Celebrity Clothing Lines Hanging By a Thread
Filed under: Apparel, Celebrity Design
Thanks to the imploding economy, once-thriving clothing lines from celebs like Sarah Jessica Parker (above), Ashley Judd, Venus Williams and LL Cool J could quite possibly go out of business, AdAge reports. Following the worst holiday shopping season in four decades, numerous retailers that partnered with the star's brands are going bankrupt or being liquidated, taking the celebrity clothing lines with them. "Even before the economy went bad, the market became over-saturated with celebrity brands," Victoria Brynner, CEO of Stardust Visions, a boutique entertainment-marketing service that brokers celebrity endorsements, tells the magazine. And Dan Butler, VP of merchandising and retail operations at the National Retail Federation, says more celeb lines will inevitably disappear.
Among the high-profile victims so far:
• Sarah Jessica Parker's Bitten clothing is left without a retail partner, as the Steve and Barry chain went bankrupt int November and will liquidate all 270 of its stores this year.
• Tennis ace Venus Williams' Eleven line, Amanda Bynes' Dear line, and surfer Laird Hamilton's Wonderwall brand are all casualties of Steve & Barry's bustup as well.
• Ashley Judd's eponymous clothing line will likely go down with Goody's, which is being liquidated with rights to Judd's brand being auctioned off along with Goody's bankrupted stores.
• LL Cool J's apparel line is on life support at Sears, and is now being advertised at up to 50% off online. Same-store sales at Sears were down 12.8% in December.
