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Retro is the current craze in the licensing business, and not just because Mitchell & Ness apparel is more in demand than a CPA on April 14th. Retro is the [...]

Owners of gun and archery equipment stores can increase their profits by offering related sporting goods in their premises. Sales of sports clothing, for instance, reached $9.7 billion in 1995. Most firearms stores that include sports clothes in their merchandise gain more profits from their clothing section as compared with their stocks of guns and bullets. These merchandise easily attract customers' attention. Furthermore, customers consider rugged sports clothes as versatile attire and may even appeal to people not actually involved in hunting and shooting., How would you like to make 25 percent on your next sale? How about 30 percent? Does 40 percent sound attractive? That may seem extravagant, given today's slow sales throughout [...]

Forecasts for women's clothing trends in spring 1996 include wider use of linen, plus embroidered rayon crepe for a very feminine look. Manufacturers who reveal their new contemporary lines include Mica, Emil Rutenberg, and Robin Piccone. Also described are junior styles, which feature bright prints. Lighter weight denim clothing will be used for jeans, dresses and shorts. Also, swim suits will vary from vivid tones to flowered prints., CONTEMPORARY Contemporary manufacturers have come to realize what an important role linen plays in developing their spring lines. Not only are designers offering linen in a variety of weights, they [...]

Traditionally, during Olympic years, media buzz builds to a crescendo leading up to the Games. As this summer's Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, approach, there are certainly plenty of Olympic-themed [...]

Multisports giants are dominating the soccer wear sector at the expense of niche brands, such as Umbro. To gain competitive edge, manufacturers are infusing the glamour of Fashion Avenue into their product lines. In acknowledgement of the sport's European origins, several soccer companies are combining function and style in their designs and customizing warm-ups and jerseys for streetwear. They are also eyeing younger consumers with trendy fabrics and casual designs., Soccer's key apparel brands are fighting to play center on an increasingly shrinking field of brands, with Umbro and other niche brands surrendering market share to multisport giants like Nike [...]

Manufacturers of activewear are planning to increase their production of clothing for women golfers a growing market. Jockey International Inc., Nicole Miller Inc. and Reebok Golf are among the companies that plan to sell their products in clothing and department stores as well as golf shops, where women's gear may be relegated to the back of the store. Also gearing up to enter the market for women's golf wear are Nike Inc. and Adidas AG., NEW YORK -- Most people watching the current women's golf tour have their eyes on Kelli Kuehne, the reigning U.S. and British women's amateur champion. Vendors of golf apparel, however, [...]

Footwear makers are spending a total of over $100 million on advertising linked to the Olympics, although many executives agree that such promotions may not significantly boost sales. Nike Inc, Reebok International, Adidas America and Fila Holdings are launching major campaigns to market red, white and blue merchandise. Several companies which are Olympic sponsors are discussed in addition to firms, such as Nike, which are not official sponsors but are hoping to capitalize on consumers' enthusiasm., ATLANTA -- It is the grandaddy of all sporting events. When the Centennial Olympic Summer Games open in Atlanta on July 19, the tense competitive dramas are sure to grab [...]

Polo Jeans Co, a new firm founded by Ralph Lauren, just opened its first showroom for women's jeans at 575 Madison Ave, New York, NY. Shipments of the line, which includes fleece and sportswear based on denim, will begin Aug 1, 1996 to around 600 stores. The basic jeans will compete with Calvin Klein and Guess and are priced at $48. Sales of $300 million are eventually expected, although results for the first year were not projected., NEW YORK -- 'It's very interesting to be out there on every level,' said Ralph Lauren as he toured the floor of the new Polo Jeans Co. showroom at 575 [...]

Manufacturers of jeanswear are expecting that rethinking their marketing efforts will improve sales and customer loyalty in 1996. Guess Inc. plans on restricting the distribution of their jeans, and will also expand its product line. Lee is planning a big advertising effort centered around the 1996 Summer Olympics Levi Strauss jeans for women division reported a 33.5% rise in sales during the 3rd qtr 1995., NEW YORK - For the jeans crowd, growth isn't coming easy anymore. Denim manufacturers are finally seeing a dip in their numbers after three or four go-go years when, it [...]

