Big News For Small Clothes
Saks Fifth Avenue announced yesterday it would relaunch its petite business, after shuttering the departments across the country at the end of last year.
By November, 32 of the 55 Saks stores around the country, including New York, Chicago, Dallas, and Beverly Hills, will carry a revamped petite department.
In bringing back petites, "We're focusing on our core customer, a 35- to 55-year-old woman who has a variety of lifestyles," the vice president for communications at Saks, Andree Corroon, said. She added that the typical petite customer is older than the average Saks customer. And as Saks and other department stores struggle to redefine their role in retail culture, petite clothes - designed for women 5'4" or shorter - suffered from their reputation as the fustier older sister to trendy juniors and misses departments.
Saks discontinued its standalone petite departments in mid-2004, integrating petite items into regular designer displays. It stopped carrying petites altogether at the end of last year. Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdales have also drastically reduced their petite offerings over the last year. But as the result of what Ms. Corroon characterizes as a routine review process, Saks has reversed its withdrawal. "As with any sort of merchandising decision, we began to review the decision," Ms. Corroon said. "We talked to regional stores and listened to customer feedback."
Designers whose work will be sold include Dana Buchman, Eileen Fisher, and Lafayette 148. Ellen Tracy had recently discontinued its petites line altogether as a response to sagging retail support, but its petite wares will return to Saks in the fall. Saks will roll out the lines at a series of trunk shows in October, and the clothes will be in stores just in time for resort season.
Still, the petite department will not be as comprehensive as it once was. "In the past, the petite business was in all Saks stores, in many categories - eveningwear, bathing suits, casual," Ms. Corroon said. In its new iteration, "We'll have a much more focused vendor selection. Starting out, only ready-to-wear. But we're looking to create new categories."
