ASK THE EXPERT: ALL ABOUT JACKETS

Q: I’ve heard a lot about the sales momentum behind clothing categories over the last few seasons, but I have a more casual store focused on sportswear. Where do you see trends heading in men’s casual wear?

A: It’s true we’ve been talking a lot about clothing recently, because the stamina of this trend has been unusual, but sportswear is also doing well.

Interestingly, in both clothing and sportswear the classes that are performing the best are some sort of jacket. In fact, five of the six top trending categories are jackets such as soft coats, topcoats, rainwear, outerwear, and, of course, sport coats.

Outerwear is even outperforming sport coats in terms of growth, up 15% so far this year.

So, this is really where the trend is in terms of men’s dressing. It is a more casual look and a lifestyle trend. As we look to fall and holiday I would expect these classes to continue to outperform other classes.

Take a look at the vendor performance in your jacket classes to see where sales are the strongest, and continue to invest in these vendors. Also, look for new vendors to bring some fresh looks into your jacket selection so we can keep this trend moving into next year.

Photo, at top, by Pylyp Sukhenko.