NEW YORK — Following several years of strong growth, the jeans business hit a speed bump in 2004: Low-rise jeans appeared to have made their way into the closets of most American shoppers, and designers struggled to find a hot look that would prompt a similar shopping frenzy.
In the face of tepid demand, jeans executives are focusing on niche marketing to attract new customers, while they continue to develop new washes and finishes they hope will prompt their existing consumers to replenish their wardrobes. Here are some of the ups and downs they experienced this year, and what they hope to achieve in 2005.
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Gordon Harton, president, Lee Co.
Accomplishment: “What we feel the best about is our ability to attract a younger, more updated consumer to the brand this past year. We also introduced a new jeans line called the ‘Ultimate Five,’ which was targeted to a little bit older consumer, a 30-some-year-old, and it’s been successful. And also what we’ve seen is our more traditional product is doing well with younger shoppers.”
Disappointment: “Just the total softness in retail on the apparel side in the moderate tier, which is where we drive a lot of our volume. There just hasn’t been a major item to really stimulate the apparel business this year.”
Goals: “As we go into 2005, again we’re going to make sure we’re going to update fabric and finish updating the fits to appeal to the female consumer.”
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Dick Gilbert, chief executive officer, Mudd USA
Accomplishment: “Our biggest accomplishment has been that we sold the business. We’ve completely changed our design team. Pam Prahl is now the chief operating officer. She has taken over the day-to-day reins of the company. She has completely revamped the production and design teams, there’s a whole new culture here. Because of Pam’s experience at large corporations, it’s no longer run like a little family grocery store. It’s run very professionally.”
Disappointment: “There’s been a lot of feelings that have been hurt. The transition was much more difficult than I thought. I thought it would be very easy, but with Pam bringing in a lot of people, and having to let people go, a lot of new people came in who weren’t used to what we were doing. It was not a snap-finger deal.”
Goals: “The goal is to maintain our position…It’s a tough goal. It’s easy to get to the top — I used to hear that cliche from athletes — it’s hard to stay there. It’s very true. Everybody wants my spot.”
Jack Gross, ceo, Gloria Vanderbilt
Accomplishment: “The retailers seem to be reducing the resource structures and, in doing so, the big players such as ourselves are getting the benefit. The delineation of brands in each distribution channel is getting important. There seems to be a very strong line in the sand forming.”
Disappointment: “One thing we don’t want to lose sight of is we can’t be everything to all people.”
Goals: “Continue to gain market share by keeping our existing consumer base, but adding new consumers.”
Peter Rizzo, chairman and ceo, I.C. Isaacs & Co.
Accomplishment: “The company lost $45 million in the last seven years. For the first three quarters of this year we were profitable. That, combined with the fact that we’re going to have the whole company on an optimum calendar, where we deliver new merchandise in the first five days of every month, is our biggest accomplishment.”
Disappointment: “My tennis elbow means I can’t swing a golf club.”
Goals: “Continue profitability, obviously, and improve sourcing.”
David Frankel, president of the U.S. operations, Mavi
Accomplishment: “We grew the business in the face of strong competition. With so many denim companies out there, I’m very proud of that. We also built a bigger, stronger team and our product is much better now than it’s ever been.”
Disappointment: “That we weren’t able to accomplish everything we did faster. I would have liked to have grown more and put our team in place sooner. We were slow in the first half, but made up for it in the second half.”
Goals: “Continued growth in all categories. I want our tops business to keep growing in order to develop more of a collection and I’d like to increase our penetration in independent specialty stores in the U.S.”
Seun Lim, designer, James Jeans
Accomplishment: “Making and shipping 500,000 units.”
Disappointment: “Making and shipping 500,000 units.”
Goals: “Making and shipping 500,000 units of our new premium line — this time with everything we’ve learned.”
Chris Gilbert, president, Paper Denim & Cloth
Accomplishment: “I’m particularly proud of two things: The continued success of Paper Denim is, of course, my priority, however there’s nothing more satisfying then launching a new line. Along with my sister, Alex, a co-founder of Paper, we launched her signature line, Alex Gaines. It’s a good feeling to see a lot of work and effort pay off.”
Disappointment: “Not seeing the comeback of acid wash — just kidding. Every year, mistakes are inevitable. You always want to take a couple of decisions back, but that’s the nature of any business. My biggest disappointment is easy: [The Yankees] losing four in a row to the Red Sox and the end of the curse.”
Goals: “I want to produce the most innovative and quality line in the market. Success is a derivative of superior product. With increased competition, that’s become more challenging. Thus, we’re going to push the limits more than ever to design a product that maintains the sophisticated look of Paper Denim, and surprises and excites our customers.
“New categories are also a big focus. Bringing the aesthetic of Paper to an entire sportswear line is a major goal in the new year. From winter coats to handbags, we’ll be offering our best and most complete line to date.”