WE BOUGHT A RETAIL STORE
We bought a store. Alright, fine, we leased it. And it may only be for a couple months, but it's still a big deal for us.
Hold Up! Retail is dead! Isn't WOLACO a direct to consumer, e-commerce based business? Seems a bit backwards guys.
We get it - the truth is, we were watching "We Bought a Zoo" the other night. And there's a line where Matt Damon says "Sometimes all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage, literally just 20 seconds of embarrassing bravery, and I promise you something great will come of it".
... So we did it, Matt Damon - told us to do it. And we're taking a small chance on a retail store.
Low Demand + High Supply = OPPORTUNITY 4 WOLACO
The decline of retail has given us an interesting opportunity to move our day-to-day operations and office to a space that allows us to engage with our community, serve as a meeting point for events and workouts, and most importantly, it gives people a chance to meet us, to touch the product we've put so much work into, and dig our roots deeper into the NYC community.
So the new HQ for WOLACO is 16 Clinton Street in the Lower East Side, and we're there pretty much 24/7. It's currently a 450 sq ft white box with a coffee table and folding chairs, kind of like Steve Jobs garage or Zuck's college dorm room.
In the coming weeks we'll have built it out and sent the invite to anyone in NYC to come by for a proper party, but in the meantime, if you're in the area -- come say hello neighbor!
Know someone in the neighborhood? Send them this email and tell them to come stop by!
PS - Here's some inspiration for the week. If we're ever on the road, we like to listen to the How I Built This Podcast. It is great inspiration to get the wheels turning for entrepreneurs. This episode is with Jerry Murrell, the Founder of Five Guys. His approach to opening his first store is super interesting. Check it out.
