Branding the man: why men are the next frontier in fashion retail

It comes as little surprise that retailers have warmed to the idea that men do like to shop. It’s not for nothing that I wrote a book on the subject, so some of the recent news of branded men’s offerings is worth closer inspection.

Coach, Hermes, and even department stores like Lord and Taylor have all made major statements with either dedicated men’s stores or departments.

One might wonder if they had perhaps been closely watching brands like Brooks Brothers and its Black Fleece stores (New York and San Francisco), or J. Crew, which has gone from a single prototype in 2009 to now two dedicated shops in New York and a soon-to-be-opened Boston location.

Coach’s store on Bleecker Street is designed to feel distinctly “masculine,” with rich mahogany wood, exposed air ducts, and a broad assortment of both men’s wear and accessories on display.

Coach has been rumored to be toying with a concept for some time, and their choice of the West Village is certainly strategic. Marc Jacobs, Black Fleece, Ralph Lauren, and Tommy Hilfiger are all a stone’s throw away from the store.

Coach is apparently also looking at other locations, and we’ve heard San Francisco and Boston are on their radar.

Hermes opened its opulent men’s store in February. The brand is one of the few to be resilient in these economic times, mostly because their customer base is so affluent. The glamorous space, located on New York’s Madison Avenue (you think they would open anywhere else?) includes custom pieces designed exclusively for that store — such as a baseball glove retailing for $8,500. I’d be so curious to see what that customer looks like, wouldn’t you? The four-storey retail experience includes an entire floor dedicated to suiting (topping out at $20,000 each) and a crocodile jacket for a mere $130,000.

Recession? What recession?

Not far behind Hermes’ (although a decidedly different customer) is Balenciaga, which opened its first free-standing men’s experience in Paris in late June.

The space is hyper-modern, with a sculptural stairway dominating the small, 650-square foot space. Designer Nicholas Ghesquiere collaborated with artist Dominique Gonzalez Foerster. The space is decidedly space-age, with clean, geometric lines and diode lighting.

Meanwhile, department stores continue to shuffle around their men’s offering — as if it makes any difference. We all know that men don’t really care much for department stores unless the entire space is made just for them. Nevertheless, Lord and Taylor put in a substantial overhaul of the flagship’s 37,000 square foot men’s store, which they hope to complete by fall. Currently the brand’s men’s offering accounts for roughly 12 percent of Lord and Taylor’s annual sales (estimated at $1.2 billion) — so it’s no wonder they want bolster their offering. Other department stores, like Saks Fifth Avenue, do far better in total sales, as high as 20 percent.

As I’ve discussed in my book, Branding the Man: Why Men Are the Next Frontier in Fashion Retail (2009, Random House/Allworth Press), department stores can rearrange the deck chairs all they want, but men still need to be able to access what they want as easily as possible. Lord and Taylor does in fact have an express elevator to their 10^th floor department, but it’s way over on the south side of the building, so most guys don’t even know it’s there. That means a slow trek via an all-stops elevator or worse, the escalator. More importantly is the perception of Lord and Taylor, (a) it’s “old”, and (b) it’s a women’s store. The brand will need to do substantial marketing to get men to see the store as a place for them.

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(San Francisco) — If you missed out on Man Up last January — the pop up event from our friends at Durable Goods Concern — you now have another chance to meet your maker. Literally.

On Friday, June 11 – Sunday, June 13, DGC has assembled yet another menu of local merchants and artisans who bring a smile to our face (and empty our wallet) every time we see them. This time the pop up concept will land at 19th and Treat, home of OHIO, a covetable line of made-to-order furniture.

Joining them at this modern-day souk will be local veterans such as AB Fits and Esquivel, purveyors of some of our favorite attire, as well as many NKOTB (New Kids On The Block) like Cause and Effect, Xetum, and Outlier. Clothes, accessories, furniture — all for the modern man. Hello, Heaven. We’re going because there’s no better time to support local merchants and to truly meet the people who have invested so much in creating products they believe in.

So let us all now pray, raise a glass of wine (yes, there will be plenty), and meet our maker.

Meet Your Maker: Well Crafted Men’s Goods and the Artisans That Purvey Them begins on Friday, June 11 from 4 – 9 P.M, continues Saturday, June 12 from 11 – 7 P.M. and ends Sunday, June 13 11 – 6 P.M.To learn more about all of the merchants at the event (over a dozen), go to www.durablegoodsconcern.com.

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With a recession comes deep cuts in operational budgets and retailers were no different in the darkest days of 2009. Marketing departments shrank and even mammoth retailers were working with skeleton crews of marketing managers or in some cases, one lone VP doing the lion’s share of work in wrangling vendors and pushing promotions.

Many think marketing is expendable. Some think it’s just hanging a sign in your window that says, “Mother’s Day Gifts, ”or throwing a cocktail party. But marketing is strategic and it doesn’t need to be brain surgery to ensure an impact on your business.

I know many retailers who spend hundreds of thousands (and even millions) of dollars on complicated, long-winded campaigns and in-store drivers with marketing mechanics that are so overblown and unnecessary that the only people who are driven are the marketing assistants who have to put it all in motion. It’s not Las Vegas folks, it’s a department store.

Good marketing is consistent and message-driven. The consumer believes and understands the value proposition — whether it’s a luxury retailer or a discounter.

As a consultant, I often receive queries from clients who, having long ignored the need for a proper marketing plan (or having assassinated their entire marketing team) come seeking a quick fix.  But very often what I discover is that a brand’s marketing (or lack thereof) is a kind of Rorschach for the dysfunctional inner-workings of a company’s vision and corporate strategy.

A well-oiled machine does not lie: a company that is functioning well on the inside is usually running well on the outside too. It is able to spring into action and react to the changes in the market. In order for great marketing to occur, there cannot be a disconnect between corporate and retail: if store employees are not given credit and transparency into the executive suite then you might as well blind-fold them.

As a consultant, my job is not to drink the Kool-Aid.

Often I’m faced with an organization where senior executives are either completely blinded or in denial to their company’s shortcomings. We’ve seen this happen with many big name retailers in 2009 and even in 2010.

376 companies per day sought bankruptcy protection in the first two quarters of 2009. Which ones sacrificed long-term strategic marketing for short-term gain?

Gottschalk’s, Max Factor, Circuit City, the list has grown long of brand’s that were long in the tooth and should have known better. Who was driving? Why didn’t we suspend their license especially with so many employees who had to be the casualties?

Of course, it wasn’t always simply a lack of marketing strategy. But the most successful brands are keenly aware of innovating their product, optimizing their retail experience (both online and bricks and mortar) and making their people — the talented folks who are in the trenches building the brand — their most strategic investment.

In these competitive times, there is no room for mediocrity.

Have you ever examined Google’s job application process? While at times their human resources strategy seems to include the use of Tarot cards and Scientology, it speaks of a company that weighs each hire very carefully, balancing employee development with employee rate of return.

Marketing and brand strategy isn’t so much about the numbers as it is about the alliance of great product, great people, and a vision for how to make the consumer a key part of the equation in building the brand’s ultimate deliverable: satisfaction and allegiance.

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