The Lighter Side of Fleece

Even in a down economy, fleece buyers will find lighter weights among basics and a healthy dose of fashion and color. July 31, 2009
By Deborah Sexton, Contributing Writer

The Cienna vest, style 7410 from Tri-Mountain, is made of 10.2-ounce heavyweight 100% polyester-spun Panda fleece. It is specifically designed for embroidery offering the EmbAccess system, which makes it easier to hoop. A range of colors is offered in siz

As consumers tighten their belts, fleece remains popular and decorators should look to vendor lines with lighter weight fabrics making value-added changes to basics, as well as and some fashion-forward styles and sizzling colors.

When times get tough, comfort-starved Americans don’t simply stop devouring their favorite, fuzzy fleece garments — thank goodness. They do, however, start looking for lighter, less expensive fleece fare that’s easier on the wallet. Sure, suppliers are still serving up offerings of wildly varying styles, colors, fabrics and weights — but they’re quick to acknowledge that fiscally focused consumers also are targeting lighter fleece options, as well as some tried-and-true styles.

“They’re looking for better price points, and that usually means going for lighter weights. Our lighter-weight items are moving faster than heavier weights,” says Sunshine Fletcher, operations manager, Beimar, Ontario, Calif. “It also depends on the market — customers who are into horseback riding, for instance, have more money to spend — but overall, everyone is trying to figure out how to save some money.” Beimar recently introduced 6.5-ounce zippered and pullover hoodies; previously, its lowest fleece weight was 7.5 ounces.

Adds Brad Rambo, president, Independent Trading Co., San Clemente, Calif., “In the past two years, it seems that lighter weights are catching on, because you can sell them all year-round.”

Lee Ann Halligan, marketing manager, Imprints Wholesale, Denver, agrees that lighter weights are in higher demand lately. “Businesses that are being conservative due to any changes in the economy tend to lean toward a lighter-weight fleece at a value price point,” she says.

Adds Matt Waterman, senior marketing manager, Hanes, Winston-Salem, N.C.: “There are decisions being made to trade down in terms of what people are looking for. If you were buying 10-ounce fleece, you might trade down to 8 ounces,” he says. “Still, there are some areas with really strong demand. Pullover hoodies in particular are doing really well right now, and zips are growing fast.”

In a nod to customers’ desire for more value, Hanes this year introduced its Premium Cotton Fleece line, which includes a 9-ounce 80% cotton/20% polyester garment that “almost eliminates shrinkage,” Waterman says. “It goes through a special washing process that gets the shrinkage out, so you’re getting higher cotton — and it’s priced the same as the 50/50 products.”

Consumers’ desire for the best value for their money is affecting the style of fleece garment they choose, not just the weight, says Karla Schoenfeld, director of marketing, Gildan Activewear , St. Michael, Barbados. “What that means for styles is that offering the best relationship between styling, quality and price will outperform others,” she says. “We would estimate that the economic situation may cause a trend toward crew-neck sweat shirts, as they offer a lower price/quality ratio than hooded fleece.”

Thankfully, most suppliers offer fleece at both ends of the pricing spectrum, giving decorators plenty of choices to pick the appropriate garment for their customers. “Suppliers have already addressed price points, so they have less-expensive programs and higher-end programs — and that has to do with the weight of the fleece,” says Cindy Sims, PR and promotions manager, Heritage Sportswear, Hebron, Ohio. “Either way, people will continue to buy fleece.”

Heritage Sportswear, which carries the Anvil Organic line, hasn’t seen its organic sales increase as of late, perhaps in part due to the difficult economy. “Organic cotton costs more,” Sims says. “We added organic items across the board so that we can meet different price points.”

Waterman agrees that decorators should have ‘good, better, best’ offerings to appeal to customers at every price point. “You can go into a customer with three different options — something for everyone,” he says.

Fun and Fashionable
It’s not just the economy that has some decorators a bit hesitant to purchase fashion-forward fleece — it’s also a bit riskier to stock, Schoenfeld says. “Fashion by definition is linked to trends, and those change often. Retail stores are now turning their collections six to nine times annually so consumers are used to seeing new styling more frequently,” she says. “Also, it’s the younger, fashion-forward customers who choose fashion over basic styles — and traditionally, they purchase smaller volumes.”

That’s not to say that fashion-forward garments — including those with stripes, color blocking, and raw edges — aren’t selling well; quite the contrary, especially with fashion-conscious segments like younger customers and sports teams.

For instance, while 70% of Heritage Sportswear’s sales are for basic fleece items, the company recently added the Soybu line, including a full-zipped hoodie for men and women that’s made from cotton, polyester and bamboo. “It feels like cashmere. It’s so soft and wonderful,” Sims says. “In this economy, you may not think to look at this kind of garment, but when customers feel it, they’re easy to sell.”

