bebe Taps Athleisure Market, Partners with Macy's: Stock Up
Shares of bebe Stores, Inc. BEBE climbed 1.1% on the index after the company unveiled plans to launch a new “athleisure” footwear line at Macy's Inc. M, with ZiGi New York, LLC as its unique licensing partner.
This new line, slated to mark bebe’s debut in Macy’s stores countrywide as well as its website beginning from August, will feature under the “bebe Sport” label. bebe’s athleisure assortment will include a wide range of footwear, like bebe’s “Flash” and bebe “Sport” shoes for fashion-conscious and fitness-oriented women.
bebe intends to commence athleisure operations at Macy’s with four shoe styles and seven SKU’s, in the price range of $69–$89. Going forward, Macy’s plans to enhance the collection by adding five new styles in nine SKU’s in October and even further by introducing a logo sandal program in January to gear up for Spring 2016.
bebe’s new venture with Macy’s complements the former’s efforts to expand its wholesale offerings and brand presence in different ways. Also, management remains optimistic about the athleisure business, given the significant wholesale opportunities in North America.
The company also looks forward to working with ZiGi to continue developing fashionable designs for devoted female bebe customers. Likewise, Macy’s is hopeful about enriching shoppers’ experience with the introduction of bebe’s athleisure line of business at its stores.
The athleisure market has been gaining popularity, as is evident from analysts’ expectations of sales growth of roughly 50% in this market by 2020. However, bebe is not the only retailer that deals in athleisure wear.
Apart from bebe, many other players like Lululemon Athletica Inc. LULU, Under Armour, Inc. UA, Gap and Nike, are undertaking strategies to expand the athleisure women’s line.
For example, Nike released its #BetterForIt campaign recently. Also, Under Armour had launched one of its largest ever international ad campaigns for women at the beginning of 2015. The company has also inked deals with renowned female celebrities for product endorsements. Moreover, Lululemon is implementing measures to widen its assortments on the basis of style, prints and colors, in addition to enhancing customer services.
Hence, we believe that the competition in the athleisure women’s line is quite fierce, with retailers firing on all cylinders. Given this scenario, we think that bebe should continue undertaking similar strategies to extend its women’s business in order to capture market share and fuel growth.
bebe currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
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