RetailA/W 20/21

Top 5 Strategies: Accessories & Footwear

Buyers' Briefing

Matt & Nat

Tighter product edits and solution-oriented design impact the

accessories and footwear market
 Action Points
Pivot on shifting consumer priorities to get the most out
of your assortments. In an increasingly cluttered market,
stand out with product backed by principals.
1. Listen with design: take a cue from D2C disrupters
and crowdsourced design studios that engage with
empathy. Buy into products and brands with problem-
solving priorities.
2. Reframe high-risk items: test smaller runs of trend-
led products or colourways with drop phasing or rental
ranges, where consumers are known to opt for more
experimental choices.
3. Make it special: with many retailers citing fewer,
deeper buys, smaller-buy press pieces need to stand
out. Explore new discovery platforms and brands with
inherent storytelling attributes to ensure newness and
drive desirability.
4. Plan for a full product lifecycle: benefit from the
growing resale and aftercare markets to unlock the
potential of second and third-wave sales.
5. Seek out and support sustainable brands: educate
your consumers on the advantages of buying
sustainably.

Moncler Genius x Simone Rocha

 Listening With Design
What you need to know:
D2C brands and crowdsourced companies are tapping
into the age of empathy, listening with design and
introducing solution-oriented products that engage the
consumer. Hosiery and heels are prime markets for
disruption, offering products which have underserved
women for decades. Smart brands are adopting a 'fewer,
better' approach to these assortments, decluttering the
path to purchase.
"Our designs are built on an
understanding of how bodies move, not
just how they look. This led us to
reimagine the most mundane wardrobe
staple, a pair of tights, into a product
that redefines superiority in comfort and
fit for every female body."
- Heist
Who you need to know
• Heist: its Nude Project campaign offers hosiery to fit all
skin tones, joining its revolutionary shapewear range that
combines comfort and style
• Dagne Dover: a business built on delivering 'thoughtful
solutions' to daily problems, its functional bags have
developed a cult following
• Vionic: this footwear brand is pushing classic comfort
styles forward with a stylish edge
• Rothy's: although washability is the key takeaway, this Heist
sustainable footwear brand also prides itself on extreme
comfort
• Betabrand: this crowdsourced company produces
careerwear and high heels with built-in comfort and
performance attributes at the fore
Assortment actions
• Take a cue from market disrupters and truly listen to
your consumers' needs. Leverage social media channels
and product reviews to unearth pain-points
• Focus on concise product edits that eliminate decision
paralysis for the consumer
Betabrand
 Drive Newness With Drop Phasing
What you need to know
Drop culture is moving beyond its streetwear roots,
embraced by buyers for the inherent benefits that smaller
drop collections offer for high-risk products. Limited-
editions and exclusive collaborations drive much of this
drop-culture buzz, offering a strategic way to test smaller
quantities of trend-led product.
With many high-street retailers citing 'fewer, deeper' buys,
resulting in more classic-looking collections, the need for
'press pieces' is key to driving seasonal newness and
excitement. Much of this newness is delivered via colour
and material updates, with brands reworking bestselling
pieces in limited colourways to drive capsules and
collabs, minimising volumes and risk.
Who you need to know
• Away: this D2C luggage brand rereleased its sold-out
Mini suitcase this summer, resulting in another in-
demand drop with a waitlist and complete OOSs Target Anniversary Collection

• Target: the brand drops its 20th anniversary collection

Vintage 'drops' are this autumn, featuring rereleases of its most iconic
increasingly popular for designer collaboration pieces while supplies last
their sustainable and • NTWRK: a calendared flash-sale app with live-
differentiated appeal. In streaming content, dedicated to exclusive drops
the last six months, pre- Assortment actions
owned, pre-loved and
• Reframe your seasonal high-risk items with a drop-
vintage accessories have
phasing approach, using marketing messages to bolster
increased online by 37% the exclusivity factor
UK and 27% US.
• Tap influencers, sought-after vintage resellers and local
- WGSN Instock
artisans for creative collabs, lending a storytelling
element to limited product runs

Away
 Support Sustainable Brands
What you need to know Assortment actions
Studies show sustainability is top of mind for consumers, • Take chances with new brands. Align with your price-
but it's not necessarily a practice they will participate in point sweet spots already on offer
without some guidance. The emphasis needs to lie on the
retailer, with systemic solutions coming from the top • Sustainability doesn't have to be the main message.
down. The good news: WGSN Instock data shows Eco-friendly sneaker brand Allbirds led its campaigns with
sustainable brands are making YoY growth within new-in a comfort focus, which the brand felt was currently the
volumes (footwear +21% UK, +2% US; accessories +12% greater consumer motivation to buy
UK). Not only have new-in volumes of key brands (Veja, Matt & Nat
Matt & Nat, Eileen Fisher, Stella McCartney) increased
(+49% US), but demand for these brands is also strong,
with out-of-stocks increasing faster than new-ins (+71% S/S 19 % change YoY of new-in sustainable footwear S/S 19 % of Veja new-ins that
US). and accessories brands went out of stock
Who you need to know +298%
• Tread: Everlane has entered the sneaker business,
touting the 'lowest impact sneaker possible' 31%
+203%
• Veja: using only fairly traded and organic raw materials,
% Change YoY

