Research Firm Moves From 4 Ps Model to ‘PIE’ — Plus ‘O’

Jane Hali, chief executive officer of Jane Hali & Associates LLC, which serves the institutional investment community by offering research and insights into retail and fashion apparel companies, recently revamped her research model based on the sweeping changes occurring in the market.

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Similar to other investment research firms covering the retail sector, Hali’s prior approach was anchored by the “Four Ps of Marketing,” which are product, price, promotion and placement. But Hali recently told WWD that the model didn’t reflect the changes that retail is currently experiencing.

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“There are other factors to consider,” Hali said, which include the role of social media influencers as well as the fundamental changes in how and where consumers shop. “So, I created a new model: PIE + O,” she said.

 

The “P” is for product, the “I” is for influencers that are leveraged by the brand or company, the “E” is for the brand’s or retailer’s approach to consumer experiences and the “O” represents the company’s omnichannel strategy. Hali said this model more clearly represents how a brand or retailer performs in the market — especially from a customer engagement perspective.

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Put into practice, the research generated by Hali and her team is designed to reveal companies and brands that are outperforming peers in the market. In a recent note on PVH Corp., for example, Hali said applying the “PIE+O” puts it “on top.”

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In the report, Hali noted the Calvin Klein product includes jeans that are “more fashion-forward” outside the U.S., which is a big plus. She also noted the appointment of Luella Bartley earlier this year as the head of global design for Calvin Klein Jeans Europe. Hali said Bartley previously headed rtw at Marc by Marc Jacobs and that “she also helped drive Mulberry’s fashion credentials when she collaborated with it to create the top-selling Gisele bag.

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With influencers, Hali highlighted the ongoing, positive impact of Raf Simons on the brand. And she noted the impact of Paris Jackson wearing the designer at the Met Gala as well as the addition of  “Moonlight” actors Ali, Ashton Sanders, Trevante Rhodes and Alex Hibbert to the brand’s underwear campaign earlier in the year.

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“Aside from being a striking underwear ad, the casting of exclusively black men — who are in the spotlight from a low-budget, LGBT film — speaks to a larger cultural moment,” Hali told investors.

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With experiential retailing (in-store and online), Hali wrote that the brand’s jeans stores are on trend, but was quick to note that “they do not have the experiential element of a 3-D fashion show that Tommy Hilfiger does.”

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And with omnichannel execution, Hali said the CK Jean stores outside of the U.S. offers buy-online-pick-up-in-store while also having the capability to “fulfill e-commerce orders from stores as well as warehouses,” but added that “U.S. stores are all outlets with no omnichannel offering.”

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