I Wonder if PacSun Might Carry Hard Goods; And What Would Zumiez Think?

That PacSun is in the middle of a turnaround is hardly disputable, if only because their management has characterized it that way. And in my judgment, they are pretty much doing the right things. First and foremost, they acknowledged that their stores had stopped being a destination for their target customers, and they are working to fix that. They want to “Reestablish PacSun as a destination for great brands.” What does that mean exactly?

 

First, it means completely revamping their management team- to the point where at their last conference call they said they had cut back their juniors inventory because they did not have the right leadership or strategy in place. The management changes are well under way and, when we listen to their next conference call (okay, when I listen to it), probably within a couple of weeks, we may find it’s complete.

 

That impresses me. While there’s absolutely nothing as disruptive to a company as a total makeover of top management, there’s also no way for a company to succeed if the team isn’t aligned and in agreement as to the company’s strategy. Those of you who were at the Group Y Action Sports Conference a couple of weeks ago heard exactly the same thing from Van’s Vice President of Marketing Doug Palladini as he explained Van’s success.

 

Second, they’ve recognized they can’t have the same merchandise selection in all stores, regardless of location, and are working to localize their inventory. Third they are starting, like a lot of other brands, to emphasize speed and freshness in product. “The days of shopping in Europe for trends and then delivering a whole new collection are pretty much behind us,” was how they put it. We may all bemoan fast fashion, but there’s no choice but to react to it if it’s what the customer wants.

 

Fourth, they are going to be more cautious with private label and have eliminated private label board shorts. Fifth, they’ve rolled out a new advertising and promotion campaign that has a more appropriate focus. Last, they’ve recognized that more stores isn’t the answer and are focusing on making the ones they have better places to shop.

 

All good stuff. If I were a hard goods brand and PacSun asked me to sell them some hard goods I’d get excited by the fact that Pac Sun could buy a whole lot of product from me (though I doubt any hard goods brand can expect to be in all their stores). On the other hand, I’d need to feel good about their chances for making their stores an attractive destination for my customers again. If they were lame, I wouldn’t want to be there because the lameness might rub off on my brand.   I would, in other words, need to feel good about PacSun’s ability to implement the strategy I’ve described above.

 

I’d get to feel good by spending some time with the people in charge of implementing the hard goods strategy for PacSun.    Assuming there was such a strategy, that is.

 

I’d want to roll out the product in, say, 10 or 20 stores initially. And I’d want those to be stores that already reflected PacSun’s revised strategy- ones that were remodeled to reflect the new focus, had a reduced reliance on house brand product, and had inventory specifically selected for the location. I’d want to have some involvement in how my product was merchandised and I’d like to know where PacSun was going to get sales people who could represent and sell hard goods. And while all these discussions were going on, I’d be chatting with my friendly competitors who also make hard goods to try and find out if they were selling to PacSun.

 

Some level of hard goods can make sense for PacSun as part of a strategy of regaining credibility with their target customer.   It’s certainly part of what has differentiated Zumiez among mall stores and made them successful, and that brings us to an interesting part of the discussion.

 

Though both are mall based chains with an overlapping focus, Zumiez is not PacSun and PacSun is not Zumiez. They have different ambiances, and different, though obviously overlapping, target customers. Zumiez has always carried hard goods and has prided itself on having employees at all levels that are in touch with the action sports culture. Though PacSun may have originally been closer to the “core” than it is now, it was never as close as Zumiez and it drifted even further away with growth and some of the decisions it made.   Zumiez has always been closer.   That has been important in how it has kept its credibility with customers even as it has grown.

 

PacSun wants some of that credibility back. I have to assume Zumiez would rather not share that market space with a nine hundred store gorilla. Even though Zumiez is only more or less one third the size of PacSun by number of stores and their geography doesn’t completely overlap( PacSun is in all 50 states, Zumiez in 35) I have to believe that PacSun’s problems made life easier for Zumiez in some ways and in some locations.

 

How might things go if PacSun starts carrying hard goods? A couple of years ago, I might have said that if they represent the brands well it would be good for everybody. But economic times are different and I think that’s less likely. It will also depend on what hard goods, exactly, they carry. I don’t imagine it will be snowboards (though of course I don’t know that). I can certainly imagine skate and while surf fits PacSun (and not really Zumiez) it’s generally difficult to imagine selling surf boards in mall stores.

 

I’m sure Pac Sun expects to make money on any hard goods it sells, but that wouldn’t be the primary motivation. They want to rebuilt credibility with their target market and get that customer back in the store. It’s a component of their overall strategy.   Superficially at least, a PacSun with hard goods will have moved a bit towards Zumiez’s in its positioning. Will the customers see that? Will Zumiez’s customers be more likely to shop at PacSun? Or will customers who chose PacSun over Zumiez be disappointed? Depends on just how much actual customer overlap there is I guess. But unless they subscribe to the “a rising tide raises all boats” theory, I can’t see Zumiez as thrilled.

 

Other brands, not hard goods, are currently sold at both Zumiez and PacSun. Wonder how they would see this if it happened. Would PacSun pick up some apparel or other products from the hard goods brands they decided to carry? 

 

 A PacSun who carries hard goods and uses that to revive their credibility with the action sport oriented consumer is a stronger competitor to Zumiez.   A PacSun who carries hard goods and does it badly damages the idea of such stores in malls, and that could reflect on Zumiez. It’s not that PacSun will be the same as Zumiez, or even that they will necessarily target exactly the same customer group. But some of those customers may only see the superficial similarities. Think how consumer looked at Hollister.

 

As Zumiez, PacSun, and any hard goods brands that might consider selling to PacSun know, having hard goods doesn’t instantly give you credibility and attract customers. You have to do it just right and the devil is in the details.