Shopping In — and For — Comfort

Forget Paris Hilton. Women who buy through catalogs are not trying to make fashion statements.

So says Katie Muldoon, author and consultant, who has helped several top catalogers market apparel.

What arethose women looking for? Comfort and value. Above all, they want to make their own choices.

We called Muldoon this week to get her insights on the mail order apparel business. As she describes it, it’s far removed from the world of the runways and the celebrity models.

Muldoon, who writes a column for Direct magazine, is the author of “The Catalog Strategist’s Toolkit,” published by Racom Communications. She has also written three editions of “Catalog Marketing: The Complete Guide to Profitability.” She lives year-round in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, with her husband Jack Baer.

CM Plus:What are you going to wear for the hurricane season?

Muldoon: Blinders so you don’t see it coming. That seems to be the way people buy supplies down here—nobody prepares well at all. What do you wear? Something heavy to hold you down when it’s windy.

CM Plus:Not even a rain slicker?

Muldoon: Most of us don’t pay much attention to getting wet down here because it’s so warm you dry off right away. People don’t even sell umbrellas.

CM Plus: So what are the latest fashion trends in catalogland?

Muldoon: A lot of fashion in catalog marketing is perennial because of inventory control. You want to pick up the same styles from year to year rather than worrying about trying new styles and the size considerations. People do add new things, but they tend to be safe. And there are a few trend setters like Abercrombie & Fitch. They serve the younger market, which goes for more trendy and fitted clothing.

CM Plus: Are fashion shows irrelevant to what they do?

Muldoon: They’re not irrelevant, but customers are the main driving force, and they’re rejecting fashion and doing what they want to do.

CM Plus: What are they going for—comfort, utility or look?

Muldoon: I would say comfort, which equates to fit. Many apparel catalogs offer basically the same things. It’s more the attitude of the catalog that people are buying into. Do you want to be that rugged outdoor individualist, or do you want to be wearing the latest fashions, like when the Indian stuff was so popular?

CM Plus: I read that you can’t give those Indian skirts away this year.

Muldoon: Wrong. They were supposed to go out but they’re not going out. They’re still selling.

CM Plus: What about the plus-size market? Where are those women shopping?

Muldoon: They have always been better served by the catalog industry than by retailers. The average size for a catalog used to be 12. I think it is now 14.

CM Plus: I guess it’s more comfortable for them to shop anonymously.

Muldoon: One of the reasons Chico’s is so popular is that they don’t have the standard sizes—they have just sizes one, two and three. A woman could be size 16 and just be wearing a three. They’re flattering her ego by having single digit sizes even though she’s a double digit in reality.

CM Plus:Are catalogs environmentally correct?

Muldoon: I was a guest lecturer at Johnson & Wales, and we were talking about catalog marketing in general. I asked: “Would you be willing to pay more for environmentally friendly products?” No one in the class of about 40 people was willing to pay more. They seemed to say: All we care about is the value. We don’t care if it’s made if it’s made in China, we don’t care if it’s made in America, we don’t what it’s made of, as long as it looks good and is easy to take care of and is inexpensive.

CM Plus: The next time one of these Greenpeace kids stops me, I’m going to ask to see their labels.

Muldoon: That’s fair. Of course, they’re also students, and so they have a budget consideration.

CM Plus: Do merchandising decisions differ from channel to channel?

Muldoon: Yes, because they sell through differently. Catalogs who become retailers differently than retailers become catalogers. Retailers who become catalogers, from my observation, tend to change their clothing and styles more often because they have to keep the store fresh. So they’ve taken that tradition more into their catalogs, many of which are more traffic generators than off-page sellers. But catalogers traditionally have run best-sellers again and again and again.

CM Plus:What about the return problem?

Muldoon:It’s double-digit. It’s less serious in retail because they don’t have the inventory problem.

CM Plus: What do you look at when get asked to solve a return problem?

Muldoon: First how the product is shown. That’s usually the biggest problem. And the inventory—speed of fulfillment.

CM Plus: Where does your husband shop? Do you have a lot of influence on him?

Muldoon: Yes. Most women greatly influence their husbands’ purchases, or actually buy for them. There are some very fashion conscious men, but I would say the majority turn to the woman in their lives. My husband shops at Nordstrom’s. Nobody beats their customer service. It’s the old-fashioned way of doing things, something that’s hard to duplicate in catalogs.

CM Plus: Has the Iraq war had an effect on men’s apparel?

Muldoon: Not that I’ve seen.

CM Plus: Has George W. Bush?

Muldoon: Don’t all men wear red ties and white shirts now? Men are always affected by the president’s apparel. Isn’t Kennedy the president who started the hatless tradition with men? Presidents are in a position of authority, the ultimate authority in this country. Men have to emulate somebody.

CM Plus:What about canine apparel? Has it been affected by the Iraq war?

Muldoon:I don’t know. I don’t know everything.

CM Plus: Where do you buy clothing for your dog?

Muldoon: I don’t—I live in Florida. Costumes seem to be big for dogs down here.

CM Plus: I would never do that.

Muldoon: Neither would I. My dog would never forgive me.