(Filed Under wholesale Loungewear News). Designer Stan Herman, through his partnership with the Carole Hochman Design Group, has reached an enormous milestone with QVC. After 15 years of selling his robes and other branded apparel on the home shopping network, he has surpassed the $100 million mark in retail sales.

"People told me I was crazy to go on QVC, but the network has been a huge success, and now everyone wants to get on it," Herman said. "I just fell in love with the camera, and [the television aspect] allows for a uniquely personal relationship between the buyer and seller."

Nonetheless, he advised designers getting their start on the network to have patience.

“These days people assume that once you get on QVC you'll be an overnight success, but you have to work hard to build relationships with the consumer,” he said.

Herman's popularity on the network has certainly surged over the years. He estimated that today verses when he first began appearing in 1994 his dollar sales per minute are three to four times more than what they were initially.

According to Herman, he was one of the first spokespeople to sign on with QVC, along with Joan Rivers and Bob Mackie. Now, he conducts the majority of his robes and loungewear business through the network, and also designs private label collections across many channels of distribution.

His QVC merchandise mostly runs in the $40 range in sizes XS to 3X. Herman described his typical customer as between the approximate ages of 48 and 72 in sizes L to XL, adding that QVC's goal of reaching a younger client base has resulted in younger women purchasing his robes as well. Recently, best-selling items have been his caftans, with the Zip Front Chenille Caftan Robe listed on the network's website as having sold "more than 100,000 on QVC."

This May, Herman's branded line will launch “spa hush” pale-toned robes, and this August, he will add vibrant colors. "Colors have to be a little bit ebullient to work on television," he said. However, since his apparel is designed for women to cozy-up in at home (he affectionately calls his QVC customers “cocooners”), fabric, not color, is the key. His include polyester, plush, terry and chenille, as well as a new fabrication consisting of plush on the outside and terry on the inside.

"What women put on at home has to feel good, or they won't wear it," he explained.

Also instrumental in Herman's continued success has been his partnership with the Carol Hochman Design Group, which he entered into four years ago. He described the company as "intimate apparel royalty" with a true respect for impeccable design. According to Seth Morris, president of the Carole Hochman Design Group, over the past year Herman has brought in upwards of $15 million in wholesale through his QVC slot and his private label collections.

Herman has over 45 years experience in the fashion industry getting his start in designing ready-to-wear in the 60's for the big brand of the day: Mr. Mort. He switched to loungewear in the late-60's and began making robes during his time with the Kellwood company prior to signing on with QVC. He has also served as president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), during which time he was largely responsible for installing the tents in Bryant Park.

In addition to robes and loungewear, he has designed for several key players in the uniform apparel industry including McDonald's and Crest (now owned by Aramark). His current uniform accounts include FedEx and Jet Blue, and he additionally designed the uniforms for the city sanitation workers at Bryant Park. A long-time community designer activist, he is currently collaborating with Mayor Bloomberg to work towards bringing manufacturing back to Manhattan's fashion district.

"I'm a political designer, and New York is where my heart is," he said.

Stan Herman's apparel is designed in New York City and manufactured out of China and Pakistan. For further information, call the Carole Hochman Design Group at (212) 725-1212.

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Published 04-09-2009 by Amanda Torres Price