“I saw a ton of Black & Blue men’s wear in Lord & Taylor,” a shopping-savvy friend of mine recently commented, knowing I’m in the business. “What’s the story there? It’s pretty expensive for an unknown brand. And they’ve got so much of it: I assume it must have been a close-out that they got a good deal on…”

Interesting, how much consumer perception can differ from reality! I explained that Black Brown is an exclusive Lord & Taylor brand, designed by the very talented Joseph Abboud who can no longer use his own name on his designs since he opted to sell his company.

My friend was confused. “But don’t I see Joseph Abboud product in Marshalls? Wouldn’t upscale customers want a designer name on the clothes they buy? Why would Lord & Taylor use ‘Black & Blue’ as a men’s clothing label? And why didn’t they advertise it more?”

I reiterated that it’s actually Black Brown but that didn’t help matters. “I still don’t get it,” she insisted, noting that the product looked nice enough at a glance to command her attention but being in a hurry and not recognizing the label, she didn’t spend much time with it. She observed that while she’d personally spend money on an unknown men’s label if the styling and quality warranted it, she thought most customers would be wary. She promised me she’d go back and take a closer look.

She also offered her consulting services to Lord & Taylor or any other retailer planning to launch a brand. Let me know if you’re interested: this is one product-savvy shopper and we all stand to benefit from listening more to our customers.

PS- Check back here for her second take on the collection.