Womenswear Articles       12/10/1998

WOMENSWEAR

MENSWEAR

HOME FASHION

ECO-FASHION

ALL ARTICLES

AllWomenMenHome  Eco-fashion Print This Page "With private label, retailers are able to customize their lines to target specific groups of consumers who shop at their stores... A third of women who shop in department stores are 25-55, and many private label programs are aimed at this group."

WHAT'S SO PRIVATE

Who is Alfani?

The Alfani women’s collection is a European-inspired clothing line of career separates for the professional woman. It competes with bridge lines like Liz Claiborne and Jones New York. Its ad campaign features models like Isabella Rosselini and Tomika. Is the Alfani women’s collection the secondary bridge line of the hottest new designer out of Milan?

No, actually, Alfani women’s collection, which debuted this fall, is sold exclusively at Federated Department Stores. It is Federated’s latest entry into the private label category, a category which has been growing steadily in the past few years.

From 1996 to 1997, growth of sales in women’s private label increased 5.7%, over twice the rate of women’s national brand and designer clothing (2.2%), according to the NPD Group. Private label merchandise is clothing with a label exclusive to a store, a chain or a mail order company, whether designed in-house or by outside manufacturers.

What is the appeal to the retailer of selling private label clothing along with nationally recognized brands? There are often sourcing and cost advantages through direct manufacturing that can be passed on to the consumer. Retailers have control over product development and marketing of private labels. Through market research combined with product development, retailers are able to customize their lines to target specific groups of consumers who shop at their stores. According to the Cotton Incorporated Lifestyle MonitorTM, a third of women who shop in department stores are 25-55, and many private label programs are aimed at this group.

For example, Nordstrom has several private labels that fill in customer niches: BP (Brass Plum) is a line of separates for juniors, and Expert by Evergreen offers contemporary, fashion-forward suiting and separates. Preview is a line of career, casual suiting and separates. Twenty-nine percent of women who shop regularly in department stores are required to dress up for work, reports the Monitor.

With Alfani, Federated Department Stores is also targeting the market for career separates. Alfani is a contemporary line targeted to professional women age 25-50 whose priorities include career advancement. According to the Federated’s profile, the Alfani consumer is “interested in fashion, but understands the importance of always dressing appropriately.”

One of the collection’s signatures is knitwear offered as dressing and layering pieces and jacket alternatives, offered in fabrics such as high-twist cotton. Federated says the collection is a response to a void in the career separates category. “This customer wants the style and attitude of better and bridge, but at a more reasonable price,” says a Federated spokesperson.

Federated aims to reach specific age groups through other private label programs: Charter Club, targeted to part-time, non-working or suburban women aged 35-60; I.N.C (International Concepts), targeted to single, active women over the age of 28; and Style & Co., a casual line for employed women, usually married, age 25-55.

Private label merchandise, of course, is not limited to department stores. It is carried by all types of retailers, from mass merchandisers to upscale department stores like Barneys and Bergdorf Goodman. Specialty stores like Banana Republic, Express, the Gap, Ann Taylor and the Limited sell only private label. “With private label, we can determine our exclusive design and color,” says a spokesperson at the Limited. “It is our own brand—no one else will have anything like it.”

“Express has always sold exclusive private label clothing, and now all our merchandise is created by an internal design team,” says Dia Hollenbeck, a spokesperson for Express. “It’s a way to streamline and give us control over our product, and establish Express as an authentic fashion brand as well as a store.”

Stores like Sears and JCPenney prefer their merchandise mix to comprise approximately 50% private brand and 50% national brands such Adidas, Leslie Fay, and Sag Harbor. “When the customer sees brand names like Adidas, it signals to her that Sears is providing fashions she immediately recognizes and understands,” says Linda Brown Blakley, spokesperson for Sears. “But then she knows she can get significant savings by purchasing our private label apparel in the latest designs at great prices.” Sears Private Brands include Mosaic, updated career wear designed to meet the color and styling needs of women of color, and Canyon River Blues, a line of casual and weekend wear. One of the responsibilities of Sears’ new vice president of brand development and fashion, Jill Worm, is to work with the senior apparel merchandising team to develop private brands. “Developing Sears private brands is one of several initiatives designed to provide Sears target customer with what she expects from a department store,” says Worm. “Customer research and data-based decision-making are cornerstones of Sears’ private brand strategy. As a result, each line speaks to the needs of a defined customer profile.”

Concludes Amy Jones, a spokesperson at Nordstrom: “Private label merchandise is a point of difference for us, and allows us to fill gaps in our merchandise mix we may not be able to find in the existing market.”

This story is one in a series of articles based on findings from Cotton Incorporated’s Lifestyle Monitor™ tracking research. Each story will focus on a specific topic as it relates to the American women’s wear consumer and her attitudes and behavior regarding clothing, appearance, fashion, fiber selection and many other timely, relevant subjects.