Brand switching grows in tough market - men's apparel - Power Brands

Discount Store News, Oct 16, 1995

Mired in a sluggish period for men's apparel, discounters' ratings of the top brands has hardly altered since last year. Wrangler, Hanes and Fruit of the Loom repeated as the closely packed troika, with other brands qualifying merely as also-rans.

The story was the same among consumers, who again found Hanes, Fruit of the Loom and upstairs brand Levi as the most deserving of their attention and charge accounts.

Men's apparel is in the middle of the 26-category field in brand preference and consumer confidence in finding sought-after brands, remaining steady at 6.88, slightly below the 7.25 average for all categories.

There was a spike in the willingness to switch brands this year, up to 52% from 40% in 1994. This represents a rebound to the 1993 range (50%). By this measure, as in the willingness to buy private label goods, men's apparel lies near the average for all categories in this year's Power Brands study.

Hanes and Fruit of the Loom remain the Power Brands in men's apparel, but Wrangler outdid this duo in retailers' judgment. It was the top-performing brand at each of the Big Three. Wrangler was the sole apparel brand qualifying as a "near Power Brand" on the retailer side, scoring very high with discounters, but lacking consumer support. While

Wrangler has been a best-performing brand for retailers for more than five years, it has just as consistently gained a minor share of consumer preference. Simply stated, American consumers are strongly wedded to Levi as the denim brand of choice whether they buy it or another brand.

The Rustler, Lee and Brittania brands all slipped on retailers' lists of top-performing brands. This could be a sign of things to come as retailers pursue aggressive PL denim programs. Wal-Mart is introducing Faded Glory as a new house brand, Kmart debuted Saugatuck Dry Goods last year, Target continues to build Honors and Merona, and several regionals are following suit.

While Rustler and Brittania are relatively well situated in the market, both garnered fewer total mentions in 1995 across the Big Three. This duo held onto top-five status only at Kmart.

In contrast, Rustler's sister brand, Wrangler, jumped from a 37% level last year at Kmart to 59% this year, unseating Fruit of the Loom (FOTL) for top honors. At Target, Hanes and FOTL showed the most gain.

The top three at Wal-Mart--Wrangler, Hanes and FOTL--lost steam in '95, mainly due to the rise of Reed St. James. If the surge in Fridaywear means more shoppers are considering discount stores as places to shop for office casual apparel, Reed St. James may be benefiting. By virtue of heavy mentions at Wal-Mart, Reed St. James, which didn't even make the retailers' top 10 in '94, vaulted into fourth place.

Retailer's best performing brands
        All Discounters
Brand                1995    1994
Wrangler              46%     42%
Hanes                 41      41
Fruit of the Loom     41      41
Reed St. James        11       5
Rustler                9      16
Dickies                8       9
Lee                    8      13
Brittania              7      13
Wilson                 7       4
BVD                    6       7
% of total mentions as a top-performing brand.
Source: DSN/Leo J. Shapiro & Associates, July 1995
Consumers' most preferred brands
        All Discount Store Shoppers
Brand                1995    1994
Hanes                 37%     26%
Fruit of the Loom     24      21
Levi                  22      23
Wrangler               6      10
Arrow                  4       4
Jockey                 4       6
MacGregor              3       2
Haggar                 3       5
Dickies                3       3
Lee                    3       5
% of total mentions as a
preferred brand.
Source: DSN/Leo J. Shapiro
& Associates, July 1995