eBay Fashion : the branded stores from eBay

eBay told analysts in February, it would launch branded outlet stores on eBay.com later this year, and it provided more information about the shops on Thursday. eBay will launch the Outlet Stores on September 19 and will include Neiman Marcus Last Call, William Rast, Spanx, Fila, Timberland, Brooks Brothers, Bluefly and Custo Barcelona.

eBay said it is working with designers, brands, and retailers "to bring an incredible selection of authentic merchandise to the world's largest online marketplace at compelling price points typically found in bricks and mortar outlet centers."

The eBay Fashion Outlet will be housed in a hub with all of the participating brands and will have its own experience. Shoppers will be able to shop across brands (via "Browse by Brand" box). Via the fashion outlet search results pages, you will be shop across merchandise categories.

Consumer will still be able to search for brands in the main search box even if they are not searching in the outlet hub, according to an eBay spokesperson.

eBay said the outlets would offer a differentiated shopping experience leveraging eBay Creative Director Andrea Linett's trend expertise and personal shopping guidance to editorialize and evolve the consumer experience.

eBay's spokesperson explained that within the Outlet environment, there will be editorial curation similar to how eBay currently editorializes its Fashion homepage. "We are making sure to feature the brands who are on board and offer styling inspiration and tips through our creative director, Andrea Linett."

eBay pitched large brands on the outlets, telling them they could use eBay Outlets to drive incremental sales and extend their reach to outlet shoppers.

The eBay Fashion Outlet will feature both women and men's merchandise, including apparel, handbags, denim and shoes, with a target audience of 25-44 year old female shopping enthusiasts.

eBay launched its UK fashion Outlet in April 2010, which now hosts over 30 high street brands, including Superdry, Ted Baker, Karen Millen, L.K. Bennett, House of Fraser, Schuh, Dune, Office and Kookai. eBay Germany has 26 branded apparel shops featuring merchandise of nearly 120 brands, including Eastpak, Fila, Speedo and Triumph.

Italian Shoe brand ' Rene Caovilla' to debut in China

Targeting well-to-do consumers in Taiwan and free independent travelers from China, Rene Caovilla, an Italian luxury shoe brand, will set up its first foothold at the upscale Bellavita mall in ritzy eastern Taipei this September.

Rene Caovilla will open a flagship store on the second floor of Bellavita, with insiders saying the Italian brand is well-known in the luxury footwear market and its chief designer once created high-heel shoes for the late Princess Diana. The top-end shoes generally retail for NT$20,000-100,000 (US$666-3,333) and some 50,000 pairs were sold globally last year to generate NT$2.5 billion (US$83.33 million) in sales.

Other upscale footwear brands as Bally, Dior, Hermes and Louis Vuitton are reportedly planning expansions in Taiwan. After three decades in Taiwan, Bally has 10 stores island-wide, but will set up three more stores next year to meet potential demand from Chinese FITs, with two in the north, one centrally and another in the south.

A senior Bally executive said, besides hand bags, the brand will promote also clothing as part of its line in Taiwan starting this fall, aiming for a 15% growth in revenues this year on the island.

Hermes has decided to double sales floorage at the Grand Formosa Regent hotel in Taipei, as well as launch Hermes-branded furniture soon. Likewise, LV also plans to double the size of its Taipei 101 store and Dior to establish its world`s largest cosmetics counter across some 21,600 square feet.