DTC’s Daily Digest brings you the latest news on the world’s fastest growing direct-to-consumer brands. In today’s edition: MORI to open first physical location; Allbirds to more than double store number; and Bella+Canvas turns to DTC. 

MORI to open first physical location

Baby and toddler clothing brand Mori is set to open its first bricks-and-mortar store in London this autumn, following the £4m pound investment earlier this year.

The celebrity-loved premium clothing and accessories brand for newborn up to four years, will open its debut store on Northcote Road in London, a shopping street that stretches over half a mile in the centre of Battersea that has been coined the centre of ‘Nappy Valley’.

The store will house the brand’s best-selling sleepwear collections, as well as daywear and accessories perfect for the nursery, and will sit alongside other premium brands, pushchair friendly cafes and independent boutiques.

“Opening our first store on Northcote Road is a significant moment for Mori, we have been experiencing growth, and we want to keep up this exciting momentum,” explained Akin Onal, founder and chief executive, Mori in a statement. “With this first retail store, we will finally be able to give customers the immersive Mori experience, and connect with our local community.”

Mori has teamed up with award-winning interior design agency FormRoom, which has designed unique store experiences for H&M and Selfridges, to create their first store.

Allbirds to more than double store number

Online shoe brand Allbirds plans to more than double its store count next year, hoping to reach shoppers who want to touch and try on its wool shoes.

The company said Tuesday that it plans to open 20 stores in 2020, bringing its total number of stores to about 35 by the end of the year.

While many mall-based retailers are closing locations, online startups like mattress seller Casper and men's clothing brand Untuckit are expanding into brick-and-mortar stores.

Allbirds said it can't ignore stores since most footwear sales are still happening there. Plus, the staff in stores can explain the unusual materials used in its shoes, such as wool, tree fibre and sugar cane.

"The idea of being able to touch, feel and understand the quality of what we're putting into our products is pretty important," said Allbirds co-CEO Tim Brown. The store expansion will bring it into cities where it's never been, including Atlanta, Dallas and Denver. Allbirds said all its U.S. stores have been profitable within two months of opening.

Bella+Canvas turns to DTC

LA-based Bella+Canvas has announced that it has launched a direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform. Previously, Bella+Canvas apparel was only available via wholesale channels, but now end-buyers can directly purchase blank men's and women's styles from a curated assortment of products.

Furthermore, the company said it will start online, but plans to open pop-up physical stores starting next year. 

Danny Harris, co-CEO and co-founder of Bella+Canvas, says “We've always prided ourselves on doing wholesale different—perfecting our craft and making the most exceptional quality tees possible. For us, a move into the retail space has never been a matter of if, but when, and we're excited to announce that time has finally come."

"The main reason we decided to launch a retail extension of the brand is because of all the requests we've gotten from commercial consumers that discovered us and wanted to buy the blanks for themselves," Summer Barry, creative and marketing director for Bella+Canvas, told Promo Marketing. "Our social media presence has gotten really big, and we get requests all the time through that channel."

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