Gap Inc. Quietly Changes Return Policy (No More Free Returns)
Loobalee as News & Trends
Mar|12|2009
Just 10 months ago, in May of 2008, Gap Inc. Brands implemented an umbrella website and checkout process across all four of their stores: Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, and Piperlime. With it, they implemented a new flat rate shipping service of $7 and free returns on all orders.
“Halleluia!”, we said, when LoobaLee posted about the awesome policy last May. Apparently, the investment made in combined, 4-in-1 policy plus free returns hasn’t panned out for Gap Inc. as expected. Perhaps due to the sluggish economy?
If you recall the new policy introduced last May was highly publicized. But, a significant change to the policy that went into effect just 2 days ago, March 10, 2009, and was only quietly updated on their website. In fact, we had to call them to clarify & verify. *
Interesting they would roll this change out immediately before the big “Friends & Family”, 30% off sale.
Free Returns has been eliminated on Gap, Banana Republic & Old Navy – you’ll now pay $6.00 for a Gap Return label. A couple notes:
o The policy also affects Banana Republic Luxe and Gap Silver card holders, and
o Piperlime continues to offer free returns.
Additionally, the number of the days allowed for returns (across all 4 sites) has been reduced from 90 days to 45 days for on-line purchases and to 30 days for in-store purchases.
While I’m sad about the policy change (we at LoobaLee seriously loved the old policy), I’m even more disappointed that the Gap did not proactively announce the changes to at least their customer database, or at a minimum, their cardholders.
I suspect that many customers purchasing today and this weekend during the Friends & Family will be surprised and disappointed to find out, after the fact, about the changes.
* 
– Suzanne Rielle, Co-Founder, Loobalee.com*
Club Libby Lu – Gone in a Poof
Loobalee as News & Trends
Feb|3|2009
Well, the Club Libby Lu stores have officially now closed. The website is down, and without even a banner or “thank you for your business”. It’s just plain unavailable – must be for sale (with an Compete page rank today of 23,811, someone is probably interested).
It seems we hear about one international chain after another closing these days (or at least cutting back), but so far the children’s apparel industry has faired quite well. In trade research, we find many more new brands and new stores opening than we find closing. The overall children’s clothing & accessory market, in fact, is anticipated to continue to experience growth in 2009.
Was Club Libby Lu too far on the fringes of this growth market? We think so. We believe they tried to get in on this growth by masquerading as an apparel store, which was an inauthentic and significant departure from their core business.
We posted an article on August 16, 2008: “Back to School with Club Libby Lu – Not so Fabulous“. Just 4 short months before the stores announced closure on Nov. 2, 2008, they launched a major (and to us, unimpressive) TV advertising campaign that attempted to promote Club Libby Lu apparel as appropriate and desirable back-to-school wear for young girls. Our aghast at the commercials charged us to research the company a bit — and we found the commercial advertising to be inconsistent with the company’s stated mission and vision in an over-the-top, exploitive way.
Is it this exploitive character that eventually drove the closure, possibly coupled with the current economy? It’s uncertain. In our research we found this statement in a press release from Saks Inc. (owner of Club Libby Lu) which makes sense, but seems to cover-up Read the rest of this entry »
J. Crew’s crewcuts – “First Inspiration”
Loobalee as News & Trends
Jan|24|2009
We found this briefly posted on J. Crew’s website home page offering their sentiments on being part of this historical inauguration week.
It appears the Malia and Sasha’s Inaugural Day coats were specially designed for them by J. Crew and were not available in this seasons catalog. You can still get parts of their “look”, however, on crewcuts final sale. See the selections we found.
We’d like to get a confirmation on that — if you have any info, please leave us a note and let us know .
Per J. Crew, they plan to incorporate designs from the various Inauguration outfits worn by Michelle, Malia, and Sasha Obama in their upcoming lines (which we anticipate will sell very well!).
Malia & Sasha – In Crewcuts at Inaugural
Loobalee as News & Trends
Jan|20|2009
The girls and Michelle Obama all looked fantastic today, don’t you think? So cheerful, so classy, and so normal!
As we speculated on the event in our short article Sunday, there appeared to be no secrets out of the bag as to what they would wear. Our hope that would look great but not be over-the-top came true! The girls wore outfits available and attainable by everyday families (especially when on sale!) from J. Crew.
