Dive Brief:
- DTC jewelry brand Little Words Project is set to open its first-ever mall store at the Mall of America on Saturday.
- Customers at the 1,078-square-foot store will find pre-designed message bracelets, its demi-fine collection — Little Layers — and experience the brand’s signature beading table, where they can create their own pieces by appointment.
- The store marks Little Words Project’s 11th retail location. The brand has nine permanent stores and two pop-up shops.
Dive Insight:
Little Words Project, which just celebrated its 10th anniversary in November, continues to build out its retail footprint.
The company in 2021 opened its flagship store on Bleeker Street in Manhattan’s West Village and has since opened additional locations in places like Boston, Miami and Austin, Texas. And in October 2022, Little Words Project inked a deal with Target to sell an exclusive collection in 900 of the mass merchant’s stores. In addition to its website, branded stores and Target, Little Words Project has wholesale partnerships with select Nordstrom locations as well as Hallmark and Paper Store.
The company earlier this year took “a small, strategic investment from a private investor” intended to help the brand accelerate its retail rollout, according to Little Words Project founder and CEO Adriana Carrig. “We don’t plan to take any additional investments in the near term and are focused on continuing our track record of profitability and hitting our competitive growth targets,” Carrig added.
Though the privately held brand does not disclose financial numbers, the company said it exceeded a $20 million run rate in annual revenue. In October 2022 the company said its marketing efforts resulted in a quadrupling of its e-commerce growth in 2020. That momentum continued, with the brand doubling its e-commerce growth from 2021 to 2023. Little Words Project’s wholesale business also doubled revenue year over year, as of October 2022.
The friendship bracelet has had a major resurgence in popularity this year, some of which is thanks to singer Taylor Swift who sings about the jewelry in her song “You’re On Your Own, Kid.” Carrig acknowledged the bracelet as a leading fashion trend, but says the company’s messaging has always been about more than style.
“Our community wears and shares their Little Words to spread kindness and self-love,” Carrig said. “Our message of kindness was always meant to grow, expand, and touch the lives of as many people as possible, so we couldn’t be more excited to see our central mission being widely celebrated parallel to [Swift].”
Little Words Project has gained the attention of such celebrities as Lance Bass (who gifted the bracelets on stage to Swift at this year’s Video Music Awards show), Sophie Turner, Bella Hadid, Jessie James Decker, Serena Williams, Alicia Keys and Selena Gomez.
