Mall owner Simon has partnered with ecommerce platform Shopify and physical retail platform Leap to help ecommerce brands launch or expand into brick-and-mortar.
The three companies will offer a suite of solutions to help digital brands quickly open new stores across Simon’s real estate portfolio as well as at other locations. Men’s apparel brand True Classic and fine jewelry brand Ring Concierge are among the first companies to take advantage of the new offering.
“Physical stores are a vital component to a brand’s omnichannel strategy and have a proven track record for growing revenue and attracting new customers,” said Zach Beloff, VP of Leasing at Simon in a statement. “We have helped numerous ecommerce brands establish a brick-and-mortar presence and our new collaboration with Shopify and Leap will provide an easy way for ecommerce brands to scale their brick-and-mortar business.”
Combined Solutions Facilitate Rapid Store Openings
Ring Concierge, whose website is built on Shopify, leveraged the service to open three new stores in a matter of months with the help of the Leap solution, which offers location sourcing, store design, staffing, technology and analytics support. Two of the new stores are location at Simon properties — The Galleria in Houston and Town Center in Boca Raton, Fla. The third store is located on New York City’s Bleecker Street, bringing the brand’s total fleet to five locations, all powered by Leap.
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“Simon, Shopify and Leap were instrumental in helping us implement our brick-and-mortar growth strategy,” said Nicole Wegman, Founder of Ring Concierge in a statement. “Their knowledge, expertise and support saved us valuable time and resources and have helped us scale our physical retail footprint faster than we could have imagined. We are highly encouraged by our Q4 sales performance that we saw in these new markets over the holiday season. Our two comp locations exceeded 2023 and our three new locations continue to acquire new customers, which are valuable to our omnichannel experience.”
“By unifying a merchant’s online and offline sales experience, Shopify empowers millions of brands to grow and scale their businesses,” said Ritu Khanna, VP of Partnerships at Shopify in a statement. “We are thrilled to work alongside Simon and Leap to bring ecommerce brands like Ring Concierge to physical retail faster and easier than ever before.”
Building on Simon’s Omnichannel Efforts
This latest partnership continues Simon’s ongoing efforts to help the brands in its malls and shopping centers adapt to changing consumer behaviors. A new campaign — Meet Me @themall — aims to highlight mall’s multi-generational appeal, and the company is expanding the services it offers, which now include an online marketplace to help brands in its outlet locations build their omnichannel presence, as well as plans for electric vehicle charging stations at 75 of its properties.
