Kohl's Partners with POPSUGAR to Create Data-Driven Apparel Collection for Millennial Women
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Department store chain Kohl's is teaming up with digital media and tech company POPSUGAR to create a data-driven clothing line aimed at millennial women. Launching in September, the two brands will use data and analytics generated by the 400 million strong POPSUGAR audience to incorporate millennial customer intelligence into the innovative collection's curation and design.
A "Smart Move"
Kohl's has been increasingly pushing into more modern and millennial-focused territory in recent times. Last year, the retailer rolled out a pilot in which 10 Kohl's locations in Los Angeles and Chicago began selling Amazon merchandise - such as Echo smart speakers and Fire tablets - and accepting Amazon returns. In the stores, Amazon products are sold through kiosks operated entirely by the online retailer, while Kohl's employees handle Amazon's online returns.
The Amazon partnership is working well for Kohl's, according to analysts. Following an earnings call with the retailer in May, Neil Saunders, Managing Director and Retail Analyst at GlobalData Retail, said that the move was helping Kohl's boost its millennial appeal. "One group that Kohl's appears to be gaining growth with is millennials," said Saunders. "Here, high profile developments such as the partnership with Amazon have helped to put Kohl's more firmly on the radar of the young shopper."
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The partnership with POPSUGAR - which Saunders called a "smart move" - seems ideally formed to build on this newfound millennial interest. As a leading lifestyle brand that delivers inspiring, informative and entertaining content across entertainment, fashion, beauty, fitness, food and parenting, POPSUGAR attracts a monthly global audience of 400 million and claims to reach one in three millennial women.
"We see an opportunity to draw more millennial customers and young families to Kohl's," said Kohl's Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Greg Revelle. "This partnership is an illustration of how Kohl's can attract and serve this customer with a unique experience that couples compelling new product with an engaging shopping and marketing experience. Partnering with POPSUGAR allows us to connect with millennials in a credible, authentic, and meaningful way."
Thinking Differently About the Millennial Customer
The new collection - named POPSUGAR at Kohl's - will be available at 500 Kohl's locations along with the retailer's ecommerce website. It will join several brands the retailer says are aimed at millennial women - such as LC Lauren Conrad, a:glow Maternity, Circus by Sam Edelman, Nike, Converse, Adidas and Levi's - and include dresses, skirts, tops, and pants at prices ranging from $24.00 to $84.00.
(Image source: corporate.kohls.com)
With its hugely popular online lifestyle publication, quarterly subscription box, and makeup line, the POPSUGAR brand is revered and adored by millennials around the world. Kohl's will use data and analytics from POPSUGAR to shape the collection based on what millennials are searching for and engaging with across digital channels.
"Kohl's is expanding our brand portfolio by thinking about the millennial customer differently," said Michael Gilbert, Kohl's Executive Vice President of Product Development. "We have partnered with POPSUGAR to create an innovative, data-driven apparel collection leveraging our 'speed to market' model. As one of the most engaging media outlets in the industry, POPSUGAR will bring key predictive insights to tell us exactly what this customer wants through the content they are searching, browsing and engaging with across channels."
Final Thoughts
As a leading omnichannel retailer, Kohl's move to increase its millennial-focused offerings is a shrewd one. In line with its strategy to attract more millennial customers, partnering with a popular media and technology company like POPSUGAR will help Kohl's build its millennial brand portfolio and identify young shopper's needs more accurately. Indeed, the deal is about more than providing Kohl's customers with more options for what to wear - it's also part of the retailer's efforts to gather more marketing insights through data and analytics.
For Lisa Sugar, Founder, President, and Editor in Chief at POPSUGAR, the partnership will help both brands leverage each other's strengths to deliver on-trend products and an elevated customer experience.
"We've always wanted to extend the POPSUGAR brand into apparel, and we're thrilled to be working with Kohl's to combine audience data, technology and storytelling to create a collection that marries content and commerce," said Sugar. "We've listened to our audience and are excited to share this line that delivers the everyday ease of clothes you can live in with trends that are wearable for all."
You can hear Greg Revelle, Kohl's Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, speak at eTail West 2019, taking place next February at the JW Marriott, Palm Springs, CA.
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