I understand that retailers still have to keep turning over stock during hard times. But some are going about this in a way that does serious damage to their brands. JoS. A. Bank, the North American menswear chain, had a reputation of offering pretty good stuff at a fair value. That image is gone, as their recent promotions have me believing their prices are pure fiction. The base offer is now “buy one, get one free,” and they also do a “buy one suit, get another suit AND a sport coat free” on Mondays and Tuesdays, with similar deals available on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
In our first AnxietyIndex Quarterly earlier this year, we advised that if tactics aren’t approached in a branded way, brands risk becoming genericized. Like I said, times are hard, but JoS. A. Bank’s strategy has me convinced that (a) The original prices were way too high, or (b) The only time to shop there is when the promos are crazy good. Neither option is good for the brand. There has to be a better way to move clothing.
I think what you don’t understand about JoS A Bank sales is that they are offering the same sales (either exactly or very similar) to the sales offered at the same time last year. I have shopped there repeatedly and remember similar offers and still have the e-mails from last year at this time.
With an economy like ours, JoS. A. Bank was lucky enough to have the resources to almost double their advertising budget. (And every item in the store still has to be sold at regular price for a large portion of the year…FTC regulations.) The sales are great, and I’ve noticed that each sale is better for a particular buyer depending on whether that guy needs multiple suits or just one good suit and adds shirts and ties.
Just because JoS A Bank has become more visible during the “crazy” promotions doesn’t mean their main course of action has changed. It’s still great clothing at (I think) the most reasonable prices (ticket prices) for the quality you get.
Matt: You could be right. If this is a long-term sales strategy, and I’m only noticing it now due to all the other craziness going on, the ‘value’ part of the story may re-emerge when things get back to normal.