Cos, the H&M Group fashion label founded in 2007, is now hitting its growth stride. The London-based brand has been expanding its international storefront, with new stores in Mexico City and Stockholm plus a new outpost in New Jersey in 2023. Today, the brand has a 248-store portfolio, spanning 48 physical markets, 38 online markets and selected wholesale partners. Wholesale is a recent venture for Cos, starting in 2022 with retail partners Nordstrom in the U.S., e-commerce business Yoox, and German-based Breuninger online. Katie Reeves, managing director of Cos North America, leads the North American growth initiatives. After starting her merchandising career at H&M Group in 2003, Reeves left in 2011 before rejoining in 2021 at Cos. “The Cos brand itself has an amazing DNA, and I was excited to harness that and introduce the brand to many more consumers within the North American landscape,” she said on the latest episode of the Glossy podcast, recorded during the recent eTail West retail conference in Palm Springs, Calif. A growing roster of storefronts is just the tip of the iceberg for Cos, as the brand has sought to build on its NYFW momentum via new marketing opportunities timed to the bi-annual event, plus new store technology that can facilitate stronger customer connections and service. Speaking with Glossy, Reeves detailed where Cos is focusing its efforts, who the Cos customer is and why she thinks there is a brick-and-mortar renaissance.  Get more from Glossy with the daily newsletter, sent out each weekday morning. Visit glossy.co/newsletters to sign up.

When Maggie Winter co-founded apparel brand AYR 10 years ago, her goal was simple: provide consumers with luxe alternatives to fast-fashion everyday staples. Initially, those luxe alternatives only included high-quality denim and other apparel in the womenswear category, but in 2022, AYR expanded into menswear after many requests. Menswear became AYR's fastest-growing category, seeing three times 2022's growth in 2023, according to Winter. Because of the new category, in part, AYR has become a $50 million company, growing 5x since 2020. "[AYR's] growth has been fast, and looking back, there's so much [information] we've learned along the way tha,t now, we get to use," Winter said on the latest episode of the Glossy Podcast. "Now that we have an audience, a business, a brand and an audience, I get to be a merchant again and live with great product. [I get to] dream about how to storytell that product … and how to connect with people over it." Winter is also thinking about the next phase of the brand's growth journey. Currently, AYR is 99% DTC and 1% wholesale, with Shopbop being its sole wholesale partner. Along with growing AYR's digital footprint and community, Winter said she's working on new ways to provide an experience to consumers. On the podcast, Winter discusses what's driving growth at AYR and what's in store for the brand moving forward. "We don't want to choose between growth and profitability. We want to generate self-funded growth at a rate that doesn't exceed our capacity to learn, itirate and guarantee a great experience for customers," Winter said.  Get more from Glossy with the daily newsletter, sent out each weekday morning. Visit glossy.co/newsletters to sign up.