Objectification of Women

The Objectification of Women by Women: A Case Study of Marketing Effectiveness Presented by: Sadie L. Harper 1311 Burningbush Lane #107 Raleigh, North Carolina 27614 (919) 412 – 2869 Kansas State University Raleigh, North Carolina APA 6th Edition Abstract. The objectification of women by society at large exists as a deeply-ingrained, millenia-long social norm, pervading nearly every area of prosaic life. Advertising employs objectification by way of pictorially defining the archetypal woman: who she is; what she is permitted to do; how she should feel; what clothing she should wear. By doing so, the marketing of women’s fashion has created an accepted standard definition of women. This case study of three women’s clothing firms – White House Black Market, Ann Taylor, and New York & Company – explores the potential shift in direction toward a modern form of objectification, that of objectification of women by women, versus objectification of women by men. These companies all state on their website’s info pages that they understand women, market as women to their women customers, and their clothing is intended to empower women. How do these firms redefine women’s purpose in life, in the family, in the career world? How has that purpose shifted from the mid-twentieth century? How have the items of clothing designed, relative to that new definition? How does women’s fashion now seek to positively objectify women toward the end of their empowerment and participation in society? What quantifiable data exist that seem to support the existence and potential success of this type of objectification in advertising women’s clothing to the segmented markets? Lastly, how can these – and other – firms who market women’s clothing further develop their strategies, store designs, and business practices to greater impact by way of competitive advantage? This paper seeks to explore these questions, to elucidate this new, modern form of objectification, and to substantiate its positive impact on women and on advertising. Keywords. Objectification; objectify; women; feminism; women’s clothing; women’s fashion; empowerment; gender equality; gender inequality; Social Gender Theory.  Objectification in Advertising. The author chose to analyze the promotion of clothing in advertisements using objectification of women by women, versus of women by men, as well as the messages sent and received through the advertisements of three women’s fashion firms: White House Black Market (WHBM), Ann Taylor, and New York & Company (NY&Co.). In investigating this concept, questions arose: Who do the firms believe women want to be, and how have they designed merchandise relative to those beliefs? How does fashion indicate women’s updated purpose in life, versus past generations? What data exists to suggest this new, modern definition exists, and does it show an effective shift in how women’s fashion is marketed? To whom does each company segment, and how can they better reach their target market? What competitive advantages exist currently, and how do those advantages aid the proliferation of this new mission? Definitions & Literature Review. The objectification of women is long-standing, well-ingrained in society, and is inarguably an issue with numerous negative connotations and consequences (Greening, n.d.). The word objectification traditionally makes women into objects that are “passive, being acted upon” differentiated from a subject who acts with agency (Goh-Mah, 2013). Empirical studies have shown women are “overwhelmingly targeted more for sexually objectifying treatment than men”. As well, the “most prominent means of transporting [objectification] is through mass media” (Greening, n.d.). Contrarily, the ads from these three firms can be argued to objectify women to women, where marketers convey a new message of a modern woman. The base dilemma with objectification is “socialising generation after generation to view the world, and the women in it, from the point of view of men” (Goh-Mah, 2013; Greening, n.d.). Woman-directed companies WHBM and its competitors aim to re-socialize, encouraging the public to view women through the eyes of our gender. As such, their advertisements shrewdly shift the perspective in keeping with each’s focus on women’s purpose and how fashion intersects with it. This new, modern version of objectification augments women by expanding horizons and encouraging venturing into the corporate environment. By doing so, the firms present a balance: no longer is objectification the purpose of the ad, but it offers agency to the subject as well. Issues with objectification itself as an issue aside, this author believes these three firms succeed in redefining the term by presenting an empowering message for girls and women, offering an alternative to the preponderance sexual promotion found in the marketing of women’s clothing. Product Review/Buyer Analysis. These three firms sell similar enough product – women’s fashion clothing, accessories, and shoes – that it does not benefit to analyze based on the items of clothing themselves, or the shoes, or the accessories. Rather, it is this author’s position that the product being sold primarily is an idea, or a definition of the modern woman. Around this concept each has designed the physical merchandise and the advertising campaigns. White House Black Market uses the parent company’s demographic as their own since the 2003 acquisition, and to their benefit as it further focuses the merchandise and advertisements by extension. WHBM began with a clothing idea: a limited palette that melds classic tastes with modern sensibilities. They have kept that focus with each new season’s lines. The target market is narrowly defined, the mission for all of Chico’s sub-brands stated on their website as “serving the lifestyle needs of fashion-savvy women 30 years and older”. Their customer likes exclusive pieces that are a “feminine and affordable alternative to designer fashion.” Not only have they clarified an age segment, but they have also described her in their catalog: feminine, fashion-savvy, individual, cost-conscious. She wants unique fashion, a moderate price-point, “elegance with a side of modern”, and “timeless silhouettes [her] way”. They’ve positioned their brand, cost-wise, between the extremes of fast-fashion and high-end designer apparel. Style-wise, the