Meijer, the Grand Rapids-based supermarket chain known more for groceries than fashion, is trying to dress up its apparel — and aims to sell more clothing and shoes to its shoppers.
“It’s about having the product the customer wants,” said Lynn Hempe, Meijer’s group vice president of softlines. “We talk all the time about the customer and what she — or he — are responding to, and once you get the right product, you look at the image that’s out there.
“Image,” she added, “has everything to do with how you present the product and how you market it.”
The company’s desire to sell more clothing is driven by Hempe’s belief that there is unrealized potential in it, especially as fashion styles become more casual and shoppers, more cost-conscious.
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It also in the longer term is a strategy to help it compete.
Hempe, who grew up in Iowa, started her college education at the University of Iowa as a dancer. But, she said, she switched majors — and schools — graduating with a bachelor’s degree in fashion merchandising from Iowa State University.
She was drawn to apparel, she said, because she was inspired by the Motown movie “Mahogany,” which starred Diana Ross, and glamorized the fashion industry.
She later found out, she said, there was more to the business than picking clothes at fashion shows.
Hempe married her high school sweetheart, worked in department stores, moved to TV marketing and before landing at Meijer.
Overall, Hempe said, 8%-10% of Meijer’s sales are from apparel. But, she wants to double that percentage by giving the store displays and racks makeovers — and by updating the way the company advertises and promotes its clothing lines.
“We are serious about having trend-right fashion at a great price,” said Hempe, who joined the company about five years ago. “Over the years, we’ve done a lot to update the product and to move the styles and assortment forward into more of a fashion cycle.”
At a Grand Rapids store, she said, the company added mannequins and displays that show customers clothing outfits, ensembles of items that they can buy.
It was so successful, Hempe said, that she expects to incorporate the designs in new stores.
In addition, the company is distributing its own fashion publications, designed to inspire shoppers to buy clothing ensembles. The retailer is investing in ads in women’s magazines, such as InStyle, Elle, Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar and Marie Claire.
It also is developing a digital strategy, which includes a new website —meijerstyle.com — and promoting social media sharing.
“There is a whole section that talks about sneak peeks and what’s going forward, and we have posts all the time about what’s important right now,” she said. “We’re working with Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter, and that starts to help change our image.”
Part of that strategy, she said, is based on feedback from customers that they like to see how to wear things.
In the 1960s, Meijer — which now has more than 200 stores in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Kentucky — added general merchandise to its inventory so in one stop, customers could shop for just about anything they needed.
But, Walmart and Target, which started selling discount department store goods have gotten into groceries, and in the past few years, grocery store giant Kroger has been building what it calls Marketplace stores, which also offer shoppers clothing, furniture and jewelry.
“I think really changing perceptions in a positive way tends to really take time, and you have to be thinking about what your customer wants,” she said. “But, if you don’t keep up and keep moving forward as a company, you don’t make it.”
Date: February 21, 2015