MELBOURNE: United Kingdom womenswear label Karen Millen England is set to grace the floors of Myer department stores following a recently sealed concession partnership deal.
August this year will see the opening of Karen Millen's first Australian concession stores in Myer Sydney and Melbourne's Chadstone shopping centre. In November a further concession will open at the newly refurbished Myer Melbourne store.
To mark the partnership, Karen Millen's spring/summer 2009/10 collection will be presented during L'Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival's Runway Deluxe Parade, presented by Myer at Docklands on Saturday March 21.
Myer director of apparel Judy Coomber said the brand was a welcome addition to its evolving women's fashion business.
"Some time ago we identified Karen Millen as a brand whose business we'd like to have. It's got a great positioning, a loyal customer base and is very well recognised. It also has its own distinctive handwriting and while it sits at the top end of the market its price points are also attainable."
Designed by UK architects Adam Brinkworth and Brinkworth Limited London and including design features from Karen Millen's flagship store on Regent Street, London, the concession stores would be staffed by Karen Millen trained personnel and sit alongside Myer's high end Australian brands, Coomber confirmed.
Aesthetics Group director Shaf Dewani said the company chose Myer as a partner after considerable due diligence.
"Myer brings unrivalled brand and customer reach in the Australian market and with 65 stores nationally, is the market leader in Australian retailing for premium brands. With the reinvestment and refurbishment program being undertaken under the new team, Myer is now a retailer we feel very comfortable aligning our brand with."
Launched in Australia in 2004 by Aesthetics Group, Karen Millen England operates five stores across Australia and New Zealand including Westfield Bondi Junction, GPO Melbourne, Chapel Street, Chatswood Chase and Auckland.
Along with its launch into Myer, this year would also see the opening of Karen Millen's fifth Australian stand alone store in Melbourne shopping centre Westfield Doncaster. This would be followed by the expansion of the brand's retail stand alone stores, with Karen Millen boutiques opening in Perth city and Chadstone shopping centre, Melbourne.
Meanwhile, another Aesthetics owned brand, French designer luxury label Paul & Joe, will open its first Melbourne store on March 6. Located in the high end precinct of Toorak Village, the boutique will house the brand's entire ready to wear collection, including shoes and accessories.