Sandy Parker Reports: US Fur Apparel Imports Continue Rising.

SANDY PARKER REPORT, VOL. 35, ISSUE 32, OCTOBER 24, 2011

The following extract is reproduced with permission from Sandy Parker Reports, Weekly International Fur News. Sandy Parker has been covering the fur industry for more than four decades. For most of that time he has published a weekly newsletter, detailing results of international pelt auctions, wholesale price trends, business developments and movements in the trade, as well as economic and political activities that may impact on it.

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International Fur News
with Sandy Parker

US fur apparel imports continue rising

IMPORTS OF FUR APPAREL INTO THE U.S. CONTINUED THEIR UPWARD SWING IN AUGUST, with mink again taking a back seat to other furs as retailers sought to maintain their most popular price points in the face of rising skin costs.

In sharp contrast to the historical pattern in which mink dominated the American retail fur scene, a variety of other furs are now replacing mink at the price points retailers find to be most popular with their clienteles. To be sure, mink still dominates furriers’ sales in the upper brackets, especially in the designer-label category, but it has been losing out to a range of other furs and combinations below $5,000.

August fur imports from all sources rose a whopping 52% to a total of $24.7 million, according to the latest Commerce Dept. data. Considering that this year’s fur apparel prices are up about 25%, this would indicate that August imports were up sharply in terms of units as well.

IN THIS ISSUE

Mild Temps Stall Store Traffic
Sales of Luxuries Seen Rising
U.S. Imports Up in August…
… but Shift Away from Mink
Fur Ban Rouses Cal. ‘City’

For extracts from back issues of Sandy Parker Reports see News Index. Subscribers can access an archive of complete issues at www.sandyparker.com.

For further information contact Fur Commission USA.

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