The Farmers Trading Co: Repositioning a NZ retail icon

This case describes the turnaround of Farmers, the loss-making New Zealand department store with a staid image, which revived its fortunes by moving into higher-margin, fashion-related categories.

The Farmers Trading Co: Repositioning a NZ retail icon

Category: Grand EFFIE for Sustained SuccessAgency:.99Advertiser:The Farmers Trading Co Ltd

SUMMARY

Six years ago, Farmers was losing millions of dollars annually, and its future was under threat.

A repositioning into high-margin fashion was the opportunity to return to relevance and profitability. Thanks to a sustained market-leading fashion communications strategy, Farmers has been transformed into a fashion authority for middle New Zealand.

BUSINESS CHALLENGE

In order to move into sustainable profitability, Farmers’future lay in higher-margin, fashion-related categories. The issue was that the brand had a massive image...

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