Body acceptance is having a moment, even in retail. This may be because of full-figured women in the spotlight, such as the singer Lizzo, and the model Yumi Nu, the Asian-American plus-sized model featured in this year’s Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. As women break free from the previous year’s lockdowns, they have adopted an “anything goes” attitude, which entails embracing their curvy figures. With the news that the plussized brand, Lane Bryant, is closing at least 150 of its stores, other fashion-conscious brands that cater to this audience are gearing up to open new stores. Look for Torrid, Arula, Savage X Fenty and Ashley Stewart to all increase their real estate footprint.
Torrid, which went public in July 2021 and raised $231M, expects to open approximately 25 new stores per year over the next three years. Torrid was originally going to solely focus on its online growth instead of its brick-and-mortar stores, but with its net sales increasing 34% this year compared to last year, the company is banking on opening new units. As Torrid has shops in all 50 states, expect new stores to be more concentrated in strip centers and power centers, a change from its usual preference for indoor regional center malls. Torrid will search for space in the 3,000-s.f. range, in suburban neighborhood power centers with female-centric bigbox high traffic co-tenants, including Michaels, At Home and HomeGoods. The brand is especially hopeful to benefit from its extended “Torrid Curve” line, its intimates and loungewear brand first introduced in 2018, as Torrid aims to be a “one-stop-shop” for larger-sized women’s needs. Torrid is known for its fashionable, comfortable-yet-slimming clothing, sized 10 to 30, for women aged 25 to 40, and its merchandise includes swimwear, shoes, accessories, sleepwear and formal dresses in addition to casual clothing and intimates.
The Arula brand, an offshoot of the Altar’d State clothing store, anticipates opening at least five standalone stores by the end of 2021 that are not attached to an Altar’d State location. There are currently 17 Arulas attached to an Altar’d State store, which were previously called A Beautiful Soul, but were rebranded this year. In 2022, expect to see up to 10 additional Aurla stores in new markets for the brand, including its first in the state of Wisconsin in the spring of 2022, at the Corners of Brookfield mixed-use development in the town of Brookfield. Other upcoming locations, inline spaces in the 3,500- to 4,000-s.f. range, will be in both enclosed malls and outdoor lifestyle centers. Expect new locations in premier high-traffic malls throughout the U.S. Upcoming stores are expected at The Gardens Mall in Palm Beach, Fla., the Rosedale Center in Roseville, Minn., the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., the Downtown Summerlin mall in Las Vegas, the Mayfaire mall in Wilmington, Tenn., the Station Park mixed-use lifestyle center in Farmington, Utah, and the American Dream mall in East Rutherford, N.J. Preferred co-tenants are other mid- to high-end clothing and jewelry brands, including White House Black Market and Pandora. Depending on the success of these stores, expect to see even more Arulas in additional markets. The ideal customer is the fashion-conscious curvy woman between the ages of 25 and 35, and the brand is known for its fashion-forward clothing in sizes 10 to 24.
Although not necessarily a plus-size-only brand, Savage X Fenty, the lingerie line founded by singer Rihanna, focuses on inclusivity for all body types. The Savage X Fenty brand will be opening its first permanent brick-and-mortar stores by early 2022, with units in the 3,000-s.f. range in top-tier premier malls and lifestyle centers in upscale metros. Expect to see at least five in the immediate future: in The Galleria mall in Houston, the Fashion Show Mall in Las Vegas, the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City in Arlington, Va., the Westfield Culver City mall in Culver City, Calif., and the King of Prussia mall in King of Prussia, Pa. Future sites may include locations in other high-end markets, such as New York City, Chicago, Boston, Seattle, Atlanta, Miami and Tampa, Fla.
To help fuel its brick-and-mortar growth, Savage X Fenty raised $115M in a Series B funding round in February, led by the private equity firm, L Catterton, with additional funding by Marcy Venture Partners and Sunley House Capital. The brand has also been hiring executives recently to fill various national real estate-related positions. Savage X Fenty is confident in the success of its retail stores, as its total revenue rose 200% last year. The lingerie brand has hinted on its desire to also add athleisure wear to its merchandise offerings in its stores. Savage X Fenty sells undergarment items up to size 4X, and the brand is known for providing “sexier” style undergarments for all body sizes/sexes.
Ashley Stewart is testing a new concept of its store that will focus more on its “Curvy Girl” line, geared to the younger, casualwear woman under the age of 30. These new concept stores will be pop-up shops in two Florida outlet malls that will be open throughout the holiday season: a 2,896-s.f. unit at the Sawgrass Mills Mall in Sunrise, Fla., and a 3,397-s.f. unit at the Dolphin Mall in Miami. These pop-ups will also feature collaborative lines with well-known brands, including FILA and DKNY Sport. Depending on the success of these pop-up shops, Ashley Stewart may continue to open new stores that cater to this younger audience, especially in markets in South Florida, Dallas and Richmond, Va. This year, Ashley Stewart hired both a new CEO — who was previously an executive with Tommy Hilfiger — as well as a new chief creative officer. The brand, generally found in strip center inline spots and regional centers in urban and suburban communities, looks for high-traffic, errand-heavy co-tenants, including Target and CVS Pharmacy. Ashley Stewart is known for its reasonably priced, high-fashion plus-sized offerings, up to size 36.
