INDUSTRY: APPAREL RETAILERS Retailers in the apparel industry are primarily engaged in the distribution, merchandising, and sale of men's, women's, and/or children's clothing to consumers. Apparel retailers include department stores, mass merchandisers, specialty stores, national chains, discount and off-price stores, outlets, and mail-order companies. A relatively new development is the rise of electronic forms of retailing such as interactive TV and on-line shopping services. Some retailers who sell their own private labels go beyond their traditional role as distributors and become directly involved in the design and production of garments from manufacturers and contractors. SIC CODES RELATED TO THIS INDUSTRYSIC Code Industry Name 5136 Men's and boys' clothing 5137 Women's and children's clothing 5611 Men's & boys' clothing stores 5621 Women's clothing stores 5632 Women's accessory & specialty stores 5641 Children's and infants' wear stores 5651 Family clothing stores 5699 Misc. apparel & accessory storesINDUSTRY CHARACTERISTICSApparel sales have shown positive gains over the years which reflect a vibrant U.S. economy and increasing incomes. All apparel retailing industry sectors are heavily dependent on consumer spending. Since, consumer spending represents two-thirds of the U.S. economy these retailers become extremely vulnerable to wide economic swings. These retailers must do a good job of managing their inventory levels, personnel needs, and style/fashion trends to ensure they will not lose their consumers business during up and down periods. That is why many major apparel retailers such as The Gap, and Wal-Mart can have 20 percent growth over 20-some years. They stay focused on their businesses and are always trying to do better. They constantly question everything, though even the best companies make merchandising mistakes. But the leaders in this industry know how to rectify their mistakes. Recently, the apparel ind...
