Women's Clothing Industry Report
Women’s Industry report:
This industry includes establishments primarily engaged in the retail sale of a general line of women 's ready-to-wear clothing. This category also includes establishments primarily engaged in the specialized retail sale of women 's coats, suits, and dresses. Custom tailors primarily engaged in making women 's clothing to individual order are classified in SIC 5699: Miscellaneous Apparel and Accessory Stores.
Industry Snapshot
In 2005, $36.7 billion was spent at stores devoted exclusively to women 's apparel, a jump of more than $2 billion from 2004 and more than $4 billion from 2003. While the discounters, namely Target and Wal-Mart, were continuing to do well, the more upscale stores were seeing a new surge in spending. While consumer demand for luxury and high quality items was high, most of the purchases in this category were made for those items either from lower-priced brands or items on sale.
In the mid-2000s, those employed by the industry were mostly working as sales associates, who are responsible for performing customer service and a variety of operational duties such as setting up displays and organizing stock. Store managers oversee sales, operations, and personnel functions. Merchandisers work with the apparel manufacturers to select apparel for the retailer and control merchandise expenses.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, women 's clothing stores reported combined sales of $38.5 billion in 2008. As the economy continued to struggle sales fell 7.6 percent to $35.6 billion in 2009. As sales declined, Women 's clothing stores were adapting to the downturn by focusing on "recession-friendly prices," and opening up more discount outlets. In fact, there were 345 outlet stores slated to open in 2011, according to the November 2009 Retail Forward report.
Organization and Structure
The structure of the U.S. retail industry, including women 's clothing stores, has changed significantly since the early 1990s, moving
This industry includes establishments primarily engaged in the retail sale of a general line of women 's ready-to-wear clothing. This category also includes establishments primarily engaged in the specialized retail sale of women 's coats, suits, and dresses. Custom tailors primarily engaged in making women 's clothing to individual order are classified in SIC 5699: Miscellaneous Apparel and Accessory Stores.
Industry Snapshot
In 2005, $36.7 billion was spent at stores devoted exclusively to women 's apparel, a jump of more than $2 billion from 2004 and more than $4 billion from 2003. While the discounters, namely Target and Wal-Mart, were continuing to do well, the more upscale stores were seeing a new surge in spending. While consumer demand for luxury and high quality items was high, most of the purchases in this category were made for those items either from lower-priced brands or items on sale.
In the mid-2000s, those employed by the industry were mostly working as sales associates, who are responsible for performing customer service and a variety of operational duties such as setting up displays and organizing stock. Store managers oversee sales, operations, and personnel functions. Merchandisers work with the apparel manufacturers to select apparel for the retailer and control merchandise expenses.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, women 's clothing stores reported combined sales of $38.5 billion in 2008. As the economy continued to struggle sales fell 7.6 percent to $35.6 billion in 2009. As sales declined, Women 's clothing stores were adapting to the downturn by focusing on "recession-friendly prices," and opening up more discount outlets. In fact, there were 345 outlet stores slated to open in 2011, according to the November 2009 Retail Forward report.
Organization and Structure
The structure of the U.S. retail industry, including women 's clothing stores, has changed significantly since the early 1990s, moving