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• May 28, 2008
• Shop Talk

[Urban] Fashions for the Craftsman Set, Sears Loves Cool James

By Gabriel Bell

Those of you with you ears to the blocks may have already heard from yo' boys that James Todd Smith III (otherwise known as LL Cool J) has partnered with noted mid-range refrigerator supplier Sears for a line of casual separates for men, women and all them little shorties (trans. "juniors".) Now, now -- we all know that you're concerned that this might undermine Mr. Cool J's precious "street cred." Not to worry. As WWD reports, it is exactly LL's cred that attracted Sears in the first place. "We are going to take a lot more risks in juniors," said Irv Neger, Sears' Senior Vice President of Apparel. He continues, "We know this [urban] customer is in the store, but it's a customer we weren't reaching." A great market strategy, indeed. But we've been scratching our heads all morning wondering exactly what "[urban]" means and what word might have preceded it in those fetching brackets. Send your guesses to Sears Public Relations And Communications at (847) 286-8371.