Saks, Bloomingdale's roll out lower-priced private labels

Today's Wall Street Journal announces that Saks Fifth Avenue is introducing 'The Men's Collection,' an in-house line of menswear that will be in all the chain's stores by August.

And Bloomingdale's is also turning up the volume on its own branded men's goods, revamping and relaunching their signature collection as 'The Men's Store,' which will pop up in Bloomie's outposts nationwide by fall.

The advantage of rolling out these private labels now? You guessed it -- both stores are hoping to attract customers with pricing that's drastically discounted compared to that of the stores' designer wares. Saks' 'Men's' will cost up to 50% less than its couture counterparts; Bloomingdale's 'Men's,' 30% to 40%.