August 2007

Just What the Doctor Ordered

By Rock Neelly

For Mickie Richard, owner of Baton Rouge, LA-based Classic Image Uniforms, business – especially for scrubs – after the big hurricane has been on the uptick. “Medical professionals want a better-looking
product,” says Richard, who’s been in business for 12 years. “Younger nurses want comfort, of course, but their uniforms must also be stylish enough that if they run an errand, they don’t necessarily look like nurses.”

The apparel Richard’s medical customers are buying is changing to a more tapered fit, cut for female bodies, but not in an overtly sexy way. “The market for these new products, which for me is primarily Landau Uniforms’ Urbane line, is very good,” she says.

The scrubs business has also been good for Kopemish, MI-based H&H Creations of Custom Embroidery. Scrubs, says owner Hannelore Frederick, are her shop’s best-selling items. “People in the medical profession find it very convenient to place their orders with us any hour of the day or night, and then see what their embroidery will look like before any actual embroidery’s even done,” she says. “Then, within two weeks of ordering them, they’ve got the embroidered garments in their hands.”

The 6-year-old business’s found a way to combine the functionality of allowing customers who are based anywhere to order online, along with the personality of hometown service. “Our niche is small quantities that most other decorators don’t want to be bothered with,” Frederick says. “We’ve developed a system that allows us to do very small orders efficiently and speedily, while giving each customer exceptional customer service. We also don’t have minimums. We get as many orders for one scrub top as we get orders for a dozen. However, we do offer a discount for larger quantity orders.”

Richard’s and Frederick’s success in selling embellished scrubs isn’t unusual, as more nurses enter the workforce. And, as scrubs themselves become more colorful and fashion forward, other industries are sitting up and taking notice.

Scrubs Are Phat Chatsworth, CA-based supplier Cherokee Uniforms recently licensed the retail brand name, Baby Phat, for its slimmer cut, more fashionable scrub. The Baby Phat line (www.babyphatscrubs.com) is an expansion of the international fashion line developed by Kimora Lee Simmons, who created, directed and established the label. As the first designer brand of medical apparel, the line was created to make health-care professionals look, according to the press kit, sassy and stylish. However, the Baby Phat line is anything but ultra-trendy. The product is distinctive and classy. While the Baby Phat brand at retail derived its inspiration from both high fashion and hip-hop, the medical product is a reflection of the market demand for more stylish, feminine and attractive medical apparel. Reader Service #172

A new generation
Baby boomer nurses are starting to retire, and with the average age of nurses in America at nearly 50 years old, expect to see a younger labor force during the next five to 10 years. And, this new generation of nurses wants flattering and feminine apparel.

“The market for scrubs changed four years ago. The nursing profession declared a severe shortage of nurses nationally and started really recruiting high school students,” says Renee Laidlaw, creative designer in product development for uniform supplier Landau Uniforms, a 50-year-old company based in Olive Branch, MI. “Now four years later, a new generation of nurses is hitting the streets, armed with RN degrees and lots of discretionary dollars. These young nurses want more stylish uniforms and scrubs.”

The numbers don’t lie. The American Nursing Association reports that 39.2% of graduating nurses from 2004 until now are under age 25. The average age for nurses graduating with an RN degree has fallen to under age 30, and there are lots of nurses out there buying product – nearly 3 million registered and twice that many with LPN or other associate degrees, or in training.

“These younger nurses want to look good on their way to and from work,” Laidlaw says. “They shop more frequently and have more money to spend to look good.”

And as the age of the average nurse in the profession declines with the retiring baby boomer contingent, the new look in scrubs – a slimmer, less boxy, more colorful profile – is perfect for H&H Creations’ customers.

“I think the trend in the medical profession is to be more friendly, welcoming and more comforting. And health-care professionals realize that a big aspect of that image is how they appear to their patients,” Frederick says. “More flattering cuts and fashion-oriented patterns and colors translates to less of a ‘medical’ feel, and more of ‘it’s just you and me talking’ or ‘there’s nothing to be afraid of.’ That means a lot to patients, which means more repeat patients for the medical offices.” 

Suppliers stock up
Marty Ostendorf, vice president of TSC Apparel, has to be aware of fashion-forward trends – and fashion laggards. After all, he has locations in California, a state known for cutting-edge fashion, and Cincinnati, a place about which Mark Twain once said, “When the end of the world comes, I want to be in Cincinnati because it’s always 20 years behind the times.”

