First to market retailer headed to Lenox Square.
Vancouver-based Ivivva has plans to open their first retail store in Atlanta early next year. The new store will open on the second floor of Lenox Square in a space currently occupied by beleaguered footwear retailer Bakers. The 2,333 square foot space is located near Mori Luggage & Gifts, not far from Bloomingdale's. Bakers, the nearly 90-year-old women's shoe retailer, has been under tremendous financial stress following its 2013 bankruptcy filing.
Sources say that ivivva should open in the first half of next year.
Essentially ivivva is "kids lululemon" by another name. The company started as ivivva athletica, but is today is known simply as ivivva. The spin-off started in Canada in 2009 and opened in the states in 2012.
Ivivva's Lenox location is ideal for the retailer as it situates them alongside other children's retailers such as Gymboree and the Gap family of brands including Baby Gap and Gap Kids.
Today, lululemon operates six stores in Georgia including Howell Mill, Ponce City Market, Shops Around Lenox, Perimeter Mall, Broughton Street in Savannah, and Avalon in Alpharetta. The company also operates a showroom in Athens.
As was the case of the original lululemon expansion, ivivva entered the metro area first with a showroom to build brand awareness, and to provide community outreach. Ivivva opened their Dunwoody showroom last April on Chamblee Dunwoody Road in Dunwoody Village. A second showroom in Alpharetta on Windward Parkway at "The Plaza at Windward" opened late last month.
As of now ivivva offers athletic clothing designed for young girls. While lululemon also started as primarily a women's retailer, they have since expanded to include men's offerings and have said it's a segment they plan to grow further. The ivivva brand seems unlikely to expand to the young male market, as part of their branding states they are "inspired by active girls."
Have you been to ivivva? What are your thoughts on the brand and its offerings? Where would you like to see ivivva open next in metro Atlanta?
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