Today is July 14th, an important date for France, but also a special day for us, as in just 10 days we'll be closing the curtain on the forlife boutique. But rest assured, this doesn't mean the end of our physical space! But why? Why? When? And how? We'll tell you all about it, always with transparency 👇
Success stories from the forlife boutique
When we decided to open the forlife boutique, our aim was to enable you to try out our products before pre-ordering them, to collect your orders, but also to have a physical location that would be an extension of our website. And it's fair to say that it has fully met its objectives:
Boutique, showroom & concierge service
In addition to the numerous fittings, more than 22,000 products have been delivered to the concierge service since the opening of the doors, and the same number of shipments have been avoided: a considerable ecological gain of which we are particularly proud!
Our showroom has gradually taken on the appearance of a boutique, offering our stock for direct sale, and over 2,600 traps have been sold there since last year!
More than a store, a place to live
This boutique has also been a place of life, where we've experienced some memorable moments that will remain engraved in the history of forlife, such as our photoshoot last September with around twenty of you; or our skateboarding event in collaboration with Urban Signature and Secours Populaire, where the boutique took on the air of a street art gallery. Not forgetting, of course, your daily exchanges with our team: whether you're a loyal customer or a curious passer-by, we value every encounter.
Reasons to part with them :
Too much of a concept store?
But it has to be said that the format wasn't necessarily adapted: we were often told that this boutique was super original, but perhaps too "concept", with very few garments on display due to its configuration.
An early start in the development of our brand
And with hindsight, we realize that it may have happened too early in the development of our brand. We opened this boutique in the middle of covid, forlife was growing fast and we seized the opportunity by riding the wave, forgetting that we were still a small brand and lacked structure.
in a tense 2022 context
As we explained in our article last February, 2022 has been a complicated year for us, as forlife has not been spared by the various crises that the textile sector has recently gone through, and despite all the advantages that this boutique offers, we need to respond to profitability logics and refocus on the core of our brand, which is 100% digital.
The arrival of the forlife woman
This decision also comes at a time when we're planning to launch our women's collection in the next few months, and we figure that the 2 collections wouldn't have been able to cohabit together in the current boutique anyway.
→ For all these reasons, today we prefer to part with it to better bounce back behind. This decision forces us to rethink forlife and its physical dimension within the Gentleman Surfer group to which it belongs.
Nothing changes, everything changes: the new Gentleman Surfer boutique
You may not know it, but forlife is part of a group: the Gentleman Surfer group, which also includes Cuisse de grenouille, the first brand created by our founders Lucas & Séverin. Today, we really want to unite the strengths of our 2 brands, starting by making them cohabit within the same boutique: the current Cuisse de Grenouille boutique at 5 Froissart!
Some of our longest-standing customers are already familiar with this boutique, as it already served as a pick-up point before the forlife boutique opened. Drawing on our experience at both Cuisse de Grenouille and forlife, we're ready to offer you a new experience in this boutique!
In concrete terms, what impact will this have on you as a customer?
- You will still be able to pick up your orders a few numbers from 14 rue Froissart in the current Cuisse de Grenouille boutique, whose identity will evolve with the integration of forlife from the start of the 2023 school year.
- You'll still be able to come and try out the products, but we want to limit ourselves to only those items available for pre-order, both for reasons of space and to get back to the event-driven aspect of pre-ordering, which is at the heart of our concept.
- On the other hand, you will no longer be able to buy in-store: from now on, all our stock will be centralized at our logistics warehouse - at least, at first, while we get our bearings. So if you'd like to take advantage of our physical stock, don't hesitate to come and see us at forlife before July 22!
- Nico will still be here to support you in this transition with Enzo, who will soon be finishing his work-study placement with us!
→ Until July 22, our second life flea market continues at 14 rue Froissart and on our Vinted account for non-parisians: you can find prototypes, damaged parts or non-renewed production parts at very low prices!
→ If you have products that are due to arrive in the forlife store or are still there, our team will contact you to give you all the information you need to collect them.
The last word
We're bound to feel a twinge of regret at closing the curtain on this beautiful boutique, but we're convinced that it's the right decision and that it may mean taking a step backwards today, but all the better to bounce back tomorrow! Of course, there are still some unknowns for us, and nothing is set in stone, so if you have any ideas, comments or advice to share, we'd love to hear from you 👋
Have a good July 14th weekend 🇫🇷
The forlife team
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