U S Male

Analysis Reveals Significant Insight on Chinese Size and Shape for the Fashion Industries

Fashion Writers

MULTIMEDIA AVAILABLE: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin mmg.cgi?eid=5753988

NEW YORK & LONDON & HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE) - Aug. 12, 2008-- Alvanon, the global size and fit expert, today announced it has compiled the most extensive collection of body scan research in China. Over 28,000 people were scanned in four key regions of the country at various urban retail shopping centers. The scanners captured 45 measurements per person, resulting in the largest body measurement study ever performed in China.

"There is an unprecedented retail opportunity in China. The right product mix must be combined with the right size and fit to achieve a successful brand following in China," said Janice Wang, CEO, Alvanon.

"Our China body measurement study, combined with the data we've compiled in the rest of the world, uniquely enables us to provide leading apparel brands with powerful insights about their target consumers.

"As the global size and fit expert, Alvanon's industry-leading solutions allow these brands to deliver better fitting garments, increasing sales and building consumer loyalty to the brands," Wang said.

Alvanon collected this highly relevant data from the world's fastest growing retail market utilizing safe millimeter wave scanners that accurately measure fully-clothed participating shoppers in seconds.

This new study adds to Alvanon's database of body measurements, which now exceeds 250,000 men, women and children of various age groups from over 14 countries in Europe, Asia and North America.

Research Highlights

Even where the average height in China is similar to the Western body stature, the core body shape in China is significantly smaller and more homogenous than in the markets of the U.S. and Europe. As an example, there is a difference in stature in both genders between Chinese of northern origin and southern origin. Men have similar average heights in China and the U.S. but have dramatically different average chest and waist measurements, as well as differences in average weight and body mass.

Women in China have much narrower variances in bust, waist and hip measurements than those in the U.S. As a result, the U.S. market requires more than double the number of clothes sizes to reach the same percentage of the population as compared to China. One trend consistent with other Western countries is that the younger generation in eastern China is growing taller and heavier.

Through evaluation of its own data and other size studies, Alvanon has also tracked stature changes from generation to generation and important information on the difference of body shape and size throughout the world.

One of the most dramatic statistics from China shows that over the span of a decade (1992-2002) the average height of children (2-18 years old) increased by almost 1.5", nearly twice as high as the increase among U.S. children. While adults in China, at any given height, look quite different from adults in the West, children's body shapes and sizes are converging at a very rapid rate.

Despite having a relatively small average stature when compared to Westerners, over 30 percent of urban Chinese are considered overweight.

Age and gender analysis shows the highest increase in body mass index has occurred in Chinese women aged 35-45.

Below are some interesting facts uncovered by the Alvanon study.

Fast Facts

Average Chinese Female Height 5'4"; Weight 125 Pounds; Chest 31"; Waist 28"; Low Hip 35"

Average U.S. Female Height 5'4"; Weight 155 Pounds; Chest 37"; Waist 34"; Low Hip 42"

Average Chinese Male Height 5'8"; Weight 145 Pounds; Chest 35"; Waist 31"; Low Hip 36"

Average U.S. Male Height 5'9"; Weight 191 Pounds; Chest 41; Waist 37; Low Hip 41"

About Alvanon

Alvanon is the global size and fit expert, providing full-service, integrated fit solutions for the apparel industry. With the largest database of body scan research in the world, Alvanon combines real-world industry expertise and innovative technology to offer a holistic approach to fit and sizing, encompassing both strategic insight as well as practical product development tools.

Dr. Kenneth Wang founded Alvanon in 2001 to address the industry's prevalent size and fit misconceptions and to develop solutions that would revolutionize the way the industry understood and leveraged the concept of fit. Since that time, Alvanon has grown to become the global leader in providing custom fit mannequins and solutions to the world's leading brands. Alvanon's suite of products and services integrate seamlessly with every stage of the product development and production process, helping to increase internal and external process efficiency and decrease overall time to market.

For more information, please visit www.alvanon.com

Coltrin & Associates for Alvanon: Ben Howington, 212-221-1616 x121, Ben_Howington@coltrin.com

"As the global size and fit expert, Alvanon's industry-leading solutions allow these brands to deliver better fitting garments, increasing sales and building consumer loyalty to the brands," Wang said.

Alvanon collected this highly relevant data from the world's fastest growing retail market utilizing safe millimeter wave scanners that accurately measure fully-clothed participating shoppers in seconds. This new study adds to Alvanon's database of body measurements, which now exceeds 250,000 men, women and children of various age groups from over 14 countries in Europe, Asia and North America.

Research Highlights

Even where the average height in China is similar to the Western body stature, the core body shape in China is significantly smaller and more homogenous than in the markets of the U.S. and Europe. As an example, there is a difference in stature in both genders between Chinese of northern origin and southern origin. Men have similar average heights in China and the U.S. but have dramatically different average chest and waist measurements, as well as differences in average weight and body mass. Women in China have much narrower variances in bust, waist and hip measurements than those in the U.S. As a result, the U.S. market requires more than double the number of clothes sizes to reach the same percentage of the population as compared to China. One trend consistent with other Western countries is that the younger generation in eastern China is growing taller and heavier.

