Being old but not old fashioned - brands are turning towards maturing market in a sophisticated way

Last night I went to see “The best exotic Marigold Hotel” at the movies, just to have seen one of the films in the megatrend “baby boomers are the new gen”. It seems like marketers and brands arefinally getting how powerful the oldies are, and how rich they are... Many decades of everyone obsessing about young, young, young – anxiously following every step the new mysterious generations take – brands are now looking to the generation that really counts. The Babyboomers are getting in the spotlight!

In the movie “The best exotic Marigold Hotel” a bunch of Americans go to retire in India, and Time magazine wrote an interesting article on that topic a couple of weeks ago.

In America where 78 million baby boomers control 70% of the wealth, the new trend is niche communities for older people. Who wants to stay in an old boring nursing home any more???

“A community planned by the Country Music Association in Franklin Tenn., will offer music-industry retirees a range of living options, from standard apartments to nursing-home care, complete with recording studios and performance venues.

Asian Americans who yearn for cultural immersion can move to Aegis Gardens in Fremont, California, which was designed under the watch of feng shui consultants and offers tai chi classes. 

Then there is Fountaingrove Lodge, the U.S.´s first facility to offer long-term continuing care for gay and lesbian retirees. It broke ground last year in Santa Rosa, California, and is already 50% reserved.

In all, there are 100 communities in the U.S. that offer everything from standard housing to continuing care, which provides assisted living or skilled nursing to residents as required.”

The cosmetic business has since long been targeting the elderly (like from 25 when we start fretting about wrinkles....), but now the trendy clothes retail chains are doing the same. Apparently there is no money in the restless Gen Y and Z...

Psfk reported this morning that H&M might launch stores for older women, which doesn´t seem to really be in the segment “seniors” but more like late 30´s something like myself. But anyway, there is a movement away from youth.

“Amid reports that Swedish retailer H&M hit a less-than-satisfactory profit margin for the first quarter of 2012, analysts speculate that H&M’s upcoming line of stores in 2013 will cater to the maturing market, as the fast-fashion company’s lines Cheap Monday, COS, Monki, and Weekday have long been identified with younger audiences.

As told to The Financial Times, Adam Cochrane, analyst at UBS, says that the predicted move “will be aimed at an older customer base, as they have a limited offering currently and it should allow for deeper penetration of existing as well as new markets.”

Apart from diversification, the reported strategy may also be seen as a method for the brand to coexist and “mature” alongside its existing customers.“

via PSFK: http://www.psfk.com/2012/04/hm-stores-for-older-women.html#ixzz1r0YGRHtu

What other signs are there? Have you noticed the trend? How are the brands you work on affected?