The Blue show is finding its mark with designers and retailers alike.
The first edition of Blue took place in January in New York and featured a select group of 57 brands, the majority of which were manufacturers of premium denim. With the rapid growth of the denim market — and the premium denim category in particular — over the last several years, brands that exhibited at Blue said it was key to have a venue that presented buyers with the highest quality in the market.
“It sends a message to the buyers that this is the cream of the crop,” said Mik Serfontaine, owner of Serfontaine denim in Los Angeles. “The brands were represented in a way that a philosophy was imposed on the buyers that said, ‘This is where you should be.'”
Steve Opperman, founder of Iron Army Clothing, echoed this sentiment. “Being around people who are excited about your brand is better than worrying about whether your booth is in the right spot.”
According to The NPD Group, denim sales reached $15.26 billion for the 12 months through January. This represented a 9.3 percent improvement over the $13.97 billion in sales for the comparable 12-month period the previous year, and a 17.7 percent gain over the $12.97 billion reported through January 2004.
The premium segment represents just a sliver of the overall market; jeans priced under $40 account for $12.69 billion in sales, or 83.2 percent of the market, according to NPD.
Although market share naturally begins to shrink the higher up the price ladder one goes, NPD’s statistics show that these higher-priced segments are showing the greatest growth rates. Jeans priced between $40 and $59.99 generated $1.51 billion in sales for the 12 months through January, a 15.4 percent gain over the $1.31 billion reported in the same period a year ago. The $40 to $59.99 price accounted for 9.9 percent of the market, compared with 9.4 percent through January 2005 and 8.9 percent through January 2004.
The next level up, jeans priced between $60 and $79.99, generated sales of $717.3 million, a 43.8 percent gain over the $498.7 million in the previous year. Again, market share for the price segment showed significant improvement, coming in at 4.7 percent for 2006 compared with only 1.6 percent in 2004.
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For jeans priced at more than $80, sales came in at $335.4 million, representing a 27.7 percent gain from the $262.7 million in 2004. In terms of market share, the $80-and-over price segment represented only 2.2 percent of the market. However, this was an improvement from the 1.9 percent market share reported in 2005 and a huge improvement over the meager 0.8 percent market share reported in 2004.
It’s the rapid growth occurring in denim’s highest tiers that have would-be designers launching new lines on an almost daily basis. The barrier to entry is also lower than many other apparel ventures, at around $1 million, according to Mudd Jeans founder Dick Gilbert, making it even more attractive to newcomers. The result has been a flood of new premium denim brands — so many, in fact, that retail buyers at some of the industry’s larger trade shows are sometimes overwhelmed and confused by the wealth of choices.
“The buyers are confused,” said Shaun Hurley, president of sales for Genetic Denim, which exhibited at Blue. “I think you’re going to see a pretty funny thing: The buyers are sticking with the brands that they know and they’re not even looking at new brands. There’s just too many of them.”
Rick Crane, executive vice president of sales and merchandising for Seven For All Mankind, which also showed at Blue, said he’s seen a similar change in attitude from buyers.
“I think there was a point a year ago that people took everything that came up,” said Crane. “But now, I think there’s a weeding out of the brands. There’s an oversaturation.” Crane added that the new trend of straight- and skinny-leg silhouettes had served to reenergize the market, allowing brands to maintain momentum.
Crane also doesn’t see any signs that growth will wane anytime soon. “I do think that the customer, the middle-America customer, is waking up and seeing that it’s not just Wrangler, Levi’s and Lee anymore,” said Crane. “They’re realizing they can get a certain fit they weren’t able to before.”
Brands that took part in Blue found the show’s layout and setting in the Terminal Stores, a former train tunnel in west Chelsea built in the 1890s, to be one of the show’s best attributes.
“In other shows, there’s more pressure on buyers to move through a collection and get through as many as you can,” said Serfontaine. “I like the fact that Blue gave buyers a chance to take their time. They didn’t feel they had to get through three halls and only spend five minutes with each person.”
Serfontaine likened Blue to Europe’s Premium show, which he described as the antithesis of the massive Bread & Butter shows that take place in Berlin and Barcelona. “That’s why I was attracted to Blue. I actually had a chance to sit down and talk with my buyers.”
Genetic Denim’s Hurley also drew a similar comparison with Premium. “It was just easy,” said Hurley. “It wasn’t big booths, and buyers could really see the product.”
Iron Army Clothing’s Opperman said the layout created a casual atmosphere that made interacting with buyers a more pleasant experience. “The thing that drew us into it is that it was going to be set up more like an art show rather than your typical trade show,” said Opperman, who added that the company wrote as many orders as it had at other, larger shows. Donna Karan even visited the Iron Army booth, said Opperman.
Mike Sampson, the show’s coordinator, said that, although the first edition of the show focused on premium denim, the upcoming July show has expanded to include more premium brands in other segments.
“We’ve been able to find a lot more space within the tunnel without making it too crowded,” said Sampson, who estimates they managed to find approximately 30 percent more space. Preserving the show’s feel, however, remains a priority.
Each brand exhibiting in July will be developing an exclusive design for the show, as well, a feature that Sampson believes will further distinguish Blue from other shows. “The retailers have been giving the same response about going to shows and finding the same old things at every one,” said Sampson. “This will make us a little bit more exclusive.”