Vivaia Eyes US Market Growth With First Store in NYC
Vivaia’s inaugural U.S. physical retail store is officially opened. The permanent outpost, located in New York’s SoHo neighborhood, was a no-brainer for the brand as the move comes after a series of pop-up shops in New York, as well as Paris and L.A.
“New York was a very easy, obvious choice for us. It’s our number two city globally, London being the first,” said general manager Howard Herman. “We know that the digitally native brands face headwinds from rising costs of acquisition. And there’s a thought that you need to be wherever the consumer wants to buy product, and they very much want to be in physical environments again.”
Since launching in 2020 as a DTC brand by footwear industry veteran Marina Chen and Jeff Chan, Vivaia has seen rapid growth, with a major footprint also in Asia.
Watch on FN
“We were approached by a franchisee who’s helped us open stores in different markets in Asia. And in Japan, we formed a joint venture with another company. So the pop-ups in those markets have turned into multiple retail locations,” explained Herman. “The U.S. is our biggest market globally, and so rather than finding a partner, we thought we better build the staff and the skills and the capability to do it ourselves. That’s what this store is largely about.”
Located at 68 Prince Street, the 900-sq.-ft. space is filled with Vivaia’s best-selling styles, including boots, sneakers, heels, ballets and it’s new satin series, featuring the Cristina Lace-Up Derby Flats (as seen on Bella Hadid earlier this week.)
The goal is to meet customers, research, and collect data, continued Herman, adding that the business saw double digit growth from 2023 to 2024. Total sales last year were just under $200 million.
He credited the success on expanding product categories, most notably boots. This year, they will be looking at sandals as an opportunity in its growing breadth and will continue to scale at a steady rate.
“In the life of companies, it’s also about making sure that you’re not only meeting your consumer demand, but you’re not overdoing it. “We’ve been fairly conscious about managing the growth and making investments to deal with the expansion.”
Part of the expansion comes in the form of wholesale, too. Vivaia has landed on the shelves at Dillard’s, Von Maur and online at Nordstrom, with goal to continue to bolster that strategy.
