In the Jeans Everyone's mad about premium jeans--and entrepreneurs are making crazy profits.
By Karen E. Spaeder •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
For some consumers, it's the fashion equivalent of asymphony: a well-packaged derrière, a wash that rivals thenight sky after rain, a shape that stops traffic. For others,it's a sign of prosperity that's within reach. For stillothers, it's an ode to celebs such as Sarah Jessica Parker,Britney Spears and other premium-denim devotees.
The premium jeans market, which includes brands such as Rock& Republic, Serfontaine, and 7 for All Mankind, help to accountfor 3 percent of the $11 billion jeans market, according to thelatest research from the "Lifestyle Monitor," an ongoingsurvey from Cotton Inc., the Cary, North Carolina-based researchand promotion company that supports the cotton industry. Men andwomen alike aren't thinking twice about plunking down $150 ormore for the perfect pair-or in some cases, pairs-of jeans. Evenold favorites like Calvin Klein, which will debut a retail line ofpremium denim this spring, are getting in on the trend.
"Premium jeans are here to stay," says Lukus Eichmann,21-year-old co-founder of Los Angeles based Saddlelite JeansCo., one of a number of upscale women and men's denimcompanies impressing shoppers at Barney's, Fred Segal, Maxfieldand 30-plus select stores internationally. "Fit is the primaryconcern, and quality would follow that."
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