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`Lifestyle' Apparel Shapes Activewear

Imagine the merchandiser's nightmare as a shipment of fleece shorts come into the store. Are they activewear, weekend wear, workout wear, gym wear or casual wear?

Merchandisers can sleep soundly now that the umbrella of "lifestyle" apparel--clothing that looks as good on a playing field as it does in the bleechers--continues its retail climb.

Discounters have been particularly effective with this category. While they also feature their share of specialized apparel--the efficient bike pants and the collection of sport specific athletic shoes--it is the "lifestyle" apparel that does best.

This fairly recently named category includes the hot colored walking shorts that work on an urban basketball court as well as they do on a seaside boardwalk. Manufacturers and retailers alike take a two-prong approach to this category, focusing on the fashion, but basing the design on function.

For discounters, it means a greater emphasis on fashion, even in the lower price points. This category in general has been great at virtually all retail channels, but discounters are consistently ahead of the rest of the retail pack.

Second Leading Channel

Discount stores were recently ranked as the second leading channel of general athletic equipment and apparel, according to the National Sporting Goods Association. With the health craze still in high gear, it is no surprise that discounters do well in everything from T-shirts, sweats, shorts, swimsuits and other casual garments.

For spring '91, the styles many expected to be previewed at MAGIC, will continue to promote comfort, function and fashion with tailored details such as stripes and hoods. In knit tops, screen printing is taking the market by storm.

Mary Pat Lester, a merchandise executive and Eli Harari, head of men's wear at Gitano focuses the category by calling its garments "fashion function not performance function."

"You could wear our activewear to the gym, but it wouldn't be what you chose to race or compete in," Lester said. "Our nylon windbreaker, for instance, looks great and will keep the wind out, but it probably won't keep you dry in a pouring rain."

Among the styles Gitano is offering for spring '91 are a collection of nylon separates, including the windbreakers, shorts and pants all featuring graphic fashion details or striping.

"Hoods are a design element that is now doing well at retail," Lester noted. "Double shorts have been performing well also. These feature a short over a short but in two different fabrications." Lester also noted that printed jersey and fleece shirts and shorts were important spring offerings and would be a prominent spring garment.

Chuck Rilling, men's merchandise manager, Jamesway, noted that the trend to printed fleece was already showing promise at retail. Jamesway expects to do well with a range of College fleece, tops with college logos, especially for this back-to-school season and is looking for updated spring merchandise.

A good gauge of how well printed fleece is at retail is by comparing its growth with the sales growth in general apparel. Mike Hand, a vice president with KSA/NDP, an apparel research group, said printed fleece grew by 20 percent in 1989, while apparel in general grew only 7 percent.

Rilling noted that the mix of true performance apparel or weekend wear at Jamesway varies from season to season. While a sports craze may influence a buying decision, the greater majority of items is in the fashion activewear category, and is doing very well.

At K mart, Tony Vaal, divisional merchandise manager, men's, noted that space requirements often decided the mix of performance and fashion activewear. "We really don't have the space to do justice to a good, efficient performance activewear presentation. We concentrate on shorts and tanks that can be used for exercising, but don't set these things up as an athletic department."

Generation One, New York, is one of the companies that expects to find gold in them there discount hills. The lifestyle category potential has existed for Generation One since it took on the Ocean Pacific license. The line, although found in some apparel off-pricers, was targeted more to department stores and specialty chains. Now Generation One is ready to expand.

It has taken on the Sasson license for all men's wear apparel and hopes to takes its successful lifestyle lines into the mass market.

The athletic and activewear market has proven a fertile ground even for established firms in other categories. As it begins its expansion plans, Duck Head Apparel Co., a work clothing manufacturer primarily working in the Southeast, has decided to go national. With this decision comes an important advertising campaign, and an entrance into new casual wear markets. Now, in addition to its traditional khaki pants and work shirts, Duck Head has added sweatshirts, shorts and T-shirts.

Though its competition in the new activewear market is extensive, the company has positioned itself as a basics house in fleece, interlock and pique tops and plans to build on its already strong label.

"We call ourselves the poor man's polo," David Baseheart, president of sales and marketing, said. "On our fleece and knit tops we really play off our logo, using embroidery and screen printing. Our strength is both the basic styling and our service-record. We deliver quickly and retailers love us for that."

The line is in major mass merchants as well as specialty stores and chains, including what Baseheart calls "the mom and pop chains" in smaller regional markets.

Brittania's newest effort in the market has been the signing of JEM Sportswear. The two signed an agreement earlier this year giving JEM access to the Brittania label for men's activewear. The line is available for Holiday 1991, and will be shown at MAGIC.

Licensing brands such as Gitano and Brittania, characters such as Garfield, and sport names, are an important aspect of the activewear market.

Winer Industries intends to get a good grip on the market with its line of apparel featuring the World Wrestling Federation. According to Scott Bennett, director of sales and marketing for Winer, the array of clothing at MAGIC will include screen prints on 100 percent cotton T-shirts, tank tops, sweats and shorts.

The screen prints at Winer will also feature environmental themes in photorealism, which Bennett calls Winer's specialty. The "Let it Be" collection will feature scenes of the sky, sea and forest taken from actual photographs.

Winer is only one of the companies using the environmental theme. Sun Apparel, Fruit of the Loom and J.G. Hook are only a few of the other manufacturers encouraging concern for Mother Earth.

PHOTO : Discounters have made the most of the versatile activewear category by suiting it for

PHOTO : every occasion

PHOTO : Wal-Mart, Harrison, Ark.: The phenomenal mass market appeal of `lifestyle' apparel shows

PHOTO : no signs of abating.