Dive Brief:
- Continuing its push into physical retail, Studs on Friday opened a store at New York’s Rockefeller Center, marking the brand’s sixth store in the city, per company officials.
- At 1,457 square feet, the Rockefeller Center location is its largest studio in New York City and about twice the size of an average Studs studio, the company said. It will offer a variety of earrings to encourage customers to take part in Stud’s earscaping experience, which it describes as “the art and science of personalized ear piercings and earring stacking, resulting in a form of unique self-expression.”
- Studs, which currently sports 23 locations, is planning to open 10 additional studios this year, including in San Diego, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boston, New York and Washington, D.C.
Dive Insight:
Launched in 2019, Studs was forced to close its stores for a period during the pandemic and shifted its focus to digital sales until it could open new studios in April 2021. Since then, it has quickly scaled its brick-and-mortar footprint.
“Since opening our first Studs Studio in Nolita in 2019 through today when we opened our sixth NYC location at Rockefeller Center, we’ve continued to see increased demand in New York for ear piercing services from tourists and locals alike,” Anna Harman, Studs co-founder and CEO, said on Friday in an email. “We’re excited to expand our national studio count by 10 locations this year, as we’ve proven our masspirational earscaping concept translates across cities, suburbs, premium shopping centers, and college towns.”
The company uses several factors to identify new studio locations, like seeking out neighborhoods with Gen Z and millennial populations, shopping areas with strong foot traffic from locals and tourists, and what its proximity is to trendy and popular restaurants, hotels, coffee shops and boutiques.
Single piercing services at Studs start at $35 plus the cost of the jewelry. The brand carries around 250 different styles of earrings, which are priced from $30 to $275. Once a consumer gets pierced, 40% return for another purchase, per the company.
The brand boasts celebrities such as Emma Chamberlain, Dixie D’Amelio and Rosalía as previous customers. In addition to social media marketing on Instagram and TikTok, Studs uses in-studio promotions to encourage customers to visit and get new ear piercings. Last month ahead of Valentine’s Day, Studs ran a “piercing pal” promotion, treating friends or couples who came in for piercings together to get half off the service fee.
Studs’ retail store expansion comes at a time when there has been a resurgence of piercing catering to a younger demographic. DTC brand Rowan has steadily been growing its footprint as well, most recently opening up just outside of Washington, D.C. on Bethesda Row. The brand has over 40 locations across the country.
