Why every retail business needs to be run by CMOs rather than CFOs.?

In this week’s newsletter, I am going to talk about a brand that is very popular amongst teen girls and for them, it is the brand that reminds them of their first ear piercing moment to adore lovely fashion earrings that Claire’s carried for them.

?In 2018, the brand filed for bankruptcy and was bailed out by?Elliott Management and Monarch Alternative Capital.

Fast forward to 2022,?The fashion and jewelry specialist has nearly doubled its sales year over year during the first half of 2022?and swung to a profit on its operations.

Factors resulting in bounce back:

Going back to brand basics.

Brand roped in former?PepsiCo CMO Kristian Patrick was brought in to transform Claire’s from a legacy mall-based retailer to a fully integrated fashion brand

The objective of the CMO was clearly outlined,?mainly?expanding the accessory retailer’s media mix, experimenting with content types, and injecting more ‘fun’ into its marketing.

Repositioning exercise:

?‘Be the Most Festive’, marked Claire’s first integrated campaign to combine out-of-home, e-commerce extensions, store experiences, social media, and influencer activity.

Using data analytics and consumer research to reinforce the brand’s core philosophy.

For many young girls, Claire’s is the brand that they used for their first ear piercing.

Ear piercing?was?at the center of emotional connection,?which immediately comes to mind when consumers think of?Claire’s.

Using influencers to drive the brand’s concept to GenZ.

Claire’s has produced the TikTok series ’EarPrint’, which features Gen Z and Alpha artists Alaya High and Dai Time, plus the influencer Kheris Rogers.?

The business has benefited from a resurgence of 90s and 00s fashion among Gen Z and Alpha.

Distribution strategy revamped- SWAS (shop within a shop model)

Claire’s operates thousands of its own stores, but significantly leveraging Claire’s brand to sell its product in other stores?gave the brand the desired impetus.

Claire’s is adding an additional 1,200 Walmart stores to its network, bringing the total number of Walmart stores selling Claire’s products to 2,500. Claire’s products are also sold on?Walmart.com.

Today, the SWAS model makes?up 11% of the?brand’s?business.

To learn more about the SWAS model,?click here

Claire’s is exclusively working with retailers on a concession model, versus a wholesale model. Brands selling on concession retain more control over the pricing, staging, and merchandising of their products, and the retailer doesn’t actually buy any of the inventory.?Claire’s sales from concessions rose to $94 million in 2021.

Claire’s is on its way to reclaim its lost glory and is bouncing back as fashion house which is not limited to just accessories.

Marketing today has evolved into multi-dimensional discipline which involves, understanding of new media mix, loyalty & CRMs data insights and following of trends for assortment mix & building content strategy and building a community of customers.,?

All these tasks can never be done by CFOs who tend to look at the business with more myopic eyes or fail to see beyond balance sheets.

Claire’s revival is truly a great lesson for every retailer who is suffering from “frog in the well “approach.

Any retailer who needs a helping hand to revive their business or relook their business from fresh perspectives may reach out to me at?riteshmohan786@gmail.com

Below is the picture of me with my retail friend Marwan Moukarzel

Me giving my book to my dear friend Mohamed AlTajer, FCIM