SEATTLE _ Nordstrom will be selling some J. Crew items in a new partnership that expands what's become a successful strategy for Nordstrom: partnerships with limited-distribution name brands.
An "edited assortment" of the J. Crew collection _ including, this fall, its Regent and Rhodes blazers, Italian cashmere and Martie pants _ will be available at Nordstrom, according to a news release.
Nordstrom partnered with J. Crew Group's Madewell brand last year, selling certain pieces from J. Crew's younger, more urban hipster sister brand. Madewell items are now sold in 76 Nordstrom locations as well as on Nordstrom.com.
The expanded partnership means that Nordstrom will now be the only U.S. store to sell J. Crew and Madewell items outside of those brands' own retail stores, according to J. Crew.
Sixteen Nordstrom stores will carry the J. Crew assortment.
"We know our customers love J. Crew and we're excited to be offering this coveted brand in our stores and online. Partnering with quality brands like J. Crew that have exclusive distribution is part of our long-term strategic agenda," Pete Nordstrom, co-president, said in the news release.
In recent quarters Nordstrom _ which, like other department stores, has been seeing its sales and profits slipping _ has touted the success of such partnerships with brands including Madewell, Topshop and Ivy Park, seeing them as bright spots in an otherwise gloomy retail environment.
Indeed, company co-president Blake Nordstrom said during a recent conference call with investors that its efforts to "grow relevant brands that have limited distribution" play an important role in attracting new customers.
Those brands now make up the majority of the company's top 20 fastest-growing vendors, he said.
It's unclear, though, how much the J. Crew brand name will help Nordstrom. J. Crew's own sales have been dipping and the company has been trying to make a comeback.
The J. Crew Group's total company sales decreased 3 percent, and sales at stores open at least a year _ so-called "comparable sales" _ declined 7 percent in its most recent reported quarter. It had declined 8 percent in the same quarter a year ago.
A lot of that sales decline was due to slippage in sales of the J. Crew brand, as comparable store sales fell 8 percent. A year ago, it had fallen 10 percent.
Madewell, however, continued its successful run with comparable sales rising 6 percent in the latest quarter after increasing 12 percent the year before.
