Back to School? Summer Season for Shopping Is Early This Year

New York Times
By Stuart Elliott
Published: July 18, 2011

Many retailers and advertisers are moving up the start of their back-to-school campaigns, hoping to catch shoppers whenever they can.

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Back to School? Summer Season for Shopping Is Early This Year

Fashion Industry Sees Huge Profits In Catering To Bigger Brides

Hobbled by the economy, more and more wedding designers and retailers are finding it profitable to cater to large women, a market they once ignored

Bloomberg Businessweek
By Amy Odell

Crystal Parsons doesn’t try on clothes when she shops. She hasn’t worn a dress in 20 years. But one day this spring, she found herself in the unavoidable position of having to try on dresses because she needs a wedding gown. “I’ve had nightmares that I’m going to get stuck in a very expensive dress,” Parsons says in the fitting room at Kleinfeld bridal salon in New York. She’s filming an episode of TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress: Big Bliss, which documents plus-size women in the once-demoralizing hunt for the perfect wedding gown. “I tend to think negatively about myself,” she says. “My weight has always been my problem.”

While the average clothing size of women in the U.S. is 14, most high-end bridal designers have long refused to cater to clients beyond size 16. Yet with the economy pressuring the industry to find new revenue streams, a growing number of designers are now trying to fill a gaping hole in the country’s $2.1 billion wedding dress market. “These are underserved consumers who have money to spend,” says Catherine Moellering, executive vice-president of retail trend consultant Tobe. “There’s an immense opportunity here to develop brand loyalty because these are marginalized consumers.”

Kleinfeld, the wedding dress mecca, has already quadrupled its plus-size selection since first appearing on Big Bliss two seasons ago. Now, more than 10 percent of gowns sold at the boutique—where the average wedding dress runs about $4,500—are size 12 or larger. J. Crew, whose wedding dresses cost as much as $3,000, will unveil plus-size bridal gowns (up to size 20) in its fall 2011 collection. The phenomenon has even reached the rarefied realm of high fashion. Over the past year designer Reem Acra has doubled her made-to-order wedding dress business by going where few couturiers had before—size 16 and beyond. “Today I got an order of 18 [custom] wedding dresses,” Acra says. “They were all size 16.” Her made-to-order dresses begin at $30,000.

A key part of the big bride pioneers’ success is that they remain outliers. Randy Fenoli, the fashion director at Kleinfeld and a self-proclaimed champion of plus-size brides, routinely has difficulty trying to get designers to go full figure—in many instances for reasons pertaining to vanity. “Some designers are like, ‘I don’t think my dresses are going to look good on a size 30 girl.’ ” That refrain sounds familiar to Vogue’s European Editor-at-Large Hamish Bowles. “I certainly think there are designers who might not see that as their ideal,” he says.

Then there are practical concerns. Because larger women carry varying amounts of weight in different areas—the bust, the waist, the hips—it’s hard to standardize sizes above 14. Acra concedes that upping her dress sizes to 32 required “a lot of effort to figure out the styles and the fit.” But Acra, who hired a consultant to help with the process, maintains that designing a plus-size gown isn’t much different from creating an ordinary one. It’s a realization others have had, too. “I think a lot of designers pragmatically understand that this is a very significant market,” says Bowles. “And I think you’d be surprised at the level of high-end designers who cater to plus-size women, as they should.”

Elise Rosenblum, a bridal industry veteran whose résumé includes Saks (SKS), Kleinfeld, and Acra, agrees. “This isn’t about designers saying, ‘I don’t want to make a dress in a size 20,’ ” she says. “They’ll do anything. You just have to be willing to pay for it.” The retailer, however, “really has to make a commitment. Then [designers] have to literally do an entire collection”—which some view as a financial risk. When Rosenblum began managing New York’s Pronovias bridal boutique in 2009, she was greeted with resistance from her bosses. When she finally persuaded them to begin stocking plus-size samples, the store began “to see that we were starting to sell as many 18s as we were 12s.”

Rosenblum is thrilled Acra has begun doing the same. “Finally, finally, finally—that was my biggest cry when I was there. It was a horrible shopping experience, especially for a girl who was a size 16 or 18.” Yukia Walker—age 33, size 20—went through that horror when she was shopping for her dress four years ago. With a $3,000 budget, Walker couldn’t find an upscale gown in her size anywhere. “I was ready to fly to several locations,” she says. “I ended up with this gown that I couldn’t stand.”

