Capturing consumers with destination departments - National Industry Report: Work Wear supplement

Discount Store News, May 6, 1996

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Mass market retailers are wringing incremental sales out of workwear, making their stores destination outlets for the category.

Buyers see workwear as the workhorse of the men's apparel business, one currently registering better increases than apparel overall. Chains that have made a commitment to the $1 billion workwear business report steady 6 percent to 8 percent annual gains in men's workwear.

"There is a steady, slow growth in the category," says Bob Smekal, Ames Department Stores' divisional merchandise manager for menswear. He says that what he likes about the category is that it draws a very loyal following of shoppers into his chain.

"And," adds Jon Ragsdale, director of marketing for Williamson-Dickie, "it is important for retailers to remember that by serving these customers, they are bringing them into their stores where they will buy more merchandise throughout the store."

It is estimated that more than 15 percent of the working-male population wears something other than business attire to work.

"Retailers are starting to treat workwear as a category instead of just having a piece here and there, and they are giving it the presentation it needs," says Dickies' Jim McLaughlin, senior vice president of sales and marketing.

Mass merchants that have committed to full-line workwear presentations include: Ann & Hope, Ames, Anderson's, Caldor, Levines (the Dallas-based family department store), Pamida and GrandPa's, which have all given workwear its own department.

The payoff is worth the real estate investment. GrandPa's, the 13-store chain based in St. Louis, for example, utilizes a fixture and sign program from Dickies that spotlights its broad assortment.

"We use Dickies' Job Site displays in our stores. They provide us with massive signs, and the public relations from those sites is excellent," says buyer Dave Kieffer. There are currently 11 Job Site departments in GrandPa's stores. In addition to Dickies, GrandPa's stocks Carhartt, primarily for heavy jackets and overalls.

Kieffer believes that offering a full assortment has been a catalyst for growth. "Our secret is that the customer will find our choice of size and color to be excellent. We carry more than the other retailers. Our motto is vast selection," he says.

Like GrandPa's, Ames, based in Rocky Hill, Conn., has also become the consumer resource for workwear in its trading area. Workwear is set off from other menswear in 70 of Ames' units by using Dickies' Job Site concept. "We're definitely continuing with the Job Site program," says Denis Lemire, executive vice president of merchandising.

Workwear is still synonymous with Sears--despite its new emphasis on updated sportswear. Merchandised under a proprietary label in a dedicated space within menswear, Sears leverages its Roebucks franchise in departments accentuated with a framed visual of tools to create a shop-like enclave. "We provide a full range of workwear from jeans to pocket Ts and socks. Workwear is still one of our best-performing categories," reports a company spokeswoman.

Norman Prothro, buyer for Levines in Dallas, thinks that the attention the chain's Job Site departments have garnered is accelerating business.

"We feel the selection has attracted business we weren't getting--especially from middle-age men who want a khaki or a no-iron pant for casual use," says Prothro. "The products serve a dual purpose, although we feel it is important to merchandise them in a specific workwear department."

He says that customers can save a few dollars on workwear vs. traditional menswear. A $15 pair of work pants, for example, might sell for $25 in traditional product assortments, he says.

The increased business from casual apparel customers, coupled with incremental sales from blue-collar shoppers who are buying more of the new styles and colors available in workwear, are helping offset the loss of the fashion edge of the business, says Prothro.

"There was a spike during that [fashion] period, but we haven't been hurt because we have a lot of new colors and other products from Dickies," he says.

Debbie Sommers, buyer for Anderson's General Stores in Toledo, Ohio, also isn't concerned that workwear isn't the fashion choice it was two seasons ago because she believes that it exposed customers to the selection.

"That's okay, because it brought customers into our stores to see our offerings for when they join the workforce," she says. "We want to fill niches in the marketplace, and being the destination for workwear is an important niche to fill."

The fashion nature of workwear, however, hasn't totally faded. JCPenney, in fact, believes in it so strongly that the chain is putting Dickies into its young men's selection.

Other chains are also romancing the category, at least in small doses. "We do carry a few fashion items such as the painter's shirt and pocket Ts in colors, although our focus is the basic customer," says Kieffer at GrandPa's.

Another industry player, Carhartt, is emphasizing outdoor looks to make up for a drop-off in the trendy side of the business, according to Jason Russell, director of marketing for the Dearborn, Mich.-based company. However, Russell says that he is seeing a return to the popularity of streetwear among young customers. Carhartt jackets are being shown in snowboard advertisements and on MTV.