Both last night and at today’s inauguration Malia and Sasha Obama wore crewcuts outfits and coats by J.Crew. Michelle Obama has repeatedly chose J. Crew throughout the campaign and events leading up to today.
The J. Crew website was down temporarily earlier today, perhaps due to a heavy load of traffic.
Can you still get the Sasha Malia style? Maybe in some stores. We found the Periwinkle and Peach/Pink-colored coats unavailable on-line. But, the silk sashes are still available, and we found a skirt in “cerise” orange, similar to what Sasha wore under her coat (we think though, she was wearing a dress that is likely sold out now). Any of these selections are great buys at current prices and will sell well on LoobaLee in the future (or you may be inclined to save them for posterity-sake).
Sasha & Malia Inaugural Wardrobe – What Will They Wear?
Loobalee as News & Trends
Jan|17|2009
This is the big question. What will they wear? We researched this topic in December, and again this week. To our surprise, the information available on-line is no more specific today than it was a month ago. Everyone is speculating about this well-kept secret.
The most relevant on the topic continues to be a posting by Women’s Wear Daily with sketches from several well-regarded designers who submitted designs for both Sasha and Malia as well as Michelle Obama’s inaugural wardrobes.
While we’ll be anxiously watching throughout the events, we’d like to see them in American designer labels and in unique, special, but non-exclusive designs that are available to purchase by the general public.
They’ll need inauguration coats and dresses, gowns for evening, and more. No doubt whatever they wear, they will inspire some near-term fashion trends for girls and tweens.
After the events, we’d like to hear your opinions! Catch up with on Wednesday for a review.
Limited Too — Gone!
Loobalee as News & Trends
Jan|12|2009
Well, as of the last couple days Limited Too is now gone -as we knew it.While the Limited Too Stores have started to carry Justice merchandise before the holidays, the Limited Too and Justice websites have now transitioned and combined into a single store. The URL http://www.limitedtoo.com is auto-directed to the http://www.shopjustice.com special landing page for Limited Too shoppers.
While we’ve been anticipating the transition, we were surprised to see the revised website design at Shop Justice. Didn’t see that one coming! After all the work done on both the Limited Too and Shop Justice websites over the last few months. Hmmm..
We’re curious what’s 35% price decrease from Limited too. We’ve heard store closings and consolidation, paired with discontinued leasing fees for the Limited Too brand — which was not fully owned by Tween Brands, Inc. We’re hopeful quality isn’t be sacrified. If you have any inside scoop, let us know!
Some more questions we have: Read the rest of this entry »
Growth Abounds in Childrenswear Market, in Spite of Economy
Loobalee as News & Trends
Jan|11|2009
In spite of the sluggish economy, the childrenswear market continues to thrive. Again in 2008, it outperformed all other apparel segments. New brands continue to be introduced on a frequent basis — and by everyone from entrepreneurial moms to well-known women’s fashion designer labels.
This bodes well for the resale market! Which we predict will also continue to thrive. While in the past 5+ years, we’ve seen surges of on-line resale from big designer retailers like BabyGap, GapKids, Gymboree and Hanna Andersson, we predict the next wave on-line resale will expand to higher end designer brands, as designer newcomers continue to push brand awareness into the marketplace.
You may be interested in checking out these two articles we found that are forecasting continued growth in Designer Childrenswear in 2009.
Designer Childrenswear Profliferates, Economy be Damned (NY Mag, posted Dec 31, 2008)
Designer Kids Wear – A Growing Market (Women’s Wear Daily, posted Dec. 31, 2008)
– Limited Too: Get it Before it’s Gone!
Loobalee as News & Trends
Nov|23|2008
Well, it may never be completely gone, but there is an enormous promotion right now at Limited Too that you need to rush over to before it either ends or before all the good stuff is gone.
Right now, Buy 1 item and get ANY item of equal or less value in the store (or on-line) for FREE -- including both regularly priced and sale/clearance priced items — making the whole store is an additional 50% off at a minimum. But, better yet, you can pair it with a 30% off Daisy Card or other coupon code on top of that — making your total savings for any two equally priced items 65%!