merchandise juxtaposes classic and trendy to resonate with a specific segment of the market. In so doing, they helped bring clarity to an underserved and underdefined niche of the fashion apparel world. The WORKKIT collection of the brand’s clothing specifically targets the subset of career women, selecting items from other categories and placing them into one location, creating an efficient online shopping experience. The other highlighted collection is seasonal, currently labelled the “Holiday Boutique” and includes classic items redesigned for wear to social parties. The catalog, A Season of Style, utilizes descriptions like “The Unclassic: A Tux Reinvented” and “the LBD: Beyond Basic Black” and “the Modern Masterpiece: paired with denim…pieces that will lift your look from relaxed to refined”. Many hold handbags and wear shoes along with an outerwear item such as a sweater or jacket, indicating preparation to go out, not stay home as the women depicted in the fifties’ ads are. In some ads models walk the streets of the city, suggesting purpose outside the home. It is updated in feel over trendy, using a palette based on black and white, with one bold, vibrant color threaded through in accent pieces. The effect is a modern, self-assuredness mixed with foundation pieces that translate from season to season, color-wise. Ann Taylor defines their mission and target market on the SEC Form 10-Q filing as “serving the needs of real women who live full, active lives” and “being her ultimate wardrobing destination, dressing her from head-to-toe for every dimension of her life”. Their target market is broad, unspecified apart from gender. ANN Inc.’s current CEO, Kay Krill (the brand is undergoing a shift to a male CEO) states on the company’s website that Ann Taylor understands that “real women…juggle more activities, play more roles, and carry more expectations”. However contrasted with WHBM’s focus, ANN Inc.’s definition focuses more on how women feel in clothing and in life than their perspective on who they want to be in clothing. Descriptors like “[helping] her look and feel confident and beautiful” and “[giving] her…confidence to do what she loves” show Ann Taylor’s product, or definition of the modern woman, characterizes her as complex and either lacking in or desiring confidence through style, and needing simplified solutions. Their online lookbook offers a new classic separates option, AT3Ways, a velvet blazer styled for day, evening, and weekend. Sadly, it is this category’s sole option; either it is a missed opportunity to develop versatile wardrobe staples or it is best incorporated into another collection as many categories have the same goal. The A.T.atWork collection also highlights items shifting from daytime professional wear to nighttime out-on-the-town wear. It again depicts one item – tapered, Champaign-colored pants – for three different social settings; other items in the collection are located under more tabs. Their suiting collection uses neutral colors and simple, traditional silhouettes like pencil skirts: classic, traditional pieces in expected cuts and neutral colors. Other online merchandise is selected from overwhelming options of categories-within-categories (the Clothing tab alone includes twelve sub-categories), counter to their desire to simplify fashion options. Seasonal highlights are captioned with obscure titles such as Fête-Friendly Suiting, Stepped-Up Party Pants, Just a Hint of Shimmer, and so on. From gifts to jewelry to shoes, outerwear, petites, tall, maternity (online only), work-to-weekend, Ann Taylor desires to have an option for every woman, at all stages of life, answering all her wardrobe needs. NY&Co. informs customers on their website that they want women to “feel confident, put-together, attractive, and fashion-right”, appealing equally to fashion-forwardness and the internal emotions that come from stylish dressing. Providing “NY Style that is feminine, polished, on-trend, and versatile – all at compelling values”, NY&Co. delivers the “energy, excitement, and style of…the fashion capital of the world to women everywhere”, found on their SEC Form 10Q for 2015. They define their target market as “fashion-conscious, value-sensitive”, between the ages of 25 and 45, and as “women who work…and every woman works”. This definition of working women is ubiquitous. It fails to specify how she works: career? stay-at-home mom? entrepreneur? But what of the woman who does not work in a career, or at all? By saying every woman works, it suggests an attempt to put all women into one category and define their life’s purpose with the serious moniker work. It’s a slightly confused definition, but for purposes of this case study, I will defer to statements describing a career woman aged 25 to 45. Their merchandise, however, is anything but serious or ubiquitous in feel. Bright, bold colors and dramatic prints bring freshness to this sometimes dreariest of seasons. Mendes’s line carries such descriptors as “dramatic yet delicate”, “head-turning”, and “bold statement”. Historically, though, their strongest merchandise are wear-to-work items such as their self-described “perfectly fitting pants”, again from the SEC Form 10Q for 2015. Their online category for career-related items is labeled suiting, sub-dividing the options into traditional, modern, and runway. NY&Co.’s work collection is largely exactly what the label suggests, blazers, pants, skirts, and dresses as items that make up suits, further indicating their segmenting career-oriented women. Further, they imply a goal of streamlining the getting-ready options (workweek chic made simple), all while offering “hot, off-the-runway” fashion in “all the season’s must-have hues”. The merchandise is designed to feel of-a-time, such that when the season and/or the color palette changes, one must return to buy new, season-appropriate, off-the-runway fashion to stay current. The merchandise presentation and online text reveal their objective as offering an ever-changing assortment of fashion, in keeping with the fast-pace of New York City’s fashion world. Sourcing. In keeping with what seems to be standard among retail stores, based on the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010, all firms have posted their procedures for ensuring responsible sourcing. Senate Bill No. 657 requires “retail sellers and manufacturers