Filed under: RETAIL | Tags: Coach, Dolce & Gabbana, Hermès, NPD Group, Ralph Lauren, Rhinelander Museum, Salvatore Ferragamo, The Wall Street Journal
In the February 11, 2010 edition of The Wall Street Journal, Christina Passariello and Ray Smith report that an increasing number of high-end fashion houses are opening men’s stores. Hermès opened its first men’s store in February, and Coach plans to open its first men’s boutique in May. Meanwhile, Ralph Lauren is converting its Rhinelander Mansion into a men’s store this fall, while Dolce & Gabbana and Salvatore Ferragamo have been creating stores specifically designed for men in recent years.
Why the sudden surge in men’s-only stores among high-end fashion houses? One reason is that menswear has been more resilient than women’s fashion during the economic downturn. “Men tend to view shopping as less of an indulgence than women – which means that they did not cut back as much during the downturn,” say The Journal’s Ms. Passariello and Mr. Smith. Case in point, according to Cristiana Ruella, Chief Executive of Dolce & Gabbana, the men’s collection made up of nearly half of Dolce & Gabbana’s sales last year, and retailers’ orders for their new fall men’s collection are up 16% versus the prior year.
Additionally, by creating men’s-only stores, it keeps male customers from feeling overlooked and neglected. “Men don’t like to enter a men’s and women’s store to find their products at the back of the store,” says Ferragamo Chief Executive Michele Norsa. And Jesse Sillman, a 28-year-old consultant in Fort Lauderdale, Fla, claims that “it’s an inconvenience to have to traipse through the women’s department or perfumes to get to ‘my’ section of the store.”
Additional impetus to build men’s-only fashion boutiques is all the new data which reveals that exceedingly more men have become independent shoppers. And as more men shop for themselves, they neither need nor desire to have women guide them around boutiques. According to Marshall Cohen, 75% of men shop for themselves in 2009, compared with 52% of men in 1995. And younger men are leading the charge; they apparently do not have hang-ups about being style-conscious.
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