Havaianas Anyone ?

General Pants, East Gardens.  Cool poster - summer without the words.

Plasma Power

General Pants Co., Pitt Street mall.  'Three-peat' plasmas add power to the message - busy mall justifies investment.

General Pants on Fire

General Pants Co., George St store looks hot - well worth a visit.

THE WORD ON DENIM

General Pants Co., East Gardens - cool looking window, edgy, with a message, as opposed to some rather obscure windows on previous occasions. The flip side of denim being universal is that many retailers struggle to find new things to say about it - what do you think ?

When Edgy Meets Obscure

(Just Jeans and General Pants, East Gardens).

Sometimes I wonder whether fashion chains (and perhaps retailers in general) suffer from a disconnect between their marketing department and their shoppers. Take a look at these windows. I believe most shoppers 'just wouldn't get it' - not that I really 'get it'. While I understand that fashion brands need to appear 'edgy' to their customers, these seem to fall into the 'seemed like a good idea at the time' basket. What WERE they thinking ?

Mainstream Fashion Unravels

(East Gardens, General Pants, Katies, Jeans West, Just Jeans). A visit to the mall this afternoon left me wondering whether mainstream fashion retailers really understand where their customers' heads are at. Have a look at this selection of windows from well-known brands on the Australian retail scene, targeting a wide spectrum of the so-called mainstream mid-market for apparel.

What struck me is that none of them has a compelling message or offer. We are in the middle of the worst recession anyone can remember, and customers have been used to seeing '50% to 70% off' sales every week. This is not to suggest that is what retailers should be doing at this point. All credit to retailers who feel they can move away from this 'consumer drug' - the road to ruin for many a mall retailer.

My question is this - is there no news ? eg. new season or product lines ? Are there no value offers (to be fair Jeans West had advertised $65 jeans, but very 'quietly') that can catch the imagination of shoppers ? Where is the call to action ? I understand we are in a trans-seasonal (or transitional) period) - but it does seem there is a single lack of imagination amongst retail marketes in this sector. Let me know your thoughts.

PANTS OFF AT GENERAL

General Pants, Pitt St, video of eyecatching plasmas.

GENERAL'S GRAPHICS

Strong graphics make for a striking window. General Pants Co.  East Gardens.

DROP PANTS DISPLAY

General Pants windows in East Gardens are of a high standard - pics show two displays approximately 2-3 weeks (17 March, 7 April) apart.  Regular change-outs of dramatic windows help the brand stand out in a crowded and often 'commoditized' category.