Imprints Wholesale added Sherpa-lined full-zip hooded fleece in adult and junior sizes. Meanwhile, Independent Trading Co. has put a new spin on its bestselling zip hoodie, adding a plastic, white- coil contrasting zipper and white drawstring. The garment, which comes in seven colors, is made from the company’s Apex fabric, which has super-fine 40 singles with cotton on the outside and polyester on the inside. “It prints and embroiders really well and feels soft,” Rambo says. “It must be one of the smoothest-face sweat shirts ever — and it has a tearaway label.”

For his part, Rambo says he has seen little if any impact from the recession on people’s buying habits for fleece with both basics and fashion styles performing well. “Instead of just the basic items, teams and schools also are buying fashionable items to spice things up a bit,” he says.

Independent Trading Co.’s enzyme-washed, triple-lined zip hoodie for girls has split-stitch double-needle construction, as well as a small, satin zipper pull and satin twill tape in the neck. “It looks finished and feels nicer on your neck,” Rambo says of the satin twill tape.

Washes also are big sellers, with suppliers offering pigment-, enzyme- and stonewashing, among others. Independent Trading Co. is offering garment-washed men’s and girl’s zip hoodies with raw edges, available in black. “We do a lot of business with band merchandise companies, and the frayed look is really popular with those guys,” Rambo says. “It’s also hot in the collegiate and resort markets.”

Sims says she expects distressed and vintage fleece to stay hot well into next year. “Anything that makes the sweat shirt a little different,” she says. “We’re seeing pigment-dyes for the vintage look.”

“We expect to see more vintage looks in fleece,” Halligan predicts. “T-shirts have had more history in vintage looks, but now we’re seeing that spread into the fleece items as well.”

One subtle yet important touch that’s hot now is the zipper pull, suppliers say. For instance, coil zippers are selling well, Rambo says.

“We’re seeing a lot of different zipper pulls that are more fashionable,” Sims says. “The quarter-zip is popular but decorators also like the full zip. If the zipper and fabric meet evenly, they can decorate across the zipper instead of having to work around it.”

Adds Schoenfeld: “Basics dominate our sales, but the zipper hooded style is growing very quickly.”

The rise in popularity for zippers is a turnaround from recent years, suppliers say. “Right now, zips are selling a lot better than pullovers,” Fletcher says. “Two years ago, everyone was selling pullovers.”

A Palatable Palette
Customers weary from a steady stream of dire financial news are looking for something, anything, that’s bright and cheery — including bright colors. “Bright colors are really hot,” Fletcher says. “Everyone likes bright purples, yellows and lime greens. We also see color blocking with pink pockets and black bodies.”

For ladies, J. America is expanding its Vanity collection with a cut-neck sueded pullover hoodie in white, black, chocolate chip, “turqberry” and wildberry, says Jeff Fenech, president, J. America, Webberville, Mich. The company also is introducing a 100% polyester “shag” fabric in a 1/4-zip style. “This is the most comfortable fabric on the planet,” Fenech says. “It’s 100% polyester and it’s as soft as your favorite stuffed animal.”

Independent Trading Co. has added purple, cobalt and bright pink to its enzyme-washed triple-lined zip hoodie for girls. “Bright colors are all doing well right now,” says Rambo, whose company offers its bestselling zip hoodie in tangerine, cobalt, lime, grape, turquoise, black, metal heather and charcoal heather.

Hanes introduced a program called Easy Color, which ensures that its 10 most popular colors are available in every T-shirt, fleece and sports style, in adult and youth sizes. “Those 10 colors probably represent 70% the business,” Waterman says. “Popular fashion colors in fleece are brown, dark chocolate and pale pink.”

Earth tones are still performing well, Rambo says, with Independent Trading Co. offering khaki, army and maroon. Army green continues to sell well for some suppliers, including Independent Trading Co.

“In vintage apparel, we’re seeing demand for earth tone colors including browns, moss greens and heather tones,” Halligan says.

Meanwhile, Heritage Sportswear has seen its gray and silver fleece perform well. “That has to do with teams,” Sims explains. “You’ve got the Oakland Raiders football team, which wears black and silver, so a lot of people are looking for those colors.”

J. America added a lightweight, 100% polyester fleece hoodie in solid and color-blocked versions, as well as a heavyweight, high-cotton lace-up hoodie for hockey and lacrosse. “This product has received a ton of great feedback and interest,” Fenech says. The company also is adding a high-cotton heavyweight sports hoodie with team colors for the body and charcoal gray accents.

But even in the midst of all the gloomy financial news, some things never change — including consumers’ insatiable desire for black. “Black is still the No. 1 color,” Fletcher says. “It will always be No. 1.”

So what’s the bottom line for fleece in 2009? As Schoenfeld says, “Value, value, value.”

Deborah Sexton, the former editor of Impressions, has been writing about the decorated apparel industry for 28 years. In addition to freelancing articles, she also does marketing and public relations for decorated apparel companies. For more information or to comment on this article, e-mail Deborah at dsexton@sbcglobal.net.



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