Sears launches celebrity branding unit with Adam Levine, Nicki Minaj

Sears Holdings Corp. has launched a new business unit, Shop Your Way Brands, aimed at creating and selling celebrity-driven fashion and lifestyle brands.

Pop Stars Adam Levine and Nicki Minaj, who moonlight as judges on popular TV shows "The Voice" and "American Idol," respectively, are the first collections to be launched by the unit. The Hoffman Estates-based retailer will use its Shop Your Way loyalty rewards program to market the brands to consumers. It will be available exclusively on the ShopYourWay.com Web site and at Kmart.

"We've already seen tremendous initial fan enthusiasm about the Adam Levine and Nicki Minaj apparel lines on ShopYourWay.com, with thousands of members following Adam and Nicki long before their products are available," Eddie Lampert, chairmand and CEO of Sears Holdings, said in a statement.

The unit will be lead by Bernt Ullmann, CEO of Star Branding, a New York-based company that helps celebrities license their names to product lines, such as apparel, fragrance, jewelry and accessories. Designer Tommy Hilfiger is a partner in the company, which, in 2010, helped pop star Jennifer Lopez license her name to a women's apparel and accessories line at Kohl's.

Sears already sells merchandise branded by famous names such as the Kardashian sisters and television stars Sophia Vergara and Jacklyn Smith.

crshropshire@tribune.com | Twitter:@corilyns