Suits Up
Retail is up—particularly for men’s suits. That’s the latest news from Port Washington, N.Y.–based research firm NPD Group. In a recent NPD report, apparel sales grew 3 percent to $173 billion in 2004 from the year before. More important, the uptick ran counter to three years of declining sales (since the peak in 2000 at $176), the company found. Although both men’s and women’s apparel showed signs of growth, men’s tailored clothing was one of the standout categories, rising to more than $4 billion in 2004 from more than $3 billion in 2003. In the women’s category, sales of sweaters and knit tops increased 9 percent to more than $31 billion in 2004.
