The Challenge
Hanes was losing market share in the children’s underwear category; a category in which they had traditionally been the market leader. Our job was to figure out why this was happening and identify how to fix it.

How we Cracked the Nut for Hanes

Entourage Closet Tours with kids taught us that underwear is the most important, but least respected piece of clothing they wear.

Action taken based on this learning Product communications expanded beyond physical comfort to include emotional comfort, making the brand more relevant to kids beyond product features and benefits.

Entourage Shop Alongs with kids and their moms revealed a significant disconnect between how kids talk about underwear and the way it is displayed and organized in-store.  

Action taken based on this learning In-store organization, layout and signage were changed to reflect the universal vernacular kids use when talking about underwear.

Photo Journals with kids revealed that the underwear category is confusing and inconsistent when it comes to sizing, packaging, quality, etc. even within one brand, making the selection process intimidating and difficult.  

Action taken based on this learning Hanes implemented new packaging styles and communications that focused more on key benefits, replacing marketing language with kid-friendly language.

Entourage Play Dates showed us that kids of the same age come in all shapes and sizes. This led to the insight that the product line was limiting and the “in-between” kids were left out.  

Action taken based on this learning Hanes expanded their product line to address sizing, cut, fit and “inbetween” styles for all ages.  

Overall outcome:

Sales at the Target stores increased by 40% in the first 12 months of action taken.