Kohl’s Corporation announced on June 17 the signing of a multi-year service agreement and world-class partnership with Aldo International, which will design and produce exclusive footwear products to be sold at Kohl’s and Kohls.com under select private and exclusive brands.
A first-of-its-kind for both Kohl’s and Aldo International, the agreement encompasses a range of footwear products for women and men, including fashion shoes in a variety of styles such as dress and casual. The Aldo International-designed products will be available in all Kohl’s stores and Kohls.com beginning 2011.
For Kohl’s, the partnership with Aldo International continues to build on its successful private and exclusive brand strategy, which accounted for 47 per cent of sales in the first quarter of 2010. Footwear continues to be a key growth area and one of the strongest performing categories for the company, and has outpaced performance plans for the past year.
“Kohl’s is incredibly excited to announce this unique collaboration with Aldo, which is globally respected for its design expertise and leadership in the footwear industry,” said Don Brennan, senior executive vice-president at Kohl’s Department Stores. “Bringing this level of design to our exclusive and private brand portfolio in footwear allows us to increase the value proposition to our customer and delivers on our commitment to offer world-class partnerships in each category.”
David Bensadoun, group vice-president, Aldo Group Retail, said, “Aldo is very proud to partner with Kohl’s on this exciting initiative. We look forward to helping Kohl’s make their exclusive and private brand offerings even stronger by providing exciting, on trend styling at a great value.”
As part of the agreement, Aldo International will be responsible for the design and production and will have a dedicated design team on the business. Kohl’s will collaborate on the design process. Sold under select private and exclusive brands, the footwear will include fashion-based styles exclusive to Kohl’s.
Based in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, Kohl’s is a family-focused, value-oriented specialty department store offering moderately priced, exclusive and national brand apparel, shoes, accessories, beauty and home products in an exciting shopping environment. Kohl’s operates its 1,067 stores in 49 states with a commitment to environmental leadership.
– IndiaRetailing Bureau
