Holiday2009:The Outlook for Apparel

As the U.S. economy looks towardsrecovery， consumers continue to feelthe effects of the recession， job losses，and iast year's decline in net worth.According to Cotton Incorporated'sLifestyle MonitorTM survey， 83% of U.S.consumers are \"very\" or \"somewhat\"concerned about a future reductionin household income. Althoughconsumers' optimism about theeconomy has risen from this time lastyear， their optimism about their personalfinancial situation has remained flat.Likewise， the Consumer ConfidenceIndex is up from last year， but remainswell below its 2007 level. As consumersembark on holiday gift shopping，continuing economic concerns areexpected to restrain their purchases--the National Retail Federation(NRF) predicts that holiday sales willdecline 1.0% from 2008. However， theexpected decrease is much less severe than last year's 3.4% drop in holidaysales and well under the forecast 3.0% decrease in total retail sales for2009.