Neiman Marcus trials plus-size at Last Call

By

Kate Dingwall

Published
Feb 15, 2017

Neiman Marcus is introducing a plus size department to its Last Call retail stores. The plus-sized department, entitled “Curvey Chic”,  will initially tested in five stores across the United States.

The new plus-sized department of Neiman Marcus’s outlet location will take over 750-square-feet of the chosen stores, reports WWD, carrying a range of products in sizes from 14 to 24. The department will feature activewear, day and eveningwear, jeans, coats, pants, and coats.

The five chosen locations to open in-store plus size boutiques are in Lawrenceville, Georgia; Grapevine, Texas.; Estero, Florida.; Hanover, Maryland.; and Auburn Mills, Michigan. The new in-store boutiques will open their doors this week, on February 18th.

Neiman Marcus and Last Call currently offers plus-size garments online but doesn’t offer specialized plus-size items in store, while Nordstrom, one of Neiman Marcus’s main competitors, offers plus-size departments in 103 of its 123 full-line stores and 189 of the 215 Nordstrom Rack stores offer plus size.

A study by the International Journal of Fashion, Design, Technology and Education, published in 2016, found that the average American woman sits between a size 16 – 18, considered ‘plus-sized’ in retail terms.

More and more retailers are beginning to realize that the plus size market is a profitable one to move into. E-commerce fashion giant ASOS launched its first men’s plus-size department last month. Online retailer Missguided found sales soaring after it expanded its plus-sized area. Reitmans also expanded its size offerings in August, offering sizes up to size 22 on all products.