V-Neck Trend: From Horizon-Logo Outlet (asi/61761), these Devon & Jones V-neck sweaters have plunging necklines and come in men’s (D475) and women’s styles (D475W). Made from 100% cotton, they hold their shape and resist wrinkles. Colors include black, forest green, gray heather, navy, red and stone.
As the U.S. and world economies try to fight their way out of a recession, some top designers’ new fashion collections are abandoning their over-abundance and artificiality. They’re returning to more classic looks in traditional colors, and re-introducing natural elements, such as feathers and stones, and technical fabrications. In the wearables marketplace, some buyers are definitely pulling back from name brands and higher-price-point items, while others are waiting to see how deep the economic downturn is and how long it will last.
“As of right now, the credit crunch hasn’t affected us. An economic crisis could impact our customers’ ability to pay us, and really affect our receivables health,” says Girisha Chandraraj, senior vice president of marketing for Broder Bros. Co. (asi/42090). “So far, things have been as good as they have been. But I think things will change, as a lot of our customers rely on credit lines. We can afford to have a bit of degradation, but we might need to be proactive with customers in 2009.”
In the third and fourth quarters, retail spending dropped dramatically, as consumers tightened their pursestrings. And, for the holiday season, consumers’ retail spending was expected to decline further. The National Retail Federation forecasts that holiday retail sales will rise 2.2% this year, making them below the 10-year average of 4.4% and the lowest since 2002, when holiday sales rose 1.3%.
However, Kevin Montecalvo, owner of Proforma ImPrint Management (asi/490474) and a 32-year veteran of the ad specialty industry, hasn’t yet seen effects from a shaky economy. “So far, we’re up from last year,” he says. “I think this is my fourth recession. I’ve learned from the past that I just have to make more calls. We have more salespeople than in previous years and that actually plays as an advantage. Some of our competitors are looking to cut their budgets, so we’re getting more meetings and more calls, and generating more sales.”
However, Montecalvo has noticed his clients are requesting more value-priced items. “It depends on who the customer is, of course,” he says. “Some buyers have no problem purchasing what they’ve been traditionally buying and others want to downgrade to a not-as-popular brand or a value item to get more value out of money spent.”
What Montecalvo and his staff are doing is showing their clients good, better and best garments. “There are a lot of different shirts that may be similar to the more expensive brand, but they just don’t have the Nike logo,” he says.
In Houston, Mike Tracy, owner of Proforma Brand Performance (asi/300094), has continued to sell high numbers of name-brand golf shirts. “You’d think people would want to get more bang for their buck, but that’s not the case so far for us,” he says. “People seem to want better quality, not necessarily a product that will save them money.”
Montecalvo and Tracy both say that performance wear, especially moisture-management and easy-care qualities, such as stain and wrinkle resistance, are strong sellers. “Fifteen to 20% of all the apparel we sell is performance wear,” Montecalvo says.
Chandraraj also points to eco-friendly apparel that has a sustainable supply-chain story as being items that may be more in demand, even as companies cut their budgets elsewhere. Overall, Chandraraj says 2009 will be an interesting year, as banks reset their balance sheets. “We’ll see terms change,” he says. “2008 hasn’t been a year of growth in terms of wearables, so we’ll see how things shake out next year.”
In this market, it’ll take some skill for distributors to sell more apparel in 2009, but we’ve identified five product trends – as well as some selling tips – to help you grow your wearables business this year.
Click here to view the hottest trends.