Brixton has opened its first flagship store in Sydney as part of a new strategy of opening stores in key locations globally to showcase the full range of the Brixton brand.
We asked CEO Raphael Peck a few questions about the new store and what’s next on the retail front.
Why choose Sydney for the first store?
Brixton CEO Raphael Peck: We are first and foremost an entrepreneurial company. More than anything, we are focusing on creating opportunities for consumers to discover and experience our brand.
We strongly believe that physical modular retail is a part of providing that experience. With that, we will look at strategic geography to bring the brand to life whilst deepening our partnership with our key wholesale partners and sharing learnings in order to achieve growth together.
Sydney, a city that’s embraced the brand from its earliest days, provided us with the first opportunity, and we couldn’t pass it up.
How is the store representative of the brand?
Raphael Peck: The store allows us to bring our story to life in an environment we can carefully curate. Because we’re able to choose every detail, from finishes and textures, to lighting and signage, we can build an environment that really conveys the essence of the brand.
All of that creates an experience that’s designed to bring Brixton to life in a much more tactile way. Ultimately, we are looking to invite a wider consumer base to experience us, with the goal of becoming a more intricate part of the community. Modular retail gives us this opportunity.
Will the store be tied into e-commerce?
Raphael Peck: That’s certainly something we’re moving toward. From a brand point of view, all of our experiences, whether online or in the physical world, should be aligned.
From a purchase experience, we want it to be as seamless as possible. Things like being able to pick up or return online purchases in-store or having the ability to order a size or color not available on the spot are being thought through.
We also expect to be able to drive traffic to our wholesale partners whilst utilizing our stores as a storytelling vehicle.
Are there categories that are getting more space than one would typically see at a wholesale account?
Raphael Peck: Yes. Headwear is a great example of that. It’s a challenge to showcase the whole breadth of our headwear assortment, especially cut-and-sew, and brimmed styles. Within the context of our retail space, we’ll be able to really showcase just how expansive our collection is and bring that to consumers in a really compelling way.
Curating an experience is very important. We’ve discovered that our online and wholesale shoppers diverge slightly when it comes to things like outerwear and other cut-and-sew categories. Our goal would be to complement what works well at wholesale doors with options that sell well on Brixton.com to give a brick-and-mortar shopper an opportunity to touch and feel those products in person.
Any more leases signed for additional Brixton stores in 2020?
Raphael Peck: We’re working through additional retail plans and will have more to talk about as we get a little further into 2020.
