Oak + Fort is back in New York and has grand expansion plans in mind

Inflation, a looming recession, lower consumer spending—many fashion retailers are seeing the impact of these factors on their bottom line.

But Oak + Fort, a fashion and lifestyle brand from Vancouver, Canada, which started as an online-only brand in 2010, has grand expansion plans, starting with the re-opening of its store on New York City’s bustling Spring Street.

While the brand originally did open a location in New York back in 2016, it eventually shut down, although the retailer continued to have both online and physical presences—more than 27 stores with 20 locations in Canada and seven in the US.

“We were so particular with this site and how we envision building it out as well…As it’s a flagship, we wanted to offer something a little bit different [such as] building out the stainless steel materials, the bench that we provide for where customers can hang out or really relax and just take in and soak up the experience that we’re providing,” Oak + Fort’s SVP of operations, Melorin Pouladian, told Retail Brew. “We hope that every store will have a little bit of the community feel and the cool factor.”

To further maximize that “cool factor,” Pouladian said the brand has a few ideas in mind for its comeback moment in NYC to set itself apart from the (serious) competition, starting with a continued focus on its primary demo of women between 18 and 35 while also being able to target new customers.

“We’re very secure with who our demographic is; we do everything in our power to provide products that really relate to them, and it goes back to [providing] attainable luxury,” Pouladian said, referring to its trendy range of clothing at affordable prices, and adding that it ultimately wants to enhance its image as a “lifestyle brand.”

To do so, it is also looking beyond womenswear and into growing its existing but relatively smaller categories such as menswear and home.

“We’ve always had a piece of menswear and our core men’s customer is always begging for us to expand that assortment,” Pouladian said. “So it’s definitely where we are going to see that grow within our current stores.”

Currently the menswear represents 10%–15% of the brand’s offerings. The rest is women’s and lifestyle, “but the beauty of our product is how it’s unisex as well, so we love that men can actually wear the women’s and vice versa,” Pouladian added. “It’s versatile.”

Another differentiating factor for the retailer is its price point—its basic women’s tops start at as low as $20 while the highest priced item—a women’s faux leather jacket—on its site is currently $348.

“We want [customers] to put on something that makes them feel good,” Pouladian said. “So for us, that really means that we are getting the trendy pieces and that it’s attainable, that they don’t have to worry about ‘How much am I going to spend on this?’”

Oak + Fort plans to open two more stores this year and a few others in the near future in cities like Philadelphia, as well as in Washington, Florida, and Texas.

While it already ships to more than 40 countries, international locations are also on the retailer’s mind. “We truly do believe in retail and that brick-and-mortar experience. It’s why we continue to open stores within North America today and make that a priority,” Pouladian said. “With that omnichannel customer experience, we of course want to bring that abroad one day…there’s so much opportunity there.”