Skip to main content
BoF Logo

The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

Revolve’s Latest Pop-Up Could Pave the Way For Its First Permanent Store

The online marketplace favoured by models and influencers has been a brick-and-mortar retail holdout, but its newest storefront could change that.
Kendall Jenner in Revolve's pop-up store for its luxury division FRWD
Kendall Jenner in Revolve's pop-up store for its luxury division FRWD. (Revolve)

Revolve is ready to take physical retail seriously.

This week, the online marketplace — known for its sleek and festive clothing priced between fast fashion giants and luxury retailers — opened a pop-up in LA for its high-end division FWRD, which offers brands such as The Row and Jacquemus.

The temporary retail space, located in a 4,000-square-foot storefront in West Hollywood featuring a selection of goods curated by FWRD’s creative director Kendall Jenner, is in part designed to test whether Revolve can maintain a permanent physical outpost, co-founder and co-CEO Mike Karanikolas told BoF.

“That would be the ideal outcome,” Karanikolas said. “There’s no question in my mind we can do it.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Unlike past pop-ups, the latest temporary store will include retail staples like the ability to request items online to try on in-store, return goods, and abundant nearby parking. Shoppers are also able to buy goods in the store using their own phones with technology from Bolt. (Revolve has offered this feature at a previous pop-up.)

“In the past, the focus has been very much so on the marketing and creative and community influencers,” Karanikolas said. “This time around those things are also extremely important, but we’re putting a little bit more focus on the retail side.”

Last September, Revolve opened a space in New York during fashion week, replete with rooms designed around the aesthetic of brands it carries. In March 2022, the company opened a space in West Hollywood that included a café and a wellness centre.

While multi-brand e-tailers like The RealReal and Farfetch (which acquired the UK-based Browns department store chain in 2015) have long made bets on physical retail, Revolve has been a holdout. The success of the FWRD pop-up, including shopper conversion rates and the store’s profits, could determine if that division or Revolve’s main line will get a permanent brick-and-mortar outpost in the near future.

Revolve’s recent foray into brick-and-mortar comes as e-commerce cools down following a resurgence of in-person shopping. In 2022, Revolve’s total sales jumped 24 percent year over year to $1.1 billion, 19 percent of which came from the FWRD line. That marked slower growth than the 54 percent year-over-year bump it saw in 2021. Revolve’s sales dropped 1 percent in the first quarter of 2023.

© 2024 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions

More from Retail
Analysis and advice from the front lines of the retail transformation.

How Rent the Runway Came Back From the Brink

The rental platform saw its stock soar last week after predicting it would hit a key profitability metric this year. A new marketing push and more robust inventory are the key to unlocking elusive growth, CEO Jenn Hyman tells BoF.


Why Esprit’s Ambitious Rebrand Fell Short

The company is in talks with potential investors after filing for insolvency in Europe and closing its US stores. Insiders say efforts to restore the brand to its 1980s heyday clashed with its owners’ desire to quickly juice sales in order to attract a buyer.


How Adidas Sambas Took Over the World

The humble trainer, once the reserve of football fans, Britpop kids and the odd skateboarder, has become as ubiquitous as battered Converse All Stars in the 00s indie sleaze years.


view more

Subscribe to the BoF Daily Digest

The essential daily round-up of fashion news, analysis, and breaking news alerts.

The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
CONNECT WITH US ON
The Business of Beauty Global Awards - Deadline 30 April 2024
© 2024 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy and Accessibility Statement.
The Business of Beauty Global Awards - Deadline 30 April 2024