Summary
NEW YORK — There was a little of everything in the lingerie mix during this month’s market week, including a snippet of spring 2007, a recap of Valentine’s Day programs and immediate items for fall and holiday selling.
Vendors were trying to provide everything for everybody, especially retailers who attended the January and February markets, but have procrastinated until the 11th hour to complete their buys.
The traditional turning point — when buyers mainly from smaller, specialty operations complete orders — comes after the results of Mother’s Day business, one of the busiest gift-giving seasons of the year for lingerie, sleepwear and robes.
The time frame gives retailers a window where they can assess which trends are selling.
Chuck Nesbit, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Chico’s FAS Inc., said the company will pursue full-figure bras for its successful chain of Soma lingerie stores.
"We are looking at the whole end of the market right now," Nesbit said.
"Lunaire had some very interesting full-figure bras, and I was quite pleased with the fashion side of the Lunaire line.
We’ve just added DDDs, because the demand has been phenomenal, and Cupid is doing some nice things in shapewear.
They are working on the lighter end of shapers."
Meanwhile, this year’s May venue was more active than usual and proved to be advantageous for merchants and manufacturers, who strategized over new advertising and marketing campaigns as well as in-store promotions and point-of-sale materials.
It also gave executives an opportunity to exchange information on specific products, styles, colors and prints that several major retailers have targeted as exclusives.
Exclusives are a sensitive topic in the highly competitive marketplace, especially as major stores such as Dillard’s, Belk, J.C. Penney and mid-tier merchants like Kohl’s and Mervyn’s are striving to differentiate themselves from the monolithic presence of Federated and the Macy’s nameplate.
One way vendors are approaching the problem is by offering an overabundance of styles in a wide variety of colors, prints and fabrics.
Some are also introducing new labels or positioning brands for specific stores and channels of distribution.
"We had an exceptional market, and we had a lot of different brands for a lot of different reasons," said Charles Komar, president and chief executive officer of The Komar Co. "Each retailer is trying to define their niche and a reason to exist.
As they get larger and larger, they get more demanding.
So we work very hard on each brand and where we’re targeting them for each retailer.
Komar noted that two licensed designer brands received an especially strong reaction: Vera Wang Intimates, which he described as "phenomenal with retailers," and Eileen West.
"You have to create product that differentiates, and that’s what Eileen is doing," Komar said.
"She’s been working with new fabrics, lighter-weight pointelles, jacquards and Modal blends.
One department store secures what it perceives to be a must-have item in a sheer fabric, while a similar style in a different color palette and fabric, such as sleek charmeuse, becomes a contemporary fashion item for specialty chains such as Wet Seal and Anthropologie.
Case in point: A playful chiffon teddy by Baby Phat Intimate Apparel by Kimora Lee Simmons is a top-booking item for department stores, and a rose gold-tone studded hoodie and shorts of cotton knit from the same collection are hot assets for specialty boutiques, said Marc Kimmelman, vice president of sales for Baby Phat at Age Group Ltd.
"For Baby Phat, the differentiation hasn’t been from department store to department store.
Commenting on Valentine’s Day programs, Howard Radziminsky, senior vice president of sales and merchandising at Movie Star Inc., said, "We find May is the appropriate market for our Valentine’s Day collection.
We are also finding what works is a balance of soft pinks and darker, flirtier pinks, as well as pretty embroideries, heart prints and the color red.
Richard Leeds, chairman of Richard Leeds International, said May is an ideal time to launch new product.
For spring, we’re looking at machine-washable, two-by-two pointelle of silk and spandex.
- Source: Women’s Wear Daily
