In 2001, the international fashion brand MEXX was introduced in the U.S. After 5 years of riding the topsy turvy retail waves, the U.S. division employed aggressive diversity marketing tactics in hopes of reviving the brand and reaching under-served consumers.

1. Business Strategy For
Effective Diversity
Marketing
Adrian Parker
www.theparkmark.com

2. OVERVIEW
Who is ?
A division of Liz Claiborne, Inc. (NYSE: LIZ), MEXX is optimistic, nonconformist,
inspiring and fun. The dual gender fashion line markets an extensive range of fashion
apparel and accessories for women, men and children through a multi-channel
business: wholesale, retail and home shopping.
Founded in 1980 and acquired by LIZ in 2001, the brand is available in Europe,
Canada, the Middle East, the Asia Pacific region and more than 65 countries
worldwide.
The contemporary and affordable products were brought to the United States in 2004
with the opening of 11 east coast locations. In 2006 however, the chain’s plans to
bring “The GAP of Europe” into the U.S. hit several hurdles, including severe
distribution channel issues, lack of consumer clarity, decreased corporate
expenditures and aggressive competition. The U.S. store base, which was slated to
evolve into a 100+ door chain, was reduced to just 4 stores, 2 in NYC and 2 in
Washington D.C.

3. OVERVIEW
FASHION SNAPSHOT
Crisp
Clean lines
Classic
Basic elegance
Bold colors
Sleek blacks
Flexible & active
Effortless
Flirty
Edgy
Confident
Tapered fits

4. OVERVIEW
FINANCIAL TOPLINE 2006
WHERE THEY WERE WHERE THEY WANTED TO BE
2006 2007 2009
S a le s $20M $22M $50M
% o f L C I re ta il 2 .8 % 2 .8 % 4 .0 %
4 -w a ll D O P 6 .9 % 8 .3 % 1 6 .0 %
S a le s /s q . ft. $502 $524 $540
G ro s s M a rg in 6 3 .2 0 % 64% 64%
D o o rs 4 8+ 25+
% o f L C I re ta il 0 .8 % 1 .5 % 3 .3 %

5. OVERVIEW
STRATEGIC BUSINESS SURVIVAL
REQUIRED GROWTH
In order to remain profitable to LIZ and meaningful
to the consumer, USA must evolve into 100+ door
domestic chain, grow viable e-comm presence and
unite with international business partners.

6. OVERVIEW
Competitive Landscape:
Where They Were vs. Where They Needed To Be
Coldwater Creek GAP Limited

7. OVERVIEW
Who is the consumer?
Demographics Competitive Set
• Dual-gender • Zara
• Ages 20 – 34 • Club Monaco
• NYC and DC • H&M
• Esprit
Psychographics • Express
• Creative with fashion • Benetton
• Fashion aware & involved • A/X
• Diverse, unique style
• Social
• Influencer
• Up to date
• Against American casual uniformity

8. THE REAL DEAL
The Goal
Overall, their goal was to give shoppers an inspired, Euro-City
experience of buying fashion products at attractive costs from
intelligent, caring and friendly people.
Then they had to bring the shoppers back. And find others just
like them.

9. THE REAL DEAL
Strategy
Targeted, non-traditional diversity marketing was truly the only
approach for increasing store traffic, transactions and overall
awareness in such a formidable environment.
Why?
At its best, diversity marketing empowers the consumers you
care about to more easily access your products/services.
It removes barriers to engagement. They used it as a
Mechanism to transform challenges into opportunities for
results.

10. CHALLENGE #1
Marketing budget
Allocations were anemic. Down 71% to ’04, 59% to ’05 and
8% to LY despite higher sales plan per store..
Opportunity
“Because we didn‟t have the luxury of a
reasonable marketing budget, we were forced
to spend every $1 where it would yield not only
positive ROI, but also the best ROI.”

11. CHALLENGE #2
Brand awareness among mainstream US
Beyond fashion-aware shoppers, brand recognition is
negligible
Opportunity
“Within the U.S., our brand had no equity or
position among the general market. Instead of
shouting at the crowd and hoping they would
listen, we chose to talk directly to our evangelists
who would spread the gospel for us.”

12. CHALLENGE #3
Brand value
Attrition of more than 50% of consumer-base and
closing of 64% of stores has degraded perception.
Opportunity
“Simply put, the formidable task of reviving the
ailing brand created a “do or die” energy that
afforded us a “by any means necessary”
approach to gaining traction. Our micro-brand
created the perfect opportunity to isolate and test
diversity initiatives.”

