Rihanna Brand Savage X Fenty To Open Five Stores Including Philadelphia

 By Linda Moss CoStar News

In another endorsement of brick-and-mortar retail, singer-entrepreneur Rihanna is opening five stores for her lingerie line, kicking off with Las Vegas later this month.

The beauty-and-fashion tycoon, who was deemed a billionaire by Forbes last year, plans to open Savage X Fenty stores in Los Angeles, Houston, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., as well as Nevada’s gambling capital.

Rihanna, whose full name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty, announced the news on her Instagram account but didn’t disclose exactly where the store sites will be. Savage X Fenty is the latest digital-native company — a group that ranges form e-commerce giant Amazon to eyewear maker Warby Parker and footwear seller Allbirds — that has opted to debut physical stores as a way to expand its reach and market share.

“On the heels of the brand’s incredible growth since first launching in 2018, this new direct-to-consumer experience is the next step to bringing a fuller expression of the brand to consumers in key markets,” Savage X Fenty said in a statement to the media on the planned stores.

The company made waves by being the antithesis of mall staple Victoria’s Secret. Instead of promoting and doing marketing featuring what critics have called unrealistically slim models, the so-called Victoria's Secret Angels, Rihanna's collection sells intimate apparel online for women of all sizes, with her marketing including images of women of all body types. It offers sizes from 30A to 42H in bras and extra small to 3X in underwear and sleepwear.

With young women abandoning structured push-up bras for more comfortable lingerie such as bralets, and some women bristling at conventional wisdom of what they should look like, Reynoldsburg, Ohio-based Victoria’s Secret struggled and eventually retooled its marketing efforts. The retailer still has a formidable brick-and-mortar presence, with roughly 1,400 stores globally. The chain was spun off from L Brands last August and just posted a strong holiday season.

‘Coming in Hot’

Regarding her planned stores, on Instagram Rihanna posted that in “2022, we coming in HOT! we bout to bring you a whole new #SavageXFenty experience with the launch of our brick-and-mortar retailer stores!”

A rendering on Instagram depicts the Savage X Fenty store has having bright blue, red and yellow colors.

And under “stores locations,” Savage X Fenty’s website now says, “The Wait Is Almost Over. Check back here for more details.”

Savage X Fenty is based at 2150 Park Place in El Segundo, California, according to CoStar data.

Last October, a Savage X Fenty marketing chief first disclosed to Bloomberg News that the brand would be opening up physical stores in 2022.

While Rihanna, a pop icon, has had much success with her cosmetics line, Fenty Beauty, her partner luxury conglomerate LVMH — parent of brands such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Hermès and Gucci — put a hold on plans to launch a Fenty luxury apparel line in February last year.

Also that month, Savage X Fenty completed a $115 million Series B fundraising round to support its growth, an infusion led by the growth fund of L Catterton, the largest global consumer-focused private-equity firm, with participation from existing investors such as Marcy Venture Partners and Avenir. L Catterton is controlled by Bernard Arnault, LVMH’s CEO.

Last year, Jon Owsley, co-managing partner of L Catterton’s growth fund, in a statement said Savage X Fenty in just a couple of years had achieved remarkable success by disrupting the intimates category.

“The brand strikes a unique balance between affordability, fashion, and comfort, stands deeply for inclusivity and diversity, and has differentiated itself by building an extraordinary level of affinity and unmatched customer loyalty,” he said. “We believe the opportunities ahead for Savage X Fenty are enormous.”

Last August, Forbes identified Rihanna as the wealthiest female musician in the world, and ranking No. 2 behind Oprah Winfrey as the richest female entertainer. It estimated her wealth as $1.7 billion, with $1.4 billion from the value of Fenty Beauty and $270 million from Savage X Fenty.

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