of products from Procter & Gamble and Kraft. Department stores sold fashion brands ranging from Levis to Tommy Hilfiger. Hardware stores sold Stanley tools and Kohler plumbing fixtures. Thats changing. To be culturally relevant today, the goal for retailers is to be not just a seller of branded products, but to be the brand in the minds of consumers. This is fueled partly by the fact that an increasing proportion of sales and margins is derived from store brands ("private brands") at most retail chains. More important, in an era of too many retailers chasing too few consumers, its fueled by the need to be positioned in consumers minds as the place that delivers the satisfaction of a Stones or KISS concert. It may not matter to consumers whether that satisfaction is derived from manufacturers brands, the stores brands, or the right c r e at i ng cu lt u r a l ly r el e va n t br a nd s |     combination of both. In consumers minds, its the total experience that creates a retailers brand. Are the right products in stock? Are prices in the expected range? Are personnel knowledgeable and friendly? Do the location, atmospherics, and in-store logistics invite consumers to the store, delighting them so well that they return and tell their friends? Some retail brands are succeeding, none so well as Wal-Mart, as youll see in Chapter 4. No retailer has had faster growth in sales recently than Florida-based Chicos, the boomer-oriented retailing champion in ability to relate to consumer lifestyles. Kohls, Container Store, and 99 cent stores are other big winners in understanding changing lifestyles and relating to them. Probably no type of retailer is more challenged in adapting to changing lifestyles than department stores such as Dillards, May, and Federated. Caught in the vise of price competition from mass mer- chants and the segmented appeal of specialty stores, some retail ana- lysts see the future for department stores about as bright as that of prehistoric dinosaurs. Federated Department Stores is attempting to reinvent its future, however, by becoming a lifestyle brand. Its Lazarus store in Easton Town Center in Columbus, Ohio, captured the National Retail Fed- erations 2000 Store of the Year award for implementing a host of "Reinvent Strategies" based on its customers changing shopping preferences. With Federateds global sourcing capability, the stores brand represents not so much a place to buy products as a purchas- ing agent for the customer-finding the best mix of brands, prod- ucts, and styles that the customer wants to buy. Included in the brand is the ability to stretch beyond what customers say they want now to something they might not know is available or possible. Thats where the surprise element, the unexpected, comes into play, leading to a moment when the customer may say, "I didnt know about that style or that look, but I like it." Federateds energetic CEO Terry Lundgren explains, "Our Re- invent Strategies focus on how to make both the buying and shop- ping experiences better for our customers. There are times that our customer is going to enter the store, know what shes looking for, and want to get in and out as quickly and efficiently as possible. For those