British apparel retailer/cataloguer Boden has begun sizing
womenswear on its US website in American sizes. Up until January
2010, Boden had been using UK sizes to sell clothing on
BodenUSA.com meaning that customers were required to convert
measurements to ensure an accurate fit. “Although our US
customers were fairly relaxed about ordering a UK size, we did
find that it did put off new customers from ordering,” says
Mark Binnington, Boden’s marketing director. “However, the
sizing matches to a UK size, so although we are selling in a US
size it is still the same stock as the UK customer
receives.”
The US is an increasingly important market for Boden, especially
in the childrenswear sector. US sales of Mini Boden now account
for roughly half of Boden’s total childrenswear sales, which
Binnington believes is due to relatively little competition in
the US market. Further adding to Boden’s success is the American
consumers’ need for more children’s everyday wear as, unlike in
Britain, children tend not to wear a uniform to school.
Further international expansion is on the cards for Boden, with
Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden, and
Switzerland
earmarked as potential targets. However, according to
Binnington, the international focus remains on growing the US and
German business, with no plans to launch into new territories in
2010.
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