NEW YORK — The spring legwear market represents the minority share of the industry’s annual sales, but vendor offerings for 2006 are brimming with creativity as firms work to boost business.
Catrinel Popa, vice president of merchandising and design at Kayser-Roth, overseeing the Hue and No Nonsense brands, said declines in the sheer hosiery business have pushed everyone to closely examine the customer’s lifestyle.
“You try to understand what she wears, what she wants and what she is comfortable with,” said Popa. “And then you start creating and inventing, and designing with those parameters.”
Sales of hosiery, including socks, sheer hosiery and tights, fell 5.3 percent for the year ending Aug. 31, according to NPD Group, a research firm based in Port Washington, N.Y. The sheer hosiery category plummeted 15.6 percent to slightly more than $1 billion, while tights slipped 13.6 percent to just under $113 million. The sock segment was the bright light, with sales up 3.5 percent to $1.6 billion.
Challenges to the hosiery market have been coming from many directions. The fashion trend for bare-legged looks has been a major contributor. And once again, a warm September delayed the start of fall buying, several firms said.
Some retailers have been removing hosiery displays from main floors, limiting the opportunity for the impulse sale, which is a key driver of this category. Last month, Macy’s Herald Square flagship shifted hosiery up a half-flight to the perimeter balcony area, filling the old space with an expanded handbag department.
Retail prices for the category will be holding steady for spring. One reason is that higher gas prices are forcing consumers to spend more cautiously. In addition, an increase in low-price materials imported from China is causing everyone to keep prices down to stay competitive.
But intrepid manufacturers are optimistic that the fall/winter season will have a strong finish and are already looking ahead with a robust spring lineup they feel could bring an uptick in sales.
For the first and second quarters, legwear brands are featuring arrays of bright colors, as well as romantic sheer, lace and crocheted socks and anklets. There are also expanding selections of no-show products. Like lingerie, the no-show items are hidden from view, but are designed to provide comfort to the wearer.
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Leg Resource, which produces hosiery under several private label brands, as well as several licenses including Anne Klein and Via Spiga, is focusing on “a lot of crochet in loafer socks, anklets and toe covers,” said Wayne Lederman, president.
Its toe covers are being made a little higher on the foot next season so they can be glimpsed. There also are trouser socks, loafer socks and anklets in shimmery and shiny yarns, and collections in bright colors, particularly orange, green and blue.
“The colors are fairly bright, not pastel,” said Lederman.
Lederman also said there is an entire collection of peds in luxury yarns such as modal, spun rayon and microfiber, reflecting an industry trend to using materials with a soft feel.
Despite market challenges, there apparently is room for new players.
Michele Slade, vice president of sales and marketing at American Essentials, the producer of Michael by Michael Kors legwear, which made its debut in July, said sell-throughs of the new collection have been better than expected.
“Socks, trouser socks, tights and knee-highs are really happening for fall,” she said.
For the brand’s inaugural spring collection, Slade said it “is going after an updated Palm Beach look.”
The emphasis is on bright colors, including orange coral, lime green and soft pink. In addition to lots of color, there are Indian prints, zebra prints and gold trim carried over from Kors’ other accessory categories.
The brand is moving away from socks and knee-highs, replacing these looks with no-shows, such as liners for loafers.
American Essentials is also the longstanding license holder for Calvin Klein. The brand is featuring more color, but in softer tones, like creamy pinks and nude shades.
The brand is also unveiling sophisticated floral prints for the season.
“You need to make sure that your product is really intriguing and that there is a point of differentiation at point of sale,” said Slade.
Spring news from Sara Lee Hosiery includes the introduction of the Donna Karan Body Perfect Collection that comprises allover smoothing and shaping items in capri and mid-thigh silhouettes that retail at $30 to $34. The items offer a lightweight alternative to traditional shaping hosiery, according to Romaine Sargent, vice president, Sara Lee Hosiery.
Its Hanes brand is unveiling the Silk Reflections Transparent Sheer Collection in late January. Sargent said innovations in spandex ultra sheer yarns “allow this collection to fit like a second skin and [be] so light that it is virtually invisible.”
The line is available in thigh-high, sheer-to-waist and transparent control-top versions, and is retailing for $8.95 a pair.
Susan Spindell, sales manager for Hot Sox, said its sales for fall have been strong so far and have been helped by the August launch of the Hot Sox Comfort Line, a collection featuring cushioned soles, relaxed tops and very soft materials.
The company recently revamped its packaging, which now calls attention to individual product attributes, such as a seamless toe, and makes selection easier for consumers, noted Spindell.
At Fogal, where retail prices for products average around $32, business has been strengthening this fall. Total sales have exceeded plan for the past three months, said Donna Waxman Lane, the company’s U.S. agent.
For spring, Fogal is maintaining its focus on pantyhose, but always with a high-fashion positioning, with a new take on the fishnet.
“It is not just a basic net,” said Lane. “It is interwoven with a leaf pattern.”
Additionally, she said, the material contains Lycra spandex and “feels great on the body.”
Fogal is elevating the popular polka dot look to the next level with Pois, a pantyhose with a raised dot and delicate lines for a connect-the-dot look. For colors, it, too, is not shying away from brights. It expects its number-one spring shade to be a fuchsia.
For the Hue brand, there are styles that speak to “fashion and function,” and there are also some that are just “pure fun,” said Popa of Kayser-Roth.
In spring, Hue’s Fabulous Feet collection, introduced a few years ago to address women’s summer needs, will be freshened once again with new liners, toe toppers and tubes.
“We continuously look for new materials that are comfortable and absorbent,” said Popa.
New for the coming season is a collection called Super Sleek, comprising anklets that have the fine weight of pantyhose. Popa describes its new delicate sock as “very fashion-forward and European in feel.”
The socks, which retail for $6, are offered in graphic prints and bold colors. If they catch on, the brand will likely introduce a version for business wear.
Hue also continues to develop its flip-flop business launched last year and is adding footless tights for spring based on its early success with the category this fall.
“We see the footless tights worn with a floaty skirt and ballet shoes,” said Popa. “We used to do it many years back and we are seeing it become important again.”
It also is freshening up its basic jeans sock for spring with contrasting trim colors.
At No Nonsense, the business is undergoing a renaissance. It is becoming “more multifaceted,” said Popa. “It used to be just a sheer brand and we are changing that rapidly.”
The new No Nonsense has a stronger sock business and now includes a collection equivalent to Hue’s Fabulous Feet.
Reflecting the changes in the industry, Popa said, “We are being nimble and quick and alert. We are not sitting there idle.”