Sportswear: staying alive

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, [...]