Roaman’s has rebranded. The multichannel plus-size women’s apparel merchant began showing off its redesigned logo and catalog pages and its “All About You… All About Savings” campaign on its website and social media pages last week.
The new creative has generated a buzz in the blogosphere for Roaman’s, because it features plus-size model Leona Palmer on the site’s home page and catalog cover mockup.
This is the first time Roaman’s has used plus-size models in its marketing materials, says Blanca Vera, senior vice president-general brand manager for Roaman’s. Based on customer feedback, the retailer went with the plus-size models instead of “aspirational” thinner models to better showcase the clothing.
“A lot of bloggers have been reaching out to us because Leona is on the cover,” Vera says. “We’re excited because we thought this would be worth the risk.”
Vera says Roaman’s listened to what its fans were saying on Facebook and Twitter. The transformation began about a year ago with more fashionable apparel, and the website and catalog were redesigned to reflect that change.
“We were mature with our product offering, and our customers told us they wanted the same sort of style options as their missy counterpart,” Vera says. “There’s still so many things we don’t know about our customer, but we’ve developed a fan base [through social media] and we can now connect with her and get an answer instantaneously.”
Trusting social media paid off. After Roaman’s added more fashionable apparel, several of the new items sold out. And Vera says the old standards like leggings, t-shirts and five-pocket jeans still sold as well.
More evidence that Roamans’ new offerings are hitting the fashion target: The retailer’s demographic audience is trending younger. Where its buyer was aged 45 to 55, it’s closer to 35 to 45.
Roaman’s previewed the redesigned catalog by binding it in with a catalog that dropped this week, targeting its best customers. Vera says customers should see a fully redesigned catalog by March.