A new promotional push for a range of Under Armour products has been dubbed the company’s 'Biggest Brand Launch'.
Kohl’s, like most other department store retailers, has struggle to draw in the large number of customers they once did. Changing trends in shopping and a big economic dip vastly changed the make-up of retail, and department stores in particular have struggled to adapt.
Many are now placing a strong emphasis on certain product launches to help drive up sales, and Kohl’s most recent initiative is certainly an example of this.
[ad type="mbanner"]The retailer recently unveiled a massive new campaign to reveal to consumers that they are now selling an extensive range of Under Armour products. Representatives at Kohl’s have dubbed the new product brand launch the biggest in their history.
"We think there's such massive opportunity with Under Armour in categories like women's apparel, our children's apparel and footwear that they really could impact the overall business," said, Kohl's chief executive Kevin Mansell.
Kohls worked together with agencies Anomaly and Huge to create a huge campaign to push the new line of products, including the production of three 3-seond TV spots and a strong focus on social media.
The adverts began airing last week, with some product lines being rolled out among Kohl’s stores. Many more will be released in the upcoming months.
"The visual spots show intimate, real-life moments of an athletic start, but are representative of a major athletic achievement, recognizing that stepping up to the challenge, no matter the challenge, is a big deal," said Michelle Gass, chief merchandising and customer officer at Kohl's.
Gass also indicated that searches for Under Armour products at Kohl’s has been on the rise for the past year, with around 500,000 searches on the company’s website.
The move looks to be a wise strategy from the retailer as wellness is an increasingly growing part of retail. The company enjoyed increased sales for various wellness and active lifestyle products, rising into double-digits.As a result, Kohl’s stores have been rearranging their layouts to accommodate more active areas in-store – some by as much as 30%. With sales for active and wellness products remaining strong, it is set to be a category of retail worth billions for the company.
In fact, over 15% of Kohl’s business comes from this one area according to Gass, so the partnership with Under Armour and the strong promotional push makes a lot of sense.
Under Armour may benefit from the campaign as well, as the company has saw a small decline after strong sales for several years.
It’s believed that the partnership will help bring larger numbers of young retailers into Kohl’s stores. This consumer base has always alluded Kohl’s, so the increase in activewear and wellness products will only serve to improve this.
"Kohl's represents an exciting retail partnership that allows us to connect with a broad base of consumers who are on health and fitness journeys to be their very best," said Adrienne Lofton, senior VP-global brand management, at Under Armour.
"With high nationwide demand for our brand with this loyal consumer at Kohl's, we're excited to deliver on their needs by providing an innovative portfolio of performance apparel, footwear, accessories and connected fitness products for the entire family."
