A successful marketing campaign avoids the commoditization of spandex
"From flat-front Capri pants to three-quarter-sleeve tops, the fashion buzz this fall is, you can get it in spandex, a fiber noted for its elasticity.
Amid the excitement about a potential ``megatrend'' in the recently staid retail industry, one spandex manufacturer is positioned well to benefit from the stretch boom: DuPont Co.
While there are other spandex producers, DuPont's Lycra is the leading brand of stretch fiber.'' Analysts estimate DuPont's share of the North-American market to be between 60 and 70%. ``Other notable spandex manufacturers include Germany's Bayer AG... and Globe Manufacturing Corp.
A key reason for Lycra's success is strong brand awareness. And that's no accident: Dupont... began investing some $30 million to boost Lycra's image earlier this year.
The result: A print advertising campaign in which the Lycra logo appears jointly with such big-name retailers as Liz Claiborne Inc and Levi Strauss & Co.'s Dockers. Thus, DuPont essentially has ensured that many of America's prominent retail names select Lycra when they use spandex.
The fall catalog cover of Lands' End Inc. profiles a white shirt with Lycra. At Sears, Roebuck & Co., clothes with Lycra began appearing this fall with special, hanging Lycra tags."
Source: Heesun Wee, "DuPont's Lycra Set to Benefit From Stretch Trend," The Wall Street Journal, October 11, 1999