An article in today’s WSJ by Rachel Dodes entitled, Neiman Presses Designers for Cuts, subtitled …Searching for ‘Value’ to Sway Full-Price Sales, covered how the Neiman Marcus buyers are convinced they must be able to show ‘value’ in their clothes. Their buyers are telling designers to cut out pleats and save money to hit price points. I have news for them: value is not the real issue women’s apparel sales are so low; nothing fits anymore.
Years of going overseas have meant shave a bit here on the pattern and shave a bit there on consistency. Who cares if the pattern varies one to the other as long as it looks OK on the hanger. Most sales clerks don’t wear the garments they sell so they aren’t telling the buyers. Well now is the time to change this women’s apparel retailers!
To find out if I was on base, I chatted with an audience member Patty. She told me about her recent shopping experience at an upscale women’s boutique going out of business in Waco, TX. She purchased a 6, an 8 and a size 10 pant. These were not cheap garments, they were the type found at Neiman Marcus.
Patty turned to me and said, “Do I look like a 10 to you?” OK guys, you know the right answer to that but it also was true, “No you don’t.” Patty is an attractive woman who I would think a size 6 would fit easily. She even tried on size 12s.
“Wouldn’t you think,” she started “that I should at least be able to pull the size 8’s on? I couldn’t even get them zipped!” And this is at the crux of what I think retailers should be working on during the recession. Women’s clothes don’t fit. It’s a trend that only got worse in the past five years; there is no consistency in the manufacturing.
Is the rise different? OK, but if she’s a 6, she should still be able to get a different cut of a size 6, not have to go two sizes higher to get it buttoned. A woman should never vary by more than one size to get a good fit.
It’s funny people always say guys are the ones who hate to shop yet we have the easiest fit. I can go into any store, high or low-end and pick up a shirt 15 ½ x 34 and it will fit, same with my pants and jacket sizes. Men’s clothes fit.
If a woman is a 6 and has to try on the 8, she’ll think, “I must’ve put on weight.” As Patty shared with me, “Buying clothes in front of a mirror makes you already down on yourself to begin with. If it doesn’t fit, my self-esteem goes under the rug.”
This is a HUGE issue women’s apparel retailers.
As more more manufacturing has gone overseas, the thought must have been we’ll flatter women and give them smaller sizes. And we really don’t have to cut it to fit, they’ll buy it anyway. Heck, women were buying shoes and not even wearing them. It still sold. Those days are gone for Neiman Marcus, Saks and all the others.
Patty was on a roll, “Hey I work. I make a good living. I want to look nice. I will spend money on clothing that I feel is worth it. When I feel I have to settle just for what fits, that’s just crap.”
I saw a video interview with Michael Kors on the New York Times website, “In this day it has to whistle Dixie if it’s going to go off the shelf.” But again, that is based on the belief that it is the fashion that will make the difference – the real issue appears to be women’s frustration with shopping.
A woman doesn’t want a roll of the dice when she picks up garments to try on. Since many stores have cut both personnel and training, no one is going to help her – she knows she’s all alone. She’s got to get undressed, try it on, go back out if it doesn’t fit, etc.
Patty went on, “You would think if you pay more money for it that you would get a truer fit. Wouldn’t you? That would be my expectation, but that’s where you get very frustrated.”
She continued, “If a salesperson knows how a garment fits on your body, then shopping’s fun – all you have to worry about is ‘Do I want it in green or black?’, not trying to get it to fit. I don’t remember the last time I had that experience.”
I asked Patty, “Well jackets aren’t so finicky right?” Patty had a story for me, “My husband and I were walking through Dillard’s and I saw a beautiful long black designer coat on sale from $600 to $173- it was a medium. Wouldn’t you think I’m a medium? Wouldn’t you think I’m a medium? Well I thought this coat was really pretty.
About that time my husband’s beeper went off and he had to go. I didn’t feel like staying. About an 1 1/2hr later he came home and asked, ‘Did you get the coat?’ and I told him, ‘No, we were having fun and I just didn’t feel like shopping once you left and I didn’t go back’. He turned to me with a smile on his face, ‘Well here you go.’ And he handed me the coat! He had gone back to Dillard’s and bought it for me.
Do you know what? It didn’t fit! I couldn’t even get my arms through it. And I’m a medium! It was cut like an extra small! A $600 coat in a medium didn’t fit. The media is full of stories saying ‘women don’t want expensive items anymore.’ No, it’s about being able to buy a medium or a 6 or an 8 or a 14 and know it will fit.
How are we supposed to be able to go shopping? You have to use more of your time and it becomes a chore. When it’s fun I’ll do it again.”
I asked her about legendary service store Nordstrom – surely they are better. Oops.
Patty had a story there too, “ I went into Nordstrom’s in Dallas with $1000 for my professional suits, but I couldn’t find any suits. I’ve read about the Nordstrom way, but never gotten it. Anyways, I finally found this little girl and I said, ‘I’m a businesswoman I’m looking for clothes for work. I must be in the wrong department.’ She said, ‘No problem’ we walked over to a display and she said, ‘This will look darling on you.’ It was one of these tiny, tiny jackets with pencil legs. I said, ‘That would look great on you but a train wreck on me. I’m 55 yrs old. I don’t want to look like I’m 55 trying to look like 25.’
I would have thought that would be a slam-dunk for Nordstrom. I walked out without buying a thing and I haven’t been back.”
Women’s apparel retailers, now is the time to fix it for the Pattys of the world. This is the real opportunity to compete, not saving $25 here and there.
By the time we were finished with our chat we had a table full of women sharing similar stories. Notice it wasn’t about the discounts offered or retail price of things- it was a simple message: shopping isn’t fun anymore.
Fix that by buying better, developing an across-the-board consistency in sizes and train your sales crew about every garment, fit and how to work a dressing room and you’ll be able to entice this sought-after customer. If you need help, contact me.
Miss this opportunity and you’re toast -concentrating on saving a few bucks on pleats, rather than saving the entire category of women’s apparel.
