Reitmans gets active: Chain opens new Hyba banner, increases marketing moves

Reitmans, Canada’s largest specialty women’s retailer, is turning the ship around with gathering speed.

With 823 stores across Canada and six banners (including Smart Set, which is winding down), the company has a flurry of marketing manoeuvres.

Its biggest new move is the launch of a new activewear banner, Hyba, with 17 stores going into former Smart Set locations across the country on Oct. 8.

Other moves: It has enlisted P.K. Subban, his two brothers and his father as the faces of men’s suiting for its fall RW & Co. campaign. It is opening New York fashion week on Sept. 15 with Ashley Graham, the plus size supermodel with whom it collaborates for its Addition Elle lingerie line, the first time a plus brand opens the week and almost certainly the first time for a Canadian brand.

Penningtons, another plus division, will carry Melissa McCarthy’s clothing line, while actress Meghan Markle becomes brand ambassador and face of the “Reitmans, Really” campaign — a nod, perhaps, to its wildly popular TV “Designed for Real Life” ads that kicked off back in 2007 featuring campy duo Armand and Albert.

“Looking at the long history of Reitmans tells the story of the future,” said Walter Lamothe, the company’s president of retail and chief operating officer. “We’ve gone through 89 years of meeting all kinds of adversity in the marketplace. We’re up against that like many retailers are. We are looking at a very healthy future.”

For the year ending Jan. 31, 2015, with 55 fewer stores, sales were $939.4 million, a decrease of 2.2 per cent. But same store sales rose 1.2 per cent and online sales increased a staggering 63.5 per cent.

“We are rejigging almost every part of our organization to meet the future demands,” Lamothe said. “The consumer is boss. She was always boss, but she’s actually been able to dictate to us (on fashion).”

A tentative rendering of Reitmans new active wear banner, Hyba, which opens Oct. 8, 2015, with 17 stores across Canada. COURTESY REITMANS

Hyba, a sub-brand for two years, will target women from 20 to 60 and will offer extended sizes — up to 20 — which is rare in the market, Lamothe said. The price will be mid-range, with tops ranging from $28 to $34, $38 to $44 for bottoms, and higher for special collections.

The shops will open in diverse spots across the country to test the market, Lamothe said. There will be four Quebec locations, including Carrefour Laval, Galéries d’Anjou, Promenades St-Bruno and Laurier Québec.

“If it’s going to be a chain, it has to be able to survive in all these areas,” Lamothe said.

One hundred stores would be the target for a successful chain, he added, but it will take patience and time.

Hyba was an answer to a need in the marketplace for active wear, the fastest-growing category in apparel today, he said.

Aside from being in the sweet, underserved middle spot price wise, Hyba is targeted to a woman who is not necessarily interested in high-performance gear.

She wants to look great while she does any activity, Lamothe said: “That’s why we say it’s ‘move wear’ rather than active wear.”

On Smart Set’s closing, Lamothe said, the company looked at where it could be a winner. Smart Set was not so obvious, he said. “The marketplace is certainly filled up with throwaway fashion.”

Lamothe said we speak of foreign competition as if it is a new factor, but in fact it has been in play for 25 years.

But now, he said, “the headwinds all hit at the same time,” adding the current 25-per-cent hit on the Canadian dollar is another blow.

P.K. Subban and family will be the faces of RW & Co.’s fall suiting campaign. Courtesy: Reitmans

Lamothe, with Reitmans for four years, was a key player in enhancing the plus-size divisions.

The customer was looking for fit, but that was only the point of entry.

“What she really wanted was fashion,” he said.

While Reitmans does not break out sales for its banners, the plus size divisions have the most momentum, he said.

Ashley Graham in a campaign shot for Addition Elle, a division of Reitmans. The supermodel collaborates on a lingerie line for the chain.

Ashley Graham for Addition Elle is going international, selling online in the U.S., Australia and Germany, and selling in Nordstrom and Lord and Taylor.

Additionally for Addition Elle, blogger Nadia Aboulhosn is creating a capsule collection.

The marketing shift to digital is huge. “Bloggers are becoming the new gurus of fashion,” Lamothe said.

Consumer buying behaviour is the biggest factor driving change: Consumers come in to stores informed. Online sales is only one component. Reitmans has put a new focus on design, he added, with 10,000 styles a year designed.

“We know we can win if we deliver the right product.”

efriede@montrealgazette.com

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Reitmans gets active: Chain opens new Hyba banner, increases marketing moves