The older woman

She's made a killing on real estate and is willing to spend big on the right outfit. So why can't the older woman find anything to wear? Melissa Gulbin gets the insiders' take on the glaring gap in the over-sixties market.

:We all know Australians, on average, are getting older. In fact, in only three years' time the oldest of the baby-boomers, that great demographic bulge, will be edging their pens towards the last, ominous box on their market research surveys: "65+".

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistic's 2007 Population Report, in 2004 people aged 65 years and over made up only 13 per cent of Australia's population. This proportion is projected to increase to between 26 and 28 per cent in 2051 and to between 27 and 31 per cent in 2101.

The proportion of people aged less than 15 years is projected to decrease from 20 per cent in 2004 to between 13 and 16 per cent in 2051 and to remain within the same range in 2101.
Similar projections in the US have prompted investors to back a swag of mid-market chains dedicated to the boomer woman - most notably the 600-strong chain Chico's.

Granted, there have been casualties in the US boomer-boom over the past couple of years - Janeville and The Gap's Forth & Towne were among the chains that did not survive the retail glut. But compared to the US, Australian retail investors have a paralysing fear of the mature market. Even Country Road's 2004 revamp turned its back on the older woman. So what's going on?

No quick-sell
The mass-market racks of 2007, bursting with baby-doll dresses and skinny jeans, were welcomed by few who remember the '80s first time around. And if fashion managed to alienate many 30-somethings, spare a thought for the over-sixties, who, despite their desire to look good, can't find anything to wear.

Someone who knows all about this dilemma is Melissa Bartelt-Siladi, co-owner of The Forgotten Woman, the Rosanna (VIC) boutique which caters for - you guessed it - the woman forgotten by the youth-obsessed mainstream.

"I hear it all the time," says Bartelt-Siladi. "Our customers are always complaining that there is very little out there that appeals and fits well." According to its owners The Forgotten Woman fills a gap in the market, catering to the "trendy grandma". "There are a growing number of older women who are after fashion-forward clothes. We don't do button-up, little-old-lady blouses," adds Bartelt-Siladi.

Testament to their confidence in the untapped "trendy grandma" market, Melissa and her mother Sandra Siladi recently rolled out The Forgotten Woman's dressier sister store, Ritz of Rosanna, two doors down.

So if the demand is there, why aren't more retailers catering to the needs of the older woman? Bartelt-Siladi says the problem is two-fold; with buying and selling.

"From a sales point of view, it's much more challenging. The older woman demands good value from each garment." While she may have the cash, she demands a higher level of customer service, often returning to the store several times before making a purchase. "You don't get the quick sell that you do with younger shoppers," she explains.

Bartelt-Siladi also admits more effort is required when sourcing garments. "In the past 15 years I've noticed it's harder to find wholesalers that do dressier outfits for the older woman.

"We also really have to pay special attention to fit before stocking an item. You have to ask: 'What will it look like on a larger woman? Are the buttons in the right place?'

"I've seen a few retailers try to tap into this [older] market, but then find it's just too much hard work."
Bartelt-Siladi reveals, however, labels like Black Apple and her larger sister Apple Plus are picking up some of the wholesale slack. "We are always so happy when we find a label [like Black Apple] which is fashion-forward, but still fits the criteria for our customer. We are also doing very well with pieces that cross over from day to night," she adds.

Wholesale hung-ups
For Bill Ouston, founder and managing director of wholesale label Leaf, the gap in the 65-plus market can be largely chalked up to two things; a lack of imagination among agents and lack of capital among start-ups.

Leaf, the culmination of Ouston's 40 years in the rag trade, is a Queensland-based label that appeals to a demographic the industry veteran affectionately describes as "35 to dead".

While Ouston emphasises that Leaf is by no means an "old ladies' brand" - it's being snapped up by 30-somethings wanting to flatter a post-baby figure - the label is proving most popular among baby-boomers and older women who want smart, fashionable co-ordinates. It has been designed with a "this goes with that" approach that according to Ouston has "guts" rarely found in chain store brands.

Leaf's rapid infiltration into120 Queensland boutique since August, however, had little to do with the vision of fashion agents.

"For a new label, often agents can be the enemy. Agents are after the 'wow factor' in every piece. That just doesn't work with a label like ours."

Funnily enough, he says, the pieces that agents said 'would never sell' have been the most popular with consumers. "It's a case of 'Where's the fries?'" says Ouston. "It's all very well having stand-out pieces but our customers are after entire outfits."

Boutique owners, Ouston claims, are crying out for coordinates in a range of colours and styles; long, half and short sleeves, for example. "You don't want someone going over the road to the chain stores trying to match a shade of orange," he says.

Ouston adds that it's hard to find fashion agents who embrace the coordinate ethos. "Our best agent doesn't come from a fashion background."

However the biggest reason Ouston sees for the gap in the wholesale market is the lack of capital needed to start up mature, co-ordinate-focused labels. "You can't go into it with a small or even mediocre chequebook. If you did you'd go broke in a second."

Ouston says designing ranges for the mature woman is a challenging, "exact science" because women want to look as young as possible without terrible. "The cut has to be exactly right. They want a plunging neckline, but not low enough to show the creases. Basically they want a youthful, stylish and complete outfit that hides the lumps and bumps."

Much of the fledgling success of Leaf has been, according to Ouston, due to the enthusiasm of independent boutique owners, who are often pushing sixty themselves. "She [the older boutique owner] knows her customer; she knows that she enjoys her wine and perhaps too much pasta. She also knows that she's made a tidy sum on real estate," observes Ouston. This year Leaf is set to gain accounts outside of Queensland. "Victoria and New South Wales look out," he says.

Black Pepper's secret for success
When it comes to the wholesale game, Breakaway Apparel's leisurewear label Black Pepper, leads the mature market's tally-board, stocking over 1800 boutiques and department stores.

According to Breakaway Apparel's CEO, Olav Uittenbosch, Black Pepper has, during its 28 years in business, mastered the formula for designing for older women.

"We perhaps are not a sexy label, but you have to understand that we cater for 52 per cent of the population who are over the age of 35. This segment of the market is growing rapidly and they are not looking for cutting-edge, sexy or loud merchandise. The colours that we use in leisurewear are very similar to knitwear colours. We refrain from going too dark or too pastel; we use primarily mid-range colours.

The styling is quite classical with features such as zips and pockets. It is paramount to present stories that coordinate. This is not a business in which you sell a lot of individual garments.

"Quite often the mature person is looking for a top and bottom in the same colour, so the dying of the fabrics is a very important part of our operation, to get a consistency in colour, season after season, year after year."

By Melissa Gulbin