No Turn On Red

The Channel Checkers are reporting that Kohl’s has started selling Vera Wang merchandise earlier than the advertised street date of September 9:

We have been surprised so far in our survey. 12 of the 25 (48%) stores we have called this week have told us that they already have the Vera Wang line and are selling it. We were told there is a Vera Wang perfume on sale at Kohl’s now too. Many of the stores that have the line appear to be in the Pacific Northwest and the Southeast. Stores in Washington and Oregon and South Carolina and Georgia provided the bulk of our positive responses. We called one store in New York City and they claim to be stocking the line already as well.

Read more at their site under: Vera Wang Line Sneaking Into Kohl’s Early.

In the past, Kohl’s generally rolls out their national branch launches in highly coordinated affairs, unveiling the new line in all of the markets on the same day. We saw this in 2005 with the launch of Candies, as an exclusive Kohl’s brand, and we’ve seen it through the past few years of growth in the Chaps brand. These launches, from new fixturing to promotions to actual merchandise are all tied in to hit the stores on the same day, with major national ad campaigns behind them.

There are exceptions to this: Casa Cristina rolled out in the Southwest in Q4 2006 prior to a national launch in early 2007. More contemporary lines, such as Elle and Stamp 10, have seen staggered growth after successful launches. The retailer has also tested new products and concepts on smaller levels before rolling out nationally – case in point is the recent addition of a private-label tuxedo line to the menswear departments of their stores in a slow rollout.

It does surprise me to hear that Kohl’s may have let this merchandise out early. It seems to be against their past behavior. Is Kohl’s really selling Vera Wang merchandise early in an attempt to reach out to some test markets? This is the largest brand launch in the retailer’s history – so perhaps it is time to do things differently than they have in the past.

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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.

Did you find this post helpful? Then, you should also view these posts:

• Kohl’s testing Vera Wang early? (1)
• Vera Wang says “I Do” to Kohl’s (0)
• Kohl’s and Vera Wang Announce Exclusive New Collection (0)
• First look at Old Navy (0)
• First look at Gap (1)

WWD had the scoop at midnight, but now the official press release is out: Kohl’s and Vera Wang Announce Exclusive New Collection.

The Very Vera by Vera Wang brand is licensed by a subsidiary of Vera Wang Group to Kohl’s under a long-term agreement. Kohl’s will be the exclusive provider and marketer in the United States of all Very Vera by Vera Wang merchandise such as sportswear, intimate apparel, handbags, leather accessories, jewelry, footwear, linens and towels.

“The Very Vera by Vera Wang brand will retain my personal design sensibility of a relaxed effortless approach to fashion,” Vera Wang states. “I am thrilled to create a collection of creative lifestyle and apparel products for Kohl’s. This new partnership with Kohl’s, a company with incredible integrity and trust in the marketplace, is a true honor.”

I guess in about a year we will see how this line will fit in with Kohl’s, both within price and lifestyle classification, and what exactly is going to get shuffled around to make room for this new line.

And before this, I didn’t know that Vera Wang has a deal with Serta to make matresses using her name. Nice.

Did you find this post helpful? Then, you should also view these posts:

• Vera Wang says “I Do” to Kohl’s (0)
• Kohl’s testing Vera Wang early? (1)
• Is Kohl’s quickly becoming a destination for contemporary fashion? (1)
• JCPenney launches Xersion activewear line (0)
• Where’s the Petite Department? (0)

I don’t have a subscription to WWD, but there is a teaser for a new article up now:

NEW YORK — After a courtship of almost two years, Vera Wang has finally said “I do” to Kohl’s Corp.

The designer and Kohl’s said Wednesday that they will team up to create a premium fashion and lifestyle brand called Very Vera by Vera Wang, which will be available at more than 900 Kohl’s moderate department stores and kohls.com beginning in fall 2007.

I’m sure more information will come later today, but this has got to be a huge win for Kohl’s. Great name designer and a new exclusive line to strengthen their “Only at Kohl’s” strategy. I can’t wait to find out more about this deal.

Much like Issac Mizrahi’s line with Target, this is a great way for a high end fashion designer to become more accessable and reach the public at large. The Wall Street Journal had a great article last year providing some background on the working relationship between Mizrahi and Target (see Class to Mass).

Did you find this post helpful? Then, you should also view these posts:

• Kohl’s and Vera Wang Announce Exclusive New Collection (0)
• Kohl’s testing Vera Wang early? (1)
• Is Kohl’s quickly becoming a destination for contemporary fashion? (1)
• JCPenney launches Xersion activewear line (0)
• Where’s the Petite Department? (0)