Power & passion Red undergarments invigorating sales and spirits
October 11, 2015 by admin
Filed under Choosing Lingerie
TOKYO – 2016 will be the year of the monkey, one of the 12 zodiac signs in Chinese astrology. In Japan, it is widely believed that a person can spend the entire year healthy and happy if they wear red knickers, reflecting the red-bottomed simian.
Sogo Seibu’s main store in Ikebukuro, in Tokyo’s Toshima Ward, organized an in-house sales promotion of red undergarments in August.
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Sogo Seibu’s main store in Ikebukuro, in Tokyo’s Toshima Ward, organized an in-house sales promotion of red undergarments in August.
In a bid to cash in on a business opportunity, which comes up for grabs only once every 12 years, apparel makers are launching wider varieties of undergarments in red. And shoppers are already snapping them up.
The last time the year of the monkey came around, in 2004, sales of red-colored underclothes were also strong, with apparel maker Wacoal Holdings selling 500,000 pieces, or 400% more than usual. According to an official at the company, the best-selling colors for women’s underwear are beige, black and pink, with red generally worn sparingly, often as an accent color.
This year, however, shoppers are choosing more and more red underclothing over other colors.
Power charm
A female office worker, 37, who recently bought a red brassiere and underwear set, said she decided on the color because she hoped the bright color would boost her spirit just like an amulet. She added that she didn’t mind wearing red undergarments, because no one would know about it, unless she let it be known. She was glad to learn that red is a lucky color for 2016. “I didn’t know about this, but the combination will be a lucky charm when the new year comes,” she said.
In the past, red underclothing was often marketed to health-conscious elderly people because, according to some traditional Asian medicine practitioners and other color experts, red cloth supposedly warms the body. Many red undergarments were purchased as gifts for the elderly 12 years ago.
However, the color is now becoming more popular among women in their 20s to 40s. Miyoko Kawaguchi, a senior buyer at department store operator Sogo Seibu, said red lingerie, especially products with lace, have been selling well amongst women in this age group. “They call red underwear ‘power red,’” Kawaguchi said.
At Sogo Seibu’s main store in Ikebukuro, located on the northwest side of central Tokyo, the women’s undergarments department had a sales promotion in August featuring various items under the slogan, “Red is the color of passion.”
The sales staff creatively folded and wrapped underwear to look like flowers so that they could be given as gifts. Thanks to those efforts, sales of red drawers at the store in the month grew 11% from a year ago.
More than Victoria’s secret
Kawaguchi said consumers were increasingly choosing gayer and more vivid colors for their intimate underclothes, even if they wear plain items over them.
Red is in vogue this year for all sorts of undergarments: bras, camisoles, shapewear, warm underwear, long johns and belly warmers.
Wacoal’s latest target is pregnant women. The company will soon start selling red pelvic belts that are designed to firmly support the pelvic area to ease strain on the lower back. Underwear for mothers-to-be typically has been available only in such plain colors as pink.
Triumph International, a major rival of Wacoal, has gone a step further. It is making three-guarter sleeved undershirts in two reddish colors: vermilion and Bordeaux. Rumiko Kageyama, who is responsible for the brand marketing section at Triumph, said the company decided to market two colors so consumers would have more choice.
A 26-year-old woman welcomed the lineup, saying she believed the red color lifted her mood. Another female customer, 34, also said that red underwear would serve as a lift-me-up item when she was feeling blue.
Changing views
According to Kageyama, red undergarments have usually been regarded as a unique item for special occasions, such as dates. However, they are now becoming clothing that will help women elate or motivate themselves in everyday life.
Leading hosiery and underwear maker Fukusuke estimates sales of boxer briefs and boxer shorts in red will expand by roughly 100% this winter.
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Leading hosiery and underwear maker Fukusuke estimates sales of boxer briefs and boxer shorts in red will expand by roughly 100% this winter.
Cashing in on this trend, in March last year, Triumph introduced a brassiere that featured red for its mainline “Tenshi no bra” series, which literally means “angel’s bra,” for the first time since the launch of the line 20 years ago. Red bras sold better than green and orange ones launched at the same time.
The strong sales of red lingerie are also attributable to a change in views on undergarments. According to Kageyama, relatively conservative Japanese women used to prefer underwear in pastel colors such as pink, but they are feeling less and less resistance to wearing bright colors in everyday life over the past few years.
Naoko Takeda, a fashion journalist and expert on underwear, said red was becoming more popular globally as people feel liberated in the choice of underclothing colors they wore. ”Red is a color that makes people feel happy, and it is a color that many people love to look at.”
The color red is likely to be in vogue in men’s underwear soon, too. Leading hosiery and underwear maker Fukusuke estimates sales of red boxer briefs and boxer shorts will expand by roughly 100% later this year and early next year. Department store operator Takashimaya plans to feature red boxers in December, especially at its five major outlets.
Thalma Lobel, an internationally recognized psychologist and a professor at the School of Psychological Science at Tel Aviv University, published the book “Sensation: The New Science of Physical Intelligence” in Japan in August. In her work, she said people tend to find members of the opposite sex attractive and sexy when they are wearing red.
