Retail Intel: J.M. Weston to Launch New Vintage Offering + More

FN Staff

Click here to read the full article.

Oct. 29. 2019: J.M. Weston is launching a special secondhand offering. The new initiative, called Weston Vintage, allows customers to send shoes they no longer wear to Limoges, France, where the brand’s restoration workshop gives them a second life (see before and afters below). Once restored, these vintage pairs will be offered for sale in three dedicated spaces — the Champs-Elysées and rue Saint-Honoré boutiques in Paris and the Aoyama store in Tokyo. The collection will be available from January 14, 2020. Weston, which repairs 10,000 pairs of shoes each year, has always encouraged its customers to extend the life of their shoes. Through this new project, it aims to further promote the circular economy and transmit its timeless style to new generations.

Oct. 28. 2019: Happy Socks will open its fourth location in New York on Oct. 29, at 2 Herald Square, opposite Macy’s flagship store. The 630-square-foot shop was created in keeping with the brand’s whimsical image and will feature its range of product categories, including seasonal wool socks, the Happy Socks’ latest collaborations and localized New York-edition styles. A fifth location in the city is slated to open later this year.

More from Footwear News

Oct. 28, 2019: Dior is opening two stores — one for women, the other for men — in Mexico City’s Artz Pedregal mall. According to FN’s sister publication WWD, the latter marks its first menswear store for the luxury brand in Latin America, and it will showcase all of Dior’s menswear categories designed by artistic director Kim Jones. The interior features three distinct areas: footwear, ready-to-wear and leather goods. Dior already has a women’s boutique at El Palacio de Hierro department store, but the new outpost is inspired by Parisian apartments and displays Maria Grazia Chiuri’s designs in a salon. In the next months, the company plans to launch several pop-ups and other projects in Mexico.

Oct. 25, 2019: H&M has gone experiential at its new store in Berlin. With its small-scale concept, the boutique-style outpost is about a fifth of the size of the fast-fashion giant’s typical stores. The merchandise, which includes secondhand products from partner brands, is targeted to its local clientele and features only a limited range of the women’s and men’s lines. Shoppers can also take advantage of yoga classes as well as lounge in the garden café.

Oct. 23, 2019: Surf brand OluKai is opening two company-owned stores in the Hawaiian Islands, at Whaler’s Village in Maui and Hilton Hawaiian Village on Oahu. The shops feature custom artwork, including an Anywhere Aloha-inspired piece by artist Gavin Murai of Pow! Wow!, a nonprofit organization of contemporary artists. The Maui location features a mural from art duo Wooden Wave that depicts the sun and ocean. There are also custom fixtures and furniture, including live edge tables from salvaged mango wood. The stores will carry forward the company’s commitment to supporting local nonprofits through its Ama OluKai Foundation, by donating part of the proceeds of every purchase.

Oct. 22, 2019: Action-sports label Vans has opened a new boutique in London’s Convent Garden. The 4,359-square-foot store will stock an elevated assortment of footwear, apparel and accessories, including Vault by Vans, in addition to collaborations. It will also feature an activation space in the basement taken over for three months by KK Outlet, the former gallery design-led store in London featuring the work of artists, designers and photographers. KK Outlet will host free exhibitions, talks, open evenings and dinners.

Oct. 21, 2019: Ganni has two new flagships in the United States. Located in New York and Los Angeles, the outposts mark the first physical standalone stores for the Danish brand outside of Europe. The 1,600-square-foot SoHo shop opened on Oct. 18, while the West Hollywood space, which spans 1,800 square feet, will debut on Oct. 25. Building on the brand’s Scandinavian heritage, both stores were inspired by the home of Ganni’s husband-and-wife founders, Nicolaj and Ditte Reffstrup.

Oct. 18, 2019: Fashion-comfort brand Mephisto has opened the doors to its 20th location in the U.S. with a 1,854-square-foot store at 488 Madison Ave. in New York, near highly trafficked Rockefeller Center. The store joins two existing locations in the city, on Madison Avenue and on Third Avenue. To celebrate the opening, Mephisto is inviting shoppers to register in-store Nov. 3–9 to win a free pair of shoes, and they can also receive a free gift when they try on shoes. In addition, a special gift with purchase will be offered.

Oct. 15, 2019: Balenciaga has debuted a new store in Las Vegas’ Forum Shops at Caesars. The 2,800-square-foot space, reports WWD, is outfitted with the luxury fashion brand’s footwear, handbags and other accessories as well as its men’s and women’s ready-to-wear lines. The launch of the industrial-style outpost comes just a month after Balenciaga opened a 4,000-square-foot flagship on New York City’s Madison Avenue.