The frustration eventually inspired Walker to open her own bridal salon dedicated to the healthy buxom set. Curvaceous Couture, which she opened in the basement of her Columbia (Md.) home in 2009, specializes in gowns ranging from size 12 to 32 and priced from $1,000 to $25,000. As word spread, Walker began seeing clients from New York, Virginia, South Carolina, and the Caribbean. “If people are so fed up that they’re willing to come to someone’s basement, it’s a testament to how difficult this industry is and how embarrassing this situation is,” Walker says. Curvaceous Couture has since upgraded to a 5,000-square-foot showroom that serves 15 to 20 brides-to-be on a typical day, with a 92 percent sale rate on first-time visits. Walker is scouting for a second location.

The skinny establishment is trying to adjust. Madison Avenue bridal salon Amsale, subject of the WE reality series Amsale Girls, a rival to Say Yes to the Dress, says it makes gowns for women of any size. But of the 100-plus samples in the store, none are plus size. Instead, “if the girl doesn’t fit the sample, we have different devices to hold together a dress that doesn’t zip all the way up,” says Amsale Chief Executive Neil Harris. He and the label’s designer, Amsale Aberra, maintain that these “devices” do not threaten sales to plus-size clients. “I’m not aware of plus-size brides finding it particularly difficult here,” Aberra says.

Amsale, however, isn’t the only outfit that gets a bit touchy when it’s newest customers are mentioned. Upscale wedding boutique Priscilla of Boston, which carries dresses up to size 20, “respectfully declined” to comment. Repeated calls to fashion house Badgley Mischka went unanswered. J. Crew would not speak on the record, and Vera Wang, the wedding empress who makes plus-size gowns for David’s Bridal but not her main line, was mum. Still, the main selling point for brides, no matter their size, hasn’t changed. Rosenblum, who sees brides from all over the world, says each has the same demand every time: “Make me look thin!”

Retailers Develop BTS Strategies To Help Offset Rising Costs

Stakes are high in struggle to woo consumers accustomed to a more promotional environment.

Dow Jones Newswires
By Karen Talley

Retailers are walking a tightrope this month as the back-to-school selling season gets under way, trying to balance higher merchandise costs against consumers who are used to promotions and uncertain because of the rocky economy.

Retailers and apparel makers are looking to raise prices 10% to 15% for products including jeans, t-shirts, sheets and towels because of the surge in cotton and other raw material prices. However, many will try to spread the pain across the entire chain, with suppliers, retailers and customers taking a hit.

Back-to-school shopping, which traditionally runs July through Labor Day, is usually the second-biggest buying season of the year. Last year, consumers spent $55.1 billion on everything from pens and backpacks to pants and sweaters, the National Retail Federation said. They spent $462 billion during the Christmas holidays in 2010.

"The stakes are very high," said Adrienne Tennant, retail analyst at Janney Capital Markets. "Retailers must pass along cost increases to a consumer that is very used to a promotional environment."

The back-to-school season will have an effect on third-quarter earnings and margins, as well as help set the tone for the key end-of-the-year holiday shopping period.

Patti Johnson of Elmhurst, N.Y., is just beginning her back-to-school shopping. As a mother of two girls, one in elementary school and another in junior high, she has a lot to buy, and she's nervous.

"I only have so much to spend, and I hear things will cost more this year," she said.

That skittish mindset is what retailers will be dealing with this year. To cut merchandise costs, they are tinkering with their offerings. Consumers may see synthetic thread used on cotton products, thinner linings and more embellishments, like buttons, to cut down on cotton use.

"Parents are going to be shocked and disappointed by the price of goods," said Kit Yarrow, professor of psychology and business at Golden Gate University. " They're going to make sure their kids are outfitted, but won't go beyond their budgets like they have in the past."

The cost of cotton began rising last summer at the same time retailers had to place their back-to-school merchandise orders. Given long lead times, the higher-priced product is now hitting shelves, just in time for the heavy back- to-school buying season.

The ability to pass higher costs to consumers "is uncertain and will largely depend on the strength of the product or retailer and the way the merchandise can stand out," said David Galper, head of specialty retail and apparel investment banking at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Retailers are bringing out their back-to-school apparel, in varying degrees, and largely at full and, in a number of cases, higher prices than a year ago. A Gap Inc. store on Sixth Avenue in New York City is displaying children's jackets and hoodies. An Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Hollister store in Massapequa, N.Y., had completed converting its male section to back-to-school and fall wear and was preparing for women's wear. Sleeves are getting longer in displays at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Target Corp. is preparing to roll out apparel, an employee said, and is full of school supplies. "They start putting it out fairly early," she said. Macy's Inc. is on the cusp of putting out its back-to-school merchandise, a customer service representative said.

Retailers have been running tests to get a sense of how customers will take to new pricing. Macy's Chief Financial Officer Karen Hoguet said early indications suggest consumers are willing to absorb some higher prices, although moderately-priced home merchandise appeared to have seen some resistance. Target merchandising chief Kathryn Tesija said increases on some products the retailer took in the spring will be extended to apparel and home goods and cover a greater amount of the products.

