Making Moves on Men

(When marketing to men, intimate apparel retailers should know that men

prefer smaller stores, clearly presented merchandise, and colorful, sexy

apparel; the Internet is the best way to reach men)

Article Author(s): Sakany, Lois

Body Fashions Intimate Apparel, v 29, n 5, p 15-16

May 1999

DOCUMENT TYPE: Journal ISSN: 0362-2452 (United States)

LANGUAGE: English RECORD TYPE: Fulltext; Abstract

WORD COUNT: 1708

ABSTRACT:

Presented are some strategies for marketing intimate apparel to men. These

strategies are offered by some of the most successful retailers of intimate

apparel, who know that men are important customers because they are willing

to spend on expensive lingeries just to see their wives or girlfriends

wearing sexy undergarments. Amanda Diaz, historian for Frederick's of

Hollywood, notes that for retailers to gain sales from men, they should

first understand the likes of this consumer group. She notes that men

prefer stores that are smaller in size and include a clear visual

presentation of merchandise, such as panties displayed on tables as opposed

to racks. Seth Jacobson, public relations council for the same company,

stresses that this understanding has helped Frederick's increase sales by

reconstructing its stores in recognition of the male customer's needs for

visual stimulation. Timing, they add, is also key when marketing to men.

According to them, the best times to sell to men are Valentine's Day,

Mother's Day, or Christmas.

TEXT:

Industry insiders discuss strategies for marketing intimate apparel to men

By Lois Sakany

photo omitted

Asking if the average American male enjoys seeing his girlfriend, wife or

any women for that matter, in sexy lingerie is akin to posing one of those

"is the Pope Catholic" type questions. Everyone knows the answer.

Explaining, however, why men love lingerie is not so easy. Perhaps it's the

taboo of seeing a garment that is normally hidden from view, or maybe it is

the fun of imagining all the possibilities that lie just beyond that bra,

panty or slip. For the intimate apparel industry ultimately, however, the

only important question is whether or not that enjoyment translates into

cash spent on gifts of lingerie. And if men will buy lingerie, what is the

best way to reach them as a market?

For ninny manufacturers, especially those whose focus is on sexy intimate

apparel sold in specialty stores, catalogues or the web, purchases made by

men are a significant part of total sales. However, the idea of marketing

intimate apparel to men is a new enough concept that even manufacturers who

recognize men as important consumers are themselves still in the process of

learning how to best market intimate apparel to male customers.

May I Help You Find Something?

At the retail level, outlets that receive a significant amount of business

from men share a number of attributes including a well-trained and

attentive staff. Amanda Diaz, historian for Frederick's of Hollywood, which

has over 200 outlets, agrees, "When a man walks into our store he is

approached by a very caring, non-pushy salesperson. We have an incredibly

skilled staff who are trained to offer suggestions because men don't always

know what they want and they don't know the size." At La Petite Coquette in

New York, owner Rebecca Apsan also believes that her staff has enabled her

store to establish a reputation that is "man friendly." Comments Apsan, "I

choose girls that are very sensitive." And both Diaz and Apsan view male

customers as loyal customers. Says Diaz, "We only have to get them once."

Men also seem to prefer stores that are smaller in size and include a clear

visual presentation of merchandise, for example panties displayed on tables

as opposed to racks, and signs or posters that feature women modeling

intimate apparel. According to Seth Jacobson, public relations council to

Frederick's of Hollywood, Frederick's stores have recently been

re-configured in recognition of the male customer's need for visual

stimulation. "We increased sales of our Rio thong to men tremendously by

taking it off the racks and putting it on the tables so the customer could

see the outline and how it would look on the body," he says.

Men who shop at the retail level also tend to prefer sexy, colorful

intimate apparel. Says Diaz, "They definitely don't come here for flannel

gowns." More likely, comments Apsan, "(Male customers) will purchase a

chemise and a bra and panty set." And for Apsan, going slightly above and

beyond to accommodate men is well worth the effort, "We get a lot of guys

and I love it. Look, they don't have to try anything on. Show (a male

customer) a photograph and it's a sale -- and a $500 sale at that."

Timing is also key when calculating when to market to men. Retailers report

that for the most part men do their intimate apparel shopping just prior to

one of three holidays: Valentine's Day, Mother's Day or Christmas. Both

Diaz and Apsan report stores that are packed full of men the day before and

the day of Valentine's Day. Says Diaz, "If you want to see a lot of men, go

into any Frederick's of Hollywood store on Valentine's Day." Diaz, however,

feels that in the past five years there has been "a loosening of

boundaries," which has led to increased traffic by males throughout the

year. Adds Diaz, "Our offices are above the Hollywood store, and at lunch

there are a lot of men in here shopping. I'm constantly seeing men of all

ages, conservative men, with the pink Frederick's bag."

