Forgotten Man

I realize that men’s wear is the toughest segment in the retail business. I also realize that most men do not like to walk into a store, let alone shop. In addition, so many brilliant retailers have tried to appeal just to men in a specific way (I think of Structure from Limited as a valiant try that ultimately failed as an example).

Most retailers that are targeting men, do it within the context of a “unisex” concept (such as Gap, Urban Outfitters, Banana Republic, J. Crew to name a few). Experience tells me that their male business is no more than 30% of the entire box’s business if they are lucky – maybe 1/3, tops. But to be honest, most are playing safe, to a very conservative vein of customer I gather in order to minimize markdowns.

I object. There is very little colour, very little imagination. Even at Gap with their new designer, their men’s wear selection is safe, dark and very similar to the past 30 or so years. I am not expecting something wild, crazy and very young. But what I am asking for is some novelty, some colour and some excitement. Maybe I am in the minority but even the safe stuff needs to be merchandised and it is hard to capture attention for a style or a cut visually with just dark olive and burgundy as the “pop” colours.

Some of the high end men’s wear merchants are among the finest in the land. I think of Rubinstein’s in New Orleans (and my thoughts are with everyone in the Gulf Coast at this time because of Hurricane Gustav), Louis of Boston, Barney’s of New York, Harry Rosen of Toronto to name a few (although Barney’s has morphed into so much more as has Louis to a smaller extent). They have all been innovative, visually exciting and colourful most of the time.

So what do I suggest? I am not sure. I would encourage those that have real estate devoted to men’s that they push the envelope from a presentation standpoint. Being visually appealing is not the exclusive territory of women’s wear. Men will react to visual stimuli when it’s there.

It’s time to drag us men into the next phase of retailing, merchandising and dressing. We need the inspiration and the attention to do it.

TheRetailTherapist

Derivative Selling

I have realized over the past 25 years in this business that there are very few real original ideas, concepts or designs. Most retail exists basically as a derivative of something else. I accept that but it doesn’t mean I like it.

I understand the true “fashion” business and the “inspiration” true designers derive from culture, history, literature, architecture etc. I do believe there are a handful of innovators out there who can dream up original thoughts and take those right to the runway. Once it is there, it’s basically anyone’s game from Zara to H & M to Forever 21 to any department store around the world with the resources to be “inspired” by what is seen on the runways and have a version of it in its stores within 14 minutes. This type of retail has become an exercise in supply chain logistics rather than creative thought and original planning.

Then there are those who actually and shamelessly “knock off” entire concepts, usually at a lower price. American Eagle Outfitters did this with respect to Abercrombie & Fitch (A & F); Children’s Place did this with respect to Gap Kids; Ann Taylor created the ultimate “knock off” – that of themselves – with Loft (they felt they were going after a completely different demographic but who were they kidding?). Then the ultimate starting happening, the knock offs were getting knocked off themselves. Think of Aeropostale and American Eagle Outfitters. Please tell me that you could walk by the three stores’ windows (including A & F) full of mannequins without signage and you could tell each brand apart? Maybe you can, but the average customer couldn’t.

Why am I ranting and raving about this? I just think we could use some energy and creativity in our retail space especially at a time like this when the customer is nervous. We need a spark, a beacon of creative light.

I guess Apple stores fill some of that void; so do Lucky Brand stores, Lululemon to some extent and a Canadian wunderkind named Aritzia. But my hope is that we inspire each other to go for new, different and creative. There will be fallout due to this economic downturn. Let us fill the vacancies with unique and daring stores and assortments. I pray that new stores will be visually stimulating and the new store designs are arresting in their drama and beauty. My fervent wish is for store experiences to exceed expectations (although they are set pretty low at the moment) and that hours are not cut but that training and focus on the consumer once again become hallmarks of any new retail concept we see.

Let us heed the ancient proverb…

“Do not follow where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path…and blaze a new trail”

For the sake of our industry and the sake of the consumer, it is a clarion call that I hope rings true.

TheRetailTherapist

Change or Fail from Fatigue

It’s always a dilemma for retailers deciding what to be when they grow up. The nature of the beast in this business is “change or fail” as Don Fisher, founder of Gap Inc. always said. It is certainly easier said than done, as his company has been experiencing the past few years.

It seems that retailers go white hot and are either consumer darlings or Wall Street darlings (sometimes they are even both ). Then inevitably they go through a period of what I would call fatigue. They get tired, maybe a tad complacent, a little bloated and satisfied. What’s interesting is that the consumer notices this in some way shape or form. Subconsciously these consumers tend to move away from a retailer if they exhibit any of these tendencies.

Retailers then face the ultimate questions: Do they re-brand themselves and go after a different market segment because their former consumers have grown older and their needs and tastes changed? Or do they tweak and refresh their existing concept and keep true to their current niche and just update and modernize? Tough call. There are dozens of examples of specialty retailers that have done one or the other with mixed success either way.

If you count the number of North American specialty retailers that have thrived consistently for over 30 years straight, you will have a lot of space left on both hands. As previously mentioned, Gap was relevant for a long time mainly because it actually had a broad appeal. Then they tried the re-brand, re-birth, more niche approach and bombed and hasn’t recovered since. One of their acquisitions, Banana Republic, was white hot with the safari look and then became stale very quickly. They decided to re-brand BR with a completely different look and end use. Although one could argue that its target market overlapped with its previous clientele, it was a huge risk that required huge investment but ultimately paid off.

