Dive Brief:
- Adding another store to its retail portfolio, apparel brand Buck Mason opened its first Chicago store in the Lincoln Park neighborhood.
- The Chicago location, which opened on March 4, is the brand's 23rd store, according to a press release emailed to Retail Dive.
- The store features T-shirts, sweats, leather jackets, Japanese denim jeans and other items from its men's and women's clothing assortment.
Dive Insight:
Buck Mason joins a growing list of DTC brands opening brick-and-mortar stores to reach more customers. The brand made its Chicago debut because the city had become one of its most important markets, according to Buck Mason co-founder Erik Allen Ford.
Co-founder Sasha Koehn added to that sentiment. “Lincoln Park feels like the perfect neighborhood for us and we can’t wait for everyone to see and wear Buck Mason in person,” Koehn said in a statement. “We are grateful that we were able to find a great space with a rich history and look forward to becoming a positive addition to the community.”
Another brand recently chose to expand its Chicago-area presence: Wilson Sporting Goods. The sports apparel and gear retailer opened two stores last year in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood and the nearby suburb of Oak Brook.
Meanwhile, other brands, including Scotch & Soda, and Glossier, have debuted stores in new cities in recent years. For brands like ThirdLove, Warby Parker and Ray-Ban, Los Angeles has been a go-to city for expanding offline.
Though DTC brands have been pursuing brick-and-mortar stores to generate profits, the results have been mixed so far. A year ago, Allbirds opened a 7,100-square-foot storefront in New York City’s Flatiron District, its third location in the city. In its third-quarter earnings report last year, the company said its revenue rose 16%, but its losses surpassed $25 million, almost double its losses from the year-ago period. GlobalData Managing Director Neil Saunders at the time said these results were “disappointing given that physical store numbers have doubled since last year.”
