The Streetwear Store
Streetwear retailers’ fluid merchandising strategy explained
As the luxury and streetwear worlds continue to collide, retailers that carry a mixture of high-end and cult favorites are on the rise.
Originated in London, multi-brand retailer Dover Street Market has 5 stores in 5 countries and will soon open its 6th. It operates anti-department-store department stores that celebrate creativity, decry comformity, and follow a streetwear-heavy, fluid merchandising strategy. Dover Street Market is a high fashion retailer with a big influx of streetwear brands, must-have labels of the moment, as well as numerous other niche ones exclusive to the store. The retailer receives frequent drops from brands and supports a more nimble, self-expressive format for brands by giving them full control of the space. In recent years, the retailer has made impressive moves in the sneaker space, stocking many of Nike’s most covettable releases and collaborations, as well as high-end footwear from the likes of Common Projects, Undercover, and Raf Simons.
Following LVMH’s quiet buying into Stadium Goods and Louis Vuitton’s appointing Virgil Abloh to take over its menswear operation, Massachusetts-based footwear and streetwear retailer Concepts, one of streetwear’s preferred names, recently confirmed “a relationship” with Amazon’s Zappos subsidiary. With Concepts’ history of well-received sneaker collaborations, this partnership will definitely help Zappos and Amazon get their foot in the door of the industry. Their strategy? Stay tuned.