Article

RetailWire Discussion: Guys join the 'get out of shopping' club

Where does the shopping-averse and fashion-challenged male go for help? One answer is Trunk Club, a new online personal shopping service.

September 8, 2009

What follows is an excerpt from one of RetailWire's recent online discussions featuring commentary from its "BrainTrust" panel of retail industry experts.

Many guys put shopping for clothes just slightly higher on their list of things to avoid than a root canal. Still, modern mores do require the male of the species to be dressed and there's plenty of research to suggest that what a man wears can affect how others perceive him. So where does the shopping adverse and fashion-challenged male go for help? The answer is Trunk Club, a new, easy-to-use online personal shopping service.

According to the website, men join Trunk Club and go through a 15-minute video interview from their computer at work or home with their own personal clothing expert. From there the expert goes out and finds appropriate clothing, which is delivered for free to the member's door. If anything does not work for a member, he simply returns the clothing to Trunk Club, also with free shipping. The company charges full retail for its clothing and no other fees are paid by members.

The Trunk Club, located in Bend, Oregon, was founded by Joanna Van Vleck. The original plan, according to TechCrunch, was for Ms. Van Vleck to open retail outlets across the country where men could visit for their personal shopping. An angel investor in the venture backed out and Ms. Van Vleck, a personal stylist, turned to the web-based model.

As to reasons why men join the Trunk Club, one member wrote, "I've been living and working in Miami for about seven years and have suffered the style consequences. Matching everything, despite the occasion, to a pair of good looking jeans is dogma here, and more often than not, it works well and looks good... I'm moving to NY soon and I'd like to find clothes (and shoes!) that aren't in every store, things that look classic, professional, elegant, casual, and distinguished... I'll be in a totally new and exciting environment and need the wardrobe to match."

story continues below... advertisement
		The Best Retail Customer Experiences 2009 Find out which retailers consumers crowned their favorites in five different categories across eight different retail segments. Get authoritative analysis from members of the Retail Customer Experience Advisory Panel on why these retailers are succeeding. And learn which retail technologies win over customers — and which ones don't matter.     Order your copy today!

Discussion Questions for the BrainTrust panel:

Is there a market for the Trunk Club? Do you see the potential for web video services like Trunk Club opening up in other categories to help consumers make purchasing decisions?

RetailWire BrainTrust comments:

I think the market for the TrunkClub is small, but can be very profitable. I would say the market is small because the same men who avoid shopping for clothes in stores are not likely candidates to be searching for other shopping venues.

However, the man who is interested in his wardrobe and wants a convenient and effective means to shop is the target audience. That segment will buy more clothes and will pay retail for convenience.

Someone described the difference between men and women when it comes to shopping in the following way. Women are the gatherers. They like to see it all and touch it all when they are in the store. You can observe similar behavior in Nieman Marcus and Target. Men conversely are hunters. If they want a shirt, they head to the shirt department, grab a shirt, buy it and leave.

I think the more difficult challenge for the TrunkClub is to attract hunters and satisfy their needs. The TrunkClub has an easier time converting the men who want to see a selection of options online and purchase what they perceive to be an attractive wardrobe. The fundamental challenge is finding those men. —Joan Treistman, President, The Treistman Group LLC

Initially this sounds like a great idea! But I can only wonder how many women are looking over the guy's shoulders offering a differing opinion.

I would also be interested in knowing the rate of repeat business. After all, once a guy gets a new wardrobe, will he go back to the sight for the odd shirt or pair of socks?

As for me, as much as I hate clothes shopping, I would hate having to ship back a bunch of ill-fitting clothes even more. If I shop in person, at least I know how the clothes will look on me before I buy them. —Marc Gordon, President, Fourword Marketing

I think this is a woman's idea of what men want. I don't see a lot of guys signing up to have a stranger, albeit an attractive woman, pick out things then send them to them sight unseen, then send them back and forth. Certainly not for married men.

Maybe that works for women's shoes but I don't see this as a threat to the GAP, Macy's or any specialty store. I don't see it as a viable service either with men. But then I'm a guy. —Bob Phibbs, President/CEO, The Retail Doctor & Associates

There is a market for the shopping service for guys (as there is a market for almost anything nowadays). But, I don't think this will be a big one, and there are competitive services. Nordstrom will do a great job working with a guy (or gal) on putting together a wardrobe. I live in one of the 100 largest cities in the US, but definitely nearer the bottom than top of the list, and we have a local men's store that will provide the same service using clothes they don't carry as well as ones they do. —Kenneth Grady, General Counsel and Secretary, Wolverine World Wide, Inc.

This may work for a small, niche market, but I don't think it has broad appeal. I suspect that men who don't like to shop (I'm not one of them) either prefer or are content with the women in their lives shopping for them, or simply don't concern themselves particularly with what they are wearing. This idea sounds like taking the personal shopper concept, which appeals mostly to women, and attempting to apply it to men. —Ted Hurlbut, Principal, Hurlbut & Associates