One-Assortment Inclusion Rule
Offer one product vision across sizes and let customers choose for themselves
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 99%
Good American's founding product rule was to avoid separating larger customers into a reduced or moderated assortment. Grede describes making one product in 19 sizes, presenting it together, and allowing women to decide whether they wanted features such as a high slit or bright bikini. The underlying hypothesis was that customers above a certain size were not buying because attractive options were unavailable, not because they lacked interest. The framework starts by identifying who is excluded, testing whether supply rather than preference explains the gap, and extending the core creative proposition across the relevant range. It then lets observed choices replace assumptions. The rule does not mean every variant is technically identical; fit and construction may require expertise. It means the customer-facing vision remains inclusive rather than being narrowed by a stereotype before the customer can choose.
Origin
Extracted from The Diary of a CEO
Core principles
- 01Absence of purchases may reflect absence of supply
- 02Separate assortments can encode limiting assumptions
- 03Customers should choose rather than be pre-judged
- 04The same creative proposition should remain recognisable across variants
- 05An underserved group can reveal a product opportunity
How to run it
- 1
Find the excluded customer
Identify a group missing from the main product conversation and document how the existing offer differs for them. Look beyond sales data to actual availability.
Pro tip Compare the depth and attractiveness of each assortment, not just the number of listed items.
Watch out Low sales cannot demonstrate low demand when the desired product is absent.
- 2
Challenge the demand story
Ask whether customers reject the product or have never been offered a credible version. Gather direct feedback and inspect competitor supply.
Pro tip Phrase the hypothesis as an availability problem that can be tested.
Watch out Do not treat one founder's instinct as sufficient validation in every market.
- 3
Unify the proposition
Design one recognisable product vision across the relevant range instead of relegating a group to a separate reduced offer. Adapt construction where function requires it.
Pro tip Protect the design's expressive intent while solving fit properly.
Watch out Visual inclusion without technical product quality will fail customers.
- 4
Remove stereotype moderation
Do not automatically make a product less bold because of assumptions about a customer group. Let customers decide among properly made options.
Pro tip Review every removed feature and name the evidence for removing it.
Watch out Customer choice still operates within safety and regulatory requirements.
- 5
Observe real choice
Launch the integrated range, measure purchasing and feedback, and refine from observed behaviour. Keep availability visible when interpreting results.
Pro tip Compare demand by product and size without hiding stockouts.
Watch out Inventory constraints can recreate the same false demand signal.
In the wild
Grede says Good American offered one product proposition in 19 sizes instead of separating plus-size customers into a small modified assortment. The brand retained bold features and let women decide what they wanted to wear.
→ The company found demand from customers who had previously lacked comparable choices.
Common mistakes
Reading absence as rejection
Customers cannot buy a credible option that the market never makes available to them.
Segregating the main offer
A separate reduced assortment can preserve the exclusion the product claims to solve.
Ignoring technical fit
A shared creative proposition still needs expert construction across different sizes and bodies.
Is it for you?
Best for
Brands serving groups whose choices have historically been limited by sizing, access, or stereotyped product assumptions.
Not ideal for
It cannot override genuine safety, fit, technical, cost, or regulatory differences that require responsible product variation.
From the transcript
“We're just going to make one product. We'll make it in 19 sizes and whatever we do, we'll let the customers choose.”
“They weren't buying because it wasn't available anywhere.”
From the episode
The Woman That Makes Millionaires: They're Lying About Work Life Balance! I Built SKIMS Without Fashion Knowledge!