KEN BANKS’ BLOG APRIL 2019
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DON’T PAY LESS FOR BRANDING!
By this time next month, the last of the former 4400 Payless Shoe Source stores will be shuttered and another retail brand will disappear from the marketplace…and no one will notice. Since the company announced its closing a couple month’s ago, I’ve been asked a few times for my opinion on why this once aggressive retail chain that had remodeled and re-positioned most of its stores not long ago, failed.
Of course, my simple answer is BRANDING…or the lack thereof. Having worked in the discount shoe industry for the agency handling the Pic n’ Pay Shoes chain, based in Charlotte several years ago. There certainly seemed to be a lot of opportunity for success for a chain like Payless. A closer look, however, showed that it was a tough challenge despite the growth of athletic and casual shoes and rapid changes in fashion shoe styles in the past several years. The problem with a brand like Payless was that the name said it all. It was a brand based on low prices and not much else in the customers’ minds. As I’ve said many times, low prices only get you in the retail ballpark and it’s all the other things that you need to do to form a customer relationship that builds a brand that resonates and makes a difference when someone chooses a store or service. With the intense competition from the discount chains, off-price designers shoe stores, and off-price stores like Kohl’s TJ Maxx, SteinMart, etc., just having your own brand of low-priced shoes wasn’t enough to keep a loyal customer. Add to that the warehouse clubs that feature name brand shoes consistently at least half off the regular retail. Don’t forget the outlet malls that always have a number of shoe outlets and it’s more than a challenge.
I recall a campaign that we did for Pic n’ Pay for their line of athletic shoes. The message was yes, this is a good price but when you compare the features and construction to the same shoe from Nike in a more convenient location, you had a brand statement that made a difference. Pic n’ Pay has long faded from the scene due to being acquired and merged into other brands.
However, Skechers has developed its brand of casual shoes with a brand statement that focuses on comfort and style and lets the retailer do the price promotion. I’ve noted that they have now opened over 3000 free-standing outlet stores and they’ve successfully created a brand selling over 170 million pairs a year and generated over $4.5 Billion in sales. It’s a brand based on comfort, but it has aggressively established itself as a strong citizen of the communities they serve and a sustainability program as well. Then, they market their shoes with effective creative that focuses on the comfort benefit, even if you have big feet like Howie Long. Click on this link to view one of the spots: https://youtu.be/CGhUEYvz8zI
Payless, to me, never seemed to have any other message than price. Its stores were updated but not exciting and their free-standing locations helped build a convenience attribute but they just seemed to be just another retail location with little consumer appeal. Additionally, their marketing never seemed to provide any other reason to buy your shoes there regularly. Price only gets you on the playing field, a relationship builds a successful brand.
That’s what branding is all about. Building a relationship and then providing a reason for being that resonates with your target customer. Unless, a store invests in the product, the outlet, and the experience to differentiate it from increased competition (both in stores and online), it hasn’t much chance. Then, if you can’t make the investment to create a marketing message that reaches your target customer, the store is doomed to become another of the several empty stores dotting our marketplace…and a brand we’ll soon forget
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