Apparel Report Bonus Feature

Spotlight on Cedarville University

Samantha Lomelin, apparel and giftware buyer at Cedarville University’s Campus Store in Cedarville, Ohio, said sweatshirts are the top seller in their store. “In all our categories of men’s, women’s, and unisex apparel items, sweatshirts always come out on top. We just have a large population of people who like to wear sweatshirts. And where we are located, it is usually cold outside for most of the school year,” she explained.

Lomelin said it’s important to know the audience when selling apparel. “As a university campus store, we cater to a wide range of people including current students, alumni, parents, grandparents, et cetera. I look for trendy pieces that students would like to see as well as more staple items for the alumni, parent, and grandparent crowd.” She has been noticing a few trends among the store customers: “Some trends I’ve been seeing in apparel lately are crewneck sweatshirts, oversized fit items, and minimalistic designs. The more vintage or retro 90s looks are very ‘in’ with the crewneck sweatshirts. Crewnecks that look like they came straight out of the 90s tend to do well with applique or embroidery.” She continued, “An oversized fit is very trendy right now among college-age people. Buying a size or two larger than what you normally wear is what many people are doing. More of a loose fit is popular among the younger generations whereas traditional or ladies cut items are popular with the older generations.”

Lomelin has also noticed customers gravitating toward a “minimalist” design, such as a small single-color center chest embroidery.

Cedarville’s university store carries a wide range of apparel options for both students and alumni. “Many times, our students have already bought the staple Cedarville items. We try to bring in a wide range of styles and colors in the garments to diversify our customer's closets while still representing Cedarville University,” Lomelin explained. “We have many sweatshirt options, shirts, sweatpants, et cetera. We also have many styles in different name brands such as Nike, Under Armour, and Champion.”

When displaying merchandise, Lomelin has these tips: “If you have a window in your store, I find it very beneficial to use it to make a fun window display. I try to showcase new product in the window to catch the attention of people walking by the store. I also try to make the window match events going on at the university,” she suggested, adding, “For our Homecoming event, we had many alumni products showcased in the window along with our new children’s clothing, as many of our alumni and our families were walking around and shopping that weekend.”

Product placement is critical for both in-store merchandising and window displays, she pointed out. “I try to stand in different parts of the store and see which areas are more visible to customers to make sure either new or popular items can be seen. I have Nike displayers facing the front entrance of the store to showcase those pieces, as well as mannequins facing the entrance wearing new product.” ❖