男裝也有春天
????至于那種更時髦的風格,大家得感謝千禧一代和中年男性群體。 ????經濟衰退結束后不久,千禧一代就重新擁有了可支配收入和購買力。NPD集團的科恩表示,這個群體借助自己的穿著(而不是使用的物品)來構建自我身份。此前的X和Y世代則以自己擁有的電子產品凸顯自我,但現如今,就使用時髦電子產品而言,許多消費者都處在同一水平線,年輕一代正在把更多的錢花在裝點自己的外形上面,他說。此外,千禧一代熱衷于社交媒體和那些“節操盡碎”的自拍,意味著他們過的是一種更加公開化的生活。 ????“他們似乎從小到大都生活在舞臺上,”Thrillist媒體集團(Thrillist Media Group)聯合創始人兼CEO本?萊勒說。這家公司經營著一家叫做JackThreads的會員制在線購物俱樂部。“這種成長經歷讓他們更在意自己的外貌,更容易接受為自己購物的想法。” ????隨著千禧一代進入職場,他們的技術水平正在對更有經驗的男性員工構成威脅。這些老員工希望給人留下跟年輕同事一樣時尚、一樣精通技術的印象。 ????貝勒大學(Baylor University)家庭和消費科學助理教授杰伊?柳說:“五六十歲的男性員工覺得,要想在職場保持競爭力,不丟掉飯碗,就必須顯得更年輕一些。” ????因此,更成熟的購物者需要一個款式更多,因此也更昂貴的衣柜,而且服飾類型遠遠不限于10年前穿的碳色西裝。柳說:“男士選擇更休閑的服飾,不僅僅是一種文化變革,也代表著顯著的生意增長。” ????此外,衰退過后,男性對服裝的需求也高于女性。經濟衰退時期,購物支出逐漸減少,男性就把手頭上的衣服多穿一段時間。由于男性的衣柜通常小于女性,能換穿的服裝自然也就更少一些,意味著他們的衣服很可能經受了一些磨損。“一條牛仔褲能穿多久?你可以把一件領尖帶扣襯衫穿多長時間?”科恩說。“經濟衰退之后,男人們更加渴望一個全新的衣柜。” ????男裝的崛起當然逃不過零售商的眼睛,無論是在線零售商,還是實體店。 ????許多百貨公司已經擴充、升級了各自的男裝銷售區,歐睿國際的孔德說。比如,洛德與泰勒百貨公司(Lord & Taylor)最近宣布,它在紐約的旗艦店將把男裝銷售區的面積增加一倍。薩克斯第五大道(Saks Fifth Avenue)去年發布公告稱,該公司將擴大同名男裝系列以滿足大眾需求,同時還將開設店中店,專門出售這個品牌的服飾。著名奢侈品商店古德曼(Bergdorf Goodman)表示,它將為旗下的男裝門店新增一個奢華配飾銷售區。 ????電商們也開始利用這一趨勢。Bonobos、Frank & Oak、Combatant Gentleman、Alton Lane和JackThreads這些在線零售商正在把各式時尚產品與內容結合在一起,為男性提供輕松的購物體驗,同時提供如何購置服裝的專業建議。 ????“這些全新的品牌正在迅速崛起,它們非常懂得這些極具社交意識的消費者的心理,”萊勒說。“許多男士不喜歡去平庸的傳統零售店購物。讓人看到你與老媽一起在這類場所購物是一件挺尷尬的事情,有可能給人留下負面印象。這對在線服飾零售商來說是一個機會。” ????實體店和在線品牌正在為男士提供更多的產品,而男性消費者也不愿錯過這樣一個購置新裝的好機會,隆德里根說。“所以說,男裝市場的增長已經成為一個自我實現的預言。”(財富中文網) ????譯者:葉寒 ???? |
????For that sharper style, you can thank millennial and middle-age men. ????Millennials -- who grew into their discretionary income and purchasing power soon after the recession -- construct their identity through what they wear, not by what they use, says Cohen of NPD. The previous X and Y generations defined themselves by the electronics they owned, but now that many consumers are on the same gadget playing field, the younger generation is spending more on what they look like, he says. Plus, millennials' penchant for social media and those shameless selfies means that they live a more public life. ????"They've grown up like they're on a stage at all times," says Ben Lerer, co-founder and CEO of Thrillist Media Group, which operates a members-only online shopping club called JackThreads. "That leads to being more thoughtful about the way you look and more comfortable with the idea of shopping for yourself," he says. ????As millennials enter the workplace, their tech skills are presenting a threat to more experienced male workers, who want to come across as just as hip -- and therefore as technologically savvy -- as their younger counterparts. ????"Men in their 50s and 60s, they think to compete and remain in the workplace, they think they have to look younger," says Jay Yoo, assistant professor of family and consumer sciences at Baylor University. ????So the more mature shopper needs a more extensive, and therefore more expensive, wardrobe that goes beyond the uniform charcoal suits he wore a decade ago. "It's a cultural change of men adopting a more casual [wardrobe], but it also represents significant business growth," Yoo says. ????Men have also built up a larger post-recession demand for clothing than women. When shopping tapered off during the recession, men simply wore what they had on hand for longer periods. And because men typically have a smaller wardrobe than women, they have fewer items in rotation, which means their clothes likely suffered some wear and tear. "How long can a pair of jeans last? How long can you wear that button-down," Cohen says. "After the recession, men were hungrier for a new wardrobe." ????The growth in menswear is certainly not lost on retailers -- online and brick-and-mortar alike. ????Department stores have expanded and upgraded their men's sections, says Kunde of Euromonitor. Lord & Taylor, for instance, recently announced that it was doubling the space dedicated to menswear at its flagship store in New York City. Saks Fifth Avenue announced last year that it was expanding its namesake menswear line due to popular demand and was opening in-store shops devoted exclusively to the brand. And Bergdorf Goodman said it would add a luxury accessories section to its men's store. ????And e-commerce is cashing in on the trend too. Across the web, online retailers like Bonobos, Frank & Oak, Combatant Gentleman, Alton Lane, and JackThreads are mixing fashion products with content to ease men's shopping experience and advise them on their expanding wardrobe. ????"There are these new brands that are emerging that understand this socially minded consumer," says Lerer. "There's an opportunity for guys to not shop at stodgy, traditional retailers that have a negative connotation for being embarrassing places to shop with your mother." ????And as stores and online brands offer men more products, guys are availing themselves of it, says Londrigan. "So the trend of growth in menswear becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy." |