Concepts is bringing its retail strategy to its latest storefront.
The Boston-based streetwear and luxury retailer is opening its latest store in Miami’s Design District on Monday, joining its fleet of stores in Boston, New York City and Dubai. The permanent space followed several pop-ups that the retailer hosted in the city.
“We’re really expanding in terms of what we’re able to carry,” said Annie Morgan, director of brand, buying and merchandising at Concepts. “We’re able to carry full collections, a little bit of everything — we’re expanding into home goods, accessories, things like that — so we’re really excited for that market. We’ve done a couple pop-ups within the Miami market these past probably seven years. Some have been with Nike, some have been with Asics, some have been with Birkenstock, so the market is really ready for us to be there. We’re excited to have that multibrand retailer, but also the Concepts label approach, and really be ingrained within the community in Miami.”
Concepts has been a steady figure in the streetwear retail landscape since it was established in 1996. The store initially focused on footwear, but slowly expanded into apparel across both streetwear and luxury markets as the two increasingly became intertwined.
While Concepts has an e-commerce site, the business is rooted in brick-and-mortar and it is committed to staying that way.
“That’s what has really separated us from [others],” Morgan said about the company’s focus on physical retail. “I think we saw a pendulum swing one way, and we stay true to who we are in terms of having a brick-and-mortar location that’s somewhere you can go and see and touch product and get that customer service.”
One of Concepts’ strengths is its merchandising strategy. The brand has a unique mix of established streetwear and luxury brands including Comme des Garçons, Stüssy, Fear of God, Maison Margiela and others, as well as a sports brands and emerging labels. Morgan spoke about how Concepts sticks to its “blueprint” when merchandising the stores.
“We talk about the blueprint that can’t be duplicated,” she said. “We want to make sure that it has our touch, our flare to it and our taste, but we don’t want to necessarily create a blueprint that we think can be duplicated. That’s kind of what has happened since the worlds of streetwear and luxury are merging. These are the brands that you have to have in your store and even these past few years, you’ve seen some stores all start to carry the same brands.”
Concepts’ “blueprint” is anchored in storytelling, according to Morgan, who explained that she looks for two things when onboarding new brands: what the customer is looking for and what the story of the brand is.
“Do we have something that will really, through the knowledge of who our customer is, excite them and excite us?” she said about the strategy. “Seeing something new for the first time, seeing something really redefined and making sure that there’s a backstory and there’s a real attention to craft and product. That’s the number-one thing that we really look at when it comes to a brand — we’re the ones that help bring it to life.”
This strategy is also applied to Concepts’ private label, which pays homage to the retailer’s New England roots and streetwear sensibilities. Morgan explained the Miami store will put a larger focus on the private label with its own dedicated room.
Morgan said Concepts plans to continue to expand inthe future, but for now is continuing its focus on storytelling and connecting with customers.
“We’re really focused on continuing to build our brand, continuing to expand the customer base that we’re talking through our stores and through online and social,” she said. “We feel really confident, leveraging the stores that we do have and looking to see where we might expand next will happen soon.”
