Once again, we are featuring a few noteworthy “under the radar” brands for 2024. In this installment, we are focusing on retail concepts that have only one physical location at the moment, but are showing signs that they may become the next hot thing nationally. Whether these new tenants bank on name recognition, cater to an untapped niche market or offer nostalgia, we expect to see these three new retail ideas flourish in 2024 and beyond.
Good American
The Kardashian family has been making headlines for the past 17 years, and most everyone has managed to parlay their fame into massive business success. This year, Khloe Kardashian’s Good American apparel store, which she co-owns, will see a steady expansion. Good American had its brick-and-mortar premiere in June 2023 with a 3,800-s.f. corner shop that opened in the Westfield Century City mall in Los Angeles. This was the inevitable result of successful online sales from the brand’s debut back in 2016 when Good American was primarily focused on its size-inclusive denim apparel. Good American also has a strong wholesale presence in Nordstrom, H&M, Anthropologie, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale’s, and previously had pop-up shops in Glendale, Calif., and New York City.
Early this year, Good American will be opening at least two new stores. One in the Fashion Island open-air mall in Newport Beach, Calif., and another in The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Anticipate the stores to be in the 3,500- to 4,000-s.f. range and situated in higher-end shopping destinations with other trend-setting apparel co-tenants that appeal to all age ranges, such as Aritzia and Lululemon. Good American has hinted that it will also experiment with other types of real estate locations, such as an upcoming retail street-front site rumored to be in New York City. The brand has high hopes for expansion, hinting that having 100+ stores in the future is a possibility. This goal is achievable not only because of its built-in name recognition due to mentions on the latest version of the family’s TV reality show “The Kardashians,” but also because the body positivity concept should appeal to female consumers of all age ranges and body types, from young teens to baby boomers. Good American promises to keep its stores fully stocked of its huge range of expanded sizes and sells products beyond its core denim, such as dresses, swimwear and shoes.
FIGS
FIGS, the fashionable medical scrubs brand that has had a thriving online presence since 2013, opened its first brick-and-mortar shop in November 2023, also in the Westfield Century City mall in Los Angeles. The 1,000-s.f. inline shop, which FIGS refers to as a “community hub” for medical professionals, is next to a One Medical and close to a Nordstrom. A second, much larger 4,000-s.f. FIGS store will open by mid-2024 on a retail street-front inline space in Philadelphia, near other fashion-forward tenants such as Urban Outfitters and Gorjana. The FIGS team has indicated it is interested in further store expansion, and the brand is expected to target spaces in the 1,000- to 4,000-s.f. range, in major commercial districts within metros that have multiple hospitals and a strong medical school presence. Upcoming sites rumored to be on FIGS’ radar include New York City, Phoenix, Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Charlotte, N.C., Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Minneapolis, Cleveland and Miami. FIGS had previously dabbled in retail with pop-up shops in 2018 and 2019, in Los Angeles and New York City, respectively.
In addition to selling fashionable scrubs in a multitude of colors and styles, as well as lab coats, shoes and loungewear, the FIGS stores will offer weekly events that cater to those in the medical profession, such as guest speakers or even group yoga sessions. Each FIGS location will also feature an in-store embroidery service. Having a fashionable medical scrubs store concept in a trendy shopping center setting is a novel concept that will serve an untapped audience, and it is anticipated to be especially popular with younger fashion-forward medical students and healthcare professionals who want to try on the various sizes/colors in person, as well as expand their social circle in the local healthcare community.
Radio Flyer
Radio Flyer, the company that has been in operation since 1917 and became famous for its classic little red wagon toy, opened its first ever brick-and-mortar location in November 2023 with a 15,000-s.f. store in the Woodfield Mall regional shopping center in Schaumburg, Ill. The store is near Nordstrom, Tempur-Pedic and Janie and Jack. The concept should work well in higher-end suburban communities of major metros with a large number of young families. Radio Flyer is especially eager to tap into the electric bicycle consumer, as the brand began developing electric bicycles for both children and adults back in 2021.
This was a natural offshoot from Radio Flyer debuting an electric-powered Tesla toy car in 2016. Anticipate cities that already have a strong electric vehicle audience, as well as ample outdoor parks/bicycle lane infrastructures, to be targeted for possible growth. Potential locations that would be a good fit for future Radio Flyer stores include Northern and Southern California metros, Phoenix, Denver, Tampa, Fla., Charlotte, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin and Miami.
Future stores will most likely continue to be in the 15,000-s.f. ballpark, within popular regional shopping centers that attract families. Preferred co-tenants will be other child-oriented stores such as LEGO store, or activewear retailers such as JD Sports. Radio Flyer expects to attract parents and even grandparents who have strong nostalgia attachments to the toy brand. The Radio Flyer shop offers an in-store track available for testing out the various wheeled items such as go-karts, stroller-wagons, tricycles, push-toys, scooters and electric bikes. The Radio Flyer retail shop will also be a go-to destination for servicing all of its products, including customizations and repairs.
