Halara, a direct-to-consumer activewear brand, debuts its first brick-and-mortar presence through a pop-up shop.
Rewritten Article:
Stepping Offline: Halara's Brick-and-Mortar Push
Jumping into the realm of physical retail, digital-native athleisure brand Halara has set up its first pop-up shop smack dab in the heart of New York City's Broadway. The info came straight from an email to Retail Dive.
At 470 Broadway in Manhattan, this 3,500-square-foot temporary store is merely the first of many test stores Halara plans to open in the US, with potential locations scouting in Texas, California, Florida, Europe, Japan, and Korea.
Making its debut on a Friday, this New York store's tenure stretches through Sunday. However, Brand President Gabby Hirata hinted at extending the shop's stay if demand reels customers in. The store welcomes customers from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.
Halara has eyed New York for its pop-up debut, as it grazes the vicinity of a significant chunk of its customer base and its U.S. headquarters.
"New York City was an obvious choice as it holds a significant portion of our customer base and our U.S. headquarters," Hirata explained via email. "It serves as an ideal starting point to engage with our community and gather valuable feedback before venturing into more permanent retail spaces."
Forged during the pandemic in 2020, Halara weaves machine learning and consumer input into its design and manufacturing process. Primarily, it's been growing through social media and direct-to-consumer channels, and those fortunate enough to drop by its pop-up can nab special perks for sharing their experience on social media.
In the Big Apple, Halara is experimenting with a week-long pop-up, but the length might change elsewhere.
"The optimal pop-up duration is an essential aspect we're eager to experiment with," Hirata said. "We've seen successful examples of the 7-day pop-up, especially in cost-heavy real estate markets like New York, and we want to stay budget-friendly, mirroring our efficiency-driven ethos by passing savings on to our customers."
Halara unveiled its first brand campaign on TikTok in February, the #ConfidentlyHalara. This month-long campaign mobilized 103 user-generated content participants, who shared their personal journeys of body acceptance, detailing the transformation from feeling insecure to being comfortable in their own skin. These videos accumulated a remarkable 200 posts and 13.58 million views and impressions.
Halara operates on a model geared towards newness, using an algorithm to boost the efficiency of the Asian factories it manufactures in—factories that it claims house some of its competitors as well.
"We release hundreds of new styles every week, but at the same time, we run on a nearly zero inventory model by leveraging our machine learning capabilities," Hirata shared. "This might mean shipping times could take up to 2 weeks, but we believe that the future of our planet hangs in the balance."
The athleisure sector has been a robust category for several established and startup brands, with DTC activewear brands surfacing or merging with larger companies eager to diversify. Younger demographics seem to be flocking to DTC brands like On, Hoka, Alo Yoga, and Vuori, at the expense of major players like Nike.
- In contrast to its digital roots, AI-powered fashion brand Halara is now exploring physical retail, setting up its initial pop-up shop in Manhattan's Broadway.
- The aim is to launch more test stores across the US and potentially international locations such as Texas, California, Florida, Europe, Japan, and Korea.
- During the pop-up's initial run in New York City, Halara's brick-and-mortar experiment started with a pop-up store at 470 Broadway, catering to a significant portion of its customer base and U.S. headquarters.
- The startup, born during the pandemic, combines machine learning and consumer input in its design and manufacturing process, then amplifies its reach through social media and direct-to-consumer (DTC) channels.
- Remaining budget-friendly and keeping its "newness" focus, Halara is keen on experimenting with pop-up durations while maximizing savings for customers.
- As part of its brand strategy, Halara recently launched a monthly campaign on TikTok, titled #ConfidentlyHalara, inviting users to share their body acceptance journeys and garnering noteworthy views and impressions.
- Operating in the competitive fashion-and-beauty industry, Halara distinguishes itself by releasing numerous new styles weekly, leveraging machine learning to work with Asian factories that also include its rivals, ultimately aiming for a nearly zero inventory business model.
