Frank & Oak is evaluating the U.S. market for possible future retail locations.
The company already has six stores across their home base in Canada. With the U.S. being a new physical entry point — they do have U.S. customers through their e-tail site — the firm just started an online campaign running through April 8 called “Collective Impact: Frank & Oak In My City” to gauge market interest for the stores. The plan is for six long-term pop-up shops, with customers choosing among 12 options for where those locations should be. The choices include Manhattan, Brooklyn, Chicago, Washington, Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Austin, Tex., and Portland, Ore.
Consumers can back a store location through the purchase of different levels of gift card interest. The gift cards function as in-store credit for a particular city, and range from $10 for a basic card, with options at increasingly higher levels that qualify for different premium add-ons. A $50 gift card includes a tote bag for pick up at the store, while a $250 gift card includes a VIP invite to the store opening party. A $3,000 gift card includes prior level premiums, such as the tote bag and a dinner with a Frank & Oak cofounder, plus a tour of company headquarters in Montreal.
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The purchases will allow the company to gauge consumer interest for a store in any given city. If the threshold to open a store is not reached, the gift cards will be refunded.
Frank & Oak, while an apparel brand, considers itself a media firm that includes e-tail, a biannual print magazine and online content to coincide with its 12 new collections every month. Ethan Song, cofounder, chief executive officer and creative director, said the brand is about the “experience” and there’s a focus on the interaction with Frank & Oak community members. The move to give customers a say on where they want their stores is another way to continue that dialogue.