Kmart to rebrand plus-sized clothing as 'fabulously sized'
Kmart stores are tossing out the term "plus size" in favor of calling clothes that run above a size 12 "fabulously sized," Women's Wear Daily reports. "The term 'plus' implies that women who wear those sizes are outside of the norm … when in fact, women who wear sizes larger than that are actually by far the norm," People explains.
In addition to trying to use more inclusive and empowering language, Kmart's decision is financial: The struggling retail chain says larger sizes make up 21 percent of its women's clothing sales, and offering additional options to shoppers as part of its expanded "fabulously sized" collection is already giving the company a boost, Cosmopolitan reports.
"When we reached out to our members on social media, they told us we needed to have a better assortment and that we should we call it something different," said Kmart's chief marketing officer Kelly Cook. "They absolutely love this whole mantra of 'Fabulously Sized.'"
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Not everyone is thrilled with the rebranding, though:
In conjunction with its "fabulously sized" clothing, Kmart rolled out its new "I Can" campaign, which you can watch below. Jeva Lange
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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