WWD – Wednesday March 17, 2010
Nouveau Collective Attendees Eye Turnaround
Inclement weather in the Northeast, the U.S’ nearly double-digit percentage unemployment rate
and job security are still deterring some shoppers from buying new clothes, but retailers and
vendors at last week’s Nouveau Collective are more stalwart about a turnaround.
Diane Resnick, president of Fashion Express Buying, a New York-based buying office for 62
better and bridge specialty stores, said “Our stores are holding their own or are even a little
above last year because they are very much on top of their business. They are buying more
items – tops, jackets and sweaters – and they are offering a lot of good service. They are being proactive with customers.”
Many boutiques are now offering more “valued-based products” and are buying from a wider assortment of vendors, which is boosting sales for some labels, she said. “They’re not buying
too much of any one thing,” Resnick said. “This business is all about what’s left at the end of the season.”
She and her buyer Cathy Demakakos ordered novelty sweaters, jackets, T-shirts, printed leggings
and dresses from resources such as Lindi/Aria, Margaret Winter and BKG.
Rather than try to reinvent what her customers are looking for, Barbara Schreiber, owner of
Rhinebeck Department Store, said she stayed focused and true to what has built her store’s
reputation. That does not mean sacrificing newness, she said. At the show, she was meeting
with a few vendors to pick up in-store signs to spruce up the interior and draw attention to certain merchandise.
Having already ordered 50 to 60 percent of fall apparel, Schreiber planned to line up more
merchandise from Color Me Cotton and Flax to mix in with some of the other lines carried in her boutique, such as Pendleton, Woolrich and Columbia Sportswear.
Sharon Davis, sales rep for Marty Davis, which offers Ming Wang and Impulse, among others,
said more buyers are shopping with specific customers in mind. In fact, that is how she buys for
her own specialty store, Sharon’s Clothes Shop in Monroe, N.J. Multiple-use items are essential,
she said, noting most stores sell six tops for every pair of pants they sell. “Most people are
looking for something they can wear with a pair of black pants they already own,” she said.
Roxane Monge, national sales rep for Magdalena, a show resource, trumpeted the fact the
collection consists entirely of California-made products. In this economic climate, that means
something to retailers, she said. Buyers were also looking for versatile and casual items, as
opposed to dressier ones. “Stores are being very picky about what they’re buying. They’re not
spending all their fall dollars at once,” Monge said.
-Rosemary Feitelberg

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