From London to New York, Wolf & Badger Extends Its Support of Independent Fashion Brands to the US With the Opening of Its SoHo Store

LONDON, September 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Wolf & Badger, the British award winning multi-brand retailer known for its support of independent brands, is opening its first stand-alone US store in SoHo, New York.  This new flagship is a 2,500 square foot space located at 95 Grand Street; the space was previously occupied by the Burch sisters' Trademark boutique.

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This new store in the heart of SoHo will present a curated edit of independent designer brands from around the United States in addition to introducing many European brands to the US market for the first time; the selection will include both men's and women's apparel, jewelry and accessories. Following an extensive interior refit by architect Augustus Brown, it will open for trade in February 2017 for the beginning of the spring fashion season.

Henry Graham, Creative Director and Co-Founder comments "this is a tremendous opportunity to finally bring our concept of super curated, high quality independent designer brands to the wider US market. There's nothing like what we do in US and since New York is a key destination for fashion, we are delighted to have the opportunity to welcome its discerning residents to our store to discover something new and different".

The New York store is set to further strengthen the online-offline approach that the business continues to pioneer and which earned it the accolade of 'Best Multi-Channel Retailer' in the recent Drapers Digital Awards. George Graham, CEO and Co-Founder, explains that "despite over 90% of our business now being transacted online, we understand the desire of our customer base to be able to experience and engage with us and the brands we represent in a real-world environment. Online can never replicate the tangible or social elements that our stores offer in abundance."

With one fifth of its sales already coming from customers in the US via its web platform - http://www.wolfandbadger.com - this expansion represents a natural step forward for Wolf & Badger in its ambitions to become a truly global retail platform for independent brands. Nonetheless, the move represents a departure from its existing focus on Europe, which was strengthened significantly by the 2015 merger with online marketplace Boticca.com that brought a significant following for the brand in the French and German markets.

George explains "With Brexit looming and the UK entering a period of uncertainty, we are extremely pleased to be entering the US market and facilitating independent brands to seamlessly reach a wider customer base around the world, ensuring continued opportunity for independent labels even if the European market starts to close up."

Wolf & Badger is in the process of selecting from its existing roster of over 600 brands to feature in the new 95 Grand Street location and is also reaching out to new and exciting brands from the US market to join its platform. In support of this move towards encouraging cross-border trade and helping independent brands reach new consumers on a global scale.

Wolf & Badger were represented for this lease acquisition by Joe Hudson at CBRE.

Notes to editors:

Wolf & Badger was founded in February 2010 by brothers Henry and George Graham. The business works with a curated selection of 600 independent brands across, men's and women's apparel, jewelry, accessories, homeware, kids clothing and beauty products. It has two existing London stores, one in Notting Hill and the other in Mayfair.

Wolf & Badger now operates primarily through its successful and rapidly growing e-commerce platform - http://www.wolfandbadger.com - which has also been recipient of many awards including 'Best Retailer' in the Good Web Guide (sponsored by Rakuten). The Wolf & Badger web business grew by over 300% in 2015 and continues to grow its online sales faster than a sprinting gazelle.

The Graham brothers have been voted top 100 most influential people in fashion by Drapers. George Graham - CEO - was named Young Entrepreneur of the Year in the CBI Growing Business Awards for his role in setting up the business.

For more information, please contact:
Samantha Emson via [email protected]
+44(0)20-7229-4848

SOURCE Wolf & Badger