lucy will open its first Portland-area store in northwest Portland's historic building, The Henry, in mid-October. The Portland-based retailer debuted online as lucy.com in November 1999. After closing the website in 2001, the company – whose headquarters remained in Portland – successfully shifted its focus to open brick-and-mortar stores in Washington, California, Arizona and Texas.
“All of us at lucy are thrilled to be opening our first hometown store. When I joined the company in June, my first priority was to open our doors in Portland,” said CEO Mike Edwards. “We chose the perfect location at The Henry in the Brewery Blocks because of its central location, urban design and close proximity to other national retailers, such as Anthropologie, Diesel and Whole Foods.”
The 1900-square-foot retail space at 1039 NW Couch is on the ground floor of the mossy green 15-story residential luxury tower in the renewed Brewery Blocks neighborhood. The Henry, soon to be a Portland landmark, is revolutionary in its sophisticated urban design and eco-friendly features, including building materials with recycled content, wood substitutes, an Energy Star roof and solar shading.
“We're excited to have lucy at The Henry, adding to our great mix of local and national companies that have recently made their home at the Brewery Blocks,” said Mark Edlen principal of Gerding/Edlen, the sole developer of the Brewery Blocks. “lucy is a vibrant, established brand, which fits perfectly with the neighborhood fabric that's been built there. We look forward to a successful, long-term partnership with their team.”
The five-block, 1.7 million square-foot area of new and renovated mixed-use buildings has become a center of activity in Portland's Pearl District. Once home to the Henry Weinhard Brewery – the origin of the location's name – the area is now a vibrant shopping and cultural center, actively drawing Portland's residents and visitors with markets, retail shops, galleries, cafes, restaurants and bistros.
In addition to the Portland opening, lucy is planning to open two more stores by the end of this year, for 15 stores in total. These sister stores add to its constellation of locations on the West Coast. Locations include four Southern California stores in Santa Monica, Newport Beach, Studio City, and Manhattan Beach; two Bay Area locations in Burlingame and Palo Alto; two Seattle stores; and two in Arizona in Scottsdale and Tucson.
“lucy is a great fit for the active and stylish women of Portland,” said Bonnie Choruby, senior vice president of merchandising. “They will love our unique mix of merchandise. We cherry-pick from hard-to-find, niche brands like Splendid and om girl as well as traditional performance brands like Nike and adidas. The best of these brands is combined with the best-selling brand in our stores – our exclusive lucy label which offers designs with unparalleled style, fit and function.”
