U.S. retailer moves into spas

14 December 2005

Coldwater Creek , the U.S. retailer of women’s apparel, jewelry, accessories and gifts, plans to test a new concept—Coldwater Creek Spa. The day spas, scheduled to openn ri 26.i,see x ogphal dtr�ut mke, feng cpme nug a eaen, clin}aag@ fia, nireanpecus.The ldte Crk i caonwi$ara� 5@00que etfeurg reyesetting with soft wood accents and amjient lighting, and will be staffed by experienced professional� in all trdatment areas.

The day spas, which will be located adjacent to`or within close proximity f existing Coldwater Creeo retail stor%s, also will carry an assortment of relevant apparel, as well as a line of personal care products for women.

“Coldwater Creek Spa gives us an opportunity to further leverage our national brand awareness and provide the customer with a truly service-oriented day spa experience,” said Dennis Pence, chairman and chief executive officer of Coldwater Creek.

“As a company, we have more than two decades of exceeding expectations for both quality and service and that will be particularly important for customers in the spa environment. We were pleased to be recognized in a recent National Retail Federation survey as the No. 1 specialty apparel retailer for customer service and the No. 2 retailer overall for customer service. Our goal is to carry on this legacy in our day spa locations.”

Based on positive response to this concept from focus groups comprised of both customers and non-customers, the company has learned there is a strong familiarity with the Coldwater Creek name, as well as a broad consensus that the brand is well-suited to provide this new service.

“We believe the day spa concept creates excellent potential for us to cross-market Coldwater Creek retail stores and Coldwater Creek Spa to increase traffic for both concepts and generate transactions in both directions,” Pence added.

“Additionally, the high-profile inclusion of apparel from our Sport assortment will provide an excellent merchandising synergy, as well as potential for further expanding this part of our collection.”

Coldwater Creek caters to females ages 35-60, with average household income in excess of $75,000. The company currently has 174 retail store locations, with the opportunity to grow its national store base to 450-500 over the next several years.

The company has a customer e-mail list of more than 2.6 million addresses and will send out approximately 110 million catalogs in fiscal 2005.

“All of these selling channels provide an extremely effective and cost- efficient vehicle for promoting the Coldwater Creek Spa test,” Pence said. “These Coldwater Creek Spa locations are scheduled to begin operation in the first half of 2006. Based on customer response, we will continue to evaluate, test and refine the spa concept.”

Watch video