this sneaker brand also prides itself on ethical labour

+120% Veja
• Matt & Nat: this Montreal-based brand is gaining a loyal
+93% 69%
following for its vegan bags
• Allbirds: already known for its sustainable sneakers, OOS's
Allbirds has launched a sock collection made from its
proprietary blend of recycled fibres Stella Veja Matt & Nat Eileen Fisher
McCartney
*WGSN Instock. US January - June 30 2019 and 2018
 Rise of the Service Sector
What you need to know Sustainability is another underlying trend driving the
services sector, with aftercare and rental models
As consumer priorities develop that value 'fewer, better'
expanding the lifecycle of an item and keeping shoes and
things and experiences over goods, the emphasis on
bags out of landfill.
buying must expand beyond just products. The
emergence of services as a retail offer will redefine the Who you need to know
way and 'why' we buy. • The Restory: this online restoration service has recently
From aftercare to rental services, it will be necessary to opened shop at Selfridges, offering bespoke repair
collaborate and integrate these new market expectations services for shoes and bags
into the total purchasing experience. • Nuuly: the latest rental service from the Urban
Outfitters umbrella allows consumers to rotate three
The Restory
items monthly for $88. Bonus: it's tackled inherent
sustainability issues surrounding packaging waste with
reusable shipping bags made of recycled ocean plastic
• Bloomingdale's: the brand has announced its
expansion into rental, with services debuting this
September
Transformation services Assortment actions
offer an interesting take on
• Add aftercare services to the pricing structure of big-
the aftercare model, such as ticket items, or partner with new brands making waves in
dyeing wedding shoes to the aftercare space
extend their lifecycle
• Test rental models for specific markets, such as lower
price points for rental-native Gen Z-ers, or luxury goods
for the price-savvy Millennial

Nuuly
 Rebalance Sweet & Street
What you need to know
Apparel trends are riding an ultra-femme trajectory,
moving on from the purist streetwear looks of previous
seasons to embrace puff-sleeve prairie dresses and
1980s party frocks. Accessories and footwear are
a chance to balance out these styles. The hyper-femme
dress will be worn with trainers or combat boots and a
cross-body bumbag, rebalancing the mix between sweet
and street.
A mix of sweet and street
accessories drove new-in
growth at retail for S/S 19,
with chunky trainers and
pretty barrettes both growing
dramatically YoY
The mash-up of styles can be noted among accessories
and footwear as well, with key item growth stemming
from streetwear influences such as chunky trainers and
belt bags, to girly items such as headbands and hair
clips.
Who you need to know
• Danish style: the Danes have perfected this hi-lo look.
Keep an eye on street style for inspiration and tap
influencers such as Thora Valdimars for collabs
• Both Paris: its hybrid Gao Runner styles are a perfect
Ronny Kobo
move-on from the chunky trainer
• Dr Martens: the iconic bootmaker has experienced
notable growth, especially with its platform styles. Expect
the chunky look to impact boots as well
• Lele Sadoughi: this femme headband brand has
collaborated with it-girl dressmaker LoveShackFancy
Assortment actions
• Reposition your athleisure and streetwear themes to
incorporate ultra-femme references, and promote with
lookbook and mannequin styling
• Seek out footwear and bag brands that tout
performance and/or comfort angles. These provide a
clear juxtaposition against feminine apparel
Cosmopolitan
 Methodology
WGSN Instock • Please note, some retailers are excluded to ensure
like-for-like calculations and to avoid inflated
• WGSN Instock is an ecommerce analytics
product counts due to the acquisition of new
platform part of WGSN's offering
retailers on the WGSN Instock platform
• Page 4 includes WGSN Instock data based on
• Numbers may fluctuate as we recategorise to
women's products collected online from January 1
help clarify ambiguous/new products or if retailers
2018 to June 30 2019 with 'exclusive' in product
refactor their websites
name or description
• New-in: new products available online during the
• Page 7 includes WGSN Instock data based on
specified period
women's products collected online from January 1
2019 to Jun 30 2019. Historical data collected from
January 1 2018 to June 30 2018
• Sustainability: the commitment of brands and
retailers to sustainability was measured using the
presence of a set of sustainability-related keywords
within product descriptions across e-commerce
sites. Sustainability keywords included 'concepts'
(sustainable, ethical, vegan, BCI, environment,
responsible), and 'materials' (linen, lyocell, modal,
Econyl, organic, recycled)

Caraa

Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)