Through evaluation of its own data and other size studies, Alvanon has also tracked stature changes from generation to generation and important information on the difference of body shape and size throughout the world. One of the most dramatic statistics from China shows that over the span of a decade (1992-2002) the average height of children (2-18 years old) increased by almost 1.5", nearly twice as high as the increase among U.S. children. While adults in China, at any given height, look quite different from adults in the West, children's body shapes and sizes are converging at a very rapid rate.

Despite having a relatively small average stature when compared to Westerners, over 30 percent of urban Chinese are considered overweight. Age and gender analysis shows the highest increase in body mass index has occurred in Chinese women aged 35-45.

Below are some interesting facts uncovered by the Alvanon study.

Fast Facts

-- Average Chinese Female Height 5'4"; Weight 125 Pounds; Chest 31"; Waist 28"; Low Hip 35"

-- Average U.S. Female Height 5'4"; Weight 155 Pounds; Chest 37"; Waist 34"; Low Hip 42"

-- Average Chinese Male Height 5'8"; Weight 145 Pounds; Chest 35"; Waist 31"; Low Hip 36"

-- Average U.S. Male Height 5'9"; Weight 191 Pounds; Chest 41; Waist 37; Low Hip 41"

About Alvanon

Alvanon is the global size and fit expert, providing full-service, integrated fit solutions for the apparel industry. With the largest database of body scan research in the world, Alvanon combines real-world industry expertise and innovative technology to offer a holistic approach to fit and sizing, encompassing both strategic insight as well as practical product development tools.

Dr. Kenneth Wang founded Alvanon in 2001 to address the industry's prevalent size and fit misconceptions and to develop solutions that would revolutionize the way the industry understood and leveraged the concept of fit. Since that time, Alvanon has grown to become the global leader in providing custom fit mannequins and solutions to the world's leading brands. Alvanon's suite of products and services integrate seamlessly with every stage of the product development and production process, helping to increase internal and external process efficiency and decrease overall time to market.

For more information, please visit www.alvanon.com

SOURCE: Alvanon

Coltrin & Associates for Alvanon
Ben Howington, 212-221-1616 x121
Ben_Howington@coltrin.com

Many say Michael Phelps' quest is a mission impossible. But no other swimmer is coming into the Beijing Olympics with the conditioning and records that Phelps possesses.

Phelps secured his eight-race Olympic schedule by winning the 100-meter butterfly at the U.S. swimming trials last Saturday in Omaha, Nebraska. To surpass Mark Spitz, Phelps says he has to overcome just one competitor in Beijing - himself.

"You never know what can happen," said Phelps. "The only person I can worry about is myself. And, if I can prepare myself the best way that I can, then that is really all I can ask. If I go in there and I do a best time and I still get beat, that is all I can ask for. So, I am trying to prepare myself the best way I can. And just go out there and swim fast."

When he was 15, Phelps got his first taste of international competition at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where he became the youngest U.S. male Olympian swimmer since 1932.

In 2001, Michael Phelps began his assault on the record books, becoming the youngest swimmer to break a world record in winning the 200-meter butterfly in 1:54.92 minutes at the national championships. Four months later in Japan, he lowered the mark at the World Championships by 34-100ths of one second (1:54.58). Phelps was named the 2001 USA Swimmer of the Year.

The two-time Olympian became the first athlete ever to win eight medals total at a non-boycotted Olympic Games, collecting six gold and two silvers in 2004 in Athens. Phelps set four individual world records and won seven gold medals at the 2007 World Championships to become the winningest athlete in World Championship history.

Phelps says his success and experience has prepared him well for Beijing.

"Right now, I am more relaxed than I was in 2004 going into the Olympics," he said. "After going through everything I had been through in the last four years, it helped me prepare a little bit better for these games coming up and really understand what is going to happen. Before Athens, I was (like a) deer in the headlights, and did not really know what to expect."

Phelps has set his best times in all of his events since March 2007. At the recent U.S. swimming trials, he lowered the world record in the 400-meter individual medley (to 4:05.25 minutes). His fans expect to see more records, and Michael Phelps has no doubt that he can improve on all of his results.

"I do not think anything is too high. The only way for you to limit yourself is if you put a limit on yourself. The sky is the limit," Phelps said. " And the more you use your imagination, the farther you will go. I think anything is possible. I set very high goals for myself. And I work as hard as I can to get there."

The talented Phelps began swimming at the age of seven. Four years later, he started training under his current coach Bob Bowman at his Baltimore, Maryland, swim club. Bowman has watched and guided Phelps' steady improvement over the years. He says the past four years have been especially impressive.

"Probably the two areas where Michael has improved the most are, number one, his physical strength," Bowman said. "And that is a result of a much more intense strength-training program since Athens. And the other area where he really has improved the most is his breaststroke. It has gone from being a stroke that was quite weak in Athens to being a strength of his."

Michael Phelps will be one of the busiest athletes in Beijing, as he is scheduled to swim six individual events and possibly three relays in nine days. Including heats, semifinals and finals, he could swim as many as 20 races. At the end, Phelps could be standing as the most decorated athlete in Olympic history.