Ostendorf knows a good trend when he sees it, and he views scrubs as perhaps the next hot thing – even in Cincinnati. “The sale of scrubs to non-traditional accounts is increasing. We’ve seen scrubs make their way into licensed apparel companies that service bands, television programs and even movies,” he says. “The market’s still concentrated in the health-care industry, though.”

TSC added scrubs to its product lineup early last year. “We’ve sold to twice as many accounts so far this year as we did in 2006,” Ostendorf says. “Most of the orders are relatively small, some only being one piece, which would show signs of many distributors and decorators adding them to their sample lines or sending samples to customers.”

TSC only stocks Dickies brand medical wear, and Ostendorf says sizing has been traditional to the brand, with no variation on fit, which makes the product an easy sell. V-neck tops with a left-chest pocket are a best seller, followed closely by its companion piece, the open-leg drawstring pant.

And of course, if a trend’s breaking, SanMar’s in the thick of it. The Seattle-based supplier is expanding its Cornerstone line to offer medical apparel as the niche grows into mainstream sales. “We’ve been planning this step into the medical apparel market since CornerStone launched two years ago,” says Lee Strom, senior marketing manager for SanMar.

For the first time, a V-neck scrub top and pants will appear in SanMar’s complete annual catalog. “We’re also introducing a white lab coat for lab workers, and doctors and physicians,” Strom says.

The reason for the new additions is that SanMar has had increasing customer requests for medical wear. The apparel provider lets its customers dictate product offering and, for a while now, medical apparel has been
moving closer to the top of that list.

“With incredible ingenuity, our customers have found ways of extending their service from office staff to their clients’ entire workforce,” Strom says. “As an example, pharmaceutical companies need scrubs and lab coats as much as corporate apparel when you consider trade show staff, lab technicians, researchers and sales reps.”

Strom advises distributors to target hospitals, doctors’ offices, research and development firms, home-care providers, and retirement homes.

New York City-based Capital Mercury Apparel also added scrubs by way of its Bill Blass Healthcare line. “We’re seeing a boom in this product category. Hospitals are competing for patients’ business,” says Tim Shields, director of marketing for Capital Mercury Apparel. “And in doing so, they’re developing a hospitality mentality. Each floor or wing is branding its own section of care. The result is more service, along with upscale interior decorations – complete with their own uniforms.”

That’s where the Bill Blass Healthcare line comes in; its philosophy is indicative of where scrubs are headed in the decorated apparel marketplace. “We tried to offer medical professionals a refreshing choice in health-care apparel,” Shields says. “We base everything on how comfortable the fabric is to the wearer, and how attractive the colors are to the style minded.”

For example, the supplier’s women’s cross-over top has a mock wrap style for a flattering fit, and its cotton poplin fabric with soft-sanded finish offers wearers comfort and easy care. And, the line’s solids include black, claret, green pea, lichen, maritime blue, new blue, orangeade and cashmere.

Laidlaw says brights are definitely the way to go. Landau is adding three new color collections to the line right now: a black and white collection, a cranberry collection and a mallard green line. The brown color story so popular at retail in the last year is also available in Landau’s cocoa trims and chocolate garment color.

Hot silhouettes for Landau continue to include the V-neck, but in its Urbane line, the more fashionable criss-cross top and the drawstring boot-cut pant are best sellers.

Color wise
In some markets, solid scrubs have made a resurgence. The profusion of prints over the last decade had led in some cases to patient confusion. When all health-care staff was wearing self-purchased, generally patterned scrub tops, visitors to hospitals had difficulty telling who was a nurse or an aide, or even a doctor. Now in some camps, departments are being required to wear
solids to identify themselves.

As far as color trends, forget those dingy green scrubs, and go colorful. “Go with collegiate colors; the days of the hospital green and hospital blue are gone,” Ostendorf says. “Scrubs are now an expression of who you are by showing team colors or fashionable prints – and that’s what the end-user wants.”

Top-selling colors for Richard are solids: black, red, royal and galaxy blue. And, neon seems to be making a comeback, so go for bright colors when showing product to your customers.

“The scrub market used to be a year behind the retail market in color story, but now it’s timely,” Laidlaw says. What’s hot color wise in women’s fashion will be hot in scrubs as well.

