Merchandise Focus: Plus-size Women

Although no one seems to know all the details, the first mail order company for women’s “plus” sizes was apparently started about 75 years ago by a woman named Lena Bryant, as an outgrowth of her successful retail operation.

Not Lane Bryant—Lena Bryant. That’s right, Lena. The name that has become synonymous with apparel for large women was apparently the result of a signmaker’s error. Rumor has it that Lena liked how “Lane Bryant” looked on the storefront and stuck with that name for her company.

There are other interesting legends about the early days of the industry. For example, Lena Bryant’s initial mail order business was maternity wear.

“Back then, pregnant women did not normally go out of the house,” says Sheila Garelik, president of Brylane Apparel Group, which includes the Lane Bryant catalog. “From maternity wear, Lena Bryant branched into mail order for large women.”

Over the decades, much has changed. Lane Bryant’s retail operations no longer have any connection to the catalog company. The approximately 800 retail stores were purchased in 1982 by The Limited. But the mail order operations continue vigorously under names that include Roaman’s, Brylane, King Size (for men) and Chadwick’s.

While Brylane continues to dominate this $26 billion market segment, other companies are working to get more of the plus-size business. Some catalogs specialize in apparel for full-figured women—carrying items up to size 26W or 28W, while others are just starting to carry a few items in larger sizes. And a few, like California-based Making It Big, are helping to create new market segments.

Going Mainstream

“When I began the company 17 years ago,” says Making It Big President Cynthia Riggs, “most large clothing was of the polyester muumuu variety, which still haunts us [large women]. I’m plus-sized, and I had some friends who were much larger, and we were having real difficulty finding suitable clothing.”

Although an estimated 40 percent of women are plus-size or super-size, they were often given short shrift by designers and manufacturers.

Marketers assumed large women wanted only loose-fitting, dark-colored clothes. Retailers often put the large sizes in the back of their stores, knowing that large women would be forced to seek them out.

But things are changing, for a couple of reasons. One is the “size acceptance” movement, which attempts to educate and sensitize the public about issues that large people face. Another is marketers’ realization that they were overlooking a potentially valuable segment.

“Now you have [large-size fashion model] Emme, and [actress] Delta Burke, who has her own clothing line,” says Gary DeGaetano, vice president of marketing for Roaman’s, a division of Brylane. “Liz Claiborne and Donna Karan are now serving this market, too.”

DeGaetano says Roaman’s and other large-size clothing marketers have been responding.

“Of course we offer the loose garments,” he says, “but we also offer more fashion-conscious clothing that doesn’t just hide the body. And we offer prints and patterns ... the things that have always been offered in smaller-size clothing.”

Riggs, of Making It Big, also has seen the changes, but says more can be made.

“There would be a phenomenal change in the marketplace if plus sizes were marketed like juniors and misses,” she says.

Meanwhile, mainstream catalogers have started paying more attention to this market. Lands’ End now includes plus-size items in its catalog, as do Nordstrom, J. Jill, Norm Thompson and others.

Pam Saving, a fit specialist for Lands’ End, says her company was getting up to 200 requests a month for plus sizes before introducing them three years ago. She estimates that garments in plus sizes now make up 12 percent of Lands’ End’s catalog sales and 20 percent of Web site sales. Why the boost online?

“If you’re a size eight,” says Saving, “you can walk into any store and find what you want. For larger women, the Web site helps you find what you want and make sure it’s in stock. Also, there’s the privacy factor.”

Lands’ End started a specialty “micro-site” for plus sizes last October.

Grabbing Attention

For the introduction of plus sizes at Lands’ End, says Saving, no special prospecting lists were purchased.

“We sent information to the people who had requested larger sizes; we notified our [telephone] operators; we highlighted the first catalogs with ‘now introducing sizes 18 to 26.’ And that was about it.”

Some catalogs, although carrying only a few styles in women’s sizes, take an extra step to help shoppers find those styles. WinterSilks, for example, carries a “Specialty Sizes” guide on page three of its catalog:

Tall
Petite
Women’s
Specialty Sizes -- Because you asked for it, we’ve added tall, petite and women’s size options for some of our most popular items. We use these symbols, [T, P, or W in a box], to make them easy to find.

