Macy's 2000 Annual Report Download - page 9

lusive Brands
“Who Let The Dogs Out?”
Well, t hat’s easy. Federat ed did – unleashing a
best - selling hit of it s ow n last year wit h the
launch of t he popular Greendog (see our Greendog
mascot on t he cover) privat e brand apparel f or
children ages 2 to 12. Backed by playful and
dist inct ive visual present at ions, Greendog is happily
lapping up sales in t his import ant t ot s- t o- ‘t w eens
merchandise category.
And Greendog is just t he most recent example of
innovat ion in privat e branding for Federated.
We’ve built a reput at ion for designing, sourcing
and marketing merchandise t hat hit s t he t arget for
cust omers and lifest yles across every family of business
– women’s, men’s, children’s and home. Together,
privat e brands account for about 15 percent of t ot al
sales in our t radit ional depart ment st ores.
The combinat ion of t hese very special privat e brands
coupled with import ant st at us brands designed by our
key vendor partners create a powerful combinat ion t hat
cust omers expect t o find in our st ores.
In 2000, we also refocused and reposit ioned our St yle
&Co. brand of updat ed moderat e sport swear, and
cont inued t o build our t hree largest privat e brands –
Charter Club, INC and Alf ani – wit h new it ems, lines
and styles. Seeing opportunit y for t hese popular
brands beyond t he boundaries of t he U.S., we
also signed a licensing agreement t hat makes
INC fashions available t hrough more t han
30 high- volume depart ment st ores in Japan.
Beyond t he merchandise inside our st ores, w e’re also
int ent on solidif ying our st ore nameplat es as dist inct ive
nat ional and regional brands. Each division is aggressively
pursuing a strategic marketing init iat ive t o position
itself in a manner t hat resonates best with cust omers
in it s markets, building loyalt y as a preferred shopping
dest ination. At The Bon M arché, for example, t his
t ranslat es int o a market ing t heme built on bringing t he
“good life” — or Bon- lif e, as we say — t o cust omers
and associat es in t he Pacific Nort hwest .
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