Apparel skirts 31% of market - Discount Industry Annual Report: part 2: Merchandising and Productivity Analysis

Discount Store News, July 16, 1990

Apparel Skirts 31% of Market

Ladies' wear, housewares, children's wear and hardware will be the leading volume producing categories for discount department stores this year, according to DSN research.

With combined sales of $29.1 billion, ladies', men's and children's apparel departments will account for over 31 percent of the projected $92.5 billion that full-line discount department stores will generate in 1990. Adding the $2.2 billion expected to be generated by discounters' jewelry departments this year, the apparel and fashion categories will account for more than one-third of total store sales.

The home products categories of housewares, consumer electronics, domestics and photography will also generate a hefty percentage of full-line discounters' sales. These categories will generate $26.5 billion in sales this year, approximately 28.6 percent of total store sales.

The remainder of discount store sales will come from the hard lines departments of hardware, health & beauty aids, automotives, toys, sporting goods and stationery. These categories will generate about $31.1 billion in sales this year, or about 33.6 percent of total volume. Miscellaneous other product categories will total some $3.6 billion in sales for discounters.

Other major merchandising trends of the past year were:

* A resurgence in sales of dresses, casual sportswear and knits in women's wear. The "value image" of discounters and their continuing efforts to upgrade or upscale various departments have made them a force to be reckoned with in the women's apparel industry. * An emphasis on casual looks and branded merchandise in men's wear. * Intense competition from specialty stores for the children's wear business. Ward and Sears launched major new kids' specialty concepts, while Toys "R" Us added 25 stores to its Kids "R" Us apparel division. * Fun and trendy accessories added sparkle to the jewelry and accessory business. * The continuing recasting of discounters' home products departments into home decor centers added a new fashion focus to the non-electrics housewares business. * Home health care, "feel good" products like massagers and vacuum cleaners were the success stories in electric housewares last year. * Feature-laden, inexpensive 35mm cameras led a rebound in the photo department last year. * Discounters continued to cut into full-price department store and specialty store home fashions business by upgrading their domestics assortments. * Fashion colors, improved greeting cards displays and office quality supplies swept through discounters' stationery departments as the home office business exploded. * New products spawned by environmental concerns added a new twist to the hardware and lawn & garden categories. * In H&BA, diet products, ethnic and professional hair care merchandise, eye care and environmentally neutral products were the rage. * While video game sales continued to siphon dollars away from the traditional toy categories, many discounters reported success with trading cards, dolls and licensed characters. * Waxes and polishes shined the brightest in the automotives department. * Golf and fitness products are the bright spots in sporting goods.