Dive Brief:
- Sports hat retailer Lids debuted LidsHatDrop.com, a new e-commerce site featuring limited headwear collections dropped twice weekly, the company said in an email to Retail Dive.
- The company will release more than 40 new product drops on the site over the next few months. The items, generally priced between $45 and $55, will draw inspiration from significant dates, historical figures, food items and other details, according to the announcement.
- Kicking off its first release, the company will drop the Casino Pack, comprised of two New Era 59Fifty fitted styles for various teams including the Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers. The styles for this collection, priced at $50, are inspired by the design and colors of a traditional poker table and roulette wheel.
Dive Insight:
In addition to expanding the product assortment for online customers, Lids has also concentrated on growing its brick-and-mortar footprint.
The company currently has nearly 2,000 stores in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. In December, the retailer made its European debut with four stores in the London metropolitan area and said it plans to open over 100 additional stores in new markets.
Besides heading to Europe, the company has also grown its presence in North America. Last April, the company teamed up with Designer Brands to sell licensed sports products to its Canadian stores for the first time.
Lids is enhancing its e-commerce offerings and entering new markets following a change in ownership. In 2018, its former owner, Genesco Inc., put the retailer up for sale to focus more on its shoe businesses. Lids Sports Group was sold for $100 million in cash to FanzzLids Holdings, a holding company controlled and operated by affiliates of investment firm Ames Watson Capital. That private investment firm went on to buy South Moon Under, a fashion boutique, in May 2021 for an undisclosed sum.
