Block Headwear is celebrating its tenth anniversary with its first retail unit.
The hat brand, whose straw fedoras and knit beanies are a staple at Scoop, Barneys New York and contemporary men’s boutiques, is taking over a 750-square-foot space at 10 Prince Street in Manhattan’s Nolita neighborhood. It is opened yesterday.
The store’s debut highlights the brand’s growth from a boutique play to a category leader — one that has benefited from young men’s growing interest in old-fashioned hat styles.
“We’ve been talking about a retail store for about five years. We felt the time was right now,” said Sam Hafif, founder and chief executive of Concept One, which owns Block. “Distribution has grown. Saks has rolled us out to all doors. We wanted to create a platform for the brand.”
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The store will also serve as laboratory for the hat maker, which will test new categories such as belts, bags and small leather goods. It will also feature exclusive hat styles at prices above its average range of $30 to $85.
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Hafif said the location will also carry third-party merchandise — some of which will be pulled from Concept One’s vast portfolio of hat licenses. To start, Block will showcase Original Penguin headwear and cold weather accessories.
The space — which is designed around historic tools of the hat-making trade, including the brand’s namesake block — was a perfect environment, according to Hafif. “The area fits our profile of very creative, fashion-conscious consumer,” he said of the unit, which sits between Elizabeth Street and the Bowery, a block whose other tenants include RRL and Vince. “And given the real estate market right now, we got a good deal.”
The brand’s founder and head milliner, Ciomi McCabe, is also moving her design studio into the space.
Block is also revamping its Web site, blockheadwear.com, and adding e-tail. That site will relaunch in May.