The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index Declines in Nov.

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which edged down in October, declined further in November. The Index now stands at 102.9 (1985=100), down from 105.1 in October. The Present Situation Index decreased to 123.6 from 125.1. The Expectations Index declined to 89.2 from 91.9 last month. The Consumer Confidence Survey is based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households. The monthly survey is conducted for The Conference Board by TNS. TNS is the world's largest custom research company. The cutoff date for November's preliminary results was November 14th. Consumers' appraisal of current conditions was less positive than in October. Those claiming conditions are "good" declined to 26.5 percent from 27.9 percent. Those claiming conditions are "bad" remained unchanged at 16.8 percent. Labor market conditions were also less favorable than last month. Those saying jobs are "hard to get" rose to 22.4 percent from 21.8 percent. Those claiming jobs are "plentiful" increased slightly to 25.8 percent from 25.6 percent in October. Consumers' short-term outlook was less optimistic in November than in October. Those expecting business conditions to improve in the next six months decreased to 15.1 percent from 18.5 percent. Those anticipating business conditions to worsen, however, decreased to 8.5 percent from 10.0 percent. The outlook for the labor market remained mixed. Consumers expecting more jobs to become available in the coming months decreased to 13.1 percent from 15.1 percent, while those anticipating fewer jobs also decreased to 16.7 percent from 18.0 percent. The proportion of consumers expecting their incomes to increase in the months ahead edged up to 20.7 percent from 20.0 percent in October.

DEC. ESQUIRE MAGAZINE FEATURES 10 PAGES ON FORMALWEAR!

You MUST get a copy of the December issue of Esquire Magazine. Pages 228 to 237 are a valentine to men’s formalwear. Top authors, in various shapes and sizes, are featured and proving that any man looks fantastic and feels great in formalwear. Among the comments that you can surely use in your marketing pitch is: “… men enjoy wearing a tuxedo because it makes them feel like Cary Grant…” Scott Anderson, author of “Moonlight Hotel: A Novel” Wealthy Consumers Rank Polo Ralph Lauren, Coach and Louis Vuitton the Fashion Brands with the Most Effective Websites Fashion designers have been unfashionably late to the Internet party but some designer brands are finally putting forth high-performance web sites. According to the Luxury Institute's 2006 Luxury Website Effectiveness Index (LWEI) for fashion designers Polo Ralph Lauren, Coach and Louis Vuitton have the top-rated web sites. The LWEI incorporates four components of a luxury website's effectiveness: usefulness of content, ease of navigation, overall look and feel, and trust with personal information. The survey measures the impact of the website on three critical "outcome" measures: exceeding visitor's expectations, willingness to recommend the site to people they care about, and improvements in the overall opinion of the brand as a result of the website experience. The research also captures consumer feedback, from those who found the site failed to meet their expectations, on how the website could be improved, as well as reasons consumers say their expectations were exceeded. Importantly, the survey measures the e-commerce experience when appropriate. Although 1,600 wealthy consumers were surveyed about 18 leading fashion brands, only eight brands (Armani, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Coach, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Polo Ralph Lauren, and Prada) had sufficient incidence of visits to be rated. Polo Ralph Lauren's website is the winner in the 2006 LWEI for fashion designer brands. It also rates significantly above average for usefulness of site content, ease of navigation and trust in site security. Qualitatively, respondents say the site is "just what I wanted," and is "detailed, thorough, and very visual." Respondents like being able to search by brand, category, or general search. One person summed it up, "It was easy to find just what I was looking for. The process was smooth." Coach ranks second overall among the eight fashion designer websites tested, and significantly above average for usefulness of content, ease of navigation and overall look and feel. Coach is also the designer site most visited by wealthy consumers in the preceding six months. Qualitatively, respondents say the site has a "great look and feel," is well organized, and easy to navigate. They like the site's "interactivity" such as the ability to "magnify items to check their quality." Polo Ralph Lauren and Coach consistently score in the top two positions for each component indices, with two exceptions: Louis Vuitton displaces Coach for second place for "features I need" and Louis Vuitton again ranks second to Polo for "trust with personal information." A nationally representative sample of 1,611 wealthy consumers was surveyed online. Respondents had an average household income of $298k and average net worth of $2.9m. Survey results are weighted to match the demographic and net worth profile of the same audience according to the latest Survey of Consumer Finances from the Federal Reserve.# Luxury Consumers Will Spend About Twice as Much as Middle-Income Shoppers on Gifts This Holiday Season In Unity Marketing’s latest survey of affluent consumers about their luxury purchases and spending, luxury consumers (top 25 percent of U.S. households based on income) plan to spend an average of $1,903 making their holiday gift purchases. This according to the Luxury Tracking survey of over 1,000 luxury consumers (average income $149.1 k average age 43.4 years) conducted in October 2006. “Luxury consumers have significantly more discretionary income, so they can be more generous with their gift selections. This year affluent men, especially those of the baby-boomer generation, will spend the most buying holiday gifts,” says Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing and author of Shopping: Why We Love It and How Retailers Can Create the Ultimate Shopping Experience. Luxury Consumers More Likely to Give Clothing, Consumables & Experiential Gifts While the top two gift choices this year for luxury consumers are the same as for the typical gifter — entertainment and recreational gifts (DVDs, CDs, toys, sporting goods, books, electronic equipment) and gift cards — luxury consumers are more likely to choose gifts of clothing and fashion accessories, consumables (gourmet food, wine and spirits, gift baskets) and experiential gifts (dining, entertainment tickets, spa packages) than the typical consumer is. Department Stores and Internet Retailers Will Benefit Most from Luxury Consumer Gift Shopping The stores that will benefit most from luxury consumer gift purchases will be department stores, including luxury (Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, etc.) and mass market department stores (J.C. Penney, Macy’s, Sears, etc.) and internet and other non-store retailers. Some 45 percent of luxury consumers say they are very likely to shop for gifts in department stores, while 44 percent plan to gift shop through a non-store or online retailer. These two shopping destinations are far and away the most popular source for luxury consumers. No other type of store comes close. For example, only 24 percent report they are very likely to shop in electronics/computer specialty stores, while 23 percent plan to shop in specialty fashion boutiques and 20 percent are very likely to shop at discount or mass merchant (Wal-Mart, Target, Costco, etc.). Danziger concludes, “While luxury consumers comprise only one-fourth of the population, their higher incomes make them a particularly powerful segment for the nation’s retailers. The key to capturing their shopping dollars is not so much to offer deep discounts on merchandise, but to entice them with engaging shopping experiences. So luxury retailers like Nordstrom or non-store retailers that deliver an extra-value gifting experience like RedEnvelope.com are more likely to attract luxury gift shoppers this year.”

