Modern Citizen sets down permanent roots.
Bad news first: San Franciscans can no longer shop by appointment, on Saturdays or during special events at Modern Citizen’s Cow Hollow showroom. The good news: Scooping up the label’s affordable, minimalist trend-forward clothes and accessories can now be a daily pursuit, thanks to its new Union Street storefront, situated around the corner from the company HQ.
Founder and CEO Jess Lee, 31, is thrilled about the 760square-foot addition to her digital-first family. Days after the store’s lightning-fast July 15 opening, a fresh-faced Lee, and equally poised co-founder/COO Lizzie Agnew, spoke with The Chronicle from the confines of their chic and homey new digs.
The thought of opening an offline store is a natural one for any successful e-retailer, a group to which 3-year-old Modern Citizen belongs. Although the privately funded company doesn’t share revenue figures, Agnew did say sales entered “seven-digit” territory last year.
And while the idea for a permanent real-world boutique had been floating around for some time, it was cemented late last year, Lee said, after a very popular and meaningful holiday pop-up experiment in downtown Los Angeles.
“We knew we wanted to open in our hometown of San Francisco and that being in the right location was key,” she says. Fillmore Street and Hayes Valley were considered, but in the end, the brand’s Cow Hollow roots won out.
The way Modern Citizen secured its prime spot on Union Street (between Webster and Buchanan streets) was anything but ordinary in the current challenging commercial realestate market. At the end of May, she cold-called Glassybaby, the tenant at 2070 Union St.
“The store wasn’t even on the market but, ultimately, we were able to transfer the lease by the end of June,” Lee says, noting the perfect timing for both parties.
The artisan votive and glassmaker waved goodbye to the space on June 30. Fifteen days later, Modern Citizen was up and running — and selling.
“Yes, a quick turnaround,” a smiling Lee acknowledges.
She was confident the team could pull it off for several reasons: the invaluable experience
gleaned during the Los Angeles pop-up; the short distance (less than a five-minute walk) to the company office/ warehouse on Octavia Street; and the mad interior design skills of Therese Jacinto, whose day job happens to be social media manager at Modern Citizen.
One step inside the store and anyone familiar with the brand will feel at ease. Hello, neutral color palette, classic textures and spare but stylish decor. “We wanted the store to feel like home, which is why we have communal spaces,” says Lee. “We really want people to hang out.” And shop, of course.
From Modern Citizen’s signature $80 Going Places compass necklace to essential layers (a la the beloved side-zip crew) and fashion-forward styles (refreshed monthly), most everything sold online is available offline. “The physical store does actually have more home items, like pieces from Berkeley-based Luvhaus Ceramics, which we adore,” Agnew adds.
So how have things changed now that there’s a physical space in the mix? “Well, the L.A. pop-up was a great test run and proved to me that we could handle all the differences that come with a storefront — like figuring out the actual flow, visuals and soul of the space,” Lee says. But the interaction with shoppers has been the most exciting thing.
“Our learnings have been so accelerated because we’re speaking with our customers every day. They tell us what they like, what they’re doing, where they’re traveling and what they care about. It’s so cool.”
Does this mean there could be a brick-and-mortar sibling coming soon? “It’s early days, and we’re focused on San Francisco right now,” says Lee. As for future pop-ups in new locations, she didn’t rule it out.