13. CHALLENGE #4
Bigger, more aggressive competitors
Direct domestic & global competition (Zara, H&M,
A/X, Club Monaco, etc.) have larger resources &
share-of-voice.
Opportunity
“Unorthodox guerilla and grassroots methods
allowed our branding to be more nimble and
concentrated to our locations.”

14. TARGET SEGMENT OVERVIEW
SEX IN THE CITY
•Professional minority woman
•30 years old +
•Average income $100,000+
•Single and married working mothers
•Likely to have curvier, more robust figures
•College graduates and advanced degrees
(J.D., MBA, M.D., PH.D.)
•She enjoys traveling, reading, fine dining,
shopping, spa treatments, theatre, concerts and
is active in her church and community
•Resides in New York and Washington DC
Metro Areas, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago,
Baltimore, Detroit, Miami, Dallas, Houston,
Richmond, Seattle and Philadelphia
•Shrewd, Confident, Views MEXX as
conservative

15. TARGET SEGMENT OVERVIEW
OUT & PROUD
•Gay men
•20 - 30 years old
•Highly style conscious
•“Discovers” fashion (Trendsetting & fashion forward)
•Often have increased discretionary income due to double incomes in HH and no
kids.
•Very socially active and likely to use word of mouth referallas
•Wields purchasing power to support brands that support them
•Will check out any store at least once and is fond of European fashions

16. TARGET SEGMENT OVERVIEW
SASSY SERIOUS STUDENTS
•Ages 18 - 25
•Wide spectrum, mostly females
•Love to shop
•Somewhat more conservative
•Needs clothes for work
•Upwardly mobile
•Somewhat insecure
•Open to new fashion brands that connect
and offer a chance to be “set apart.”

17. STRATEGY OVERVIEW
LOOK •Advertising
Expose 3 new shopper
•Window Visuals
segments to locations &
product •Guerilla
LISTEN •PR
Engage new audiences by •Experiential Events
Showcasing what the brand
stands for •Celebrity Seeding
LEARN •Loyalty/CRM
Educate new & existing shoppers •Online
to remain relevant in their life.
•Gift/Credit Card

18. TACTICS
Advertising
What they did
Spent $80K on media
In-store
Delivered 8M+ impressions during Holiday
Finished October ↑11% plan and ↑17% comp
Guerilla
Media until year’s end with pulsing at peak weeks
PR Advertised in print pubs targeted to
professional commuters and in minority-rich
areas. Partnership with Heart & Soul mag.
Events
CRM Created print partnership with OUT and
INSTINCT magazines, leading gay men’s pub.
Online
Advertised in college weeklies around D.C.
locations: The Hoya, City Paper

21. TACTICS
Advertising
What they did
Enhanced store experience with multi-lingual copy
In-store
Reconfigured floor fixtures for increased SKUs on
selling floor and made associates more recognizable
Guerilla Small store count allows for personalized designs
PR
Tailored stores according to key targets most
likely to shop at locations. Instead of store
Events
associates wearing store apparel during peak
time, they wore special branded shirts. These
CRM “uniforms” made them easier to recognize for
patrons and increased service effectiveness.
Online Offered incentives for shoppers to return with
bounce-back discounts. These maximized the
“new” traffic each store was obtaining.

22. •MEXX Cheque bolstered post-Black
Friday ADT decline.
In-Store
•Recommitment to merchandising and
selling Gift Cards.

23. TACTICS
Advertising
What they did
Distribution of MEXX coupons at premier NYC
In-store
festivals, parades & cultural events.
Guerilla
PR
Garnered low cost exposure at key GLBT
Events events with street teams distributing branded
coupons and offers at Gay Pride festivities.
CRM
Online

24. •Distributed 5,000 bouncebacks to target
segment.
Guerilla
•Some parades routes passed directly in
front of 5th Avenue store location

25. TACTICS
Advertising
What they did
Secured excellent placements of product on TV,
In-store
print and websites (Earned Media)
Produced 4 “Look Books” (style guides) that gained
Guerilla attention of fashion editors and stylists.
PR
Shopping event featured in target publication,
Heart & Soul. Sent fashion samples to celebs
Events for seeding.
CRM Gay men’s event featured online and in-print
with additional e-mail blasts. Key placement on
Queer Eye.
Online
Outreach to local college pubs

26. •US Weekly 11M imp
PR •Queer Eye 1.5M imp
•NBC‟s Today Show 6.2M imp

27. TACTICS
Advertising
What they did
clusive event platform brought diverse groups
In-store
together for one purpose: fashion
Also activated off-site nightlife events to position
Guerilla MEXX as cool & trendy and introduce brand to new
audiences.
PR “Fabulous on 5th” event made concerted,
deliberate effort to attract diverse audience.
Events Hosted by Latino , AfAm & Gay peers.
CRM Hosted Gay men’s fashion show to highlight
the season’s latest looks directly to captive
audience in heart of NYC
Online
“Sexxy, Sassy, Saturday” event invited all local
college students out to shop using special
discount and offered free drinks.

