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Pologeorgis Furs Launches E-commerce Site
Pologeorgis Furs has launched an e-commerce site for its signature collection.
By Sharon Edelson Plus Icon
Sharon Edelson
Senior Editor, Specialty Retail
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Pologeorgis Furs, which is known for its collaborations with designers such as Michael Kors, Ralph Rucci and Zac Posen, has launched an e-commerce site at www.pologeorgis.com for the company's modern and sometimes edgy signature collection.
"The Web site is my next step in trying to promote and brand Pologeorgis," said Nick Pologeorgis, whose late father, Stanley, founded the company 54 years ago. "Manufacturing is my strength by far. We're here to focus on that. This is a little addition. I wanted to elevate the Pologeorgis label. It's a look at how fur can be done in a clean, sporty way."
Pologeorgis' fall 2015 collection includes outerwear and accessories for women and men, and soon, home products. The online offerings consist of mink, fox, American raccoon, shearling and coyote, among other furs and skins. A coat with black-dyed raccoon on the top and natural gray fox on the bottom, priced at $7,995, is the most expensive item on the site. Other styles include a red fox vest for $2,995, a cardigan made from knitted rabbit, $895, and a white rabbit shrug, $650.
A black cotton-blend exterior cargo coat lined with rabbit and with a fox-trimmed hood, is available for men and women at $2,195. There's also a wool-blend hooded cargo vest lined with chinchillalike rabbit fur, $995. The coat and the vest have technical details and are part of the Pologeorgis Expedition collection. So is a wool-blend cropped bomber jacket lined with sheared mink and an oversize black fox wing collar, $1,795.
Pologeorgis charged the design team with creating unique, multipurpose outerwear. One of the results is a two-in-one coat, black ironed Merino shearling above the waist and black grooved lamb to the floor. The coat can be turned into a jacket by unfastening the exposed waistline zipper. The bottom half can be zipped off and used as a blanket.
The collection will be wholesaled strategically. "Going forward, we'll try to work with some stores," Pologeorgis said. "I don't want to compete against any of my customers. I'm not looking to open a retail store. Fur is a pretty broad category. I'm not looking to duplicate what [the designers] do. For example, I'm not going to sell a $150,000 sable piece online. That's not the purpose. We make $250,000 sable coats and sell them through the designers.
"You can start out with little key chains or scarves or iPad cases," Pologeorgis said, referring to a fox pom pom key fob for $55, calf calf hair pouches in camel or black, $315 to $690, and knitted fox cowels, $795. "They're easy lifestyle pieces that you want to buy right away." Fur blankets and fur-covered pillows will soon be launched to round out the lifestyle concept.
"We made a lot of inventory to back up the business," said Pologeorgis, estimating that the collection will do $500,000 in sales in its first year. "It's a learning experience. We're testing digital advertising."
Pologeorgis admitted that fur has become an increasingly competitive arena. "We're definitely experts at it," he said. "We're careful and we care about our product. A lot of products are made here in New York. I travel around to buy the furs myself."