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Amazon launches exclusive with Calvin Klein

Written by Tom Ryan

Photo: Calvin Klein

Amazon.com is selling an exclusive collection of Calvin Klein underwear this holiday season online and at two pop-ups in New York City and Los Angeles. The Wall Street Journal notes that this marks the first time Calvin Klein is not providing “first dibs on its latest styles” to department stores. Calvin Klein was among the first fashion brands to start selling a limited selection of items, mainly underwear and jeans, on Amazon about 10 years ago at the risk of irritating its department store partners and hurting its brand image. Brands such as Kate Spade, Nike and Levi Strauss have followed suit in directly selling to Amazon. Retail Dive notes that Calvin Klein’s move carries the “risk of Amazon evaluating their best sellers and basing its own Essentials items on the performance.” "We want to reach consumers wherever they are shopping,” Cheryl Abel-Hodges, president of PVH's underwear group, told the Journal. “Digital is one of our fastest-growing channels, and Amazon is a really important part of what is happening in digital." Amazon’s two pop-ups further the company's wide range of experiments in physical retail. Among the features:
  • Shoppers can purchase in-store or scan a bar code in the Amazon App to have items delivered to their home.
  • Amazon Echo devices in fitting rooms allow shoppers to ask Alexa questions about the Calvin Klein product and experience, control lighting features and play music.
  • Customization stations allow shoppers to personalize their purchased underwear with special embroidery.
  • Content creation spaces encourage shoppers to create their own sharable social media clips.
  • Shoppers can use video chat to interact with the Sacramento pop up and vice versa by way of the Amazon Echo Show.
  • Supermodel and entrepreneur Karlie Kloss and comedian and author Lilly Singh will host special events at the locations.
“We are delighted to team up with Calvin Klein to provide a fun, interactive experience that connects our customers to product in an engaging way,” said Michelle Rothman, VP at Amazon Fashion, in a statement.

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