Swimwear companies are hoping that creative marketing approaches and higher-quality materials will yield better results at WWDMAGIC, following several seasons in which the recession took a bite out of sales.
A few of those business-boosting strategies are already in place. “We’ve given incentives for orders placed during a specific time frame,” said Natalie Wierzba, design director and sales manager for JY Rays Inc. Wierzba noted she has not changed her wholesale pricing — $11 to $23 — in light of the sluggish economy, but has expanded to a few more categories in order to lure a more diverse customer. “Our children’s [line] — toddler through youth in boys and girls, swim, boards, rash and cover-ups — has been terrific,” Wierzba said.
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Time-based incentives have proven effective elsewhere: offering on-time shipping has been key to maintaining good client relations at Apparel Ventures, according to AVI Design Group president Ron Russell.
Other companies are looking to alternative sources of advertising and marketing for a bump in sales. Marcella Garcia, brand manager for Winki Swim, said she has opened Facebook and Twitter accounts for the company, in part to publicize its wares as well as to “hear our customers’ opinions about our product. This is a very important tool to get to know our market.”
Garcia added the company is using New York-based artists to create prints for its swim pieces, a quality-driven tweak she hopes will lure a more edgy clientele. (She called the swimwear “pieces of art with excellent fit.”)
Winki Swim also recently opened a showroom in New York, which Garcia hopes will encourage more walk-in clients.
Rosie Kendall, the designer and owner of Unleashed Swimwear, which will make its debut at WWDMAGIC, says not scrimping on details has been key to her business approach.
“All of our swimwear goes through several fit sessions before it becomes fit-approved,” explained Kendall, whose designs are often embellished with Swarovski crystals. The line wholesales between $69 and $89.
Kendall is also optimistic about her company’s monokini, which she says offers a different silhouette and, as a new designer, sets her apart from the pack.
Taking a more drastic approach is Betty Bangs designer and owner Beth Gerharts, who has seen four boutiques that carry her line close in the last 18 months.
“My wholesale price points are $65 to $130, whereas two years ago they were $130 to $165,” Gerharts explained. “Undoubtably, the price drops have been a direct result of the recession.”
Gerharts said she’s been able to make the price change because her designs are straightforward, lacking embellishments, although she remains committed to trying other approaches to boosting sales as well: “I have done a good job at promoting my business in my local market of Miami by doing fashion shows and events and attending trade shows.”
And while most designers aren’t lowering prices to accommodate a less lucrative retail climate, they are trying to put more effort into underscoring what makes their company unique to buyers.
At Apparel Ventures, for instance, Russell says the company is focusing on its tie-dyed pieces, which have done well thus far at retail and which will be reproduced for 2011.
Winki Swim’s Garcia noted the company has added a “scrunch bottom,” lending a retro vibe to the lineup, while Wierzba of JY Rays said her firm is also using original artwork in its designs — all individual approaches to a market that requires quality and name recognition to stand out. After all, traditionally, “Swimwear has been a bright spot on the retail landscape,” observed Russell. “In general, we have found our buyers to be optimistic about this year’s swimwear business.”