The next business opportunity we will be discussing is a retail establishment to serve the large young male population that works downtown, as well as downtown and metro residents.

Opportunity:XY – Urban Male Essentials

Business Case: With over 75,000 people working downtown, and guestimating that 1/2 of them are male, and 90% are between the ages of 21 and 40, there’s a huge audience that could be served with a downtown store that caters to the young urban male.

The retail store would be more than a typical clothing store, it would focus on its demographic by offering them a great selection of hip clothing and accessories. For example, if you want to buy, say a pair of Diesel jeans, the only place you have to shop in the area is Von Maur, but try to find clothing by Andrew Christian, 7 for All Men, Armani, Citzens of Humanity, Rock & Republic, etc. You just can’t find that here, since we don’t even have a Bloomingdales or Macy’s.

In addition to demin, XY would carry a variety of men’s polo shirts and t-shirts. Also the store would carry a huge selection of men’s underwear from brands like: Just Us Boys, Papi, C-N2, Baskit, and Ginch Gonch. In the accessories department the store would have a good selection of belt buckles, belts, watches, bracelets, necklaces and rings. Shoppers would find men’s casual shoes such as Creative Reaction, D&G, Ed Hardley, Puma Sport, Steve Madden and Lacoste.

Other urban male essentials would include a collection of leather and canvas messenger bags and an assortment of DJ Mix and Circuit Party CDs.

Atmosphere in the store would be a urban atmosphere with a creative displays designed by a variety of local designers. Walls would also feature a showcase of rotating photography and art by local artists that provide an urban feel. Dressing rooms would be modern made from gas-filled glass that changes to opaque.

This store would be open 7 days a week and till 10am to 9pm daily. To get more people downtown in the evenings, special events would be held in the store, including art exhibits and fashion shows.

Suggested Location: The space I am thinking about for this store downtown is the old Iowa State Bank building. The reason I have selected it is due to both it’s location, in the heart of downtown for easy lunch time access by downtown workers, and for it’s ability to have both a street level entrance as well as a skywalk entrance.

If possible, I would turn the rooftop into a nice patio area and do summertime fashion shows on the rooftop maybe once a month to show off the latest inventory, complete with wine and music.

closeAuthor: MulderDSM Name: Larry Bradshaw
Email: admin@livingdowntowndesmoines.com
Site: http://www.larrybradshaw.net
About: Please see www.larrybradshaw.netSee Authors Posts (383)

(2 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)

 Loading ...

None found