In the Jeans Everyone's mad about premium jeans--and entrepreneurs are making crazy profits.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
For some consumers, it's the fashion equivalent of asymphony: a well-packaged derrière, a wash that rivals thenight sky after rain, a shape that stops traffic. For others,it's a sign of prosperity that's within reach. For stillothers, it's an ode to celebs such as Sarah Jessica Parker,Britney Spears and other premium-denim devotees.
The premium jeans market, which includes brands such as Rock& Republic, Serfontaine, and 7 for All Mankind, help to accountfor 3 percent of the $11 billion jeans market, according to thelatest research from the "Lifestyle Monitor," an ongoingsurvey from Cotton Inc., the Cary, North Carolina-based researchand promotion company that supports the cotton industry. Men andwomen alike aren't thinking twice about plunking down $150 ormore for the perfect pair-or in some cases, pairs-of jeans. Evenold favorites like Calvin Klein, which will debut a retail line ofpremium denim this spring, are getting in on the trend.
"Premium jeans are here to stay," says Lukus Eichmann,21-year-old co-founder of Los Angeles based Saddlelite JeansCo., one of a number of upscale women and men's denimcompanies impressing shoppers at Barney's, Fred Segal, Maxfieldand 30-plus select stores internationally. "Fit is the primaryconcern, and quality would follow that."
"These people are willing to spend that because it'ssomething they wear all the time," adds cofounder DanielGreen, also 21, who says he started Saddlelite in 2003 to get thekind of silhouette he could only find in the women'sdepartment.
In fact, Cotton Inc.'s research reveals that both men andwomen alike own an average of eight pairs of jeans apiece, withdifferent looks for different occasions. "Premium denim willstick around for a while," affirms Claire Dupuis, CottonInc.'s senior trend forecaster. "What's importantabout premium denim to the people buying it is the fit."
But as makers of less-expensive denim work to improve the fit oftheir jeans, to keep premium denim at a premium price, high-endjeans companies need to appeal to consumer tastes without becomingtoo mainstream. Saddlelite, for one, is focusing on steady growth,developing customer loyalty and being selective about where theysell-and, of course, that ever-important fit. Says Eichmann,"That's one thing any jeans company has to continuallywork on."
