Los Angeles customers will be able to shop a regularly evolving selection of merchandise from small independent brands that promote a sustainable and ethical way of creating products ranging from apparel, jewelry and other fashion accessories to home and beauty products.
WOLF & BADGER
Wolf & Badger Opens First West Coast Store
U.K. fashion retailer Wolf & Badger has continued its expansion by opening a store in West Hollywood on June 3. The new store, located on Melrose Avenue, is the company’s third stand-alone and second in the U.S., following the opening of its store in the SoHo district of New York in 2017.
Founded in 2010 by brothers Henry and George Graham, Wolf & Badger originally opened in Notting Hill and carries a wide range of emerging designer labels for men and women. The brand opened a second location in Mayfair before combining the two stores into a three-level, 12,000-square-foot department store in King’s Cross.
Los Angeles customers will be able to shop a regularly evolving selection of merchandise from small independent brands that promote a sustainable and ethical way of creating products ranging from apparel, jewelry and other fashion accessories to home and beauty products. The new space will also host a series of activations including workshops, product launches and styling events.
The store opening follows a year of growth in the U.S., with sales surpassing $100 million and an over 100 percent compound annual growth rate from 2017 to 2021 based on year-over-year sales growth.
“Los Angeles is now our second largest market in the U.S. after New York City, and we have seen such a strong appreciation from our California customers for the way in which we responsibly source the most stylish and high-quality pieces from the best independent designers, so it felt like the natural next step for us in order to better serve our existing customers in the area and to help introduce others to Wolf & Badger in a unique and refreshing way,” said George Graham, co-founder and CEO of Wolf & Badger.
The company is the first online marketplace in the U.K. to become B Corp certified and was also the recipient of a Drapers Sustainable Fashion award for Retailer of the Year in 2021. Keeping with its sustainability efforts, all tables, countertops and millwork for the store were created using post-industrial-waste materials from Durat Palace and Plasticiet. Cork and natural wool fibers have also been used in the furniture throughout the space.
The retailer vets and verifies all of the brands featured using the Guarantee Index found on its website and in its stores. The standard was developed in collaboration with leading sustainability entities, including a professor of sustainability from Imperial College London as well as in-house team members led by the vice president of content and sustainability. Some of the standards set by the Guarantee Index include workers being paid fair wages, not utilizing child labor, not using animal products that are by-products of the food industry, employing materials made using non-toxic dyes, products made with at least 50 percent recycled or upcycled materials, at least 1 percent of the brand’s sales going to charity, and pieces being unique or one-off, among other criteria.
“As we have continued to scale the business, we have increasingly sought to learn more ourselves and as a team and in turn to help educate the brands on our platform to develop and grow in more responsible ways,” said Graham. “We then seek to support our community of brands to communicate with customers in appropriate ways the great work they are doing in their supply chains and across their businesses in order to help better guide customers to be able to shop by their values through the Wolf & Badger platform.”
The company noted that it hopes to continue its expansion in the U.S. and is in the process of expanding into Australia and has entered discussions with partners across the AsiaPacific.
“Alongside our retail expansion, we have several improvements to our website in the pipeline, having recently relaunched our website on a fully bespoke headless commerce stack utilizing GatsbyJS. With these further enhancements coming soon to our website, you can expect to see customer-experience improvements including new ways to shop and discover our assortment of brands and products as well as new and fun ways for our community to connect,” said Graham.
Photos courtesy of Wolf & Badger.
