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A Co-working Approach to Shared Retail Space
“Your favorite brands, now in the real world.” That’s the slogan Re:Store founder Celene Cruz came up with to describe her newly-launched startup, which will allow small brands to pay a monthly fee to sell their products in a shared San Francisco storefront. Along with the storefront, Re:Store will offer brands inventory services and a co-working space.
“It was a natural transition,” Cruz, creator of Archer Brighton, a popular line of bags to organize laptops and chargers, told Fortune. “I wanted to get a storefront and my customers were asking for it, but unfortunately in San Francisco it is too expensive for me to even afford physical space on my own.”
The result was one of the first startups to secure funding through Female Founder Office Hours, a new mentorship program led by a group of women in venture capital. Sequoia Capital’s Jess Lee spearheaded her firm’s investment in Re:Store in the startup’s $1.7 million pre-seed round.
“It’s easier than ever to become a brand, making your own stuff and selling it online,” said Lee. “But brands end up hitting a wall. At some point, you want to see, feel, and touch products.”
To be located near Union Square in San Francisco, Re:Store’s retail space will serve as a hub for up to 60 independent brands, bringing the brands’ followers to a shared space where they can see, feel and touch their favorite designs and find potential new favorites. Founders who sign up for co-working will be scattered throughout the space, allowing them to interact with customers.
Like WeWork, Re:Store will be the one on the hook for long-term leases, in Union Square and future locations. The expense of leasing retail space is the key stumbling block for small online brands, some of which only carry one or two items and won’t ever need their own physical space.
Re:Store will also furnish the space, hire store associates and do the marketing. In exchange, brands will pay $350 a month and give up 20% of their sales to sell in Re:Store’s space. For $550 a month, they’ll get a co-working spot and for $850 a month they’ll also get inventory services, including fulfillment.
For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Paul Bubny
- ◦Financing
