Gap – Looks better than it has in a while. There are a number of items that seem “inspired” by J. Crew, but are significantly less expensive. A smaller % of the store is on sale relative to the past few times I’ve been in there. It’s also neater, with less product on every shelf and rack. Makes me think they’re in okay shape for the fall floorsets to hit and don’t have a ton of inventory to sell out before then. They also have some new promos going on: They’re clearly trying to drive basket size with an additional 30% off 4 or more sale items, and a variety of jeans are $20 instead of $50-70.
Bebe – Same issue I’ve felt about them for a while: Hard to believe there are enough customers who like this style, have the occasions to wear it AND will pay these prices for it when the quality doesn’t even feel like a sure thing.
Chico’s – About a quarter of the store is on sale, which is consistent with what it’s been for the past several months (other than clearance events). The product doesn’t look great, only partially because every rack is stuffed with a mix of colors, textures, patterns and materials that clash and bring out the worst in each other.
White House | Black Market – Half of the store is on sale, which isn’t unusual. But half of the product is also unattractive. A pricing strategy is hard to discern, as items within the same class run the gamut of price, even when material, etc. seem similar.
Victoria’s Secret – The PINK product looks great, but I’ve started to wonder whether the company only pays attention to that. The entire rest of the store was on sale, with deeper markdowns than I recall seeing in the recent past. Traffic was low, but everything was a mess.
Lululemon – Just a few items marked down, as usual. A new product emphasis appears to be skirts (for running and tennis, I guess). I’m interested to see how they’ll move farther from their yoga core enough to diversify but not enough to hurt their positioning.
Gymboree – Their new location, unlike their old one, has aisles wide enough to fit strollers. Seems logical. They’re getting a jump on back-to-school specials by discounting school uniforms (20%, I think).
Coach – Their new line, Poppy, lives up to the marketing hype. The product is also very consistent with the social media messaging around the launch. The sizes, materials and prices vary, but they’re definitely more accessible than many handbags out there (Coach and beyond). While I was in the store, one woman asked for the price on the largest sequin-covered bag, joked that she shouldn’t even ask because it would be too expensive, and then expressed pleasant surprise at learning it was $595. They’re offering Poppy-themed pencils and a notebook with a $200 Poppy purchase and have re-designed the Coach shopping bags to look like Poppy.
J. Crew – Doesn’t look as great as I typically think it does. About 2/3 of the women’s inventory is on sale — clearly have a lot to clear through before fall. There’s a lot of core, whereas they’ve probably sold out of the more iconic product that gives the store its personality. It just feels like you’re hitting them between seasons, which can’t be good for them.
Talbots – While I feel like I read all the time about who they’re latest target customer is, it’s hard to tell by looking at the product. From one rack to the next, it looks like a different customer. And while traffic was decent, the mix of customers was eclectic.
Coldwater Creek – Big improvement here. Better than I’ve seen this product look in a year. The colors and silhouettes seem updated and more modern. Almost the whole store is full-price. Prices seem to be approaching those of CHS, probably as a result of CWTR getting more expensive and CHS going the other way. Not sure about that.
Abercrombie – Another surprise: I think the prices are actually at the high end of reasonable. $30-40 for a graphic tee is much more than at other teen players, but it’s in the J. Crew range — it’s not $80 anymore. Maxi dresses (not even plain ) are $88.
Free People – The brand has evolved from earthy to sequins and studs. Their own store says this loudly. The product is cute, but I have a hard time understanding who has occasion to wear it, and will pay for it. They have a limited amount of merchandise on sale and the markdowns aren’t very steep.
Ross – Longest line I saw all weekend. I think it’s difficult to shop. I didn’t see brand or price signage to really understand the draw, but I didn’t give it a lot of time.
Men’s Wearhouse – Another one that looked awful, even the windows. I was in and out very quickly so don’t have much to say.
Ann Taylor LOFT – A lot of the new product looks fantastic, though a little pricier than I would have expected — particularly some $48 tops. Some of the t-shirts are obvious J. Crew knock-offs, and other product has a similar feel. They seem to be doing a better job with color stories, and I can more imagine the product being flattering than I could in the past (i.e. some of it used to look hideous even on the mannequins).
Brooks Brothers – I hadn’t been in there in ages, and it feels like nothing’s changed since I shopped there nine years ago. They’re clearly very focused on their target, which I guess is good. Big sale, affecting about 1/3 of the store.
American Eagle - Nearly everything is cute and a good value (and most of it is on sale). I’d be interested to see their price points, inventory position relative to ARO right now. This is minor, but AEO has been playing louder music lately. I wonder whether they’re trying to appeal to the disenchanted ANF customer.
Ann Taylor - Big news: They’re now carrying Design History dresses and Wyeth tops. That’s the best-looking product in the store. The sales associate pointed out the section that is the product of their new designer, which I didn’t like. About 1/3 of the store is marked down and they’re expecting the first fall floorset at the end of the month.
H&M – Chaos of Sale and $5 and $10 signs. As I walked through this, I noticed how many items appeared to be designer knock-offs. There wasn’t a correlation between price and the quality that I perceived a product to be (i.e. some of the stuff that felt the worst was more expensive).
American Apparel – Nothing feels new, except the harem pants.
Old Navy – A lot of 4th of July spirit with decorations and a charity drive going on, and a lot of traffic and conversion. They’re prices seem even lower than in the past, but the quality may have dropped, too: Product on the floor was falling apart already.
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July 9, 2009 at 7:59 AM
This is great stuff!!!