Catalog Clothier Tries Bricks-and-Mortar Retail
Santa Barbara, Calif.–based catalog company The Territory Ahead has begun testing its skills in bricks-and-mortar retail, beginning with a 3,000-square-foot store that opened on March 31 in the South Coast Plaza of Costa Mesa, Calif.
The South Coast Plaza branch and a Chicago store, which opened in September 2003, are confirmation that bricks-and-mortar stores are crucial, said Marvin Cooper, president of the retail division of Cornerstone Brands Inc., The Territory Ahead’s parent company.
“We want to find more ways to service our customer,” Cooper said. “What we have found is that the better we link the different touch points to the consumer, the better the consumer learns who we are. Either through the Internet, the catalog or store, there are ways to deliver a consistent brand message.”
The Territory Ahead started in 1988 as a catalog-only business selling the company’s casualwear for 35- to 60-year-old men and women. The company’s only concession to bricks-and-mortar retail was a Santa Barbara flagship store and several outlets, mostly in Northern California.
The stores’ price points range from $26 for a T-shirt to $500 for a leather jacket. The Territory Ahead store also sells Isabella Bird, the company’s fashion brand for women. Price points range from $24 for a T-shirt to $99 for a silk shirt.
In mid-May, the company will open a store in Palo Alto, Calif., said Cooper, who added that the company may open more stores in the future. —Andrew Asch
