Fashion Marketing & Merchandising, 3rd Edition Page 71 (71 of 672)

Winter goods include wool sweaters, heavy
topcoats, and gloves.
Other Textile End-Use
Industries
Commercially-produced wearing apparel is
not the only end use for textiles. Other markets
include household or home furnishings products,
industrial textile products, and the home sewing
industry. Household textile products comprise
about 40 percent of the total U.S. end-use textile
market, 4-14. Industrial textile products make
up about 25 percent with a continual increase
taking place. Apparel fabrics comprise about
35 percent and are decreasing in relation to the
total U.S. market.
Household Textile
Products
The household textile products industry
manufactures fabrics for fl oor coverings, home
furnishings, and domestics. Floor coverings
include rugs and carpets. Home furnishings
mainly include window treatments and furniture
coverings, 4-15. Domestics include bed, bath,
and kitchen textiles, 4-16. These three categories
are further described in the chart, 4-17.
Household textiles, or decorator fabrics,
follow fashion trends that are broader and slower
moving than apparel trends. Besides the fashion
aspects of color, pattern, texture, drape, etc.,
performance is an important consideration for
household textiles. Textile performance takes into
account such fabric attributes as strength and
durability, colorfastness (how well the color holds
End-Use Markets of Textile Products
Apparel =
35 percent
(decreasing)
Household =
40 percent (steady)
Constantly
changing with
fashion; not
produced in volume
Slower fashion
changes of color,
pattern, etc.
Upholstery,
carpeting, drapes,
tableclothes, sheets,
towels, etc.
Need performance
(stain resistance, color-
fastness, durability) to
last for about 10 years
Timing is important to
reach retail at height of
popularity
Expected lifetime
of garment is
about 4 years
Industrial
& misc. =
25 percent (rising)
Sales based on
performance specifications
Many different detailed uses
and lifetime expectations
4-14 End-use markets of textile products
include apparel, home furnishings, and
industrial products. The apparel slice is
getting smaller by percentage of the total,
and industrial use is increasing.
Burlington Industries
4-15 Home furnishings is an important
market for textiles. These fabrics were
especially developed for home decorating.
Revman Industries/AEON Group
4-16 These fashionable home textiles
are for the household category called
domestics.
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Extracted Text (may have errors)

