Take a lesson in uniforms - children's school clothing - Special Supplement: Apparel Merchandising

Discount Store News, April 1, 1996 by Shari Sanders

As the corporate world relaxes its rules on dressing, America's public schools are taking a very different turn with regard to their students. An increasing number of public school systems are instituting mandatory uniform policies in an effort to decrease campus violence and bolster the emphasis on education.

In the fall of 1994, Long Beach, Calif., became the first U.S. public school district to enforce a uniform dress code, making some 70,000 kindergartners through eighth-graders wear black pants, a white shirt and a red fleece jacket each school day. The philosophy has helped that aching system. In a matter of one year, fights, drug use and sex offenses dropped by as much as 74 percent.

Currently, public school districts in Dallas, Houston, Baltimore, Dayton, Ohio, and parts of Florida, Arizona and California are enforcing some sort of uniform policy. The effort has since become something of a national crusade, with President Clinton leading the charge. In February, Clinton told a room of uniformed students in San Diego his plans to send manuals to the nation's 16,000 public school systems outlining steps they can take to legally enforce uniform codes.

"With uniforms, society is saying that it's time kids stopped killing other kids for leather jackets and brand-name sneakers," says Steve Lieberson, who is heading up the uniform effort for Dickies licensee I. B. Reder. "Uniforms put kids on a level playing field so they can learn."

Is the uniform phenomenon an opportunity for mass market retailers or simple a tertiary business best left to other types of merchants and catalogers?

Currently, the value-riced uniform business is dominated by the super mass merchants Wal-Mart and Target. But why aren't more mass merchants being aggressive in building a uniform business?

Mainly because unlike T-shirts or even basic denim, the uniform business is highly specialized, making return on investment questionable in the eyes of many retailers.

"Uniforms are definitely up-and-coming, but for '96, we're going to have to pass," says Bradlees' divisional merchandise manager of childrenswear Karen Cotton. "The category has to be extremely micromarketed, and right now, it can't give us the kind of payback we need."

But for those retailers who are ready and able to devote space and energy to uniforms, it can be a profitable endeavor.

"We started selling school uniforms a few years ago in our Dayton, Ohio-area stores," says Ray Demers, children's merchandise manager at Columbus, Ohio-based Value City. "At first, we failed. We had the wrong colors in the wrong stores."

So Demers and his merchandising staff did some homework. "We needed to do some digging to learn how to micromanage the business. Now we have 15 to 25 skus in about 30 of our 90 stores, and we're finding that it is a profitable business. We're planning to introduce uniforms into stores in the Columbus, Ohio, area because the school board there is contemplating making uniforms mandatory."

As might be expected, uniform manufacturers are willing to work hand in hand with interested retailers to help them manage the category. Category leader French Toast, which offers the Official School Uniform line, often conducts focus groups among children and parents and has established close ties with school districts across the country, working with them on design and colors.

New York-based childrenswear manufacturer Longstreet provides retailers with beneficial packaging for its uniform program. Its UPC code system on plastic packaging and small pre-packs help stores better track inventory by size and color.

Uniform makers urge retailers to set up uniform shops in their childrenswear departments and commit at least a fixture or two to the category. Inventory should be introduced in June or July and peak in August. The selection should be scaled back after Labor Day.

Demers at Value City devotes up to four rounders to uniforms during Back-to-School, and scales them down to two or less at off-peak times. "We flex the department by season," he says. "When uniforms are off-peak, we fill in the space with fleece, outerwear or summer clothing."

Vendors argue for at least some presence year round. "It is crucial that there always be some sort of presence on the floor. Sure, the biggest selling season is Back-to-School, but kids are going to need white shirts and accessories like socks throughout the school year," says Randy Gindi, executive specialist, uniform sales for French Toast.

Quality is an overriding theme in the uniform category. "It is the No. 1 issue with us," says Sandra Ayala, account executive at Longstreet. "Our pants are re-inforced at all stress points, and our jumpers, pants and skirts have reserve hems to let kids grow with them."

Dickies, a new player in uniforms, is using quality and functionality to sell its line. "We market our line as forever, not fashion-forward," says Lieberson. "School systems in the South and the West came to us and asked us to get into the business. The kids already wear Dickies sportswear and they thought it would be a great idea if we could make quality uniforms with the Dickies flavor. We are telling parents that our uniforms are made for school, but can be worn for other occasions that call for a neat look. They can also be handed down from one kid to the next."