No Longer Treated Like Little Women
Michael Barbaro of the New York Times notes a sudden reversal in the Sak's 5th Avenues retail strategy:
Scolded by short women across the country, Saks Fifth Avenue said yesterday that it would re-establish its petite women's clothing department, which the company had quietly dropped several months ago because of poor sales. The decision, a victory for millions of women shorter than 5-foot-4, came after Saks received scores of letters from smaller shoppers who complained that they could no longer find clothing that fit and that they felt alienated in a store that had dressed them for decades.
On one level the decision to drop petites made perfect sense- women weren't buying the clothes:
Saks scrapped petite sizes, which generated $35 million a year, in January because it found that many shoppers preferred to buy clothes in the misses department — which is larger and offers a wider variety of fashions — and have garments tailored to fit their smaller proportions. "In the past, the petite assortment has been very suited and very classic in nature, not really addressing the lifestyle needs of the customer," said Joseph Boitano, senior vice president and general merchandise manager for women's clothing at Saks.
The plan is to reintroduce petites in such a way that is classy but not so classic:
This time around, the retailer will try to inject more energy in petite clothes, emphasizing sportswear, knitwear and day dresses, rather than focusing heavily on classic-looking suits for work.
Problem is, however, they have to find the right energy level. Misses may want to show lots of skin, but the petites don't share this objective:
The Saks re-entry into petites reflects the strategy of the chief executive, Stephen I. Sadove, to recapture the business lost under the leadership of Fred Wilson. Critics of Mr. Wilson said he alienated older — and in this case, smaller — customers with his emphasis on skin-baring urban fashions.
I guess the lesson here is one of understanding your customers: petite women may be the physical size of misses, but their sensibilites are not. Expecting petites to wear the same clothes as their daughters makes little cents.
Tags: Saks | petite | fashion | fashiontribes | New York Times | NYT |
See also: Five Feet Two with Teeth | The Petite Public Has Spoken | Saks Restores Petite Sizes After Outcry | It's Not the Size |