The Kats Report Bureau at this writing is Monkey Bar at SLS Las Vegas, where over Labor Day Weekend we noticed the removal of the Fred Segal signs at the shops around the hotel. And this week, it has been confirmed that SLS has split with the upscale, Los Angeles-based fashion retailer.
The final day of operations for Fred Segal at SLS was Aug. 28.
For the hotel’s first year of operations, Fred Segal was the exclusive clothing and accessories retailer at SLS. The hotel now has other plans, as the official announcement was made by a Fred Segal spokeswoman, who offered this statement:
“SLS Las Vegas and Fred Segal have enjoyed a productive collaboration over the past year, through which thousands of people were exposed to the Fred Segal brand as part of the SLS experience. I can confirm that SLS has now transitioned the resort’s retail offerings from the Fred Segal Collective to other concepts.”
The hotel is retaining Marshall Retail Group to furnish its inventory of existing stores at SLS. Marshall also was in an operating partnership with the hotel and SLS up until the recent management changes. Remaining are the stores Etc., Goods and Her. Two of the stores — Jeans and He — are being converted into a Code Program desk and box office, and also a high-limit slot room.
The need for such options shows that the hotel is filling a need for increased gaming on the property. SLS President Scott Kreeger noted this week that the slot and table-game customer base at the hotel is growing.
But those players are not always shoppers. It had become evident by the time SLS entered its first anniversary in August that Fred Segal and the hotel’s clientele were not a great fit. The brand’s loyal customers visiting from Southern California could find Fred Segal attire and accessories in Los Angeles. Local customers — a notoriously value-conscious lot — were not typically seeking attire at the lofty prices posted by Fred Segal, regardless of the products’ high quality.
“If you look at the price point, it’s a pretty high price point; it’s a little hard on the wallet,” Kreeger said in an interview in July. He said the Fred Segal brand itself was a proven commodity, but asked about the cost, he said, “Is it in alignment with the price points and sensibility of some of our customers? It isn’t.”
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWiththeDish.
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