Dive Brief:
- As it seeks a permanent location in New York, Aviator Nation opened its first pop-up shop in New York City on Friday, according to an announcement email to Retail Dive.
- The pop-up shop will run from Friday until Dec. 18 and will feature T-shirts, outerwear, sweats and new collections that the brand released over Thanksgiving. The store has murals designed by the company’s founder, Paige Mycoskie, per the announcement.
- Mycoskie is planning to tour neighborhoods in New York City for the brand’s ideal permanent location, the company said.
Dive Insight:
Aviator Nation has opened up its pop-up location alongside the launch of its Winter 2022 collection, which features oversized hoodies and sweatsuits. The store also highlights its new Wild Collection, complete with cheetah, zebra and tiger prints, as well as “unique color combinations” of its outwear jackets that will be exclusive to the SoHo pop-up.
“Behind California, New York City is the brand’s most heavily requested store location. Aviator Nation’s online shop sells to New York almost as much as California so it’s clear there are a lot of brand loyalists in the city,” a company spokesperson said via email to Retail Dive. “Paige feels like it’s finally the right time to meet the brand’s East Coast fans and she is super excited to bring Aviator Nation to SoHo for the next two weeks to celebrate the holidays.”
Direct-to-consumer brands have been eyeing physical storefronts to draw in customers and showcase their products offline. For DTC brands, selling to consumers via brick-and-mortar locations is part of their plan to reach profitability, pushing brands to pivot toward the strategy they initially sought to circumvent.
Alongside Aviator Nation, other brands, including Allbirds and Hanky Panky, have been opening up stores in New York this year. Vuori, a DTC fitness wear brand, unveiled its first flagship location in New York in mid-October, a move it made after opening its first international store in London.
