Kontoor begins dual-branded store roll-out in Berlin
Kontoor Brands has opened the doors to the first in a series of dual-branded retail store footprints planned for Europe along Berlin’s Tauentzienstrasse shopping artery.
Dedicated to the Greensboro, North Carolina-based group’s flagship denim labels, Lee and Wrangler, the approximately 150-square-metre space operates under a joint fascia, with separate window displays and frontages reserved for each brand to communicate its creative DNA.
Visual merchandising informed by either company’s heritage will help unify the generally blue-and-grey displays and foster an “immersive” environment, Kontoor said. Recycled denim elements have been incorporated at point of sale, it added, alongside use of "heritage materials" and imagery especially relevant to the two labels.
Lee’s 101 line has its own dedicated area, for example, as part of a wider strategy to position the brand as a premium, archive-led company. Meanwhile, intense red hues and indigo blue tones dominate Wrangler’s marketing in line with its bolder and more youthful positioning, the company suggested.
“Europe continues to be a key market for expansion for the Lee and Wrangler brands. The new dual-branded stores will create a powerful platform to excite and engage our growing European consumer base,” commented executive vice-president, co-chief operating officer and global brand president at Lee, Chris Waldeck.
Although the Berlin store’s focus is jeans, with jeanswear from both brands – categorised by gender and fit – dominating the main space, non-denim apparel is interspersed among the collections. More denim options also open up as customers flow into a special “denim room”, where different kinds of denims are stacked high.
Image: Kontoor Brands.