Another legacy specialty retailer The Limited has had a successful past but has also struggled recently. They constantly invested in and then divested of numerous new concepts including the re-branding of Abercrombie and Fitch. But they just sold their once flagship businesses to concentrate on their newer businesses named Victoria’s Secret and Bath and Body Works. It certainly isn’t how they started and could never have imagined ending up here.

So what will become of newer concepts that have cropped up like Lululemon and/or international brands like Zara or H & M that have invaded North America? Will they experience the same fatigue that other stalwarts have? Or will they somehow figure out a way to stay relevant, fresh and paranoid enough not to become stale and suffer the same ailments that has besotted some of the biggest names in specialty retail?

TheRetailTherapist

Olympic Gory

I am digressing from my usual missives on strictly retail subjects a bit for two reasons:

1) It seems that everyone else around the world is digressing from other things to watch the glorious Olympic Games from Beijing, so why can’t I?

2) I feel compelled to comment on what I saw at the opening ceremonies on Friday night.

The opening ceremonies were absolutely breathtaking and brilliantly creative. Dramatic, acrobatic, synchronized and sensational are words that come to mind. They were truly one of a kind scenes from a one of a kind Olympic site as China makes history once again.

These ceremonies were 5000 years in the making and surpassed all expectations by miles. It is in this setting that I felt great embarrassment and disappointment when the Parade of Nations began.

I am no “fashionista”, but when Canada walked into the stadium after having witnessed the opening drummers, movable type staging and beautiful symbolism and elegance, I felt sick to my stomach. I was embarrassed to be Canadian. The Roots outfits were one thing over the past decade or so, but now that it had moved to The Bay, I guess I thought we would take it more seriously. It was a joke. Other countries paraded around either in suits or traditional wardrobes indigenous to their regions and people. Ralph Lauren did an admirable job with the Americans (although I expected a bit more as well). But short sleeved printed zip up performance tops for an Olympic Games Opening Ceremony in Beijing, China? Are you kidding me?

The Turks wore suits. The Chinese were resplendent in their national flag colours differentiated between men and women. The Canadians looked like asexual gym rats ready to hop on their bikes and pedal down the street. The printing was a weird font which wasn’t eminently legible. There was absolutely no style or creativity prevalent at all.

Not only that, the collections in the stores are severely lacking. Now I know why. There is no sense of fashion, occasion or pride in what the Canadian team wore in that Parade of Nations nor in the collection in the stores that Canadians are supposed to be enticed into buying.

Would it have been too much to ask for the Canadians to be wearing some type of co-ordinated outfit (either a suit with a cool red and white shirt – possibly red background with white maple leafs printed all over it – or a red blazer with great looking khaki pants or skirts and a cool striped polo shirt)? I was crushed.

These games may turn out to be a turning point in China’s history, even in world history. Michael Phelps will probably make Olympic history as well. With Canada being the next host of the Olympic games in 2010, I can only pray that we wake up and make amends so as not to embarrass ourselves in front of our own home crowd in Vancouver.

TheRetailTherapist

Gas Pains

It occurred to me that with the price of gas through the roof and due to stay at elevated levels for the foreseeable future, shopping patterns will almost certainly change. Not to mention the fact that hybrid technology is not quite cost effective as yet (unless you want to drive something that looks akin to the Hunchback of Notre Dame), people’s habits will instinctively change as they monitor their fuel expenses.

That does not mean that shopping is out. As a matter of fact, I believe this situation is actually better news for shopping centres than anyone else. If the local or regional mall has done a superb job at re-merchandising their tenant mix and updating their mall experience, then it will make good sense for those who have a list of things to do to drive to one location and be able to take care of everything on that list. This is what the malls should be thinking about over the next 5 years or so.

It isn’t necessarily about cramming as many small footprint retailers who can afford to pay exorbitant rents and strain to produce the ungodly high sales per square foot sales productivity just to pay the bills. I am talking about simple research into a typical shopper’s day and the places he/she has to go. If this is a doctor’s appointment, shoe repair, dry cleaners, hardware store, grocery store, tailor, high quality restaurant, coffee houses, fitness centre, yoga studio, massage therapist, day care, hair dresser, or whatever it is that people do on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis, it behooves the malls to become even more of a one stop shopping experience. Build a second floor if you must so that your economics work, but create an all encompassing experience. It seems to me you will get more of your share of traffic than some of your competition that don’t have the luxury of the space and breadth you can offer.

This has been part of Wal Mart’s strategy in their own microcosm (although that word seems like an oxymoron for such a behemoth of a retailer). They have branched out into groceries in a big way and are trying to become more of a one stop shop for everyone. They seem to be one of the only retailers making some consistent gains in this economic downturn we are experiencing.

Power Centres were everyone’s darling over the past 10-15 years (now they are morphing into “Lifestyle Centres”) but they just can’t offer what a major mall can. Firstly, you are outside and whether you are in Canada or anywhere north of the Carolinas in the United States, it is not that pleasant to shop outdoors from November until April. Not only that, in order to get any kind of breadth of choice, you cannot walk from store to store anyway, as it’s too far. You have to get in your vehicle, start it up and drive from spot to spot. That can get expensive these days.

I have always loved the mall. I give them credit for dealing creatively with the glut of space that has come their way from the department store consolidation across this continent. There is going to be a bit of turnover over the course of this year again. Let’s see what the mall landlords do to ensure they draw traffic and make it easier for all of us to save on gas and at the same time, they will even be doing their share for a healthier environment.

TheRetailTherapist