Dive Brief:

• Following a 15-year hiatus, Limited Too on Friday debuted in Kohl’s stores nationwide and the retailer’s website, according to an announcement from the tween-focused apparel brand.

• The initial offering includes athleisure, sportswear, plaid skirts and dresses. Limited Too said it also plans to venture into new categories like swimwear. The brand reunited with its original designers to ensure its relaunched collection reflects its “spirit, craftsmanship and creativity,” according to the company.

• In addition to Limited Too, Kohl’s is adding a new assortment from Aéropostale and an expanded assortment from Madden Girl, the retailer said in a Friday announcement.

Dive Insight:

Limited Too believes that renewed interest in Y2K fashion will drive attention to its own revival.

“We are thrilled to announce the return of Limited Too, a brand with a rich heritage that has long been cherished by tweens and their families,” Sammy Gabbay, Limited Too’s senior vice president of licensing and business development, said in a statement. “Our team is dedicated to honoring this legacy by ensuring that every product is crafted with the utmost attention to detail and designed to resonate with today’s tween market.”

Limited Too was established in 1987. It was formerly part of L Brands, and was one of two Limited spinoffs, the other dubbed “Limited Express” when it launched in 1980. Today, Limited Too is owned by B. Riley Financial and brand management company Bluestar Alliance, which also owns Justice, Hurley. Bebe and Scotch & Soda, among other brands. 

Limited Too teased its comeback with a June 3 Instagram post. The brand’s Instagram had drawn nearly 51,000 followers as of Monday.

“It’s been incredibly rewarding to relive the magic of Limited Too and infuse that nostalgic charm into our new collection,” design manager Petra Kennedy said in a statement. “Each piece is designed to bring back fond memories for those who grew up with the brand while introducing that same magic to a new generation.”

Kohl’s is revamping its merchandise strategy by focusing on consistent newness, developing more store-in-store partnerships, and trying to woo younger consumers into its approximately 1,100 stores. In March, Kohl’s CEO Tom Kingsbury said adding beauty brand Sephora at the department store is helping to drive growth for the company

The decision to add Limited Too to Kohl’s is rightly placed because of its strong heritage and brand interest, according to Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, “However, success will come down to execution,” Saunders said in emailed comments to Retail Dive. 

“Kohl’s needs to make some noise about Limited Too and its other new brands and it needs to create excitement in store. If the product is simply shoved into Kohl’s messy and dispiriting stores, then it will fall flat. Kohl’s also needs to think about how to get Millennial moms shopping in Kohl’s for themselves and not just their kids. That’s a real challenge and one that the company hasn’t yet resolved,” Saunders said.

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