Jeans company opening Newbury Street

Jeans company coming to Back Bay
By Donna Goodison | Saturday, August 8, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets


High-end jeans company 7 for All Mankind will test the retail landscape on Boston’s Newbury Street beginning next Friday with a six-month temporary store.

The “popup store,” a retail term for stores that “pop up” for short periods of time, will allow the Los Angeles brand to get a feel for the market before it opens a permanent store here, according to vice president of retail Aaron Battista.

The 2,000-square-foot store at 160 Newbury St. will be known as the Wash House, which 7 for All Mankind is debuting to showcase the different washes for its women’s and men’s denim. Eighty percent of the store’s collection, edited down from what’s available at the company’s 18 regular stores, will be dedicated to jeans and the rest to sportswear items such as tops, sweaters and jackets.

The Wash House will be outfitted with fixtures from a local vintage supply store and a plywood “denim bar,” and customers will be invited to paint on large wall canvases.

The store will be located in the former Cole Haan space on Newbury Street, which is uncharacteristically pocked with more than 40 empty spaces from retailers who closed their stores in the last 18 months as a result of the economic downturn.

“Currently, most landlords are more open to creative terms and entertaining new ideas for their spaces,” Battista said.

The 9-year-old 7 for All Mankind opened its first retail store in Los Angeles in 2007 and has leases signed for five more stores to open by October. A Boston location is on the radar for 2010.

“By coming in temporarily while they’re making their more permanent decision, they’re making some customer relationships and increasing the profile of their name in the Back Bay,” said retail consultant Michael Tesler, of Retail Concepts in Norwell. “But they could find out that Newbury Street isn’t right for them . . . in terms of what they can make work in square footage, so they could be more aggressive in negotiations for rent.”
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