RETAIL : Liz Claiborne Outlet May Help Label’s Sales at Department Stores
When designer Liz Claiborne opens her own store at South Coast Plaza in August, don’t expect to see panic in the large department stores that already carry the label.
The popular theory is that a designer label’s own store creates a new awareness that boosts, rather that reduces, sales of the same merchandise in nearby department stores. Or at least that’s what Liz Claiborne officials are hoping will happen at South Coast Plaza.
The popular mall in Costa Mesa is already one of the top sales locations for Liz Claiborne’s line of upscale women’s wear. The line is sold at such department stores as Nordstrom, May Co., Robinson’s, Bullock’s and the Broadway.
Come this summer, Liz Claiborne will open a large store on the second level that will hawk the designer’s entire line, from shoes to perfumes. So far, however, experience has shown that overall sales of the line thrive, according to a Liz Claiborne official.
“In all the malls we’ve gone into, business for Liz Claiborne in the (department) stores has gone up,” because the line gets stronger recognition from consumers, said Deirdre Deutsch, director of training and market development for Liz Claiborne in New York.
At least one department store spokeswoman said that her store will continue selling Liz Claiborne apparel and will see what happens. “We are going to continue to serve our customers the best way we can,” said Nordstrom spokeswoman Lucy Hamilton.
Other designers have already paved the way.
The Polo/Ralph Lauren store has prospered at South Coast Plaza for five years, along with the companion Polo Country store across the street in Crystal Court. All the while, department stores carry large sections of Polo menswear and Ralph Lauren women’s apparel.
Jacques Vert, a London-based manufacturer of women’s wear, opened a store in Newport Center Fashion Island and will open another Saturday at the Brea Mall, even as its merchandise is still sold in specialty stores.
“It’s just giving the brand name exposure,” said Svend Ingerslev, executive director of the retail division of the new chain. “We’ve been hoping that we will enhance our wholesale business (by selling the label through) the retail stores.”
What’s in a Name?: At least Liz Claiborne is a real person, as is Ralph Lauren. But in the world of designer clothing, it’s getting harder to tell a designer from a designer name.
AnnTaylorCQ Inc., for instance, is opening a new store in the Brea Mall next week, one of five new stores opening in the state this spring. Although the chain claims to be the nation’s fastest-growing specialty store, it cannot claim a flesh-and-blood namesake. AnnTaylor, with the name squashed together, doesn’t exist.
Jacques Vert is a different case. He doesn’t exist, either, but the name is an amalgam of two very real designers who founded the company in 1973. The “Jacques” is Jack Cynamon and the “Vert” is Alan Green. In French, Jack is Jacques and the color green is vert.
