Western & English Today

EARLYSPR 2014

W&E; Today provides retailers and manufacturers with education and ideas that provoke innovation in the Western and English markets.

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a really good business for us, we feel if we put focus on it, we could do some good increases," says Amber Vanwy, national sales and marketing manager for Rocky's Durango brand. T at push will include kid-specif c catalogs and possibly kid-specif c events. Most companies — for example, Anderson Bean/Macie Bean, Cinch, Dan Post, Durango, Justin, Laredo, Olathe, Rocky Brands, Roper, Smoky Mountain, Twisted X, etc. — typically follow the daddy-down and mama- down strategy. Meaning: Little boys want to dress like their dads and girls want to look like their moms, so companies copy their popular adult styles and transform them into children's boots. Jama/Old West is even of ering square- toe boots for kids. "It's amazing how little girls want to look like their mamas," says Greg Hensley at Dan Post, which of ers its most popular women's boot — the classic butterf y design — from ladies size 10 to juvenile 8.5. But Bob Frazier, owner of Twisted X Boots, says: "If you don't of er coloring for girls, then you're not going to sell." "Almost every girl seems to have a favorite color," T orp adds. "It could be pink. It could be purple. It could be a combination of brown and purple, but they like it, and they go through a period of time where almost everything they buy is pink. And the next time you see them, it's purple." In other words, manufacturers say, retailers need a wider range of girls boots than boys boots. "T e girls want something dif erent," T orp says. "When she comes in the next time, more than likely she won't buy the same thing she bought before. T e boy will. T e boy, if he's got something he likes and he feels comfortable with, he'll stay with it. But the little girl? She's going to move on." For those girls moving on, Justin has created a … well, call it a "sister" line to its Justin Gypsy collection, which was launched in 2007 with a target market of teens and young women. Now Justin is bringing out Gypsy Dust, combining Western f air, comfort and fashion for the "tennis- shoe, Converse-wearing" middle and junior high school age girls. "Because," as the new packaging announces, "shy isn't in your vocabulary." Like Justin, Gameday Boots, which produces licensed collegiate boots and accessories, has introduced a new line targeting younger boot wearers. Called Someday, this children's line of boots is available for boys and girls in half sizes. "T is is a really great thing," Gameday's Jef Green says. "It instills in the kids that someday you will go to college and someday you will be an Ole Miss alumni or Texas or wherever." T e boots even come in special packaging featuring gif tags. "T e packaging is just as special as the boots," Green says. Most manufacturers try to be price-conscious when it comes to children's boots. "You need these to be cost-ef ective for the parents because the kids are growing so fast," says Steven Kahla of Anderson Bean. But price point isn't always a major factor. "Traditionally, Dan Post has a high price, but by our sales, we're seeing that if you put out a good quality product with a good f t that the kid won't tear up in two weeks, they'll pay $80 to $100 retail for them," Hensley says. Besides, you want the boys and girls to wear the boots, enjoy them, and get used to boots. "When I'm at a stock show or youth rodeo and a grandmother comes in to buy her grandson or granddaughter a pair of boots and says, 'Now, you better take care of them,' I say, 'No, I want them to wear and enjoy these boots. I want them to be completely destroyed by the time they've grown out of them," Kahla says. "If you're worried about protecting a kid's boot, you're not buying the right boot." Midpoint price ranges aren't the only thing booming; so are the boots aimed at those youths nearing middle school ages, the boys and girls between early grammar school and high school. "Younger crossover," says Kerry Vastine, vice president operations at Karman Inc., where Roper has always done well in the youth and kids market. "Catching the middle ground youth, 4-5-6-7 sizing, has been really benef cial to us. 'What do you have in youth?' 'What do you have in that category?' T at's what we're hearing." So Roper is taking its ladies sizing down to youth, and it has even brought out children's boots in its Americana program. Daddy-down. Mama-down. Always. Right? Not necessarily. At some point, those children aren't going to want to dress like Mom and Pop. MACIE BEAN GIRLS TWISTED X YOUTH DURANGO BOYS ANDERSON BEAN BOYS OLATHE BOYS TIN HAUL GIRLS SMOKY MOUNTAIN GIRLS 0314 Kids Boots.indd 34 2/19/14 4:48 PM

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