doing business in the state (California) to disclose their efforts to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from their direct supply chains”. The bill also states that “Consumers and businesses are inadvertently promoting and sanctioning these crimes through the purchase of goods and products that have been tainted in the supply chain”. Though this seems to only technically apply to firms based in or doing business in California, all three firms have complied with this by posting their commitment efforts. Of the three firms, WHBM offers the least information as to their sourcing. Their products each state their imported status, and they link to a description of their supplier case study process. Ann Taylor offers the most information on their sourcing, stating they use approximately 135 suppliers across fifteen countries worldwide. Additionally they have spent time and resources ensuring sustainable products, ethical labor, and responsible sourcing. Each review of the website on sourcing during this case study yields more information, more in-depth descriptions of their efforts, leading a conclusion that they are focusing on sustainability. NY&Co. also affirms their commitments to responsible sourcing and states that they import product from around the world, though without specifying as many details on the process as Ann Taylor. Market Penetration. WHBM first opened as The White House in Baltimore, Maryland in 1985, and the CEO Donna Noce describes it on the company’s website as a “single, tiny neighborhood boutique”. To diversify their offerings and expand their customer base, their competitive advantage, and the brand, The Black Market opened its first location in 1995. In 1997, the two brands merged, creating White House Black Market. WHBM now operates more than 515 units in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands as full-price boutiques. There are approximately 80 outlet stores as well, and a mixture of brick-and-mortar, multi-channel, and online store locations in the US, Canada, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico, all under the Chico’s FAS umbrella. WHBM’s promotional strategy is a mixture of primary- and selective-demand, and the ads concentrate on selling the concept of the WHBM woman. The communication objective is to keep the small, boutique feel that caters to the personal interaction between customer and sales associates while highlighting the uniqueness of each woman. The promotional strategy includes direct-response advertising by way of direct mail catalogs as well as emails. Ann Taylor operates 242 full-price stores and 118 outlet stores in North America. In addition to the retail stores in all 50 states, it also operates locations internationally. Ann Taylor doesn’t seem to be opening new stores under the Ann Taylor brand (which includes Factory and LOFT). The chain exists in brick-and-mortar, outlet stores, and multi-channel in both US and international retail locations, and online. Ann Taylor first opened in 1954, yet for having been in existence nearly three decades longer than WHBM, it surprisingly has a far smaller imprint by way of retail locations on the market for women’s fashion. Ann Taylor’s promotional strategy as stated online uses selective-demand advertising in a basic appeal to women’s emotions by stating “we get women”. The company states their objective as allowing women to “[live] life fully” by uniting “confidence and style”. Ann Taylor approaches women as a collective category, versus as individuals. They, too, position themselves to cater to the modern woman, but the woman who is all things to all people, not primarily focused on her career aspirations but the concept of equally juggling all roles and giving validity and purpose through clothing for all aspects of her life. The strategy includes direct-response advertising by way of emails and social media. New York & Co. (NY&Co.) first opened its doors in 1918, is comprised of more than 500 operating units nationally, and is the only firm of the three not owned by a parent corporation. It is also the only firm of the three who does not use a merchandise brand of the same name as the store but has developed its own lines and uses product lines exclusively sold in their stores. NY&Co.’s promotional strategy uses selective-demand advertising, relying on their longevity in the market to have established itself as a brand. They have also added a celebrity element, offering a line by Eva Mendes beginning in late 2013. Adding the celebrity element is a strategic move in order to maintain their competitive advantage in the market and possibly to re-segment to minority populations, while using Mendes to more specifically promote a modern version of objectification of women. The name instantly mentally associates the brand with the fashion capital New York, thereby equating their brand with superior fashion. NY&Co. exists in brick-and-mortar stores and as multi-channel, but unlike WHBM and Ann Taylor, does not have outlet stores. NY&Co. appears to offer partnership with other boutiques to sell NY&Co. licensed and branded apparel including exclusive lines, and though available online, only exists as US retail locations. It is unclear if there is a desire for further market penetration abroad, but this author finds no evidence of expansion outside the contiguous US. Competitive Advantages. WHBM’s main competitive advantages centers around the brand and the store design. Petermans and Cleempoel (n.d.) state that “directing a retail store’s design towards the creation of memorable customer experiences by appealing to customers’ senses, emotions, and values [is] a valuable approach for differentiating oneself from competitors.” The store exudes an expensive feel: crystal chandeliers, dark hardwood and high end tile flooring, framed artwork, and textured wallpaper in niches, merchandise display tables similar to what one would place in one’s home. Instead of a rigid layout, WHBM employs a spacious, modified grid pattern similar to a free-form layout which encourages the “customer [to] meander around the racks of clothing” and to “enjoy browsing” versus “making their search as efficient as possible” (Martin, n.d.). A seating area with upholstered modern wingback chairs in the center of the store offers a place for children or significant others to sit while the women shop. The dressing