Dive Brief:
- Macy’s on Thursday introduced State of Day — a new private brand of loungewear and sleepwear designed for women. The collection of 165 pieces includes pajama sets and separates, bras and bralettes, underwear, restwear, nightgowns and sleepshirts ranging from $8.50 to $79.50.
- The retailer surveyed over 25,000 women and conducted 60 in-store hours of fit clinics. That research and feedback informed the feel, fit and function of the new apparel collection.
- The collection features fabrics that range from knits to cotton to silk-like materials with “luxe textures,” Macy’s said in its announcement.
Dive Insight:
State of Day is Macy’s second private label launch in less than 12 months.
The retailer introduced On 34th, a new women’s apparel brand, in July. It was the first new private label introduced as part of a larger owned brand strategy that is expected to continue through next year. At its launch, On 34th featured more than 750 SKUs and 250 unique styles with items priced from $18.50 to $300. Macy’s also planned to add shoes to the collection this spring.
“I think the commitment of the team to refresh the entirety of our private brand portfolio with exclusive design, customer influence product, and true focus on white space opportunities gives me confidence in our private brand strategy,” CEO Tony Spring said during a November earnings call. Spring was serving as president and incoming CEO at that time and officially became CEO this month.
Spring acknowledged the company will trade a little liquidity for margin opportunity with private brands. "[W]e want to leave ourselves that flexibility to make sure that we're adding the appropriate market brands as well,” he said.
Former CEO Jeff Gennette said last year that the private label revamp, development of the digital marketplace and personalized offers, along with off-mall store expansions are growth vectors for the company.
“We continue to build a relevant, design-led modernized portfolio, weaving customer insights with Macy's rich heritage to meet our customers' evolving preferences and lifestyles,” Emily Erusha-Hilleque, senior vice president of private brands for Macy’s, said in a statement.
Retailers have found various levels of success when they decide to lean in on private label strategies. Target has nearly 50 owned brands in apparel, home, electronics, food, kitchen and health. Analysts say the company consistently succeeds with private labels because its offerings are designed in response to customer insights, marketed well and fill merchandising voids.
In contrast, poor execution of a private label strategy contributed to the bankruptcy and eventual failure of Bed Bath & Beyond. Analysts and industry observers say shoppers were turned off when they came to stores looking for name-brand merchandise but couldn’t find what they were looking for. Overstock bought Bed Bath & Beyond’s name and intellectual property last summer and relaunched it as an online-only store.