Oct. 14, 2019: Next summer, New York City’s Rockefeller Center will become home to Major League Baseball‘s first flagship store, according to FN’s sister publication WWD. The shop — which is expected to feature a variety of the league’s officially licensed products — will reportedly span 17,000 square feet on two floors at the former SportsNet New York studios. Historical items and game memorabilia will also be presented as well as a selection of customizable products in “an elevated retail experience,” MLB’s SVP of global consumer products, Denis Nolan, told WWD.

Oct. 12, 2019: Ada Kokosar’s Midnight00 is expanding its global retail presence. Hot on the heels of the label’s shoe showing at Rihanna’s Fenty show in New York in September, Kokosar opened a new pop-up space at London’s Harrods. Located on the fifth floor of the department store’s Sala Rotunda Shoe Heaven, the enchanting mirrored space showcases fall ’19’s darkly romantic take on the Cinderella story, alongside more androgynous elements including brogues and tartan prints. While it’s certainly a prestige spot, it’s also an important step from a business perspective, said Kokosar. “To be represented like this as an elevated brand in the industry is a huge accomplishment for us and the future of our business. Harrods caters to a wide variety of international markets, and we are thrilled to have such unparalleled access to their customers.” Moving forward, she continued, the goal is “to gradually but steadily expand our international distribution with key retailers whose reputations reflect our glamorous aesthetic.”

Oct. 4, 2019: Runners love pizza. And New Balance is encouraging them to hit the streets by offering them the staple Big Apple food for the miles they leg out. Ahead of the TCS New York City Marathon, which takes place Nov. 3, the brand will open the NB Pizza Co. pop-up at 47 E. 34th St. The shop debuts Oct. 11 and will then open its doors every weekend leading up to, and including, marathon weekend. Runners can join the brand’s “Miles for Pizza” challenge through the Strava App and can cash in their miles for slices provided by the Williamsburg, Brooklyn, hotspot L’Industrie Pizzeria. Five miles will get you one slice; the longer you run, the more pizza you get up to a full pizza for 100 miles. The challenge comes to an end Nov. 4. Also, programming will be offered at the pop-up every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, such as the Friday Happy Hour Run, Saturday Long Runs and Single Sundays, where the first 50 runners to join receive a free branded singlet. Pop-up hours are Friday from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. It will also be open on Oct. 31 from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Nov. 4 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Oct. 4, 2019: StockX may be known for hard-to-find sneakers, but the “stock market of things” offers more than that. Now, the company is ready to venture into new territory: collectibles. The firm said it will feature thousands of products across its toys, skateboard decks and trading cards categories. Toys that are currently featured under the streetwear section now live under the collectibles vertical, and trading cards are now featured on StockX for the first time.

Oct. 4, 2019: Lane Crawford continues to celebrate up-and-coming fashion talents. This month, the retailer will introduce its Asian clientele to Uruguayan luxury designer Gabriela Hearst with pop-up shops in its Hong Kong and Beijing locations, open Oct. 25–Nov. 15. Hearst, who was nominated for the CFDA 2018 Womenswear Designer of the Year award, will also make personal appearances in the stores to meet shoppers and show off her fall ’19 collection of apparel, shoes and handbags. She will visit Lane Crawford Season’s Place in Beijing on Oct. 26 and Lane Crawford IFC Mall in Hong Kong on Oct. 29.

Oct. 2, 2019: Fashion-comfort brand Aerosoles has opened its first pop-up shop with a location in New York’s Grand Central Terminal. The shop, which will remain open through the end of the year, coincides with Aerosoles.com‘s relaunch, as well as the debut of its digital campaign, #showup, which features women from all walks of life and highlights how they show up for themselves and what they believe in. In the store, customers can try on 20 core styles, offered in a full range of sizes; however, all orders will be fulfilled by e-commerce. Additionally, the company is partnering with Dress for Success of Northern New Jersey for the first week and will be hosting events throughout where customers can bring in donations.

Oct. 2, 2019: Footwear and accessories designers will be welcoming brides-to-be on Oct. 12 for “Wedding Weekend on Madison Avenue” in New York. Each will be opening their doors for “Designers and Stilettos,” a consumer-facing activation taking place from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Creators will be on hand to offer advice and share information on products and services. Included in the lineup are Alexandre Birman, Giuseppe Zanotti, Jimmy Choo, Roger Vivier and Sergio Rossi, among others. All proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The event is presented by Estee Lauder Beautiful Belle.

Want more?

Retail Intel: September 2019

Retail Intel: August 2019

Retail Intel: July 2019

Best of Footwear News

Sign up for FN's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.