The Big Opportunity By: Alex Enriquez, Iviee Li, Corey Pierce

Introduction Tim Barry Frustration turns into millions Shipped 10,000 seat belt Extenders for $60-$70 a pop ScaleIt.com and SuperSize World.com Expected to hit $1 mil in sales

Large Market Segment Americans are fat, and they’re getting fatter Americans Not just low Income. Urbanites are the ones rising most rapidly. “Plus – size” population are the new baby boomers American businesses are rethinking their strategies

Accelerating Trend Between 1962 and 1980 – stable growth in average body size: 1/3 pound a year In 1980, average adult male – 174 pounds, average adult female – 145 pounds By 2000, 30% of US population is obese (BMI 30 or above) and 34% is overweight (BMI 25 – 29.9)*

Accelerating Trend 64% of total population is in the market for plus size merchandise Fatty food, bigger portions, less cooking at home are factors that contribute to the “growing” trend

Beyond Weight Loss Most department stores and top retailers paid little attention to larger customers Lane Bryant became the industry leader in plus size women’s clothing in 2000 Lane Bryant 690 stores and $930 million in sales, acquired by Charming Shoppes in 2001 Charming Shoppes – 3 rd largest specialty retailer Women wearing size 14 and larger make up more than 50% of the overall market

Loyal Customers Historically oversized markets were very underserved. ◦Shopping trips use to have the prospects of a needle in a haystack. ◦Women often would concede to buying oversized men's clothing. Tedious past experiences have left consumers jaded. ◦Consumers not as price sensitive. ◦Something that “fits” feels like a luxury.

Loyal Customers “This business was so underserved for so long”, “A plus-size woman sticks with a brand she likes, and she doesn’t mind paying full price for it”  Barry Zeinman. General Manager Specialty Retail, Elisabeth Stores, Liz Claiborne.

Product Line Extension Companies can now find profitable markets by reengineering existing products for large consumers. ◦Smart existing companies need to asses market periodically (market research and assessment).  Ex. Furniture, surgical equipment ◦Insightful and fast entrepreneurs can catch big companies snoozing.  Ex. Toilet seats

Difficulty in Marketing to Obese Products or Services must be designed for larger consumers but not seem to be only for them. ◦Products that reflect too much reality- that it reminds the person that they are overweight- Often Bomb. ◦Subtlety is Key.

References Videos: ed Cartoon: loss/nutrition-notes-on-weight-loss-supplements/ Healthy weight, overweight, and obesity among US adults: ght.pdf ght.pdf Crawford, Krysten (June 5, 2006). The big opportunity. Business 2.0 Magazine, Retrieved Jan 30, 2009, from chive/2006/06/01/ /index.htm