Posted on 07/16/2012 8:12:42 AM PDT by kevcol
Retailers are becoming a lot less closeted.
They are turning their attention to gays and lesbians, a group that wields substantial buying power but isn't fully integrated into mainstream advertising. Similar to other moves to attract different minority groups, the push comes with risks, as it could threaten the retailers' relationships with some of their longtime shoppers.
Nonetheless, from J.C. Penney Co.'s (JCP) high-profile hiring of openly gay television personality Ellen DeGeneres as its spokeswoman to Target Corp.'s (TGT) selling of same-sex greeting cards, retailers are testing ways to cozy up to a community that by one estimate is as many as 16 million strong and has almost double the disposable income of the average American, some $49,000 per capita versus $26,000.
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J.C. Penney has been more aggressive than other large retailers in courting gays. In addition to hiring Ms. DeGeneres, the company featured two women as a couple in its May catalog and two men in its June offering. J.C. Penney also had a float in New York's Gay Pride parade, and the Two Dads--as the men have come to be known--also attended. J.C. Penney's monthly catalog is mailed to 14 million customers nationwide.
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Macy's Inc. (M) uses gay-friendly graphics in some of its windows during Gay Pride Month in June. "We support, and have for many years, pride parades in many cities," Macy's spokesman Jim Sluzewski said.
A Sears store in a Toronto mall that was along the route of this year's gay-pride parade in that city had models holding flags in rainbow colors, the symbol of gay pride. A spokesman for Sears Canada said the Toronto store was the only one that had such a display. Sears doesn't do gay-pride displays in the U.S...
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
When we got married in 1972, our first credit card was JC Penney. Our quarters were stocked from that retailer for years. They sold us the basics with no frills. Now they are selling foo foo stuff at high prices. Too bad they lost track of the core American market.
That reminds me of a story one of my co-workers told me about his home town in Alabama. The quick version goes like this:
A entrepreneur gets the idea to sell reasonably priced plain furniture to the townsfolk. He does well, actually he does very well and before he dies has five stores scattered around the state. His business model is successful.
His two daughters take over the business upon his death, now these two Southern belles have been raised in near opulence and have always had the best that Daddy’s money could buy. So what do they do?
Well not knowing the clientele of the stores their Father built up from nothing they change the furnishings from those “plain and tacky’ furnishings to the sort of things they have always had in their own homes.
Bottom line; in less than five years their stores have all gone out of business. And all because they didn’t know or understand their customer base.
The same thing will happen to J.C. Penny and Target, et al. Their customer base is or at least ‘was’ families with children.
B&B's, bars and restaurants may do well if they advertise and want the gay business, others will probably fare like GayPenney has this year.
Giving the finger to the 98% who aren't gay is brilliant marketing... and for all those companies that agree - I say 'go for it'. And while they're at it, shove those unappealing 'green' products that cost more and don't work down our throats. That will also increase popularity...
And one more thing - while you're at it - marketing based on sexual practices - don't forget the R Kelly types - he's the rapper who likes to pee on underaged girls. Don't discriminate against his type.
B&B's, bars and restaurants may do well if they advertise and want the gay business, others will probably fare like GayPenney has this year.
Giving the finger to the 98% who aren't gay is brilliant marketing... and for all those companies that agree - I say 'go for it'. And while they're at it, shove those unappealing 'green' products that cost more and don't work down our throats. That will also increase popularity...
And one more thing - while you're at it - marketing based on sexual practices - don't forget the R Kelly types - he's the rapper who likes to pee on underaged girls. Don't discriminate against his type.
Hey Kraft Foods - are you with us?
I like Stafford shirts from Penney’s. Who sells something similar?
not all their customers care about social agenda of their vendors
and there will be a majority of those who are annoyed by it
The downward slope looks like a world class downhill ski slope.
“So YouThink You Can Dance” is my favorite show. There is nothing new for the last 100 years that a lot of male ballet and modern (contemporary) dancers are gay. Sexuality is not discussed on the show. The executive producer is a straight former dancer, and he insists every Dance be done by a male and a female, with a few rare exceptions that are very “straight” like 3 guys doing a Broadway baseball routine, etc. And the hip hop dancers are nearly always straight.
Half the guys on Hollywood Squares were gay and that was in the 1960s.
SYTYCD doesn’t promote an agenda like Glee or the like.
It’s never enough to simply cater to human beings. All their -isms must be included as well.
So 1-2 percent of the human race is a large enough group to sell out for?
So you pick up even 100% of them and you lose 1% of the other 98-99% of the human race and this makes sense to retailers?
IDIOTS..............
Homosexuals are only 4% of the population that buy the EXACT same things that everybody else does, so they aren’t a “new untapped market”. The academic fools keep deluding themselves.
this junk is recycled every so often. Particularly after some homosexual is caught molesting boys scandal (see sandusky).
In the end the result is making any product a product to AVOID because of marketing. Whatever is sold to homosexuals agressivly becomes the stay away product. The same with using homosexuals as product promoters.
It becomes a pyric marketing victor which MIGHT gain a niche but cause 98% to not spend money on the product.
I think that would be...clean up isle 2.
Maybe a god idea for the makers of K-Y Jelly and Vasoline.
by their own admission in court papers they are only 2% and it is suspected the 2% is inflated by including the prison population.
somebody in JCPenny marketing must have concluded the company will inevitably close so they are just “going in the bunker” and taking the ungrateful company with them.
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