by Father’s Day may not pack quite the same punch as it used to, but it has slowed down business for appliance retailers.
Major department and specialty stores reported strong sales for the holiday, driven by gifts as well as men shopping for themselves. Promotions were held in check and inventories are in good shape heading into the summer.
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Across the board, stores said that after a few years of men choosing to buy basics and accessories, fashion pieces have now emerged as the winner. Of course, this is still menswear, so there were linen shirts, Johnny collar polos in more seasonal colors and performance shorts.
The National Retail Federation predicted that Father’s Day spending would hit $22.4 billion this year, about the same as last year’s $22.9 billion.
“Father’s Day is an opportunity to celebrate the fathers and fathers who have played such a positive role in our lives,” said Matthew Shay, president and chief executive officer of the NRF.
The Federation estimated that of the three quarters of consumers planning to celebrate Father’s Day, 54 per cent expected to buy clothes, followed by a special trip at 52 per cent, gift cards at 48 per cent and personal care items at 31 percent.
“While spending on these gift categories is largely in line with last year’s record highs, they are still well above pre-pandemic spending,” said Philip Rist, executive vice president of strategy for Prosper. conducts the survey for the NRF. “This is especially true for clothing, personal care, tools and appliances, electronics, home improvement items, gift cards and special trips, all of which have grown by half a billion. [dollars] or more from 2019.”
For a retailer, online was still the most important with 42 percent saying they would buy online, followed by 38 percent at department stores, 24 percent at discount stores, 22 percent at specialty stores and 19 percent by small local businesses.
Ken Ohashi, chief executive officer of Brooks Brothers, revealed that the company’s Father’s Day campaign – featuring celebrities such as New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson, with their fathers or children and started earlier than usual this year at end of May – Had a significant impact on sales. “The campaign was a great success,” he said. “We went really heavy in New York City where we were on 60 superbuses around the city. It was great for us.”
Ohashi said the costumes have been a hit along with the recently launched performance collection of pants, shirts and blazers. “That would be a great release for us,” he said.
Ohashi said that while store traffic has been inconsistent, Brooks Brothers is still operating above plan year-to-date, and it’s not driven by promotions. “The overall price is always very strong. When we first came out of bankruptcy, we had to promote cleaning up the inventory but now there is a small clearance. We are not as promotional as last year and the inventories are well controlled.”
Another big change he is seeing is the popularity of fashion. “It’s been a lot of refilling over the last two or three years, but now the fashion part of the business is working,” he said. That equates to Johnny collar polos, shawl-collar jackets and linen shirts. Non-iron dress shirts, which traditionally represented the bulk of the business, are being upgraded by dress shirts with a regular finish, he said.
“Two-thirds of our customers are loyal shoppers and if they previously bought navy or black shirts, they now want seasonal colours,” he said. “And that’s good for business.”
So while a lot of that business might be guys updating their own wardrobes rather than giving Father’s Day gifts, he’ll take it. And it is a reason for hope because the summer in fall. “I feel really good about August in particular,” he said, noting that the company plans to release a new marketing campaign to position itself as the Ivy League destination for throwback merchandise. school.
The story was just as bright as Bloomingdale’s. “It was a good Father’s Day,” said Dan Leppo, executive vice president and general manager of men’s, children’s, cosmetics and home goods. “The summer categories were performing including linen trousers, and the short-sleeve camp shirts that started teasing around mid-May were even better.”
He said customers have taken a “real fashion stance” and have embraced sweater polos as an updated alternative to shoes in brands from private label Bloomingdale’s to Armani.
Sportswear collections from Zegna, Theory, Vince and Peter Millar as well as shoes from Ferragamo, On, Birkenstock and others were popular with shoppers, reversing a soft trend earlier in the season. And there was a big increase in sales in men’s fragrances, from Creed, MFK and Jo Malone – who launched a campaign with actor Tom Hardy that helped spike sales.
Looking ahead, Leppo said: “Every retailer is optimistic about protection.” There will inevitably be distractions, which happen every presidential election year, he said, but he believes the variety Bloomingdale’s has prepared for the fall — new brands and updated offerings from existing vendors — will leave the company “in very good shape.” .”
