Shopping Center Business is the leading monthly business magazine for the retail real estate industry.
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ONLINE RETAIL 132 • SHOPPING CENTER BUSINESS • December 2017 has situated seven outlets in these New York City locations: Lower Manhattan (Brookfield Place); two SoHo sites; the Meatpacking District; Midtown; the Up- per East Side; and Boerum Hill in Brook- lyn. Warby Parker plans a new Rockefeller Center store this winter. • Rent the Runway is another illuminat- ing example of clicks-to-brick retailing. Founded as a click-only enterprise in 2009, its "fashion subscription" business model offered on-demand rentals of de- signer dresses and accessories for up to four days or eight days, or indefinitely. But by 2015, the founders decided to satisfy the more-or-less primal yearnings of customers wishing to view inventory in person, prior to purchase. Rent the Run- way proceeded to open a flagship store on West 15th Street in Manhattan. And in a recent New York Post interview, CEO Jen- nifer Hyman indicates that "business has been up 100 percent" since the opening. The retailer now has four other stores: Georgetown, Chicago, San Francisco (paired with Neiman Marcus) and Los Angeles (Topanga/Woodland Hills). • Founded in 2011, The RealReal is as an online apparel, jewelry and fine arts retailer focused on high-end, luxury con- signment items sold at discount. It trades in such uber-brands as Chanel, Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Dior Homme, Tom Ford and David Yurman. Last spring, CEO Julie Wainwright told TechCrunch, "Some had heard of us but they hadn't shopped because they didn't understand the quality. So now we're opening our first real store in Soho [in Manhattan]." Buoyed by the success of its Manhat- tan pop-up store last holiday season, The RealReal will open its 80 Wooster Street store – with café – this winter. Others around the country are also planned. • In 2010, Birchbox started as a sub- scription-based, online beauty product company sending female customers a monthly product sampler "box." It also serves a male clientele. Birchbox' sole store location is on West Broadway in SoHo. It opened in 2014. Crossover brands are predominantly choosing "downtown" locations south of 34th Street. These neighborhoods — Flat- iron, the Meatpacking District, SoHo, and Brooklyn — tend to be populated by a younger, fashion-conscious consumer whose profile might better parallel the companies' online following. As other e-commerce brands begin to view physical stores as an organic ex- Bonobos has opened its Guideshops in select markets throughout the country. The locations allow customers to try on and order clothes with guidance from store personnel. Even with the well-publicized uptick in its inventory of available retail space, New York City remains the market of choice for brands aiming to create or elevate a meaningful national profile.