S.Oliver finally wants to leave the pandemic behind and starts the year optimistically. FashionUnited has the Rottendorf clothing supplier during the Düsseldorf order days visited. Sales manager Daniel Schmidt explains in an interview why the company has changed the order rhythm, how the current order date went and to what extent the prices have been adjusted.
How is the current order date going for you?
We have two themes right now: the June collections and Outdoor for Autumn/Winter, a very important area. As of today, we are positive in both areas. Outdoor even much stronger than planned. We are assuming double-digit sales growth.
How does the order volume compare to before the pandemic?
We are currently above the level of 2019. This is the “normal” reference year that we are currently referring to.
You have halved the order dates from eight to four. How is the transition going?
We have adapted the order rhythm to the development of our collections. In the past we developed, sold and delivered our collections on a monthly basis. We are now developing several delivery dates together and at the same time have significantly reduced the development times.
As a result, we are now closer to market trends and the needs of our customers. For the next order date in March, when we write the August, September and October dates at the same time, the new rhythm also applies to the order. In this context, we are switching from the classic order windows to four order dates per year.
Are there any other benefits from the new timing?
With the new frequency, we will have more time in the future to see our partners on site and to discuss the topics with them even better and more individually, to develop them further and also to further increase performance. Until now, we were very closely tied to the showrooms due to the monthly sales phases and didn’t have enough time to visit our customers in their stores.
Will the trend of declining pre-order quantities continue?
The topic of wholesale is still very important to us, as we show with the significant investments in the digitization of our showrooms: We want to work with the right partners and have also examined how we can further expand the partnership. There has been a trend towards declining pre-orders in the last two years, but we cannot confirm this at the moment. We’re growing again!
How have retailers accepted the digital ordering tools so far?
The new concept has been very well received. It is a change process, for our teams as well as for our customers. In the past, the order was very classic. They came to the showroom and saw all the samples.
With the development of our order tool, in which a 100 percent digital order is possible, our customers can familiarize themselves with the topics from home and even complete the order after consultation with our sales team. But you can still make an appointment in the showroom, go over the order again with the sales manager and say: What is right, what is wrong? What is the recommendation from our side?
But the topic of digital ordering is omnipresent here in the showroom as well. We not only show what is possible on our LED walls, but also on all touchscreens and cinemas. The proportion of digital orders is already 40 to 50 percent.
And this hybrid concept is now being rolled out further?
We will now transfer the whole concept of our hybrid fashion studios. We have examined each individual location: where is it correct? Where is it necessary? And now we are gradually rolling it out.
Recently we Sindelfingen brand new opened. This year it will continue in Austria, in Salzburg. We are also planning to modernize and rebuild the showroom in Munich and to bring all brands under one roof again.
What is the position of stock goods for you now?
We have recently reduced our proportion of classic NOS articles in order to bring more fashion articles to the sales areas and to focus even more on our competence here.
How has the pandemic affected your supply chain? Do the goods get to the stores on time?
We have now found a solution for all transport routes so that we can deliver ‘just in time’. Sea and air freight have become more important.
Where is the trend going?
A general trend is outerwear, which is gaining momentum again. This applies to sports as well as to wool. There are many material mix topics that are very well received. This also includes different quilting variants. In these areas we are also achieving positive growth today. Outerwear is currently in double-digit growth for us.
Have you expanded the area further?
We have continued to expand this area and see that the current performance proves us right. We already had very good sales of outerwear in autumn/winter.
As brands, we naturally stand for a specific segment where we feel comfortable and find our way around. But this year we deliberately adjusted one or the other outdoor price group upwards, supplemented it and invested even more in the product. This is very well received.
To what extent have you adjusted the price ranges?
We try very clearly to keep our price points. We have one or the other shift, like many in the market. In the case of outerwear, we also consciously dare to go up a price group and expand the price range without leaving the existing one.
At Comma we have expanded a bit in the outerwear area, but left the existing price ranges. A year and a half ago, S.Oliver had a men’s T-shirt with a retail price of 9.99 euros. This was changed to EUR 12.99 with organic cotton goods. At the end of the day, the performance was even better than the 9 euro t-shirt.
The aim is to maintain magical price points in each individual division and product group, despite the raw material price trend, which is currently going extremely up.
How are price changes passed on to retailers?
We are currently not passing on the costs directly. If so, then higher prices result from improvements in the product, for example through a higher sustainability standard, better quality, et cetera.
The pandemic weighed on revenues in 2020. Above all, the wholesale business at S.Oliver suffered. How does the wholesale business compare to your own retail?
We have several channels at the S.Oliver Group: We have our own retail, e-commerce, wholesale, franchise, depot, concession. If you put them in relation, the share of sales from retail and e-commerce, i.e. our own channels, is larger than with partners. If you only look at brick-and-mortar retail, we currently generate more sales with our partners than with our own stores.
What strategy are you pursuing when it comes to distribution?
We thoroughly examine the issue of distribution: Who are the strategic, important partners for us? We would like to work very closely with them. We don’t have to be represented everywhere if it doesn’t suit our brands and products.
When it comes to retail and internationalization, the company also follows a clear roadmap and examines the portfolio because not every brand is right for every location.
Finally, how do you think you will graduate in 2022?
We anticipate a positive year. The first order results make us very positive. The partners also welcome the investment in the individual divisions, which we have recently pushed ahead with. This must also be implemented for the year 2022 and the two years of the pandemic with 2020 and 2021 to be left behind. We are in a very positive mood, even though the year has only just begun.