area staging resembles a high-end, custom closet: upholstered chairs, ottomans, plush rugs, chandeliers, and an over-sized, multi-paneled mirror in a custom wood frame. The design encourages lingering, allowing the customer to fully visualize the product while simultaneously chatting with friends. WHBM has clinched their brand consistency with custom, high-end packaging. The logo, the bags in which purchases are placed, the colors throughout the store, as well as the image conjured up mentally by the mention of the colors white and black all leads to a consistent message and association mentally for the customer. WHBM has created a strong brand image, which has allowed them to position themselves alongside competitors through image advertising, using their unique visual appeal. Ann Taylor’s and NY&Co.’s dressing areas by contrast are self-service and stark, with bare-bones rooms, half-walls, and unframed mirrors. Neither of the two competitors has a seating area, and the large, full-length mirrors are in the middle of the walkways, discouraging lingering. Both competitor firms also employ a grid system in their layout, but in a more defined way, forcing customers into rigid pathways. Ann Taylor uses a crystal chandelier over the wrap desk with canned lighting throughout; NY&Co. exclusively uses harsh, overhead fluorescent lighting for the entirety of the retail space. Ann Taylor’s flooring is a medium-grade, light finish engineered hardwood floor; NY&Co.’s flooring is sterile, white tile. NY&Co. overcrowds their floor space such that bottlenecking occurs frequently. However, there are some advantages to utilizing the grid type of layout, including low cost, ease of cleaning, and the possibility of self-service (Dunne & Lusch, 1999). The advantage of self-service, however, leads to a decrease in developing relationship with customers, resulting in a more distanced environment. It potentially prevents the firms from pursuing their self-described goal “to inspire and connect with our clients to put their best selves forward every day”, as found on the website. Disadvantages include a bored feeling due to limited creativity in the layout, as well as a rushed sense of shopping (Dunne & Lusch, 1999). Of the three firms, Ann Taylor is not the oldest, yet doesn’t appear to have a clear competitive advantage currently and are undergoing a shift in brand due to 2015’s buyout by Ascena Retail Group. Where WHBM has focused their entire brand around a specific color palette, and where NY&Co. has linked their brand with the fashion world by way of name association, Ann Taylor has done neither. One would not realize the name comes from a 1950s dress style without a thorough examination of the website, but that specific dress does not exist anymore yielding a tenuous and obscure link to their inception at best. The customer cannot identify with Ann Taylor as a concept because they don’t know who she is or from where she came. NY&Co.’s main competitive advantage is their name association with the capital of fashion, New York. The association further delves into mental expectations, based on what the consumer has learned to expect from New York. Wording like “fashion capital of the world” lends the idea that fashion originates in New York and then disseminates to women everywhere. By further labelling some of their collections of pants and suits runway NY&Co. the customer can infer that the merchandise she tries on came directly from the runway which, together with their hot-off-the-runway descriptions, lends a sense of excitement and newness. Gap Analysis. WHBM has defined their target customer adequately and has clinched their brand not only as a retail location but also as a memorable experience. In analyzing their advertising effectiveness, no obvious gaps exist in the current structure. Ann Taylor has begun to employ numerous social media efforts in an effort to connect more directly with their customers, encouraging women to post photos of themselves in everyday life either to the website or to social media. It is an attempt to bridge the gap between the merchandise and real life, to answer the question of what do I do in this outfit? However, it is unclear how this aims to increase sales as these actions are employed after the customer leaves with purchases. NY&Co. has employed celebrities specifically to give style advice to customers (Jennifer Hudson) and to offer a new line of merchandise (Eva Mendes). However, by focusing on Mendes’s line, they neglect the new association with Hudson to offer style advice, highlighted in specific sections of the website, but not in the stores. The multi-year collaboration with Mendes seems to take a disproportionate amount of resources, and threatens a gap between one celebrity and the other as Mendes is the subject of advertisements and Hudson is not. In the store, Mendes’s lines are everywhere, and it is difficult to differentiate between her merchandise and the store’s brands. And so a further gap potential exists as they pursue this new line by Mendes and could neglect the rest of the volume-driving NY&Co. labels. Target Audience, Positioning, & Segmentation. WHBM uses predominantly full-price merchandise, targeting customers with discretionary income. The limited use of sales segments to customers who equate price with quality, sales with cheap deals. The clearance section of store takes up approximately 5% of floor usage, reflecting their commitment to selling mostly full-priced merchandise. The WHBM woman is a 30-something woman, and they sell exclusively non-maternity merchandise at a moderate to moderately-high price-point. The WHBM woman desires to be stylish and individual, looking for timeless looks that have an updated feel. The boutique atmosphere positions merchandise as higher-end, higher quality; the store design and layout feel expensive and luxurious, leading to an expectation of expensive merchandise. The price-point reflects more unique fashion, also positioning to higher income customers. The boutiques carry moderate breadth, but less depth of merchandise lending a feel of urgency to buy now. Most items are available in only one color, creating a sense of each item as unique. Merchandise is constructed using quality fabrics (silks, cotton, and a mixture of high and lower quality materials – rayon, viscose, spandex – yielding a more durable product over