High-end designers stake their claim at mass
Apparel performance saw its third straight year of growth in 2006, posting a moderate 5.1% sales gain from last year, according to data from The NPD Group.Children’s apparel led the industry’s growth with an increase of 8.4%.Women’s apparel grew 5.2% to nearly $102 billion. Men’s apparel grew just 2.9% to nearly $55 billion in sales. Overall, the industry brought in $190 billion in top-line sales last year.
Among the sub-segments that enjoyed the most growth were children’s and infants’ sets, with 15.1% growth; special infants’ wear with 16.3% growth; and intimate apparel with a 9.9% boost.
The “dressing up” trend fueled sales growth in both men’s and women’s apparel last year, NPD said. The categories of notable growth in women’s apparel were dresses and hosiery. Dress sales were up 7% this year, and hosiery sales overall were up 3.4%.
For men, the bottoms category was up 8.5% overall, with pants and slacks (a dressier option) posting 7.2% growth, while jeans posted 5.4% growth. In suiting, NPD reported that the unit volume was up 6.2% for 2006.
“Suits are stronger in the younger men’s market,” said Marshal Cohen, the apparel industry analyst for NPD. “Younger men are realizing the benefits of dressing up…‘dress for success’ has become ‘dress to impress.’… Men ages 25 to 34 increased their purchases by 13.4%, while men 18 to 24 purchased 11.6% more suits [in 2006] than [in 2005].”
Beyond segment sales, apparel headlines in 2006 were again focused on designer fashion at discount prices. Target began its limited-edition, quarterly GO International program last February, introducing juniors’ apparel and accessories collections from a roster of high-end designers including Luella Bartley, Tara Jarmon, Sophie Albou (Paul & Joe) and Behnaz Sarafpour. Target has continued the series this year with collections from Proenza Schouler, which launched in February, and Patrick Robinson, which launched in May. Libertine will be designing a collection that launches this summer, and British designer Alice Temperley will round out the year, with a line launching in October.
Apparel & Accessories| 2006 RETAIL SALES BY SUB-SEGMENT | |||
| FIGURES IN BILLIONS, % CHANGE OVER PREVIOUS YEAR | |||
| Source: The NPD Group/Consumer Tracking Service | |||
| CHAIN | 2006 | 2005 | %CHG. |
| Wal-Mart | $31,379e | $29,387e | 6.78% |
| Macys Inc.1 | 23,954e | 19,886e | 20.46 |
| Gap Inc. | 13,552e | 13,620e | (0.50) |
| Sears Holdings Corp. | 10,072e | 10,310e | (2.31) |
| JCPenney | 11,623e | 10,330e | 12.52 |
| CHAIN | 2006 | 2005 | %CHG. |
| TJMaxx/Marshalls | $11,532 | $10,957 | 5.25% |
| Old Navy | 6,484 | 6,588 | (1.58) |
| Foot Locker2 | 5,750 | 5,653 | 1.72 |
| Ross Stores3 | 5,570 | 4,944 | 12.66 |
| Victoria’s Secret | 5,139 | 4,448 | 15.54 |
H&M, who launched one-off collections from Karl Lagerfeld in 2004 and Stella McCartney in 2005, launched a bridal-themed collection from Viktor & Rolf in stores last year. The Swedish fast-fashion retailer, which is continuing to amp up its retail store presence in the United States, said that it will launch a new one-off collection from Roberto Cavalli in select stores this fall. The company topped off last year by announcing a formal partnership with Madonna in December. Her line, M by Madonna, landed in all 1,300 stores in March.
Kohl’s made major headlines last August when it announced that it would launch an exclusive better women’s sportswear collection by bridal and ready-to-wear designer Vera Wang. The line, which will also include accessories and intimate apparel, will launch in all of Kohl’s stores and on its Web site this fall. In addition to apparel, Wang’s line will have a major presence in Kohl’s home department.
Last fall, Payless Shoesource lined up a deal with designer Laura Poretzky of fashion house Abaeté to design an exclusive shoe collection for select Payless stores, and since then, the company also has secured deals with designer Lela Rose and well-known stylist Patricia Fields, from the television show “Sex and the City.”
While many retailers thrived on the excitement brought about by the introduction of their own discount designer brands, others struggled to find the best fit for fashion in their stores. Wal-Mart, for example, started off the year strong with its fashion-forward Metro 7 brand. The line originally launched in 500 stores in fall 2005, but Wal-Mart reported that it sold so well that it had to cut back the number of stores that the line reached from 1,000 to 860 in February 2006.
However, by the holiday season, it was clear that the line had been overextended: Wal-Mart was forced to slash prices drastically on its Metro 7 merchandise in November and December. This year, the company has taken a “back to basics” approach, as it figures out just how far it can push the fashion envelope and what stores, if any, could support a greater presence of fashion apparel.
Macy’s Inc. (formerly known as Federated Department Stores) has been having trouble attracting former May Department Store customers back into some 400 newly renovated Macy’s doors. Despite initial assertions that the merger of the two companies was going smoothly, the company has recently admitted that, perhaps due to lack of promotions in former May stores, its newest Macy’s branded doors have been consistently below sales expectations.
It’s too early to tell whether the company’s newest designer brand, O Oscar, has made any traction. The company launched the line in just 150 Macy’s doors in February. However, the line is a relaunch of a failed more moderate line, also called O Oscar, that was made for May Co. stores and sold for only two seasons, in fall 2004 and spring 2005. The relaunched line could expand to 350 Macy’s doors—if it performs well.
Although neither Sears nor Kmart launched any designer br