Retail

Photo: WWD
Retail

JC Penney Unveils New Target-esque $800 Million Revamp, Nanette Lepore Collab

Wednesday, JCPenney CEO Ron Johnson unveiled details of a major overhaul that JCPenney stores are about to undergo. Based on WWD’s report this morning, nothing will go unchanged–save for the name of the store and its passable ecommerce component.

Johnson is focusing on the brick and mortar stores and his plans for those sound a little familiar. That’s because they’re similar to those of another mass retailer who recently announced a new retail strategy–Target. While JC Penney won’t necessarily have the same type of rotating limited edition collaboration component as The Shops at Target, their new selling floor format is the same idea. It’s all about “shops.”

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Thakoon for Ankasa on Edition01
Retail

Thakoon Makes First Foray Into Home Design for New Site Edition01 (and You Can Shop It Today!)

Notice how designer collaborations are kinda like the hottest thing in fashion right now (ahem, Missoni for Target, Versace for H&M, Karl Lagerfeld for Macy’s, etc.,)? Well so did Estefania Lacayo and Jessica Wilpon Kamel, design industry vets and BFFs, who decided to launch a members only retail site called Edition01 devoted to just that. Only these aren’t hysteria-inducing collaborations between designers and mass retailers (not that we’re mad at those…at all). The idea here is more refined. Lacayo and Kamel pair up with the hottest designers (Cushnie et Ochs, Vera Wang, Doo.ri to name a few) and commission them (and their factories) to create limited edition runs of their most quintessential pieces but in a new print, fabrication or colorway. Or, in the case of today’s collection by Thakoon for home line Ankasa, they let designers experiment out of the comfort zones. New on the site today is Thakoon’s line of pillows for Ankasa made with fabrics from his resort collection.

This is a site for the discerning fashionista–someone who wants something truly and special unique. When they say collections are limited edition–they mean it. Collections for Edition01 contain, on average, between 15 and 40 pieces max.

Want to know more? So did we. We sat down with Lacayo and Kamel to ask them just how Edition01 came about and how it works.

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Retail

We Break Down Uniqlo’s New 89,000 Square Foot Fifth Ave. Store by the Numbers, Plus U.S. CEO Shin Odake Talks Expansion Plans and Replacing +J

As you may have heard (or undoubtedly noticed if you’ve ever passed by the main drags of Fifth Avenue or West 34th in the past year), Uniqlo is preparing to open two new stores in Manhattan. An 89,000 square foot global flagship on Fifth Avenue and 53rd St. opens this Friday, followed by a slightly more modest 65,000 square foot flagship on 34th between Fifth and Sixth Aves. next Friday.

I chatted briefly with U.S. CEO Shin Odake, who had flown in from Japan for the launch. With the economy where it is, now may seem like an unlikely time to open the company’s biggest store ever. Odake disagrees. “We don’t focus on the fact that the economy is struggling; we are more focused on the fact that the U.S. is the biggest market in the world so since we came across this real estate, we felt this was great timing.” In addition to the 34th street store, Odake is currently looking to expand into other cities in the U.S. “Our vision is to be the number one retailer in the world and by 2020, we want to do 50 million U.S. dollars worldwide. Eventually, we want to open a store in every city.”

In terms of merchandise, having successfully made a name for themselves with cashmere sweaters and designer collabs, Uniqlo’s current focus is innovative fabrics, like Heattech, which they are promoting for the launch ($12.90 down from $19.90 for a long-sleeve tee). To develop the fabrics, they partner with select manufacturers, like Japan-based Toray Industries, who actually have a team of people working out of Uniqlo’s offices. “We don’t buy fabric just because that’s a trendy fabric for the season or the prices are attractive; we want to create a long-term partnership with fabric brands.” And of course, what’s on everyone’s minds: what, if anything, will replace Jil Sander’s +J collaboration?

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Retail

Nordstrom Opens New Concept Store in NYC and Anna Wintour Is Involved–Could a Real Nordstrom Be On the Way?

Nordstrom, the only major department store that isn’t in Manhattan (and as a Seattle native, one of my favorites), continues to tease us by opening Treasure & Bond–a charity store in SoHo that also happens to be the brain child of philanthropist Catie Marron and Vogue‘s Anna Wintour, WWD is reporting.

Since the proceeds from the store will be going to different New York-based children’s charities (Wintour and Marron chose the first round), Nordstrom won’t be making a profit from this and you won’t find the Nordstrom name anywhere in the store. It’s more of an experiment and a way to make connections and to gauge response.

“Anything we can do to make us better and more informed is important,” CEO of Marketing Pete Nordstrom told WWD. “By virtue of the fact that Treasure & Bond has a philanthropic aspect, it connects us to the community.”

It’s a smart move–especially if one of those connections is already Anna Wintour–she’s kind of the most important one.

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Retail

Confirmed: Zara E-commerce Will Launch Stateside September 7

Last year, when Zara launched e-commerce for the first time, we were pretty disappointed upon realizing that only European customers were getting in on it. While Zara did say they would launch online shopping for the U.S. at some point, we didn’t have much to go on–until now! And we only have about a month to wait. A rep for Zara has confirmed to us that U.S. e-commerce is set to launch Wednesday, September 7 of this year–just in time for fall shopping.

It’s about time. Even though we sometimes give Zara a hard time for being very literally influenced by designers, we still shop there. Their clothes are affordable, on-trend and look expensive. And it will be nice to be able to shop online since their busy Manhattan stores can be a lot to handle. Plus, Kate Middleton’s love for the affordable retailer will have only increased demand exponentially.

