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Rugged Wearhouse's website defines their target market as the young, contemporary adult who enjoys a relaxed and informal lifestyle. The merchandise inside their stores have a casual and contemporary flair to them and is meant to appeal to families, "mothers, daughters, fathers, and sons...". This description is basic but can be expanded with something called VALS (Values, Attitudes and Lifestyles).

VALS is used by companies to help identify "current and future opportunities by segmenting the consumer marketplace on the basis of personality traits that drive consumer behavior." Based on the answers to the VALS Questionaire, a person is put into one of the eight segments determined by the two dimensions of Primary Motivation and Resources. What in particular about the self or the world is the meaningful core that governs a person's activities? That is used to find a consumer's primary motivation. Personality traits and specific key factors determine a consumer's resources.

The eight segments a consumer could belong in are the Innovators, Thinkers, Achievers, Experiencers, Believers, Strivers, Makers, and Survivors. Each segment is motivated by one of three things, ideals, achievement and self-expression.

• Ideals: Thinkers, Believers
• Acheivement: Achievers, Strivers
• Self-expression: Experiencers, Makers
• Innovators are motivated by all three in varying degrees
• Survivors do not have a strong primary motivation because their main focus is meeting needs and not fulfilling desires

Ideally, Rugged Wearhouse would like consumers who fall into the Thinkers, Experiencers, and Believers segments. The reasons I shop at Rugged Wearhouse are because I like their merchandise and their prices. After taking the VALS Survey I was put into the Strivers (primary) and Achievers (secondary) segments. As a regular consumer, I see the type of people who shop there and would say Rugged's consumers come from the Innovators, Experiencers, Strivers, and Survivors segments.
I did not think I would belong in these two segments but the VALS website states "the details that are literally unlike you may identify a basic tendency that you express in some other way". An individual's VALS type only shows what attributes they share with other consumers in that same segment. It does not mean all consumers within one segment resemble or relate to everything in the type's description. To take the VALS Survey and find more information about the VALS Type, click on the source's link.

Source(s): Rugged Wearhouse, VALS Survey, VALS Types

The History of Rugged Wearhouse

The history of Rugged Wearhouse is fairly short compared to other retailers. The retailer is owned by Gabriel Brothers, Inc. and their first store opened in Frederick, Maryland in 1996. During the late 1990s, the retailer opened 15 more stores in Maryland and Virginia and have expanded into the southern east coast. They also have stores in North and South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. Rugged Wearhouse considers its target market young, contemporary adults and carries a merchandise mix of casual, contemporary items. These items are meant to appeal to "mothers, daughters, fathers, and sons...anyone who enjoys today's relaxed, informal lifestyle." Besides apparel, Rugged Wearhouse also sells home furnishings, accessories (shoes, jewelry, handbags, etc.) and lifestyle products in some of their stores.

Source(s): Rugged Wearhouse, Gabriel Brothers, Frederick, Maryland