CHEAP CHIC; FAST-FASHION EUROPEAN RETAILERS ARE GUNNING TO OPEN MORE STORES STATESIDE, AND THEIR STYLISH SHOES-AT-A-PRICE ARE PRIMED TO HEAT UP COMPETITION.

Footwear News, February, 2006 by Daswani, Kavita

Byline: Kavita Daswani

As if the market wasn't tight enough.

Domestic retailers, take note: Fast-fashion Euro retailers are continuing to expand stateside - and so are their competitive private-label footwear assortments.

These cheap-and-chic international retailers - think Zara, H&M and soon-to-open Mango - are making their presences known in the U.S. While trendy ready-to-wear dominates their assortments, it's clear that their head-to-toe offerings stand to do formidable business in the moderate market as the chains grow into Middle America.

David Wolfe, creative director of New York-based fashion consulting firm Doneger Group, said that U.S. fashion-footwear brands "need to be aware, and maybe wary [of their European...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Premium Content Partnership | HighBeam Research provides an in-depth online archive library of reference works.