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Dive Brief:
DTC intimates brand Knix re-entered brick and mortar in the U.S. on Friday by opening a 1,400-square-foot store in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City, according to a release sent to Retail Dive.
Located at 242 Lafayette St., the Knix store features dedicated “bars” for bras, underwear and activewear, as well as a special section for Knix’s teen brand, Kt by Knix.
The retailer formatted the location without a freestanding cash desk, leaning on mobile point of sale instead. Knix eyes the New York area as conducive for opening multiple stores.
Dive Insight:
Knix is dipping back into the U.S. brick-and-mortar market after opening three California stores in San Diego, Santa Monica and San Francisco in 2021, which later closed. As of this fall, Knix will have a total of 20 stores, 19 of which are in Canada, as it continues to grow its brick-and-mortar footprint, per the company.
“SoHo stood out as the perfect spot for us to build NYC roots and we are excited to finally have a storefront where customers in New York and tourists can experience Knix,” Joanna Griffiths, founder and president of Knix, said in an email. “Having that face-to-face interaction is so important to me and our team. We have ambitious plans for the New York market, along with more expansion in the U.S. planned, in addition to our continued retail efforts in Canada.”
Earlier this year Knix announced a partnership with Canadian retailer Holt Renfrew, which started to carry its products online and at six of its locations, including two pop-ups in Toronto and Vancouver that closed at the end of May.
Knix last week also launched a marketing campaign, “You’re Good,” built around the theme of its core leakproof underwear products and featuring actor Kristen Bell. Billboards featuring the actor are on display in New York City, including covering the entire Spring Street subway station in SoHo, per the release.
Knix has been in expansion mode since being acquired in 2022 for $320 million by Essity, an international health and hygiene brand. The brand has enlisted the help of various celebrities to convey its story, including soccer star Megan Rapinoe who teamed up with the company to pay athletes to talk about their periods while competing in sports.