Some of the best-known clothing and accessories companies, such as Jones Apparel and Liz Claiborne, are dealing with fewer outlets to sell in, thanks to department store consolidation. Federated Department Stores bought May Department Stores last year, and on Sept. 9 former May stores across the country will become Macy's. Meanwhile, Saks has sold several of its non-Saks department stores to Belk and Bon-Ton.The article lists some anticipated winners and losers from the coming shake-out:The mergers leave clothing brands looking for new outlets, opening their own retail stores and trying to quickly make friends with new buyers for the remaining department-store names.
Winners:
- Polo Ralph Lauren
- Liz Claiborne
- Philips-Van Heusen
- Jones Apparel
- Kellwood
- Tommy Hilfiger
... smart brands also will form partnerships with the strongest retailers and customize their offerings the way some already have with Macy's. Along with heavily promoting its private labels, Macy's will have exclusive merchandise from Elie Tahari and Martha Stewart in fall 2007. Vera Wang announced a deal last week to create an apparel line for Kohl's, just as Isaac Mizrahi did for Target.
Rigby says shoppers will benefit from some of the likely improvements made in a downsized retail environment. Among them: Apparel companies will need to shorten their lead times to help get the trends and fashions consumers want into stores.
No comments:
Post a Comment