Context
Aggieland Outfitters sells Texas A&M branded apparel, headwear, gifts and home goods from stores in College Station and through its own online store. It sits at the upscale end of the collegiate merchandise market: well made pieces that last, carried alongside recognized outdoor, golf and athletic labels, and sold to students, parents, alumni and visiting fans. Its storefronts are placed for convenience rather than as destinations, and the business is a familiar name in the local community. Its website and social accounts are actively maintained, and the online store and in-store inventory run on the same commerce platform.
In Fall 2022 the business was preparing a third location, on a major road near campus and the stadium and close to its George Bush Drive store. The new store was expected to take the bulk of trade in that part of town, and the George Bush store was due for renovation once it opened. Around the business, collegiate apparel was being sold by local specialty stores, by the campus bookstore, and by national online retailers with large advertising budgets and national shipping. Name, image and likeness deals with college athletes had just become a live marketing channel, and social media had become the main way to reach students.
Challenge
Aggieland Outfitters is an established Texas A&M apparel retailer with a strong reputation, two stores in College Station and a third location in the works nearby. The business wanted a clearer read on the college student shopper: what they value in apparel, what they expect to pay by product category, and how they weigh the store against nearby and on-campus alternatives. Opening a store close to an existing one raised its own questions, since the new store was set to take the bulk of trade in that part of town and the George Bush location was due for renovation without a settled role of its own. The team was also asked for a considered view on in-store technology and customer experience, and on whether a branded mobile app was worth the investment.
How the team worked
The scope was wide, so the team split it into research areas and gave each member ownership of one, then worked to a weekly timeline that ran from question design and store visits, through gathering responses in the field, to analysis and the written deliverable. Background research came first: a SWOT of the business as a whole, built from the client meetings and from the store's own positioning, which set the terms for everything that followed.
Two surveys were built and distributed to the College Station student population, one on product preferences and one on price. The product survey asked what students value in apparel and which app features would matter to them, rated on a simple scale so the answers could be compared side by side. The price survey used the four Van Westendorp questions per product, which turn individual willingness to pay into a defensible range rather than a single guess, and the results were read as student-facing guidance because students made up most of the respondents.
For the competitive work the team priced and reviewed the two main local competitors in person, comparing product mix, fabric and design quality, floor space given to particular lines, and social media consistency. It then looked at campus stores at two peer universities to see which premium brands and price points the wider collegiate market had settled on, which put the store's own pricing in context for families who shop on other campuses.
For the in-store work the team walked both locations, spoke with staff about how inventory tracking and tagging worked day to day, and researched how comparable retailers use technology in the shopping experience. Every idea was sorted into a short-term or long-term bucket with a plain statement of cost and practicality, so cheap and reversible changes were separated from those needing real planning. The mobile app and George Bush workstreams followed the same pattern: background research, a realistic view of what the investment would involve, and concrete next steps.
Workstreams
- Ran product and pricing surveys with College Station students and applied a Van Westendorp price sensitivity model to arrive at recommended price ranges by product category.
- Compared product mix, pricing, and social media presence against the two main local competitors and the campus stores at peer universities.
- Developed marketing recommendations covering new brand partnerships, limited merchandise drops, influencer collaborations, and a step-by-step plan for a student t-shirt design competition.
- Assessed the in-store experience and technology, from tag and QR code consistency and fitting room lighting to inventory tracking, self-checkout, and augmented reality, sorted into short-term and long-term options.
- Evaluated the case for a branded mobile app, outlining the features it would need, a development path, and how to market it after launch.
- Proposed a distinct role for the George Bush location, with a seating and study area, food and drink amenities, and monthly pop-up events aimed at students.
What the team found
- Students ranked price and design highest among the qualities they weigh when buying apparel, with quality close behind and brand name the least important of the four.
- Brand answers were spread so thinly across so many labels that no single name held the student market, which pointed to room for a store line judged on quality rather than logo.
- Among the app features students were asked to rate, discounts and rewards drew the strongest interest and push notifications the weakest.
- The two local competitors split along a familiar line: one competing on a high turnover of casual designs at lower price points, the other on branded, higher end goods.
- Campus stores at the peer universities carried much the same premium labels at comparable price points, which places the store in line with what families meet on other campuses.
- Store visits showed the strongest impression came from the store's own branded tags, so carrying one consistent branded tag and QR code across the floor was the simplest way to extend it.
What the client received
- Written final deliverable covering surveys, competitive analysis, marketing, customer experience and technology, a mobile app assessment, and the George Bush location.
- Final presentation deck for the client meeting.
- Background SWOT analysis of the business, with a condensed one-page version.
- Product and pricing survey analysis, with recommended price ranges and price points by product category.
- Competitive review of local competitors and campus stores at peer universities.
- Shortlist of apparel brands and influencer partnerships to pursue, each with a note on fit and how to introduce it.
- Step-by-step plan for a student t-shirt design competition.
- Technology and customer experience SWOT with a short-term and long-term implementation list.
- Mobile app assessment covering required features, a development path, and post-launch marketing.
- Proposed floor layout and amenity plan for the George Bush location.
Outcome
Aggieland Outfitters came away with survey-backed price ranges for student-focused apparel, evidence on what students weigh when they buy, and a clear picture of where the store stands against local competitors and campus stores at peer universities. It has a prioritized set of marketing, in-store and technology ideas sorted by cost, practicality and time horizon, so it can act on the short-term items while treating the larger ones as considered decisions. It also has a documented basis for deciding whether to build an app, and a concrete concept for giving the George Bush store a role of its own once the third location opens.
Recommendations
- Set college student focused apparel to the ranges the pricing analysis produced, and revisit whether student lines are best carried under outside labels or under a store line built on quality.
- Widen the t-shirt and sweatshirt selection with original designs, and partner with campus teams, organizations and events on limited run merchandise for a season or a semester.
- Run a student t-shirt design competition on a fixed timeline, with prizes, a social voting round, and the option to recruit the winning designers as part-time designers.
- Add limited monthly merchandise drops and influencer partnerships, with the website prepared for concentrated traffic and a marketing campaign built ahead of each release.
- Take the short-term in-store improvements first, consistent branded tags with QR codes, brighter fitting room lighting, item level inventory tracking, and customization options, holding self-checkout, augmented reality fitting and display screens for the longer term.
- Give the George Bush location a role of its own as the value store, with indoor and shaded outdoor seating, a food and drink amenity, and monthly pop-up events in the parking lot.
Next steps
- The client was handed recommended price ranges and price points by product category, read for the college student segment the research covered.
- The client was handed a step-by-step plan for the t-shirt design competition, covering prizes, timeline, submission method, a social voting round, and the announcement.
- The client was handed a short-term and long-term list of in-store and technology improvements, each with a note on cost, practicality and what putting it in place would involve.
- The client was handed a mobile app path setting out the features to build for, how the investment would divide across development, security and maintenance, and how to market the app after launch.
- The client was handed a proposed floor layout for the George Bush location with the seating, food and drink, and pop-up event ideas drawn onto it.