Brand flakes

Of the strange things about our industry, the one I find the strangest is the tendency of people to say they are “for” or “against” branding – mostly against. I never know whether this means everything, or just the kind of branding they perceive to add to their costs. I guess when an industry dogmatically used a cost-plus model of pricing products versus a perceived-value model, one is bound to get a knot in the stomach at the thought of a few pennies.

My last several weekends – owing to graduations, birthdays and high school proms – have been spent shopping with or for my three daughters, ages 13, 14 and 17. You thought you had it rough with spring in a garden center? I had to spend six hours shopping for prom dresses.

My Personal Branding Lessons
Over the years my girls and I have developed a system for clothes shopping that works well. We go into a store, survey the merchandise as a group, and then I find a convenient and comfortable place to relax and catch up on reading. We agree on the parameters of budgets and boundaries ahead of time, so everyone knows the rules.

After an hour or so of them looking,  trying-on and conferring, I come in for the final review. I offer a thumbs-up or thumbs-down on each garment. While there seems to be more negotiation now than there used to be, it’s a very workable system.

Over the years I have learned quite a lot about my kids’ opinions and what I’ll call their Retail Reflex – what they instinctively like, appreciate or loathe about a given store, brand or style. We all have these, but perhaps we don’t define them explicitly as such.

Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner
In my mind, Old Navy is a store that sells reasonably-priced clothes that, while not super stylish, are basic, comfortable and generally a good value. I also think it’s the kind of store men can appreciate because the choices are more limited. There are not 20 different styles of jeans, but two or three at most. It’s easy to navigate and not overwhelming.

This rosily-bland view of the Old Navy brand is not reflected by my daughters, however. They call it “Old Lady” and think it’s boring. Not that they won’t buy anything there, but it is generally not at the top of their list.

At Last, Consensus
Nordstrom, on the other hand, has similar brand reflex for all of us. For me it’s high-end (more expensive) but well-merchandised, easy-to-shop, and it has excellent service.

My daughters like Nordstrom because it offers lots of choices, has a range of brands they like and has comfortable “dad areas” that will keep me content for an hour or two. Often we can get in and out together in an hour because the shopping is that much more productive – and after five hours of shopping – productivity matters.

My Retail Reflex for clothes shopping usually falls into Yes (good seats or an adventure), No (loud music, staff who confuse their role with that of mannequins) or Whatever (I don’t mind, so long as we’re not there forever and it’s not too expensive). This assessment is developed over many experiences but has emerged over time as fairly ingrained in the psyche.

Josh Schneider is a founding partner of Cultivaris, a hort consulting firm. E-mail Josh at josh@cultivaris.com.