Women's sportswear designers for the bridge and designer markets are planning their strategies now for 1996, including aggressively pursuing affluent consumers. Expansion of product lines overseas has encouraged many companies to increase their production for 1996, and are predicting 20-30% growth on the year. Many companies are still fighting for market share, and some, such as Donna Karan and Escada, are opening early to catch customers willing to pay more for designer clothing., NEW YORK - As retail continues to shift, manufacturers in the bridge and designer markets look for new territories for expansion. Not everyone has the same approach. For Ralph Lauren, [...]

Western-style jeans remain distinctly different from their non-western counterparts, and extremely popular in some areas of the US. The jeans' differences are marketed as prime attractions, including changes made for horse riders such as longer inseams and snugger backsides. Colored denim had been popular for some years, and seems to be fading in favor of blue, black, and some bi-color jeans. One popular western look are jeans without back pockets, to better display, according to retailers, women's butts., DALLAS -- Some of the biggest names in jeanswear don't carry much clout with rodeo gals and country music fans. These women like their jeans high-waisted, overly long and tight [...]

The surf style, featuring retro looks such as madras, stripes, classic logos, and earth tones, is back, to the benefit of specialty surf shops. North Hollywood, CA's Val Surf, in reaction to the mainstream surf look that was prominent starting in 1989, is offering a more subtle look featuring earth tones, plain colors, and retro influences. The marketing activities of four other surf shops are discussed., After a downturn in the late Eighties, the surf business is riding the waves again, touting retro looks like Fifties- and Sixties-inspired stripes and madras, earth tones and classic logos. [...]

Women in the 1990s long for fashion that is more comfortable, and that can be worn for more than one occasion. Activewear manufacturers are responding by creating new categories of dress, but retailers are slow to catch on to marketing implications. Department stores focus on sport themes when marketing apparel, and sporting goods stores play up activewear's technical advantage. Activewear manufacturers are finding more ways to sell their merchandise., Retailers try on a new way of outfitting women The sight of Florence Griffith-Joyner flashing across the finish line during the 1988 Summer Olympics one long fingernail at a time [...]

Coffee is fashionable. While the fashion of coffee is changing to darker roasts and milk enriched espresso based beverages, the fashion of dress is following the national love affair with [...]

In Addition Manufacturers and importers who showed during the recent Fashion Footwear Association of New York (FFANY) show had something special up their fashion sleeves. Whether it was expanding an [...]

NEW YORK -- It's getting tougher for tenniswear marketers to serve up an ace in the court of endorsements from the sport's elite athletes. That's largely because in America's increasingly [...]

Torri Edwards Sprinter Age: 27 Country: USA Highlights: Silver medalist, 2003 world outdoor 4x100 m; 2003 U.S. 100 m and 200 m champion. The shoe: The Adidas Demolisher has a [...]

BIARRITZ, France -- France may be famous for its wine, chateaux and cuisine, but here on the country's southwest coast, it's all about surfing. Locals call it 'le petite Calefornie,' [...]

NEW YORK -- The world of Lauren by Ralph Lauren is getting bigger. On track to hit $400 million in wholesale volume in its first year, Lauren by Ralph Lauren, [...]

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. - They don't call him the 'King of Cool' for nothing. When Elvis was approached by a group of distributors during his lunch break at the PPAI Expo [...]

Despite their laid-back products, casual vendors have to be proactive when it comes to keeping their businesses on track. So, proactive they're being. Some are switching up their designs to [...]

NEW YORK -- Ellen Tracy's ad budget for spring may be holding steady, but its new print campaign will mark the debut of model Jacquetta Wheeler for a brand long [...]

Sportswear and dress vendors come in all shapes and sizes, but a couple of key trends are influencing large segments of the market in 2004. Color came first to the [...]

NEW YORK -- The Fundamental Things and Casablanca career sportswear brands are making a comeback. International Direct Group, based here, will reintroduce the moderately priced labels during this month's market, [...]

