Pantyhose Sales Down 70% - Industry Sagging

[matcom]

<snip>

It's not a great time to be in the pantyhose business.

It wasn't long ago that they were a staple in a career woman's wardrobe. Now, sheer hosiery faces an even a bigger snag -- more than a decade of declining sales.

Women just aren't wearing as much sheer hosiery these days. Hanesbrands reported that sales are down nearly 70 percent since 1995. Hanesbrands Vice President Romaine Sargent said women have greater wardrobe options as the workplace has become more casual.

Shorts, Capri-style pants :grr: and even flip-slops are accepted in many offices.

Plus, many women say pantyhose is tight, uncomfortable and one little run can ruin your whole day.

Hanesbrands is the nation's leading seller of women's sheer hosiery, but the company has been straightforward with investors about the sag in sales. The company said it's working on product innovations and is trying to take advantage of current fashion trends. But it admits there's little it can do about the sales decline until fashion trends turn in its favor.

The company said women ages 25 to 54 wear pantyhose an average of 1.8 times a week. That's down from three and a half times a week one decade ago.

Hosiery sales at Hanesbrands totaled $290 million in fiscal 2006. That's 68 percent lower than the $895 million in sales the company did in fiscal 1995.

http://www.wftv.com/money/10507368/detail.html

[rug]

1. It's Brittney's fault.

[NewJeffCT]

2. No, it's Bill Clinton's fault

He is nigh-omnipotent and is responsible for everything in the world.

[Avalux]

3. It's too hot here to wear them.

I would die if I had to slap on a pair of pantyhose in San Antonio's sauna-like summer heat. If I wear a skirt in the summer, I go hoseless w/sandals. I will occasionally wear tights with a skirt/boots in cooler months.

[NashVegas]

4. Maybe If They Made Them More Durable ...

Plain-jane pantyhose is what? $3 per pair?

Something more attractive, colors or with patterns, will cost more like $7 and over.

You wear them once, they snag on anything from a toenail or a hangnail (you have to constantly pull them back up) and throw them in the wastebasket.

Not very economical.

It doesn't help that womens' fashions suck right now and have for a few years.

[Squeech]

5. Consumer products

are worse than ever. Prices keep increasing, functionality keeps degrading, and the American people continue to fall for it.

Last time I bought men's underwear I bought Hanes briefs. They suck. They're not brief enough, they ride up and get remarkably uncomfortable in the course of a working day, and (not that this matters terribly often) they're dorky looking. But I thought I had to go for the name brand because my previous underwear purchase was some no-name dollar store brand, and they suck too.

I remember during the Reagan administration, some Repuke apologist tried to make the case that price inflation was actually okay because, he said, you're not getting the same product for the money, you're getting more functionality, because the additional expense goes to pay for innovative R&D that results in better products. So how come my dad could get a perfectly adequate shave with a single blade, and I'm supposed to need this elaborate concoction with five blades stacked up?

I'm also really stoked about the extra E. coli in my food supply. That which does not kill me makes me stronger, all I have to do is not die.

[Bullwinkle925]

6. Jeez - I can't even remember when I put the last pair on.

hmmmm

:think:

[Book Lover]

7. You think that's bad - try finding stockings for use with a garter belt

Yes, some of us wear them functionally. I hate pantyhose and will only wear stockings. But try to find ones that will last more than three or four wearings/washings!

[Blue_Roses]

8. Hate 'em