What Roger Adams Brings to Lord and Taylor

(MoneyWatch)  Industry insiders are voicing surprise that Lord & Taylor, the nation's oldest department store, would turn to Roger Adams, ex-Chief Marketing Officer of The Home Depot, as its first CMO. Adams joined Home Depot in 2005 as VP of marketing, and became CMO a year later. He has also worked at Pepsi-Cola, Nabisco, Keebler, and General Motors -- not exactly Lord & Taylor's demographic. But it comes down to this: Adams knows more about the female shopper than you'd think.

Back in October (before Adams left Home Depot), retail-experience blogger C.B. Whittemore caught Adams' presentation at the Association of National Advertisers' annual meeting. As one of ANA's "Marketing Maestros," she reported, Adams preached engagement and emotional connection to the brand. Home Depot had lost its way, he said, by squandering the trust shoppers once had in the friendly orange-aproned employees. During Adams' tenure, he sought to rebuild that connection by appealing to women, who are the decision-makers in two-thirds of Home Depot transactions.

Whittemore wrote:

Home Depot creates an emotional connection to its brand through the notion of "I did it." It's about giving consumers the confidence to try a project; helping them develop a sense of personal ownership and empowerment because they actually did the project themselves. Experienced associates represent a teaching base to communicate and engage consumers across a rational/emotional continuum that recognizes that the home represents an individual's identity, and the most expensive and expressive badge of color, individual style and personality.

Adams says that price is not a key driver for consumers. Rather, it is a matter of how satisfied they are with the fun factor of the store, whether the store is friendly, how knowledgeable associates are and how well organized the store is.

Recognizing that purchases represent personal identity and style? Emphasizing customer experience over price? Sounds like a good blueprint for the new Lord & Taylor. Many retail-watchers expected the company to be dismantled for its real estate value after NRDC Equity Partners bought it in 2006. But pared down to 47 stores in upscale locations, and headed by CEO Jane Elfers, Lord & Taylor has spent $10 million to rebrand itself as a high-end apparel retailer, with more exclusive merchandise, amenities, and service.