However, while solids are a trend, it would be a mistake to not show patterned product. For the corporate client who wants a special look, Tampa, FL-based Fast Lane Clothing Co.’s Scrub Nation offers scrubs in custom knit patterns with corporate logos incorporated into the fabric’s pattern.

Meanwhile, Fast Lane is expanding its scrubs offering because it expects medical professional apparel to continue to grow for the next decade. “We’re seeing that expansion and expect it to continue for at least 10 years,” says Fast Lane CEO Juan Davis. “Why? Look at the demographics. We baby boomers – the largest segment of the nation’s population – are reaching an age that requires more health-care services and personnel than ever before.”

Popular prospects
But how does this information assist the advertising specialties distributor who doesn’t have a retail location and doesn’t currently sell to hospitals or health-care clinics? Well, with new opportunities come new markets. Market trends often change the landscape in more than one way. Scrubs aren’t just worn by medical professionals, for example.

And, distributors are successfully selling health-care apparel to pharmaceutical companies, medical product companies, labs and large health-care facilities. For example, H&H Creations sells scrubs to a wide market base, although health-care workers are certainly the largest group of end-users. However, the shop’s largest purchasers of scrubs besides those in the medical field are from the animal services professions – vets, dog groomers, animal rescue people and sometimes employees at pet stores.

Laidlaw says scrubs have become a uniform staple for school cafeteria staff and for hotel hospitality and cleaning crews. Often assembly plants in clean environments wear scrubs on the job as well. One Landau salesperson related the story of telling someone at his church that he sold scrubs and the man replied that his whole department wore scrubs on Fridays. The salesman asked at what hospital the man was employed. The man said, “I work at a mortgage company.”

Often, clinic billing and reception area employees will also wear scrubs, but will wear a different color or pattern top from the nurses. “There are always changes to hospital dress codes,” says Marty Morawski, senior vice president of marketing for Chatsworth, CA-based Strategic Partners Inc., the parent company of Cherokee Uniforms, which offers scrubs. “Some move in one direction, to a more formal policy like all white, while others move from solids to solids with print tops. Some provide greater flexibility for registered nurses compared to other clinical and ancillary staff. Over the last few years there’s been no major tilt in either direction.”

And that variety of choice is nice for the client. While Cherokee offers a wide variety of patterns, Morawski says the market is perhaps 95% female and the patterns are notably designed for gals. However, Cherokee isn’t only about the ladies. The company already offers NBA licensed product and Major League Baseball product. The NFL is on the way, leading to a whole new kickback garment to wear while watching your team. And medical clinics’ staff members will definitely be wearing Bengal orange scrubs on that first Monday in September when Cincinnati opens on Monday Night Football.

Speaking of football, a few of Richard’s sales come from walk-in, casual buyers who ask for Louisiana State University purple clogs. “Also, a lot of my customers wear Louisiana State University scrubs on Fridays during football season to support the team,” she says.

So, distributors should go knocking on doors. While most nurses buy their own uniforms, many doctors and hospital administrators will purchase uniforms for entire floors or departments for identification or recognition factors (the radiology department staff will all wear aqua scrub tops, for instance).

“Every town has doctors, dentists, veterinarians, hospitals or urgent-care centers,” Ostendorf says. “Most of the employees in these businesses are using the Internet or new retail locations to source their product, so there isn’t a lot of local personal contact selling going on. If you knock on their doors and show them either a name-brand or fashionable scrub, that’s key to making the sale.”  

Logo placement
“Mostly our customers are individuals – doctors, nurses and numerous other medical personnel,” Frederick says. “So, the most typical embroidery requested is their names on their scrub tops.”

However, she sees some variety in the embroidery requested. Frederick’s found that left-chest embroidery’s the standard for medical scrub tops. Variations are: the medical facility name/logo on the left chest and the person’s name on the right chest; or the medical facility name/logo on the sleeve, and the person’s name on the left chest. And, medical professionals who see a lot of children will often add a cartoon-like medical embroidery design above or below their names.

“Scrub bottoms, in the past, weren’t typically embroidered,” Frederick says. “However, in the last couple of years, we’ve seen more and more requests for the name of the facility on the outside of the thigh on either the left or right leg.”
However, watch out for stock scrubs, Davis says, as many are reversible and don’t lend themselves to clean finish embroidery.