Louis DiGiacomo, senior vice president of men’s for Saks Fifth Avenue, said Father’s Day was also good for the company. Saks prepared for the holiday with a “curated variety” of clothing, accessories and gifts across a wide range of categories—and it paid off.
Like the other merchants, DiGiacomo saw a change in interest among customers. “There’s been a shift from quiet luxury to more fashion,” he said, especially in “beach chic” items for vacation this summer. There was fresh swimwear in bold prints and colours, as well as linen shirts, and camp short-sleeve shirts from private label Eton, Armani, Isaia, Kiton and Saks. Sales of Polos are also on the rise, he said, but this time it’s the fine, textured knitwear from Loewe, Ralph Lauren Purple Label and Zegna.
In terms of footwear, there is a move towards raised dress sandals from Prada and others, as well as “cleaner” sneakers from Zegna, Cucinelli, Santoni and Ferragamo. He has seen a renewed interest in sunglasses from Tom Ford and Loewe, and necklaces from David Yurman or Bernard James to complete the outfit. DiGiacomo also noted a “writing instrument revival” from Montblanc, which is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its Meisterstück pen.
The strong sales indicate that customers were buying for their fathers as well as themselves, he said, a good sign in the fall. “We’re very optimistic and excited about what we bought for the fall,” he said.
Sam Archibald, general business manager for Macy’s apparel, said the company is “pleased with our men’s business and with Father’s Day in general. We are a gifting destination and when we hit important dates in the calendar, customers depend on us.” He said Macy’s serves a diverse customer base and that “life events” are very important to them — “and Father’s Day is part of that.”
He said top sellers included fragrances from Dior Sauvage, and Chanel Bleu and team sports merchandise.
“It’s been cool overall that it’s being checked,” he said. “People want more news.”
In knitwear, for example, business was driven by traditional color basics such as black but now shoppers are turning to brighter colors and Johnny collars in their shirts; performance fabrics with higher rise in shorts; printed swimwear from Chubbies and others, and linen. “The linen season was very strong,” he said, “which feels very special. Over the last few years, customers have been rebuilding their core, but now they are building on that with freshness and new brands.”
While some of the strong sales may have had men shopping for themselves, there was certainly plenty of gift giving.
Looking ahead, Gillesbo said he is “very happy with where we are” and feels good about the product mix that will be offered this fall. He said Macy’s will introduce a new men’s private brand later this year featuring relevant, contemporary product, which he hopes will help boost business even more.
John Tighe, president of Tailored Brands, which operates Men’s Wearhouse stores, Jos. A. Bank and Moores in North America: “Father’s Day is not the spike for business it used to be.” That said, the sportswear business from Kenneth Cole Essentials as well as Joseph Abboud’s new Indigo Blue collections were among the bestsellers. Specifically, white denim, woven tops in synthetic or linen fabrics, quarter-zips, full-zip bombers and vests with four-way stretch were the highlights of the season.
“Mostly men were buying for themselves,” said Tighe, adding that he would like to develop more gift business in the future.
Chris Riccobono, the founder of Untuckit, which operates 88 stores as well as a strong online business, said the company had a “baseline business in June compared to the rest of the year. Even if the economy isn’t great, people have a reason to buy. Was it historic? No, but it’s been strong and we expect that to continue.”
Riccobono said that because Untuckit shirts and complementary products can be worn in a variety of places — at work, after work, on vacation — it gives the customer a reason to buy. “We are not a product for special occasions. It’s something you can wear in a lot of places, and it’s cheap,” he said, noting that most of the shirts retail for less than $100.
He said polos were selling at about 4 per cent over last year, and all had printed buttons and strong linen. About 55 percent of Untuckit’s business is online and 45 percent is in brick-and-mortar stores, he said. “But it’s about conversion.”
Looking towards the fall, he said there is a lot of uncertainty regarding the economy and the election, which leads to a big question mark over the second half of the year. “Fifty percent of the people will react badly if their man doesn’t win,” he said. “But if inflation falls and interest rates fall, I think next year will be great.”
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