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Two
industry experts, Marshal Cohen, Co-President, NPDFashionworld, The NPD Group, Inc, and
Walter K. Levy, Managing Director, Retail Trends & Positioning, Kurt Salmon
Associates, addressed an audience of industry executives on January 8. The morning
program, sponsored by the Intimate Apparel Council, a division of the American Apparel
& Footwear Association (AAFA), was held during New York Market Week.
“The most
pressing issue for Intimate Apparel is the multi-channel co-existence – surviving the
brand availability in all levels of markets. Success will be driven by product and brand
differentiation and channel management,” said Marshal Cohen. “This is what you
are going to be hearing from your retail customers over the next several months and this
is what they will be expecting their suppliers to become experts in managing.”
So,
what does this mean for today's manufacturer? Cohen says "You must take control by
promoting your brands, identify and captivate the consumer, invest in the future, and
understand and manage the value of pricing."
“We
are in a period of transition,” follows Walter Levy. “Adjusting to casualization
and its impact has been underestimated. Casualization has brought the consumer to shop in
different channels of distribution. Within the current aging of our society, comfort is
now more important than fashion and there is a growing commodization of apparel. The
growth of home has come at the expense of apparel.”
The
American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) is the national trade association
representing apparel, footwear and other sewn products companies and their suppliers,
which compete in the global market. AAFA's mission is to promote and enhance its members'
competitiveness, productivity and profitability in the global market by minimizing
regulatory, commercial, political, and trade restraints
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