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mornin’ merry makers 👗🧵💮🎀🍓🌸
a merry member passed along the recent nyt piece calling dying shopping malls the roman ruins of our civilization. i braced for impact as i vehemently hate a fatalistic retail headline.
but the nostalgia written about in the piece did get me.
the decaying food courts, empty big boxes, fountains turned ghostly wishing wells. y’all know i’m sentimental about malls. remembering who we were when we bought our first cd, our first lip gloss, our first pair of “grown up” shoes. i am very pro mall sentimentality.
so the idea of malls as ruins… i get the poetry of it.
but here’s where i diverge.
i care most about where new brands are going now. the leases they are signing in 2025 tell us just as much about our culture as the empty anchor boxes do. maybe more.
if abandoned malls are our ruins, then new stores are our blueprints.
and right now, a very specific pattern is emerging. younger, newer, often digital first brands are not running away from malls. they are running straight into them, very intentionally, for their first or most meaningful stores.
let’s cherish the living side of retail even more.
in today’s letter, you'll scroll:
→ a british brand choosing a surprising market for its first u.s. store
→ a kawaii collectibles slinging labubus in a luxury mall
→ a viral jewelry brand going irl for the first time in the us
→ a wellness-meets-loungewear brand making its debut
→ a tiktok darling taking over long island
boden
what: the british lifestyle brand known for prints & knits. think heritage-meets-modern vibes with lots of fair isle & cashmere “jumpers.”
when: soon (press said mid-november…)
where: avalon, alpharetta, ga
neighbors: chanel beauty, tumi, & lululemon
why it matters:
mail to mall. founded in 1991 as a uk mail-order brand, then grew into e-comm and uk stores before finally taking the leap into u.s. retail.
the brand’s first full price u.s. store. planting a physical flag stateside signals long-term commitment to the u.s. market & confidence in its american customer base. they previously had outlets here which i find puzzling.
launching in suburban georgia (not nyc/la) is the real strategy tell. this says boden knows exactly who its u.s. customer is and where they actually shop
opening ahead of holiday is strategic timing. prints + knits hit hardest in q4, making this a clean brand-building runway.
hello tokyo • innogoodshop
what: a k-pop, collectibles, kawaii merch, plush, & asian snack retailer
when: november 15, 2025
where: the westchester, white plains, ny
neighbors: neiman marcus, j. crew, & lenscrafters
why it matters:
founded in 2014 as a tiny kawaii and fandom gift shop with a focus on tv before evolving into a playful experiential retailer now landing in a mall.
seventh store in the north east after opening in palisades center (ny), jefferson valley mall (ny), galleria at crystal run (ny), poughkeepsie galleria (ny), stamford town center (ct), and connecticut post mall (ct.)
signaling the quickly growing interest in kawaii culture for labubus, k-pop, k-beauty, plushies, snacks, & more across all ages and in more suburban settings.
evry jewels
what: the viral montreal based jewelry & accessories brand known for affordable trends
when: november 22, 2025
where: the westchester, white plains, ny
neighbors: nordstrom, rowan, journeys, & warby parker
why it matters:
founded in 2017 by a montreal sibling duo who scaled through instagram and micro-influencers with their handchains and aura necklaces.
their fourth major u.s. mall. this year they already opened in mall of america, aventura mall and garden state plaza.
the multi mall pick is very telling. this low priced, high-margin, impulse-friendly product belongs in malls. jewelry converts best when touched, tried on, and impulse-bought especially during holiday gifting.
haven well within
what: a wellness-focused a lifestyle brand centered on elevated fabrics and slow luxury
when: november 8, 2025
where: roosevelt field, garden city, ny
neighbors: j. crew, free people movement, & brooks brothers
why it matters:
founded in 2020 as a digital-first wellness lifestyle concept think cashmere socks, hand creams, and silk robes.
their first permanent standalone store. stepping out of pop up test mode and into true retail commitment as they bet on tactile retail selling more.
choosing a high-income suburban powerhouse says everything. roosevelt field hits the exact shopper they want: wellness-minded & quality-focused.
princess polly
what: the australian-born fashion brand with over 1M followers in tiktok fame
when: october 25, 2025
where: roosevelt field mall, garden city, ny
neighbors: dick’s sporting goods, express, & pacsun
why it matters:
founded in 2005 as a small australian boutique, then moved online in the early 2010s and skyrocketed through influencer and tiktok-fueled growth.
this is store #10 in the us, continuing a rapid mall-first rollout. princess polly already has stores in scottsdale fashion square, westfield valley fair, newbury street, easton town center, glendale galleria, westfield century city, dadeland mall, irvine spectrum, & soho nyc.
more to come soon king of prussia and bondi, showing that these stores are performing very well.
see you next week on the retail merry-go-round 🎠
p.s. one of the newsletters that i actually read & am so inspired by is today’s merry partner. ari is a genius & not to be missed if you’re an ecommerce marketing 👇
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