ShareHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
Some of fashion’s best-known names are playing musical chairs.
Faced with a consolidating department store industry and eroding sales, some labels are cutting ties with retailers that sold their clothing and betting their future with one chain. Liz Claiborne’s announcement last month that it’s moving its namesake line to J.C. Penney Co. from Macy’s and other stores follows similar moves by other major brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Dana Buchman."You need some sort of chart . . . with retailers and brands, where you are using erasable ink," said Michael Stone, CEO of the Beanstalk Group, a brand consultant. "They are moving around so much."The brand-hopping can confuse shoppers who can’t find their favorite label. But in some cases, it means that shoppers will be able to get a taste of designer names that only two years ago were far from their grasp.In the short term, such confusion may hurt the brand, Stone said. But in the long run, the label "settles into its new identity" and becomes a powerful tool for the retailer to attract shoppers.Some brands, like Liz Claiborne, had been the anchors at department stores for years but have hit hard times. Trading mass distribution for better exposure could help them revive their labels. Brands also benefit by getting more prominent placement in advertising and increased real estate at the chain.That’s what happened when Macy’s became the exclusive retailer of Tommy Hilfiger women’s and men’s sportswear. Macy’s has built Hilfiger’s presence in women’s and men’s sportswear to almost 600 stores from about 400 before the tie-up, said Jim Sluzewski, Macy’s spokesman, citing strong sales.The deals ease what had become increasingly adversarial relationships with stores. The exclusive arrangements more tightly intertwine the fates of retailers and the brands they sell.
@Nyx.CommentBody@