When I read these types of headlines I don’t know whether to laugh, cry or be grateful that what has been obvious is to enlightened marketers for the past 24 months is now just being recognised by the marketing 'gurus'.
Amanda Aldridge is KPMG’s head of retail and writes a regular page in Marketing. This week she has suddenly woken up to the massive opportunity for retailers to provide clothing to some segments of the generation of women in their 40s to 60s. Better late than never.
Here are a few quotes:
“I was pleased to read that Gap in the US is planning, in the second half of next year, to launch 10 stores aimed at women over 35. Will this mark the start of a shift toward us, heralding an exciting period in which people like me become the fashion retailers' top target? Let's hope so.”
“Consider the high-street fashion choices for women of this generation, polarised between youth-oriented clothes (which can make older women look foolish) and the sort of 'old lady' frocks that we prefer to associate with our mums and are not yet ready to adopt for ourselves.”
“Recent years have seen retailers kow-towing to fashion-addicted teens and 20-somethings. Somewhere along the line, older, more loyal, consumers were left behind. One retailer to admit this was Laura Ashley. Announcing poor sales figures last month, it conceded it was paying the price of courting younger customers with more fashionable lines.”
“This focus may be changing. In the fashion press, there have been references to this autumn's 'more lady-like' styles. Does this hint at a shift toward the older consumer, made in a subtle way to avoid alienating the young?”
Dick Stroud www.20plus30.com
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