NEW YORK — Specialty retailer Appleseed’s is banking on a “big bang” that economists have predicted for years: the coming together of Baby Boomers and fashion.
Appleseed’s, which just opened its fifth and sixth stores, has repositioned itself to capture aging Boomers who see their golden years as a time to pamper themselves in style. The retailer has stores clustered in the Northeast, several in the Boston suburbs, one on Cape Cod and one in Rhode Island.
Once a catalogue-only company focused on the mature market, the retailer hired Claire Spofford in May 2003 to prepare for the launch of its first retail fronts. As a former marketing executive with Timberland, one of her first duties as senior vice president of marketing and retail was to revamp the Appleseed’s Web site and design a “brand right” retail store to capture the style- and service-hungry older woman. In 2005, Appleseed’s also acquired one of its competitors, the slightly more classic Tog Shop, which allows Appleseed’s to evolve from its conservative roots.
The strategy appears to be working. Appleseed’s two original stores, which opened before Spofford helped redesign the brand, both had same-store sales running at about 10 percent. While comps aren’t yet available for the newest four stores, which started rolling out in July 2005, sales data show that the catalogue business only slowed 5 percent within a 30-minute drive time of the new shops. The retailer plans to open several more stores in 2007 and 2008.
“There is always a hot customer of the time,” said Spofford. “Ten years ago, it was the echo boom, and the retail square footage exploded in response to the Gen Y fashions. All of a sudden, retailers like PacSun, Abercrombie, Hot Topic were paying attention to this specific demographic. And now, everybody wants to talk about older women.”
Today, consumers 50 years and older currently control more than half of the purchasing power in the country. Baby Boomers spend roughly $1.7 trillion on goods and services every year, and that number is only expected to increase, according to Bruce Westbrook, national managing director of the consumer business consulting practice at Deloitte & Touche. Adults over the age of 50 spend $25.9 billion on apparel. But with a dearth of stores that specialize in fashion catering to older customers, retailers are failing to capture the dollars.
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Some are slowly responding to the demand. Brands such as Coldwater Creek and Talbots are adding stores every year, while the Gap recently announced it was expanding its Forth & Towne concept, which launched last August with five stores in New York and Illinois. This fall, it plans to open Forth & Towne stores in Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle.
To succeed in serving women in their 50s and 60s, retailers need to craft a different merchandise strategy. For example, said Westbrook, “apparel chains are used to big, vibrant environments with loud, trendy background music. That might be attractive when a customer is 25, less so when they are 60.”
But the shopping experience can’t be too muted, either. “This shopper is not going into the autumn of her years, which is how a lot of retailers look at her,” said Christian Davies, vice president of design strategy for FRCH, which designed Appleseed’s concept stores. “She’s moving into a very celebratory period, but no retail concept really treats her like that. She’s not brand-loyal partly because there aren’t many brands out there that she can relate to.”
The balance between stylish merchandise and retail stores and the need to accommodate older figures and different needs is a delicate one. As visual acuity declines for the shoppers, things such as store signs and clothing labels need to be clear and easy to read, but not so obvious as to offend women, said Westbrook.
As it launched its new retail concept, Appleseed’s took such physical needs into consideration. Its new stores are roughly 3,000 square feet and offer larger fitting rooms with more comfortable seating than one would find in an average retail shop. Not only does the design allow for more comfort and mobility, but also creates a holding area for women to carry in clothes to try on without salespeople buzzing around.
“This is a woman who is not as hurried as the woman 20 years younger,” said Davies. “A younger woman is time poor. But this customer has the time to make a decision, enjoy herself and look at a lot of options. She knows what she wants.”
“These women aren’t old and they aren’t going to grow old like previous generations,” said Spofford. “They want service and someone who understands them.”