Comment: Alexon’s older customer still needs a modern approach

The key to success for any retailer is to remain relevant and always keep moving; no customer is static and out of date stores and product is surely no recipe for success.

This is true even if you are targeting the older or “grey” market.

Alexon has however for some time fallen into this trap and although its management are trying to turn it around it was one of very few retailers to still be positing deeply negative like-for-like sales over Christmas.

The grey market does not comprise that many competitors so Alexon should be able to take advantage of this niche. Jacques Vert and home shopping business N Brown are the group’s main competitors and they have both reported good growth particularly over the festive period.

Alexon has a big challenge ahead this year. Although it has begun the refresh its Ann Harvey stores many of its other fascias and concessions look tired and although its customer is older they still need some fashion focus. Jane McNally came in to lead the group’s turnaround in June 2008 has said these are all priorities for the business, but 18 months on and it is still not coming through to lift sales.

She had an unenviable task when she joined the group, apparently even the retailer’s systems were stuck in a time warp and had not been updated for some time.

If this year McNally can bring the business, its stores and products in line with others in the market there is no reason it cannot win back customers in what is an ever growing market.

With people living longer and often in a more comfortable finical position than debt-ridden children and grandchildren the grey pound is very appealing.

“Silver surfers” are also becoming more of a force with the older generation continuing to embrace online more actively. N Brown has several times highlighted this as a good growth opportunity and Alexon needs to make sure it is also catering for its customer going online.

In its trading update today it blamed the weather for some of its lost sales as its customer did not want to venture out in the snow and ice. Making sure the multi-channel offer is strong will mean that any future cold snap will be less of a problem.

The other key factor that many the marketing world stresses retailers when appealing to an older customer, is that they don’t want to feel or be treated like they are old. Adverts for L’Oreal face cream featuring Jane Fonda are a prime example of how to appeal to the older customer – Fonda in her seventies is a classy and elegant icon.

A similar tack could be taken by Alexon but first and foremost making sure its products and selling space look polished and up-to-date will hopefully pull it out of the slump and the time trap it seems to have found itself stuck in.