g the right style and size for one’s body shape. Customers were also sometimes reluctant to discuss their needs with instore sales staff, so the brand, which is distributed by PVH Brands Australia, needed to find a way it could communicate its benefits in an intimate way. “Nancy Ganz is about providing solutions, so we organised our range around the areas most women want to target – tummy, love handles, thighs, and all over – and all products were designed for one of these solution areas,” explained Janine Anggara, PVH Brands Australia’s product manager. Each solution area is supported with positive messages that emphasises a woman’s beauty, turning the shopping experience from overwhelming to empowering. Nancy Ganz has also introduced a simple colour code finding system across the instore concepts, and packaging that will ensure customers can search by the area they are focused on improving. The products have been organised around their key purpose. Blipp to access With 79 per cent of consumers getting information from their smartphones, 43 per cent comparing prices online, and Nancy Ganz having smartphone traffic of close to 45 per cent on its own sites, it knew that mobiles should also play a crucial role in its new concept. So it worked with a range of partners to create a consumer path to purchase journey that Dianne Taylor, general manager of marketing at PVH Brands Australia, described as, “category changing in terms of shapewear retail globally”. “Using augmented reality tool Blippar, we have introduced a new virtual stylist that will guide women on the right shapewear for them, unlock key tips and drive them from our print media placements through to the point of sale instore and website. With shapewear, it was important it was an intimate interactivity,” said Taylor. According to PVH Brands Australia’s general manager of shapewear, Victoria Jubb, Nancy Ganz is first to market with this specialist navigation and way-finding solution. “The virtual stylist can be accessed from our advertising. So when our consumer is on the train to work she can ‘blipp’ to access. And from the instore POS, she can also blipp to get more information. The iPads instore are for those customers who don’t want to use their phone or an app. That information is at their fingertips instore as well,” said Jubb. Designed by CoMa, the new instore design focused on modernising and redesigning the traditional back wall for a bolder approach utilising HP’s LED screen for content, stop frame video footage and information on the Nancy Ganz virtual stylist in order to engage consumers as they pass by. The user experience is completed by a series of navigational towers, either standalone, static or tablet walls, dependent on location. Mariela Sverdloff, designer director at CoMa, observed, “Keeping in mind that buying shapewear can be an intimidating experience, our concept was based on making the customer feel comfortable, ‘at home and at ease’ when buying the product, using pastel hues with very feminine rose gold touches and rounded softer edges. “We really embraced that idea within our design, colour categories and Blippar from the beginning as an intrinsic part of the concept, not an afterthought.” Jubb added that at this stage, the ‘store in a store’ concept would only be in Myer stores, including Sydney City, Perth City, Adelaide, Bondi and Highpoint. “Early indications show that sales have been very positive so far, with double digit growth in all stores,” said Jubb. “Myer is the first partner to come on board, although we have different tiers of the concept for our lower grid stores, and these can be used for our specialty retailers.” Psychographic, not demographic Jubb said Nancy Ganz targeted more of a psychographic than a demographic. “We target every woman who wants to look great and feel confident, whatever she is wearing,” she explained. “There is a misconception that shapewear is only for a larger or older woman. This is entirely incorrect. Our average size sold is a size 10 and a lot of our new technologies are quite sheer and sexy in styling. We have products that are 50 per cent lighter than normal shapewear, and thus we are certainly attracting younger consumers to the brand. “We are currently a wholesale and e-commerce business, but we are in discussions with international partners to roll out an export plan within the next 12 months.” Jubb said Nancy Ganz was in well over 100 specialty stores and in all major retailers in Australia and New Zealand. “We are expecting this channel to remain static over the course of the next year in both Australia and New Zealand as growth is driven from new online players,” she said.