stores the average size women are not welcome in

ldrosophila

Work blocks news articles, but can someone copy and paste the article for me. I'd love to read it! Thank you! :flowerforyou:

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/breakout/three-stores-the-average-american-can-t-shop-in-191938997.html

euonymust

COPIED AND PASTED:

Black Friday weekend is just a couple days away and like many Americans you simply can’t help yourself. You’re gonna go to the mall no matter how crowded it is. Let me give you a tip to save you some time. There are three stores in that mall where the average American shopper isn't welcome.

Breakout did a little digging and found some startling information about the sizing policies of some pretty popular retailers.
Before we go shopping let's take a look at what we have to work with.

According to the Centers for Disease Control here he is: just under 5 foot 10 inches, weighing at 195 pounds and sporting a nearly 40 inch waist. THIS is the average American male. Call it an even 200 pounds after the Thanksgiving turkey.
Stop laughing, ladies. The CDC says you're 5-4, 166 pounds with a 37.5 inch waist. Let's just say we're not ready for swimsuit season.
Now it's time to hit the mall. To be honest we could probably use the exercise. Breakout used online sizing charts of three popular retailers and looked at the largest waist, chest and inseam sizes offered at them to build models of the largest possible customer.
J. Crew


We found that the store is a bit more generous when it comes to gentlemen.
Mens waist sizes max out at about 42 inches and women at 34.5 inches. That means men can be pretty hefty but women should be on the skinny side of normal unless they want to spend a long time in the fitting room.
So while the guys should be able to find some comfy clothes, women may have a little trouble here.


Lululemon (LULU)

How about the popular athletic apparel company Lululemon? As it turns out many customers are going to need to buy exercise gear from Lulu's competition before they're in good enough shape to fit in Lulu clothes.
Their mens waist sizes max out at 39 inches and women at 32.5. Both genders might have a little trouble here. And whoever does find their size may experience unusual wear and tear because, as Lulu’s co-founder Chip Wilson recently stated, their clothes don’t work on “some women’s bodies.” As a rule of thumb, if you can hear your thighs rubbing together when you walk you probably shouldn't bother strolling into a Lululemon.
Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF)


Lastly we checked out Abercrombie and Fitch. CEO Mike Jeffries has been outspoken about targeting the "cool kids." Based on their size chart cool means skinny.
For men, waistlines max out at just 36 inches and women at 31. That's more than 10% thinner through the middle than the average American. If you're a target teen you can probably find plenty of product marked down but from the looks of Abercrombie's recent sales most folks aren't bothering.

Breakout reached out to all three stores for comment and, at the time of posting, only heard back from Abercrombie & Fitch who said they had no comment at this time.

ldrosophila

COPIED AND PASTED:

thank you very much!

meshashesha2012

surprised express didnt make it on here. one of my goals from last year was to be able to wear a pair of express jeans at the largest size they sold (14). they dont even sell 14's in the stores, you have to order from online. and every express i've been to in the bay area has even been iffy with having 12's in the store.

Black Friday weekend is just a couple days away and like many Americans you simply can’t help yourself. You’re gonna go to the mall no matter how crowded it is. Let me give you a tip to save you some time. There are three stores in that mall where the average American shopper isn't welcome.

Breakout did a little digging and found some startling information about the sizing policies of some pretty popular retailers.

Before we go shopping let's take a look at what we have to work with.

According to the Centers for Disease Control here he is: just under 5 foot 10 inches, weighing at 195 pounds and sporting a nearly 40 inch waist. THIS is the average American male. Call it an even 200 pounds after the Thanksgiving turkey.

Stop laughing, ladies. The CDC says you're 5-4, 166 pounds with a 37.5 inch waist. Let's just say we're not ready for swimsuit season.

Now it's time to hit the mall. To be honest we could probably use the exercise. Breakout used online sizing charts of three popular retailers and looked at the largest waist, chest and inseam sizes offered at them to build models of the largest possible customer.

