits the image and who doesn’t, their target market becomes smaller and smaller. If their goal is to get more people to come to the store and buy their clothes, then they are missing a good chunk of people.


I hope you guys liked this!! I know it SUCKS though...I'm really bad at writing essays. Well, hope you come back soon! Until then, see ya!