Neighborhood Goods Is Redefining the Department Store
*By Tracey Cheek*
Neighborhood Goods is modernizing the department store in a neighborhood near you.
The retail start-up recently planted its first, 14,000-square-foot, brick-and-mortar location in Plano, Tex., and according to the company's co-founder and CEO, he's eyeing Chicago, Atlanta, D.C., Nashville, or Seattle for his next move.
"We're trying to create a discovery and delivery mechanism for people to be able to touch and feel and discover more direct to consumer brands," Matt Alexander told Cheddar.
Neighborhood Goods rents out space in its store to direct-to- consumer brands and builds upon the department store model by adding events ー live podcasts, a general store called "The Residency," and a restaurant named "Prim & Proper."
Of course, the start-up has its own app so users can discover new brands and browse products at home.
Neighborhood Goods sells brands for just about anybody ー the colorful kids clothing brand, Primary, to the all-encompassing men's wellness brand, Hims. Customers can also receive an interactive eye exam via the contact lens brand, Hubble. Brands on the start-up's roster take up residence there from anywhere between six to 12 months.
"If you're sitting at our restaurant, Prim & Proper, and you decide you want a pair of jeans from across the room we can bring them to you based on your location in the room. you can self-checkout, we have a barcode scanner, if you want to text with staff if you have a question that you would otherwise feel self conscious you can do that as well," Alexander said.
Much like any other department store, Neighborhood Goods has surveillance cameras ー 30 of them to be exact. But what they do with the data is a different matter. The company gives that data back to the brands, to show them how exactly customers are reacting to products.
"So, for brands that are used to being online they are accustomed to having a huge amount of data and insight as to how people are interacting, and psychical it's a bit of a vortex for information," Alexander said. "And so for us we're not passing along anyone's personally identifiable data, but we're giving brands a little more insight as to what's happening in the room and how people are interacting with their products."
Opening up shop in Plano, Tex., was no coincidence. The city has a growing millennial population, which is the demographic most of these brands are targeting.
"There's pent-up demand," Alexander said of the Plano location. "There's big opp in these markets where people are looking to shop from interesting brands touch and feel them have these more modern and contemporary experience, but they're just not accustomed to getting them as quickly as you would in New York."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/neighborhood-goods-looks-to-modernizing-the-department-store).
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