J. Crew

We found that the store is a bit more generous when it comes to gentlemen.

Mens waist sizes max out at about 42 inches and women at 34.5 inches. That means men can be pretty hefty but women should be on the skinny side of normal unless they want to spend a long time in the fitting room.

So while the guys should be able to find some comfy clothes, women may have a little trouble here.


Lululemon (LULU)

How about the popular athletic apparel company Lululemon? As it turns out many customers are going to need to buy exercise gear from Lulu's competition before they're in good enough shape to fit in Lulu clothes.

Their mens waist sizes max out at 39 inches and women at 32.5. Both genders might have a little trouble here. And whoever does find their size may experience unusual wear and tear because, as Lulu’s co-founder Chip Wilson recently stated, their clothes don’t work on “some women’s bodies.” As a rule of thumb, if you can hear your thighs rubbing together when you walk you probably shouldn't bother strolling into a Lululemon.

Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF)

Lastly we checked out Abercrombie and Fitch. CEO Mike Jeffries has been outspoken about targeting the "cool kids." Based on their size chart cool means skinny.

For men, waistlines max out at just 36 inches and women at 31. That's more than 10% thinner through the middle than the average American. If you're a target teen you can probably find plenty of product marked down but from the looks of Abercrombie's recent sales most folks aren't bothering.

Breakout reached out to all three stores for comment and, at the time of posting, only heard back from Abercrombie & Fitch who said they had no comment at this time.

tigersword

Idiotic article, not even worth the cut and paste. Basically, it shows 3 stores that fat people can't shop at. They say "average," but what they mean is "overweight." The male example person has a 40 inch waist, and the woman example shopper has a 38 inch waist. I can't decide if the article is trying to shame people for being too fat to shop there, or shame the stores for not catering to overweight people.

Personally,. I'm of the opinion that we need to work on getting people into better shape, not just making clothes wider and accepting the fact that we are obese.

ldrosophila

Idiotic article, not even worth the cut and paste. Basically, it shows 3 stores that fat people can't shop at. They say "average," but what they mean is "overweight." The male example person has a 40 inch waist, and the woman example shopper has a 38 inch waist. I can't decide if the article is trying to shame people for being too fat to shop there, or shame the stores for not catering to overweight people.

Personally,. I'm of the opinion that we need to work on getting people into better shape, not just making clothes wider and accepting the fact that we are obese.

im still always confused when manufacturers dont want to sell more to the masses to make more $$$. Although I guess they are selling some kind of image, but still is that a good business model? It's not like youre talking about a bugatti talking about lycra/spandex pants.

corrected Luon is 86% nylon and 14% lycra

ImtheOnethatsCool

Not every manufacturer can target all size ranges. It's economics. Layne Bryant doesn't sell size 2, so I don't expect Lulu to sell size 22.

*shrug*

Part of my motivation to lose, was so that I could shop in the stores that I wanted to.

ldrosophila

Not every manufacturer can target all size ranges. It's economics. Layne Bryant doesn't sell size 2, so I don't expect Lulu to sell size 22.

*shrug*

Part of my motivation to lose, was so that I could shop in the stores that I wanted to.

technically lane bryant is selling to the masses...although i dont know what the smallest size and if the average woman could wear them.

tigersword

Like was said, it's economics. Manufacturers have specific equipment setups and templates to make certain clothes. If a store wanted to start marketing to different sizes than they currently offer, they'd need new designers (clothes change based on size, not every size can wear the same cuts, a designer has to figure out how to make the size fit while keeping everything look as close to the same as possible,) then all new templates, plus all the extra material, etc. It's not really cost effective for boutique stores to target EVERYONE, that's why they pick a specific market, and market to that.

meshashesha2012

Not every manufacturer can target all size ranges. It's economics. Layne Bryant doesn't sell size 2, so I don't expect Lulu to sell size 22.

