DALLAS — Moderate and better sportswear firms are pushing expansion in 2005 through aggressive advertising and marketing campaigns, in-store programs to strengthen bonds with stores, and a higher fashion quotient to entice shoppers.
As a result, sales gains averaging 10 to 20 percent are planned by many makers in the year ahead. This comes amid continued consolidation in the sector, as large firms such as Liz Claiborne and Jones Apparel Group stay on the acquisition trail.
Kellwood Co., which has been picking up brands through acquisitions and licensing deals, is pumping up advertising with major campaigns tied to in-store visuals and catalogues for moderate brands like Sag Harbor, Izod and O Oscar, and better brands Calvin Klein and Liz Claiborne suits and dresses, said Steve Ruzow, executive vice president of Kellwood and president of the firm’s women’s division.
“We are extremely pleased with our new initiatives in the new moderate and better lines and with our XOXO juniors’ business,” Ruzow said. “It’s difficult to grow businesses these days. The common thread you’ll see running through Kellwood is a very big emphasis on advertising, including the first-ever Sag Harbor campaign that breaks in March with the tag line ‘Sag Harbor: The Clothes I Wear.’ We really want to continue to create demand for the product.
“We’ve modernized the Sag Harbor collection a lot. We’re attracting a younger customer and are very pleased with the direction. Overall, we’re planning sales gains in the low-single digits for our more mature brands and low-double-digit gains for some of our newer initiatives.”
Buoyed by the new businesses, Kellwood’s sales advanced 11.3 percent to $716.8 million in the third quarter ended Oct. 30. Sales of women’s sportswear rose 4.4 percent to $413.5 million. For the nine months, Kellwood’s earnings jumped 10.1 percent to $63.6 million. Sales advanced 7.6 percent to $1.96 billion.
Oleg Cassini Sport, a division of Rousso Apparel Group in New York, is set to launch a national advertising program this spring, said president Natalie Rousso.
“We plan to reach out to our existing customer base and those who relate to the younger attitude in casual sport,” Rousso said. “We are also executing a range of promotional programs that enhance our message to consumers and support retail sales.”
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Oleg Cassini Sport ads are to appear this year in fashion and lifestyle magazines such as In Style, Glamour, Vanity Fair, Harper’s Bazaar and Shape, along with an outdoor ad campaign promoting the brand.
“We have ramped up our marketing plans to stimulate buzz in the sport category and expand this label into a new demographic of consumers,” said Amy Taub Kahn, vice president of sales and marketing. Oleg Cassini Sport is projecting gains of 20 percent this year. The company had sales of $75 million in 2004.
“We have learned that it’s better for the stores to have smaller collections and more of them,” Kahn said. “Every month we will be offering three to four capsules in different fabrics.”
Joseph Ribkoff, the Montreal-based better sportswear and dress brand, is continuing to roll out in-store departments within specialty stores, said Amy Belluck, a sales executive in the brand’s Los Angeles showroom.
“The in-store departments are proving to be beneficial and so we’re going more narrow with our distribution, but deeper with the line in the stores we do business with,” said Belluck, noting that the line typically has at least 450 pieces presented in more than 30 groups. “The in-store shops are improving sales and increasing multiple-item purchases. Overall, we’re planning on gains of 20 percent this year.”
Soho Compagnie, based in New York, plans to expand its presence in stores and grow its plus-size business, said Craig Hodges, sales representative.
“The plus-size market has never been more important and these women don’t want to look dowdy or matronly,” Hodges said. “They want fashion and you can’t treat this segment as an afterthought. So we’re offering more plus-size silhouettes starting in January.
“Plus sizes now account for at least 30 percent of our annual sales and we’ll take that percentage higher in 2005. Company volume in 2004 was between $30 million and $40 million and we’re planning on gains of at least 10 to 15 percent in 2005.”
InGauge Design Group, based in New York, is showing a broader spectrum of colors and more novelty detailing within its four divisions that include La Vie Boheme and Modern Curves sportswear, career-focused MTWT 9-5 and Prima Bella knitwear, said Uri Israel, owner, who projected sales gains of at least 30 percent for 2005.
Veronica Chong, designer at InGauge, said “customers are responding to fashion colors such as pink, turquoise and coral, novelty retro detailing and prints and longer hemlines for fall.”
Indira, a sportswear brand based in Anaheim, Calif., believes that keeping wholesale prices below $60 per item and playing up bohemian and feminine styling will translate to sales gains of at least 10 percent this year, said Indira Batra, owner.
“There’s lots of newness at Indira for 2005, including hand-detailed tunics in fashion colors with lots of embellishment,” Batra said. “The bohemian trend just keeps getting stronger, and we’re always looking for ways to offer unique takes on leading trends to give stores, and ultimately shoppers, a reason to buy the brand.”