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100 stores of summer

Author

MacK Seale
September 18, 2025

morninā€™ merry makers šŸŒ“šŸ—½šŸŽ©šŸ§µšŸ‘ŸšŸŽÆ

we made it. 100 stores of summer.

longtime readers know how much i believe in the law of 100. do something 100 times and you learn more than you ever could from a single perfect attempt. it felt fitting to take that approach towards one of the things i love most: stores.

i didnā€™t have the 100 picked before i started. i figured it out as i went along.

which makes it even more fascinating to look back now at the patterns that emerged.

so hereā€™s the wrap-up spotify style.

geography

  • 3 countries

  • 18 states

  • 39 cities

genres

  • california & los angeles were most representedā€¦ likely biased by the fact thatā€™s where i spent the summer. but also representative of the truth that proximity matters in retail.

  • most popular retail neighborhood was soho in nyc

  • most popular retail development was westfield century city

  • most developer was j.s. rosenfield & co for the country marts (brentwood, marin, & montecito were featured)

b(r)ands

we played 23 b(r)ands, alphabetized for your browsing pleasure:

  1. babylist (1)

  2. bandit (3)

  3. c bonz (1)

  4. camp (9)

  5. commodity fragrances (1)

  6. cult gaia (10)

  7. doĢ‚en (7)

  8. the elder statesman (3)

  9. flor keeps (2)

  10. gigi burris (1)

  11. good american (4 @ publish in june, now 5 with topanga)

  12. good quality human (2)

  13. goop (7 + lido marina coming soon)

  14. kemo sabe (6)

  15. left on friday (2)

  16. nick fouquet (1)

  17. offe (1)

  18. skims (8 at publish in june, now 12, incl mexico city!)

  19. sporty & rich (1)

  20. the realreal (16)

  21. therabody (10 at publish, now 9 closed houston)

  22. tuckernuck (2)

  23. world (6)

checkout time

in an age where ai can write your emails and amazon can deliver your toothpaste in hours, the easy, frictionless path has never been more abundant.

convenience is everywhere.

itā€™s boring.

& itā€™s making us more boringā€¦

the real electricity comes from experiences like the store you had to drive across town to find. the one where the founder is behind the counter, or the sweatshirt is stitched with your favorite place, or the stroller test track is waiting for you to push.

what these 100 stops proved is that the future of retail isnā€™t about erasing friction.

itā€™s about adding meaning & community.

thatā€™s what gets people talking & walking in the door.

p.s. survey closes tomorrow. donā€™t miss your chance to win a $20 gift card and to get 2 free months of merry membership!