Kmart’s new apparel ad campaign is all about celebrating — not marginalizing — “plus sized” women while putting that full-figure label to rest for good.
In the tradition of Dove’s buzzy and groundbreaking "Real Beauty" campaign, Kmart’s new "I Can” ad push fetes women of all shapes and sizes and marks the expansion of its signature brands — from Joe Boxer and Basic Editions to Jaclyn Smith — to larger sizes such as 1X and 5X.
With this move, Kmart boasts it’s now the only U.S. retailer to extend the sizing in all of its apparel brands and product categories, including intimates, swimwear, and even footwear in wider widths, Kelly Cook, chief marketing officer of the 482-store chain, told me.
Integral to this “inclusive apparel movement” is the rebranding of Kmart's “plus-sized” section to the “fabulously sized” moniker based on feedback from shoppers. To that end, the discounter is taking down plus-sized signage in stores nationwide and replacing it with new rack toppers in stores that read “Fabulously Sized,” as it rewrites marketing materials.
Campaign Launches Amid The Backdrop Of An Imperiled Retailer
The “I Can” campaign and apparel revamp come at a business in long decline in the grip of Sears Holdings.
Sears' sales have been plummeting for about a decade, as it bleeds market share and shutters stores at both Sears and Kmart. For the most quarter recent ended July 29, Kmart’s comparable store sales fell 9.4%.
When asked about the outlook for Kmart’s also down trending apparel business, Cook said the retailer is eliminating underperforming lines, but wouldn’t elaborate; refreshing assortments more frequently; and marketing head-to-toe looks to boost business. Apparel bright spots include its off-price “Deal Flash” area launched this year, and growth from athleisure wear and “fabulously-sized” merchandise, she said.
By adding larger size options to its brand mix, full-figured shoppers can find everything from casual, basic fare to “date night” looks, like “a little black dress in a size 18,” Cook says.
The size expansion and the message of the T.V. and digital "I Can” campaign, which launched on Sept. 10, reflects input from Kmart’s Shop Your Way loyalty consumers, whose members account for about three-quarters of its sales.
"When we reached out to our members on social media, they told us we needed to have a better assortment and that we should we call it something different,” Cook said. “They absolutely love this whole mantra of ‘Fabulously Sized.’”
What’s more, shoppers polled said they wanted their clothes to engender feelings of confidence, empowerment, body positivity and self expression—“to feel like I’m Oprah, and I can conquer the world,” in the words of one shopper.
That verbiage is reflected in the campaign, which dovetails with a trend in the market towards what Kmart calls “diversity promotion.”
It’s no secret that despite the fact that the average American female is a size 16, women sized 12 and up have been treated as second-class citizens in the clothing aisle. Designers have long turned their noses up at extending their product range to larger sizes, and while that’s been changing, the dearth of apparel choices remain.
Full-figure women account for a healthy 22% of Kmart’s consumers and are loyal shoppers: Over 32% shop the chain 11 times or more a year, according to the company.
Kmart says plus-sized departments are “let downs” offering limited styles, patterns and prints, and the retailer is looking to level the playing field. Still, the plus-sized market is getting more crowded, with hipper players from H&M to ModCloth competing in the space.
Kmart enjoys “a strong niche,” according to Cook. “We have incredible, entry-level price points [and brands] for every sort of fabulously sized woman’s closet. From trendy to more conservative looks,” she said. And now “We’re no longer restricting women in their choices or alienating them due to their size.”
