STOCKINGS AND PANTYHOSE

Pretty Polly: the enemy?
(Edited from contributions to the Stockings HQ discussion forum)
"The Stockings HQ reporter at hosiery week had a meeting with the marketing director of Pretty Polly yesterday. She said that sheer hosiery (stockings *and* tights) was a dying market, all women hate stockings and suspenders, and the company is moving heavily into socks. True or not (and I would obviously disagree), it is a concern simply because of their size and influence. And this was the marketing director. You wouldn't, therefore, expect to see Pretty Polly change policy in the forseeable future, and ominously they were not showing any new stockings or hold ups at the event.
"My fear is that in 20 years we may look upon now as the golden era because, ironically, women wore tights, and any sheer hosiery may be as rare then as stockings are now. A worry indeed.
"Now I'm thinking that maybe evil though they are, tights are going to need our help eventually too or else we'll lose sheer hosiery altogether. I feel alien saying this, but despite my intense dislike for tights, I'd rather wear/see them than trousers and god-forbid socks.
"I don't mean to depress, and it was only the previous day that Aristoc (like PP owned by the Sara Lee corporation) were showing loads of new ranges and saying hold-ups were the product of the moment. Jonathan Aston had a huge range of fantastic stockings and hold-ups in extremely innovative colours. But I can't help but think that for Pretty Polly (as far as I am aware the biggest manufacturer in the UK) to think this way, we are entering dangerous times."
"I must say that, as a regular wearer of Pretty Polly stockings and hold ups I was a little dismayed to hear that their marketing director thinks so little of those of us that buy their products. I don't know why but I have always worn Pretty Polly stockings. I even wore their tights when I used to wear them (a long time ago now). I think that it may be time for me to take my business elsewhere as I won't stop wearing stockings just because some idiot tells me that I don't like them!"
"I have to agree with you entirely. I have worn stockings in their Nylons range for quite a while now but I will be seriously thinking of taking my business elsewhere if this turns out to be true."
"I disagree with many posting here who say that Pretty Polly or other hosiery manufacturers are the enemy! The purpose of a manufacturing company is to obtain money for their shareholders, not control what products people use. They make what people want, simple as that! Why would they spend money trying to change women's tastes... far cheaper to give them what they already want.
"If we want stockings to return more quickly, forums like this are a much more powerful weapon. If enough stocking-wearers write to the manufacturers and tell them 'We want stockings', they'll make them quickly enough!"
"While it's true that most women may not now use stockings there still is that small majority including myself that love stockings and will do our best to keep them around for future generations. What we need is a major celebrity who is know around the world to endorse stockings and let people know of their benefits not only in health but as a possible Viagra alternative. I think there are still a large majority of women who don't know how exciting stockings are to men. Believe me when I say it was no small feat to get that response but it was well worth it. I'm trying them again after 33 years of pantyhose wearing so you know there's still hope."
"All marketing directors/managers have a use by date. Hosiery today, shoes tomorrow, sunglasses the day after. Will this person be in the same job 12 months hence? Just because some person makes a marketing decision, it does not mean that it will be set in stone. Everything is cyclic in this world, history repeats itself. When (and NOT if) when the next role model appears, 3" clogs, bare legs and bell bottoms may be replaced by something else, and all the crowds will follow, blindly, yet again. I am a little more optimistic." "I read carefully your report concerning Pretty Polly marketing strategy. I understand your concerns but they are no real reasons to panic. Marketing is a strange science where you can make a lot of mistakes. But there are reasons why PP are giving up on stockings and hold ups to concentrate on a different field.
"First the age group of their consumers, second the distribution and third the price point. PP is for middle class and working class women and most of it for younger girls. Therefore they are concentrating in a market where there is no need for stockings and hold ups.
"The other problem is due to the feminist campaign started in the sixties. Stockings were only appearing in blue Swedish movies and in the company of prostitutes. The strong image of sex, male domination and stockings are very high still. We do not have so much a problem in France regarding bare legs. We say 'a real Parisian girl never goes out without her stockings'. We consider bare legs extremely vulgar. But still the UK market is a bigger market per woman than France! Strange isn't it?"
"I can see your point, however what are your expectations regarding stockings? I can understand their point of view hosiery is a mass market where they have to sell very large quantities as the product value is small. I suggest that stockings are now just a niche market for the more discerning wearer as I suspect that most women have never even tried stockings so they don't know about them they just accept what they're told that stockings are bad and inconvenient.
"This whole problem is a societal one, as more and more women work in environments which don't require formal dress, then the demand falls for hosiery. I too am saddened by the number of women I see wearing jeans or trousers but I suspect it may be a matter of convenience that this has come about and women don't have the time for stockings any more. In addition stockings are more difficult to wear than tights and hold ups are possibly the easiest to cope with for a busy woman.
