Dive Brief:
- Footwear brand Kizik is opening its first experiential New York pop-up store, to showcase its hands-free technology and kickstart its “most ambitious phase of growth,” according to a company press release.
- The pop-up at 127 Greene Street in SoHo debuts Friday and will run through Sunday. The store will feature five new silhouettes, and reflects Kizik’s new “Motion is Magic” brand platform, with visual installations that react to movement.
- The pop-up kicks off a brick-and-mortar expansion for Kizik. The company told Retail Dive that it plans to expand to more than 500 wholesale locations in 2024, along with six of its own stores. If these initial half dozen stores perform well, the company expects to add another nine stores by the end of 2025 for a total of 15.
Dive Insight:
Founded in 2017, Kizik is gearing up for growth through a national rollout of stores, new wholesale partnerships and expansion into international markets. Locations of future stores include the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota; the King of Prussia mall in Pennsylvania and Newbury Street in Boston, a spokesperson said.
“We are rapidly growing as a brand both on our owned retail channels and through our wholesale partnerships,” CEO Monte Deere said in a statement. “We’ve also signed with our first international partner to bring Kizik to the UK, with plans to continue our brand expansion internationally.”
Underpinning the brand’s growth is the “Motion is Magic” brand platform and marketing campaign, created in partnership with Yard NYC, who also made Kizik’s new branding and logo. The brand platform will roll out across Kizik’s website, social, and other digital and brick-and-mortar channels, with ads planned for out-of-home, connected TV, paid social, streaming and more.
Kizik follows a trend of digitally native brands – including sneaker company On, skin care brand Aesop and luggage company Away – that are turning to physical retail to expand their reach. Last year, the brand opened its first brick-and-mortar store near Salt Lake City, after experiencing more than 250% growth in 2022.
The company amended its credit facility with JPMorgan Chase late last year, to increase Kizik’s revolver capacity from $10 million to $25 million, with the potential to further expand to $50 million during the term of the agreement, according to the press release.
