New clothing line to debut in more than 300 stores this fall

CINCINNATI — Kroger Co. said on Monday that it will launch a new apparel brand called Dip this fall in more than 300 Fred Meyer and Kroger Marketplace stores.

The new clothing line was developed by fashion designer Joe Mimran, who is known for launching the Club Monaco, Joe Fresh and Pink Tartan apparel brands.

“We’ve worked closely with Joe and his team to develop a line of clothing that works for today’s times – easy to buy, easy to wear, and easy to love. Effortless style, every day of the week,” said Robert Clark, Kroger’s senior vice president of merchandising. “Dip will transform our apparel business, further redefining the customer experience through Restock Kroger.”

Dip is designed to help busy, on-the-go people live with style and get the most out of their fashion dollar, according to the company, which said the flexible collections and seasonal highlights will make creating outfits, or outfitting an entire family, quick and simple. The brand will launch with Men’s, Women’s, Juniors, Kids, and Baby collections.

“Style should be fun,” Mimran said. “We believe good design can be affordable. It should fit into your life, not the other way around.”

The fun approach extended to the name of the clothing brand, he added.

“We looked at Kroger’s unmatched heritage in food. We thought about the fun, easy energy of the clothes. We thought about what makes every gathering better,” Mimran said. “And it just kind of clicked – Dip. Dip is simple, fresh, and goes great with everything.”

Clark noted that the name also evokes the casual way that Kroger expects shoppers to pop into and out of the apparel department, rather than spending hours browsing.

“Great style you can just grab, go, and enjoy, at a great price; that’s the promise,” he said. This is an invitation to ‘Dip into simple. Dip into style.'”

Dip will replace more than a dozen of Kroger’s private-label clothing brands.

“The goal is to connect with our customers in innovative ways through our brands,” Clark said. “Dip enables Kroger to provide a meaningfully better clothing experience, and, ultimately, expand on the products and experiences that you can only get at our stores. Imagine grabbing a few groceries and then being able to dip over to the next aisle and finding your new favorite top or pants.

“Our exciting and innovative apparel vision will inspire our customers, resulting in increased engagement, loyalty, and sales. We’re excited to share Dip with our customers.”