Are You Man Enough To Wear Fay?

Redburn Partners' luxury analyst Lisa Rachal said in a note that Tod's Group is taking its Fay brand international. She wrote:

Fay, the Group's apparel brand which accounts for 15% sales in 2007E, is finally embarking on international expansion after 20 years of ownership. Until recently, distribution has been 100% in Italy. But, management feel the time is now right to begin offering the brand in key fashion cities like Paris, London, New York and Moscow. And, they will enter another new market - still to be disclosed - in 2008. I believe that market is Japan, where there has been a growing demand for this luxury lifestyle brand for some time. The fact that production is outsourced and the Fay business is 100% wholesale makes this decision all the more compelling near-term, as it represents, in a sense, pure upside (from 2009 I estimate) with no up-front investment (in stores or production facilities) required. Too early to quantify this opportunity but it is exciting.

My problem with Fay was far more basic. The brand is strongest in men's wear and what kind of an English-speaking man is going to wear a coat that says Fay, which means fairy? Apparently the metro-sexual man. Rachal said that both Harrods and Barneys have reported strong sales in the men's collection. A classic Fay coat is a wool duffle, with a removable down-filled nylon liner. It reportedly appeals to men who are learning how to do the "sport, luxury, lifestyle, casual look" -- in this case all in one garment. See what men's Vogue said about it here. Ironically, it's a coat which appeals to straight men far more than some of those by designers with more manly names ever will. □

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