Why Kohl’s and Eddie Bauer Are Shacking Up

Department store Kohl’s is following up its 2020 collaboration with Lands’ End by entering a new partnership with clothing retailer Eddie Bauer. Meanwhile, 101-year-old Eddie Bauer gets a partner with a bigger store footprint and omnichannel capabilities. Kohl’s will bring Eddie Bauer's line of outdoor apparel, fleece and flannel to as many as 500 of its 1,100 stores in the fall. A size-inclusive selection of Eddie Bauer products will also be available on Kohls.com. ‘This category that's really driving growth for them’ Kohl’s wants to increase activewear from 20% to at least 30% of its business. It has found its core customers are increasingly shopping for "active and outdoor needs.” The retailer also plans to launch a private label athleisure brand, FLX, in March. Sarah Marzano, senior principal analyst at Gartner, said Kohl’s recognized its drivers of success in a difficult year which also included national brands like Nike, Under Armour and Adidas. “The matchup with an Eddie Bauer or a Lands' End makes a lot of sense because their store footprint pales in comparison to Kohl’s, so it's a quick way to really scale,” she added. “And then for Kohl's, it’s a way to just lean further into this category that's really driving growth for them.” Scaling with a Goliath ... Eddie Bauer, an outdoor retailer that dates back to 1920 Seattle, has about 275 stores in North America after multiple closures in 2020. With four times the physical footprint, its presence inside Kohl’s easily gets Eddie Bauer more products in front of a lot more consumers. “It's just a cool example of a retailer that falls into that department store category, which has been a tough sector to exist in, [and] making some really smart moves in my opinion,” she said. … And gaining access to omnichannel fulfillment to boot It also speaks to the staying power of brick and mortar locations despite massive growth in ecommerce last year. Marzano noted the big winners during the pandemic are retailers with sizable footprints that had already started investing in omnichannel fulfillment and were able to pivot quickly to meet customer demand. That makes Kohl’s an even more valuable partner for Eddie Bauer. With Ecommerce Boom, Lands’ End Thrives as the Apparel Category Struggles “Consumers are really enjoying the ability to buy online [and] pick up in store [and] do curbside pickup and by expanding and having a presence within all of those Kohl's stores, they're able to reach customers at a much higher scale,” she added. Even before the pandemic, DTC brands like Quip, Harry’s and Casper saw "the need to scale once they become fully saturated with the customers that they were able to reach via their website,” Marzano said. And so they turned to Target and/or Walmart to leverage not only the store footprint, but capabilities like omnichannel fulfillment and curbside pickup. In turn, retailers can appeal to demographics they don’t reach with their current assortment. ‘Assets that Amazon just doesn't have’ These partnerships also help retailers compete against Amazon as big box retailers “[lean] in to the assets that Amazon just doesn't have,” Marzano said. But Kohl’s is also unique in that it has partnered with Amazon for returns. “They get really healthy foot traffic there, so I think it's certainly an interesting play,” Marzano added. "You mostly see retailers at odds with Amazon, so seeing Kohl’s get into bed with them, and then seeing that it's really paid off, I think it's certainly unique. And I think it will continue to pay off for Kohl's." Kohl’s also recently announced a partnership with Sephora to open 200 stores within stores.