Winter goods include wool sweaters, heavy
topcoats, and gloves.
Other Textile End-Use
Industries
Commercially-produced wearing apparel is
not the only end use for textiles. Other markets
include household or home furnishings products,
industrial textile products, and the home sewing
industry. Household textile products comprise
about 40 percent of the total U.S. end-use textile
market, 4-14. Industrial textile products make
up about 25 percent with a continual increase
taking place. Apparel fabrics comprise about
35 percent and are decreasing in relation to the
total U.S. market.
Household Textile
Products
The household textile products industry
manufactures fabrics for fl oor coverings, home
furnishings, and domestics. Floor coverings
include rugs and carpets. Home furnishings
mainly include window treatments and furniture
coverings, 4-15. Domestics include bed, bath,
and kitchen textiles, 4-16. These three categories
are further described in the chart, 4-17.
Household textiles, or decorator fabrics,
follow fashion trends that are broader and slower
moving than apparel trends. Besides the fashion
aspects of color, pattern, texture, drape, etc.,
performance is an important consideration for
household textiles. Textile performance takes into
account such fabric attributes as strength and
durability, colorfastness (how well the color holds
End-Use Markets of Textile Products
Apparel =
35 percent
(decreasing)
Household =
40 percent (steady)
Constantly
changing with
fashion; not
produced in volume
Slower fashion
changes of color,
pattern, etc.
Upholstery,
carpeting, drapes,
tableclothes, sheets,
towels, etc.
Need performance
(stain resistance, color-
fastness, durability) to
last for about 10 years
Timing is important to
reach retail at height of
popularity
Expected lifetime
of garment is
about 4 years
Industrial
& misc. =
25 percent (rising)
Sales based on
performance specifications
Many different detailed uses
and lifetime expectations
4-14 End-use markets of textile products
include apparel, home furnishings, and
industrial products. The apparel slice is
getting smaller by percentage of the total,
and industrial use is increasing.
Burlington Industries
4-15 Home furnishings is an important
market for textiles. These fabrics were
especially developed for home decorating.
Revman Industries/AEON Group
4-16 These fashionable home textiles
are for the household category called
domestics.
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cannot be sold this year because it is no longer
in demand. It is diffi cult to predict what the
demand for, and sales of, fashion products will
be at a particular time in the market. Companies
that produce and sell fashion goods are always
scrambling to supply the right fashions at the
right time to make a good profi t.
There is a great deal of style and timing
risk for companies that deal with fashion
merchandise. Wrong decisions can result in huge
fi nancial losses or even force a company out
of business. On the other hand, right decisions
can result in huge profi ts. Most companies have
some good years that carry them through other
years that are not as successful.
Seasonal products change in popularity
or demand with the seasons of the year. They
include both fashion goods and commodity
items, 4-13. Examples of seasonal products for
summer are shorts, swimsuits, and beach towels.
4-11 The name on this retail store is of a
prominent fashion designer, showing that
the company has integrated the segments
of apparel manufacturing and retailing.
DuPont Company
4-12 The white business shirt and dark
socks worn by this man are commodity
products. They are produced and sold
continuously because there is always a
demand for them.
Lee / VF Corporation
4-13 This outfi t includes a fashionable
“crinkle knit top” with commodity denim
shorts. Why is it also a seasonal outfi t?
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its original look), and stain resistance. Household
textiles should last for about 10 years.
Many household items are expensive, and
their sales are dependent on the health of the
economy. In bad economic times, consumers buy
fewer household textile products. In an economic
recovery, as employment rates and consumer
confi dence increase, the pent-up demand
creates strong purchasing patterns. Banking
interest rates also affect these purchases. With
low interest rates, more new houses are built
and credit cards or loans are used for “big-ticket”
items, such as carpeting and couches.
Designer names have become quite
important in all categories of household textiles.
Designer ensembles and retail displays have
emphasized the abundant use of fabrics
through coordinated sheets, comforters, pillow
shams, dust ruffl es, throw pillows, and window
treatments. An example of this concept is shown
in 4-18.
Domestics are sold mainly in department
stores and specialty “bed and bath” shops. Most
large furniture items are sold through free-
standing furniture retailers. The traditional sales
method is through gallery programs that display
actual pieces of a particular furniture company’s
line. Furniture is not mass-produced the way
garments are because fewer of each style is sold
and many are custom-covered in fabrics selected
by the end-use customer.
An in-store computer design system is a
new sales tool to help consumers see different,
selected fabrics on various furniture frames.
Such on-fl oor, interactive video catalogs allow
shoppers to visualize different coverings for
custom-covered furniture and then have photo-
like mock-ups of their selections printed in
color. Some of the systems are electronically
linked to the factory and also serve to place the
order. Retailers must allow a month or more
for production and delivery of custom-ordered
furniture to their customers.
Industrial Textile Products
Industrial textiles are technical rather
than fashionable. They are sold to commercial
business customers according to industrial
specifi cations (“specs”) and performance
quality, rather than a fashion look. Industrial
textile marketing is done at a higher level of
management because decisions often involve
new equipment or different manufacturing
methods that affect the entire company.
The specialized uses of industrial textiles
require a great deal of continuous research
and development to create the most optimum
strength or other characteristics needed. Some
Revman Industries/AEON Group
4-18 This fun image for a child’s room is
created with lots of bright colors, patterns,
and matching textile home decorating
accessories.
Household Textile Categories
Floor
coverings
Carpeting, area rugs, Oriental rugs,
throw rugs, plus non-fabric fl oor tiles
and materials
Home
furnishings
Window treatments – curtains,
draperies, valences, pull-down shades,
vertical blinds, etc.
Furniture – slipcovers and upholstery
Miscellaneous items – throw pillows,
lamp shades, artifi cial fl owers, wall
hangings, etc.
Domestics Bed linens – sheets, pillowcases,
bedspreads, decorative pillow covers,
blankets, etc.
Bathroom items – towels, shower
curtains, seat covers, etc.
Table and kitchen linens – tablecloths,
napkins, kitchen towels, etc.
4-17 Household textiles are divided
into logical categories for marketing,
manufacturing, and retailing purposes.
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Page 15Part 1 Basic Fashion and Business Concepts click to expand contents

Page 103Part 2 Textile/Apparel Building Blocks click to expand contents

Page 149Part 3 Designing and Producing Apparel click to expand contents

Page 233Part 4 Retail Business Fundamentals click to expand contents

Page 339Part 5 Strategies for Retail Success click to expand contents

Page 415Part 6 Fashion Promotion click to expand contents

Page 485Part 7 Fashion Business in Today's World click to expand contents

Page 531Part 8 Your Future in the Fashion Industry click to expand contents

Extracted Text (may have errors)

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