Over the next few issues, we want to shine a spotlight on up-and-coming retailers that are still in their infancy with expansion, yet are showing signs that they are on the path toward becoming major players in the national realm. Each of these buzzed-about brands may only have between one and 10 locations, but they are definitely tenants to keep an eye on.
For this installment, we feature clothing-oriented retailers that are headquartered in Southern California, thereby embodying the essence of the West Coast lifestyle.
Outerknown
Outerknown is a sustainable-themed lifestyle brand based in Culver City, Calif., co-founded by professional surfer Kelly Slater. The retailer is on track to open two more stores in the near future, with a unit in Palo Alto’s Stanford Shopping Center set for December and a street-front space that will debut by the spring of 2024 in the Georgetown district of Washington, D.C. These new stores were preceded by two other recent store openings in 2023: a unit in the Marin Country Mart in Larkspur, Calif., in October and a storefront in the Forum Carlsbad in Carlsbad, Calif., that opened in late November. All of these tally up to eight stores total for the brand. Outerknown plans to continue opening more stores with Denver and Austin on its radar.
Even though Outerknown’s first store, which opened in 2019 in El Segundo, Calif., was 3,000 s.f., the brand has indicated future stores will be smaller, in the 1,200- to 1,500-s.f. range. Stores will primarily be in outdoor open-air shopping centers, lifestyle centers or retail street-front sites.
Co-tenants can include active lifestyle brands such as Faherty or Vuori. Upcoming locations will target outdoor nature-loving cities and communities, and the stores will have a “neighborhood shop” vibe complete with collaborations with local artisans, such as the Malibu, Calif., store that features beach photographs from a Los Angeles-based photographer. Each store will also provide a customization station, for personalized embroidery embellishments. Outerknown has built a fan base due to its apparel being sold in surf shops throughout the country, including Billabong. The company is known for its S.E.A. (Social and Environmental Accountability) apparel items that are guaranteed to last for life while meeting high ethical and environmental standards.
Rails
The clothing brand, headquartered in Vernon, Calif., is fast becoming a retail powerhouse after opening its fifth U.S. store on Boston’s Newbury Street over the summer, and its sixth store in September in Houston’s Montrose Collective mixed-use mall.
Before the end of the year, another store is set to open in Washington D.C.’s Georgetown district, and by early to mid-2024 Austin is expecting a Rails as well. Potential upcoming sites include other markets that would welcome Rail’s casual-yet-luxurious apparel, such as San Diego, Nashville, Tenn., Miami, and Scottsdale, Ariz.
Various forms of retail spaces are being tested by Rails, from urban street-front sites to Class A open-air malls, all of which are proving to be successful for the brand. Units are generally in the 2,000- to 2,250-s.f. ballpark. Co-tenants should include other upscale-yet-casual fashion apparel stores such as Alo Yoga or Outdoor Voices. Rails already has customer awareness, as the clothing label is currently sold in Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. Its first store, a flagship destination that opened in late 2020 in New York’s SoHo district, was aided by an investment the same year from Peterson Partners and SK USA, who currently own 30% of the company. Rails sells casual clothing that feature a trendy European-style sensibility.
TYR Sport
TYR Sport, based in Seal Beach, Calif., is a competitive swimwear company that has been in operation since 1985 and just this year began opening its own brick-and-mortar stores.
TYR Sport now has two locations: a 2,100-s.f. unit that opened this month in the South Coast Plaza indoor mall in Costa Mesa, Calif., and a 3,315-s.f. store that opened in October in the Roosevelt Field indoor mall in Garden City, N.Y. TYR Sport has remained tight-lipped on where future expansion will take place, but the brand indicated it is being selective with choosing high-end, Class A malls in high-traffic locations with other fitness apparel co- tenants, such as The North Face, Nike, Lululemon and Vans. Expect markets such as Miami, Austin, Denver and Scottsdale to potentially be in its sights.
Though its merchandise had previously only been sold either online or via wholesale in Dick’s Sporting Goods stores, brand awareness for the retailer is expected be at an all-time high by the summer of 2024, as TYR Sport will be providing swim gear for the U.S. swimmers at the Olympic Games in Paris. Its retail store strategy will be to feature its moisture-wicking technology products beyond its core swimwear items.
