Stuart Dornfield

With Macy's announcement at the start of 2010 that it is partnering with Italy's Luxottica Group to open Sunglass Hut stores in 430 Macy's, it recalled a suggestion that I had made to a board member of The Vitamin Shoppe in 2006 while I was working as Sr. VP-Creative Director at Zimmerman Advertising in Fort Lauderdale. Like the current Macy’s/Sunglass Hut partnership, I had suggested that The Vitamin Shoppe “drop” a small footprint store into mass merchants like the Winn-Dixie supermarkets. This partnership would not only enable the supermarket chain to create a new point of difference that it so desperately needed to compete more effectively with leading chains like Publix, it would also give them the option of reinvesting this new incremental revenue stream into new (and much needed) marketing and media channels to drive increased store traffic. Similarly, The Vitamin Shoppe would have immediate access to more customers in more locations in underserved markets, which is one of the gaping holes in their current retail strategy. Thus enabling them to increase revenue and consumer exposure to its brand, and perhaps, drive more traffic to its stand-alone stores. Sunglass Hut, which already operates 240 units, expects to rollout 670 stores in Macy’s by the spring of 2011. In return, Macy's gets exclusive U.S. department store rights to the brand, allowing it “to offer a wider choice of styles, supported by the high level of service associated with Macy's." Certainly, with Macy’s weak same-store sales, they and other sales-challenged retailers like The Vitamin Shoppe and Winn-Dixie should be looking at new and different ways to improve the brand experience, drive trial among new customers, increase share of wallet among existing customers and find new ways to add incremental revenue to their bottom line. Of course, even if a big footprint chain’s same-store sales are healthy, adding a traffic building store-within-a-store brand may be a smart way to go. What if Pier 1, Williams-Sonoma, or Restoration Hardware put a small footprint store into Home Depot or Lowe’s? What if Claire’s dropped a small footprint store into Kohl’s or Kmart to help drive incremental sales among female teens?  Perhaps Stride-Rite’s new president Sharon John should explore putting its shoe stores inside The Sports Authority or Walmart? What are your store-within-a-store match ups? I’d love to hear them!