Hispanic Happenings

Sears, Roebuck and Co. (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) is reshaping its apparel division and making a stronger play for minority shoppers by, for the first time, tying a clothing line to a celebrity, reports the Chicago Tribune.

In September, Sears will introduce women's clothing by Lucy Pereda, who has been dubbed the Hispanic Martha Stewart. The clothing line will target shoppers at least 25 years old and will have a colorful flair appealing to shoppers of all backgrounds.

Pereda hosts a popular television show and a radio program that focus on cooking, decorating and entertaining.

“It's part of the repertoire we're doing in merchandising and marketing to respond to Hispanics,” says Sara LaPort, Sears' chief of strategy. “Hispanics are a very fast-growing segment of the population and a very strong asset with Sears.”

Hispanics accounted for nearly half the U.S. population growth in the last two years, according to an estimate the Census Bureau released Wednesday. Hispanics are the nation's largest minority group, numbering 38.8 million as of July 2002, an increase of nearly 10 percent since April 2000.

Sears is one of many retailers reaching out to the Hispanic community. Kmart is introducing a line of merchandise branded with pop singer Thalia this year, while Hallmark Cards makes Spanish-language greeting cards and Domino's Pizza has created a Spanish version of its web site.

The Lucy Pereda clothing line will be available at 227 Sears stores where 15 percent of the population within a 10-mile radius is Hispanic.

Partnering with a lifestyle personality such as Pereda gives Sears an opportunity to expand the clothing line into other merchandise categories, similar to the approach Kmart has taken with Martha Stewart. “It's certainly something we'd explore,” LaPort says.

The retailer also intends to add a junior clothing line for its urban-themed P. Miller in July. The line caters to African-American men and children.

The apparel changes come shortly after Sears revamped its home-appliance department to offer a broader selection of lower-priced products and more items that can be carted home the same day. Now it is refocusing on its clothing division.

Sears is in the midst of a program to revamp all 870 stores the company has in shopping malls across the U.S. Sears executives are concentrating on strengthening the retail side to replace the credit card division, put up for sale in March.

Pereda has contributed to the retailer's Spanish-language magazine, which has a distribution of 865,000 copies. While Sears does not disclose how many of its shoppers are minorities, executives say it is the leader among Hispanic shoppers. In 2000, Hispanics spent $2.8 billion at Sears. Last year's total was $3.4 billion.

“We're on a multiyear path,” says LaPort. “As we move forward with our full-line stores, the multicultural consumer has a very important part.”