A mix of nobles and royal fashionistas mingled at Milan's trendy Galleria Sozzani cafe-restaurant last week at a party hosted by Hydrogen, a high-end sportswear brand with a vintage feel. [...]

Since arriving in North America in 1996, the Mavi brand has grown into a $40 million enterprise on the continent. But over the past year, its growth track in the [...]

Outdoor sports marketers are looking for a Lance Armstrong to call their own. While the association between top outdoor athletes and the companies that make their gear is a well-established [...]

NEW YORK -- Sports have become entwined in the fabric of American life and have inspired a spate of new films, books, photography exhibitions and a dance performance. Activewear executives [...]

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. - The Americana Company's Colorado location announced it will hold an Open House event Friday, Sept. 19, 2003 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. The event will [...]

Women's sportswear and dress vendors are a hearty bunch. In the face of a challenging market over the past two years, the group has adjusted on several fronts to maintain [...]

REEBOK TO TAKE PARIS: Reebok will be camping out in the Eiffel Tower this month during the World Track and Field Championships to spotlight its new Outperform the Vector advertising [...]

LOS ANGELES -- Little about Seven2, OP's new line of junior contemporary swimwear, resembles the run-of-the-mill surfwear of Hawaiian prints and tropical scenery. Racier and more embellished than the standard [...]

People don't need a five-iron to wear the line of jeans identical twins Chip and Pepper Foster have launched for fall. The high-energy minds -- and David Spade look-alikes -- [...]

LONDON -- Speedo's marketing always has favored people over product and credibility over hype. For this company, advertising means training the world's future water sport champions and dressing those who [...]

After years of brandishing their logos on scores of products across various categories, activewear giants are testing some new formulas going into the crucial second half. For some, that means [...]

Angela Stanford has become the first LPGA Tour player to be associated with the Ping Collection, signing an exclusive agreement to wear its new women's line on tour this year. […]

It can take time, but for contemporary designers, it's all about building an empire. Even if these companies may be smaller than the major design houses, designers in the contemporary [...]

Reebok Signs 50 Cent to Create Signature Footwear Line Hip-Hop star's G-Unit Collection by Rbk will see limited fall distribution, followed by a major push in early 2004 Phoenix Loses [...]

TENNIS DIVA: Diane von Furstenberg was in good spirits (and looking fabulous, as per usual) at the coming-out party Reebok threw last week at its New York flagship to celebrate [...]

Designers are serving up sportswear this season in a decidedly different way. They're mixing fabrics and textures not typically thought to work together and creating funky, cool [...]

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Supplier Outer Banks is commemorating its 20th anniversary in style - nautical style. To kick off the celebration, the company recently gave away four, 12-foot, Captiva Escape [...]

Located at 170 Columbus Avenue, the 3,000-square-foot space offers fitness-related information via electronic ticker tapes, photography books by the likes of Herb Ritts and Annie Liebowitz and colorful displays reminiscent [...]

ELLESSE BOLSTERS TEAM: Ellesse, the 40-year-old Italian athletic brand, has beefed up its design team for this month's relaunch. Newcomers include Carlo Grippo, director of apparel and accessories; Chris Lee, [...]

The game is teamwear sales. In today's matchup we have the underdog promotional products distributor vs. the established team dealer. This is a contest the team dealer has won handily [...]

CONCORD, N.C. - Blake & Hollister recently launched an improved 2003 company website with updated content and a new look. The new site features the complete Blake & Hollister shirt [...]

Casual lifestyle vendors are in survival mode. They're looking for ways to convince cautious retailers to spend money in the midst of a punishing economic slowdown and the looming threat [...]

'I like to see what's being said, get into their heads and see how they're getting their feelings across,' Mamet said. 'I'm not that age anymore. I can't pretend to [...]

TEMPE, Ariz. - Sedona Golf, a manufacturer of premium golf products exclusively for the promotional products industry, has announced the selection of Incentives West to promote their products in the [...]