*shrug*

Part of my motivation to lose, was so that I could shop in the stores that I wanted to.

technically lane bryant is selling to the masses...although i dont know what the smallest size and if the average woman could wear them.

keep in mind that the US isnt the masses. and the "average" woman is a misnomer because it's the average american woman and we in no way shape or form can be considered the #1 consumers to the point where all manufacturers should consider the standard. many stores also target places outside of the US as well. places where anything over a US size 8 is considered huge.

Although A&F and JCrew are American companies, they arent hurting by not selling above a certain size. places like Uniqlo (where i can barely fit a scarf) , H&M Zara do REALLY well in the US even though they dont sell anything for the "average" woman

FatHuMan1

Stores can't cater to every size anymore than restaurants can cater to every taste. At least not the good ones.

TheGymGypsy

They have plus sized stores where small women can't shop, so why is it a big deal there are 2 stores that sell exclusively to thin people?

ldrosophila

Like was said, it's economics. Manufacturers have specific equipment setups and templates to make certain clothes. If a store wanted to start marketing to different sizes than they currently offer, they'd need new designers (clothes change based on size, not every size can wear the same cuts, a designer has to figure out how to make the size fit while keeping everything look as close to the same as possible,) then all new templates, plus all the extra material, etc. It's not really cost effective for boutique stores to target EVERYONE, that's why they pick a specific market, and market to that.

i would think if you are selling something you would want to target the largest market much like wal-mart or mcdonald's has done. I'd want to hit 50% vs. 25% of the people. Saturate your product.

angelique_redhead

Lucky me. I've never been interested in shopping at any of these 3 stores. I've been to Black Friday sales exactly once about 30 years ago. Never again. I was dragged by my mother and sister and hate crowds.

shauner03

Catering to every possible consumer is rarely profitable. Wal-Mart is the exception and certainly not the rule. Catering to a target market and serving that market better than the competition is how to succeed. The definition of "average" size in the USA is a joke at this point. Average is obese now and those sizes continue to grow.

I agree with the other posters... Lane Bryant doesn't get blasted for not selling clothes to skinny people, so why should any stores get criticized for not selling clothes that fit obese people?

elyelyse

Not every manufacturer can target all size ranges. It's economics. Layne Bryant doesn't sell size 2, so I don't expect Lulu to sell size 22.

*shrug*

Part of my motivation to lose, was so that I could shop in the stores that I wanted to.

technically lane bryant is selling to the masses...although i dont know what the smallest size and if the average woman could wear them.

Pretty sure LB only goes as low as 14, but their 14 is a very different cut from a 14 at "regular" clothing stores, it's roomier and meant, for example, for a short woman who wears a 14 as opposed to a tall woman who wears a 14 who would be less overweight than the short person...if that makes sense.
Just as someone mentioned that "regular" stores would need to redesign items to fit the larger sizes due to proportions, LB would also need to redesign to go smaller.

ldrosophila

Catering to every possible consumer is rarely profitable. Wal-Mart is the exception and certainly not the rule. Catering to a target market and serving that market better than the competition is how to succeed. The definition of "average" size in the USA is a joke at this point. Average is obese now and those sizes continue to grow.

I agree with the other posters... Lane Bryant doesn't get blasted for not selling clothes to skinny people, so why should any stores get criticized for not selling clothes that fit obese people?

So the prediction for the US, and some other countries, is for the population to get fatter (to put it bluntly). What is the estimation for the US by 2050 something like 33% of the population is expected to be overweight or obese. Our average right now, according to this blog which I'll admit sounds too high, is in the overweight category or a BMI of about 28.

That means that at some point only a very small proportion of the population will be able to shop at the stores mentioned. Is this sustainable? Is their brand image and customer loyalty so superb that they can exists on their current measurements or will they have to flex to customer demand?

