California Apparel News

MIAMI—Despite sluggish consumer confidence and stormy retail waters that drove same-store sales down during the spring months, many buyers and vendors attending the July 19–23 run of the Swimwear Association of Florida’s Cruise 2004 show were optimistic and upbeat about the upcoming season.

Nearly 2,000 visitors came to the Miami International Merchandise Mart to view the offerings of 600 exhibitors representing more than 1,700 swimwear, beachwear and resortwear lines. Preregistration numbers showed buyer attendance was on par with last year’s attendance, according to Judy Stein, executive show director.

This year, the show’s junior and contemporary offerings expanded into a 15,000- square-foot showroom area on the Mart’s third floor. New lines included Susanelizabeth, Pain de Sucre, Keny, OBeach and Kate Mack.

Many vendors at the four-day event said buyers were mostly looking for Cruise and Resort deliveries.

Sportswear-inspired looks—such as pinstriped suits with feminine lace ruffles, halter one-piece suits, and glittery handkerchief and apron tops that could double as sportswear pieces in the evening—continued to lure buyers. Buyers from Saks Fifth Avenue were intrigued by the edgy, punk looks of Ocean Pacific’s newly launched young contemporary line, Seven2, which offered street-chic looks with hand-painted graffiti and chain embellishments.

Many vendors said novelty embellishments such as seashells, mother-of-pearl, caviar beading, sequins and precious stones continue to boost sales revenues at their stores.

Driven by details

Even though many were coming off a challenging year, retailers seemed enthusiastic about the newness of the show’s offerings.

Theresa Petry, divisional vice president of merchandising at Downers Grove, Ill.–based catalog retailer Spiegel Catalog Inc., said sales were still slightly lower than they had been during the same period last year as a result of customers cutting back on their spending when the war broke in Iraq.

Undeterred, Petry said she planned to order several contemporary looks from Robin Piccone’s new moderate collection, which debuted at the show. The collection boasts a plethora of fashion-forward styles at prices slightly lower than those of the designer’s signature collection. Petry was eager to place orders for a mesh one-piece halter suit, a mesh tankini, and beach bags and other accessories.

For Manhattan Beachwear Inc.—which produces Hot Kiss, Hobie and Surfside, among other women’s swimwear labels—the show was busy with a steady flow of traffic. A few weeks ago, the company acquired a five-year licensing contract to produce swimwear for the Kenneth Cole and Reaction labels.

Manhattan Beachwear Executive Vice President Alan Schwartz declined to give sales projections for both lines, but he said the company expected an overall sales increase of about 20 percent for Cruise 2004. Being competitive with companies that offer lower price points is a constant challenge for the company, Schwartz said.

“Staying on top of trends and bringing newness to the market is one of the ways we justify our price points,” he said.

A longer-than-expected winter season coupled with unpredictable weather on the East Coast dampened spring and summer sales, but business has picked up for Back-to-School and should be flat compared to last year, according to buyer Patricia Pierce of Florida department- store chain Burdines, a division of Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores Inc.

Pierce was interested in bold stripes, bright neon and new twists on floral patchwork swimsuits—particularly a Westernthemed floral patchwork group by Lucky Brand Swimwear.

More than ever, swimwear manufacturers are producing younger, sexier lines to satisfy customers’ demands, observed Susan Star of Grand Gallery Shops, a resort retailer based in St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Grand Gallery operates four specialty boutiques in the Caribbean.

“For years we couldn’t sell a triangle bikini top, and now just about every company has them,” Star said. “It carried over from junior swim lines and is now a big part of what’s trending in all categories.”

Swim lines such as Guess? Collection, Swim Systems, Jag and Dippers California were among a sea of swim lines that offered clean, wholesome beach looks with triangle tops and side-tie bikinis.

Striking a balance between youthful trends and modern looks is challenging, said Star, whose customers range from young newlyweds to sophisticated business types. With contemporary making up 70 percent of her business, Star said she planned to order onepiece suits by Nautica, Ralph Lauren, La Perla and Gottex.

Gina Powell, a misses and junior buyer at Dillard’s in St. Petersburg, Fla., said sales this year were on par with last year’s. Powell said her stores saw strong results earlier this year in the better misses category because of a spike in leisure travel during the resort season.

Powell eyed contemporary looks from lines such as Bebe and Becca that could spice up the retailer’s merchandise mix.

“I’m looking for more metal hardware on unique fabrications,” Powell said. “If the whole assortment is right, our customers will react to it.”

Los Angeles contemporary swimwear maker TNA by Lisa Lozano had more than 30 appointments booked with high-end retailers, including Neiman Marcus Group Inc.

Lozano said even though she has been in business for seven years, retailers did not fully embrace her trendy formula of more flesh than fabric until this year. This summer, one Southern California specialty retailer sold more than $100,000 worth of TNA bikinis. Lozano, who expects to increase sales by 50 percent next year, is trying to keep up with the demand.

For Cruise 2004, she expanded her collection with new looks, such as pastel-colored bikinis and mini-dresses, as well as girly bow ties and sexy boy-cut bottoms with cargo details.