Apparel / Textiles & Accessories

The era of all kinds of sports pants "rampant" has passed?

To some extent, with the gradual relaxation of social distancing restrictions, overseas consumers are beginning to dress up again. Judging from the feedback from the three dimensions of industry leaders, consumers themselves and industry analysts, the suppressed demand during the home isolation period, the issuance of (economic) checks, the rising vaccination rate, the launch of new clothing, and many people The increase or decrease in weight during the home isolation period will promote the growth of clothing sales, and the growth rate is likely to be the highest in recent years.

Market feedback has always been the real consumer psychology of consumers. In the past few weeks, the sales of LLBean pants with buttons and zippers have begun to exceed those with drawstrings or elastic waistbands; while on Saks Fifth Avenue, dresses and shirts The sales of sandals and sandals have also exceeded the level since the spring of 2019; the employees of the Haggar Clothing Co. distribution center are working overtime to meet the demand of the brand's distributors.

(Picture: The surge in consumer demand for apparel in the market)

In this regard, Haggar CEO Michael Stitt believes that before the (crowd) returned to the office, apparel sales ushered in such a rapid increase, which may explain the trend of market consumers who need to dress up when they go out to socialize. Under this trend, the flow of people in offline clothing stores has almost risen to the level before the epidemic. Ethan Chernofsky, vice president of marketing at Placer.ai, also said that consumers are spending more on weekends and the number of shops they visit when they are out, which "marks that the market has gradually returned to normal behavior."

According to data from the analysis company Placer.ai, compared with the same week in 2019, the number of visits to physical stores fell by 3.4% in the week starting on April 5th. Although it was a decline, this performance was better than that in the beginning of 2021. ——The number of visits to physical stores at that time dropped by 20%+ from the same period last year.

On the other hand, consumers’ stay time in physical stores has also increased. LLBean’s CEO Stephen Smith pointed out that in the past few weeks, 55 physical stores under LLBean’s Compared with 2019, its sales have increased by approximately 5%.

UBS Group AG (UBS Group AG) analyst Jay Sole said that many apparel chains, including American Eagle Outfitters Inc. and The Buckle Inc., have stated that their related performance has returned to the level of sales before the epidemic. In the coming weeks, more relevant sellers will announce positive earnings. Previously, Investors Service under Moody adjusted its outlook for the U.S. retail and apparel industry from stable to positive. It is expected that non-price retailers such as apparel chains, department stores and TJMaxx will see operating profits in the next 12 to 18 months. The maximum recovery curve. But Mickey Chadha, a senior credit officer at Moody, also said that with the reopening of more economic sectors, consumption is likely to revert to tourism and other consumption, and this recovery is likely to be "short-term."

(The level of passenger flow is hovering at the level before the epidemic)

On the other hand, clothing full of "formal" like suits and high heels is unlikely to sweep the market anymore. After all, before the outbreak of the epidemic, consumers' preferred clothing styles had become more casual, but in the past year's home isolation, consumers' clothing keywords were basically casual clothes and slippers, making this trend even stronger. Although many consumers don't want to go back to the era of restraint and dressing, they still want to dress decently and "decently" when they walk out of the house.

Macy’s Chief Marketing Officer Nata Dvir said that consumers are trying to wear their casual clothes out of their homes. Recently, “indoor/outdoor” slippers are the most popular search term under the slippers sub-category on the Macy’s website. This shows that while consumers in the market want to wear comfortable clothes, they also hope that there will be new things in the closet, which will bring them freshness.

During the weekly conference call during the epidemic, Randa Apparel&Accessories employees said that they have developed the habit of wearing sweatpants and slippers to grocery stores or coffee shops (such as Starbucks). This feedback prompted Randa Apparel & Accessories to investigate the dressing habits of 3,500 consumers.

The survey results show that when people travel within 2 miles of a home-centered activity circle, they tend to wear sports pants and only bring a few credit cards to go shopping. But if the range of activities exceeds 2 miles, they will wear more formal pants and bring a wallet. The specific distance of the 2 mile radius will vary depending on where the consumer is located, but this habit is the same.

The senior vice president of Randa Apparel&Accessories said that the company has accepted the concept of 2-mile fashion-that is, the radius of going out will affect consumers' clothes when going out. On this basis, Randa has high expectations for several types of products including slippers that can be worn outdoors, large-capacity wallets and overalls. Randa executives believe that with the rising trend of male consumers going out without backpacks, they will stuff everything into wallets or pockets-a pair of seven-pocket overalls is currently one of its best sellers in Haggar. One.

(Over 60% of U.S. consumers said their bodies changed during the epidemic)

From a consumer perspective, according to foreign media reports, 24-year-old Michael Sitver, who lives in Washington, has recently cleaned up the dress shirts and other items that he no longer wears in his closet-most of the time, he wears clothes that can satisfy work. Jeans and T-shirts that are in demand or go shopping. As the founder of a company, he also felt that "there is no longer a need to wear a suit."

Recently, many consumers have shown great interest in Levi Strauss&Co.'s looser “mother” jeans on the hips and thighs. Levi's brand president Jennifer Sey also admitted that the loose style is its (sales) fastest-growing style.

At Revolve Group, Lauren Yerkes, chief marketing officer of its online retail business, said that shoppers tend to choose tops that are well-cut or that have waists. Tracy Margolies, a related staff member of Saks, said that sports sandals and other bulky shoes The sales level in this spring is good. She predicts that clogs and thick casual shoes paired with wide-leg jeans will usher in a pandemic this fall.