Value is in style

By: Leonie Barrie - 25 February 2010 19:25

“Regardless of whether the economy is weak or strong, value isn’t going out of style,” The TJX Companies’ CEO Carol Meyrowitz told analysts yesterday.

But her comments, intended to reassure investors that the off-price retailer’s new-found shoppers aren’t going to desert its stores now that the economy seems to be in rebound, will also have struck a chord at the other end of the retail spectrum.

Stephen I Sadove, chairman and CEO of upscale department store retailer Saks Inc, separately told analysts its customers want “service and differentiated products with value” – and that it intends to offer them more designer products at lower prices.

But there’s a big difference between “value” and “value for money” – and it’s the latter that will be key going forward.

Shoppers of the future might be prepared to pay a little bit more for a garment, but they’ll only buy one rather than several of the cheapest versions. And that’s what retailers will have to contend with this year – meaning they’ll have to work a bit harder to secure growth.