28. •1st Event grossed $20K in 3 hours
EVENTS •DJ “Scratch” event lead to 66% comp
•Radio promo touched 7M New Yorkers

29. EVENTS Highlight Reel
Click „play‟ icon in center. Must have internet
connection to view.

30. TACTICS
Advertising
What they did
Largest portion of ’06 budget (26%)
In-store
Targeted existing 30K shoppers (lifetime spend of
$3.9M)
Guerilla ADT of top-half of database = $89
ADT of top-quarter = $104 (avg = $73)
PR
Photography featured looks
and key items in fashion
Events
environment as opposed to
being worn by “European”
CRM models. Sent direct mail
pieces to database of target
partners (OUT, INSTINCT,
Online etc.) and also supplied to
stores for distro at key
locations, especially college
hot spots.

31. •Holiday mailer in-home 11/17
CRM •Promo = $15 MEXX Cheque Card
•Distro = 30K CRM, 10K Prosp, 3K Magazine

32. TACTICS
Advertising
What they did
Launched MEXXSTYLE.com site to feature new
In-store
looks, event footage and store details
Monthly “New Arrivals” e-mail to members
Guerilla Launched branded MySpace page
PR
MEXXSTYLE
micro-site and
Events
MySpace became a
digital destination
CRM for our shoppers to
participate in the
brand. They gave
Online feedback on styles,
events, upcoming
activities, etc.

33. •MEXX Style became digital destination
supported by social networking
ONLINE
•E-mail blast & outreach to target
segments

34. 2006 MARKETING SPEND
Seeding
Professional
Credit/Gift Fees
Card
Advertising Ad v e rtis in g 80
Digital
E v e n ts 55
E u ro p e U s a g e 75
Events P R /L o o k B o o k 88
P o s tc a rd & B B s 125
Postcards
& BBs D ig ita l 14
C re d it/G ift C a rd 12
Europe P ro d u c t S e e d in g 15
Usage P ro fe s s io n a l F e e s 27
PR & Look
491
Book
$491K
(2.5% of sales plan)

35. APPROACH REVIEW
•Stay true to the core values &
attributes of the brand.
•Break the rules. Burn them. INSTORE
Bury them.
•ROI! Ensure every $ spent
brings back more in return.
ADS PR
•Think Globally. Act Locally.
•Show the product. Show the
product. Show the product.
•Use every touchpoint as an CRM EVENTS
opportunity to make them
LOOK, LISTEN & LEARN.
WWW

36. RESULTS
THE GOOD
•Finished 2006 4%+ to financial plan, the brand’s first + comp year ever
•4 doors pushed $19M in sales, highest sales/store ever
•Delivered more than 8M impressions and $3.4M in sales during holiday
E s t. In c re m e n ta l
Promoted Sales
Im p re s s io n s T ra n s a c tio n s
S a le s
L o c a l A d ve rtis in g 4 ,9 5 4 ,0 0 0 3 9 ,6 3 2 2 ,9 7 2 ,4 0 0
D ig ita l M e d ia 6 5 0 ,0 0 0 5 ,2 0 0 3 9 0 ,0 0 0
CRM 1 9 0 ,1 0 0 1 ,5 2 1 1 1 4 ,0 6 0
5 ,7 9 4 ,1 0 0 4 6 ,3 5 3 $ 3 ,4 7 6 ,4 6 0
THE BAD
•Factoring in 2006 store closings, overall US division was -7% to plan
THE UGLY
•The entire US division was shuttered in summer 2007. There are presently
no stores domestically.

37. DISCUSS
1. This is one David vs. Goliath story that lacked the celebratory ending. Was it
worth it?
2. What is the common thread among the 3 target segments – professional
minority women, gay men and college students ?
3. The team was tasked with 2 key challenges to solve simultaneously:
proving MEXX as a viable U.S. retailer and proving diversity marketing as
the correct business driver. Is it possible for one to succeed without the
other?
4. Although LIZ is a Fortune 500 retailer, this 2006 case provided a micro
“Petri dish” view into practical, real-world execution on an entrepreneurial
level. Given the challenging state of retail in 2009, are there key learnings
for other retailers?
5. MEXX remains one of the largest global fashion brands without a U.S.
presence. If the brand is re-launched domestically, should it activate a more
general market approach and cast a wider net?