Dana Ferro, of Seaford, N.Y., who was shopping in a Target near her home, said she is "very price sensitive," but welcomes early rollouts of merchandise. "It lets me get my shopping done faster, and I can spend the rest of the summer with my children," she said.

Hearings For Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act Set

by Kristi Ellis
From WWD Issue 07/15/2011

A contingent of Seventh Avenue designers and apparel executives is heading to Capitol Hill today to try to advance legislation that would afford them some protection from knockoffs for the first time in history.

Lazaro Hernandez, designer and a partner of Proenza Schouler, will carry the flag for fashion designers and the Council of Fashion Designers of America, as he testifies in support of a bill known as the Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act, which would extend copyright protection to “unique and original” designs for a period of three years.

Kurt Courtney, manager of government relations for the American Apparel & Footwear Association, will testify on behalf of apparel brands, in support of the bill introduced late Wednesday by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R., Va.), chair of the House Judiciary subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet, which is holding today’s hearing. The witness list also includes Jeannie Suk, a Harvard Law School professor, and Christopher Sprigman, a University of Virginia School of Law professor who opposes the legislation.

The legislation represents a compromise between the AAFA and CFDA in conjunction with Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.), who co-sponsored and led the introduction of the bill last year. The bipartisan measure stalled after it was passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee at that time. In a new session of Congress, the legislation will have to be introduced and passed by the House and Senate, and be signed by the President to become law.

If enacted, the bill would cover only “deliberate copies that are substantially identical to the protected designs.” All designs created in the public domain prior to enactment of the bill would be exempt and protection extends automatically to designs without registration. A “heightened pleading standard” requires a plaintiff in a lawsuit to prove the design is “protectable, substantially identical” and that the defendant had access to, or was aware of, the “protected design.”

Steven Kolb, executive director of the CFDA, said he will be at the hearing today, accompanied by two other Proenza Schouler executives, Jack McCollough, designer and partner, and Shirley Cook, the company’s chief executive officer and partner.

“I think this legislation is as important now as it was when we started [about five years ago] and maybe even more so,” Kolb said. “Because we see the vulnerability of designers, particularly young designers and small business owners and the consequences of their ideas, intellectual property and creativity being taken from them and how it impacts their ability to manufacture their collections and grow their businesses.”

Kevin Burke, president and ceo of the AAFA, said the “heightened pleading requirement” in the legislation allowed the organization to support the bill.

“This provides additional protection to our members from what they all fear most and that is frivolous lawsuits,” said Burke.

Kolb said designers continue to lose tens of thousands of dollars to knock-off artists who profit from their creations because the U.S. does not protect fashion designs under intellectual property laws. Copyright protection does not cover apparel because articles of clothing are currently considered “useful articles” as opposed to works of art. Design patents, which protect ornamental designs, and trademarks, which protect brand names and logos, do not cover apparel design.

Pumpkin Pie: Provocative or Just Tasty?

New York Times
By Stephanie Rosenbloom
Published: July 13, 2011

Eau Flirt is but one player in a longstanding category of fragrances marketed specifically as romantic attractants. Some are all natural; others say they contain pheromones. All of them claim to make the wearer irresistible.

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Pumpkin Pie: Provocative or Just Tasty?

Dolce & Gabbana Launches Retail Internet Site

Stylecaster
By Adam Vossen

Your online shopping is no longer limited to J.Crew or checking the Barney's markdowns while at work. Dolce & Gabbana launched its e-commerce site today, making its collection directly available to shoppers everywhere, which will cut down on some of the distribution costs that go along with buying from places like Saks or Neiman Marcus.

The Dolce & Gabbana launch accompanies its beefed up website as the brand hopes to make more of an imprint in the online space. The label seems to be on the same wavelength as Balenciaga, who will also launch an e-commerce site to sell its complete collection, slated to go live later this week.

Although brands of this caliber shied away from an online presence for so long to preserve the exclusivity inherent in luxury goods, Dolce & Gabbana and Balenciaga join other high-profile lines like Alexander Wang, The Row and Proenza Schouler who have recently embraced e-commerce.

Proenza Schouler's selection of online products includes a variety of leather goods (including the gotta-have-it PS1), but only a couple Ready-to-Wear pieces and jewels are available so far. Alexander Wang offers almost the entirety of his collection via his site, as does Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's The Row.

Perhaps designers are realizing that with sites like Moda Operandi and Gilt Groupe doing so well, there is plenty of money to be made via online sales without losing the glossy allure their brands hold. Now if only Miuccia Prada and Karl Lagerfeld would get on the bandwagon. Just imagine: the banana skirt or a 2.55 bag, just a click away.

