Gadget gear is buzzing, but who's buying?

Household apparel names like Nike have joined the thrust toward gadget gear.

NEW YORK - Shoe and clothing makers are in a race to offer gadget-ready gear, from jackets with iPod controls to basketball sneakers that pump out digital music.

But, as with many consumer trends, the question of acceptance remains key for manufacturers: If we make it, will they buy?

Trendy geeks can already own jackets, backpacks and belts that allow them to adjust devices without touching them; shirts and ties that keep portable players out of sight; and running shoes that communicate via those familiar white ear buds.

There is even a whimsical line of baby clothes emblazoned with the Apple Computer Inc iPod control wheel.

Gadget-geared apparel was pioneered by Burton Snowboards in 2002 and expanded by Spyder Skiwear and O'Neill Inc, yet the market for it remains tiny, said NPD Group analyst Marshal Cohen.

But that is likely to change soon.

With household names like Nike Inc, Levi Strauss & Co, and Columbia Sportswear Co coming on board, gadget goods may be going mainstream.

"It will likely become a billion-dollar business within the next two-and-a-half to three years," Cohen told Reuters. "You're talking about a very substantial piece of the pie."

This fall season will set the stage, as Columbia plans to release iPod-friendly jackets and Levi launches iPod jeans, replete with a joystick in the watch pocket.

Peter Boatwright, associate professor of marketing at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business said integrating technology into shoes and jackets makes sense, and noted that large companies usually do a good deal of market research before developing new products.

"It's the onslaught of ties, jackets and speakers of various forms in the airline magazines, (that) are probably from companies trying to free-ride off the massive success of iPod and other devices," Boatwright said. "That's where we consumers get inundated and tired."

AT WHAT PRICE?

"Consumers are excited about the technology and the benefits of the product, but they're not going to put a major premium on obtaining that additional functionality," said Tom Krutilek, vice president of marketing for Kenpo Inc., a private company that makes jackets with iPod controls on the sleeves.

"The typical consumer has a certain budget in their mind, and if it's within that framework, fantastic. If it's not, then it doesn't work for the consumer," he said.

After trying to fetch US$275 ($447.80) per jacket in test markets, Krutilek said Kenpo learned that US$99 to US$199 was a more appropriate price range at stores such as Federated Department Stores Inc's Macy's and Dillard's Inc.

After just a year, Krutilek claims the iPod jacket sales generated more than US$2.5 million, or 5 to 10 per cent of the company's total revenue.

Burton Snowboards, the private company which in 2002 sold a US$999 jacket with a built-in mini-disc system, derives "a significant portion" of its outerwear revenue from jackets, bags, helmets and hats designed to make carrying gadgets more convenient, said vice president of global marketing, Bryan Johnston.

Johnston said Burton's gadget-ready items, priced from US$299 to US$649, have "exceeded our expectations".

CIRCLING THE TARGET

Johnston said snowboarders make up nearly three-quarters of those who have bought Burton's Audex jackets. With a speaker in the hood and Bluetooth Wireless technology, they allow the wearer to adjust music and answer a mobile phone by touching the jacket's exterior.

"As it becomes more commonplace those numbers will probably reverse in two or three years," Johnston said. "It's the old SUV maxim -- how many people really take their SUVs off-road?"

Dada footwear Chief Executive Lavetta Willis is betting on the same numbers shift as she prepares for the mid-August launch of the company's US$200 basketball shoes embedded with a digital music player, with speakers at the ankle or a wireless headset.

"Right now, our initial target is 12- to 25-year-olds, but we look at people running down the street and it's all ages," Willis said in an interview with Reuters TV. "Everybody wants their music."

And 38-year-old Lanny Ball from Portland, Oregon, is proof that Johnston and Willis could be on the right track.

"I usually shop at thrift stores to avoid corporate retail," Ball said. "But it would be convenient to listen to music without having to worry about my iPod getting caught in the rain or catching it on something and pulling the cords out of my ears."

- REUTERS