FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Dan Pinkney
Bain & Company
Telephone: +1 646 562 8102
dan.pinkney@bain.com

Contact: Stephanie Horton
VOGUE
Telephone: +1 212-286-6577
E-mail: stephanie_horton@condenast.com

"STYLE-CONSCIOUS" WOMEN ACTIVELY SPENDING IN 2010, ACCOUNTING FOR NEARLY 70% OF TOTAL U.S. SPENDING IN APPAREL, ACCESSORIES AND BEAUTY; ACCORDING TO NEW FAR-REACHING STUDY ON U.S. FEMALE SHOPPERS

Nearly Two-Thirds of Purchases by Style-Conscious Consumers Favor Durable, Timeless, Classic Styles Over Trendy, Contemporary Styles

New York-September 14, 2010-Women who consider themselves "stylish" and follow the latest fashions spend three times the average on all apparel, accessory and beauty purchases by female shoppers in the U.S.; this according to a study conducted by Bain & Company in cooperation with Vogue magazine. The study, entitled "Why She Shops: The 2010 Fashion and Beauty Study," surveyed more than 5,000 female shoppers in June 2010 and evaluated 134 apparel, accessory and beauty brands to identify the preferences and purchase behaviors of female consumers and the winning characteristics of the brands that they buy.

Counter to last year's relentless focus on price, "Why She Shops" shows that women are focusing on quality and value in 2010. Although the style-conscious are still skeptical about paying full price (11% of those surveyed agreed with the statement, "I usually pay full price."), they are explicitly seeking durability (80% agreed with the statement, "I am willing to pay more for clothing and accessories that will last more than one season."). As a result, the style-conscious woman is disproportionately investing in "classic" styles-65% of brands purchased in 2010 versus 35% spent on contemporary brands.

"Style conscious women are telling us that they are looking for more classic products than they can find, and that the marketplace has been a bit too slow to let go of younger, trendier looks," said Erika Serow, a Bain Retail Practice partner and lead author of the study. "But brands can win in a variety of ways, as long as they listen deeply to and deliver on the needs of their target audiences."

The "Why She Shops" study reveals, through its 2010 Fashion and Beauty Brand Index, that top brands among the 134 studied succeeded in capturing the interest, spending and loyalty of style-conscious women. The index-based on a combination of purchase incidence, share of wallet and brand loyalty-lists Express, Victoria's Secret and Banana Republic as tops in the apparel category; Coach, Express and Louis Vuitton in accessories; and Bare Escentuals, Clinique and MAC as the top beauty brands. [[See Editor's Note for how to request a copy of the study and the full list of the top 15 brands in each category]

Winning brands score three times higher than average on dimensions such as "fits me well" (for apparel), "matches my style," and "trusted / high quality." Notably, the study finds that women in 2010 did not rate "price" as a differentiator. The study also finds that winning brands had substantially higher customer loyalty and advocacy scores. "Big or small, mass or luxury, older or younger, the consistent thread for winning brands is loyalty," added Serow.

The study also found that when it comes to luxury, 15% of style-conscious women account for 70% of luxury spending in apparel, accessories and beauty.

"Understanding the dynamics of how these style-conscious women spend is paramount for brands in the current environment," said Susan Plagemann, VP and Publisher, Vogue. "These women gravitate towards brands that deliver on heritage, sustainability and provenance, which has been a big focus of our clients over the past year," she added.

Style-conscious women can be found both in stores and online. When shopping in stores, they prefer specialty or vertical retailers to typical department stores, spending 55% of their apparel spend and 40% of their accessories spend with specialty retailers. They purchase beauty products at a mix of vertical retailers, mass merchants, and drugstore or grocery retailers.

Online, the style-conscious spend nearly twice as much on apparel, accessories and beauty products as the average woman. Despite being much heavier users of mobile and social media than the average population, they are only beginning to use text messages to help them shop (5%), to rely on social networks for shopping ideas (10%), or make purchases from their mobile phones (12%).

"There's a tremendous opportunity for brands to win with the style-conscious woman by fine-tuning their products and messaging to her needs. Reaching this audience can have tangible impact both on sales and long-term loyalty. We're especially thrilled to have not only our clients, but the industry as a whole, benefit from these insights," concluded Plagemann.

Editor's Note: To request a copy of "Why She Shops: The 2010 Fashion and Beauty Study" or to request an interview, please contact Dan Pinkney at dan.pinkney@bain.com or +1 646 562 8102, or Stephanie Horton, email: stephanie_horton@condenast.com, or ph.: 212-286-6577.

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Why She Shops Study Methodology

The research was conducted by Bain & Company with the cooperation of Vogue magazine. It evaluated 134 brands in retail, accessories, apparel, and beauty, using an online survey of 5,000 women in the U.S., between ages 18 and 60. The survey took place in June 2010. "Style-conscious" women met two criteria. First, they had the highest responses to questions about whether they follow the latest fashions and consider themselves stylish. Second, they had to spend at least $1000 per year on apparel, or $250 per year on accessories or $100 per year on beauty.

The 2010 Fashion and Beauty Brand Index is based on two factors: spending on the brand and loyalty to the brand. The spending metric includes the percentage of women who purchase the brand and the share of wallet held by the brand among style-conscious women relative to other brands in the category. The loyalty metric is based on Net Promoter Score® (NPS), which measures the percentage of brand promoters, who would recommend a brand to a friend against the percentage of brand detractors, who would not do so.

About Bain & Company, Inc.

Bain & Company, a leading global business consulting firm, serves clients on issues of strategy, operations, technology, organization and mergers and acquisitions. The firm was founded in 1973 on the principle that Bain consultants must measure their success by their clients' financial results. Bain clients have outperformed the stock market 4 to 1. With 42 offices in 27 countries, Bain has worked with over 4,150 major multinational, private equity and other corporations across every economic sector. For more information visit: www.bain.com.

NPS, and Net Promoter Score are trademarks of Satmetrix Systems, Inc., Bain & Company, and Fred Reichheld.

About Conde Nast and Vogue

Condé Nast, a division of Advance Publications, operates in 24 countries and is the world leader in exceptional content creation. In the United States, Condé Nast publishes eighteen consumer magazines, two trade publications and twenty-seven websites that garner international acclaim and unparalleled consumer engagement.

For 118 years, Vogue has been America's cultural barometer, putting fashion in the context of the larger world we live in- how we dress, live, socialize; what we eat, listen to, watch; who leads and inspires us. For millions of women each month, Vogue is the eye of the culture, inspiring and challenging them to see things differently, in both themselves and the world.