28 April 2016|In Design, Commerce|2 Minutes
Ronnie Fieg Reveals the Cost of Renovating the KITH Brooklyn Store
In a recent Business of Fashion article, it is revealed that Ronnie Fieg spent a total of $2 million USD to renovate his KITH Brooklyn store, which boasts such novelties as 750 white cast Air Jordan IIs hanging from the ceiling, as well as the KITH Treats cereal bar. Justifying the extensive renovation by Snarkitecture — which expanded the space from 800 to 3,000 square feet — Fieg cites the fact that 60% of sales are made in-store as opposed to online, with the business itself having expanded 300% since last year. Fieg also discusses KITH Treats, which aims to keep teenagers in a physical store space for hours, as opposed to a fleeting online relationship. Read an excerpt below, and find the whole article here.
When Fieg was a kid himself, living in Queens and travelling to Manhattan for work, he remembers trying to bring downtown trends back home to his peers who were slightly behind the curve. But while the Internet has made it easier for consumers to stay up-to-the-minute, and for brands to market their street cred into scalability, it had also increased the threat of overexposure and of losing early customers who trade in the currency of cool.
"It's very easy to blow this thing out of proportion and give people what they want, but it's important to keep this brand special," says Fieg. Kith product does not sell through wholesale and Fieg has scaled back on collaborative projects with other brands. "I'm holding back heavy," he says. "I see that market's been saturated."
Source: businessoffashion.com
Fashion KITH New York Retail Ronnie Fieg