Five Plus One: How It Started, How It’s Going, and A Few Things I Know For Sure
Six years ago in July, rekon Retail® turned 5 years old. (yes, it’s taken me an extra year to finish my five-year newsletter which is further evidence this was written by just me). If you’re doing the math, this company started in the middle of the pandemic: July of 2020 to be exact. At that time all stores that weren’t “essential” (basically grocery and pharmacy) were still closed and the ecommerce community along with VCs, analysts and even some “retail experts” were declaring the death of all physical retail. I didn’t buy it.
The Return of the Retail Flagship
After more than 20 years in this retail game, much like fashion, I’ve learned that everything that’s old is new again–if you wait long enough. I’ve previously written a bit about the retail pop up phenomenon (perhaps more is coming…stay tuned) and I’ve been known to blame Warby Parker and its famous Class Trip for this idea that every brand has to first do a series of pop-ups before opening a “permanent” retail store. But recently, I’ve been seeing more and more brands skipping this short-term test in favor of long-term (that’s a 5+ year lease to most brands) flagship commitments–and I am here for it.