Dive Brief:

• Continuing to widen its reach, apparel brand UpWest is opening three new stores, according to information sent to Retail Dive. A Boulder, Colorado, location will open Saturday, while a Bellevue, Washington, store will open Aug. 26. A third location will open on Sept. 9, in Nashville, Tennessee. 
• Each store will offer the full assortment of UpWest’s collection, including men’s and women’s apparel, and home goods like outdoor accessories, candles, throw pillows and blankets.
• UpWest also announced it is co-creating a capsule collection with the Aura app this winter that will feature QR codes connecting to curated Aura meditations. 

Dive Insight:

With the upcoming store openings, Express is planting roots for its subsidiary, UpWest. 

“These locations will offer our customers a genuine brand experience while supporting local organizations,” Jamie Schisler, chief comfort officer of UpWest, said in a statement. “We can’t wait to share UpWest’s mission and inspire shoppers in these cities to be part of our vision for a better, more compassionate world through our Give Back programs.” 

UpWest has an ongoing commitment to donate 1% of sales to nonprofits nationwide, and will partner with local organizations in each region it is opening a store. The brand will donate 100% of its sales during each location’s opening weekend. 

Express launched the direct-to-consumer brand in 2019 with comfy clothing for men and women, home goods and wellness products. In March 2022, it introduced an activewear line, Go, that features QR codes connecting customers to meditations, yoga practices and different interactive experiences. 

In its Q1 2023 earnings report, Express reported that net sales declined 15% to $383 million from $451 in the year ago period, while comp sales for the quarter fell 14%. UpWest, though, had a “terrific quarter,” with sales up 29%, more than doubling in the last two years, according to Express CEO Tim Baxter. 

”UpWest continues to do very, very well, primarily driven by its digital business and a strong wholesale partnership with Nordstrom,” Baxter said in May on an earnings call with analysts. “Same thing is true in UpWest stores. We’re seeing large numbers of new customers come to us through UpWest stores and digital sales in surrounding zip codes increasing around the UpWest stores.”