Sexy Lingerie Dot Com

Despite improvement at the retail level, however, the buzz in the industry

for reaching men is via the Internet. Most analysts feel that while more

men are braving stores for intimate apparel, the numbers are not

significant for most retailers and pale in comparison to purchases made on

the web. Says Mercedes Cardona, reporter for Advertising Age, "Most guys

would rather give a woman any gift before they have to go in an intimate

apparel store. If you want to look at promoting lingerie to men, look at

the web." Seth Jacobson of Frederick's agrees, "The revolution of intimate

apparel is on the Internet. Men especially want to be able to purchase

intimate apparel from the privacy of their homes."

Not surprisingly, Victoria's Secret, which is setting the industry

standards for marketing to men, has created a web site that is male

friendly. On their home page (www.victoriassecret.com), the menu includes

"Dream Gifts." Visitors to this section of the site are given three

gift-giving categories from which to choose: "Anniversary," "Birthday," or

"Just Because." Several easy-to-fit gifts are listed for each, including a

slip and thong set or a robe. The "Dream Gift" section also includes

information on obtaining gift certificates. Victoria's Secret also garnered

an incredible amount of press, and male attention, in connection with a

first time web-cast of a recent runway event. Regarding the web-cast,

Mercedes Cardona comments, "It's no surprise that Victoria's Secret did

their web cast just before Valentine's Day. That was aimed at men."

Though Victoria's Secret did not provide any information regarding

percentages of web sales made to men, Feeling USA, Inc.

(www.feelingusa.com), an intimate apparel company that established a web

site in June 1997 did. Says owner Silvie Niggi, "The first six months we

were on-line, 95 percent of our customers were men. It is slowly changing

and right now approximately 75 percent of our customers are men."

After Victoria's Secret, it is likely that the Wonderbra name is part of

the male vocabulary for lingerie. But Wonderbra says they do not

intentionally market the brand to men, and that its eye-catching yellow ads

featuring Sarah O'Hare are aimed toward empowering women. Their web site

features electronic "postcards"--images from the Wonderbra ad campaign that

can be sent to friends via e-mail. Wonderbra Marketing Manager Karen Ratts

says that the postcards were not created with men in mind. "We envisioned

the cards as going from women to women. We thought of them as more of a

friendly way to say hello or send a note to someone," she says.

Ratts, however, admits that cards are being sent to boyfriends and husbands

and that males filled the audience at a recent Wonderbra promotion

featuring live models in the windows of Macy's Herald Square. So while

Wonderbra may say they are not intentionally marketing to men, they are

certainly benefiting in terms of name recognition from the extra excitement

being generated by this previously untapped segment of the population. For

example, according to Ratts, the event at Macy's, which was well attended

by press, "pretty much stopped traffic on Broadway."

Catalogues are also important when attempting to reach male customers,

though neither Victoria's Secret nor Frederick's of Hollywood were willing

to provide a breakdown of male versus female recipients. Still, one has to

wonder if there is a male in America over the age of 13 who hasn't examined

at least one Victoria's Secret catalogue.

The Lingerie Issue

Surprisingly enough, virtually no intimate apparel manufacturers have

chosen to market or advertise in men's magazines despite the fact that for

several years now, many of these publications have run lingerie-themed

issues during the month of February in honor of Valentine's Day. In fact,

in any given issue of magazines like Maxim or Details, there are pages of

models and well known female celebrities wearing lingerie.

According to Stan Williams, executive fashion director for Maxim, the

fashion staff is almost never approached by manufacturers offering intimate

apparel for editorial shoots, "We're approached by people in the men's

industry, but we go out and buy the (intimate apparel) we need for the

shoots." Williams says that they are on Victoria's Secret's list, "We get

their press releases and we go to their shows. We try to use their stuff as

much as possible."

Playboy, a magazine filled with women in lingerie has also never been

approached with offers of intimate apparel for shoots. Steven Bobowski,

senior vice president domestic product marketing, says intimate apparel

advertisers also skip Playboy, which he believes is a mistake.

"Approximately 16 percent of our 2.8 million subscribers are women and

their purchases combined with those of our male readers account for $100

million in intimate apparel purchases made in 1998," he says. Also,

according to Mediamark Research, which supplies information to Playboy,

women who read Playboy tend to spend more money per year on lingerie than

women who read Vogue, Elle or even Cosmospolitan. According to Bobowski,

Playboy is currently "talking to a number of companies on partnering up and

licensing our name for an intimate apparel line."

Despite impressive talk and numbers, however, the jury, remains out on the

importance of the male customer to the intimate apparel industry. Mercedes

Cardona of Advertising Age, is unconvinced. "There is no major trend of men

buying lingerie for women, certainly not in the magnitude that women buy

for men," she says. Cardona does, however, see potential for boosting

intimate apparel sales to men via the web and says, "If (manufacturers)

want to bring men in, they need to do it on the web." And while Amanda Diaz

of Frederick's also feels that the Internet is important, she also feels

there is hope for the male customer at the retail level as well, "Men are

more sensitive than they used to be. They want to participate and please.

Listen, 25 years ago, men weren't in delivery rooms. A lot of things are

more intimate now." In other words, for manufacturers seeking a little

breathing room in an extra tight market, their answer just might lie with a

few good men.