Dive Brief:
- Belk is partnering with Michael Strahan’s clothing and accessories brand to expand the brand’s reach.
- The Collection by Michael Strahan launched on the department store’s website as well as 100 of its brick-and-mortar stores. The brand will roll out to an additional 50 Belk stores by the fall, according to a company spokesperson.
- At launch, the brand is offering Belk customers an assortment of over 60 individual pieces of suit separates, blazers, dress shirts, polos and T-shirts, as well as accessories.
Dive Insight:
With the Belk partnership, Strahan and his business partner, SMAC Entertainment co-founder and CEO Constance Schwartz-Morini, continue to broaden their fashion base. The Michael Strahan brand, founded in 2015, spans over 50 categories, including home decor and accessories, skin care, pajamas, tuxedos and basics.
"Since our brand first launched 10 years ago, our focus has always been on making great style accessible, affordable, and easy to wear in everyday life," Strahan said in a statement. "Partnering with Belk across their wide network allows us to reach more customers in communities where quality and value matter.”
Adding Strahan’s moderately priced collection of sportswear to select Belk stores is in line with the department store’s ongoing strategy to bring in new brands. Over the past couple of years, Belk has added more than 250 new brands to its product mix.
"This collaboration represents more than just a new product line – it's about offering customers access to quality menswear curated by someone who understands style, discipline, and excellence," Belk CEO Don Hendricks said in a statement.
In addition to tailored and sportswear apparel, the company also has MSX by Michael Strahan, a line of licensed sports merchandise, as well as a made-to-order men’s custom suits collection under the Michael Strahan Design Lab moniker.
The department store has been experimenting with a smaller store concept dubbed Belk Market, and recently opened units in Florida and Texas, which are between 25,000 and 30,000 square feet. The retailer also introduced an outlet concept.
