EASTWARD HO: American Rag owner Mark Werts is scouting locations for a New York flagship. “We’ve probably looked at 50 places in the last week,” said Werts, who was in Las Vegas at the Project trade show. “We’re looking for a big space in the Meatpacking District or Williamsburg.”
Werts, who operates American Rag stores in Los Angeles and Newport Beach, Calif., said he’s considering spaces from 3,000 square feet to 17,000 square feet and is aiming to open in New York by the spring, if he finds the right location.
Last fall, Werts opened new multibrand stores called Industrie Denim in Scottsdale, Ariz., and San Francisco, with Levi Strauss & Co. as a minority partner. American Rag also licenses its name to Macy’s Inc., which carries the American Rag brand in more than 700 doors, in addition to a Japan deal that has 19 American Rag stores in that market. Asked for his strategy in expanding American Rag to New York, Werts responded, “Restlessness.”