The women's fashion/clothing sector in the United States is very competitive
It is essential to be selective when proposing the collection and to have agents who are well-introduced in the independent retail sector
ExportUSA's consultancy service for the USA includes the review of the collection as well as the search for agents, representatives, and showrooms in America
The fashion apparel market in the United States of America is as big as it is fiercely competitive - Companies that want to successfully enter the US fashion industry must be prepared to invest in creating a collection that is both consistent overall and 'saleable'
By "saleable" we mean that:
The "Road Reps": A Category of Fashion / Clothing Representatives in the USA
The so-called 'Road Reps' are in a class of their own in the world of fashion clothing sales in the United States of America.
They are fashion/clothing representatives who have their own portfolio of independent stores in America arranged along a specific route [e.g. from New York to Connecticut to Chicago, ending up in Cleveland or Columbus in Ohio].
Two or three times a year, this type of fashion representative leaves in their own vehicle with all the collections they represent and visits all the stores in their portfolio to show the collection and collect orders.
The stores all sell the same type of clothing [classic ladies' wear or business/office style or contemporary young fashion]. The stores are arranged along an easy route so that they can all be visited within three to four weeks.
Back at base, the representative sends the collected orders to the company, which puts them into production and dispatches them.
This is a way of representing and selling clothing and fashion in the United States that is well suited to small and medium-sized fashion manufacturers.
These types of representatives know exactly the taste of the stores they visit: each representative specializes in a particular type of segment. In this way, the Italian fashion manufacturer is sure that his collection is only presented to stores selling that particular type of clothing.
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- The collection is designed for a specific target group;
- It has its own personality;
- It has an adequate breadth in terms of range without being so vast as to entail excessive investments for its production;
- In commercial terms, the prices are structured in a consistent way;
- The catalogs and price lists are complete and accurate;
- All items are clearly marked;
- All the garments comply with the labeling regulations in force;
- Research has been carried out to determine the import duties for each garment, taking into account the composition of the fabric.
ExportUSA offers a specialized consultancy service for companies wishing to sell women's fashion clothing in the United States
- Together with an American fashion representation company with almost twenty years of experience, we review the entire collection, catalogs and price lists.
- We present it to showrooms and representatives in the various areas of the United States.
- We act as sales managers coordinating the representatives who will be assigned to the various areas in the United States.
However, the prerequisites for successful entry into the US fashion market are the flexibility to adapt the collection over time to meet the needs of the market/customer/consumer and an adequate budget to support the investment needed for:
- samples for the agents;
- participation in local fairs and marts;
- contribution to the costs of the showrooms that will represent the collection;
- costs for seeking agents.
The consultancy service for the sale of fashion / clothing offered by ExportUSA is based on a very practical model: the first step is to identify, within the collection, the garments and styles that are most suitable for the American market. Seeking representatives / showrooms only happens in the second step of the process.
Strategic development prospects for the fashion and clothing sector
By 2025, the 600 largest cities in terms of GDP per capita will account for at least two-thirds of global economic growth.
New York and Los Angeles rank in the Top 10 of these cities. In response to this trend where purchasing power is concentrated in specific geo-demographic areas, fashion brands are increasingly counting on internationalization strategies and planning their geographical expansion accordingly.
The development of e-commerce is increasingly impacting the economic sphere of our daily lives and in particular, in the fashion sector it is estimated that in 2016 over 60% of purchases will be influenced by online channels: e-commerce sites, publications in online magazines, social media and digital marketing. Fashion houses are adapting to remain competitive and maintaining an innovative spirit by building an integrated and uniform multi-channel offer.
The womenswear market in the US grew by 2% compared to 2014, reaching a volume of $225 billion.
Its size and, above all, the variety of segments it offers in terms of price points, styles, seasonality and conditions of use, not to mention the legal certainty and security of payments and timeframes, make it one of the most attractive segments to both large and small companies with quality products and a desire to express their personality to American customers.