- TIP: Don’t have a 30% off Daisy Card? Check your local mall’s website for a printable Limited Too coupon. If you can’t find one for your own mall, try this one — it says it is “honored at all participating locations”: Fashion Square Limited Too printable coupon – it’s a Holiday Savings coupon with the same 30% additional Savings as the Daisy Card.
And, it doesn’t stop there, it’s Too Bucks earning time, so for eery $50 you spend you get a $25 savings card plus at least one $15 bonus card. Too bucks are redeemable at the end of December and early January, so it will be interesting to see what’s left to use them on.
This is a clear indication that the transition from Limited Too to Justice has started, and we’ll start seeing stores turn over by late January.
The only bummer with this sale that we noticed is that the Ninentendo DS’s are suspiciously absent from both on-line and in the store — now, THAT could have been a amazing deal 
But, we were pleasantly surprised to see all CD’s and DVD’s, as well as all “Limited Too” branded electronics and games are included. As an example, a $15.90 CD (some of the same ones you’ll see on sale at Target for $11.98 this week) are just $5.56 each, plus tax, if you purchase two (with the Daisy Card).
And, know any one who likes Webkinz? Our store is full of them – even the most recently released ones! At $16.90 (regular-price) if you buy two, they will be just $5.92 each plus tax with the Daisy Card. What a deal.
So, don’t just think Girls clothing and accessories, think about Christmas gift-giving for all the girls (or even boys who like Webkinz) on your list. Better rush though, the word is likely to get out fast and the best stuff may be gone before Thanksgiving.
77 Kids & Jonas Brothers — Together Tomorrow, One Time Event!
Loobalee as News & Trends
Nov|15|2008
As a quick reminder (or in case it hasn’t been on your radar!), tomorrow is the big day. As part of 77 Kids by American Eagle’s grand opening event schedule, they are sponsoring an exclusive, FREE Jonas Brothers on-line concert — LIVE!
Mark your calendars for tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. EST., then just click here to join the concert.
The Jonas Brothers concert will stream one-time only, putting on a full-length 40 minute show. Afterward two Jonas Brothers’ songs from the exclusive show will be available for extended play through November 30th!
The concert will be a a very unique experience for 77 Kids customers and Jonas Brothers Fans worldwide. Here’s some of the details you might not have picked up elswhere. We received these updates directly from a representative at American Eagle – 77 kids:
- It will include all the excitement of a live concert.
- Fans can visit the 77kid gallery and 77kids.com to choose between fourteen “kid cool” characters that be represent their style.
- Your 77kids character will walk the red carpet and join the crowd on concert today.
- Fans can also select different camera angles, including a Nick Cam, Joe Cam, and Kevin Cam, throughout the 40 minute show.
- Fans can post messages on the Jonas Brothers message board during the show.
BTW – Here’s three of the top reasons we like 77kids by American Eagle:
- They offer a great size range big style for kids 2-12.
- Kids can Play on. And on. They’re clothes are backed by some big-time guarantees, with free shipping and free returns.
- Everything is super comfy and soft. They’ve tested their line and guarantee it through 77 washes.
Stop back after the concert and let us know how you liked it. American Eagle – 77 Kids will love the feedback! And, if you’ve tried their clothes — we’d love you to share your comments. Thanks!
Children’s Clothing Retailers on a Whirl with Website Upgrades
Loobalee as News & Trends
Oct|4|2008
Have you noticed the recent changes to several major children’s clothing retailer’s websites? In the last couple weeks, we’ve seen major upgrades made at Hanna Andersson, Children’s Place, Boden / Mini Boden, Limited Too, Lands End.
Prior to that, you can probably remember the Gap’s upgrades made with the rollout of their 4-in-1 Shipping services, Naartjie’s recent upgrades, and J Crew / crewcuts recent visual changes on top of the fiascos they’ve had with order fulfillment back-end changes throughout the summer.
What’s Up? Web 2.0, new software technologies, such as AJAX, and competition.
One has to ask, why Limited Too? Why make an investment in a brand that is being retired? Very curious. Especially given Justice Just for Girls has just come on – line with some of the website usability we’re seeing at other sites, but from far the best. Read the rest of this entry »
