Thoughts & Insights 2nd Monthly Newsletter

And just like that, it’s almost Spring and we are all counting down the days to warmer weather and (hopefully) more vaccine availability. As a mom who has spent most of the pandemic chasing a toddler while pregnant and now 1 month postpartum, lululemon align leggings and sporty tops have been my go-to’s, and the expanding athleisure market has been top of mind. According to research firm The NPD Group total apparel sales decreased -19% in 2020, while sweatpants are up +17%. With all the time spent at home, it was only natural that people would turn in their wear-to-work wardrobe for creature comforts. NPD also reports that “Activewear buyers are currently spending 11% more per purchase compared to non-activewear buyers”. With this shift toward comfort over formality, it seems like every brand is trying to get in on the action, regardless of its original focus. From workwear brands like MMLa Fleur introducing a “washable cashmere sweatsuit” to outdoor mainstay LL.Bean diving into the space with multiple categories, the space continues to overflow with every brand's take on comfortable basics and zoom-appropriate sweatshirts. Popular shopping sites like Shopbop (January landing page pictured below) have bought into this as well with influencer partnerships, expansive editorial content and large inventory buys into multiple brands. 

The obvious question is: how long before this bubble bursts? Or is comfort wear our new normal? The not obvious question is: will people ditch brands like Lululemon and Athleta to look for new brands? When it comes to actual athletic wear - leggings, sports bras and the like - my thought would be that although shoppers may buy a one-off from a new collection or brand, they will ultimately remain loyal to brands they already know, especially since this shopping is more than likely to be done online and not in a store where you can try multiple sizes and styles. One way brands can expand during the current comfort boom is by making slight tweaks to categories they already have a foothold in. For example, cult denim brand Rag & Bone rolled out denim printed joggers and elevated staples brand Veronica Beard debuted an elastic waisted jean. After a year of quarantine and a new baby, these look especially attractive.

A few fun links:

1. Superfluous yet necessary: Dropps dishwasher pods. As a “throw the bottles and sippy cups in the dishwasher” mom I was looking for a cleaner alternative to your everyday dishwasher pod that didn’t make the dishes smell like chemicals. Enter Dropps pods I discovered via Lemon Stripes. They get everything just as clean and have easy-to-use UX and great subscription packages on their site which I always appreciate.

2. Most made recipe; Ambitious Kitchen Banana Oatmeal Pancakes; Healthy, filling, easy to make extra to save for multiple toddler breakfasts.

3. New stationary product alert: Nursery Ballet Illustrations are now available in the Society6 shop.  

4. Local rec:  I was so thrilled to see the Biden motorcade stop at Call Your Mother “Jew-ish” Deli for a bagel and cream cheese! We love their creative takes on classic sandwiches, the candied salmon cream cheese spread, and babka muffins. Definitely the best bagel sandwich I’ve had since leaving New york. 

Thoughts & Insights - 1st Monthly Newsletter

Hi There, Thanks for reading! I wanted to start this newsletter as means of discussing the variety of issues facing the retail world in the unpredictable circumstances we find ourselves in. Feel free to chime in with your thoughts or to tell me you think I’m dead wrong. I’ll also be including a few tried and true recs of things I didn’t really need (but love) as well as local recs as a recent NYC transplant to the DC/Bethesda area. 

The question I’ve been most interested in was what strategy worked better in 2020; holding inventory or having a fire sale?  At the onset of the pandemic, Rag & Bone’s CEO Marcus Wainright sent out this letter explaining the extreme markdown of their high priced line. When I read this as a retail professional, I had a lot of questions: Was their markup already so extreme that they could still make $ at 70% off? Had they ordered so much that they wouldn’t have room for future deliveries if they didn’t start off loading? As a customer, I wondered why if they so desperately needed this sale how were they already sold out of my size of high waisted jeans?  Retailers during the Pandemic face an extreme version of the age-old problem of having too much product in your supply chain/warehouse or not having enough to satisfy demand, ultimately losing a sale or customer. In a world where as a brand you no longer have the luxury of an in store experience- your only interaction with the customer is online. This means that the stakes for satisfying customer demand are even higher. Admittedly, since that letter I haven’t been back on Rag & Bone’s site (although I may attribute that to a variety of covid related reasons). In the cyber week that seemed to last at least 10 days, brands took a variety of markdowns to boost sales for the year. Although consumer spending on the whole is up, I am curious to see what happens to a number of my favorite smaller brands: Rebecca Taylor, Veronica Beard and the like, who have all invested in high-priced retail locations in the past fews years - were their holiday sales enough to cover their overhead and continue making product? Will many of these brands be up for sale in the next year? My thought would be: decide how much cash you need to operate for the next year and tailor your markdowns to fit that goal but not any more. 

Thoughts, comments?

xx Rachel

Also, a few fun links:

1. Superfluous yet necessary: OXO Salt Shaker. After getting very into SALT FAT ACID HEAT at the beginning of the pandemic, I love that this shaker has both a normal salt top and a side dispenser for heavy salting things like pasta water or meat. 

2. The most made recipe in my house: Half Baked Harvest crinkle top brownies. My toddler and I made these for my very picky chocoholic mom for mothers day and have made them at least every 6 weeks since. The scoop of coffee grinds makes them taste richer, fancier than the simple recipe (again, made with a toddler) would imply. 

3.New stationary product shop: I’ll now be selling Nona E Rose Illustrations on a variety of products via Society6.

4.Newly found local rec: Plane Jane Salon. Admittedly my first couple of cut and color sessions since covid were in my backyard but now that it's cold I was looking for a replacement for my favorite New York Salon that was also taking Covid precautions seriously. Enter Plane Jane Salon in downtown Bethesda. Feels trendy and upscale without being pretentious. They only take 2-3 customers at time in a salon that fits at least 12-15 stations, gave me a new medical mask as they did not deem my GAP mask high tech enough and had a very fancy looking new air filter built in. Covid aside, the stylist nailed the color and it's probably the best haircut I’ve gotten in years. 10/10, definitely going back. 

New original illustrations available on Society 6!!

Wedding Wednesday-Bridesmaid Cards

As an illustrator, I knew I wanted a personal and artistic way to ask my bridesmaids to be a part of our wedding day.  In addition to being personal, I knew this needed to be done quickly. I could spend days working on an illustration project but there are about 1000 other items on my wedding to-do list so timing on any task is key. Luckily, I stumbled across a Wedding DIY on Design Darling which led me to Shutterfly.  After going through the design process and seeing the final product, I could not be happier with their services. The process for uploading my custom watercolor illustration was super easy and user friendly. The whole site has great UX Design and already has me thinking about future projects. 

Not only was the Shutterfly platform easy to use, it was far and away the best option pricewise! Totally hooked #myshutterfly