farmers

Farmers is a department store chain operating at 56 locations across New Zealand. It specialises in fashion, beauty, home ware and furniture. The fashion department has garments catering for numerous cliental, including childrenswear to womenswear and some lower end designer labels. When analysing the clothing within the store we focussed on the low end retail womenswear section, as that is generic to all 56 Farmers stores. However I should also note that this specific Farmers store on Cuba Street has mid market clothing available also. 

The store has a very white aesthetic, with white walls and tiles (along with grey carpet). The store would have a very clean vibe, had it not been for the large amount of stock displayed in a small and tight environment. The racks were filled with clothing and some styles were obscured completely by other garments displayed on the walls in front of them. The store was not messy exactly, it was just very overcrowded with garments and clothing racks. 

Photos by me

There was a lot of selection, as the range was so broad, however I wouldn't consider all of the clothing there to be actually following current fashion trends. The department that we looked in was targeted towards teenagers to early twenties. The clothing was of average quality compared to other low end stores. The skirt that we looked at had loose threads and a hemline that was not accurately sewn. The skirt sold for $99.99 which seemed too high, compared to similar garments sold at Glassons for instance. The skirt was lined however. We also looked at a pair of jeans, which were rather generic and could probably be found in Farmers during every season, as they did not follow any current trend. The back pocket, again showed loose threads, and the embellishment of stitching and gems looked like a cheap addition to the garment.

The prices in store varied greatly as there is so much stock. It is hard to pinpoint the exact figures, however generally speaking the prices ranged from below $9.99 to approximately $149.99, with most garments being around the $49.99 price range. Sizes varied greatly in much the same manner as they did in Glassons, with a large range of different clientele's sizes met. Farmers produces a catalogue and also advertises on television to promote it's clothing.