Tahari Relaunches Shoes and Bags as Part of Licensing Strategy

Like many major sportswear brands, Tahari, now 50, has its own licenses and moves across categories. And the Bluestar Alliance business plans to relaunch its fashion footwear, bags and small leather goods line this spring with Fantasia Accessories.

There are currently 39 licenses in total; Bluestar executives declined to comment on annual volume of licensed products, but Tahari’s biggest categories are womenswear, nightwear and intimates, home and outerwear, according to a Bluestar spokesperson. The spokesperson attributes their strength to the brand’s DNA, heritage, design and quality.

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Elie Tahari told WWD in a 2019 interview that at the time, his collection and licensed products were expected to generate $1 billion in retail sales.

Over the years, many of the licensed businesses have changed hands. Outerwearfor example, while it’s now licensed to Levy Group, in the late ’90s Tahari outerwear was licensed to Synergy Sport International, a large manufacturer in Hong Kong. At the time, it was expected to have first-year sales of $100 million. Levy Group executives declined to comment for this article. In 2007—before Levy Group acquired the outerwear license in 2018—the category was licensed to S. Rothschild & Co.

Tahari’s licensed categories are distributed through other distribution outlets, including Saks, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s. The footwear relaunch will include dress shoes, loafers, flip-flops, sandals and boots.

There are also plans to add more categories for men, such as footwear and sportswear. Where possible, the spokesperson said, the aim was to develop the menswear range with existing licensees and follow the same strategic approach. The brand’s womenswear licensee, Republic Clothing Group, will look after menswear. “You’re going to see a lot of things happening in menswear next year,” said Ralph Gindi, Bluestar’s chief operating officer and co-founder.

Tahari’s new collection of bags and small leather goods with Fantasia Accessories launched three weeks ago. Initially, the line will be sold at discount retailers such as TJ Maxx, Marshall’s and Nordstrom Rack, according to Fantasia president Eddie Azar. Hobo bags, totes and crossbody bags are among the 100-style line that will retail for about $14.99 for wallets to $59.99 for handbags. The collection will ship in stores in February. While the deal is multiyear, Azar said he aims to have it for “a very long time.”

Every retailer that has seen the collection so far has committed, he said. Azar said the first-year volume is projected to be more than $10 million.

“Bluestar is great to work with. They are very supportive of their brands and licensees. We plan to be very successful working with them,” he said.

Tote bags are trending among Tahari customers, who expect multi-handle bags to be “really strong,” according to Azar. “Satchel bags will be good. We’re doing a lot of innovative materials like coated vinyls that are new to the market and are luxurious,” he added.

Describing the new product line as “not a typical line,” Azar said, “We looked for open spaces in the market, used different materials and different bag-in-bag combinations.”

Designed for durability, coated vinyl styles include white options that can be wiped clean to keep them clean. This feature may also appeal to consumers who are especially sensitive to germs post-COVID-19.

Fantasia has been implementing successful strategies, from its Nanette Lepore licensed line to its Tahari line, Azar said. Fantasia plans to develop a more premium leather line next, aimed at retailers such as Macy’s, Dillard’s and Bloomingdale’s, Azar added.

Another licensing partner, IHL Group, singled out children’s nightwear and basics, women’s lingerie and nightwear as popular categories, according to Shannon Spitzfaden, director of public relations and marketing. In 2017, IHL signed a multi-year licensing agreement with Elie Tahari Ltd. to develop, manufacture and distribute men’s, women’s and children’s nightwear and lingerie for the brand. The product line is now available in department stores and specialty stores across North America. At the time of this launch, first-year sales projections were expected to exceed $10 million.

Printed sweatpants from IHL’s licensed Tahari range.

The company has introduced a range of new fabrics, including recycled fabrics, in the past six months. Looking to the future with a focus on providing “the highest quality apparel to our consumers,” IHL will continue to monitor trends and adapt to “this ever-changing fashion industry.”

From his perspective, IHL’s product range for the Tahari series has evolved significantly in the past year. “We are constantly modernizing our aesthetic and using new, high-quality fabrics that would not have been accepted in the industry in previous years. Specific to quality, we use fabrics that produce quality, comfortable elasticity,” Spitzfaden said.

IHL said its “biggest win” so far has been that consumers “have responded positively to our efforts to produce high-quality, comfortable fabrics, including environmentally friendly fabrics such as cotton and recycled fabrics.”

The pandemic, he said, “allowed us to rethink speed to market.”

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