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The challenge: Amid a tepid economy and a glut of competitors offering slashed prices and discount promotions, this women’s apparel retailer struggles to find a way to stay competitive while maintaining its edgy, upscale brand. The store’s priors are down almost 40%, and a sluggish summer season has left behind a mountain of inventory with three months still remaining until high tourist season. The company turns to Matt to create a cost-effective promotion to generate revenue and clear space for fall apparel arrivals.

The solution: Elevation 7 utilizes a method called Concept Clearancing to develop an inexpensive, energetic sale campaign for the retailer. The goal behind Concept Clearancing is to transform a “sale” into an “event.” By targeting a handful of key calendar dates in the year (as opposed to running endless promotions) with a concepted sale that works within the brand’s image, the retailer can make an impact with consumers amid the barrage of competitor promotions. In this instance, the campaign targets upscale lifestyle magazines as its primary media source, supported by newspaper, radio and e-mail marketing. The “Awesome 80s Sale” concept fits comfortably within the company’s irreverant brand, and serves as an effective hook for the store’s target demographic audience. Inexpensive design elements (stock photography, etc.) are used to keep the company’s expenses in line.

The branded promotion proved extremely effective for the company, as the weekend event generated a revenue increase of 41% over the store’s prior clearance sale, and almost 20% above projection. Residual
store traffic increased over 15% over the next 30 days, and sales were up 18% over priors during that same period. The store’s owners have expressed interest in making Concept Clearancing a permanent part of
their business model moving forward.