Discounters Share Of Consumer RTW Spending Erodes

by Arnold J. Karr
From WWD Issue 07/13/2011

Mass merchants’ viselike grip on value appears to be slipping.

As U.S. consumers cautiously return to spending during the slow-motion economic recovery, the nation’s discounters collectively experienced a 7.5 percent decline in apparel sales during the 12 months ended in April and saw their share of the U.S. apparel market drop below 20 percent, to 19.3 percent from 21.2 percent in the prior year, according to figures released Tuesday by The NPD Group, the Port Washington, N.Y.-based research organization.

The drop in discounters’ apparel sales, to $37.34 billion from $40.36 billion in the earlier period, came as every other major retail channel — led by specialty stores and including department stores, national chains, off-price retailers and factory outlets — experienced an increase in the category and either a flat performance or growth in apparel market share.

Analysts and other observers agreed that the drop in the discounters’ performance stemmed principally from the weakness of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s apparel operations and those of Sears Holdings Corp.’s Sears and Kmart operations, what is deemed a temporary retreat by Target Corp. and softness in the fairly basic apparel assortments of dollar stores. And they noted that, as consumers gingerly reassert their power as purchasers, they’re seeking the assurance they get from buying branded apparel, whether through national brands, exclusive brands or high-visibility private labels.

Wal-Mart’s stumbles in apparel have been well documented. According to the firm’s annual report, apparel slid to 7 percent of sales in its U.S. discount stores last year, or about $18.22 billion, from 8 percent, or $20.79 billion, in fiscal 2009, a nearly $2.6 billion surrender of sales in the category.

“Apparel has been a trouble spot at Wal-Mart for years,” said Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, a research and consulting firm. “They say it’s a work in progress, possibly the longest work in progress since New York’s Second Avenue subway, but the last year or so, they’ve totally taken their eye off the ball. Anything beyond basics is being ceded to others.”

Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at NPD, described the drop-off among the mass merchants as “a big loss of momentum they gained during the heat of the recession. Even by promoting value, which in their words is ‘shop here, we have the lowest price,’ consumers have migrated away from this ‘lowest price’ to ‘better value.’”

Overall apparel sales gained 1.4 percent, to $193.2 billion from $190.61 billion, during the 12-month span, with specialty stores gaining ground, expanding volume to $62.85 billion from $59.86 billion, and extending their sector-leading market share to 32.5 percent from 31.4 percent.

Although down, mass merchants ranked second in volume, followed by department stores, up 2.6 percent to $25.96 billion in apparel sales with market share up to 13.4 percent from 13.3 percent, and national chains, which moved up 1.7 percent to $25.14 billion on an unchanged 13 percent share of market. Off-price retailers saw apparel sales rise 2.1 percent, to $18.42 billion, and their market share in the category tick up slightly to 9.5 percent.

Direct mail and e-tail pure plays saw their apparel sales drop 1.3 percent, to $10.4 billion, but online apparel sales overall grew 12 percent to $17.2 billion. Factory outlets’ apparel sales jumped 17.8 percent, to $3.98 billion, lifting their market share to 2.1 percent from 1.8 percent. Warehouse clubs also saw a significant pickup in apparel volume, growing 24.7 percent to $1.95 billion, with Wal-Mart’s Sam’s Club division being among the beneficiaries.

Citing the strong showing by factory outlets and warehouse clubs, Cohen noted, “Why did these channels achieve this kind of growth and factory outlets even beat out the online channel for sales growth? One word — value. Consumers are looking for brands they either already have, or that they trust. They want products that are tried and trusted and they don’t mind spending money on them.”

CGP’s Johnson said, “Apparel has always been a brand proposition and what is a brand other than a promise a company makes to a customer? You have a wide variety of players — Macy’s, Kohl’s, off-pricers and warehouse clubs, just to name a few — who are getting the job done with brands, whether others’ or their own. At Wal-Mart, the promise is a dollar sign, without the brand patina. Target tries to have a little of both and, from what we’ve seen since April, they’re getting a good response.”

Mark Montagna, senior analyst at Avondale Partners, also mentioned Kohl’s as a retailer who’d been building brand strength through exclusive partnership with designers such as Vera Wang and its upcoming tie-in with Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony.

“Brands do seem to be driving the process and making a bigger difference,” he said. “If you look at the stocks of companies with important apparel brands — Polo, PVH — they’re doing well. The off-pricers have constant freshness and brand names.”

Montagna views heightened brand awareness as a logical consequence of the current consumer mind-set. “The emphasis is still on survival,” he said. “People are holding on. It’s not like wages are going up or that unemployment has come down. We’re in a permanent shift towards value. If you offer fashion and you have the right fashion, you’re much less of a commodity player and that gives you some pricing power. People are looking for fashion and brands, but the price they’re willing to pay for that great fashion is a little lower than it was.”