Selling fashion and clothing in the United States

How to develop a fashion collection for the U.S. market?

Emanuel, you’ve been working in fashion here in New York for years. What can you tell us about the U.S. market?

It’s a vast market with a lot of potential. But precisely because it’s so large, you need to focus—you can’t sell everything to everyone. You need to choose what to sell and to whom.

In this market, which seems to buy everything from China, is there still room for Western companies?

Absolutely. But, as I said, foreign brands need to learn to think in terms of segmentation and positioning. For example, you can’t create a knitwear collection in a vacuum—designing it just because it looks good or because the designer likes it. You need to think in terms of market segment and positioning: Who am I targeting with my collection? What’s my customer’s lifestyle? What are the possible use occasions? And then, how do I plan to sell my collection? Through large department stores? Or through multiple independent retailers?

So, it’s not just a matter of pricing or the "strong euro"?

No, I don’t think so. I believe many companies lack the habit of thinking in terms of market/positioning/distribution. They focus too much on the product and lose sight of the fact that it’s better to first understand the demand and then produce accordingly, rather than making something because they like it and then struggling to find someone to sell it to.