Opening a physical store? It's a more sensible idea than you think
Indie brands like Kiko Kostadinov, Eckhaus Latta, Thebe Magugu, Collina Strada and more have found success with bricks and mortar. We explore how.
By Joe Bobowicz
From the outside looking in, opening a physical shop makes almost no sense. Yes, according to Delphine Arnault, in-store shoppers are a major source of business for Dior. But most brands have little in common with Dior. Cash-strapped, independent designers who can barely scrimp together enough funds for an assistant should have bigger fish to fry, especially given that passing footfall is rarely the source of substantial profit in a digital era. Right? Well, not exactly.
Take Kiko Kostadinov. A few Fridays ago, a drinks event celebrating a new collaboration with Dr. Martens at his Haggerston store brought east London’s It-kids in their droves. In fact, despite longstanding scepticism towards any form of physical retail post Covid, Kostadinov has, since 2024, opened three stores to glowing success, the first in Tokyo (where his market is strong and national in-store retail remains an exception to the global rule), the second in LA (situated intentionally amongst a district known for art galleries) and the London one third.
Kostadinov did not give comment to 1 Granary on his London expansion, although he did tell British Vogue late last year that “the whole strategy has been that there is no strategy”, caveating with the fact that, originally, the goal was not to open a store but instead a studio. He later decided it could well double up as a shop-front, offering room to shoot, host dinners and even fashion shows – as the brand did for the space’s opening.
The decade-old, independent brand is not alone, either. Jake Burt – half of the duo behind Stefan Cooke – ran an occasional Saturday store last year when a space popped up in the brand’s studio. In New York, Telfar’s flagship has been in business for a year and half, Denim Tears is now two years in, and Eckhaus Latta have been in the city as of 2018. The latter has had a stable presence in LA from 2016, too. “Our first store in LA happened because we had a studio that was cheap enough – that happened to be a storefront,” co-designer Zoe Latta, told us in 2024. Meanwhile, in London, we’ve seen everyone from Rejina Pyo (since 2022), Story MFG (already in Brighton for some time) to Paloma Wool (late last year) set up shop.