As more and more retailers come to WWDMAGIC looking for immediates, vendors are learning that timing is everything.
When packing samples for WWDMAGIC’s fall run this week, vendors would have been wise to fill suitcases with clothes for both sunny and cold climes.
These days at the women’s trade show, retailers are still clamoring for spring and summer goods even while they’re scouting for product to carry them into fall. Witnessing the roller-coaster ride of changing fashions and trends has left retailers feeling shaky about committing a lot of dollars to a season more than six months away.
“We used to leave 10 to 20 percent to open-to-buy and now we’re leaving 30 to 40 percent for chasing trends,” said Marty Bebout, co-owner of Blue Bee, a group of contemporary stores in Santa Barbara, Calif., who will be on the hunt at WWDMAGIC for new denim lines and silhouettes.
As customers become more aware of fast-changing fashion trends, manufacturers and retailers alike are forced to think about multiple seasons and real-time fashion. Consumers have transformed into savvy, 24/7 buying machines, thanks to unfettered access to global designer styles, celebrity sartorial whims and detailed shopping guides. As a result, communication between designers and buyers has shifted from seasonal conversations to an ongoing dialogue, often involving tweaks and changes to orders, such as buyers issuing midweek decisions to increase purchases of skinny-cut jeans while shrinking flare-cut stockkeeping units.
“Speed to market is a challenge for everyone as we move in the direction of buying closer to season,” said Kathy Bradley-Riley, senior vice president of merchandising for the Doneger Group, a New York buying and consulting firm. “You should be doing business on a daily, weekly basis with your suppliers. Gone are the days when somebody shows a season, then you don’t see them till the next season.”
That’s why vendors at WWDMAGIC spanning a range of categories, such as junior, contemporary and misses’, plan to bring dual-seasonal clothing to the show or, at the very least, will be open to negotiating reorders and immediates.
Spring-summer goods will account for 20 percent of the samples junior line B.B. Dakota brings to WWDMAGIC. The company expects brisk business at the show, due to a resilient January for many of its retailers. Most of the items on display will be graphics-driven novelty T-shirts, tanks and pullovers that require a four- to six-week production turnaround, since the company sources from China, Guatemala and Honduras.
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“We get lots of reorders at WWDMAGIC, especially from the smaller specialty stores,” said Greg Garrett, brand manager for the Newport Beach, Calif., company, which counts Nordstrom, Up Against the Wall and Dillard’s among its 1,500 clients. “If retail is good, they’re looking for immediates.”
For manufacturers who don’t employ international sales representatives, untapped overseas sales present another avenue to prolong the spring selling season beyond the home front. Scaled-back travels in the post-9/11 world have limited buying opportunities to a handful of select markets and trade shows.
“We’re waiting for WWDMAGIC to see accounts from Japan, England and Saudi Arabia who will want [March 30] deliveries,” said Lloyd Singer, president of sales for A.B.S. by Allen Schwartz designer sportswear and Allen B. by Allen Schwartz premium denim. “Many of these people don’t go to Fashion Coterie, so this is our one chance to see them.”
Vendors who rely on domestic production have an edge in capitalizing on quick orders and look to WWDMAGIC to promote their advantage.
“We recently had someone call us looking for 20,000 charmeuse tops, and we were able to turn it around for a March delivery in weeks, so retailers know we can be a lifesaver when they need it,” said Moshe Tsabag, chief executive officer of junior resource Hot Kiss, which sells to Macy’s West, Charlotte Russe and Windsor Fashions.
Summer collections account for 70 percent of business conducted by Hot Kiss at WWDMAGIC’s February event, said Tsabag, who expects no less this year due to a market for sundresses, halters and tubes that is “on fire.”
Other vendors take a stand against the multiseasonal divide.
Atlanta-based Project E, known for its contemporary distressed T-shirts, won’t even bring fall samples to the show. Its resolute focus remains on at-once knit tops, zip hoodies, activewear and accessories ready for deliveries through June.
“[Buyers] aren’t ready to commit in February for July and August deliveries,” said Michael Hecht, president of Project E. “It’s better for us to work closer to season and stay with the trends. Otherwise, what I deliver is passé.”
But a number of manufacturers focusing on misses’ fits, such as Montreal-based Tribal Sportswear, Tori Richard from Honolulu, and Los Angeles-based Karen Kane, won’t be bringing spring wares because of longer sourcing cycles or because of the breadth of their fall collections. Instead, some plan to direct retailers to customer service phone numbers for updated information on spring and summer stock availability.
Tribal Sportswear already gives its clients a heads-up on current inventory resulting from factory overruns or credit shakedowns by mailing out notices to 2,400 specialty stores.
“[Immediates are] not something logistically smart for us to work on at WWDMAGIC,” said Pat Brown, sales manager for Tribal Sportswear, which wholesales from $20 for corduroy pants to $99.50 for a leather jacket.
“We only open two seasons per year, so we have a tremendous line to work through that requires two-hour appointments.”
Manufacturers also said they’re creating a sense of urgency by not promoting current stock. They’re betting retailers, who often postpone whipping out their pencils at WWDMAGIC, may commit earlier to orders.
“Our retail success generates more enthusiasm for buying the line going forward,” said Charles Guggenheimer, head of sales for Tori Richard, a company specializing in resortwear crafted from proprietary prints.
It’s a gamble that may or may not pay off for vendors who risk alienating retailers looking for fast customer service. But in their favor, retailers say they’re willing to wait for something good.
“If you see something you like, you’ll make a point of getting it, no matter what,” said Wendy Red, fashion director for Up Against the Wall, a Washington, D.C.-based chain of 25 urban contemporary stores carrying lines such as 1921, True Religion and Y3 Adidas.