Yahoo Finance Vera Bradley aims to follow the Abercrombie playbook with a rebrand of its 2000s-favorite quilted bags
Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) hints that the Biden ticket is still up in the air, ECB President Christine Lagarde is under fire for worker burnout, and Vera Bradley hopes to be the next rebrand success story.
- In the bag. Readers of a certain age will remember Vera Bradley, the brand of quilted, patterned bags that was everywhere in the 2000s, especially popular with tween and teen girls and college-age women. In recent years, the company behind the brand has struggled and is almost two years into an effort to turn around the business.
That effort has led to a rebrand, launched today, that aims to bring Vera Bradley into the 2020s with more options than just busy patterned, quilted bags. CEO Jackie Ardrey (head of Indiana-based Vera Bradley Inc., parent to both the namesake brand and the jewelry brand Pura Vida) is leading the effort. She joined in 2022 after stints at Grandin Road and Harry and David.
Despite its fall from the cultural zeitgeist, Vera Bradley remains a $470 million business, though that's down from $500 million in fiscal year 2023. Its quilted purses, backpacks, and travel duffles are priced affordably, often under $100. Ardrey named her turnaround "Project Restoration," tackling the four pillars of consumer, brand, product, and channel.
While the current business has suffered, some Gen Zers have gravitated toward "vintage" Vera Bradley on resale sites. Yet the company isn't targeting them with this rebrand. Gen Z's interest may be a fleeting trend, Ardrey says. Plus, young shoppers don't buy very often, she argues. Nor is Vera Bradley's new launch a nostalgia play to bring back its die-hard fans of the 2000s. Instead it's going after the 35- to 55-year-old shopper. "When the brand was healthy, we had a lot more customers in this age range," Ardrey explains. That buyer is an influential customer whose purchases extend across generations to her daughter and mother, the CEO argues.
Vera Bradley's new products embrace bright color but leave some of its trademark patterns behind (or relegate them to the bag's interior lining.) Actress Zooey Deschanel of New Girl fame, who's famous for her 2010s style, is the brand's new spokesperson.
Ardrey has been watching other successful rebrands, most notably CEO Fran Horowitz's work at Abercrombie, but also rebrands at Coach and Banana Republic. "Rebrands that are successful—they're not numerous," Ardrey says. Her hope is that shoppers will embrace a new Vera Bradley too.
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
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