2PM - No 677: Fashion Springs Forward

A. New Data / Washington Post: Madewell and Anthropologie are seeing a resurgence in dress sales, while Bonobos reports rising demand for suits, dress shirts and tuxedos. Other retailers say they’ve noticed growing interest in trendy tops, wide-leg jeans, even resort wear and swimsuits, as Americans prepare to head back to the office, book summer vacations and make other post-vaccination plans.

2PM Commentary: A new makeup of retail real estate is emerging. Retailers are going to be choosing locations not based on just the price of rent but also on the data, as companies can better plan where they need physical stores according to demographics and foot traffic. Many aren’t going for the mall: Sephora has said that of its new stores planned for this year, most won’t be mall-based. Stores will also likely follow the pattern of spreading out beyond city centers as people continue to work from home, but dropping rents will create a boom in places like Manhattan.

Retailers are also using this opportunity to test new store features as omnichannel services like curbside pickup gain traction and stores function as fulfillment centers just as much as they do places to shop. This balance will be key for the next generation of stores, which both need to draw people in with entertainment and services when required, and become hubs of convenience when that’s what shoppers are looking for.

Fashion is flourishing on Clubhouse by putting the focus on people

B. Social Media / Glossy: What’s notably less prominent on Clubhouse right now are brand-owned clubs. There aren’t many fashion brand-owned rooms on the app that compare to the listenership of groups like Culture Club and Sneakerheads Anonymous. Brands from Nike to New Balance are mostly content to have representatives from their brand make one-off appearances in other clubs. Instead, the app has become a space for brand founders and executives, both from established brands and new companies, to gestate new ideas and compare notes with fellow executives.

Ralph Lauren sets date for next runway show with Janelle Monáe

C. Streaming Economy / WWD: The event will be streamed on the brand’s website, and feature the women’s Ralph Lauren Collection and men’s Purple Label line together, as well as a performance by Monáe, who brought down the house at the designer’s September 2019 Ralph’s Club themed show in downtown Manhattan, his last runway presentation.

This must be the place

New Media / A Continuous Lean: It’s not all golf or all style, it’s a combination of the two in a way that does justice to both. I hate the idea that you have to buy specific clothing just to play golf. I don’t want to leave the house looking like a golfer or dress for golf in clothes I wouldn’t otherwise wear. I believe that if you have the right perspective golf does intersect with a lot of interesting things and my goal with ACL Golf is to highlight the good that surrounds the game.

Sovereign writers and Substack

The Creator Economy / Stratechery: There is a very easy and obvious answer to “how that money is split up and distributed”: subscriber money goes to the person or publication the subscriber subscribes to. That’s it! Substack is a tool for the sovereign writer; the sovereign writer is not a Substack employee, creator, contractor, nothing. Users quite literally pay writers directly, who pass on 10% to Substack; Substack doesn’t get any other say in “how that money is split up and distributed.”

Editor's Note: 🔥

Dick's and Tractor Supply's new acquisition

Traditional Retail / Placer: Tractor Supply has been one of the strongest home improvement performers throughout the pandemic, and that strength has lasted into 2021. But instead of resting on its laurels, the home improvement leader is making bold moves. It recently acquired Orscheln Farm & Home to expand its reach into the midwest. Considering the momentum the brand has been riding, the move could be very exciting.

The Hut Group: how THG cracked DTC

DTC Applied / The Grocer: You may ask why a giant such as Coca-Cola couldn’t do DTC itself. But James Hyde, co-founder and CEO of challenger brand eCommerce fulfilment specialists James & James Fulfilment, says outsourcing is a sensible move. “Why would you outsource? It’s the same as asking why you would outsource mowing your lawn? It’s because someone can do it quicker than you, do it better than you, and while it might cost more per hour, the expertise and equipment they bring to it is better than you could do,” he explains.

On fashion, in closing. The Soho streets roared on a Saturday night. Joggers and Allbirds were no longer in sight. Long-past solitude and endless fright, fashion returned in all of its might.

This weekend, after a year of pandemic restrictions, the streets of Lower Manhattan were lively. A celebration could be found in the streets. With warmer weather, every sidewalk table was inhabited. While indoor dining returned on February 12, contact tracing and restrictions still apply. The street car-like “outdoor dining” solutions that kept the city alive during 20 degree weather were packed at every restaurant.

Athleisure, tennis shoes, and Canada Goose coats had been set aside for the type of understated yet casually elegant fashion that Manhattan is known for. It felt like the release of pent up energy manifested through consumer behavior, a roaring scene of jubilation and free spending. But I wanted to quantify it in as simple a way as I could find.

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