Discount harley davidson apparel

Retailers are turning to fashion to provide incremental children's activewear sales this spring.

Nylon separates helped spark 8 to 12 percent gains in active looks last year, skewing the entire sportswear category toward athletic looks. "Activewear is a major component of the kids' business," says Marguerite Whiteley, DVP-divisional merchandise manager for children's, infants' and layette at Venture. "Overall, the activewear business is good." Segments such as fleece are showing increases, and nylons separates double-digit growth.

However, basic wind pants and coordinates have hit a plateau, leaving manufacturers and retailers looking for ways to encourage shoppers to replace and replenish.

"Nylon separates are peaking, particularly pants," says Mike Gawin, division merchandise manager for Duckwell-Alco. "The stores have been glutted with these, and the price has been driven way down."

Henry Wiener, president of Hampton Activewear, which markets under the Rawlings name, says his spring looks are going beyond the basics to include more mesh, reversible products and snap-away styles.

In addition to more fashion, retailers say they will expand activewear sales with renewed attention to licenses, an effort to increase coordinates sales, an increase in activewear for girls' and the continued emphasis on fleece.

"What it is all about in the mass market is a quality translation of the Nike and Fila looks and styling," Wiener says. Spring looks are also being inspired by the return of Adidas with bright colors and striping.

"Coordinate groups have been great, especially the soccer and basketball looks," Gawin says. He is planning to have a larger program of these styles for spring 1998.

Despite success with separates and coordinates, the business remains essentially bottoms driven.

"Most kids think they have a T-shirt at home that will match the bottoms," Weiner says. To notch up sales of tops, Rawlings is doing more to coordinate looks. "We have reversible mesh to dazzle shirts that correspond with pants and shorts," Wiener says. "We're also adding more color such as purples and coordinating blues and yellows to encourage coordinate purchases. In the past, the colors have been basic reds, whites and blues."

Although baseball looks are starting to revive, especially for spring, basketball styles still dominate boys' activewear. Soccer also remains strong, and chains such as Bradlees, ShopKo and Duckwell-Alco are planning to capitalize on the sport's appeal. "Kids are playing more soccer, and we're seeing that reflected in sales," Gawin says.

Retailers also report an uptick of interest in licensed sports apparel. Ventures Stores is making a big NBA and NFL statement in boyswear, featuring separates priced between $12.99 and $16.99 and licensed wind-quits at $34.99. The chain maintains a separate sports boutique for the merchandise. "We designate an active area with team apparel in boys'. In girls', active is merchandised with sportswear," Whiteley says.

Manufacturers are hoping to extend activewear licensing beyond the traditional team logos.

Haddad Apparel is successfully marketing its Born to Ride merchandise to discounters--an offshoot of its Harley Davidson line. "Born to Ride is our fastest growing license," says Tina Ellis, vice president of marketing for Haddad. The company also offers professional and college sports licenses in team colors with the Professional Sports Club.

For girls', Haddad continues to utilize its Barbie license with activewear such as wind suits and fleece. "Barbie is blowing out of the stores right now," Ellis says.

Girls' activewear in general is starting to follow the growth spurt boys' began two years ago. In the past, many retailers didn't break out special areas for girls' activewear. But retailers are now duplicating activewear looks in the girls area.

"We have had a surprise in girls'. We tried the same looks as in boys' and were very successful," Gawin says. He hopes this will be a big opportunity for spring. In fact, the company is placing a greater emphasis on active looks than traditional denim and twill shorts for girls' for spring.

M. Hidary & Co. is supplementing its girls' activewear assortment this spring with its WNBA line. "Girls' activewear is a newer issue (than boys'), and the growth rate has been substantial, especially in the 7 to 16 size ranges."

Caldor's Mark Minsky agrees: "We were successful with activewear for boys' and are now translating it to a girls' look."

While nylon continues to be foremost in the minds of children's activewear buyers, fleece remains strong in many stores. "Fleece is ahead of last year by 40 to 50 percent in sets, and polar fleece at $19.99 has been excellent," Whiteley says.

Whether fleece or nylon, retailers say they are using activewear as a major focal point of sportswear departments. "Activewear looks are merchandised on separate displays within sportswear," Gawin says. "That's important, as activewear is currently driving kids sportswear."

Adds Binkley: "Some retailers will not have the real estate to break out the activewear category as a separate issue. In this case, we make sure that the top styles and silhouettes are included in the (sportswear) mix."