Last fall Kohl’s came clean about its shortcomings in courting the millennial mom. A new effort, Curated by Kohl’s, could be one step toward improving the shopping experience for this important audience.
The new experience relies on data from Facebook to pinpoint emerging brands with a compelling value proposition, and will land in 50 stores and on kohls.com this autumn as shoppers gear up for the holiday season, similar to Macy’s experiment over the past year-end season. Kohl’s said Curated will be a quarterly event, giving customers something new to discover each season.
And it’s hoping this focus on freshness will attract a new demographic to its brand, whether through brick-and-mortar or e-commerce, as chief merchandising officer Doug Howe described Curated as “a way to surprise and delight Kohl’s customers with a continuous stream of new, relevant merchandise, and as an avenue to bring new customers to Kohl’s.”
The first group of brands under the Curated banner seems to advance Kohl’s work in creating a size-inclusive shopping experience for women and young moms. Intimates and sleepwear from digitally native Adore Me will be “available in all sizes,” the company said. On adoreme.com, bra sizes range from 30A to 46DDD, while pajamas come in XS-4X.
Also on offer: women’s apparel from East Adeline by Dia&Co., the exclusively plus-size fashion subscription box startup that’s raised $90 million to date. Customers will be able to shop a range of East Adeline apparel in sizes 14 through 32, including trendy prints and statement pieces alongside “closet staples,” Kohl’s said.
Related Stories
Curated by Kohl’s, which will focus on categories that “may include” apparel, accessories and items for home, will also carry travel, jewelry and holiday decorating craft kits and art supplies from Kids Made Modern; Lovepop laser-cut cards; and Made in USA Luca + Danni stacking bracelets. Rounding out the initial Curated collection is consciously designed drinkware, drinking straws and bags made by United in Blue, which cleans up one pound of ocean- and waterway-polluting trash for every product sold.
Prior to announcing Curated by Kohl’s, the chain already had big plans for fall, including the addition of clothing, shoes and bags from Nine West, and Elizabeth and James fashion and accessories, and a special collection designed by Jason Wu.
As the back-to-school season edges closer to the finish line, retailers are turning their attention to their year-defining holiday seasons—and hoping for ways to differentiate their stores and drum up much-needed traffic. Holiday footfall from Nov. 18 through Dec. 29, 2018 was down 3 percent, per ShopperTrak data, and brick-and-mortar operators like Kohl’s hope to reverse that trend by bringing excitement and newness into the store environment.