time), and many items are dry clean only, positioning to higher-discretionary income customers. The use of selective-demand advertising sells customers on the brand and primary product (definition of modern woman). WHBM uses a high degree of personal selling: employees are enthusiastic and engaged; greet every customer; remove selections and place in fitting rooms; peruse store on behalf of customer; suggestions to complete look; and remove unwanted items from fitting room. Ann Taylor as well offers predominantly full-priced merchandise at a moderately-high to high price point in order to target customers with higher discretionary income. Ann Taylor’s inventory turns over almost completely every three to four weeks with new merchandise replacing current at a fast pace. Consequently, once a customer sees an item online, by the time she ventures into a store, that item could be sold out or moved to the sale rack and next to impossible to find, as this author discovered in the process of researching continuity of omni-channel offerings. Ann Taylor’s moderate use of sales segments to higher income customers who love a good deal on quality merchandise. The clearance section of store is approximately 15% of floor usage, reflecting a need to balance with customers who cannot afford full-price but value quality clothing as well as high turnover of merchandise. Ann Taylor’s customer is the everyday woman – classic, sophisticated, elegant – who wants a one-stop destination for all styling needs, no age range specified, and includes maternity merchandise online. The store’s atmosphere is calming with its neutral palette; no elements set atmosphere apart from other stores (WHBM’s black and white scheme; Talbott’s red door), and suggests positioning to customers who are neither especially attracted by unique elements nor turned away by lack thereof. The stores carry large breadth of merchandise but moderate depth, andmany items come in only one or two colors. Merchandise is constructed with the use of quality fabrics (chiffons, crepes, silks, cashmere), speaking to higher-income customers with discerning tastes for high-quality fabric. Like WHBM, many items are dry clean only. Ann Taylor has employed several internet/digital campaign, perhaps in an attempt to further connect with their customers. One such is the selfie campaign: “Shop.Share.Inspire” which encourages women to take everyday photos of themselves in the clothing. They then post the photos to social media with hashtag #AnnTaylor or #AT3Ways. However, this campaign is difficult to locate on the website where it should be prominently located and explained. The stores use personal selling, though in this author’s in-store research, it did not compare to the high degree of personal selling by WHBM. Customer service in-store is moderate and varies by experience. Few associates do not greet customers upon entry, do not engage consistently, and do not aid customers in the fitting rooms unless hunted down and requested specifically. NY&Co. uses predominantly to exclusively marked-down merchandise targets customers with less discretionary income. The standard use of sales for all merchandise segments to those who focus more on saving money than a search for quality merchandise. The clearance section is approximately 20% to 25% of floor space usage and reflects need to off-load overstocks to bargain-hunting customers for less than standard promotional prices. NY&Co. defines their target customer most specifically of the three firms studied. She is a woman aged 25 to 45; a fashion-conscious and/or career woman; value-sensitive and looking for a lower price point. Due to the preponderance of the use of minority class women in their print and online advertisements, this author deduces that their target customer is also of the minority classes (Hispanic and African-American descent). NY&Co. sells non-maternity only merchandise. The store’s atmosphere contains a unique element, currently the promotion of Mendes’s advertisements; the store’s colors include a variety of colorful merchandise which contrasts with the white tile floors and black walls. The store design employs an overcrowded grid with no clear-cut pathways, and narrow walking spaces. The price-point reflects positioning to customers with an average income. The merchandise options include great depth of items and sizes and great breadth such that the options are nearly overwhelming to the senses. Nearly all items appear in a minimum of four color options, appealing to customers less concerned with uniqueness or wish multiples of an item in different colors. Construction uses predominantly 100% rayon or acrylic, fabrics that pill quickly with usage and washing, and nearly all items machine wash and wear, positioning to customers either with lower discretionary incomes or less desire to spend on dry cleaning. NY&Co. also uses some internet/digital campaigns via social media. Their Instagram #itJustFits offers no description, but seems to encourage customers to post selfies in the clothing. Sales Trends & Advertising Expenditures. WHBM (numbers relative to nine months ending October 31 of each year for 2014 and 2015) One year trend. Net sales for the 26 weeks ending August 1, 2015 were $436,957 and for the same period of 2014 were $431,087 for a decline of (1.9)% for both years. Multi-Year Trend. Net sales for 2012 were $809,775; for 2013 were $858,972; for 2014 were 888,371; for 2015 quarters 1 and 2, $436,957. Looking at the second quarter of every year for comparison, WHBM’s trend was an increase of 2.3% for 2012; a decrease of (1.5)% for 2013; a decrease of (1.9)% for 2014; and a decrease of (1.9)% for 2015. Gross Profit as a percentage of net sales was 28.7% for 2015 and 27.1% for 2014 (calculated from Net sales less COGS, buying, and occupancy costs). Net profit broke-even from 2014 to 2015; between 2013 to 2015 was a (5.4)% loss. Store square footage There were 443 stores open and operating at the close of 2012, and 441 at the close of 2014, with a current 512 for year-to-date, or 1,162,603 selling square feet for quarters 1 and 2 of 2015, and 964,802 at the close of 2012, for a growth of 0.83% in selling square footage and a growth of 0.77% in overall stores. Advertising Expenditures as percentage of revenue: 153.1 million/2,675,211,000, or 5.7% Chico’s FAS spent 153.1 million or 5.7% of net sales on advertising