An employee at Anthropology on Fashion Island greets customers at the store in Newport Beach, CA on Tuesday, May 26, 2020.
Paul Bersebach | MediaNewsgroup | Register Orange County via Getty Images
Some of us say ‘so long’ for sweatpants.
In the last week of February, seven of the top ten items on Anthropology’s website were dresses, the company, a unit of Urban Outfitters, said during an earnings conference this week. Up until that point, it was lucky to see only one or two dresses break into the top-10 list.
Richard Hayne, CEO of Urban Outfitters, called the change striking and very positive.
“Until recently, fashion was predominantly … comfortable and comfy at home,” Hayne said. “We’re starting to see – what I call ‘go-out mode’ is starting to take hold. The clothing industry will change in terms of what categories we sell.”
According to market researcher The NPD Group, clothing sales fell 19% last year as Americans stayed home and focused their spending on groceries and other household necessities.
When buyers bought clothes, comfort was the theme: sales of sweatpants rose by 17% year after year and pajamas by 6%, NPD said. In fashion shoes, which fell by 27% for the year, sales of slippers rose by 21% as consumers fluctuated from cooking in the kitchen, to video conferencing calls from the bedroom, to streaming the latest series from the living room couch.
Retailers such as Urban, Gap, Abercrombie & Fitch, Macy’s and Nordstrom had to quickly turn their merchandise around when the lifestyle suddenly changed last year. They pulled jackets, skirts and skinny pants out of mannequins to be replaced by stretchy jogging and spacious pajamas.
However, the introduction of the Covid vaccine has increased rapidly in recent weeks, with the US vaccinating an average of 2 million doses daily. At the same time, the number of reported cases is declining. Encouraged by the positive trends, a spate of states eased Covid’s restrictions, opening up the possibility that people would venture to restaurants or an evening in the movie. This means that many Americans are going to dig in their closets in search of something new to wear.
It’s time for retailers to turn around again. However, this will not come easily. Businesses are still seen under pressure in U.S. ports and the shortages of containers, with backlogs of merchandise, will make the stock shelves with fresh outfits even more complicated. The management teams said the delays of the shipment vary between three and four weeks, and this is related to higher transport costs.
“Historical volumes, social distancing measures for workers, plus shortages of drivers to remove trucks are causing congestion and significant delays in processing times,” said Wells Fargo analyst Ike Boruchow.
‘Sick of equality’
The mall chain Macy’s said they have a plan to offer work and formal wear again soon as its customers start to engage in more normal activities. Many analysts are betting on a quick turnaround in store behavior.
“People have money in their pockets, they’ve sick of similarity, and you’ll see an explosion of feel-good purchases,” said Stacey Widlitz, president of SW Retail Advisors. “The weather turns, and people feel positive about going out again – or even sitting in a dress in the park.”
“The nature of people is that they want to feel good,” she added. “They want to feel fresh – especially for the younger generations. It’s your price to hang out together again.”
Retailers are already using these messages. Kohl’s website announces ‘The Great Refresh’, while Banana Republic hosts ‘Spring Awakening’. The men’s suitmaker Suit Supply’s new advertising campaign referring to a ‘New Normal’ worked on social media this week.
Others are still entrenching their commitment, in anticipation of continued momentum with comfortable loungewear in 2021. Some consumers are likely to want to keep a more comfortable wardrobe – one they have become accustomed to over the past twelve months. Businesses, in turn, may prefer to loosen office clothes when their workforce returns.
Nordstrom still markets “Work-from-Anywhere Style” on its website’s homepage. Rent the Runway retains a portion of its “Home Maintenance” outfit app.
Tween-and-against clothing retailer American Eagle said earlier this week that it expects sales in the current quarter to be the strongest in three years, depending on the growth of its Aerie brand, which offers work-from-home options such as selling yoga pants. sports bras, pajamas and underwear.
Scott Braxter, chief executive of Office Brands, meanwhile, told CNBC that jeans offer a return because Americans are looking for a way to dress, just a little more than they did at home. Office’s brands include the denim-oriented labels Wrangler and Lee.
“Denim is comfortable, it’s easy … you can wear it, you can wear it,” Baxter said in an interview earlier this week. “When people go back to the office, people think about how they’re going to dress, and it seems like denim is the choice.”
Logistical headaches continue to linger
Retailers do not have to worry about the demand for reflective clothing. The bulk of the pandemic had logistical headaches. And it does not seem to be declining, making planning for spring, summer and school time even more difficult.
Nordstrom noted that the shipping supply prevented some of its holiday merchandise from being timely suspended from the shelves and storerooms, adversely affecting its fourth-quarter results. The company is still working on selling the stock, the company told analysts earlier this week and hopes to be back to normal stock levels by the second quarter.
Gap also noted on Thursday, when reporting mixed results in the fourth quarter, that the congestion of ports is expected to continue during the first half of the year. This will lead to increased inventory levels in the second quarter, Gap said.
For Urban, the biggest issue right now is access to containers to send goods, Frank Conforti, chief operating officer, explained earlier this week.
‘While yes, the ports are experiencing absolute congestion, especially on the West Coast … and we are seeing two to seven days of delays in the ports, the bigger challenge is actually the incoming vessels, with enough containers left in Asia to ship the product. bring, ”Conforti said.
The limited availability of truck drivers to transport retailers’ goods nationwide remains another problem, Dana Telsey, CEO of Telsey Advisory Group and chief research officer Dana Telsey, said in an interview with Sara Eisen of CNBC on Thursday.
Companies are unlikely to sort their inventory to suit buyer demand until closer to the school season, she said. But, like Widlitz, Telsey does not think it will buy buyers to return to stores soon for a new look.
“We have not spent more than a year on clothing,” Telsey said. “I think [people] want to refresh their wardrobes. ‘