Trunk Club Stores Are Closing, Being Folded Into Nordstrom Stores
Nordstrom is closing all six of its Trunk Club stores and folding the personalized clothing service into its department stores, Chicago Tribune reported. Nordstrom paid $350 million to buy Trunk Club, a Chicago-based startup, five years ago, with plans to grow the personal shopping business. Erik Nordstrom, CEO of Nordstrom, told the Chicago Tribune that by integrating Trunk Club into Nordstrom stores, it will allow for a better shopping experience for customers, will drive more business, and will be more efficient. He believes this plan will help the retailer reach more customers.
The integration of the Trunk Club stores into Nordstrom will cost the retailer $32 million. In addition to its Chicago location, Trunk Club also has stores in Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C.
Nordstrom plans to fully integrate Trunk Club into Nordstrom stores by the fall, but it's still deciding if the Trunk Club branding will survive the merger.
Trunk Club was founded in 2009 as an e-commerce company that packed professionally selected clothes in trunks to send to men who were looking for an easier way to style themselves. In 2010, Trunk Club opened its first brick-and-mortar store in Chicago to offer personal styling services to men in person, and in 2015 the company expanded to selling to women.
Total Retail's Take: It will be interesting to see how Nordstrom integrates Trunk Club into its stores this fall. Part of what made Trunk Club successful was its branding and how it made customers feel like they were getting a luxury experience that they could afford. If the Trunk Club branding is removed entirely, and it just turns into a Nordstrom personal styling experience, I wonder if customers will be as receptive to the service. Though it will cost Nordstrom $32 million to integrate the Trunk Club service into its department stores, if done properly, it could help the Seattle-based retailer reach a younger customer, an ongoing challenge for the legacy brand.
Ashley Chiaradio is the Senior Content Strategist at Total Retail. Ashley has been creating content for more than 7 years, and provides a unique insight in covering the retail industry having worked directly for retailers in the past. She’s passionate about profiling women leadership in the space.
