Market segmentation: normative model versus business reality : An exploratory study of apparel retailing in Belgium

States that market segmentation is one of the most important concepts in marketing, though little has been published about its application in business practice. Explores the application of segmentation in Belgian apparel retailing. Compares the views and practices emerging from in‐depth interviews with 22 retail practitioners and six industry experts and contrasts them with the normative segmentation model. Concludes that the retail mix evolves through a cyclical process rather than a linear sequence, and that the segmentation model is more a normative than a descriptive model of retailer behaviour. The data suggest that a simple sequence fails to capture the ongoing iterative process by which retailers adjust their market offerings. Finds that the target market emerges from this process of interaction with the marketplace. Marketing academicians are encouraged to root their work in business practice.