costs. Ann Taylor (purchased by Ascena Retail Group August 21, 2015, current financial data does not exist. Trends shown using the latest available data, pre-purchase) One Year Trend. numbers based on Quarter 1 of 2015 versus Quarter 1 of 2014. Net sales were $150,656 for Q1 of 2014 and $148,793 for Q1 of 2015 for a (0.99)% decline. The gross margin was down (0.8)% from Q1 of 2014. Multi-Year Trends. Net sales for 2012 were $644,486, and sales increased 7.4% from 2011; for 2013 net sales were $667,995, yielding an increase of 5% from 2012; and for 2014 net sales were $658,653, yielding an increase of 1.6% over the previous year. Gross profit as a percentage of net sales for 2015 was 28.8%; for 2014 was 28.3% (calculated from Net sales less COGS, buying, and occupancy costs). Net profit for FY 2012 (ending February 2, 2013) was 4.3%; profit for FY 2013 was 4.1%, and for F 2014 (ending January 31, 2015) was 2.7%. This yields a total decline in net profit over three years of (0.63)%. Store square footage between 2012 and 2014, opened 17 new stores; during same period, closed 56 and planned to close an additional 5 during 2015 for a total decrease from 2012’s 280 to 2015’s 241, yielding a decline in selling square footage of (0.86)%. This yields a total of 0.2% stores closed (total stores closed divided by number of open stores in 2012). Expenditures as percentage of revenue: 92.6 million/2,533,460,000 equaling 0.37%. ANN Inc. spent .37% of net sales on advertising costs. NY&Co. One year trend from 2014 to 2015 net sales for nine months ended November 1, 2015 were $678.8 million; for the same period of 2014, net sales were $656.0 million for a growth of 1.03%. Each quarter of 2015 has shown the same growth percentage relative to the same quarter during the previous year. Multi-Year trend net sales decreased from $1,021.6 million in 2010 to $923.3 million in 2014 for a decline of 0.904%. Gross profit as a percentage of net sales for 2015 was 28.6%; for 2014 was 27.1%; for 2013 28.1% (calculated from Net sales less COGS, buying, and occupancy costs), an increase of 1.06% increase from 2014 to 2015, and an increase of 1.02% from 2013 to 2015. Net profit or (loss): remained stable 2014 to 2015. Both years reported net loss of (1.5)%. Store square footage beginning 2011 total selling square footage was 2,627,462; end of 2014, had decreased to 2,597,912 for a (0.98)% decline over the time period. Thirty-eight new stores opened between 2011 and 2014; 89 stores closed. Total stores open decreased by 1.17%. Advertising Expenditures as percentage of revenue: 1.8 million/923.3 million equaling 0.12%. Spent $1.8 million or 0.12% on advertising costs. Creative Strategy. None of the three firms has a slogan; for purposes of this case study, suggested slogans are outlined below, fashioned from verbiage on each firm’s “about” page of their website. WHBM Ann Taylor NY&Co. Slogan Be empowered by black and white. Sophisticated essentials for the modern woman. Where today’s fashion-forward woman shops. Key Benefits Appeals to emotions (be empowered); asks the consumer a tacit question: what will she do as a result of being empowered? Identifies goal & defines customer: modern & sophisticated but functional everyday life Defines as up-to-date in fashion; segments to customer who wants current fashion Format Direct visual reference to brand, products, packaging; simple and dramatic Reflects product and intent; defines the experience References brand’s purpose and goals Appeals Visual, motivational, emotional Rational, informative as to what ‘modern woman’ means Emotional: Desire for trendy, dissatisfaction with out-of-date fashion Tone Confident, authoritative Informative, descriptive Informative, aspirational Packaging. WHBM’s packaging is consistent: all labels and packaging carry brand logo and color scheme. Labelling is also consistent throughout store: single private label on all merchandise lends further consistency; all labels carry brand logo in brand colors. Cash wrap packaging is in higher-quality paper bags made of thick, durable paper with black rope handles. Each individual purchase is wrapped further in tissue paper and sealed with sticker carrying brand logo and colors; accessories and shoes are wrapped in small boxes or smaller paper bags for protection. As a result, the brand logo has high mind space share directly due to consistency and memorability of brand logo and color scheme. Ann Taylor’s packaging also shows high-end elements and consistency: all labels and packing carry brand logo. Merchandise labeling as well is consistent: single private label on all merchandise lends consistency. Cash wrap purchases are packaged in high-quality paper bags with rope handles; items wrapped in tissue paper and sealed with sticker carrying brand logo. However, an impromptu interview with a store manager during the in-store research element revealed the employees agree that the brand logo has low mind space share due to lack of color scheme or unique details. Employees expressed lack of knowledge as to if or how the brand would change with the recent purchase by the new parent company. NY&Co.’s packaging is not consistent with the rest of the brand images; logo appearance on bags is grey text on white plastic, where the brand logo is black lettering, a red ampersand, and a white background. Merchandise labels carry NY&Co. name; sub-brands’ labels carry both designs while the NY&Co. private label has only NY&Co. on the tags. The colors of tags vary: some are black lettering on white; some grey and white; some white lettering on black. Cash wrap packages are in less expensive (and increasingly controversial due to its environmental unfriendliness) plastic bags with no tissue paper. The brand has moderate mind space due to logo color scheme, but low consistency from logo to packaging. Segmentation, Targeting, & Positioning Analysis. WHBM defined their target customer with specific parameters, segmenting accordingly: women aged 30 and above. They have further segmented to career women and women with a certain bold, dramatic, timeless-meets-modern aesthetic. She likes quality merchandise and has enough discretionary income to spend on a moderate to moderately-high price point, lower than high-end designer fashion yet higher than a competitor like NY&Co. They have positioned themselves in between high-end, exclusive designer