Ann Taylor steps it UP!

Ann Taylor is one of those classy, sophisticated stores for middle-aged career women & it seems to have been lost in the mix the past couple years. With nothing to really make it STAND OUT with designs and lines made...it's tough to stand out against rivals Banana Republic & Talbots & J Jill...who also have been hurting throughout the recession.

GOOD NEWS! Ann Taylor designs were recently seen strutting down the aisles of NY Fashion Week's runway. Here is a great quote from the Canadian Press article I found: "We've all been working really hard to reinvent the brand," Lisa Axelson, senior vice-president of design, said in an interview before the show. "We want to get the news out that Ann Taylor is changing. ... We're breaking the myth of what we used to be. A lot of the feedback we heard from market research was that the impression was that we were clothes my mom would wear. Now we're for the crazy, busy stylish working woman."

Read more @ the article in The Canadian Press & looking forward to seeing a more trendy/chic/stylish Ann Taylor soon!

Sears...on its way up in the world!

Bad news...Sears has had a bad rap for a while in the retail world and is not doing well. Good news...through several different ways Sears is working on rebranding itself - having Disney's Selena Gomez promote a Sears Band Casting Call, including Cotton Inc. in the brand mix of clothing, & with a greater social media appearance on Facebook.

In hopes of re-branding itself, Brandweek describes Sears connection with Wizards of Waverly Place star, Selena Gomez and her role with the Sears Air Band Casting Call. Check out the website and see for yourself how interactive and fun it looks for a kid to apply to this exciting opportunity at the Sears Arrive Lounge.

Cotton Inc. has been working its way back to the marketplace like through the Disney movie, Confessions of a Shopaholic, in which many of the clothing worn was made of cotton. Many cotton items are on display at Sears nationwide and there are many promo events coming up to promote the benefits of wearing this breathable, natural fabric.

Promo Magazine describes Sears' next step to made it's Facebook page more interactive. The neatest thing about this app is that you are able to put together a virtual college dorm room, making it easy to visualize what products go well together before you head out to shop for them. Great idea to use social media in a more innovative way to engage the customer. From this, you can create a wish list & have friends and family members contribute by purchasing specific items. Next step might be to have a printout sheet pop out of the printer for specific items or an iPhone app to let you take your list with you to the store. (Especially considering that you will most likely need to purchase a lot of these college-items yourself.) Now THAT would be cool!

With all these great additions, will Sears make it and improve its status in the retail world or continue to sink a heavy ship?

Let's RE-BRAND our company! (copycat copycat copycat...who isn't following this strategy today?)

So if we RE-BRAND our company/product/line...we will increase sales & redefine ourselves in the marketplace today. This is a nice thought if you're the only one out there doing this & you will most
likely stand out in the marketplace.

But, with SO many brands doing this today, things are getting a bit confusing out there! 2 previous postings were devoted to G (used to be called Gatorade) which have confused consumers out there in the grocery shopping world.

Other examples include:

• Radioshack is now The Shack
• Starbucks is rebranding its Seattle locations to give a localized feel by un-Starbucks-ing the store (removing the logo, changing the overall feel of the store)
• Wal-Mart Save money. Live better. - new tagline, updated its logo with a sunburst & is hoping to attract upper income consumers
• Stop & Shop's new logo (no more stoplight..now a bunch of bowls replace it)
• Kraft Foods make today delicious (new logo & tagline to make the everyday brand more of a luxury/modern feel)
• Nickelodeon's new logo...BORING if you ask me!

So...what's all this mean? Some brands will be successful with the rebranding strategy & some will not. After getting hyped up & excited to have a new experience at a nearby Wal-Mart because of the print & tv ads I've seen....I was hugely disappointing by the lack of changes onsite in the store. Why bother rebranding a store if it still looks the same inside? Wal-Mart is still Wal-Mart & the prices are great and affordable but it's not a Target. People don't look forward to the shopping experience...they look forward to saving money (so at least they are correct with the new slogan they've put forth...just not with the target market they're "attempting" to reach).

To end with some food for thought...interesting mini article with logos/info about other companies rebranding themselves lately & some which are fictional. Can you tell the difference on CNET?