No Turn On Red

Came across this press release from Wet Seal announcing the launch of their online fashion community. Simple concept - users browse website and put together outfits that they can share with friends. Site makes it easy to view, rate, and (most importantly) buy other outfits that people have created.

They have a screencast on their site showing how it all works. (Caution: intended audience is teenage girls, so female narrator says “sweet!” after the competion of a few steps.)

The site seems slow this afternoon, but I was able to check out the functionality earlier and I like how it is put together. This is a pure win for the retailer - increases time on the site, increases awareness of different fashion offerings, and will ultimately drive sales. Would love to see more retailers incorporate this kind of technology.

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A few days ago, Nitro:licious shared some photos of the Bitten By Sarah Jessica Parker launch day crowds at Steve and Barry’s Manhattan Mall location. Seems like the the new line is generating some excitement. Love photos of in-store visual merchandising. More at Nitro:licious, Very Bitten.

MTV’s Style Blog has a look at the new line from Forever 21. Dubbed Twelve By Twelve, the line is going to be geared towards a slightly older demo with prices a little more north of what Forever 21 currently carries. More at the MTV Style Blog, Forever 21 Aims Higher.

Twitter is a hot technology in the web world right now. In the ever-growing field of social media resources, this is a great concept that only looks like it will grow as time goes on. Get Elastic is talking about how this technology could be used by retailers. They cite examples of Amazon and woot.com, two retailers who are already using the technology to reach customers.

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Fashionable retailer H&M is teaming up with game maker Electronic Arts to offer their Summer fashion collection, virtually, in The Sims 2.

Electronic Arts Inc. and H&M, the international fashion retailer, today announced an innovative partnership that encourages fans of The Sims™, designers, and fashionistas alike to participate in The Sims 2 H&M Fashion Runway and discover the summer themed collection with The Sims 2 H&M Fashion Stuff pack. The fashion runway provides participants the tools to create their very own fashions using the most popular PC game ever, The Sims 2.

In addition to the fashion options available in the game, it appears that players will be able to play with cash registers, mannequins, and clothing racks to create their own store.

On the surface, this may seem like a very strange announcement. But really, it is a good strategy by H&M to extend their brand and create more awareness of their fashion offerings. This is also a great example of a retailer embracing technology and using non-traditional means to reach their consumer.

More information from GameZone and Geek Sugar.

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The Brand Man is speaking about the transformation of Ralph Lauren into a brand that targets all different lifestyle segments, while still remaining relevant and viable. Ralph Lauren is a model for the new way apparel makers are doing business - increasing sales, without diluting the brand.

Get Elastic has got a complete primer on social shopping, what it is, how you can participate, and what it means to retailers.

And finally, the Motley Fool has a in-depth look at the current status of Abercrombie & Fitch. The retailer has faced some challenges lately, with sales sluggish at best, but they still have solid bottom line performance. Did they miss a trend or are they just not doing enough to distinguish themselves?

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Threadless is an innovative apparel maker who has built a fantastic online community and delivered great products. Guy Kawasaki has visited their office and brought back some photos of their awesome pad.

Last week at Big Box Watch, I compiled a wrap up of the pre-opening preparations for the new Ikea in Draper, UT. Now, the Salt Lake Tribune has a recap of the grand opening festivities. When Ikea opens, they open big.

Kohl’s has grand re-opened this year’s batch of remodeled stores. Here’s a quick article about the remodeled Frederick, MD location with a small photo of the new Chaps home (bath/bedding) shop.

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It has been a long time coming, but we are all one step closer to seeing Vera Wang’s new collection in Kohl’s stores. A preview night was held last week, were the press and the public got to see the first glimpses of the collection, known as Simply Vera. WWD released some preview photos of the collection:

This style is much more fashion forward than anything else Kohl’s is currently offering. But I’m excited to see what the individual pieces look like when the line rolls out in September.

I first talked about this collection last August (here and here) and personally, I think this is a huge move for Kohl’s. When it was announced, it may not have seemed like a perfect fit between the designer and the retailer. Why Kohl’s? But as Kohl’s has unveiled other brand launches and grown their contemporary fashion offerings over the past few seasons, it now seems like all the wheels are in motion for a very huge launch.

After announcing a very positive Q1 results on today’s conference call, the retailer outlined some of their future merchandising plans:

The launch of the Simply Vera collection and the new housewares line by Food Network will be supported by new fixturing. This is on top of new fixturing that most stores already received this year for the expansion of Chaps into the Home and Plus Size areas.

Intimates will see much growth in the so-called contemporary and updated areas with the launch of Simply Vera, the expansion of the Daisy Fuentes line into more doors, and the launch of a new private label Intimates brand called Moments. The new line will launch in 200 doors in June with further growth in the Fall and will be available in all stores by Q1 2008.

Also on the growth front, they say that the launch of the new Elle line in Misses is going so well that they are ramping up the rollout with an additional 250 stores receiving the product in September and all stores carrying the line by Q1 2008.

Like I said before, it may have seemed that the match between designer and retailer may not have seemed to mesh with the core Kohl’s shopper. But as I look across the ‘blogosphere’, I’m seeing a lot of early positive reaction to these preview photos. Judging by the comments, Kohl’s is attracting attention from people who previously hadn’t shopped at the retailer.

Just a few of the blogs that I’m seeing activity on: Miss Lovely, The Budget Fashionista, Catwalk Queen, nitro:licious, MTV Style Blog, and FabSugar.

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Transworld has an in-depth article about the state of women’s skate footwear: Is Women’s Skate Footwear Still A Viable Category For Independent Retailers? I like this article because it talks about the state of an industry in relation to one single category. How can an entire segment of retailers (independent skate shops) better compete with an entirely different segment of retailers (everyone else). Good analysis, good article.

Walgreen has announced that they are buying in-store health clinic, Take Care Health Systems. They look to expand their in-store health clinics to 400 by the end of 2008. Like I said when Wal-Mart made a similar commitment last month, I think that this move is good for the company and good for consumers.

Finally, troubled VOIP company, Vonage, is having problems hiring and retaining talent. Who would have thought all of the bad press that they have been getting is having an impact on HR?

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Rag Shop files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The crafts retailer is hurt by “market conditions and increasing competition”. Another victim of Wal-Mart competition?

The taste that launched 1,000 parking tickets. LA Times story on the successful frozen yogurt store that only sells two flavors. Great lessons in ambition, branding, and knowing your customer. (via Signals vs Noise)

Apple store mini, now at Best Buy. Best Buy is rolling out new Apple sections in some of their stores, looking like mini versions of the actual Apple store. The story has a photo of the new area.

New York Times ran an article on the fast fashion chain, Forever 21. Talks about the business motivations behind it, the strategy in execution, and the challenges in doing so.

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