This assignment will focus on the household goods retail establishment of CRATE & BARREL.

CRATE & BARREL is an American chain of retail stores offering a wide variety of items for the household, ranging from furniture, soft furnishings, small appliances, and interior decor/accessories/household gift items. Crate and Barrel is an established fixture in the retail industry, with over 55 years of retail service. The company saw its inception in 1962 when it was launched by a husband and wife team as a brick-and-mortar establishment in suburban Chicago. Crate and Barrel offers its own credit card, via Comenity Bank, for exclusive use in Crate and Barrel, online and brick-and-mortar shops. The card has no annual fee for users and offers a rewards program (gift card/store credit) which is based on a percentage of the amount of purchases.

DESCRIPTION OF THE MARKET
The founding principle of Crate and Barrel was to offer household goods that were not only functional, but pleasing in design, while being affordable for the average consumer. This narrow-niche market was maintained with slow but steady growth for a period of over two decades, at which time significant expansion began to occur. While mass production plays a role in the products Crate and Barrel offers, the company maintains its founding ties to smaller-scale production items with an artisan-driven emphasis. While some staple products such as appliances may be found in other retail sources, Crate and Barrel also includes a blend of exclusive items designed solely for them. Its web presence and expanded delivery options allow many Crate and Barrel products to be have a world-wide reach. It is interesting to note that in 1998, Crate and Barrel sold a majority of its stake to a German parent company, and in the years since, retail locations have been opened internationally. Retail locations feature "off the shelf" items for most of the stock and "mock displays" of home furnishings, set in a diminutive environment to mimic their placement in a customer's home.

SIX to TEN COMPETITORS
-Pottery Barn (retail and online presence)
-Restoration Hardware (retail and online presence)
-West Elm (retail and online presence)
-Williams Sonoma Home (retail and online presence)
-All Modern (online presence only)
-Houzz (online presence only)
-Amazon (online presence only)

Of the above-mentioned competitors, West Elm appears to be the closest aligned in terms of selection, pricing, display, venue (retail and online) and target customer base.