GUEST EDITORIAL: WHERE DID ALL THE MERCHANDISE GO?
WHY ARE BUYERS PLAYING IT SAFE?
By Jack Abelson
I recall walking the menswear shows in February, seeing booth after booth with exciting, desirable items, and looking forward to those pieces being in stores in six months or so. Now that those months have passed, I am asking myself, “Where did all those great goods go?” I just returned from a trip to a major American city and came home with not a single piece of that apparel purchased, in spite of trying to buy some at numerous locations. Sadly, those great goods were simply not on retailers’ shelves (or at least not enough of them!)
I remarked to one salesperson, out of sheer frustration, that everything in the store was black, navy or grey, although this was fall! What happened to brown, rust, burgundy, green and the other rich, wonderful colors we associate with both falling leaves and temperatures? Good luck trying to find a pair of pants in a warm tobacco color! Worse, I was wearing a plaid sport coat, a wool tie, and maroon pants and everywhere I went salespeople commented how appropriate my clothing was for the season. The implication was: “Why don’t we have this look?” (Maybe they need to ask their buyers?). Indeed, everywhere I went, the merchandise excitement level was so minimal its pulse needed to be checked to see if it was still alive.
Does anyone out there believe substantial business can be done based upon need? Have people forgotten that nobody really needs anything, especially in menswear! Perhaps we need to recall we are in fashion, as opposed to the commodity, business? Moreover, do we really believe that men do not want to be noticed and therefore should all look alike? Are we content to let accessories carry the outfit and make a pocket square or hosiery the only focus of attention? Will that really keep our business afloat? (To quote the Billy Joel song, “Vienna”: “Dream on, but don’t imagine it will all come true.”)
As merchants, we must step outside the box, even a little! (Actually a whole lot of stepping is necessary.) Let us see some excitement and differentiation — some color and panache! We are in a constantly evolving industry, or at least it should be. We have nothing to lose by keeping on trend except a boring, unappealing selection of merchandise. If it is markdowns you fear, remind yourself that the biggest producer of price reductions is stale-looking blah goods. And why should any consumer buy something they already own, no matter the price! If we play it safe, we will be out (in some cases, quite literally out of business). The landscape is littered with those stores who tried that approach and learned the hard way not to go there!
To use a sports metaphor, what we are doing by playing it safe is the equivalent of the prevent defense in football — and all that ever accomplishes is to prevent the team employing it from winning. Do not let this happen, especially when you can prevent yourself from losing!
Jack Abelson is an industry consultant with many years of experience in the apparel business. He can be reached at jiabelson@aol.com.