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High-priced denim jeans maker True Religion has filed for bankruptcy protection and announced it would be closing at least 27 stores.  (BOB CHAMBERLIN / TNS)

Fast fashion’s continued domination in addition to the popularity of yoga pants/leggings has helped finish a 15 year run.

Consumer purchasing habits have changed due to the great recession.  However as consumer spending has increased with the improved economy, tastes have changed.

But that growth has reversed in recent years. Sales of super premium jeans — brands like 7 For All Mankind, True Religion, Joe’s Jeans and Hudson — fell 8 per cent last year, according to market research firm Euromonitor International. Overall, jeans sales grew slightly in 2016 after two years of declines, as Americans traded down to lower-priced brands like Levi’s, H&M and Forever 21.

Instead, buys are increasingly filling their closets with yoga pants and leggings, which they’re wearing not just to the gym, but also to run errands and meet up with friends. True Religion’s $319 skinny jeans have been replaced by Lululemon’s $98 yoga pants.

Read the full article here.

Last year, surf brand Quiksilver has faced a similar fate and I laid out a strategy that it could use to save its brand.

On a related note yoga brand Lululemon is selling board shorts (in the ad shown below) to expand their product categories to meet the ever-changing demands of their market.  Food for thought.

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