It's going to be a very interesting trend to track. I would be surprised with an obesity epidemic, aging population, and an economic decline if they do survive.

tigersword

Catering to every possible consumer is rarely profitable. Wal-Mart is the exception and certainly not the rule. Catering to a target market and serving that market better than the competition is how to succeed. The definition of "average" size in the USA is a joke at this point. Average is obese now and those sizes continue to grow.

I agree with the other posters... Lane Bryant doesn't get blasted for not selling clothes to skinny people, so why should any stores get criticized for not selling clothes that fit obese people?

So the prediction for the US, and some other countries, is for the population to get fatter (to put it bluntly). What is the estimation for the US by 2050 something like 33% of the population is expected to be overweight or obese. Our average right now, according to this blog which I'll admit sounds too high, is in the overweight category or a BMI of about 28.

That means that at some point only a very small proportion of the population will be able to shop at the stores mentioned. Is this sustainable? Is their brand image and customer loyalty so superb that they can exists on their current measurements or will they have to flex to customer demand?

It's going to be a very interesting trend to track. I would be surprised with an obesity epidemic, aging population, and an economic decline if they do survive.

Actually, obesity in the US leveled off around 2010, it's actually slowly starting to track back downward, but they don't have "official" statistics because it isn't tracked year to year.

brower47

Catering to every possible consumer is rarely profitable. Wal-Mart is the exception and certainly not the rule. Catering to a target market and serving that market better than the competition is how to succeed. The definition of "average" size in the USA is a joke at this point. Average is obese now and those sizes continue to grow.

I agree with the other posters... Lane Bryant doesn't get blasted for not selling clothes to skinny people, so why should any stores get criticized for not selling clothes that fit obese people?

So the prediction for the US, and some other countries, is for the population to get fatter (to put it bluntly). What is the estimation for the US by 2050 something like 33% of the population is expected to be overweight or obese. Our average right now, according to this blog which I'll admit sounds too high, is in the overweight category or a BMI of about 28.

That means that at some point only a very small proportion of the population will be able to shop at the stores mentioned. Is this sustainable? Is their brand image and customer loyalty so superb that they can exists on their current measurements or will they have to flex to customer demand?

It's going to be a very interesting trend to track. I would be surprised with an obesity epidemic, aging population, and an economic decline if they do survive.

The economics of it are pretty simple. The stores that cater to the overwhelming masses like Walmart sell relatively cheap clothing. The stores that cater to specific markets, like thinner women, tend to sell far pricier garments. Look at a pair of yoga pants from lulumon. Even if the demographics continue as you're predicting, that 'small percentage' of people will still number in the millions. That's plenty of customers for a niche brand/store to survive with. There are plenty of boutiques that don't sell clothes in sizes higher than US 8, well below the 'average' sized woman. They do just fine. They sell a dress for $400 vs a Walmart dress for $20.

Niche markets have and will continue to thrive because no matter how fat we get as a population, there will always be those thin enough and wealthy enough to keep them in business.

cafeaulait7

Idiotic article, not even worth the cut and paste. Basically, it shows 3 stores that fat people can't shop at. They say "average," but what they mean is "overweight." The male example person has a 40 inch waist, and the woman example shopper has a 38 inch waist. I can't decide if the article is trying to shame people for being too fat to shop there, or shame the stores for not catering to overweight people.

Personally,. I'm of the opinion that we need to work on getting people into better shape, not just making clothes wider and accepting the fact that we are obese.

These women need to be shamed -- shamed I tell you! -- for having 33" waists that won't fit anything in those stores:


http://curveappeal.tumblr.com/post/38405706056/20-years-old-165lbs-40-33-40-not-sure-when-ill


http://curveappeal.tumblr.com/post/59409937138/ive-been-big-my-whole-life-and-this-blog-has


http://curveappeal.tumblr.com/post/45712917358/candice-huffine-for-torrid-38c-d-bust-33-inch

I mean, they need to go to 'fat people stores' and hang their heads as they walk in, surely.