Hy-Vee to sell clothing from Loblaw’s Joe Fresh

Hy-Vee has begun carrying apparel and related products from Loblaw Cos.’ Joe Fresh fashion brand.

The Midwestern supermarket chain said it will offer the affordable fashion line — with items for women, men, children and babies — in a branded Joe Fresh “shop-in-shop” department at selected stores in seven markets in four states.

Product categories and offerings will vary by store, Hy-Vee said in announcing the partnership on Friday. Joe Fresh-branded items will include apparel, accessories, footwear and beauty.

Joe Fresh products will be sold at designated Hy-Vee stores in Des Moines, Iowa; Kansas City, Mo.; Lincoln, Omaha and Grand Island, Neb.; and Minneapolis and Rochester, Minn.

Hy-Vee spokeswoman Christina Gayman said Joe Fresh apparel is now available at some Hy-Vee stores in West Des Moines and Urbandale, Iowa; Robbinsdale, Minn.; and Liberty and Kansas City, Mo. Overall, the grocer expects to have 18 Joe Fresh shops open by mid-September, she said.

The introduction of the Joe Fresh line at Hy-Vee stores marks “the first of its kind to Midwest shoppers,” according to the West Des Moines, Iowa-based retailer.

“Quality clothing, accessories, footwear and beauty will always serve as a top need for the American consumer, which is why we’ve made these solutions available to our shoppers,” Darren Baty, executive vice president of nonfoods at Hy-Vee, said in a statement. “Hy-Vee’s goal is to provide its customers the very best in all lifestyle categories in a convenient and easy-to-shop format.”

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Hy-Vee noted that the launch of Joe Fresh products at its stores represents a shift in the grocery chain’s “clothing retailer of choice.” In 2017, Hy-Vee unveiled a partnership to carry products from F&F, an international fashion retailer with about 750 locations in Central Europe and Asia, in select stores.

“We focus on the evolving lifestyles of our customers, and we continuously look for ways to make our customers’ lives easier, healthier and happier,” Baty explained. “We transitioned our fashion retail partnership to Joe Fresh to offer larger product diversity with Midwestern styles that we believe will be appealing to the Hy-Vee shopper.”

Joe Fresh apparel, accessories and related products are designed to provide flexible fashion with contemporary styles at a smart value. Loblaw Cos., Canada’s largest food and drug retailer, approached fashion designer Joe Mimran, co-founder of the Club Monaco retail chain, to develop a clothing line for its stores in 2004. The first items launched at selected Loblaw Cos. supermarkets in 2006. Joe Fresh later had stores in the United States as well as retail distribution at J.C. Penney, but both operations ended in 2016.

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