Troy Lee Designs, as it looks to showcase its new casual apparel line and its motorcycle roots, is opening a store at The Lab in Costa Mesa this week.
Doug Bunting, Troy Lee’s “Retail Curator,” answered some questions about the new store.
When is it opening?
We hope to be open by June 25, 2010.
Why is Troy Lee Designs opening a store?
Well, we feel there is a void and thus an opportunity with this. There aren’t many stores around here catering to this hip customer who’s wrenching on his bike in the garage, maybe he plays in a band or is an artist, no doubt skates and he surfs.
He’s putting it all together and lives this lifestyle of bikes meets skate, meets music and art, meets surfer. This is our guy and the inspiration for Mondo’s (Armando Marron’s) line.
Having said that, Troy Lee is the real deal and is very well respected in the world of motorsports for his craft.
Troy Lee paints helmets and provides protective gear “for the Worlds Fastest Racers.” When I say the world’s fastest racers I’m talking about drivers and racers in every area of racing including F1, Indy Car, NASCAR, Rally Car, Off Road Racing, GP Moto,
Superbikes, Motocross, Mountain Bike, snowboarding etc. It’s very likely that if you are in the top of any of these sports, Troy Lee handles the graphics on your helmet.
So, we have a real authentic story to tell and the situation just presented itself. The store will not only feature our sportswear line but we will also be carrying other complementary brands and accessories that help us tell this story.
Why in Costa Mesa?
Shaheen Sadeghi has a great joint over at The Lab and we feel the location works for us. It’s not right on the coast but not too far inland either. It has good access from all directions – and the Mojito at Habana is really good.
Is Troy Lee Designs going to open more stores?
It’s definitely a conversation we are having but for now we are focused on this one particular store.
Also, how is the debut of the new apparel line going?
It’s going well in our established distribution channels. Casual apparel sales with the new line are up significantly this year so far.
(Right: Armando Marron and Troy Lee.)
Any retailers pick it up for fall?
Yes there has been interest, but given the performance of a lot of the retailers this past year, the idea of bringing in a new line has presented us with some challenges for sure.
Having said that, we aren’t beating ourselves up over something we can’t control. We know what we are doing is good and we are looking for good partnerships with the right retailers. I feel we have a point of view that is relevant, authentic and lifestyle driven and we know that this customer is out there because we live it along with them.
