The retailing blur - classifying women's apparel retailers - AM: Apparel Merchandising - Editorial

Discount Store News, Oct 18, 1993 by Jeffrey Arlen

* Okay, I'll go out on a limb. Within the next two years apparel lines of distribution will radically change. Far more "upstairs" brands will be sold at "discounters," and many of today's "downstairs" stores will be perceived as at least street-level operations.

You may have noticed that the previous paragraph has lots of quotation marks. That's because the terms used to describe various types of stores--"upstairs," "downstairs" and "discounters"--are quickly losing their meaning.

Even now, many operations defy current retail-speak. What kind of store is Portland, Ore.-based Fred Meyer? How about Meijer's? Mervyn's? Kohls?

In the future, the lines of demarcation will continue to blur. The "chain" Sears, Roebuck and Co. is a case in point. The third largest U.S. retailer has taken another major--$40 million--step toward changing its image from that of a male-oriented hardware and appliance store of a female-grabbing purveyor of fashion.

Its new ad campaign, which is defined by its "the softer side of Sears" copy line, is aimed squarely at middle-class women who already shop at Sears, though not necessarily for clothing for themselves.

"We want to tell American women that we have upgraded our apparel assortments and that we have what they are looking for . . . We created the new advertising campaign following several months of search and extensive discussions with our target market--women who are primary decision-makers and purchasing agents, if you will, of middle-American families" says Arthur C. Martinez, chairman and chief executive officer of Sears Merchandising Group.

The new advertisements, developed by Young & Rubicam, New York, which had the apparel market buzzing last month after they broke national on WABC during the Emmy Awards, could be really effective in persuading women to think of Sears as a fashion alternative to the stores in which they usually shop for their apparel.

The Sears ads should be effective because they are upbeat. well-paced and clever. For example, one ad makes reference to a pair of children's pajamas with the comment, "I found something to help my 2-year-old go to sleep." The other half of the ad shows an attractive--but not threatening--model wearing lingerie and commenting that she had also found "something to keep my 40-year-old awake."

Coupled with a splendid job of remodeling and merchandising, Sears is well on its way towards establishing itself as a primary option for apparel-oriented consumers.

Of course, Sears isn't the only store that is in the process of being reborn. Green Bay, Wis.-based ShopKo (see cover story, page 22) has hired new apparel managers in an effort to turn the operation into a department store-like retail business.

In the market share battle that will become increasingly intense during the next two years expect many more retailers to change their strategies. Apparel manufacturers will also have to rethink the positioning of their lines.