"However that's enough of the negative side - let's get onto positive aspects. I suggest that an effort be set in motion to set out the merits of wearing hosiery, with the emphasis on stockings of course, against other forms of clothing i.e. trousers/jeans. The problem is much larger than one would realise as the whole of society has to be convinced to switch back to stockings. If women are going to wear the likes of jeans and trousers then why not use this and encourage them to wear stockings underneath them, I can see that it still a 'cover up' so to speak but at least the volume of sales would rise."
"I agree that with reduced demand, the products we enjoy may disappear altogether. Indeed, this is what happened to the Hanes stockings in the states (are there any stockings currently available that can match them?).
"However, the one saving grace I see on the scene is the Internet. Even if the demand for stockings stays flat or declines (and I fully expect the latter), there will still be an incentive for retail sales on the web to occur. Since there will be no geographical barriers, the world-wide population of stocking aficionados will still be able to support manufacture and distribution, albeit from a reduced number of outlets. Am I being unreasonably optimistic?"
"Here are my thoughts from the perspective of a business person and a stockings lover. As I'm sure you, and some of your group may know, the American-based Sara Lee corporation owns Pretty Polly. In fiscal 2000 Sara Lee's Intimate Brands (the division wherein Pretty Polly resides) sold more than $7.5 billions (US). More than $2 billions of that was in hosiery alone. 70% of that was in US sales. These numbers represented a 2% improvement from the prior year. But, even more importantly, net operating income for this division was $844 millions, up from $776 millions the year before. This was an increase of almost 9% in income on sales increases of only 2%. In other words, hosiery (of all kinds) and the other Intimate Brands are making very nice money for Sara Lee.
"Paul Lustig is the chief executive officer of Sara Lee's Intimate Brands division. Paul began his career in marketing but he achieved his current position at the top of this highly profitable business unit by working for almost 10 years in operations and unit management. Paul understands that marketing does not drive product. On the contrary, product drives marketing. Marketing does not make policy, marketing interprets policy to the customer. The marketing department's thoughts when supported by research and sales analysis can influence decision making at the executive level but it does not govern decision making. "The business decision as to whether or not Sara Lee will continue to sell sheer hosiery is driven by customer demand alone. Nothing else.
"Neither our devotion to stockings nor the marketing director's thoughts about their viability as a product will make much of a difference one way or the other. All that really matters is demand. In my opinion your Stockings HQ web page can be a powerful influence on demand.
"But, one of your contributors said it best when she observed that a celebrity was needed to attract the attention of today's woman to stockings. Hollywood has been the genesis of many styles and the revival of just as many. If, for example, there is more profit in selling pair of stockings than in a pair of tights that marketing director should be spending her time trying to get her stockings 'placed' in movies. Sara Lee should be actively trying to persuade celebrities (through financial and other considerations) to wear them to gala events (the Oscars, Emmys, Golden Globes, etc) and on television show. But, until Sara Lee makes a decision to do this your group must continue to advocate loudly and forcefully for the joys of stockings. I would advise against selling out to tights. It is not only a self-defeating tactic in the end, but a betrayal of the core focus of this group; stockings and their mystique! Do not fear. You said you were going to re-vamp some of this site and spend more money to enhance its features. That's exactly the right strategy."
"I wonder if Pretty Polly have done any kind of strategic analysis of the hosiery market. If as you say, their sales are rising in this sector, it is most surprising that their UK marketing director feels the end is nigh for sheer hosiery. I suppose that the marketing director's comments are based on one piece of market research which told them that, at present young women have stopped wearing tights or stockings.
"Compare this to Aristoc's approach. They are concentrating on hold-ups so their strategic review would have indicated that women like the idea of stockings but not the 'hassle' of wearing a suspender belt.
"IMHO what is happening here is that sheer hosiery has come near to the end of its product life cycle and is in need of investment to keep sales up. Pretty Polly has chosen to go one way (ie divest) whilst Aristoc has chosen another strategy (to invest in hold-ups). Interesting that both are part of the Sara Lee corporation, as that company obviously operates as a series of discrete business units operating different brands and with different strategies.
"I am saddened at the decline of sheer hosiery, but I am optimistic that it will survive - it is a decline, not a demise, and fashion will swing back in its favour sometime soon. There will always be a demand from women who are forced to wear them as part of a uniform or unwritten dress code for their profession.
"And on the subject of nylons: there are enough of us stocking fans (male and female) out there to support the specialist manufacturers of fully fashioned and RHT stockings, which let's face it, will remain a niche market. I am just glad that someone had the foresight to salvage the old looms used to make them, so that they will not become extinct."




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