Sears, Roebuck and Co. should be thanking Menard Inc. rather than suing the home improvement chain for copying its advertising, says one advertising expert.
Last week, Sears filed a federal lawsuit in Chicago charging Eau Claire, Wis.-based Menards with infringing Sears’ copyright on its sales circulars by using the same words, type font and colors.
The ads in question do look surprisingly similar, except that Sears is selling a $1,000 television and Menards is pushing a $2,000 oak front door.
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But consumers actually like seeing the same format in ads, explains Christie Nordhielm, assistant professor of marketing at the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, who recently studied the subject.
Repetition of typefaces and layout increases shoppers’ positive feelings about the featured products, whatever they are, because their eye recognizes the format. “It’s easier for them to process the ad,” Nordhielm said.
She also questions Sears’ strategy of trying to settle the matter in court. By filing suit instead of quietly taking the dispute to the National Advertising Bureau, the Hoffman Estates’ giant is drawing attention to a smaller player, never a good strategic move, Nordhielm said.
The likely winner of the ad brouhaha will be the two law firms involved, she predicts. Hard to argue with that.
Thumbs up and down: Banana Republic’s new store at 744 N. Michigan Ave. is an eye-catcher. A striking glass and steel staircase dominates the middle of the store, and the overall look is “contemporary and sophisticated,” according to Sid Doolittle, veteran retail consultant and partner with McMillan/Doolittle in Chicago.
Nevertheless, Banana Republic is a confusing store to shop, Doolittle writes in a recent “Retail Watch” newsletter. Apparel is spread over three floors, providing little guidance for shoppers about what’s where. His suggestion: consolidate menswear on one floor.
Overall, though, he gives Banana Republic high marks for repositioning its merchandise away from the safari look to its own interpretation of hip, urban fashion.
Fair is fair: Sears’ shareholder meeting is scheduled for May 14, and company executives are anticipating a crowd of angry retirees asking why their life insurance benefits were cut last year.
To take away some of the retirees’ ammunition, Sears is cutting the $150,000 life insurance policies it used to provide to its non-employee directors. As of March 12, that benefit was eliminated for current directors.
Board members who retired before that date will see their life insurance policies trimmed by $30,000 a year until the value is zero.
The art of retailing: Some of Chicago’s toniest retailers are giving a helping hand to 25 master’s degree students at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
The students’ work in a variety of media is currently on display in the windows of 12 stores along Michigan Avenue, Oak Street and State Street through April 5.
A special tour of the windows will be led by Art Institute School President Tony Jones and photographer Victor Skrebneski on Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m.
The “artwalk” is free and will begin at the Jil Sander store at 48 E. Oak St. The tour will take in windows at Sonia Rykiel, Ultimo, Tiffany & Co., Salvatore Ferragamo and Bigsby & Kruthers, among others. At each stop, students will discuss their work with viewers.
Who knows? You might discover the next Ed Paschke outside Saks Fifth Avenue.