Has Fall been hard on apparel retailers. Yes, I know it is
still too early to judge how Fall/Winter 2015 will go down in the record books,
but a warm fall can’t be a great sign for clothing stores. With the warm
weather, some people prefer outdoor activities and avoid the shopping centers.
Yes, I understand that a growing number of people shop online and don’t head out
to the stores anyway. Regardless, knowing that the weather has been warm, we
are bit concerned regarding this seasons sales performance at retail. Keep in
mind the store inventory is now Fall/Winter, but consumers are not being driven
by cold weather to shop for jackets, sweaters, etc.
Do you think that Fall/Winter 2015 will be successful for fashion
retailers?
I would not necessarily place a bet on it, but my forecast is
a weak fall this year for many fashion retailers.
Just in case you are curious about the changing seasons,
according to the Almanac, the seasons of 2015 change as
follows:
SPRING EQUINOX March 20, 2015 6:45 P.M. EDT
SUMMER SOLSTICE June 21, 2015 12:38 P.M. EDT
FALL EQUINOX September 23, 2015 4:21 A.M. EDT
WINTER SOLSTICE December 21, 2015 11:48 P.M.
EST
Hopefully consumers will shop for clothing & footwear for
the holidays. It is important to help support the fashion
industry.
If you are interested, you may want to check out Holiday
Fashion Gift Guide for 2015 here on the Fashion Blog.
You may also want to read our previous retail forecast
article about the financial
mood of the apparel industry this year.
Note: I had written this blog post on November 18th, 2015 and had emailed it to myself to publish later that evening. Unfortunately, I just noticed today (January 26, 2016) that I accidentally forget to post this article. Rather then let me writing disappear from the universe, I decided to post it anyway. I back dated the article to post on the day originally intended.