SEE YOU IRL.
Marcella Opens Its First Brick-and-Mortar Store in San Francisco.
It might seem odd that a New York clothing company would decide to open its first store 3,000 miles away in San Francisco.
But the husband-and-wife team behind the Marcella clothing label said San Francisco has been a good market, and they were taken with a pedestrian-friendly Fillmore Street with lots of restaurants and other clothing retailers, including Rag & Bone and Scotch & Soda.
“When we were looking, we saw this spot in San Francisco that appealed to us. And our catalog of apparel and accessories works really well there”, said Andy Huszar, the company’s chief executive and co-founder with his wife, Siyana Huszar, the creative director and designer.
On Friday, the company’s first retail outpost opens at 2029 Fillmore Street, a 900-square-foot store carrying the brand’s ready-to-wear, footwear and handbags. The label’s designs have a minimalist attitude with an edge that is heavy in solid colors that can go from day to night.
For their first step into retail, the Huszars partnered with Leap Inc., a company that finds locations and operates stores for brands wishing to expand to physical locations.
The Huszars plan to open a flagship closer to home in New York City once they can find the right location. Eventually, they hope to have 10 retail stores established in the next two years, they said.
“When we were looking, we saw this spot in San Francisco that appealed to us. And our catalog of apparel and accessories works really well there.”
Setting up retail is a big step for a brand that started out more as a hobby than a business. Siyana launched her budding clothing collection on Etsy in 2010, when she was working in Corporate America and a few years before she met her husband. The aspiring designer, who grew up in Bulgaria, learned her design skills from her grandmother, Marcella Papazian, a fashion designer who carved out a career in Bulgaria when women didn’t have as much opportunity as they do today.
Siyana’s business on Etsy grew slowly before it mushroomed. By that time, the Huszars, who met on Match.com in 2012, were still working in Corporate America. But Andy saw how well his wife’s side business was doing on Etsy and encouraged her to quit her job in 2014 to grow the company. “Then in 2017, when Marcella became the No. 2 grossing fashion brand on the overall Etsy platform of 2 million businesses. That’s when I quit my job to join Siyana”, the CEO recalled.
In late 2019, they launched their own e-commerce site and have been expanding ever since with all production based in the E.U. (Bulgaria), where the company works with 25 hand-picked factories and has its own manufacturing facility. All materials and trims are sourced from nearby countries including Greece, Turkey, Italy and France.
With highly efficient manufacturing and little waste, Marcella’s prices are often 25 percent to 75 percent lower than its competitors. For example, a slim-fit jersey dress with batwing sleeves is available online for $98, and wide-legged pleated trousers made of polyviscose sell for $135. Tops, which make up 30 percent of sales, are found in the $65 to $88 range.
“The last few years have been a wild, wild ride.”
Those prices have helped drive the company’s rapid growth. In 2021, Marcella had $9 million in revenue, Andy said. That nearly doubled last year to almost $18 million. “The last few years have been a wild, wild ride,” Andy commented. Managing that growth hasn’t been easy, but it helps that Siyana and Andy come from business and financial backgrounds. Siyana has an MBA from Emory University and worked at ING for nearly seven years. Andy has an MBA and a law degree from Columbia University and worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Morgan Stanley for well over a decade.
Despite the wild ride, the Huszars steadfastly maintain Marcella's mission to advance women and girls across every aspect of their brand. Central to this goal, Marcella partners with the Campaign for Female Education, a non-governmental organization with the mission of eradicating poverty in sub-Saharan Africa by educating girls and empowering young women. For every clothing item sold, Marcella supports three days of school for a marginalized girl. So far, the company has supported 730,000 school days for girls.
5 comments
Congratulations. Love your clothing! San Diego would welcome your brick and mortar store, just saying!
(Fashion Valley or University Town Center) 🤞💖💫
Julie Gibson
I bought your products nicely designed and the prices are affordable Wishing you great success
Lynn Weikel
Congratulations!!! So excited for you~ Many blessings and success 🙏💜
Sierra Luz
Siyana and Andy,
I wanted to congratulate you both on your new adventure with shop in San Francisco!
I’m sure the store is as elegant and classy as the Marcella line of clothing! I’m sure your staff is equally as amazing .
I have been a customer for a few years with you!
Although I would love everything I own in my wardrobe to be of your brand…I have a few treasured lovely pieces!
Marcella’s clothing line is unsurpassed. I am so pleased with the quality of materials and clothing styles. Classic with an edge!
I can’t wait to shop again with you on line.
If I’m ever traveling in San Francisco, I would be thrilled to check out your shop!
Thank you for your most beautiful selection of clothing line.
All the best in your endeavors in your San Francisco brick and mortar shop. May this be the first of more to come across the US and abroad in the future.
I am a fashionista! I wear your clothes with pride. I promote your line with anyone who pays me a compliment.
Warm regards,
Terri
Therese Naughton
Congratulations 💐🍾🥂 Love most everything….. awesome job….. I have cancer and I am unable to shop like others….. finding you two and your company was/is like hitting a gold mine! Enables me to keep up to date with your wonderful garments. Thank you dearly.😘
sheila unger
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