Denimandjeans | Global Trends, News and Reports | Worldwide

Tag: Premium Denim Jeans Market

  • Premium Denim Jeans Made In L.A !

    Here is a an interesting article from LA times which shows how the premium denim is still going strong and how Los Angeles is still the mecca for the premium denim manufacturing in the USA.
    Jerome Dahan , CEO Citizens of Humanity , says that he could make the jeans in China or other places at 30-40% lesser cost ,but he prefers to do so in L.A . Michael Geller , CEO of Paige Premium Denim agrees with him and says the production being in L.A , it is very easy for him to just hop into the car and reach the washing or sewing site to rectify any errors that may crop up in production. 

    The production of jeans in L.A is NOT cheap ! The fabrics that are being used by such brands can be  costly as $25 per yard !.  Simple  style details such as 5 stitches per inch (which have to be done by hand ) , using different threads , having a cool embroidered back pocket  etc can set you back by 20-30 dollars. Sampling is a huge cost . Geller says that it costs about $400-$500 to create a single sample that has to be shown to prospective buyers. 
      citizens seasonal super stretches

    citizens ponte linen denim jeans

    But despite all these odds of high costs of manufacturing in L.A , the customers are still ready to pay the very high retail prices which may reach over $500 per pair of jeans. Brands like Citizens of Humanity are not deterred and produce over a million jeans a year . This is a phenomenal number for jeans to be made in costly production centre like L.A.  With the premium denim market (Over $100 a jeans) estimated to be over 20 million pieces in US and value of the same being around $2 billion, the numbers are not small though not very big either.

    But what will happen if the economy slides further in US or EU. Will the high prices of premium denim jeans be still acceptable. We have seen in the last three years that the volumes of premium denim have not affected too  much due to the recession though of course the growth of this segment  has been affected. One of the purported reason for the same was that premium denim cannabalized on other apparel categories ie consumers in the west thought it was better to buy a pair of good jeans and replace their buying for a few other bottoms that they were buying as jeans could be wore at a multiple occasions . Also , the desire of the consumers to own at least a pair of premium denim is strong and that desire is keeping this segment of the industry on the push. Big retailers like Gap have been trying to bring out premium denim products at lower prices , consumers are yet to wholeheartedly accept them. A question that comes to mind of many a consumer is

    “ We are ready to pay the extra cost  for the high quality that we are getting . But why do we need to pay the multiple times that number to pay everyone in the chain till retail point so that an extra $1 of cost ends up being charged to the consumer as $4 or $5 .. Is there a way to retain the high quality without being required to pay the entire supply chain the multiple?

    May be in near future we may develop new methods of retailing which may do away with a part of the chain which brings the product to the consumer at a lower cost . The web has done its part in reducing that cost , but still it is not satisfactory . Consumers are not satisfied unless they see the product and feel it . We look forward to the day when an innovative way of retailing brings high quality products to consumers with very small additions to cost in the chain.

  • Super Premium Denim Jeans Sales Fall While Denim Rules ..

    The year 2008 has been bad for most of the industries and early 2009 has not been good either.Apparel industry has not been an exception and  has been hit with a 6.3% decline in the first quarter.. However, sales of denim jeans has been a bright spot in this otherwise dismal scenario. The sales of jeans has actually grown 2.3% in this period . Does it mean that denim jeans are actually cannibalizing the share of other apparel bottoms ? Possibly . Levi’s – which has seen a growth in denim sales, has its non-denim Dockers brand  hit hard, and several of its retail stores have gone out of business.

    But all is not gung-ho in the denim industry . Some of the segments of the industry have suffered while others have gained. Let’s try to find answers to some questions related to the denim industry in US.

     

    What is the situation of the total denim sales in USA ?

     

    1. The denim jeans industry – a $13 billion industry – has actually grown 2.3% December 2008 – February 2009 where the apparel sales as a whole has declined 6.3% !
    2. Sales of large denim companies has improved .VF reported revenue from Wrangler jeans was up 3% in the first quarter of 2009, and Lee jeans sales was up 7% !

    What is happening to the Super Premium Denim Category ?

     

    1. This category of premium denims with a price tag of $200+  has suffered and sales went down 17% in this category last year .
    2. Reason – Inspirational shoppers are not going that high and luxury customers are not buying more than 2-3 pairs anymore..
    3. So at 7 for All Mankind, about 95% of the company’s jeans are now less than $200, up from 70% a year ago.
    4. True Religion : Wholesale sales were down 17% in the first quarter, and sales at its stand-alone stores were down about 10%. But they are not yet changing their strategy and reducing prices. They expect consumers to come back for their jeans.

    What are the manufacturers of Premium Denim Brands doing to fight recession ?

    1. They are trying to communicate to their buyers why their jeans are so expensive. As Topher Gaylord, President of  7 for All Mankind says "It’s the hand distressing and other denim treatments make his production costs 10 times higher than jeans sold in the mass market” and this is what they are tyring to teach their customers.
    2. Due to drop in sales at Luxury departmental stores, they are trying to open more of their own stores. True Religion opened more than 30 in the last year. Lucky Jeans, owned by Liz Claiborne , is adding a number of specialty shops .
    3. They are trying to become a Life Style brand – with non-denim clothes and accessories to thrive.

    What are Department Stores doing to shore up their denim sales ?  

    1. Discounting their prices . Not depending on sales of Premium Denim Brands and instead focusing on their own or other mid-priced denim brands.
    2. Trying to add more denim brands . J.C.Penny  now sells about 25% more brands of jeans than it did five years ago, including wide-leg dark-denim jeans with cuffs
    3. Department stores are buying more of the $200-and-under jeans for this  fall.

    What are traditional denim brands like Levi’s and Wrangler doing?

     

    1. Trying to understand the needs of their consumers better and delivering those products at reasonable prices.
    2. Levi’s eg, is capitalizing on the trend toward "boyfriend jeans," which are snug on the rear and loose in the legs.were snug skinny-fit jeans, slim-fit jeans that Graden says are "not as snug," as well as new back-pocket treatments.
    3. Wrangler began offering jeans with a "Comfort Solution," which includes a waistband that expands as you move.
    4. Gap is trying to build jeans every bit as good as any premium player and trying to regain lost market share by offering 7 seven different "fits" for men and seven for women, including "always skinny" and "curvy."

    So it seems that denim is there to stay – whether its good times or bad. But denim brands will have adopt different strategies and cater to their own niche in a proper way. Check out some more details on Premium Denims on this article from USA Today  here .