Republic of Couture gets personal

By Kerri Linden / Shopping Centers Today

Fashion-forward, multibrand apparel boutiques have grown extremely popular in recent years; New York City–based retailers such as Intermix and Scoop are peppering the rest of the country with outposts offering upscale clothing and accessories in venues merchandised to look like consumers’ closets. Now Republic of Couture, a concept out of the Midwest, wants to capitalize on the trend. The chain is seeking space in top-tier U.S. malls for its mix of high-fashion names.

In only five years, Argentinean immigrant Gastón Garcia has expanded the Republic of Couture concept from a single kiosk at one Michigan mall to a national chain with units in some of the glitziest malls in America. And existing stores are typically pulling in about $700 per square foot in annual sales, Garcia says. The stores, which measure between 1,500 and 3,400 square feet, feature “live mannequins” in the display windows — actual people who stand and model the clothing. On weekends a DJ spins music in the back of the store.

Unlike Intermix and Scoop, Republic of Couture is not just for women. The store includes men’s and children’s sections. “The whole family can come to my store, not just the women, where the men have to sit outside,” Garcia said. “We have more-sophisticated products for teen-agers as well as for the 40-year-old man.”

Republic of Couture stocks Joe’s Jeans, True Religion, Taverniti and other premium denim brands, popular T-shirt names such as Affliction and Ed Hardy, luxury men’s lines such as Hugo Boss, Robert Graham and Ted Baker, and up-and-coming women’s labels such as Hale Bob and Sky. Prices range from $100 to $300 for most items, but there is a sale section for the budget-conscious, as well as a selection of more moderately priced T-shirts.

Above all, Garcia sees customer service as the key that is bringing him such success. “The service in my stores is more personal, and it becomes a personal shopping experience,” he said. “We have unique pieces, a unique selection, but most of all we have customer service that other [retailers] don’t have. It’s a boutique experience, in a mall.”

Garcia spends 70 hours a week in his stores to keep his finger on the pulse of what is popular and travels to fashion shows around the world. “We keep our image sophisticated but contemporary, edgy but still providing something for the parents that come in the store,” he said.

Garcia came to the U.S. at 18 with $300 and an idea. After toiling in various odd jobs, he began his retailing career in 2002 with a kiosk at General Growth Properties’ Grand Traverse Mall, in Traverse City, Mich., from which he sold T-shirts and jeans during the Christmas season. “I had the American Dream in my pocket, and that’s about all,” Garcia said. He formed a 50-50 partnership with Nissim Vaknim, who brought a background overseeing manufacturing, wholesale and retail operations.

The success of that first kiosk led to a lease at that same mall for an in-line store called Cool Waves. The partners opened another of these within a year at Taubman Centers’ Woodfield Shopping Center, in Schaumburg, Ill. Then they opened three stores, called Euro Moda, roughly a year apart from each other, at General Growth’s La Cantera center and North Star Mall, both in San Antonio, and at Simon Property Group’s Florida Mall, in Orlando. This past July the partners took in a third partner, Sean Fey. With the national rollout and rebranding, all existing and future stores will bear the Republic of Couture name.

The company plans to open stores at Simon’s Houston Galleria and Macerich’s Tysons Corner, in McLean, Va., this fall, and it has letters of intent for Macerich’s Santa Monica (Calif.) Place and The Metreon, in San Francisco; Simon’s La Plaza, in McAllen, Texas; and Meadowlands Development’s Xanadu project, in East Rutherford, N.J.

The company is also opening a 6,500-square-foot flagship in Glendale, N.Y., at The Shops at Atlas Park, which owner Damon Hemmerdinger says will be the largest clothing store in the center when it opens this fall. “Atlas Park has not had a full complement of fashion in the tenant mix, and that had been the focus of our leasing efforts,” Hemmerdinger said. “This store will be a major move in that direction.” Hemmerdinger approached Garcia after seeing the concept at other malls. “It’s not a known brand, and we’re both aware of that, but I think it will be successful in the center,” Hemmerdinger said. “It has that department store feeling, where men, women and children can shop, and I think that’s why the store will work so well.”

The concept seems to have perfect timing for its rollout and rebranding, as market conditions are chipping away at customers’ long-standing loyalties, according to a report by Port Washington, N.Y.–based NPD Group. The report found that 41 percent of the consumers it surveyed in July say economic conditions will not affect where they shop, down from 44 percent in April. “This would suggest that we are starting to see signs that consumers are store and channel shifting,” said Marshal Cohen, NPD’s chief industry analyst, in a press release.

“And it represents a huge opportunity for many retailers. Now is the time of year to make all those important ‘introductions’ to new customers and make overtures to an established customer base. We will see which retailers know how to make new friends and hold on to their old ones.”

If Garcia plays his cards right in terms of fashion offerings, his customer-service-oriented concept could be just what shoppers are looking for. “Ultimately, it comes down to what you are providing in terms of fashion — not just a wide range of merchandise, but something ‘especially for me,’ ” said Robert K. Passikoff, president of Brand Keys, a New York City–based retail consulting firm. “The store experience is becoming more and more important in terms of engagement and loyalty. If you can find a balance in what you’re offering up and a customized experience, you can be very successful, even in this economic climate.”