Luxury apparel brand retailers are becoming more prominent in the Midwest and other areas thought to be "Middle America." Arthur Zaczkiewicz, the executive editor at Women's Wear Daily, joined Cheddar News to break down the growing phenomenon. "I think it's very tactical, and they're using data and analytics to find what money is," he said.

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Luxury Brand Clothing Retailers Not Exclusive to Large Cities Anymore

well here with us to discuss all of this is author Zach wits, he's the executive editor at women's wear daily. Thank you so much for joining us. I gotta start off by asking, you know, these luxury brands like Gucci Armadas and Chanel, they have recently opened stores in michigan Ohio and florida. So what is attracting these brands to middle America and why now is it the right time to do this now with the way inflation is, it's uh, there's two things happening in, I think middle America is the, you know what we say, the middle class, you know, and they're spending and then it's very important. But I think what you're seeing is a luxury ranch chasing the money, right? So taking even new york city for example, the main market, they have Gucci has historic Fifth Avenue flagship, but they're opening the store in the meatpacking district. Why? Because baby boomers will likely shop in On 5th Avenue and millennials and other generation younger generations where the money is, is going to go to the meatpacking. So if you take that logic model and then you can apply it across America right? This, I think a lot of it may have to do work from home and and kind of the mobile millennial who can work from anywhere and you know that kind of chasing their dreams and living in michigan and living in Detroit or wherever. Right? So it's I think it's very tactical and they're using data and analytics to find what money is. Mm. Speaking of money, you know, back to school is right around the corner and a strong jock markets and job growth means many people will be returning to work but inflation is still hitting many americans so hard. So how do you think that this all will affect the consumer habits this fall? Right? I think back to school over all the spending is I think the Nrf expects it to be less this year and the consumer is very price sensitive. So you know, they're going to be shopping at for deals looking for deals and if they're getting back to work and they still want to dress up so, you know, I think we expect that. But so what do you do? Are you going to turn to companies like Macy's for example, right, They have an excellent private label program of nice work wear, casual business. You look for, you know, private label and name brands, Tommy Hilfiger and so forth, Calvin klein. You know, brands that are gonna help you dress up at work for more. I think the biggest stories really is the price sensitivity as you mentioned inflation. Think households are suffering, you know, for a while now so they can be cautious, but they can get good deals at Macy's 40 60% off. They will go to target or walmart target is interesting because, you know, they have a very robust deals right now for the deal hungry, but again, um, amazon is still looming in the background and you're gonna seek out, you know, bargains there. I think that the within that context, I think companies like ross stores and T. J. X. In Burlington, the off price retailers, they've been crushing it. T. J. X. for example, you know, 2019 I think their sales were $39 billion $50 billion dollars now. So there's a lot of market share and I think that's a really important story is the off price sector and they're doing it. I was gonna say, you know, mention them T. J. Maxx crushing it. So do you think that you know that brand will experience the most success this fall or is there another brand or store that you're watching to really hit that peak? I would I would I would bet on ross stores or bet on T. J. X. And in their stable of price details. And I would I would look at target again as being the most in tune as far as you know what consumers are buying and controlling their inventory In Burlington Coat factory I would say is there's another little sleeper. They're small. The Burlington stores, they called out, I think they have $6 billion 2019 and they jumped almost $10 billion dollars now. So that's another creeper in the off price sex. Well one of the things people are keeping an eye on is the diseases that exist right now and the numbers of covid cases you got monkey pox now. So do you think that there will be a boost in online shopping due to these concerns or people just wanted to get out of the house? So they're willing to go shopping now. Yeah, I think they're gonna do both. They're gonna get out of the house because they're, you know, they have a lot of pent up cabin fever probably. Um, and then when they get to the store, they wanna experience, you know, retail store, like a Gucci or high end store is where you experience the brand. So they're gonna go out when it comes to kind of shopping for a powerful, I think there's a lot of concern. I don't think they're gonna be trying on clothes in the store. So they'll be looking at probably looking at clothes and looking at maybe ordering online. So you can see a kind of a mix of that, that trend. But again, yeah, the health officials are not painting a nice picture and I think there's a little concerned with consumers. You want to protect your family. Yeah, I'll be trying them on in the story, the author because I don't want to make a second trip back to the store to return it if it doesn't fit. But I know what you mean. A lot of people being leery about that. Uh let's talk about some of these trends, we mentioned these big name stores coming to these middle America locations. But what are some of the fall trends we can expect to see in middle America, especially now that these consumer habits are changing. Well, you know, in the runway, there's a lot of, you know, I guess vibrant colors and patterns and you know, sheer fabrics, but that's not necessarily what's going to translate to middle America and national power. So you can see, I think subdued colors. You can see more earth tones and neutral colors, more conservative silhouettes. You know, whether it's uh, you know, dresses or suits or bottoms, tops. Um, but I think it's going to be more subdued and I think consumers are going to be my guess is that because of the environment that we're in, uh they're gonna be turning to kind of, I call them comfort food fashion brands which are like champion and Nike. Uh, you know, I think brands like levi Strauss and company, you know, these are comfort brands that you know, that remind us and have a history with us, you know, and and make make us feel good. They feel good brands. So I think that you'll see those companies doing whether really well, whether it's direct to consumer, you know, and selling on their sites or through major retailers and again go ahead. I was gonna say usually talk about these feel good brands and I think a lot of people want to feel good in their clothing on the way they look. But in recent years we've actually seen strides for brands actually being more inclusive of sizing and having offerings in various different sizes so everyone can wear their clothing but in store and online as well. So how do you think that outlooks looks for more size, inclusivity and the impact that it's having in the fashion world? I think that's that's great news. You know, I hate to say its name again. The target is doing a really good job at Macy's as well. If you go on their websites, you know, you'll see more size inclusive models and women's apparel and that's a huge step. That's really important. And it's also just more um, you know, diversity equity and inclusion across the board and really making efforts to, you know, to move the needle in implementing those practices. I see that as a really positive trend that that should be increasing and other retailers should take note. You mentioned sizing before and trying on clothes and there's a lot of technology out there sizing technology that you can download on your iphone on a smartphone and you don't, I need to go in and try clothes on and it's more active, especially when you're talking about smaller sizes or plus size. It's important to get the size of light. So the technology is there, there's a willingness, you know, with brands and retailers to be more inclusive. I think it's just it's time it's time to see more widespread. All right. I'm all for it. I'm all for the changes. Thank you so much. Authors, aka wits, for that insight. And from women's wear daily. We appreciate that.