• Women’s Wear Daily, Wednesday, April 23, 2008 10:30 AM

More than 35% of the $26.3 billion in sales Macy's did last year is in brands that are exclusive to it or in limited distribution, including its private label INC line, Martha Stewart Collection, Donald Trump's line and diffusion lines such as T Tahari. And half of J.C. Penney's sales come from its private label offerings, including the new American Living launch by Polo Ralph Lauren's Global Brand Concepts, plus exclusive diffusion lines.

Vendors must take heed of the dangers to committing exclusively to a single department store--take the fate of O Oscar, which lasted only three seasons at Macy's, or Liz Claiborne, which saw its space at Macy's shrink after it created Liz & Co. for J.C. Penney.

But the rewards can be great. Macy's honcho Terry Lundgren points to Tommy Hilfiger--which will become exclusive to the retailer come August--as "a home run idea" that's "a far cry" from the shrinking role the line has had at the retailer in recent years.

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