Brand Expansion at Nicole Miller-Assignment #2

By Sophia Chabbott
"Nicole Miller company may be 25 years old, but its loyal consumers are just getting a taste of what it has to offer as a lifestyle brand. In late 2005, chief executive officer Bud Konheim announced the firm's all-out accessories initiative, signing licenses for handbags, footwear, belts and jewelry, as well as other related categories in a bid to boost the brand's revenue by 25 percent. In the past year, the firm has been ironing out the kinks, such as changing its fashion jewelry licensee from Maurice Max to Gigi Accessories, and the accessories seeds sown by Konheim and the Miller team are set to bloom this fall on shelves at Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and other retailers.Categories now include women's shoes produced by Camuto Group, eyewear by Signature, belts with Roma Industries and handbags by NM Designs. Miller also licenses men's shirting and ties with A.W. Chang Corp.; umbrellas, pet products, baby and cosmetic bags with Essex; women's golf accessories with Glove It, and several others for a total of 34 licenses. Included in that queue are 10 licensing agreements to produce home goods for Bed Bath & Beyond, which Liza Saunders, licensing manager at Nicole Miller, said had been a very lucrative niche for the fashion firm.This year also marks the introduction of Nicole Miller fine jewelry. Produced by World Trade Jewelers, based in New York, the line includes gold pendants in Celtic motifs and elaborate crosses encrusted with pavé diamonds. As with all the accessories categories, Miller herself had a huge amount of input in the designs."

Alot of design companies will go this route by getting different companies to produce acessories and other items because it is cheaper for the design company. The licensing company takes on the all the costs of start up and production while the design company just makes royalties, they get the better deal. The only thing that Nicole Miller has to worry about is making sure the acessories match her line and her lifestyle projection. It seems Nicole Miller is ready to have a lifestyle business out there by all the deals she made in 2005 which will be finally ready this season. I think this venture will be successful since there is a Nicole Miller following and she is making sure everything is up to par.

Cristina Gadaleta