By Jean E. Palmieri, Yahoo Finance
The surge in the number of weddings and other special occasions are bolstering men’s retailers. Merchants expect the consistent sales from the past year to keep up the pace through end of the year. Add to that the reworking of the appropriate return-to-work wardrobe and the future — at least for now — looks bright for many menswear retailers.
Stores such as Target, Walmart, Macy’s, Nordstrom and Kohl’s are being impacted by the larger economic issues facing the American consumer — inflation, a looming recession, and high gas and food prices — exacerbated by inflated inventories that are sure to lead to heightened promotions in the second half, but there remains optimism in menswear, especially at stores that cater to higher-income shoppers.
While Macy’s last week reported depressed second-quarter earnings and cut its year-end forecast, Sam Archibald, the retailer’s general business manager of apparel, said the company was “really pleased with results in the first half” in all apparel categories and “men’s was a standout performer. What’s driving that — and for the back half in the men’s space — is that there are so many wearing occasions for the men’s consumer. We see a lot of wardrobe diversity with this new fluid lifestyle of in office, on vacation and at home.”
