Riding the Plus-Size Wave

MKTG 561 Homework2: Riding the plus-size wave In the past several years, Hollywood and advertising media defined a stereotypical image of women as poreless, hipless, silkenhaired , size 0, perfect women. However, Lane Bryant, a plus-size retailer and a daughter company of Charming Shoppes,Inc., tried to change this perception and improve self-concept , self-esteem , and self-consciousness of plus-size women. As a result, it does work. Currently Lane Bryant generates 74% of Charming Shoppes’ revenue from plus-size clothing. This plus-size market is quite large as it includes 62% of American women, but in the past, plus-size customers tend to spend less as a percentage of their income on apparel when compare to other customer groups. The analysts assume that this is because of a few availability of fashionable plus-size clothing. Plus-size women may be curvier, but they still want to be fashionable just like women who are regular size. Thus, this is a good opportunity for plus-size retailers to fulfill this need. In addition, plus-size women are more accepting of their bodies and are influenced positively by role model. Lane Bryant strategy is to send the message that plus-size women can be stylish in its advertising and promotional campaign. The brand offers En Vouge style, which is usually for modestly sized customers and it also offer up-scale jean collection and expand into lingerie market by its new lingerie brand called “Cacique”, which is sold in Lane Bryant stores and its own stand-alone stores. The success of Lane Bryant can be indicated by its sales performance and it ranked number 2 in plus-size market, following Walmart. After consumer perception about typical women is changed, other retailers try to expand to this plus-size market and raise the competition. The company should be aware of competition and try to set appropriate marketing strategies. The key to success in this market is to create stylish clothing to fulfill their need. Since