Dive Brief:

• Untuckit is adding 14 new stores this year in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. with plans to have nearly 100 locations by the end of 2024, per a release sent to Retail Dive.
• The first seven stores are scheduled to open by May, starting with three in the Southern California area at Brea Mall, The Shops at Mission Viejo and Del Amo Fashion Center. Other stores will open in Georgia, Florida, New Jersey and New York.
• Untuckit’s new stores will carry just the brand’s men’s collection and range in size from 1,400 to 2,500 square feet.

Dive Insight:

The planned retail expansion pushes Untuckit closer to hitting the 100-store milestone.

The DTC apparel brand in 2017 had previously said it intends to open 100 locations by 2022. While Untuckit founder Chris Riccobono believes brick-and-mortar is critical to its growth, the timing of its expansion needed to make sense.

"We believe expanding retail is how we'll bring Untuckit to every household in America and beyond. But timing is critical,” Riccobono said in an email. “We used AI to process all the critical data and create models that show us the best time to open. That's the track we're currently on, and it's very exciting."

In addition to the Southern California stores, the brand in May will open at the Mall of Georgia Ford in Buford, Georgia; Coconut Point in Estero, Florida; Menlo Park Mall in Edison, New Jersey; and the Walt Whitman Shops in South Huntington, New York. The new stores will expand Untuckit’s national footprint by 8.6% by this summer, and the company is aiming to achieve 17% growth by year-end, per the company.

Untuckit is considering stores in other parts of the country and overseas, including North America and Europe, and it is “reviewing all opportunities. We see some markets opening stores in more traditional ways, while others could take a less conventional approach,” the company said in an email.

The brand’s brick-and-mortar expansion comes as other digitally native brands build out their own footprints. Running brand On last week announced plans of its own to open 100 stores in the coming years.

“Despite the digital era’s allure, in-store is still the superior shopping channel for consumers purchasing apparel,” David Schneidman, senior director of retail at Alvarez & Marsal, said in an email. “Data from our latest consumer sentiment survey (Spring 2024) shows that when actually making an apparel purchase, 57% of consumers still prefer the tactile experience. This result is consistent across all age groups and income brackets.”

Back in 2017, Untuckit announced it had secured a $30 million investment earmarked for retail expansion and merchandising efforts. There are no immediate plans for additional funding and the company said it has been profitable for the past two years. 

Aside from opening stores, Untuckit last fall formed a partnership with Destination XL to launch a capsule collection.