Talbot’s CEO says Grinch will steal Christmas, but still an opportunity for brands; Be sure to keep a light on
“This could possibly be the Christmas that the Grinch stole,” said Talbot’s President & CEO Trudy Sullivan at the Boston Chamber’s Women’s Network Breakfast December 10. The Grinch is also apparently stealing our time too – I’ve been trying to get this post up since the morning I heard Ms. Sullivan speak.
Ms. Sullivan, a fashion industry vet (she headed Liz Claiborne and J. Crew before recently taking the top post at Talbot’s), likened today’s economic conditions to the Blizzard of ’78, which for New Englanders immediately conjures an image of seemingly impassable four-foot drifts of snow. “You know you’re going to have to dig out when the storm is over, you’re not looking forward to it, but you’ll do it, one snow shovelful at a time,” she said.
Amid forecasts of a double-digit downturn in specialty retail, Ms. Sullivan and her team are investing in marketing, not cutting back. “The highest priority spending for us is anything that touches the consumer – marketing, how our stores look, merchandising.” Talbot’s smartly recognizes that no matter how dark the economy appears, it has to take steps to keep existing customers and attract new ones.
One of the things sure to emerge from this economic snow storm is a savvier consumer. That creates an opportunity for brands to step up and assume a leadership role in helping consumers make more educated purchasing decisions. Marketing can help, by telling a fuller brand story and going beyond the tagline to offer tangible tools and tips on brand web sites, via direct mail, through editorial and spokespersons, and more.
Ms. Sullivan read excerpts of several letters customers had written to her and she had personally responded to over the past several months. She said the feedback on Talbot’s changes “has been 70% positive.”
Ms. Sullivan said an important area of focus is their store associates, who touch customers every day. They played a major role in helping Talbot’s dispel rumors stemming from an email hoax (that I received and you may have as well) suggesting that, due to planned store closings, a holiday gift card from Talbot’s would be a poor choice. “We did see gift card sales go down, but we moved quickly to correct the information through our web site and weekly emails and by scripting store associates, and now gift card sales are coming back,” said Sullivan.
Ms. Sullivan focused her remarks on Talbot’s brand reinvention and it struck me as she spoke that the silver lining in the economic clouds may be that many more brands have an opportunity for communication reinvention. When the storm finally breaks, no brand wants their customers to know less about them. And in the interim, consumers are still spending, albeit more selectively. How can you make your brand the one they keep on the list instead of cut? No matter how bad the retail forecast, one of the biggest risks a brand can take is going dark on their customer communications. Don’t let the Grinch ride off with more than Christmas!
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