LONDON — Kurt Geiger, the British footwear brand, is diving headfirst into the accessories business with a raft of merchandise, a new retail concept and a refreshed Web site that will allow customers worldwide to buy its products.
The new collection is called “Everything but the Dress,” and ranges from handbags to hairpins. This new direction for Kurt Geiger, which was acquired in June by The Jones Group Inc. for $350 million in cash, will be unveiled Frida with a new, 1,000-square-foot store on Grafton Street in London’s Mayfair.
A revamped Web site, kurtgeiger.com, will launch later this month, giving consumers worldwide access to the brand’s full offer, including the accessories collection.
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“It’s the day that Kurt Geiger turns into a butterfly,” said chief executive Neil Clifford in an interview at the colorful and blingy Grafton Street unit. “We’re not just creating a few handbags. This project has been two-and-a-half years in the making, and we’ve created everything in-house.”
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The brand hired a seven-strong design and merchandising team to create the accessories, which range in price from 450 pounds, or $725, for a cinnamon black python-embossed leather bag; to 10 pounds, or $16, for a bejeweled ring, and 8 pounds, or $13, for a pair of Alycia pyramid hairpins.
All figures have been converted from the pound at current exchange rates.
The collection will follow the seasons, with fake fur snoods and cashmere gloves on sale for fall, and a range of sunglasses bowing for spring.
Inside the store, Kurt Geiger is calling the smaller, less-expensive items “Candy.” Those items are packaged in shiny gold bubble-wrap envelope-style bags, and have their own stand — like a glittering market stall.
Clifford said 90 percent of the accessories collection is cheaper than the brand’s footwear. The shoes range in price from 60 pounds, or $97, to 695 pounds, or $1,119.
“We want to give our customer more reasons to buy,” he said of the decision to launch accessories. “And it gives us a huge opportunity to sell gifts.”
The Grafton Street store and the new Web site will sell the accessories exclusively until Sept. 6, when the 55 Kurt Geiger stand-alone stores will be converted overnight to sell the new product.
Clifford said he expects the Grafton Street unit to generate about 800,000 pounds, or $1.29 million, in sales during the first year.
The brand has invested 4 million to 5 million pounds, or $6.4 million to $8.1 million, on “Everything But the Dress,” half of which was spent on the new store concept. The architect John Field, who has worked with Tom Ford, created the new shop concept with its shiny metal shelving and whimsical displays, including a “shoe chandelier” hanging from the ceiling.
The brand has also tripled its advertising spend to 3 million pounds, or $4.8 million, to promote the new project, which includes a reworking of the logo and packaging. The new brand color is a glossy lipstick red, brighter than the former burgundy. The goal is for accessories to generate 30 percent of turnover at Kurt Geiger stores, and 20 percent of total turnover, which is currently 230 million pounds, or $370 million. The products will remain exclusive to the stores and will not be sold at department store concessions.
In the U.S., Clifford said he plans to roll out three to five Kurt Geiger stores in the first half of next year. One or two will be in New York — there is already a shop on Bleecker Street — while other potential venues include Los Angeles, Houston, Miami and Costa Mesa, Calif. All of the stand-alone stores will carry accessories.
Clifford said he plans to begin wholesaling the Kurt Geiger footwear in the U.S. a full year after the first stores open.