The Specialty Insider Smart Guide:


DENIM How to Sell Suzanne Blecher


It’s been around for more than 200 years, but no category of fashion changes as often – and requires as much constant attention – as denim. That’s why Specialty Insider chose it as the subject of our very first How to Sell Smart Guide to make sure you don’t get the blues when you’re selling jeans


Creating a niche in specialty can be a daunting task. How do you optimize product offerings? How do you drive traffic to your store? Where do you advertise and what promotions should you run? A trip to Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week can provide a storeful of trends, but deciding what your targeted consumer will buy takes editing, smarts and a little bit of luck.


So, we’ve asked executives and creative people at some of the most famous and best brands in the industry to share their secrets with us about how they position their own brands for success and discuss how they think specialty stores can do the same.


From the outside looking in, denim industry insiders offer tips on optimizing product and profits.


1. How Should a Store Decide on the Correct Product Mix for its Target Customer?


The first thing a specialty store must decide is who you want to be, according to Michael Press, president at Vintage Revolution. “Are you trying to be a denim store? What is your target consumer?” he asks. The younger, and the more casual, tend to increase the need for a larger denim mix.


Independents must look at other stores in their area, according to Press. “Is there already a well-recognized jean store? This greatly affects the mix again,” he said. If there is a mega-retailer nearby, the “mix needs to be either very defined” so the specialty retailer “can maximize customer needs without carrying hundreds of SKUs.” In this case, a retailer should choose to “really show off a single or just a few brands but with an impactful offering. That trumps the display of a competing store.”


(Cont.)


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