e-spaces

WOOLWORTHS This food and clothing retailer’s new group managing director for retail, Andrew Jennings, describes his role as fine-tuning what is unquestionably one of the country’s strongest brands. But no doubt he will be doing far more than tweaking the clothing business.

The company said earlier in the year that it had reversed a recent trend of losing market share on this side of the business – in stark contrast to its dramatic rise as a convenience food retailer. But clothing sales are still some way off where they could be. In an environment of years of strong consumer spending, Woolworths has simply missed the boat when it comes to clothing.

It can’t be a coincidence that Jennings, a former chief operating officer of Saks Fifth Avenue, was hired for his expertise as an apparel retailer. Part of the problem was that Woolworths put too much emphasis on fashionable clothing, losing some of its traditional sales to middle-aged women. But a couple of years ago, chief executive Simon Susman said the retailer would refocus on that core market.

Now the retailer is again attempting to capture a slice of the more affluent market with its taste for more fashionable items.

Jennings says the up-market clothing offering, the W collection, is doing well and being rolled out into more stores.

But the offering is relatively small and the retailer may have to put further work into changing customer perceptions.

Jennings certainly doesn’t give a lot away. But like most US politicians, he is continually “on message”, talking of his dedication to giving customers what they want without really answering questions. This may just be what shareholders want to hear.