Even if workers could head to the office right now, chances are they wouldnt be wearing a Brooks Brothers suit.<\/p>\n
The 200-plus-year-old retailer best known for what would now be considered formal office attire has filed for bankruptcy, falling victim to the COVID-19 outbreak, which has shuttered stores and stymied retail, and changing styles. <\/p>\n
Brooks Brothers had fallen on rough times even before the pandemic, announcing last year that it would explore its strategic options. <\/p>\n
It now has a $75 million debtor-in-possession loan and there is interest from a potential buyer, Barneys New York owner Authentic Brands LLC, according to The Wall Street Journal. <\/p>\n
Watch: How closing this gap could save the global economy $1 trillion <\/p>\n
Brooks Brothers has tried to inject some freshness and a more laid-back vibe into its fashions, with cool & casual styles currently featured on its e-commerce homepage.<\/p>\n
However, the casualization of the workplace has outpaced the change at the iconic brand. <\/p>\n
[W]hen it comes to tastes and style, Brooks Brothers has been swimming against the tide, wrote Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData Retail. <\/p>\n
Its formal, old-school approach found favor among mature and more traditional demographics, but it has become increasingly out of step with a new generation of consumers who are looking for a more edgy approach to smart casual. <\/p>\n
Moreover, lockdowns to prevent the spread of coronavirus have made athleisure gear like sweats and yoga pants the items people most want to wear. GlobalData numbers show a 74% decline in year-over-year sales of mens formal wear during April, May and June. Mens smart casual saw a 62% decrease.<\/p>\n
Among the issues retailers now face are bloated inventory, pressure in the wholesale channel that could last into next year and soaring COVID-19 infection rates in U.S. states that had begun to reopen, according to Wells Fargo.<\/p>\n
Analysts say global athletic brands like Nike Inc. NKE, +1.84% and Adidas AG ADS, +3.23% are among the most attractive names in our universe.<\/p>\n
Read:Nikes COVID-19-related sales decline is a bump on the path to long-term growth, analysts say <\/p>\n
In the long term, Wells Fargo favors the off-price channel, which includes TJX Cos. TJX, +5.55% and Burlington Stores Inc. BURL, +6.06% <\/p>\n
See:TJX results show shoppers will head back to stores if the price is right, analysts say<\/p>\n
Warmer weather is spanning much of the country, allowing consumers to extend their mostly homebound routines to the outdoors, and expanding their apparel needs beyond comfort and above-the-keyboard dressing, said Maria Rugolo, apparel industry analyst at The NPD Group, in a recent report.<\/p>\n
Activewear snapped up 28% of apparel dollars spent for the 12 months leading into May 2020, according to NPD data. And before the coronavirus pandemic, nearly half of consumers who worked from home (48%) would wear the same thing for work, working out and on the weekend.<\/p>\n
Even with the inclusion of more casual items, Brooks Brothers still has a large collection of $1,000 suits and dresses priced $200 to $400 on its website.<\/p>\n
With the current work-from-home situation, many shoppers are now even more relaxed in their attire even executives are wearing T-shirts and polos on conference calls, said Hilding Anderson, head of retail strategy at business consultancy Publicis Sapient. We see this as a sustained shift in expectations the days of formal attire five days a week or even one are fading.<\/p>\n
Anderson suggests Brooks Brothers needs a transformation, including its merchandise and marketing.<\/p>\n
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A change like that will require a mighty effort and a big investment from a buyer.<\/p>\n
The brand has a solid foundation on which a new owner can build, and it has a good digital business that has the potential for future growth, wrote GlobalDatas Saunders. [T]he process of reinvention will not be easy; it will take time, capital and effort to reconfigure Brooks Brothers into a retailer ready to serve the needs of modern consumers.<\/p>\n
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Brooks Brothers files for bankruptcy as its take on office gear falls out of step with more casual trends - MarketWatch<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Even if workers could head to the office right now, chances are they wouldnt be wearing a Brooks Brothers suit. The 200-plus-year-old retailer best known for what would now be considered formal office attire has filed for bankruptcy, falling victim to the COVID-19 outbreak, which has shuttered stores and stymied retail, and changing styles. Continue reading