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Retail

Toms Just Launched Their Own One-For-One Eyewear Line

We now have yet another option for guilt-free eyewear shopping. TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie announced today that in addition to its iconic slip-ons and shoe line, TOMS will now offer a collection of sunglasses. And because it’s TOMS, for every pair purchased, the company will give sight to someone in need.

Though the brand pioneered this “one for one” business model, they are not the first to take the concept and apply it to eyewear.

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Adventures in Copyright

Warby Parker Vs. Eyefly

When a business model is successful, people want to copy it. This trend seems especially rampant in the fashion industry. For every Gilt Groupe there is a Rue La La; for every Toms, there’s a Bob’s, etc.

One of the most recent examples of this is Eyefly, whose business model is eerily similar to that of online eyewear shopping start-up Warby Parker, who produces affordable designer-quality eyewear and, for every pair of glasses purchased, gives one pair away to someone in need.

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Retail

Old Navy’s Gay Pride T-Shirts Go on Sale This Wednesday

Remember those crappy Fourth of July t-shirts Old Navy used to sell every year? (They may still do it, who knows….) Well, the retailer is taking the idea of a commemorative shirt in a more progressive direction with a collection of gay pride-themed T-shirts for men, women, and babies. The best news: 10% of the proceeds go to the It Gets Better Project, a campaign launched by writer Dan Savage that aims to help gay kids get through those beyond difficult teenage years by showing them videos that capture the lives of gay adults who made it. The site’s slogan reads: “Many LGBT youth can’t picture what their lives might be like as openly gay adults. They can’t imagine a future for themselves. So let’s show them what our lives are like, let’s show them what the future may hold in store for them.”

Want to support this great cause? Go to Oldnavy.com on Wednesday and order a t-shirt. Or visit Itgetsbetter.org to make a donation.

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Retail

Sneak Peek: Calypso St. Barth for Target, the Full Collection

Target’s newest design collaboration with Calypso St. Barth is perfect for the coming summer. Everything you love about Calypso–the breezy printed tunics, airy white linen dresses, maxi dresses and tiny bikinis–is there, but at a fraction of the cost. The line–which also includes kids, accessories, and home (don’t miss the adorable ceramic elephants)–retails for between $1.99 to $79.99 and will available in store from May 1 through June 11 and on Target.com through August 15.

Check it out.

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Retail

Suno Launches E-commerce With a Personal Touch

Everyone wants some Suno prints in their closet come summer, and now you can get them without having to leave the couch. Suno launched an e-commerce site yesterday where you can shop the brand’s spring and resort collections.

The site itself is meticulously designed to match the label’s print-tastic aesthetic. There’s no Adobe Flash here, as, according to a press release, “great strides were made to push the boundaries of a brave new Flash-less world.”

From tie-front skirts to Suno‘s floor-skimming maxi dresses, there’s enough merchandise on the site to do serious harm to any girl’s wallet, no matter how deep her pockets. Plus, Suno’s to-die-for wedges, born out of a collaboration with Loeffler Randall, are available on the site, and as of now they have every size (we can’t imagine they’ll last long though).

It’s hard to make online shopping a personal, thoughtful experience, but Suno’s making the effort.

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Retail

Seven Questions For The Webster’s Laure Heriard Dubreuil

Laure Heriard Dubreuil, Frederic Dechnik, and Milan Vukmirovic opened Miami concept shop The Webster in 2009 to much fanfare. After all, Dubreuil and Dechnik were YSL alums and Vukmirovic helped found Colette.

Luckily for them–and us–their abilities far exceeded the impressiveness of their resumes. The Webster is now a go-to destination in Miami, much like Colette is in Paris or Opening Ceremony is in New York. And with that credibility comes the ability to expand your brand. The first step is an e-commerce site, which launched this month.

We recently met up with Dubreuil at Payard’s new downtown Manhattan location to chat about the web, why Miami is a great place for jet setters to…settle, and what’s next for her and her partners.

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Retail

“I’m the girliest tomboy you’ll ever meet”: Kelly Osbourne On How She Became The Face of Madonna’s Material Girl Line

LOS ANGELES–In January, it was revealed that Kelly Osbourne would replace everyone’s favorite Disney star-turned-stripper heel wearing rocker Taylor Momson as the face of Madonna and daughter Lourdes’ teen line for Macy’s Material Girl. Last night, Osbourne spoke to a group of tweens at a launch party for the new Material Girl spring collection in the Macy’s Beverly Center Juniors Department—just to the left of the Jessica Simpson section.

In a Q&A lead by Project Runway alum and FIDM Instructor Nick Verreos, Osbourne revealed how she came to land the campaign, meeting Madonna, and how tweens should dress.

The 26-year old Osbourne can thank little Lola–not Madge–for thinking of her for the campaign. Osbourne had never event spoken to Madonna until they were on the set of the campaign shoot. “I have been in a room with her before, but I have been too shy to say ‘hi,’” Kelly admitted to Verreos.

It was Lola, a big fan of Osbourne’s (she gushed about her on her blog for Material Girl), who sought out Osbourne for the gig after they met at a Jay-Z concert in London back in July 2010.

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  • CAITLIN MONAGHAN
  • Friday, Mar 25, 2011 / 10:22 AM
  • 0 Comments