Dive Brief:

• For the first time since 2021, travel brand Away is opening a new retail store located in San Jose, California, according to details shared with Retail Dive.
• The new brick-and-mortar store is expected to open on Friday and a grand opening event is scheduled for May 6, which will include giveaways, food, a gift with purchase and more. Proceeds from purchases made during the grand opening event will be donated to the non-profit Global Glimpse.
• In addition to the San Jose location, Away also said it plans to open a store in Washington, D.C.’s Georgetown neighborhood later this summer. The brand already has 13 locations globally.

Dive Insight:

Away’s latest opening in Santana Row is its first since it debuted a Seattle store two years ago, according to the company. The new location follows reporting from Bloomberg in February that the brand was exploring strategic options including a possible sale of the business. Away declined to comment on the reported sale.

The luggage brand is currently in a "strategic, return to growth" position and aims to meet customers where they are with its physical footprint expansion. Away has focused on blending digital and physical experiences and says that 70% of its customers are actively seeking out this omnichannel approach.

Every new store opening generates a 150% lift in e-commerce within the respective market, according to the brand.

The direct-to-consumer brand had experienced a hit at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with sales dropping 90% within a few weeks, the company said in a Medium post in April 2020. Since then, Away has experienced somewhat of a comeback as its performance between the Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday holidays in 2022 was almost double that of 2021 and 60% above 2019 levels.

Away has also switched up some of its C-suite since 2020. Its latest move was appointing former Foxtrot executive Carla Dunham to the chief marketing officer position in January. Away’s chief financial officer stepped down in November to become the company’s president, without an immediate successor identified. Additionally, the CEO role has experienced a slew of changes, with co-founder Jen Rubio being the latest to take on the role in April 2021.