Island Company sees opportunity in the economic downturn.
As many firms scale back their retail components, the seven-year-old resort brand is expanding with a freestanding store in Nantucket, Mass., after opening the company’s first unit on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach, Fla., in November.
“I’ve always done the opposite of what everybody else has done. A lot of companies are getting out of retail, but I’m getting in,” said Spencer Antle, founder and creative director, citing the availability of quality space because of the surge in vacancies and lower rents.
Antle also is launching a sun care line and plans to open two more stores — one domestic and one international — by yearend.
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The 1,000-square-foot Nantucket unit located on fashionable Centre Street opened in May and sells the full Island Company line of women’s and men’s T-shirts, polos, shorts, sandals and swimwear, and women’s dresses, skirts and accessories. The merchandise is 60 percent women’s and 40 percent men’s. Retail prices run from $40 to $225.
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“Our wholesale business is flat, but for us that’s down because we’ve grown at least 100 percent every year since we started,” Antle said of the brand, based in West Palm Beach, Fla. “If you aren’t experimenting when things are bad, then you’re not just missing a fantastic opportunity, you’re just putting your head in the sand and hoping you don’t die.”
Antle believes Island Company’s tropical escapism theme resonates more with customers now that they can experience the brand’s entire story in freestanding units, rather than shopping a limited amount of merchandise in other stores.
Nantucket is an ideal market because of the affluent resort area’s “more economically insulated environment,” said Antle, who plans to merchandise it like the 450-square-foot Palm Beach location, which sells $1,100 per square foot.