Bellroy is adding bricks-and-mortar to a distribution model built on stockists, marketplaces and its own digital channels, opening on Little Collins Street in the Melbourne CBD.
The Melbourne carry brand will follow the store with locations in New York and Kuala Lumpur over the next six months. The three openings mark its entry into physical retail across three regions.
According to Bellroy, its stockists will keep curating ranges for their own customers. Its own stores will carry the full breadth of the range, which now runs from wallets and phone cases to bags and luggage.
“Our stockists will keep doing what they do so well – curating the perfect Bellroy selection for their customers – while our own stores give people access to the full breadth of what we make,” Bellroy CEO Lina Calabria said.
“That breadth changes what customers will need from their shopping experience.”
In Kuala Lumpur, Bellroy will work through Seager, its long-standing Malaysian distribution partner, to support the store. The format will be similar to Melbourne and New York. The brand said pop-ups and activations in Asia had drawn a strong response in recent years.
The stores will include packing stations, a spare-parts workshop and custom mementos referencing each city. Staff will be what the brand calls “Carry Guides”, selected for their interest in customers and their expertise in movement and travel.
Bellroy said the rollout is being funded from a position of financial strength. It recorded strong revenue growth over the past 12 months and is targeting growth of 10 to 20 per cent in the year ahead.
The US remains its largest market, with revenue there growing at a strong double-digit rate over the same period.
Chief commercial officer Ken Castellano said opening in three cities at once was a commitment to customers who had been asking for stores, rather than a trial in a single market.
“We built Bellroy to help people move through the world better, and for 16 years we’ve done that without a single store of our own.”
Headquartered in Melbourne, Bellroy is a certified B Corp. It sells wallets, bags, luggage and tech accessories in more than 150 countries and employs more than 150 people across Australia, the US and China.