Branding the Man

Men are purchasing more clothes, shoes, health and beauty products, and personal care services than ever before. The world of menÕs retail has remained a kind of bug in amber, frozen in time, with the same century-old style of merchandising and selling. A store must not simply provide, but educate the male customer, who is growing hungry for something more than the usual Blue Plate Special of khakis and polo shirts. To better attract this new wave of interested consumers, products in the U.S. must be merchandised and sold in a completely different manner. The design and branding of a manÕs store ought to make men want to go shopping. Branding the Man offers retailers, buyers, and marketers strategic solutions to revolutionize menÕs retail via some relatively simple conceptual strategies. Author Bertrand Pellegrin utilizes his years as a retail strategist to help retailers understand classic menÕs environmentsÐones where men are most naturally inclined to spend timeÐand leverage the opportunities which arise from these Òcomfort zonesÓ to engage and sell to the male customer. Branding the Man immerses the reader in a discussion of menÕs retail environments spanning every level: store design, buying/sourcing, merchandising, marketing and advertising, and promotion and lays out a blueprint for how men can be developed as the Ònext frontierÓ in retail.