Herschel Supply Expanding in Brick-and-Mortar

By Denna Amato-Mcoy

Herschel Supply Co. has put down roots in the United States, opening a 2,500-sq.ft. outpost in New York City’s Flatiron District. The store offers one of the largest selections of Herschel products in the world.

Best known for its popular backpacks, the digitally native, design-driven Vancouver, Canada-based brand was founded online in 2009 by brothers Lyndon and Jamie Cormack, who named it after the small Canadian town where they grew up. In creating Herschel, the brothers wanted to “fill a gap in the market and put a modern twist on backpacks,” explained Lyndon Cormack.

Herschel’s lineup has expanded in recent years to include travel baggage and accessories, headwear, wallets and a newly-launched apparel line dubbed Herschel Supply Uniform. The company has also expanded into physical retail.

In addition to its new Big Apple location, the brand has four stores in Vancouver (with an upcoming site planned for Toronto’s Eaton Centre). It also does a robust wholesale business, with U.S. partners that includes Dick’s Sporting Goods, Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters, REI and others.

Chain Store Age’s Deena Amato McCoy spoke with Lyndon Cormack about Herschel’s North American expansion plans.

Why did you choose the Flatiron District for Herschel’s U.S. store debut? While conceiving our expansion plan, we envisioned opening a store where locals and travelers unite. Our first-ever U.S. store sits in the heart of New York City, right where the Flatiron Building splits Broadway and Fifth Avenue — it’s one of our favorite intersections in the world.

We view the store as a testament to our continued momentum. It marks the beginning of our ambitious retail expansion through 2023.

How would you describe the look and feel of the store?

My brother Jamie and I collaborated with our in-house design team and lead interior designer Rye Johnson to create an immersive customer experience that mirrors the distinctive energy of New York City. At the store entrance, customers are greeted by a large LED screen that displays our brand’s latest campaign imagery.

The space also features a juxtaposition of old and new mixed materials. For example, we’ve paired vintage and secondhand furniture with modern design components such as glass-blown lights from Bocci, which is another Vancouverbased company.

Other design elements include reclaimed oak tables, black-painted oak walls and a tile-wrapped cash desk and dressing rooms. The walls of the store are decorated with displays of Herschel’s signature styles in an assortment of colors.

Hershel Supply is known as being an advocate of local artists. Tell us more about that.

Our mission is to inspire and provide up-and-coming creatives with the means to pursue their artistic interests, which shows up in different ways throughout our business. From a product standpoint, we’ve partnered with individual artists on merchandise collaborations.

We also have initiatives at store-level. In our Flatiron store we will host a rotating “Artist in Residence” program that will spotlight a new artist every three-to-six months. The store features a large-scale gallery wall and additional lounge space for artists to expand their installations.

Will the store host other events?

We dedicate space in all our stores to host community events. In New York specifically, we allocated 1,200-sq. ft. of space above the store’s main floor for community events. We hope to host between two and three community events every month, with the events ranging from sound baths to artist workshops to live podcast tapings.

What business challenges has the company faced in creating a physical store strategy?

We’ve had a successful wholesale business for years, but running a retail organization is different. We recruited and hired a best-inclass team to help us pave a smooth path. We love meeting our customers wherever they shop and having this extension to our business model is the next step in creating a robust global business. So far, it’s proven to be successful for us.

What’s the next step in Herschel’s expansion strategy?

We plan to continue expanding within the U.S., and expect to operate 12 additional locations in North America by the end of 2023. We will focus on key epicenters throughout the U.S. and Canada, including New York City, Toronto, Los Angeles and Calgary.