Fashion / Shopping

Department Store Disruptor to Open in Texas’ Hottest New Development: Legacy West’s Neighborhood is Changing

BY // 09.26.18

Plano just may be the future of shopping.

It’s certainly already won over Neighborhood Goods CEO Matt Alexander after some initial apprehension. But Alexander quickly grew to understand the massive demand and consumer appetite brought about by the ever-growing Legacy West development.

“It started as one of those things I was pre-apologizing about, saying we were opening in Plano,” Alexander tells PaperCity. “These days, as we dig into Plano, it continues to be one of the most popular elements of who and what we are.”

Now, Neighborhood Goods is set to open up its first physical store anywhere in Legacy West in November. And it’s promising a shopping revolution of its own.

Think digitally native and internationally recognized brands showcasing the best of fashion, beauty, accessories, home decor, wellness and family offerings.

You can expect names like Reese Witherspoon’s celebrity-driven, celebrated clothing brand Draper James, modern menswear brand Buck Mason and mattress and bedding brand Allswell.

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Legacy West is a fitting locale for Neighborhood Goods. The $3.2-billion, 255-acre mixed-use development is drawing luxury brands north.

No Ordinary Department Store

The Neighborhood Goods concept was conjured up not too far away, just 26 miles away in Dallas. The buzzy startup wants to be a contemporary alternative to regular department stores.

Unlike more traditional department stores, which Alexander finds multiple faults with — he finds some dull, others pretentious — Neighborhood Goods plans an experiential format, complete with daily event programming, cult-style brands, unique products and concepts, an in-store restaurant, a live podcast and an editorially driven e-commerce platform.

“The thrust of what we’re trying to do is create an environment where it’s not about extracting dollars from wallets. There’s a magnetism to the space beyond transaction,” Alexander says.

This evolution goes away from wholesale and sales bins. “By default, we can operate on more of a dignified basis with a lot of the brands. We’re shifting more towards sociability, community and the discovery of interesting brands and products,” Alexander says.

Initially, Neighborhood Goods aimed to make 10 to 15 brands part of their concept. In the November launch, it’ll be closer to 30.

“What we’re developing with these brands are incredibly thoughtful, playful, experimental ideas. It just turns into such a drastically different landscape than what has been out there before,” Alexander says.

The idea calls for the brands to connect with consumers in a new way, emphasizing their narrative and cultural impact alongside their wares, whether it’s Primary, a colorful kid’s clothing brand, sneaker and streetwear experts Stadium Goods, or Desmond & Dempsey and their luxury pajamas straight out of England.

“There’s an element of purchasing brands you may not be able to shop anywhere else in the country physically,” Alexander says.

He hopes Neighborhood Goods will draw crowds from Dallas, not just for its brands but for its unique daily events and offerings. There are brands that want to do exercise classes, there are plans for founders’ dinners in the evenings.

“It’s a curated and interesting and unique approach there. The connective tissue is always the focus on community,” Alexander says.

The brands themselves are a community too, a network of shops and stores that may not have worked together before in the past. “It’s bringing it all into the same space. It really is like a neighborhood,” Alexander notes.

Neighborhood Goods Matt Alexander
Neighborhood Goods CEO Matt Alexander wants to shake up the traditional department store model.

Neighborhood Goods takes that premise one step further by integrating many of the brands into the overarching store. Made In’s custom cookware will be used in the in-store restaurant Prim & Proper, which was created in partnership with culinary innovation lab Front Burner. The store’s signature scent will come from Otherland and you can expect custom artwork from Rob Wilson of RR&Co Shop.

Carefully curated products from local, new and pilot brands will be on display at The Residency, Neighborhood Goods’ very own retail concept.

“It’s a thematic and ever-changing experimental space where we can introduce a lot of different brands, like young, independent or local brands we think are interesting. We can sort of pilot their product,” Alexander says.

This fall, you can see the goods. It’s all in the neighborhood. The Plano neighborhood, of course.

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