Photos: Claire’s
Macy’s has been pursuing opportunities to grow its business through store-within-a-store partnerships, and in its latest alliance is teaming up with Claire’s to open shops inside 21 Macy’s stores, including eight flagship locations.
Claire’s, known as a destination point for many tweens and teens looking to get their ears pierced, sells jewelry, clothing, beauty products and other items in demand by its core customers.
The shops inside Macy’s will sell cosmetics, hair accessories, jewelry and seasonal items, including products for holiday celebrations. Claire’s will install its own fixtures in the shops, select products it will sell and use its own staff to maintain stock levels. The shops will be located in some of Macy’s most trafficked stores, including Herald Square and Roosevelt Field in New York City. Other shops will be located in Atlanta, California, Florida, Hawaii and Nevada.
"Macy's and Claire's are two iconic brands in fashion with a longstanding commitment to being destinations for inspirational and accessible style for generations of consumers,” said Ryan Vero, Claire’s CEO, in a statement. “We help celebrate special moments, and with this partnership, we are combining our brand power to reach new customers and serve them with the latest on-trend accessories in time for the holiday shopping season and beyond."
Said Macy’s Stephen Moore, Claire’s shops will “expand our jewelry and accessories assortment and give our customers even more ways to own their style."
The Claire’s deal follows the announcement earlier this year that Macy’s was adding Toys “R” Us shops ranging from 1,000 square feet and 10,000 square feet to all its stores nationwide. Those shops were expected to be expanded between 500 square feet and 3,000 square feet during the holidays to offer shoppers a wider selection of products to choose from.
The results of the Toys “R” Us deal appear to have informed Macy’s thinking in its discussions with Claire’s.
“We’ve found that customers shopping Toys ‘R’ Us are younger and more diverse than our Macy’s customer and that 85 percent of them are cross-shopping,” Marc Mastronardi, the retailer’s chief stores officer, told The Wall Street Journal.
Macy’s has also increased the number of Pandora A/S jewelry shops in select stores from five to 28, according to the Journal’s reporting.
- Claire’s Announces Partnership With Macy’s, Opening Locations In Select Stores Nationwide – Claire’s Holdings LLC/PRNewswire
- Will Toys“R”Us kids help Macy’s have a very merry Christmas? – RetailWire
- Macy’s Hosts Tween Retailer Claire’s at 21 Locations in Bid for Younger Customers – The Wall Street Journal