One does not associate Sears with fashion. The first thing that always came to my mind are large refrigerators and lots of tools. But perhaps Sears will be able to improve its image in the world of fashion after their upcoming showcase at New York’s fasion week in September.
Sears, Roebuck and Co., a subsidiary of Sears Holdings Corp. said on Wednesday that it will unveil a lifestyle exhibit on Sept. 10 in New York’s Bryant Park, where fashion’s biggest names parade their spring collections on catwalks set up under big, white tents.
The retailer, not known for fashionable clothes, faces a hurdle convincing shoppers of its chic factor. It is also following in the footsteps of discount retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc., whose attempt to ratchet up its fashion credentials at the same event backfired, hurting profits in 2007.
Sears’ exhibit, open to the public, will showcase brands Sears already offers in its stores, like Kenmore appliances, as well as new brands that it is introducing, like a clothing line by rapper LL Cool J.
The article also mentions how Wal-Mart’s showcase at the fashion week in 2005 was a bit of a flop. By 2007, Wal-Mart scrapped its Fashion Week plans because “[i]ts shoppers proved more interested in basic, affordable clothes than trendy fashions like skinny jeans, leaving Wal-Mart with heaps of unsold clothing to mark down.”
Hopefully this will be a net gain for Sears.
Disclosure: I own Sears (SHLD)
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