Retail Education 101
By Brenda Lloyd
Broaden Your Fashion Selection and Improve Sales
Yes, times are tough, but retailers who are changing their product mix from only urban to include streetwear and contemporary, as well, are the ones with the more successful businesses today.

To retailers who aren't moving forward, Vanessa Vickers, national sales manager for A. Tiziano, says, "I know it's scary, but you have to take a chance sometime. If you only do an urban look, you cut out a lot of people who would come into your store. You don't need to buy more merchandise, but you do need to change your mix and reach out to a broader mix of customer. You can't stay stagnant."

Consumers today are influenced by recording artists, television appearances and athletes, and all of them encompass one thing – fashion, says Michael Summers, a member of the Cobb Show's board of directors and Southeast sales representative for English Laundry, Rebel Spirit and Division E. Furthermore, price is not an issue, he adds. "This consumer has the money for what they want to buy."

According to Ali Ibrahim, owner of the Naples, Fla.-based stores GQ'Z, "If we had stayed urban, we'd be out of business like a lot of other guys. "We went through the transition from urban to more premium denim and contemporary about two years ago little by little. Everything in the market has cleaned up and gone slimmer."

Of his six stores, two are all premium now, one in Naples is only 10 percent urban, one in Nebraska is still all urban, and the other two are mixed urban and premium. Some of the premium brands he buys are Rock Revival, Buffalo, Roar, Bertigo, Big Star Jeans, English Laundry and Rebel Spirit.

He and others advise retailers to get out and see what their target customers are wearing. "I look at what the guys are wearing by going to the hot spots in town and local bars," he says. Also, check out movie theaters and high schools and colleges.

Casey Westfall, men's branded apparel buyer for G.E.A.R., which is owned by Shelmar, Inc., notes that the hip hop artists are gravitating to other looks. "The more influential guys now are wearing a broader array of clothing. It's a broader styling in the urban market. But it still starts with the shoes. That influences everything, whether it's Nike; Jordan, Adidas. Footwear is first and then the T-shirt [or tank] and snapback hat. And it's all about color and graphics."

All the lines are trimming up, he says. "Even those that were oversized have brought down their specs." Lines that G.E.A.R. has added include 10 Deep, The Hundreds, Diamond Supply and DGK. The jean of choice at G.E.A.R., by the way, is Levi.

Westfall adds that all the demographics influence each other. "It's knowing what the kids want to wear," he says. "It's all about being fresh and in style and keeping up with who the young people are influenced by."

Darel Dawson, owner of Grindstone Universal, made these changes in his apparel brand two or three years ago from a bigger silhouette to more sophisticated looks in T-shirts, scarves, and fitted fleece jackets with an activewear look. He cut back on embellishments, too. As a result, his business is growing, he says.

Says Vickers, "What it really is is a lifestyle. It's not any set category anymore. There's nothing leading the way. Retailers want it to be easy like the old days, but those days are over." The urban customer has more choices now. "He's shopping at Abercrombie & Fitch, H&M and American Eagle. He doesn't have to have a label on him anymore. That's why he's confident wearing something that's streetwear or contemporary."

Retailers should go to malls and see where their customers are shopping, she suggests. "They're going after the cleaner, cool looks. They're much savvier than they used to be."

Summers advises his customers to pay attention and shop the market. "For example," he says, "when I go to MAGIC, I look for the areas that are the busiest, and they're Project and Slate by far. That's why we're addressing those areas at the Cobb Show. Everything [here] is taking on a whole new identity. We want to be fresh, too, and allow our customers every opportunity to know what the future looks like and not to stand still."

It's the Gen X and Millennial generations who are using the Internet and websites to find fashion direction, says Summers. "It's not about branded, but about the change in fashion. The retailers who are complaining and stagnating have made no stand at all. They're saying there are no customers and no business. But the customers have changed."

To sum up:

• Go where your customers hang out and look at what they're wearing
• Go to the malls and see where they're shopping
• Visit the successful stores and see what they're selling
• Test some streetwear and contemporary lines in your store
• Read fashion publications and follow what the hip hop, blues, jazz and other musicians are wearing