Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/753030
50 S C T / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 6 Prepped for growth C ountry Club Prep could bill itself the Zappos.com for preppy clothing, with reference to the Las Vegas– based e-commerce apparel, shoes and accessories shop, and yet the company is also experiencing the sales-boosting benefits that brick-and-mortar stores can bring to any online retailer. The Atlanta- based company, established in 2012, opened its fourth store this past June at The Avenue, a lifestyle center in Peachtree City, Ga. "The brick-and-mortar stores are absolutely a part of our growth strategy and also a part of our overall profitability as we go forward," said Matt Watson, a co-founder of County Club Prep. There will always be shoppers who are more comfortable purchasing in the physical environment, as there will be items that people prefer to buy in stores, he says. Country Club Prep sells men's and women's apparel, including a variety of polo and button-down shirts emblazoned with all the usual ponies, alligators and fish. "We know that preppy clothing already has a certain connotation with elite overtones," said Watson. "To us, that is not what it means at all." Preppy is about wearing that seersucker suit and bright bow tie to a rehearsal dinner, he quips, or some crazy plaid pants to a horse race, whereas the Country Club Prep style is intended to be fun rather than stodgy. Physical stores are Country Club Prep's road to expansion By Beth Mattson-Teig Watson and co-founder Stephen Glasgow met at the University of Virginia School of Law, in Charlottesville; they both landed jobs at law firms in Atlanta after graduating nearly a decade ago. The idea to go into business together was born out of a shared sense of style and a common frustration with online shopping. "We spent most of our time bouncing from website to website shopping," said Watson. Instead of having to go to individual retail websites for the Polo Ralph Lauren, Southern Tide and Vineyard Vines threads they liked, the two thought to bring all their favorite brands together in one place. They launched Country Club Prep as an e-commerce site that initially sold about 15 brands. For the first 18 months, they ran the business out of Watson's basement and then moved into their current Atlanta headquarters and distribution facility. "At that point, we were experiencing tremendous growth," said Watson. "But we were lacking the ability to establish credibility with the customer in a face- to-face environment." The physical store presence was also a selling point for some of the brands they were approaching. In June 2014 Watson and Glasgow opened their first store in Charlottesville, adjacent to their alma mater. The store did generate great traffic from the student population, but parking-space limitations made it hard to attract shoppers from the town. A year ago the store relocated to The Shops at Stonefield, a lifestyle center in Charlottesville, where Country Club Pep is situated near similar tenants, such as Vineyard Vines and Brooks Brothers. The company also operates stores in Kentucky — one each in Lexington and Louisville. The company has plans to open one or two new stores per year over the next three years. These will probably zero in on locations the company has pinpointed through its online sales and shipping data, predominantly in the Southeast at present. Though New York is the company's fourth-largest state for sales, Watson says Country Club Prep is likeliest to concentrate on the South first, for proximity's sake. The company offers about 150 brands on its website, including its own private label, and the stores typically carry a scaled-down selection of some 15 top-selling brands and regional favorites. These stores measure between 1,400 and 1,800 square feet, but the company could well be looking at larger sites in the future. Watson and Glasgow have launched an online concept called Tide & Peak Outfitters, which sells outdoors apparel and gear. They view the new concept as a complement to Country Club Prep, as it sells to much the same customer, and the company may begin opening units in a same-store or adjacent-store format for the two concepts as early as this coming year. Watson and Glasgow prefer to test a new location through a short-term lease on a pop-up store before committing to any longer-term lease. They also see opportunity to add stores in Louisville and Lexington. "We have to make sure that we don't run afoul of any territory restrictions that other stores might have in carrying those brands," said Watson. "That definitely informs our location decisions as well." n Leasing inquiries may be directed to Henry Poer, vice president at CBRE, at henry.poer@cbre.com. S T O R E F R O N T S