Kohl’s to Open Design Studio in Santa Monica, Calif.
Kohl’s Corp. is ready to hit the beach.
The Wisconsin-based mid-tier retailer announced it will open a West Coast design studio in the high-profile beach city of Santa Monica, Calif.
The 6,000-square-foot space at 2700 Colorado Ave. is located in the heart of the city’s Entertainment Corridor, where film companies such as Lions Gate and Mandate Pictures maintain offices.
The design studio is scheduled to open Jan. 16, but the retailer had not yet hired the entire staff of 20 graphic arts and trend workers who will work there, said Scott Morris, a Kohl’s representative. Nor had the retailer named a director of the design studio.
Kohl’s is opening its Santa Monica studio to gain access to the West Coast design community. The design studios also demonstrate how important private-label brands are to Kohl’s business, said Kevin Mansell, Kohl’s chairman, president and chief executive. “This investment reinforces our commitment to offering world-class brands at compelling value to our customers,” Mansell said.
News of the Santa Monica studio broke at the same time Kohl’s announced it is expanding its New York design studio. Located at 1400 Broadway, it will double in size to more than 100,000 square feet when it is completed in 2014.
At the New York office, more than 140 people work on Kohl’s private-label brands, including Simply Vera Vera Wang, Elle, Jennifer Lopez and Rock & Republic, the former high-flying, Los Angeles–based premium-jeans name that debuts this year as a private-label brand.
Private-label brands made up 51 percent of Kohl’s sales during its 2011 third quarter. The retailer hopes to maintain the success of its private-label brands and build new ones, said Peggy Eskenasi, Kohl’s senior executive vice president of product development.
Many of Kohl’s private-label brands have names licensed from celebrities, including Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Tony Hawk and Daisy Fuentes, as well as Lauren Conrad’s LC Lauren Conrad brand. It’s an expensive proposition because celebrities often demand 8 percent to 15 percent of sales, said Mercedes Gonzalez, director of retail consultancy and buying office Global Purchasing Companies. Kohl’s declined to comment on its deals with celebrities.—Andrew Asch
