Kmart Ditches 'Plus-Size' Label For 'Fabulously Sized'

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Women who shop for plus-sized clothing will reportedly have a newly named section to visit at Kmart stores.

The retailer is rolling out a "Fabulously Sized" selection for women's clothing at all of the chain's 482 locations, according to industry journal Women's Wear Daily.

Size sections for most of Kmart's in-house brands will reportedly be expanded as high as a size 4X in an effort to make the store's merchandise more inclusive.

Retailers have long branded clothing that goes beyond size 14-16 as "plus-size", but as the average for women's clothing has expanded to size 16-18, so has the demand for "diversity promotion and body positivity", according to a statement from Kmart chief marketing officer Kelly Cook.

"When we reached out to our members on social media, they told us we needed to have a better assortment and that we should call it something different," Cook told Women's Wear Daily. "They absolutely love this whole mantra of 'Fabulously Sized.'"

Kmart has struggled to revamp its image after slumping sales that forced the chain to close more than 60 locations nationwide in 2016, including three locations in the Southland.

Reaction to the brand change was unsurprisingly mixed.