November/December 2008
Trendspotting 2009
We’ve searched the fashion and wearables industries for the hottest trends
in fabrics, colors, silhouettes, performance fabrics and more.
As the U.S. and world economies remain uncertain and seemingly fragile, some top designers’ new fashion collections are abandoning their over-abundance and artificiality. They’re returning to classic looks in traditional colors, and re-introducing natural elements, such as feathers and stones, and technical fabrications. In the wearables marketplace, some buyers are definitely pulling back from name brands and higher-price-point items.
“As of right now, the credit crunch hasn’t affected us. An economic crisis could impact our customers’ ability to pay us, and really affect our receivables health,” says Girisha Chandraraj, senior vice president of marketing for Broder Bros. Co. (asi/42099). “So far, things have been as good as they have been. But I think things will change, as a lot of our customers rely on credit lines. We can afford to have a bit of degradation, but we might need to be proactive with customers in 2009.”
In August, retail spending dropped unexpectedly, as consumers pulled back in reaction to the Wall Street collapse. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that retail sales in August were $381.2 billion, a decrease of 0.3% from the previous month, but still 1.6% above August 2007. However, discount retailers’ sales are up – for example, Wal-Mart’s sales in September were up 5.8%.
And, for the holiday season, consumers’ retail spending is expected to decline further as people contend with higher food and fuel costs, a rising unemployment rate and a falling housing market. The National Retail Federation forecasts that holiday retail sales will rise only 2.2% this year, which is lower than the 10-year average of 4.4% and the lowest since 2002, when holiday sales rose 1.3%.
However, Kevin Montecalvo, owner of Newburyport, MA-based Proforma InPrint Management (asi/300900) and a 32-year veteran of the ad specialty industry, hasn’t yet seen any effects from a shaky economy. “So far, we’re up from last year,” he says. “I think this is my fourth recession. I’ve learned from the past that I just have to make more calls. We have more salespeople than in previous years and that actually plays as an advantage. Some of our competitors are looking to cut their budgets, so we’re getting more meetings and more calls, and generating more sales.”
However, Montecalvo has noticed his clients are requesting more value-priced items. What he and his staff are doing is showing their clients good, better and best garments.
In Houston, Mike Tracy, owner of Proforma Brand Performance (asi/300900), has continued to sell high numbers of name-brand golf shirts. “You’d think people would want to get more bang for their buck, but that’s not the case so far for us,” he says. “People seem to want better quality, not necessarily a product that will save them money.”
Montecalvo and Tracy both say that performance wear, especially moisture-management and easy-care qualities, such as stain and wrinkle resistance, are strong sellers. “Fifteen to 20% of all the apparel we sell is performance wear,” Montecalvo says.
Chandraraj also points to eco-friendly apparel that has a sustainable supply-chain story as being more in demand, even as companies cut their budgets elsewhere.
As other suppliers have had to, Broder raised some of its prices this year in response to rising fuel and freight costs. “Prices went up due to rising cotton prices and energy costs,” Chandraraj says. “We don’t want people to trade out of wearables. We want to keep prices sane from that perspective.”
Overall, Chandraraj says 2009 will be an interesting year, as banks reset their balance sheets. “We’ll see terms change,” he says. “2008 hasn’t been a year of growth in terms of wearables.”
In this market, it’ll take some skill for distributors to sell more wearables in 2009. Here are the top trends rocking the runways and in suppliers’ catalogs.
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NICOLE ROLLENDER is editor of Wearables; KATHERINE SCHNEIDER is a PA-based writer;
