Mega ‘Virgin’ all dressed up and going places
NEW YORK Amazon.com , music lovers may feel quite content downloading songs wearing their pajamas. In spite of this, Virgin Megastore, British-born entertainment retailer, keeps a solid customer base by transforming an entertainment store into a lifestyle store. —Purchasing music is no longer limited to record stores. Thanks to iTunes and
According to the financial numbers, the entertainment/apparel combo has been more than kind. “We’ve had a double-digit increase every year,” said Maureen Ferguson Lewis, dmm for apparel, fashion, books and paper for Virgin Entertainment Group. The company reported that fashion sales increased 35.1% in the fourth quarter.
“We wrote about $1 million in fashion four years ago and we will end up [2007] with $14 million, just in apparel and accessories,” Lewis added. “When we began, we were about 1% of the total company business. This year, apparel is 8% of the total company business.”
The Union Square store in New York, for instance, embraces all components of a typical hang-out joint—cafe, magazine stands, listening stations and even sections of apparel that mirror music genres. To avoid a disconnect, the merchandising team arranged tables and fixtures in a way that allows the apparel to compliment the music.
Peek into the rock ’n roll section for somewhat avant-garde fashions that include studded belts, bright graphic tees and the latest styles of Levi’s jeans. Streetwear-inspired T-shirts, baseball caps and embroidered sweatshirts surround the hip-hop category. Nearby, khaki messenger bags and neutral-colored apparel with images of Bob Marley call out to the reggae-loving crowd.
“The whole T-shirt-jeans business is really like the uniform,” said Roseanne Morrison, fashion director for The Doneger Group. “Music is such a part of the mainstream, why not capitalize on that level of it? It’s all about the customer traffic. You know they are searching for music and buying CDs—it’s all related to accessories. It’s the total package.”
In addition to musically linked merchandise, Virgin has had great success with licensed apparel associated with movies and TV shows. The popularity of blockbusters like “The Simpsons Movie,” “Spider-Man 3” and “Transformers” brought an opportunity to bring in related products. “This has been the most successful movie year for Virgin as far as merchandise goes,” said Lewis. “We had almost 80% sell-through on every property.”
As far as TV licenses go, the junior market has certainly been receptive. The combination of character ‘crushes’ and idolized starlettes who wear similar items drives the popularity of merchandise. “It is definitely driven by the media a lot of the time,” added Lewis.