Performance Is King

Nov 8, 2007

The performancewear trend is expected to remain strong in 2008, as will the ladies’ wear market, says Tim Shields, director of marketing for the Bill Blass Premium/Bill Blass Healthcare, Arnold Palmer and NYNE lines at New York-based Capital Mercury Apparel.

“For 2008, performance fabrics are king, ladies modeling is still huge and people want wrinkle-free treatments for easy care,” he says.

According to Shields, performance fabrics will continue to be big in both knits and wovens. “We now have six styles in Arnold Palmer that feature wicking, UV protection and anti-bacterial finishes,” he says. “Our Bill Blass brand has added two new Teflon-treated and wrinkle-free wovens, and our NYNE brand has added another two styles of wovens utilizing CoolMax fabric.”

Shields describes the women’s market as  “huge,” saying, “We address this with all three brands.”

David Bebon, Capital Mercury’s Executive Vice President, will be presenting seminars on selling knits and wovens during the Promotional Apparel Expo’s pre-show conference at the Nashville (Tenn.) Convention Center on Thursday, Nov. 15. In his seminar “Selling Higher-Priced, Better-Quality Wovens,” Bebon will teach attendees about woven fabrics, finishes and features as well as strategies to present higher-end wearables to end-user customers in such key market segments as women, youth and restaurants.

Bebon says participants in his "Knitwear 101" seminar will learn how knits are made, what they are used for, who buys them and why. He describes knitwear as the heart and soul of the corporate/promotional and uniform marketplaces. "A highly developed understanding of this product segment leads directly to more wearables sales," he says.  — R.L.

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