COLOR IT 2007-2008

Top designers and color marketers are busy working on Fall 2007/Spring 2008 palettes. That includes the “right” colors and shades thereof for men’s wear. Attached are the forecasts from color forecaster Paul Pelssers and The Color Marketing Association. You’ll see there’s quite a lot of diversity between these experts.   Paul Pelssers' Early Color & Trend Directions for Autumn/Winter 2007-2008 | MENSWEAR   Artistic - Luxurious and atmospheric artistic shades unite a comfortable, soft and opulent story with flashy sophistication. Accent - While the season may be perceived as either classic and romantic or somber and discreet, accenting bright shades adds a humorous element that is absolutely necessary to break away from armies of navy, brown, olive and gray. Weathered - worn wood grains and beaten surfaces add an age-old patina to "all-important" neutral shades.   The Color Association of the United States' Fashion Projections for Fall-Winter 2007-2008 by Margaret Walch and Christine Chow A New Fashion Order The Color Association’s fashion projections for Fall/Winter 2007-08 continue the multi-colored approach of recent years, but takes a starker and moodier stance that mirrors our more complicated and uncertain times. The men’s forecast straddles the niche between the thoughtful sophistication of the women’s projection and the nature-inspired mystique of the interiors/environmental palette. A warm range of brown and buff tones, like Mane and Cavern, are offset by inky blues and purples, slate grays and vegetable greens. A creamy yellow and vivid coral indicates the strength of these shades as contemporary accents. Entitled “A New Order” and incorporating many mythical or magical ideas, this palette addresses the ongoing revolution in American men’s style, and suggests that the modern man may be seeking more primordial roots through.

TRENDS! TRENDS! TRENDS! TRENDS! TRENDS! TRENDS! TRENDS!

Formal Times asked and you answered. Here is what Nancy Haboush of Mister Neat’s Formalwear (Loveland CO), Mike Meskell of Friar Tux’s Shop (Anaheim CA), and Mark Morrow of Savvi Formalwear (Minneapolis MN) note are tops in their shops: