Chico's and Baby Boomer Women ... NOT

For about five years I've been wandering around delusional. With nearly the same confidence as knowing the sun will rise tomorrow, I’ve believed that specialty retailer Chico’s “gets it.” I've harbored notions this retailer admires, honors, and exalts Baby Boomer women. I might have even argued that Chico’s is the paradigmatic fashion merchandiser for Boomer women, a mega-success story causing much envy and mimicry among competitors Gap and J. Jill.

I have been so convinced of this delusion that I've often told inquiring news reporters about Chico's. For example, during a long and rambling interview with Bob Moos of the Dallas Morning News, I offered up Chico’s as the Boomer fashion retail brand by which other similar companies could be judged.

Although Bob didn’t quote me on that point, he did explore this phenomenon with others he interviewed:

Specialty retailers are coming to their aid, selling fashionable clothing to women who fall somewhere between stick-thin waifs and mature matrons. It's been called "Boomer chic."

The biggest success story is Chico’s, which has mastered ageless retailing,” said Candace Corlett, a principal at WSL Strategic Retail. “Chico’s is smart enough not to mention age. It talks about ‘looser-fitting clothes that are trendy but not embarrassing.’”

Begun as a folk-art shop, Chico’s now operates more than 500 stores. The company exceeded $1 billion in sales for the first time last year and has had eight straight years of double-digit increases in comparable-store sales.

Chico’s success is drawing others into its niche. The latest is Gap Inc.'s Forth & Towne, which focuses on women over 35. The company is testing the concept in five stores and plans to open 25 more over the next two years.

“It's a powerful and influential demographic,” spokeswoman Kimberly Terry said. “These are women who grew up with Gap and know the brand but who recently haven't found the style or fit they want.”

Marketing experts say the growing interest in the fiftysomething consumer proves the adage that the more things change, the more they stay the same. 

And Chico’s has certainly basked in the glow from all the Boomer marketing pundits who have called attention to this merchandiser as a farsighted company:

“Smaller retail chains, including Chico's and J. Jill, are using specialty stores and catalogs to capture the $30 billion Baby-Boomer women's apparel market -- sending department stores and big apparel makers rushing to catch up.”

— St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 24, 2005, Mary Jo Feldstein

A few days ago I was visiting my neighbors Paul and Julie and noticed a Chico’s catalog. Since I’m not technically in the target market for Chico’s, I wasn’t even cognizant the company produces catalogs.

Then I started casually flipping pages. And flipping more. And backtracking and re-flipping. I became aghast, so I counted photos. In the “25th Anniversary Collections” catalog I counted sixty-two photos. Sixty-one photos depict women comfortably under 40. Most appear to be between 25 and 35. And these 61 women are platform and Photoshop perfect. Flawless. No realistic portrayals. No aging bodies. No Boomers. I might as well have been flipping through Cosmo.

However, the penultimate page in this catalog, the inside back cover, depicts someone we know to be a Boomer: Debbie Phelps, mother of fourteen-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps.

And why is there this one exception in a 40-page catalog visually dedicated to younger women? I can only surmise it’s because Debbie Phelps wore Chico’s clothing during the 2008 Summer Olympic Games when she was the intriguing star of emotional cutaway shots demonstrating a proud mother’s joy.

Equally proud of a “major get,” this endorsement, Chico’s disseminated a press release in early September with Debbie’s effusive comments (or those written by the PR department):

“I am thrilled to partner with Chico’s," says Debbie Phelps. “This relationship couldn't be more perfect; I've been one of Chico’s biggest fans for years. Every time I have a function or go to an International competition for Michael, I build my outfits using Chico’s Travelers, print tops and jewelry. I love Chico’s because it’s versatile, comfortable, perfect for travel and I always look and feel great.”

Chico’s couldn’t be more pleased:

“As an educator, single mother and her son's biggest champion, Debbie has been an inspiration to us, and to our customers all over the world. We look forward to evolving the wonderful relationship we already have with Debbie,” states Michele Cloutier, Chico’s Brand President.

I don’t know how female Boomer marketing experts will react to this disconcerting news, but I feel used. Yes, I’m a Boomer man, and you won’t find me trying on dresses at Chico’s, but I’ve been boasting about the company for years, clearly out of touch with reality.

Further, I have “catalog issues.” One of my favorite retailers, Recreational Equipment Incorporated, has been overjoyed to attribute nearly 30% of its annual sales to Boomers, but you'll need a magnifying glass to find one or two gray-haired Boomers emblazoning its many catalogs. More than 90% of REI's catalog models are probably south of 35.

My company has produced many catalogs, quite successfully. And we think about creative direction in terms of target audiences.

For example, I directed creation of more than 15 annual catalogs targeting elementary school teachers, and we portrayed real teachers. We traveled nationwide to photograph our client's customers to capture reality: middle-age teachers; teachers who are not fashion models; heavy-set teachers; even young and perky teachers. We sprinkled a few “aspirational models” throughout the catalogs, but we stayed mindful of our market.

Strictly judging from the Chico’s catalog, which I’ve now dog-eared, this company isn’t marketing to contemporaries of Debbie Phelps. Maybe they just appreciate getting a slice of her justly deserved celebrity. She's a lonely emissary for a generation in which all 37+ million women have passed age 50.

If Chico’s truly is a Boomer-focused cataloger and specialty retailer, there would be more Boomer women throughout the catalog who appear to be of similar age to Debbie Phelps, with realistic proportions. You’d find a little glimmering gray hair. And maybe some facial wisdom lines.

My apologies to those I’ve misled about Chico’s through my many conversations with reporters.

Comments

[Estella Mobley]

I am 51 years of age without any modeling experience. I have noticed that chicos rarely has any women of color modeling their clothing and we do purchase their clothing. I love Chicos. I am challenging Chicos to consider me to model their clothing. You won't be disappointed. Let the challenge start now.

[Brent Green]

"In this culture, being young and thin is the ideal, and no amount of hoopla about being proud of exactly who you are will change the fact that most of us are not satisfied with our appearance."

I can think of dozens of Boomer and older celebrity women who portray the beauty of aging without extreme Photoshop makeovers and who can sell Chico's products to their peers. Don't tell me that acceptance of aging isn't changing until you prove it empirically, with side-by-side tests pitting younger models against older, and with all other catalog variables held constant.

I have proven the case for market realism to myself via catalogs for elementary school teachers that my company has produced. Realistic portrayals of teachers sold more products than using models portraying youthful beauty and perfection in the classroom.

Marketers create and perpetuate cultural narratives. Shame on Chico's for profiting from Boomer women but not having the courage and thought-leadership to embrace the target audience within the pages of their catalogs.

Literally thousands have read this article, and its parallel chapter in my new book, and of those thousands, you are the only one who has posited a defense of Chico's stubborn grasp of the status quo.

Eventually this will cost Chico's market share because Boomer women will continue to age with their money and power, and the more Chico's disconnects its products from their maturing mindsets, the more the company will lose their business.

[Chelsea]

Chico's is only following an age-old, time-proven formula for successful marketing - do not present an overweight 60-something model to an overweight 60-something consumer. In this culture, being young and thin is the ideal, and no amount of hoopla about being proud of exactly who you are will change the fact that most of us are not satisfied with our appearance. As an employee of Chico's, I can personally attest to the wonders of marketing and customer service that Chico's offers the women (and men, no joke) that come in the door. I'd be willing to bet my life that if Chico's (or any other retail chain aimed at the Boomers, for that matter) began using older and heavier models, sales would plummet. Don't blame the store - wake up and come to terms with the society in which we live.

[Sue Choppers-Wife]

Chicos or no is not the point of this post to me...it's that I've actually heard the words of an enlightened man! This has always seemed just a women's topic to me; women want to see real women in advertisement and find clothes that are attractive and comfortable too. Just has never seemed to be something men cared or talked about. This post (along with all your great marketing advice) has really impressed me...I'm loving it!

[Colleen Williams]

Wonderful to see lightning strike!

People can in all shapes and sizes at any age. Baby Boomers are a diverse group; some shapeless and others youthful for their age. There's no "correct" look to define us. Boomers will continue to celebrate life with a range of styles, not being pigeon-holed by marketing trends.

Personally, I look for inspiration from traditional global designs and for its uplifting attitude follow advancedstyle.blogspot.com (though the examples often don't suit my sensibilities).

whysup.wordpress.com

[Susan G]

You should have gone with Coldwater Creek.

[Carol Orsborn, Ph.D.]

We've all used Chico's as an example because they seemed to be making money targeting the Boomer demographic. (Actually, I read recently that their sales are down.) But this doesn't mean Boomer women, like me, have liked their marketing strategies, let alone the clothes, themselves.

Personally, I thought that at the Olympics, Debbie Phelps looked ridiculous in most of her outfits, most of the time. An outright embarrassment. I think Chico's fed into the questionable sense of fashion unfortunately shared by a number of "free-thinking" Boomer women who decided the cure to concerns about becoming invisible as they aged was to compensate with bling and wild patterns. Shapeless fashions hide many flaws which feeds into the misguided notion that being out of shape is all right because it is "natural."

My guess is that portraying youthful models makes sense to a slice of the demographic in denial about aging: those who think adding on another jewel will more than compensate for the loss of the age-appropriate and distinctive sparkle of youth.

Thank heavens there's a new movement afoot which is honoring organic aging--and experimenting with more elegant, simple styles that bring out the beauty of women who are looking their best at whatever age they happen to be, rather than trying to drown it out in a din of style fads.

This is one of the trends I address on my blog "Inside the Nation" at www.VibrantNation.com. My predictions for marketing to Boomer women in '09 will run this coming Tuesday, December 23.

Any way, both the style and marketing gods forgive you, Chico's!

CAROL ORSBORN, Ph.D.
Carol@VibrantNation.com
www.VibrantNation.com