The right fit - work gloves - includes related article on glove marketing at Orscheln Farm & Home Supply Inc

Discount Store News, July 15, 1996

The American public's focus on their homes has spurred sales of numerous items from do-it-yourself products to gardening tools. Cocooning has also put a spark in the work glove category. It's now almost a $1 billion a year retail business and is exhibiting double-digit yearly growth.

"We're seeing growth with work gloves; customers associate us with the category," said Bob Smekal, divisional merchandise manager of menswear for Ames Department Stores, based in Rocky Hill, Conn. Ames, according to Smekal, is known for its work apparel as well as outdoor product selection.

According to Stephen J. Franke, president and chief executive officer of Mid West Quality loves Inc., much of the growth is incremental because it is coming from consumers buying gardening or outdoor gloves, not only from customers who use work gloves on the job.

"More people are spending time in their yards and need hand protection," said Franke. This has a residual benefit; customers purchasing these items are more likely to trade up in quality and price points.

Jim Befort, senior buyer for Orscheln Farm & Home, a chain of farm stores based in Moberly, Mo., agreed that greater use of work gloves among various consumer groups produced a sales jolt. "The category for us is showing growth, and to gain sales we must continue to do innovative things and appeal to more people," he said. To capitalize on work gIoves' potential,

Befort recently expanded his assortment into higher-priced lines.

The weather also had a hand in 1995 and early 1996 for outdoor work gloves. "Our business depends a great deal on the weather, so after last year's winter you can imagine how good it has been," added Jace Suttner, brand manager for manufacturer Wells Lamont.

Although sales are up, retailers and suppliers note that there's a shift in the business away from commodity gloves intended for blue-collar out-door work to more sophisticated versions used for gardening or sports activities. Today sales are brisk in a wide array of gloves ranging from top-of-the-line leathers to low-priced jerseys.

The fragmentation of work gloves, however, has not always led to consistant merchandising efforts on retail selling floors. Some chains still use men's apparel as the primary location and only display work gloves on a seasonal basis. Others, however, are creating space elsewhere - in lawn & garden or hardware, for instance. As might be expected, those merchants that locate gloves in lawn & garden and home areas - as well as in men's apparel - are realizing the highest category gains. And retailers offering upgraded merchandise such as leather gloves are finding shoppers willing to trade up.

Positioning work gloves in lawn & garden is a particularly well-conceived strategy because in that area the category gets greater exposure to the women who shop in the department.

Target Stores merchandises work gloves in the lawn and patio department on a seasonal basis and year-round in hardware. Men's and women's gloves receive an 8-ft. section situated above garden tools. Prices range from 99 cents for a basic jersey glove to $8.99 for a top-grain leather palm and canvas model.

The chain instituted a new program over the past three years in conjunction with its main resource, Mid West Quality Gloves Inc., that has resulted in incremental sales for the category.

Wal-Mart is also trying to build add-on volume. The giant retailer has perhaps the largest selection among traditional discounters, with a 16-ft. department in men's and a separate area in lawn & garden. "Wal-Mart's customer base fits nicely with the work glove category," noted Suttner. In addition to its in-line presentation in lawn & garden, Wal-Mart often clip strips gloves in other areas - sporting goods for instance-to take advantage of impulse sales.

Several chains, however, prefer to capitalize on the synergy with work clothes. Kmart, for example, utilizes a custom-designed, four-sided unit to display more than 20 stockkeeping units. There is also a, display on the wall. Prices at Kmart range from $1.29 for a basic jersey to $12.99 for a cowhide leather glove.

Ames, according to Smekal, also ties work gloves together with workwear. "The department draws a loyal following to our stores." Ames has a massive workwear department in about 70 units in conjunction with Williamson-Dickie, which helps the products stand out in the store.

Retailers devoted to servicing work needs also fare well with the department in men's. Orscheln, for instance, merchandise work gloves primarily in men's. But to reach out to customers not looking in that area, gloves are cross-merchandised in lawn & garden. The company has an astonishing 30 ft. of work gloves in work clothes alone.

Marketing gloves for activities such as gardening or sports has had a dramatic impact on extending the season for work gloves. "Some people forget about gloves after Christmas," said Franke. "That shouldn't be the case because people looking for gloves to perform household duties."

To really be in the business, retailers and work glove suppliers said, a good selection of imported and domestically made gloves need to be carried in at least 8 ft. of retail space.