April 28 (Bloomberg) -- Men appreciate centerfold Heidi Klum's beauty in the 2008 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Women lust after her $137 string bikini.
Within two weeks of the magazine's arrival on newsstands in mid-February, Red Carter, the designer of the American-Indian inspired two-piece Klum wore, managed to move a 400-plus inventory of the suit. According to the Miami-based swimwear maker, his overall sales in the two months since are 60 percent higher than a year earlier.
``It doesn't get better than that,'' said Carter, 39.
At times the target of feminist ire, the Swimsuit Issue also turns out to be a clothing catalog for more than 28 million female readers of the magazine. These women, along with merchandise buyers, are making inclusion a ticket to increased swimsuit sales and legitimacy for lesser-known designers. The magazine's best-selling and highest-revenue edition is ``the Academy Awards'' for the U.S. swimwear industry, says fashion consultant Carolyn Moss.
Even as women's apparel sales look to show no gain in 2008, swimsuit sales will rise 5 percent, according to Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for Port Washington, New York-based market research firm NPD Group Inc. The industry generated annual revenue of $2.75 billion in 2007 out of total women's clothes sales of $104 billion that year, according to NPD Group.
Huge Growth
``Five percent growth in a slowing economy is a huge story in its own right,'' Cohen said. While slower than the 2007 increase of 7.5 percent, a gain that size in 2008 ``would be like 10 percent any other year.''
Cohen relates rising revenue to decisions by strapped consumers to vacation more cheaply by sunbathing in their backyards and at local pools and beaches, rather than going to cities, he said.
Sales in 2007 more than doubled from the prior year, partly because designers including Badgley Mischka entered the segment with swimsuits for $500 or more, said Colleen Sherin, fashion director for Saks Inc. in New York. Swimwear makers also offered suits that provide more coverage to satisfy American modesty and bigger cup sizes to accommodate larger women, said Moss at the New York-based consulting firm Tobe. Another innovation in recent years was to allow shoppers to mix and match tops and bottoms, she said.
Those aren't the kind of swimwear women see in Sports Illustrated. The magazine is catering to a more fashion-conscious shopper. She has a median age of 37 and annual income of $70,700, according to Karen Dmochowsky, a Sports Illustrated spokeswoman.
The edition of the magazine, published by Time Warner Inc., will be on sale until May 20 and has a readership of about 70 million. That compares with a monthly average of 21 million.
Ad Bonanza
The 2008 issue, with 112 advertising pages, includes about 120 styles from about 70 brands -- some priced close to $700. Diane Smith, who has been editor of the issue for 10 years, says she seeks out designers each July at the biggest swimwear trade show in Miami. She looks for suits that match issue themes. For a shoot in Russia, she sought designs that looked like Faberge eggs, the editor said.
Smith also gives a top-secret list of the planned exotic photo-shoot locations to select designers, who then make tailored submissions. Lourdes Hanimian, 44, from Miami-based brand Luli Fama, once fashioned a suit in 48 hours out of paper cigar bands for placement in a South American layout.
The issue helps set the tone for the season because it is bigger and earlier than rival products from fashion magazines that tend to take a more ``instructional'' approach, giving readers advice on how to select flattering styles, Saks's Sherin said.
Model Designer
Creators go to lengths to win selection. Carter and Beach Bunny Swimwear founder Angela Chittenden each submitted 50 to 100 designs to see whether any would catch Smith's eye. Carter ended up with three designs this year, his third time to make the issue, and Chittenden, a former swimwear model herself, landed nine, more than any other brand.
Chittenden, 30, said being selected helped double her sales from a year ago. She declined to provide figures. Chittenden produces lacy lingerie-inspired, skimpy Brazilian cuts. Her tops have underwires with molded air pockets for a push-up effect.
``People were afraid to take a chance on my style before they saw it in Sports Illustrated,'' said Chittenden, who is based in Newport Beach, California.
While Smith also includes big makers such as privately held Gottex Models USA Corp., she said her ``thrill'' is to feature small creators.
``I saw Beach Bunny in Sports Illustrated, and I fell in love with the stuff,'' said Brandi Greenfield, 32, an Irvine, California, baby-linen company owner. ``You really look cute in it and stand out a little bit.''
