Photo by Caitlin Abrams
Interior of Kit & Ace store in North Loop, Minneapolis
Kit and Ace, lululemon founder Chip Wilson’s follow-up brand of luxury basics, has abruptly closed all U.S. stores including its Mall of America location. The North Loop store closed at the end of March.
I’m not surprised. One of the perils of having tons of money at your disposal is it allows you to do things before you’re ready to do them. Like, open 60 stores in less than two years when you’re still tinkering with the product and haven’t figure out who your target customers are, nor how best to reach them.
Wilson released a statement on Facebook saying the Vancouver-based Kit and Ace is “simplifying its business plan and operations.” That includes closing stores in Australia and Great Brittan, too. Only the Canadian stores will remain open. “We recognize the traditional world of bricks and mortar retailing is changing,” Wilson said. “I believe in the business model for Kit and Ace. Going forward, we will be a stronger company.”
Kit and Ace got a lot of hype as it exploded across the world—not only because of Wilson’s colorful past with lululemon (remember when he blamed those sheer yoga pants on our bad bodies?), or the fact that his current wife and son from a previous marriage were at the helm of the new brand of luxury basics. (I had a really interesting conversation with son JJ Wilson when Kit and Ace opened in Minneapolis.) Kit and Ace tried to think differently about bricks and mortar retail. They tried to build community, and built stores with a millennial mindset: Furniture and art by local makers in each market. In-store pop-ups with designers and small brands. Before even opening in a new market, the Kit and Ace team was on the ground making friends with local influencers and inviting them to dinners at the hottest restaurants.
Interesting tactic, I thought, as I attended one such dinner at Saint Dinette, where a special cocktail was served with each course and the Kit and Ace team led the bunch of us through several conversation starters designed to spark interesting discussion among people connected only on Instagram. It was a lovely evening, but I found myself wondering, somewhere between the rose and merlot, how that dinner was going to help Kit and Ace sell $128 long sleeve cotton shirts.
As the news of Kit and Ace’s retrenchment spreads today, I’ve read mentions of quality issues and high prices. I didn’t love the fit on everything, but Kit and Ace does have some great pieces—washable cashmere sweaters and wraps; versatile pants comfortable enough to wear on the run, but with details that make them office-worthy. My stylish mom and her friends might have loved it. But Kit and Ace was fixated on young people, most of whom couldn’t afford to drop $200 on a long cardigan.
There are lessons, good and bad, to be taken from Kit and Ace’s swift rise and fall. It will be interesting to see if the Wilson family actually pays attention.
