BERLIN — Wolfgang Joop has been named “creative partner” for the Galeria Kaufhof department store chain. A subsidiary of the Metro Group, Galeria Kaufhof operates 138 doors in Germany and Belgium.
This is a newly created position. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed but, at a press conference here Tuesday, both Joop and Kaufhof executives said the cooperation was “open ended.”
Joop’s new responsibilities are of a similarly open nature. His stylistic input is expected to touch upon visual merchandising and window display, the development of seasonal themes, cross-selling campaigns, events, marketing campaigns, new logos and the chain’s aesthetic signature, both from an interior standpoint and product assortment. At present, Joop-designed collections are not specifically planned, but the designer said he could envision doing a home range.
A further step in Galeria Kaufhof’s ongoing trading-up process, Joop’s involvement does not herald the chain’s move into high-end designer merchandise, such as his own Wunderkind collection. “With Wunderkind I’ve filled a very special niche, and I’m proud of this niche, but sometimes it’s also nice to break out into the so-called ‘normal’ world. For me, mainstream is not a dirty word,” he said. “This is an opportunity to think in broader terms and work in bigger dimensions.”
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In addition to Wunderkind, of which he’s creative director and holds a 35 percent stake, Joop has developed a support stocking collection with the medical hosiery firm Medi. He is also part of a consortium that won the bid for the insolvent underwear company Schiesser.