NEW YORK — From the fashion runways of New York to the bustling mills of China, 2004 was an active, successful year for Supima — including forays into new business areas and major inroads into the consumer trend toward luxury goods.
There were several highly visible Supima achievements during the year, from an aggressive advertising and information campaign to a featured role on the runway during fall Fashion Week here.
Less obvious — but no less important — were more subtle successes such as a growing Supima recognition factor in consumer surveys and Supima cotton playing a key role in a burgeoning Asian trend — “luxury” jeans made with ultra-soft Supima fabrics.
Supima is the promotional group — founded in 1954 — for American Pima cotton growers, whose product carries the Supima® brand.
“In the history of our organization, 2004 definitely will go down as one of the best years ever,” said Jesse Curlee, president of Supima.
2004 highlights:
• Supima took to the fall fashion runway as fabrics made with American Pima cotton were prominently featured in a show by trend-setting designers Matthew Morgan and Alessandro Poddie during Fashion Week in New York.
The two award-winning designers, who together create the Morgan d’Alessandro line, used Supima cotton in many of the nearly 30 ensembles in their spring/summer 2005 men’s collection.
“We are very lucky to have come in contact with Supima,” the designers said in a statement. “We feel by adding it to our line, we have increased the quality and stature of our product, and our customers have definitely noticed the difference.”
• Supima growers marked one of their best years ever, with a crop of some 720,00 bales of luxury cotton.
• In March, a Supima trade team made its first foray into China — which has virtually exploded onto the scene of Pima users during the last two years. China imported more Pima cotton in the first eight months of the 2003/2004-crop year than it did in all of the previous year.
• A spring 2004 Lands’ End men’s catalog featured a 100 percent Supima twill suit and trousers from Bondex International of Hong Kong, one of Supima’s licensees. Also among new Supima products in 2004: Brooks Brothers’ Supima briefs and T-shirts.
• A fall 2004 survey of leading menswear designers and retailers showed Supima® cotton is gaining preference for use in luxury menswear fabrics. The survey, conducted with DNR (Daily News Record) reported that all of those designers responding said they use luxury cotton in their collections, and 50 percent of the respondents said they now use Supima branded cotton.
And 75 percent of the respondents said they associated “luxury” and “soft” specifically with Supima.
“What this survey tells us is that designers and retailers are looking more and more to Supima® cotton for that difference,” said Buxton Midyette, Supima marketing director.
• It’s in the jeans. Denim made with U.S.-grown Pima cotton — “luxury” cotton marketed with the Supima® hang-tag — generated buzz and interest in the marketplace in 2004. The Japanese market was the first to create Supima jeans, with Levi’s having launched a “Supima Denim” collection earlier.
And the Supima denim wave is coming. In large part, the interest in luxury denim made from Supima cotton reflects a broad American consumer demand for luxury goods.
With the prices for premium denim jeans ranging from $100 to $300 per pair, it is only natural that consumers and designers seek to incorporate high-performance, luxury fibers such as Supima cotton into denim.
• Early in the year, Supima launched a new print media advertising campaign focusing on Pima cotton’s key role in luxury fabrics for home and apparel. Ads from the new campaign — “Supima®: The Luxury of Color” — appeared in consumer and trade magazines during the year as Pima cotton increased its position in premium cottons.
“This was definitely a year for Supima,” Curlee said. “We look to 2005 as the year of Supima.”