apparel and lower end, lower quality apparel. Segmenting to younger women could increase their market share while also ensuring longevity as the younger women will age into the more mature products. They could develop a sub-label with a look that, while consistent with the rest of the brand color-wise, has an edgier, more aggressively modern feel. Additionally, it might be prudent to differentiate the sub-label, perhaps make it feel of a store-within-a-store, and add a new name and merchandise tags. This would make it feel more customized to this generation who possesses enormous buying power, as well as introducing them into the brand for long-term loyalty as they age out of the younger fashion and into the more mature woman line (Williams & Page, n.d.). Ann Taylor segments to those with discretionary income for a moderately-high price point. They have taken the entirety of the populace of women as their target market. The ad campaign featuring Kate Hudson was encouraging, but asked them to segment further to fashion-conscious mothers who want a balance between being stylish and functional in everyday life. On their website, they seem to have shifted this slightly, asking their customers to post photos showing what they do in the clothing. The problem, as stated, is that their segmentation lacks segmentation. The overall category of women does not have unfulfilled needs; the segment of stay-at-home moms does. As well, their attempt to bridge the gap between classic and updated clothing seems to try to reach both segments of women. It might benefit to reassess the classic styling as that segment of the market continues to age, becoming smaller generation by generation. Sales and store opening/closing data show this brand is losing market share; it is this author’s position that this is in large part to their inability to successfully target a more specific portion of women, and not styling the fashion to meet that part of the target market who will flock to their doors. NY&Co. may be shifting focus to segment to minority women by their collaborations with Jennifer Hudson and Eva Mendes. Their segmentation further targets customers who love to bargain hunt, as postulated by the preponderance of clearance items in the store and their nearly exclusive use of promotional sales for all items at once. A moderate amount of stores opened in the past several years, a slightly higher amount closed, and according to their financial filings, they have refocused on remodeling existing stores. Instead of focusing on store openings, these celebrity associations allow a focus on re-segmentation and targeting specific customers within those segments. Minority women are an underserved portion of the entire market of fashion-forward women, and so if this is their goal – as hypothesized – shifting in this way will gain a larger share of the overall career women segment as well as adding the minority segments. Strengths and Weaknesses. Ann Taylor’s main strength that seems to be diminishing, based on evaluation of their sales trends over the past years, is their longevity in the market. The link between the origination of the name (a dress style of the 1950s) is vague and has no concrete association for customers today. A second weakness is the logo and branding: plain, uninteresting block lettering; no defined background to off-set; un-memorable. A further weakness is the lack of specification of an age range for their target customer. The definition is currently too broad, too desirous of not alienating any potential customers. Specifying an age range would aid customizing merchandise styling and more effectively reach the market, but it requires a willingness to segment. NY&Co.’s current strengths are two-fold: the association with New York and the collaboration with Mendes. Linking the brand to a fashion center establishes a connection in the customer’s mind. It presumes their target customer knows New York as the “fashion capital” as well as that she wants to wear the season’s latest trends. This presumption holds, as they have used the definition to reach specific customers. Their primary weakness is store design: it is, quite simply, too crowded. The overcrowding leads to overstimulation, and the consumer cannot fully appreciate the variety of merchandise offerings. As a further sub-set of store design weakness, the fitting room and viewing areas could use a complete overhaul to stimulate lingering. Discussion. With their longevity in the industry, surprisingly Ann Taylor holds a far smaller portion of the market in the number of stores, versus the other two firms. Store opening and closing data revealed surprising results that Ann Taylor is losing their share of the market. While NY&Co. figured out opening new stores did not make good fiscal sense and chose to remodel existing stores to spend less money, Ann Taylor chose to begin a completely new brand, Lou & Grey, perhaps hoping to regain market share through expansion techniques. It is too soon to tell how this will affect this particular brand. From initial perusal, it was expected that Ann Taylor would be able to utilize their longevity in the market to benefit their understanding of who women are and what they want; conversely, from research of the financial data, WHBM was revealed to know better who women want to be and what they want to do in the clothing. Further, from reading websites, information came to light about the depth of commitment of the firms to aspects like corporate social responsibility and ethical sourcing and, in NY&Co.’s case, a desire to offer a fulfilling career path. Retail companies are not simply about product, selling, and advertising any longer, and if the firms wish to more fully compete with a modern society and coming-of-age customer base, they might need a committed focus on corporate social responsibility, sustainable business practices, ethical sourcing, and transparency. Each, by way of a thorough investigation of their websites, shows a commitment to local charities and women’s rights. However, the average customer is likely unaware of these commitments and how their patronage of the firms can aid their local communities. Better communication of efforts and priorities to the consumers is needed in order to further the companies’ goals. The beginnings of reaching the communities exist, but are not well-developed or communicated. Each