Wells Fargo Rethinks the Grocery-Clerk Look

The question might vex Emily Post: Is it appropriate for bankers to wear aprons?

At Wells Fargo & Co., the answer, apparently, is no.

Wells Fargo hired an image consultant to design a line of business suits for its supermarket branch workers. They are shedding the homey look of aprons in favor of crisp wool gabardine.

Two weeks ago, employees in some Texas in-store branches that used to belong to First Interstate began wearing the khaki bank-issued uniforms.

Aprons have become standard accessories for in-store branch employees, who typically don them while roving the aisles to solicit customers.

Wells Fargo may be leading an apron backlash. If its designer attire proves popular among workers and customers, the bank may introduce it throughout its burgeoning in-store network.

Each woman was allotted two jackets, a skirt, a pair of trousers, and a selection of scarves and silk flowers. Each man got two suits, four shirts, and five neckties.

"The clothing is beautifully made, it's 100% pure gabardine with no synthetic fibers," said Gwen Mazer, the consultant and designer of what she calls "collection careerware."

"The ties and flowers were inspired by the Wells Fargo tradition and the western theme," she said. "All the accessories have the traditional Wells Fargo colors of deep red and gold and shades of blue."

Bank officials declined to comment on the pilot program. "If it doesn't do what they want it to do, they're going to scrap it," said a Wells Fargo spokeswoman.

Ms. Mazer, who runs a San Francisco consulting firm, Total Image Management, said she thought the bank would gradually try out the attire in all its grocery store locations. The purpose, she said, was to "create an identity for Wells within the in-store program and to distinguish the employees from the supermarket staff."

Another goal, Ms. Mazer said, was to one-up Bank of America, whose in- store workers wear blue and red aprons over business clothes.

"BofA has supplied their employees with aprons and T-shirts, which is quite a different image," Ms. Mazer said. "To me, it sends out a message that this isn't a person who is very professional. I'd probably be asking them, as some customers have, where the milk was."

Lisa Margolin-Feher, a Bank of America vice president, defended the aprons and described them as "really cute." Each apron has two pockets with pictures of cartoonish-looking money spilling out.

"We wanted to create a different look from our regular bankers inside our branches and also a different look from the grocery store employees," Ms. Margolin-Feher said. "We thought an apron made sense because you're dealing with food in a grocery store."

Within the banking community, there is disagreement over whether the casual setting of a supermarket or department store calls for less-stuffy outfits.

Dorlisa Flur, a principal in the Atlanta office of McKinsey & Co., is co-author of a study on what works and what doesn't in supermarket branches. "When we did focus groups about the in-store format, one of the things people liked was the idea of the more approachable banker," she said.

"People liked in-store banking because they could run in with their tennis shoes. When they went to the traditional branch, they felt like they had to dress up."

Ms. Flur said banks needed to strike a sartorial balance. Things to avoid included pinstripe suits, McDonald's-style uniforms, and sloppy outfits that could get branch staffers confused with supermarket clerks. Aprons were iffy, she said.

"If Wells is doing something that feels like a casual, approachable outfit that will just give them a little more of a brand image, that's a good thing," Ms. Flur said. "If they are going to look like traditional bankers who are more overdressed than I am as a shopper in the store, then it may defeat the purpose."

Some bankers view in-store branches as an opportunity to vent their kitschy or creative sides: For instance, if the supermarket workers dress up for Halloween or the opening day of baseball season, the branch staff will, too.

At the grocery branches of Columbus, Ohio-based Banc One Corp., supermarket bankers wear normal business clothes and aprons in the aisles. This approach is typical, said John W. Garnett, president of International Banking Technologies, a Norcross, Ga., company that has helped more than 400 banks open in-store branches.

He said most banks expect their supermarket employees to wear something similar to what they would wear in a traditional branch, or to wear a polo shirt with a bank logo on it.

"It's very important for the employees of an in-store branch to wear something different from normal banking attire when they go out into the aisles and talk with shoppers," Mr. Garnett said. "We recommend to clients that an apron is an appropriate item, one that has the bank's name on it and possibly the hours that the branch is open."

Mr. Garnett said aprons make bankers seem more "friendly and approachable." But he also praised Wells Fargo.

The Wells approach "is probably a little more costly than we would recommend," he said, "but their situation is unique because they are going into a lot of new different states with a new name, and it may help them establish their brand."

Ms. Mazer, Wells' consultant, said the people wearing the new clothes are enthusiastic, saying the wardrobes were comfortable and attractive.

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