Ten years after the opening of the first Ron Dorff boutique in Paris, brand founder Claud Lindorff has just opened his second U.S. boutique in Los Angeles, after New York, and found an ideal location in the West Hollywood neighborhood.
A perfect location for the sportswear, swimwear and underwear brand, which opened at 8591 Sunset Boulevard, just across from the new Equinox gym club, a popular venue for male customers and LGBTQIA+ enthusiasts.
“We’d been looking for a location near the Equinox gym club for a year now,” said Lindorff. “We had already collaborated with Equinox by presenting a selection of our products on its e-shop, including our Pride collection. This location, chosen during the Covid pandemic, is ideal: the gym club’s lovers can even see our boutique from the treadmills! We also reach the Sunset Strip hotel clientele, which is another plus.”
Chosen on the basis of online sales results, Ron Dorff boutique locations have always sought to open close to lively neighborhoods, such as London’s Covent Garden, Paris’ Marais district or Berlin’s Mitte district.
After New York, the opening of a boutique in Los Angeles confirms the brand’s global expansion and growing interest in the American market.
“The American market across online, retail and wholesale is continuously growing and now accounting for 40% of overall global sales”, said Lindorff. “Specifically in the U.S., online sales are up 44% against last year and U.S. retail sales are up 21% boosted by our new flagship store in LA.”
To explain Ron Dorff’s global expansion, Lindorff points to the company’s ability to reinvent what Americans are good at: sportswear.
“We upgrade the sportswear invented by Americans with urban and chic sportswear, selecting the right materials, the right goodies, the right cuts, without trying to compete with Nike or Adidas,” added Lindorff.
“Our sales in the United States exploded during Covid; a time when ties and shirts were left in favor of sweaters and cashmere hoodies. We succeeded in reaching a particular target, a clientele that had managed to escape the crisis, often gay, with significant purchasing power and generally between 35 and 45 years old.”
Backed by its investor Puma Private Equity and a 4-million euro fundraising round at the end of 2020, Ron Dorff is also eyeing possible openings in Miami, and could renew its pop-up concept on Fire Island, an island on the outskirts of New York where the gay community has its habits. In Europe, Lindorff is looking to Amsterdam for future expansion, and is expected to announce the opening of a new boutique in Paris in the near future.
Finally, the Ron Dorff brand continues to launch two big seasonal collections with three edits within them and for Summer/Spring 2023, the brand collaborated with the restaurant Jackie O’ on Mykonos for the Mykonos Boy Collection. Other recent collaborations include Bayona espadrilles, Riviera shoes and TBD eyewear. Next spring, Ron Dorff will also team up with British vegan sneaker brand Loci, in which actor Leonardo Dicaprio has already invested over $4.7 million.
Next spring, Ron Dorff will launch a book-magazine format designed by photographer Matthias Vriens-McGrath.
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