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Europe Opts for Jeans Fashion
PARIS
-- European jeans retailers are choosing fashion over discounts as they ride out a difficult business cycle.
In contrast to the trend in the U.S., where back-to-school and fall denim sales have become increasingly promotional in recent years, Western Europeans are upping the fashion ante to generate sales, injecting heavier doses of novelty and often turning to new niche resources, such as Orjan Andersson and Koral. While more traditional blues continue to work their way into stores' assortments, generous doses of dramatic colors, such as cobalt blue, remain important and there's openness to new silhouettes.
The jeans market in Western Europe, worth $18.92 billion in 2011, is expected to increase 1.6 percent to $19.22 billion in 2012 and grow 10.6 percent, to $20.92 billion, by 2016, according to market research firm Euromonitor. Standard and premium jeans represent the lion's share of the market and the smaller but faster-growing superpremium category accounts for the rest.
The back-to-school denim rush is not as big in Europe as it is in the U.S. Still, everyone is waiting to see how the season will shake out.
"In Europe, back-to-school is not such a heavy promotional period as it is in the U.S. But it gives an indication of how the holiday sales will be," said Judith Russell, an independent apparel and retail consultant who tracks industry and economic trends.
Adhering to its generally cyclical nature, the denim business has been sluggish in recent seasons, with the difficulties confronting European economies exaggerating that softness. Yet Russell senses that the category could enjoy a resurgence even as fiscal problems persist. "You have to let it take its natural course, so that it comes back...