For years now, high-end fashion has catered to women more than men. In hopes of altering the high-end fashion world, fashion houses Hermès and Coach are the latest to make an effort in shrinking this gender gap.
Earlier this week, French luxury house Hermès International opened its first men’s-only store on Madison Avenue in none other than New York City with visions to open more in the future. Last week, Coach Inc. stated that they will be opening their first men’s boutique in May alongside their women’s boutique in New York’s Greenwich Village. Also, Ralph Lauren is in the works of converting their Rhinelander Mansion in New York into a men’s store to be launched this fall along with Dolce & Gabbana and Salvatore Ferragamo in the near future.
Ferragmo’s Chief Executive Michele Norsa said, “Men don’t like to enter a men’s and women’s store to find their products at the back of the store. In our women’s and men’s stores, the men’s space is often penalized. The women’s collections are wider and tend to steal space from men.”
During these hard economic times, menswear have proven to be more resilient than womenswear due to the fact that men see shopping less indulgent than women do. In October, the American Affluence Research Center surveyed the wealthiest 10% of U.S. households asking if they planned on spending less on designer apparel and fine jewelry and watches. Twenty-three percent of the men said that they had not reduced spending since the recession started compared to fourteen percent of the women have spent less. Along with this statistic, selling to men will assist a luxury brand attempting to enter other markets in China, Russia, etc. Men who have recently come into money tend to splurge on luxury items, such as expensive watches, before they allow their wives to go on a shopping spree.
Earlier this month, Italian luxury house Salvatore Ferragamo was the first label to open a men’s-only store in China where they already have forty boutiques. Ferragamo Chief Executive Michele Norsa also said, “Generally emerging markets is where our men’s categories products are stronger.”
According to Euromonitor International, sales from men’s lines in South Korea have rose 48% between 2004 and 2009 while women’s lines only rose seven percent. Within more established luxury markets, such as in the U.S., Japan, and Western Europe, women have taken the lead leaving men feeling overlooked. 28-year-old Fort Lauderdale, Florida consultant Jesse Stillman said, “It’s an inconvenience to have to traipse through the women’s department or perfumes to get to ‘my’ section of the store.”
More and more men are becoming independent with their shopping instead of relying on a woman to guide them around boutiques. According to Marshal Cohen, Chief Industry Analyst at market researcher NPD Group, about 75% of men shopped for themselves last year compared to 52% of men in 1995 with many of the shoppers being young men who do not have hang-ups about being style-conscious. It will be interesting to see which labels will use this phenomenon to their advantage and how they will market to men.
