For now, the plus-size fashion business, long the backwater of fashion, could become an instructive lesson for the fashion industry as well as many other classes of consumer products. It makes one wonder what other types of consumers need better treatment and how that innovation will take shape. Given the history of the plus-size business, respect is an innovation and it’s making the world of large sizes better. We don’t hear a lot about respect for consumers from companies but it is clearly a critical component in a brand’s success. There are many values that consumers now want their companies and brands to have like sustainability, ethical behavior, fair pay and so much more. this niche is an extremely emotional subject, it’s a little taboo, and people are dealing with discrimination.” On the subject of serving the plus-size community, Brown added, “we saw opportunity to change the world.” Jeff Brown, President, told me, “a plus-size person is more than what you see in front of you. A company called Big Fig Mattress makes beds only for plus-size people. If you are over the age of 18 years entering this website you hereby agree to agree to all the Terms and Conditions. If you are minor, under the age of 18 years of age, you do not have authorization to enter this website or access any of its contents. The concept of building a plus-size business by respecting the customer isn’t just about fashion, it applies to other products as well. The Jeffs Models site contains age-restricted materials. It appears that the way these companies think about themselves is causing them to create products for their customers that work better. They don’t say this but I always infer that respect for plus-size customers is not how the industry behaved in the past. They don’t describe their business as being about sizes or even about clothes or fashion, they talk about it as a mission to meet the needs of a specific group of customers with products and the right attitude. They all talk about respect for their customer as a driving force in their business. When I talk to companies that sell products successfully to plus-size customers, like Dia & Co., SHEFIT and the retailer Ashley Stewart, there’s one word that always comes up: respect.
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