In addition, WinterSilks places copy directly onto certain product photos, highlighting that the item is “Also in Women’s” or “Also in Petite.”

While many mainstream catalogs mention the addition of plus sizes on their covers, a few catalogs specializing in large sizes do not. For example, the Willow Ridge catalog cover says “Misses Petites Women’s Talls,” while its virtual clone, Bedford Fair, makes no mention of size ranges on the cover.

A few catalogs show clever thinking by removing one of the common irritants to women who wear plus sizes: They usually pay $3 to $10 more per garment.

Coldwater Creek, however, sells items in sizes 6 to 26W for the same price for all sizes. Its cover calls attention to the positioning by saying, “No matter what your size—regular, women’s, petites—we have it. And at the same price.”

A Niche Industry

As mainstream catalogers begin to reclaim some of the large-size market territory, the specialty marketers are strengthening their positions.

Making It Big, for example, is not content to offer fashionable large-size clothing. The company’s philosophy, highlighted on its Web site and in its catalog, doesn’t just cover the usual goals such as customer satisfaction and service. Here are some excerpts:

Making It Big is dedicated to providing natural fiber clothing for large and supersize women.

Making It Big supports the right of all women, regardless of size, to quality clothing that is comfortable, affordable, fashionable and environmentally compatible.

Making It Big is committed to providing a safe, diverse, and supportive work environment for our employees. We are dedicated to maintaining competitive pay and full benefits for our entire staff.

Making It Big takes an active role in our community. We contribute time, money and raise funds on behalf of non-profit organizations that benefit women and/or children.

Making It Big supports the size acceptance movement and the basic right of every individual to be treated with respect.

Making It Big is built on a foundation of ethics and ethical practices, and we produce our clothing in keeping with these values.

Riggs says she understands why not every company can have a philosophy as intricate as hers: “They have to deliver profits for the stockholders. I have more flexibility.”

Also, many companies that specialize in large-size apparel don’t stop halfway. “A lot of catalogs now offer women’s sizes, up to maybe a traditional size 44 or 46,” says DeGaetano of Roaman’s. “We do very well in the super sizes, up to 56 or 60.”

He adds that Roaman’s sizes start around 12, where misses’ sizes leave off.

“Forty to 50 percent of our business is in the super sizes [above 28W],” adds Garelik of parent company Brylane. “We do very well with them.”

Brylane and Roaman’s executives give another reason for their success in plus and super sizes: the fit.

“We do a good job in the quality control department,” says DeGaetano, “insuring the quality of fit by keeping the specifications true and accurate. Larger women have different needs with respect to fit. Sometimes there can be great [size] variations between the top and bottom of the garment,” he explains.

Not Sitting Still

So what are the marketing trends for plus-size apparel for women? Apparently, better segmentation and wider selection.

Saving of Lands’ End explains: “Focus groups told us that women want the same products, the same quality, the same comfort—just in larger sizes.”

She adds that Lands’ End has been doing extremely well with its plus-size swimwear and looks to its customers to suggest which products to offer in plus sizes.

Softspots Comfort Corner offers all of its women’s fashions up to size 26W, and complements the clothing with an extensive selection of shoes—oxford walking shoes, flats, wedges and low heels—in sizes up to 13EEE.

Brylane’s Garelik says her company already is improving service to various niches.

“We have the ‘Jessica London’ line now, which is part of Chadwick’s,” she explains. “It has a younger focus, including career wear—structured wear—for younger women. It includes the super sizes, but not as large as Lane Bryant and the other catalogs.”

Riggs, of Making It Big, is not sitting still either. “We just started doing underwear this season,” she says.

Her company already offers non-traditional large-size clothing, such as tank-style bathing suits and biking shorts.

Meanwhile, Garelik sees her company and its various divisions becoming a one-stop outfitter for large women: “We now sell underwear, sportswear, accessories, shoes, belts—everything to dress our customer, head to toe.”

Meanwhile, formal evening wear for large women still is hard to find, as is age-appropriate large-size clothing for children and teens. But as the women’s large-size market becomes more competitive, it’s clearly the customers who are benefiting.

“Big women have been around for a long time,” notes Riggs. “[Apparel marketers] are just starting to notice.”