NEW YORK — After a decade of comforting women in the bedroom, Karen Neuburger is ready to take her customers out of the house.
The KN Karen Neuburger lifestyle brand, owned by KN Ltd., has entered licensing agreements to create new sportswear, hats and accessories lines for spring 2007.
“When you think of KN, the first thing that comes to mind is comfort,” said Kathy Seib, senior vice president and design director for KN Karen Neuburger. “This is about bringing that comfort and quality outside.”
KN is pairing with Newport Sportswear for women’s casual separates, with Northern Cap & Glove Manufacturing Inc. for hats and cold-weather accessories and with Pacific Connections Inc. for bags and other accessories. Each partnership teams a licensee speciality designer with Seib, who translates KN’s trademark soft fabrics and easy fit into the new products.
“We were looking for the natural extension of sleep. When that gal gets out of bed, what is the next thing she is going to throw on?” asked Barnum Mow, president and chief executive officer of Newport Sportswear, an operating division of nZania LLC. “Everything is very wearable and is easy care — nothing requires dry cleaning.” Designed as related separates, the sportswear features three collections: Core Essentials for everyday basics, Vintage Romance with novelty prints and detailing and Beauty of Nature, in organic fabrics.
Michael Penn, vice president of licensing at KN, projects the new lines ultimately will make up a third of the company’s business, on par with the sleepwear and home divisions. In their first year, he hopes the new collections will contribute a more modest 10 percent to sales. Wholesale prices run about $15 to $50 for sportswear, $15 to $25 for hats and $30 to $75 for other accessories.
Retailers will see the lines for the first time this week, but the company expects the retailers that carry traditional KN products, like Nordstrom and Dillard’s, plus department stores that do not already carry KN’s other products, will pick up the new offerings and stock them in different departments.