Within two weeks of the magazine's arrival on newsstands in mid-February, Red Carter, the designer of the American-Indian inspired two-piece Klum wore, managed to move a 400-plus inventory of the suit. According to the Miami-based swimwear maker, his overall sales in the two months since are 60 percent higher than a year earlier.
``It doesn't get better than that,'' said Carter, 39.
At times the target of feminist ire, the Swimsuit Issue also turns out to be a clothing catalog for more than 28 million female readers of the magazine. These women, along with merchandise buyers, are making inclusion a ticket to increased swimsuit sales and legitimacy for lesser-known designers. The magazine's best-selling and highest-revenue edition is ``the Academy Awards'' for the U.S. swimwear industry, says fashion consultant Carolyn Moss.
Even as women's apparel sales look to show no gain in 2008, swimsuit sales will rise 5 percent, according to Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for Port Washington, New York-based market research firm NPD Group Inc. The industry generated annual revenue of $2.75 billion in 2007 out of total women's clothes sales of $104 billion that year, according to NPD Group.
Huge Growth
``Five percent growth in a slowing economy is a huge story in its own right,'' Cohen said. While slower than the 2007 increase of 7.5 percent, a gain that size in 2008 ``would be like 10 percent any other year.''
Cohen relates rising revenue to decisions by strapped consumers to vacation more cheaply by sunbathing in their backyards and at local pools and beaches, rather than going to cities, he said.
Sales in 2007 more than doubled from the prior year, partly because designers including Badgley Mischka entered the segment with swimsuits for $500 or more, said Colleen Sherin, fashion director for Saks Inc. in New York. Swimwear makers also offered suits that provide more coverage to satisfy American modesty and bigger cup sizes to accommodate larger women, said Moss at the New York-based consulting firm Tobe. Another innovation in recent years was to allow shoppers to mix and match tops and bottoms, she said.
Those aren't the kind of swimwear women see in Sports Illustrated. The magazine is catering to a more fashion-conscious shopper. She has a median age of 37 and annual income of $70,700, according to Karen Dmochowsky, a Sports Illustrated spokeswoman.
The edition of the magazine, published by Time Warner Inc., will be on sale until May 20 and has a readership of about 70 million. That compares with a monthly average of 21 million.
Ad Bonanza
The 2008 issue, with 112 advertising pages, includes about 120 styles from about 70 brands -- some priced close to $700. Diane Smith, who has been editor of the issue for 10 years, says she seeks out designers each July at the biggest swimwear trade show in Miami. She looks for suits that match issue themes. For a shoot in Russia, she sought designs that looked like Faberge eggs, the editor said.
Smith also gives a top-secret list of the planned exotic photo-shoot locations to select designers, who then make tailored submissions. Lourdes Hanimian, 44, from Miami-based brand Luli Fama, once fashioned a suit in 48 hours out of paper cigar bands for placement in a South American layout.
The issue helps set the tone for the season because it is bigger and earlier than rival products from fashion magazines that tend to take a more ``instructional'' approach, giving readers advice on how to select flattering styles, Saks's Sherin said.
Model Designer
Creators go to lengths to win selection. Carter and Beach Bunny Swimwear founder Angela Chittenden each submitted 50 to 100 designs to see whether any would catch Smith's eye. Carter ended up with three designs this year, his third time to make the issue, and Chittenden, a former swimwear model herself, landed nine, more than any other brand.
Chittenden, 30, said being selected helped double her sales from a year ago. She declined to provide figures. Chittenden produces lacy lingerie-inspired, skimpy Brazilian cuts. Her tops have underwires with molded air pockets for a push-up effect.
``People were afraid to take a chance on my style before they saw it in Sports Illustrated,'' said Chittenden, who is based in Newport Beach, California.
While Smith also includes big makers such as privately held Gottex Models USA Corp., she said her ``thrill'' is to feature small creators.
``I saw Beach Bunny in Sports Illustrated, and I fell in love with the stuff,'' said Brandi Greenfield, 32, an Irvine, California, baby-linen company owner. ``You really look cute in it and stand out a little bit.''
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