June 12, 2007 | Posted by Vitaliy Katsenelson

The Joseph A. Banks Machine!

The Joseph A. Banks (JOSB) selling machine is kicking on all cylinders – yesterday’s quarterly numbers were proof of that (see article I wrote for Market Watch).

My gripe (and Herb agrees) with the management is that they decided that no Q&A is needed after the quarterly conference call. I completely understand why the company’s management may decide to spend their time on a more productive endeavor than answering sell side analysts’ questions which most of the time have little to do with the company’s long-term future, but zero in on minute, often irrelevant short-term details. That being said, management should have done a better job communicating to the Street the change in Q&A practice.

JOSB’s marketing strategy is the weakest link in its business model. It is extremely short-term oriented and not about long-term brand building. I’d argue that it cheapens its brand. Where Men’s Warehouse’s (MW) “I guarantee it” commercials tell you about product quality and a pleasant shopping experience (long-term brand building strategy), JOSB commercials sound like it’s a cheap car dealership that you’d expect to see in the deep suburbs of nowhere land, with a very annoying voice that tells you something along the lines of, “Only this Tuesday, the whole store is 50% off!” But don’t worry, if you missed this Tuesday special, there are other days of the week; Wednesday, Thursday… you get the point. Yesterday, while reading JOSB’s latest 10Q, I heard the commercial at least three times on CNBC. This short-term driven marketing strategy is responsible for the volatility of same store sales.

Short URL: http://ContrarianEdge.com/?p=194

Jeff Abell

I completely disagree here. I’ve shopped at both Jos A and Men’s Wearhouse and the clothing quality at Jos A Banks is by superiori in terms of design, materials and workmanship. The company doesn’t need to tout its brand as does Men’s Wearhouse because it knows that once an individual purchases a suit, a wrinkle-free shirt or tie they will be 100% satisfied and will come back for more. Their commercials are geared toward getting people into the store. The quality of the brand speaks for itself when the customer wears the clothes. That is a great marketing strategy in my book…
http://JosABanks-Shortsighted Dan Scott

I bought once from JOSB. Would not shop there again. Suit which WAS sale priced and appeared a bargain, was a cheaply made foreign job. It did look good for six months. But really didn’t wear near as well as my Hart-Shaffner-Marx, Union Made in USA, suits.
I’m no fan of unions, really. Just one consumer who has had his fill with globalization of the American economy and decided to do my part and buy only American products, Made in USA of USA component parts. If that means paying twice the price for a better quality suit, then so be it.

The Joseph A. Banks Machine!

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