VF : Jeanswear Retail Lab Zeros in on Consumer Insights

Tags:Corporate NewsBrand NewsStrategy & Innovation

VF Jeanswear Retail Lab Zeros in on Consumer Insights

September 9, 2016

A key part of VF Corporation's Strategy and Innovation platform is understanding consumer insights to design memorable products and brand experiences. For VF Jeanswear brands Wrangler, Lee and Rock & Republic that process includes VF's Retail Lab, which is part of a 2,500-square-foot facility next to Wrangler's headquarters in Greensboro, N.C.

'The goal with the Retail Lab is to take learnings directly from our consumers to understand their needs and create products and experiences that solve those needs,' said Phil McAdams, VF Jeanswear Coalition President. 'The Retail Lab has been hugely successful for us. The more we've learned, the more we've been able to improve our brands.'

The Retail Lab, which opened in 2014, is fashioned like a store, with jeans folded on shelves, signs advertising prices and fitting rooms ready for consumers to try on product. There, VF invites consumers to shop the mock store, so that the brand teams and VF's retail partners can gain insights on everything from fit and size to how products are presented in a retail environment.

By hosting big-box names like Walmart and Target, the brands are able to use the Retail Lab to determine how best to position products in store. The mock retail setting changes based on the guest retailer and consumers provide feedback on what they like and don't like about the product experience.

VF merchandising teams observe shoppers through a one-way mirror and cameras record shoppers' behaviors as they move through the lab. Using the resulting footage, VF makes recommendations to the retailer to implement in their stores.

For more information on VF's approach to innovation, visit VF's Strategy & Innovation page.