local group of stores within each firm could adopt a local cause or charity, relative to their goal to help women, and engage in specific actions to foster community. Additionally, they might find a place for some of these women to work in the stores, offering job opportunities to those who most benefit. Secondly, Ann Taylor’s model of using photos of real-life women could start a trend of model-like photo shoots in the stores, then posting on social media. The saleswomen could use this opportunity to take stories of what the customer did in the clothes, similar to Diane Von Furstenberg’s project for her 40 year anniversary celebration of the wrap dress: the women wrote a brief description of what they did, the job they got, the feelings and impact on their esteem of wearing her dresses for a powerful marketing campaign that reignited fervor over her iconic dress (Diliberto, 2015). Growing awareness of the personal stylist service is imperative for each firm. This service is under-marketed, under-communicated, and under-utilized though each of the firms analyzed offers this service. The customers do not know about it as the only advertisements are located in the stores. Without shopping in the store, customers will remain unaware of this service. Especially for WHBM and Ann Taylor, who segment with their pricing and store design to the portion of women who like the designer boutique experience, personal styling would further cement that segmentation pulling those customers to their doors. Additionally, each firm should work to catch up to other leaders in the retailing industry on sustainability efforts. Excepting for a seemingly thorough, yet non-specific, article outlining each’s case study process for suppliers to ensure compliance, they don’t appear to have specified goals for reducing their carbon footprint or waste in stores or factories. Ann Taylor’s in-depth year-by-year timeline of goals could provide a template from which to begin. By using the objectification of women to women to segment to women who want a career in the boutique and fashion industry, each firm could begin to restructure their hiring practices. The demographics who gravitate toward retail as a long-term career are aging, and reaching the younger generations to fulfill their staffing needs is increasingly difficult due to the gaps in understanding how the younger generations think and what they value. The firms could develop a specific program to promote their hiring practices and formulate methods to entice the younger generations to work retail, to see the long-term career benefits (Black, 2012; Matuson, 2015). NY&Co. states on their website, “we pride ourselves on our collaborative work environment that celebrates diversity in people and ideas”; additionally that they “set the standard among retailers in providing opportunities for career advancement”. Yet, unless one peruses the website with some depth, this information is lost among the myriad product offerings. The company could create specific plans and advertise in order to gain larger market share of the younger newly-working generations. Conclusions. Through their establishment in the women’s fashion industry, all three firms case studyed have utilized, to one depth or another, a new definition of objectification by promoting women’s fashion from women’s viewpoint. Women’s clothing needs to be marketed differently in this new era, as perspectives on women’s roles in the family, in the workplace, in the world-at-large have shifted dramatically, seen clearly when juxtaposing ads from the 1950s against these three firms’ recent campaigns. It is not simply that clothing styling has changed; women themselves have changed in relation to what to offer the world around. The need for clothing to suit these new and improved purposes exists, yet the age-old mentality of marketing women’s clothing from a man’s perspective no longer harmonizes. Through interviews with managers, an assessment of financial and website data, and an analysis of product, segmentation, positioning, and comparison of mid-twentieth century ads, all three firms emerged as having shown that their conscious intent is, in fact, in line with this author’s postulation: they are redefining objectification and using it to promote women’s clothing to women. They have defined the modern woman, found an underrepresented niche in the apparel market, and designed marketing campaigns – and product – around these new definitions. WHBM has established itself as a leader in this arena, by deliberately pursuing this re-definition from the inception of the brand, requiring re-examining how the clothing suits the definition from season to season in efforts to objectify positively. While objectification of women in a traditional, sexual manner still exists, it is this author’s hope that what these firms have begun will spread, thereby changing the tenor of advertisements and reducing the negative effects of objectification to the younger generations. The women WHBM uses in their ads, together with the dramatic contrast of black and white clothing, evoke a compelling definition of the new modern woman. She’s poised, intelligent, independent, and capable of conquering the world. She is in herself a valuable contributor to the building of her world in all aspects. She is defined as herself, by herself, and for her own intrinsic worth as a woman, and she is complete. By placing the women in situations where their body language and accessorizing with outerwear and shoes suggest a pause in time before they take action, WHBM reflects to their customer subject status, agency, purpose in life and that their clothing will take her confidently forward into that purpose. 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(1991). Ecofeminism and the teaching of writing. Boston, MA. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?q=ecofeminism&ft=on&id=ED333452 Print Ads Through the Decades: the 50s (2011). [Article]. Retrieved from http://www.crazyleafdesign.com/blog/print-ads-through-the-decades-the-50s/. Von Furstenberg, D. (2014). The Woman I Wanted to Be. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. Williams, K. and Page, R. (n.d.). Marketing to the generations. Journal of Behavioral Studies in Business. Appendix A: Print Ads from the 50s Appendix C: Contemporary Ads from Subject Firms WHBM Ann Taylor  New York & Company