ATLANTA — Retailers shopping AmericasMart here liked fall’s more sophisticated direction but were preoccupied with lingering cool weather that has kept spring business from taking off.
Stores were buying cautiously and close to season at the show, which ended its five-day run March 27 at AmericasMart. The schedule was several weeks earlier than usual, which exhibitors said affected attendance and buying patterns.
Lawton Hall, senior vice president, said total attendance was up slightly over last year but did not provide specifics. Premiere, the juried temporary show, increased to 125 exhibitors from 72, and 21 new permanent showrooms have opened since October.
The show date was set to avoid conflict with the Easter holiday in April, Hall said, adding that next year’s event would revert to the second or third week of April. Many retailers said weather, which was still chilly throughout most of the Southeast, stalled spring sales.
Trends took a more sophisticated turn for fall, pleasing buyers, after the glitz of recent seasons. Retailers ordered more tailored silhouettes and darker, richer colors for fall. Metallic and textured fabrics replaced spring’s heavy embellishment.
Several of the bigger showroom operators, such as Linda Ambrosia, principle of Ambrosia & Co., reported solid business. Ambrosia said sales increased at least 30 percent against last year, with the addition of several new lines. One line, Nicky Hilton Worldwide, doubled sales compared with the last market, helped by a personal appearance and fashion show from Hilton.
But some exhibitors said traffic was disappointing. Dan Strauss, owner of Dan Strauss Apparel Group, which carries contemporary lines, estimated his attendance and sales would be down 30 percent compared with last year. He said economic factors, including hurricanes, gas prices and the Iraq war, have taken a toll on Southeast retailers, especially in Florida.
“Florida buyers are still recovering from hurricanes or they need to be in stores because it’s the tourist season,” Strauss said, adding that he did pick up new accounts from California, Michigan and New Hampshire.
David Ethridge, owner of D. Ethridge, a Dothan, Ala.-based specialty store, shopped for early fall goods “to update every category, redefine and educate my existing customer base and bring in new customers,” he said.
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Ethridge liked military influences in jackets and brown as a base color paired with brights. Ethridge bought a range of goods, from denim to social occasion. For the key category of mother-of-the-bride, Ethridge ordered high-end dresses and separates from Teri Jon and Chetta B. Items from novelty jackets to gauchos were important from Canvas Backs, Penta and Garfield & Marks. In accessories, he picked up belts from B’Dazzled and LeatherRock.
After a successful 2005, spring business has been “as unpredictable as the weather,” he said, adding. “In the summer, our biggest competitor is Wal-Mart because people buy disposable clothes to take to the beach.”
Bradley Forster, owner of Bradley, which opened in Mobile, Ala., in the middle of the hurricane season last August, came to the mart with an increased budget because of sales that are 12 percent ahead of plan.
“There was total devastation on the Gulf Coast of Alabama and Mississippi that you don’t hear about on the news,” Forster said. “We closed out of respect, but people came in soon after ready to buy.”
Shopping for “the customer that everyone forgets, the over-35-year-old woman who doesn’t want to dress like her mother or her daughter,” Forster bought extensively from Lafayette 148, bottoms from Fabrizio Gianni, sweaters from Belford and belts by Suzi Roher.
She ordered technical fabrics and tropical wools from Kasada, woven shirts by Lili Lalande, and natural wooden and tortoise jewelry from various resources. She liked the return to more tailored looks and bought herringbone coats with feminine ruffles, by Credibility, and other coats and jackets.
“Designers have been lazy lately, putting more emphasis on garbage thrown on a garment than on tailoring and shape,” Forster said. “I’m thrilled that it’s going back toward soft tailoring.”
Another buyer applauding a more tailored direction, Seth Adams, owner of three Alabama stores — Village Sportswear and Marella in Birmingham, and The Carriage House in Decatur — placed orders for fall suitings that could be broken up and worn as separates.
“I got so tired of hearing ‘this goes back to denim,'” Adams said. “I like the return to ensemble dressing.”
He bought tweed suitings in a range of color from Lafayette 148 and Gina Mantelli. With a budget flat with last year, Adams finished fall buys and placed immediate spring orders for novelty looks from Magaschoni Beige and Yansi Fugel. He bought novelty jackets by Baxis & Baxis and shirts that can be worn as jackets, with contrasting turn-back cuffs from Robert Graham, as well as relaxed pants from & Trousers and drawstring linens from In the Wash.
“Manufacturers are delivering product and responding to the needs of the South, and they didn’t before,” he said, referring to the abundance of lightweight wools and cottons for fall.