Basic, fashion fleece flourish: price/value, style more important than price alone

Discount Store News, March 6, 1995 by James Mammarella

NATIONWIDE DSN REPORT -- Along with jeans and T-shirts, America's choice in casual activewear is fleece.

Every discounter carries multiple assortments of fleece, and competition by major suppliers like Hanes Fruit suppliers like Hanes, Fruit of the Loom, Tultex and Russell has made it possible to keep prices low. Attempting to gain market share, the manufacturers continue to add value, offering new colors, heavier weights and detailing in construction and trim.

Some discounters feel they are faced with "must carry" selections in basic fleece. At the same time, they have more options than ever in enhanced basic and fashion fleece.

Retail strategies differ on the soft casual clothing; Bradlees, for instance has done well in "better basics," but has found the fashion end flat. Ames plans to de-emphasize the middle by pulling back from 9-oz. fleece, but will gain in 7-oz. basics and the higher-end fashion lines, where it has done well. Pamida will stress fashion and heavy-weight basics while eliminating the 7-oz. assortment altogether.

All three approaches illuminate responses to customer demand and market conditions. Each merchant may find its decisions right for its customers. Time -- and the weather -- will tell.

Patti Simigran, dmm, women's apparel at Ames, said the chain's activewear fleece assortment moved slower than anticipated in late 1994 due to warm weather. At the same time, sales of certain items were hurt by size and color replenishment problems; thus there is room for improvement in vendor partnerships.

Ames will do its part on the selling floor by rolling out the updated wall and table basic fleece presentation seen at its Mt. Pocono prototype last November. Furthermore, in 1995 the discounter will cut back from '94 levels on its 9-oz. fleece presentation, typically offered at $9.99.

"We saw much better sell-through in 7-oz.," she said, adding that the heavier fleece may have sold better if Ames had carried it in more daring looks. "It needs a hood, a better graphic; it was too basic." Customers respond better to higher price points, she said, when the difference in a garment is immediately visible.

Simigran noted that good turn at the higher end proved that price isn't the obstacle so much as price/value. "We virtually sold out fleece jog sets and silk jog sets at $24.99," she said. The sets featured detailing such as feminine floral prints and athletic logos and stripes.

At Bradlees, Celia Clancy, vp, gmm, soft lines, said, "We improved the business at regular prices in basics." The key? "We improved our in-stock on lots of fashion colors. We run 12 colors in basic fleece." That may be more than most chains, where six to eight colors per season is the general rule.

Bradlees carries a mix of Hanes, Chic and private label; Hanes is the key vendor in basic fleece. Clancy said the best part of basics for Bradlees had been what she called "upgraded basics, 9-oz. cotton-rich fleece." Shoppers were ready and willing to pay the $9.99 retail, about two dollars higher than Bradlees' 7-oz. offering.

To some degree, Bradlees ran a successful private label program at $12.99, showing more cardigans, open bottom pants and striped tops that coordinate with bottoms. Clancy noted that even with a lot of effort aimed at updating the fashion fleece program every year, volume has remained good but flat.

Bradlees' better basic program may draw in purchases that otherwise would go toward fashion fleece. One reason: attention to the color palette in this chain's basics. "On our 9-oz., we really run colors that are much different than the basic colors," said Clancy. "And it's 80% cotton -- we're very proud to have it in our stores."

The assortment is not run on automatic replenishment, she added, meaning that merchandise managers must work harder and stay on top of sale trends to stay in stock.

Pamida is getting out of the lighter weight fleece business altogether. The smaller-market mass merchant's apparel strategy calls for upscaling fashions.

"We know we'll trade units for dollars," said Steve Drexler, vp, dmm, women's at Pamida. He said the chain has embarked on a new strategy that not only means going to heavier weight premium fleece -- nothing will be offered below 9 oz. -- but also carrying a fashion color palette.

"It just doesn't work to give the customer the same thing every year, the same grocery store colors," Drexler said. Instead, Pamida will strive to offer "colors that complement the balance of my assortment."

In contrast, Don DeLaura, vp, dmm, men's at Pamida, said that "in men's there's a different strategy for color. Ash, navy and black are still very important. We're not abandoning basic colors." Among important fashion colors for men, he said, are hunter and slate blue.

DeLaura nevertheless agreed on the strategy of upgrading weights and styling. "We'll sell less units, but earn more gross margin dollars," he said.

DeLaura said the new 9-oz. basic fleece assortment will feature "more detailed construction on the shirts: V insets, double stitching, inset sleeves, bigger specs, heavier weight. The pants have pockets and a drawstring." Hoods will contribute to the line in zippered and pullover styles.