As the consumer appetite for laid-back fashions grows increasingly global, casual vendors are seizing the opportunity to expand into new wholesale and retail markets here and abroad.
“Between tracksuits, jeans and stretch pants, we have seen casual reach new heights,” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at The NPD Group in Port Washington, N.Y. “Comfort is in. And that will start to be something consumers will be looking for even beyond their weekend wardrobe in 2006.”
To prepare for the demand, casualwear companies are revving up their businesses with proactive strategies that include domestic and international wholesale and retail expansion, launching new lines, shifting assortments and appealing to a broader range of consumers.
“We spend a lot of time on fashion trend research and development in Europe, and attending foreign trade shows to build sales and gain new avenues of business,” said Victor Rousso, chief executive officer at Oleg Cassini Weekend and Oleg Cassini Sport, both New York-based casual lifestyle brands that each include at least 200 styles for spring.
Wholesale prices for Oleg Cassini Sport are $10 for a T-shirt to $35 for a jacket, while at Oleg Cassini Weekend, wholesale prices range from $10 for a T-shirt to $21 for a jacket. Sales are projected to increase at least 10 percent for each label in 2006.
Meanwhile, Hanky Panky, a New York-based innerwear and casual sportswear company, is planning on sales gains of 40 percent in 2006, thanks in part to an international outreach that now includes accounts in Sweden, said Brenda Berger, national sales manager. “We’ve increased production tremendously just to keep up with the increasing foreign requests for the product,” Berger said. Wholesale prices for spring range from $8 for a thong to $65 for a zip-up velvet jacket.
Searching out new markets is also on executives’ minds at Mary Phillips Design, a novelty tank top, T-shirt, pajama and soft home furnishings company based in Raleigh, N.C. “One of our main expansion strategies is doing more trade shows and finding more distributors for our line both in the U.S. and abroad,” said Laura Howe, sales and marketing manager. “We’ve had excellent success with adding showrooms and traveling road reps in all the major markets across the U.S.”
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In addition, the company is expanding globally. With a diverse range of products that vary by category and season, Mary Phillips Design currently sells in Taiwan, Singapore, Bermuda, Puerto Rico and Canada, among other countries, and Howe said a distributorship in the U.K. is in the works.
Sales at Mary Phillips Design are expected to grow 15 percent in 2006.
Expansion doesn’t just mean entering new markets. Casual companies also are launching new lines and fine-tuning assortments to reflect both fashion trends and functionality.
Wind River, a casual sportswear line based in Laurel, Md., often looks to Asia for its spare and comfortable style inspiration. For spring, the company continues with subtle embellishment such as butterfly, floral or dragonfly beading, and is hoping to widen its appeal to more women, including those who want a bit more vibrance and opulence without going overboard on the bling, said Jeni Porter, design director at the 14-year-old company.
“We’re showing versatile new lifestyle groups that can go from car pool to work to dinner.” Styles include loose-knit bouclé sweaters with transparent or opalescent sequins; peasant and folkloric tunics and skirts in rich tones such as cognac, forest and garnet, and cropped pants with fringe or other embellishment. Wholesale prices are $25 for a sequined top to $42 for a beaded jacket.
At Hanky Panky, a new collection of innerwear-inspired fashion tops have launched for holiday 2005, including mesh bustiers offered in more than 30 colors. Other additions include boyshorts embellished with Swarovski crystals, and sportswear-inspired innerwear, including mesh or lace thongs in five styles and seven colors at wholesale prices mostly below $20 an item, said Berger.
“Sportswear influences are really carrying over into our lingerie line — and vice versa,” she said. “We’re mixing nautical-inspired stripes and other influences with lace and mesh.”
Designers also are growing their businesses by restyling lines to appeal to a wider range of consumers, especially younger women who crave style, comfort and practicality.
“The direction of [our] line will continue to be naturally casual with a direct focus on young women,” said Kenya Vinson, director of marketing and public relations for BNatural Collection in Detroit. For spring, BNatural Collection includes sport-inspired cotton T-shirts and drawstring boxers that bear the company’s signature honeybee image and the slogan “BNatural Honey.” Wholesale prices are $12 for a sleeveless T-shirt to $18 for a long-sleeved baseball shirt.
For fall 2006, the company plans to offer a more sophisticated vibe to its line in pieces styled to easily go from day casual to night. Sales for the 10-year-old company are expected to grow by at least 10 percent in 2006.
“We’re concentrating on brand recognition more with the expanded line. WWDMAGIC marks our national trade show debut and was a natural step in the process of growth,” said Vinson. “We are also developing a print campaign that will complement retail display in stores, as well as an updated electronic catalogue available to buyers on CD.”
Mary Phillips Design has become a darling of celebrities with its witty novelty T-shirts and is using this star power to boost sales among young women.
“Paris Hilton was photographed wearing our ‘Your Boyfriend Wants Me’ shirt and Teri Hatcher was seen in our ‘Don’t Be Jealous’ shirt. In January, we’re launching a whole new line of text tanks with similar slogans aimed at women of all ages, but especially going for the younger crowd that follows the celebrities,” said Howe, who wouldn’t reveal the new T-shirt slogans for competitive reasons.