In-season/evergreen collection demand rises says JOOR, wholesale bounces back

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Nov 23, 2022

Demand for and supply of in-season and ‘evergreen’ collections is rising fast globally, a new survey from online wholesale management specialist JOOR has shown.

Its AW22 market survey discovered a “dramatic” growth in brands and designers offering evergreen collections in response to buyer demand, with 22% of brands presenting such collections, up from 15% a year ago.
 
Evergreen collections “enable brands and designers to extend their sales windows and encourage commercial consistency in both products and sales,” JOOR said. “For fashion buyers, these never-out-of-stock collections provide confidence, as they enable buyers to manage inventories more effectively while allowing stores to focus on commercially proven styles. Evergreen collections and perennial product also enable consumers to repeat-buy favourite styles over longer periods, an opportunity often overlooked by the fashion sector’s commitment to the rapid change aligned with trends”.

Its survey also found that 39% of brands will now lengthen their selling windows to accept orders closer to delivery. That’s up a big 33% from a year ago. And 53% of buyers anticipate extending their buying window by placing orders later in the season. 

It’s a trend being seen globally, although it's most noticeable in North America, where 55% of buyers are planning to buy later.

JOOR said it’s a reflection of growing economic uncertainty with buyers holding on to more of their buying budgets and buying closer to the season so they can be more reactive to trends and consumer demands.

CEO Kristin Savilia said that “brands and buyers are craving stability at the moment. Buyers are being thoughtful with their investment and appreciate the immediacy of being able to place orders closer to the season”.

WHOLESALE RECOVERY

Another reflection of the times is fashion brands and designers continuing to pivot back to wholesale, despite a trend over the past couple of decades that has seen them moving more towards their own retail operations. 

But wholesale offers “a stable and reliable sales channel” and JOOR cited its client Lanvin Group that recently announced soaring sales driven by 260% growth in its wholesale business.

Encouragingly, it added that nearly 60% of brands “have achieved sales volumes that are even with or greater than pre-pandemic levels — a significant lift from the 49% recorded the same time last year. And, 52% of buyers have open-to-buy budgets equal to or greater than pre-pandemic levels — a positive trend from 48% at the same time last year”. It also found that 22% of buyers will be spending more than they did in the same season last year.