Le Château has partnered with Dress for Success, a not-for-profit organization that promotes economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire.
The Montreal-based retailer will welcome Dress for Success clients at its stores in six cities across Canada. They will be offered vouchers for Le Château’s latest career wear and will receive personalized assistance from in-store stylists. According to Le Château, its annual commitment will exceed $1.4 million.
“The cause is an outstanding one and [with Le Château being] a purveyor of suiting, among other things, it just felt like a perfect fit,” said Franco Rocchi, senior vice-president at Le Château.
While the primary goal is to help disadvantaged women, Rocchi said positioning Le Château as a suit purveyor would be a “nice-to-get” benefit. “We’re relatively new to the career suiting business and [the goal] would be to establish ourselves as a go-to place for people.”
The cause-marketing initiative comes as Le Château is aiming for a comeback. The chain has been struggling in recent years and sales during the second quarter in 2014 were $68.3 million, down almost 10% from the prior year. In 2012, Le Château began a rebranding effort, shifting its focus to older, more upscale consumers. But the chain is still widely known for its inexpensive, trendy clothes geared at young people.
“So many people still see us through different prisms, whether they remember us from the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, or ’90s, and many still carry baggage of Le Château as a purveyor of club clothing,” said Rocchi. “In a macro way, we are repositioning ourselves as a mature fashion brand and I think being the go-to place for suiting will help reinforce that story.”
To promote the Dress for Success partnership, Le Château has teamed up with Hollywood actress Lauren Holly; Quebec singer Guylaine Tremblay; and Erica Diamond, media personality and editor-in-chief of women’s lifestyle blog WomenOnTheFence.com.
Media relations is being handled by Montreal-based MaisonBrison Communications.
