Old Navy revamps its plus-size women’s business
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NEW YORK — Gap Inc.’s lowprice division Old Navy is overhauling its approach to how it designs and markets to plus-size women, a demographic that many analysts say has been underserved.
Starting Friday, Old Navy will be offering every one of its women’s styles in all sizes with no price difference. That means sizes 0-28 in stores and up to size 30 online.
The 1,200-store chain will also be displaying its large sizes together with the standard sizes on the floor. The fashions will be displayed on mannequins in sizes four, 12 and 18. Online, the chain is merging its plus size and standard sizes together, with models appearing in all three sizes.
The moves, announced Wednesday, are expected to help Old Navy reach $10 billion in annual sales by 2023, up from $8 billion in 2019, company executives said.
Old Navy joins Target, Nordstrom and others, which over the past few years have been adding more plussize offerings, and many are integrating them next to standard sizes.
Still, the common practice for department stores and other retailers is to have separate areas for plus sizes, but they also devote separate sections for petite sizes, says Neil Saunders, managing director of research firm GlobalData Retail. Walmart, for instance, has a separate plus-size shop on its apparel floors.
Over the years, retailers have expanded their offerings to cater to plus-size women. But analysts believe the commitment vacillated and stores never made this customer base feel part of the shopping experience, often leaving them out of marketing materials.
The International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education published a study in 2016 that the average American woman wears a size 16 to 18.
Analysts believe this time around, the push will be long term as they’re under pressure from shoppers to be more inclusive. Clothing retailers are increasingly struggling to attract customers and are looking for new opportunities to pump up sales.
“We have entered at a time when inclusion finally expands beyond race, nationality and income level,” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry advisor at NPD Group. “It includes sizes. We have finally gotten there.”