Gadzooks Swapping Genders

Gadzooks Inc., the Dallas-based specialty retailer of clothing and accessories which recently announced that it would go “all girl,” has launched a teaser campaign targeting female consumers.

Created by The Richards Group (Dallas), the nation's largest independent branding agency, the campaign is designed to generate consumer and community buzz as Gadzooks begins liquidating its guys' merchandise and marks the first communication with consumers about the new store concept exclusively for girls. Through storewide sales, Gadzooks plans to phase out its guys' merchandise to make room for its new focus on the girls' assortment, which will be introduced this summer.

Gadzooks officials say the decision to relaunch its brand with all-girl merchandise comes in response to industry trends and an opportunity to fill a niche in the market for girls' fashion. “Anti-Equality,” an in-store marketing campaign in Gadzooks' 429 mall stores, is a dramatic departure from the company's previous marketing efforts and states that girls don't have to be equal to guys. In-store signage, employee buttons and other branded materials command attention with bold graphics and statements referring to the departure of guys.

“Our new store concept targets confident, energetic 16- to 22-year-old girls whose lives are filled with a lot of commotion,” says Jerry Szczepanski, Gadzooks' chairman and ceo. “We knew that to get their attention, we had to break through that commotion in a fresh and powerful way. 'Anti-Equality,' as well as our upcoming brand campaign, is bold enough to be the perfect complement to our reinvented stores and merchandise assortment.”