Buy Now: Men's Resources Build Inventory for Immediate Delivery

Despite nearly two decades experience selling high-end women’s fashion, retailer Fred Levine waited until the last minute to begin placing orders for his new contemporary menswear store.

Levine, the owner of the 22-store M. Fredric chain of women’s contemporary boutiques, left himself two weeks to stock his first M. Fredric Man store, which opened in Westlake Village, Calif., in June.

“It’s kind of shocking,” he said. “Having been a women’s buyer, I got used to being up against a six-week delivery. I would never wait this long to buy women’s goods—it would take two months to get all I needed.”

In his experience, contemporary womenswear vendors who stocked inventory for Immediate delivery were few and far between. “The re-order business was limited,” he said, and vendors with Immediates were importers with a good deal of stock. In comparison, shopping for his men’s stores, he said, has been “a piece of cake.”

It helps that menswear is relatively seasonless, Levine said.

“Menswear has less defined seasons than womenswear; it’s less perishable,” he said. “I can buy wool beanies and light cashmere sweaters for men for Spring and be confident that they’ll sell.”

But mostly, he said, buying for men is easier because a growing number of men’s resources are beginning to stock goods for Immediate delivery. “They seem to be more willing to over-cut,” Levine said, noting that companies that can offer Immediate goods give retailers the opportunity to buy closer to season.

But waiting until the last minute doesn't mean Levine scrapes the bottom of the barrel. “I almost never have to discount menswear. When we have a sale, there is nothing for me to take a markdown on,” he said.

Affliction and Obey are among the men’s resources moving away from cut-to-order. “We take product we believe in and make extra,” said Don Juncal, president of Santa Ana, Calif.–based Obey. “Almost always, we cut 10 to 30 percent over what was booked” on items the company thinks will perform well, he said. Obey manufactures its apparel domestically and overseas in China, Hong Kong and India. “We like it when retailers ask for something and we have it,” he said.

For the most part, the over-cutting works out well for everyone involved, Juncal said, but he acknowledges that Obey takes a considerable risk. “There have been times when we’ve gotten it wrong,” he said. Stock was left languishing in the warehouse and sold at a discount later. But, Juncal says, the risk the company takes is comparable to the risk taken by the retailer. “We don’t take stuff back from retailers—if they ordered it, they keep it— and it’s their responsibility,” he said.

When Affliction, a Santa Ana–based maker of hip T-shirts, thermals, hoodies and polo shirts, debuted at the Pool Trade Show in Las Vegas last August, the company was ready to take Immediate orders. “We produced everything prior to the shows to be one step ahead of the competition,” said Affliction Co-owner Eric Foss. Working on high speed, the brand manufactures new collections every three months. “Everything we make is available immediately,” Foss said. He thinks that’s been a key factor in the young company’s success.

Retailers responded favorably to the concept, and the brand’s T-shirts, which feature vintage-inspired hand-drawn artwork, have performed well enough to justify the risk. As the line expands—fleece, woven tops and jackets are on the horizon—Affliction will still over-cut for Immediates but will also begin to pre-book future seasons. The line is growing so quickly, Foss said, that the only way to keep up is to move the company’s manufacturing, which is now done locally, offshore. When that happens, pre-booking will become important as lead times grow from a few days to 120 days or more. “We’ll try to cut back on over-cutting as we produce further in advance,” Foss said.

Shifting the risk

“Buying far in advance is a gamble,” said Steve Mukai, general manager of the Avenue boutique in Fountain Valley, Calif. “People are trying to get away from pre-booking,” he said, possibly because sales have been sluggish and funds more precious but also because menswear consumers are getting more finicky. Immediates, he said, take the guesswork out of buying. But, he added, relying on Immediates is a risk in itself. “Some companies only release Immediates if you’ve developed a good relationship,” Mukai said, and companies that are doing well can blow through their inventory quickly, leaving latecomers holding an empty bag.

At recent trade shows, buyers have been hedging their bets by scouting for Immediates as well as asking to preview future seasons earlier. At January’s Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo in San Diego, many vendors hustled to bring samples of their Fall lines to the show, which is traditionally geared toward Summer styles.

Jill Bennett, owner of the Birthday Suits boutique in Outer Banks, N.C., roamed the aisles of Surf Expo in Florida last month looking for goods that straddle the line between Summer and Fall, “The trick is to buy something that works now and flows well into future seasons,” she said.