The Evolution of Missy
The missy market is poised to tap into one of the largest growing demographics as baby-boomer women continue to move into the missy category.
“When you look at demographics there certainly is a growth factor,” said Roseanne Cumella, general merchandise manager of New York-based buying office Donegar Group. “Every junior size eventually evolves into a missy.”
According to the 2000 census, there are 42 million women between the ages of 35 and 54 in the United States—the prime target audience for the missy market. If you take into account the 30 million additional women who are 55 and older, the missy market has a target domestic audience of at least 70 million. And that doesn’t take into account the number of women below 35 who also shop in retailers’ missy departments, nor the number of junior customers soon to “evolve” into missy apparel.
But the missy market is difficult to define because the missy category is so diverse.
In recent years, the market has fragmented into new subcategories, including “contemporary missy” and “updated missy.”
“[The missy category is] undergoing several changes,” said Cumella. “There is a younger attitude that’s hipper, more contemporary. Women are more aware of fashion than the average woman [was] 20 years ago.”
Cumella said that the media contributes to the fracturing of the missy market. People are exposed to more fashion information today, thanks to cable channels such as E! Television’s Style Network and Internet sites that instantly post the latest looks from the international runways. This flood of fashion information creates added pressure to be in style, Cumella said.
“Today’s woman wants to be fashion-right,” she said. “They don’t have to be cutting-edge but they have to be fashion-right.”
As a result, the market is so diverse that it needs to be subcategorized, Cumella said.
“Manufacturers tend to classify themselves as an updated resource or better or whatever,” she said. “It depends on who the manufacturer wants to sell to. They can’t be everything to everybody.”Cumella said that both missy manufacturers and retailers need to first identify who will buy their product, and then tailor the missy description to that consumer. She added that many contemporary manufacturers incorporate missy styles into their lines in order to reach the broadest possible audience.
“As a manufacturer you can be contemporary in your product offering, but more often than not, part of the mix would include an updated [missy] presentation, which could then be selected by the appropriate retailer,” she said, citing ABS by Allen Schwartz and Laundry by Shelli Segal as contemporary labels that include missy items in their product offerings.
But for many true missy labels, even the name “missy” can be limiting.
“Nobody wants to be known as a traditional missy resource,” she said. “Most everybody wants to be considered an updated resource because it wraps around a broader audience.”
