Nordstrom Will Reportedly Pay $350 Million For Trunk Club

Nordstrom is expanding its focus on menswear with the purchase of the Trunk Club Brand, reportedly for $350 million, according to recode.net. The e-Commerce site was founded in 2006 and currently sells approximately 100 brands of men’s apparel.

Trunk Club sent out an email to its customers yesterday, authored by CEO Brian Spaly, stating that: “Nothing changes for us – or the service we offer you – except that we now have an experienced partner to help us improve everything we do.”

Spaly also was the Founder of Bonobos in 2006, another Nordstrom menswear partner. Spaly was pursuing his MBA at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business when he made the foray into the clothing business, because, he said “I could never find pants that fit me well.”

Trunk Club offers online customer service which is comparable to Nordstrom’s well-known dedication to establishing one-on-one relationships with shoppers. After signing up to be a Trunk Club member, customers speak with a stylist over the phone who records the shoppers’ preferences and measurements. Then a “trunk” full of apparel items is delivered to the shopper’s home.

Nordstrom is set to improve Trunk Club’s profitability, which is marginal. A New York Times article reported that Spaly said the company “is on track to double its revenue to slightly more than $100 million” in 2014. One way Nordstrom can help boost Trunk Club’s bottom line is by integrating the brand’s business into Nordstrom’s UPS contract to “take advantage of its larger supply chains and infrastructure.”

Trunk Club currently operates showrooms in Dallas, Washington and Chicago to allow members to see and try on selected items. A fourth location is planned for Los Angeles.