Redcats Testing Plus-Size Title

A new catalog from plus-size apparel retail chain Avenue is actually the brainchild of the Redcats catalog division of French conglomerate Pinault-Printemps-Redoute (PPR). The New York-based multititle apparel and home goods mailer teamed with Avenue’s Rochelle Park, NJ-based parent company United Retail to test the catalog. “Avenue has been very successful in the plus-size market,” says Redcats CEO Eric Faintreny. “Avenue addresses a customer target that we don’t currently address – generally more fashionable and younger.”

The 84-page Avenue catalog began mailing on March 4, but Faintreny would not divulge any further details. Redcats developed the new book, he says, but rather than launch its own title the company wanted to capitalize on Avenue’s strong reputation in plus-size apparel. The Avenue catalog test “makes sense for our company,” Faintreny states. “We want to show our customers that Redcats is actively looking for business growth – looking for strong partners.”

Faintreny would not say, however, whether or not the move to test Avenue is in anticipation of Redcats’ losing its own Lane Bryant plus-size catalog next year. The trademark to that title is scheduled to revert back to Bensalem, PA-based plus-size retailer Charming Shoppes in 2007. Charming Shoppes has owned and operated the Lane Bryant stores since 2001.

The test is not Avenue’s first catalog venture: The retailer mailed an apparel book for nearly three years before shuttering the title in 2003. At the time, the company cited “a difficult outlook” for apparel catalogs, and was planning to rely on its Website to provide support for its stores.