Lingerie, special sizes get women's notice - Apparel - Discount Industry Annual Report. Part II: Merchandising and Productivity Analysis

Discount Store News, August 5, 1991

Lingerie, Special Sizes Get Women's Notice

Women's wear still leads the retail parade at discount. It also leads in the number of complaints. From a lack of fashion excitement--a complaint that was surely first uttered by a dissatisfied shopper named Cleopatra--to the dreaded recession, women's wear retailers struggled to stay on their feet last year.

1990 will be remembered less for innovations than for the refining retailers did in women's wear departments and with women's wear merchandise: all actions designed to capitalize on target customer bases and rid the stores of unprofitable merchandise.

New boutiques emerged to emphasize categories previously underexplored; markets were more closely defined and specialty categories exploited; store upgrading and redesigning continued to make shopping more enjoyable.

Shop-within-a-store concepts evolved. More manufacturers were getting into the act, and included new areas of merchandise.

Lingerie, which has been a hot area for the last few years, got major play in stores like Alexander's, New York. Bestform, the daywear and lingerie manufacturer, tested its product shop concept in this and other regional retailers. Coordinated tops and bottoms, stretch lace fashion items and some sexier merchandise made the grade in the stores.

The larger discounters also made similar statements. New Babylon, Sayville and Levittown, N.Y.--Kmarts featured extensive lingerie areas repleat with romantic lifestyle graphics.

Women's activewear, or more precisely performance wear, also got big play at Kmart. The chain introduced Rachel McLish leotards and other activewear. Kmart is banking on McLish's active image as a national body builder.

Even off-pricers such as Marshalls are in tune to good bodywear with at least one rounder designated to the merchandise in its smaller stores.

Jacques Moret is among the more visible performance-specific lines in the market. Gitano, this year, revamped its line to be more sportswear-oriented.

Discounters also concentrated on special sizes. This customer, often ignored by major retailers, found a new haven at discounters.

Plus sizes has been the more popular special size of recent years. In 1990, the category got its first branded shop concept through a Justin Allen shop at Prange Way. As a matter of fact, the Green Bay, Wis.-based discounter consciously emphasized both women's plus sizes and men's big & tall sizes, noting that both were more important than juniors in their markets.

Petite sizes also became news early this year as Kmart expanded its Jaclyn Smith line to include petites. According to Kmart, the line will feature the same styles as in the regular Jaclyn Smith line with the appropriate size adjustments.

With the entree of Jaclyn Smith in the petite market, it becomes one of the most visible brands in the category. The major discount brands--Gitano, Chic, Sasson, Cape Cod and Bonjour--also have a hand in petites through various merchandise. With this beginning, special sizes looks to be an area that will be looked at closely in the coming year.

PHOTO : Waterfall fixtures and overhead displays spiced up the look of women's wear merchandise at New Bedford, Mass.-based Stuarts (above) and at Hills, Lima, Ohio.