Fall - InsideOutdoor Magazine

In addition to the sporting
benefits, the increased
oxygenation and circulation
delivered through
gradient compression also
can relieve many medical
complaints, say executives
at Skins, including arthritis,
chronic fatigue syndrome,
lymphoedema, varicose veins
and deep vein thrombosis. It’s
also used to promote circulation
during pregnancy.
It all represents lots to convey
on the retail sales floor, which illustrates
one of the key ways this
emerging category differs significantly
from just about any
other apparel category outdoor
retailers have marketed and
merchandised up to this point.
When a consumer walks up to
a rack of rain parkas, puffy
winter coats, dry tops or even
climbing pants and lifestyle
garments, they intuitively understand
the primary function
and inherent benefits. That’s not
always the case when the benefits
are increased circulation, the
release of anti-cellulite cream or
the transformation on impact from
shirt to protective padding.
“You can’t just put this stuff on
a shelf and expect it to walk out the
door,” says Jaimie Fuller, Skins CEO.
“Part of our challenge,” says Fuller,
“is when you hold our product up and
look at it through the naked eye, you
can’t see it doing anything. It’s not until you
Skins’ gradient compression tights put it on that you feel
increase circulation to specified body it.”
parts to provide a range of performance In other words,
and therapeutic benefits.
retailers looking to
embrace the health
and wellness sub-category must be prepared to make a commitment,
both in terms of floor space for proper merchandising
and display as well as product knowledge and staff training, so
sales personnel can communicate the benefits in an intelligent
and authoritative manner.
In many ways, selling apparel such as compression garments,
says Fuller, is more akin to the consultative selling typical of technical
footwear and equipment rather than the ordinary apparel
purchase, which often consists of just color and size issues.
“We have made a very significant investment in store clinics,
training and working with our retail partners to recognize that
it is not like normal apparel,” says Fuller.
The differences are so apparent that some Skins dealers have
pulled their Skins inventory out of apparel sections and into
other parts of the stores, such as by the dietary supplements or
energy food. Such a strategy, says Fuller, not only establishes
the product as different from “ordinary apparel,” but it also
specifically targets the type of consumer who might be tuned
into the healthy benefits.
Likewise, seeing how this of group therapeutic garments
are differentiated primarily on their “health benefits,” the subcategory
also can push outdoor retailers toward a more fitnessfocused
consumer base, and according to recent research from
Hanson Dodge, the fitness-oriented active consumer and the
outdoor-oriented active consumer represent two distinct shopping
mindsets.
Whereas outdoor-oriented consumers tend to seek product
advice from family and friends and are more likely to respond
to “common folk” testimonial and word of mouth marketing,
fitness-oriented consumers tend to respond to intellectual appeals,
such as product reviews and recommendations of “experts,”
say Hanson Dodge researchers. And while everyone
scraps the Internet for product information, fitness consumers
are more likely to seek out third-party reviews and information
from online retailers, say the findings
Again, that seems to emphasize the importance of presenting
research-based, clinical product information on the sales
floor and online, as well as a deep staff knowledge of the mechanisms
at work.
On the other hand, attracting customers from the fringes of
the outdoor market is usually a good thing, and in addition to
hikers, bikers, trail runners, high-endurance athletes and the
like, health and wellness fabrications also are being actively
marketed to a wide cross-section of consumers – from golfers
and other mainstream sports participants to travelers to the elderly
to folks with circulation and other medical issues.
There are other more operational-type advantages, as well.
Often, apparel items sold on their health and wellness benefits
are not seasonal and have little or no connection to the whims
of fashion, so “there are no closeouts,” says Fuller, and no need
to gamble on color, trends or weather patterns.
“I have no idea how retailers forecast how many long sleeve
tops they are going to need in six-months time,” says Fuller.
“They don’t have to with us.”
What retailers must do, however, is understand that in the
near term extra investment and attention is required in order
for consumers to understand why they should pay $115 for a
pair of tights when a $50 pair is on a nearby shelf.
The good new is, it’ll likely be some time before the health
and wellness apparel category starts appearing in the aisles
of big box retailers. And since this sub-category tends to involve
premium-priced product, says Fuller, “it warrants that
extra attention.”
34 | InsideOutdoor | Fall 2008