Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2: Jacqueline Ardrey. She is very broadly president and CEO with
Speaker 2: me in person. It's great to see you.
Speaker 1: Yeah, thanks Katie, great for having me.
Speaker 2: So let's look ahead to the future. Tell us about
Speaker 2: Project Restoration. It's built as this full three sixty brand transformation.
Speaker 2: What does that look like in practice?
Speaker 1: It's such an exciting transition for us as a brand.
Speaker 1: We really eighteen months ago when I joined, we started
Speaker 1: this really comprehensive analysis of the business and looking at
Speaker 1: everything from our store experience, our website experience, our products,
Speaker 1: everything that we could affect, and came up with this
Speaker 1: plan that is really a four pillar plan. I've talked
Speaker 1: about this a lot. That's what Project Restoration is. It's
Speaker 1: it's addressing the consumer, it's addressing product, it's addressing our
Speaker 1: channels of distribution, and then it's also addressing the brand.
Speaker 1: So this is a real again, as you said, three
Speaker 1: hundred and sixty degree transformation, and it is so important
Speaker 1: I think for a brand transformation to look at the
Speaker 1: kind of size and what we need to deliver to
Speaker 1: change our results is you have to look at everything.
Speaker 1: So we went back we a lot of sales data.
Speaker 1: We looked at our history, but also looked at current competitors.
Speaker 1: We looked at the market and said, you know, what
Speaker 1: is the customer looking for? What does she need now?
Speaker 1: And a big trend in accessories is around customization and personalization.
Speaker 1: So we really set out to do something brand new
Speaker 1: in the accessory space, keeping our colorful heritage, which is
Speaker 1: you know, many people, as we talked just earlier, know
Speaker 1: this brand and love this brand. We have a lot
Speaker 1: of brand recognition for the size of our company, and
Speaker 1: we just wanted to make it fresh and relevant and modern.
Speaker 1: So I am so excited with what the team has
Speaker 1: delivered here. Everything from all of our product really transformed.
Speaker 1: It's all new, but you'll recognize it as Vera Bradley,
Speaker 1: like when you when you walk into the room and
Speaker 1: you see everything, and you walk into a retail store
Speaker 1: experience our our new updated website. It feels like Vera Bradley,
Speaker 1: but it's very modern and it's it's still colorful. It's
Speaker 1: a nod to the heritage that the brand started with,
Speaker 1: but it's it's just all I can say is that
Speaker 1: it's it's all new and exciting.
Speaker 2: Well, let's talk a little bit more in detail about
Speaker 2: what to expect, because of course, I think very Bradley.
Speaker 2: I think those Paisley wristlets and wallets that everyone in high.
Speaker 1: School and college had.
Speaker 2: So it sounds like you're still going to be colorful,
Speaker 2: but more solids. For example, are you introducing new items actually,
Speaker 2: such as items of clothing? Are you sticking to bags here?
Speaker 1: We really are focusing more on our key heritage, which
Speaker 1: is travel and handbags. And we still will have clothing,
Speaker 1: you know, some of the some of the things. We're
Speaker 1: deemphasizing that a little bit to really return to our
Speaker 1: core and it's it's colorful Bill Paisley's in the line.
Speaker 1: There's still things, but again it's just a it's a
Speaker 1: modern and fresh take because if you really look at
Speaker 1: the retailers who are doing well now, you've got to,
Speaker 1: you know, two segments. You've got the value segment and
Speaker 1: you've got brands who are transformed or being are really innovative,
Speaker 1: and that's really what we're going for. We're really going
Speaker 1: for this innovative solution. And when you look at how
Speaker 1: the line all works together, we believe, you know, a
Speaker 1: trend right now and accessories is around again. Customization like this.
Speaker 1: You know, the modern woman is, she's doing so much.
Speaker 1: There's this whole phenomenon around a bag within a bag,
Speaker 1: so you have a tote bag and then you have
Speaker 1: your wristlet or you have you know, other small things
Speaker 1: that you want to tuck in there. We've provided these
Speaker 1: really thoughtful solutions for her, which is is a hallmark
Speaker 1: of the brand as well.
Speaker 2: Let's talk about who she is because reading through your
Speaker 2: most recent earnings release, your earnings call, it seems like
Speaker 2: you're targeting that thirty five to fifty five year old woman,
Speaker 2: so not exactly high schoolers. And I mean thinking about that,
Speaker 2: it reminds me a bit of what Abercrombie and Fitch
Speaker 2: is doing, that reimagination that they've had their brand and
Speaker 2: focusing on a slightly older client. What was the thought
Speaker 2: process and the decision tree that led you to that
Speaker 2: specific age group.
Speaker 1: Yeah, great question. We're very fortunate in that we have
Speaker 1: a multi generational customer. So if you look at where
Speaker 1: you know, in our different age ranges where we have
Speaker 1: customers and where we've always had customers, we're very fortunate
Speaker 1: and that we're anywhere from eighteen to sixty five. So
Speaker 1: that's we want to keep that. The reason for the
Speaker 1: focus on that thirty five to fifty four year old
Speaker 1: is really that's you know, when the brand was really successful,
Speaker 1: that's really where we had many more customers than we
Speaker 1: do today. So that was one reason. The second reason
Speaker 1: is that that generation influences both her kids and her mom,
Speaker 1: and that is really what is so special about this
Speaker 1: brand is that the stories that I hear from customers
Speaker 1: about their first Vera Bradley bag, it's almost always connected
Speaker 1: to somebody else in their household, which is really special.
Speaker 1: But you know, the thirty five to fifty four year
Speaker 1: olds also they have more money to spend as well,
Speaker 1: So that was another more practical reason. So for all
Speaker 1: those reasons, that's why we refocused there.
Speaker 2: Well, let's talk about when this could start to bear fruit.
Speaker 2: Of course, you're expecting a stronger back half of the year,
Speaker 2: but is that enough time for that turnaround to really
Speaker 2: take root? What gives you the confidence that this is
Speaker 2: that the second half of twenty twenty four is when
Speaker 2: we'll start seeing this pick up.
Speaker 1: Yeah. I mean, the one thing that we did that
Speaker 1: I think we did really well last year was reposition
Speaker 1: our cost structure so that we could afford to invest
Speaker 1: in the marketing that we needed to actually launch this transformation,
Speaker 1: and that is really what you'll see. You'll see a
Speaker 1: lot of a lot of marketing from the minute we
Speaker 1: launched this in a couple of weeks through the rest
Speaker 1: of the year, so we were able to really reinvest
Speaker 1: in marketing to kind of get the word out there
Speaker 1: for both For our existing customers are extremely loyal and
Speaker 1: we think that they're going to be delighted by some
Speaker 1: of the changes that we've made, but we also need
Speaker 1: new customers and new people to interact with the brand.
Speaker 1: So that's where our marketing, our new marketing plans come in.
Speaker 2: Well, you only have about a minute left with you,
Speaker 2: but we're within that marketing trajectory. Are you investing Are
Speaker 2: we talking you know, bottom of the funnel sort of
Speaker 2: social media sort of type initiatives or what are you
Speaker 2: actually investing in?
Speaker 1: It's really all through the funnel, so you'll see a
Speaker 1: lot more top of funnel than we've done. We have
Speaker 1: a celebrity partner who will be introducing in a short
Speaker 1: time here, which is we're really excited about, and just
Speaker 1: all through the funnel. We'll be spending our marketing investments.
Speaker 2: Well, really excited to see this turnaround get off the
Speaker 2: ground of course, coming in mid July, Jacqueline Audrey, it's
Speaker 2: great to see you.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much. Thank you Katie,