Bloomingdale’s Hopes Consumers Embrace Mr. Grinch
The retailer is tapping into the beloved childhood story, now a film version 2.0.
NEW YORK — Everybody's favorite bad banana is back with his greasy black peel intact, having taken up residence Monday evening throughout the Bloomingdale's 59th Street flagship. The retailer managed to lure the green monster, whose heart is an empty hole and brain is full of spiders, from his perch atop snowy Mount Crumpit. The Grinch is actually on loan to the department store from Illumination and Universal Pictures, whose animated film “The Grinch” opens Friday.
“Bloomingdale's is a place that's of the moment and we look to connect with partners who can help augment the holiday shopping experience,” said Frank Berman, the retailer's executive vice president and chief marketing officer. “Last year, we had Zendaya from ‘ The Greatest Showman.' We continue to partner with entertainment partners and other partners. We want to position ourselves as the gift- giving destination while adding an emotional element.”
In “The Grinch” movie, the title character, a cynical grump voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, undertakes a mission to steal Christmas from the Whos, a naively trusting bunch who are the very embodiment of Christmas.
The film plays a starring role at Bloomingdale's, with the Grinch's story woven through the retailer's holiday catalogue. “Look at how the Grinch is incorporated in such a sophisticated manner,” Berman said. “We have him animated on our web site. He chimes into fashion stories. We love the visualization of him. We took inspiration from the film and presented the Grinch in an over-thetop manner. In the windows, there's a giant image of his head full of green fur. If you get close, you can see he has crazy green eyebrows made from feathers.
“It's not just Grinch, but his dog, Max, who's encrusted in crystals,” Berman said. “The windows have a gift-amatic gift machine transforming items.”
Berman said the enduring appeal of the Grinch story is its ability to “take everyone back to a time in their childhood. You watch the evolution of the Grinch, from this curmudgeon whose miserable life is put in perspective by a small child, Cindy Lou Who. The Grinch is very naughty by nature character, and also a fun and