In The News

Noor is making his gamble at the right time, according to retail expert Mercedes Gonzalez, president of Global Purchasing Cos., a retail consultancy based in New York. She forecast affordable fashion will increasingly become a more important part of the fashion industry.

"It's become a staple. It's a new category in retail," Gonzalez said of affordable fashion.

She advises her retail clients to stock 60 percent of their boutiques with affordable fashion and 40 percent with brands. She said affordable fashion sells quickly, and it often retails below the price of many brands, even when it is marked up three times its wholesale price.