Collections Etc. Parent Launches Apparel Catalog, Website

The parent company of low-priced gifts cataloger Collections Etc. is getting into the women’s apparel business. Winston Brands unveiled Samantha’s Style Shoppe with a website launched Aug. 1 and a print catalog mailed the following week.

Winston Brands plans to drop seven Samantha’s Style Shoppe catalog mailings for this year, with circulation ranging from 500,000 to 2 million. The brand’s offering includes dresses, slacks, coats, lingerie, jewelry and shoes—apparel options its customers have been asking for, says Todd Lustbader, founder/CEO of Winston Brands.

While the company has offered apparel in Collections Etc., “we wanted to strengthen and solidify our offering to meet the customer need,” he says. What’s more, Lustbader says, “we wanted to offer a brand new apparel resource that combines true value with style in the proposition.”

For instance, all of Samantha’s Style Shoppe’s products are priced at $29.99 or less. Collections Etc. has a similar strategy, with items priced at less than $14.99.

Lustbader founded the company in 1997 with Collections Etc.; he changed the corporate name to Winston Brands in late 2010 to prepare for several spin-off catalogs this year.

In addition to Collections Etc. and Samantha’s Style Shoppe, the company includes home decor spinoff Mallory Lane, household gadgets mailer How Helpful and garden products title Nature’s Touch Catalog.

How Helpful, Nature’s Touch and Mallory Lane all launched in April. All of the brands initially mailed catalogs, but Lustbader says no additional catalog mailings are currently planned for How Helpful and Nature’s Touch.