Sporty & Rich to open its second store in Los Angeles

After opening its first store in Soho, New York City in 2023, the Sporty & Rich brand is preparing to open its second store, this time in Los Angeles at 8619 Melrose Avenue, in West Hollywood.

For this second store, founder Emily Oberg has chosen one of the most prominent locations in West Hollywood, at the corner of Melrose Avenue and Huntley Drive, just a few steps from the Pacific Design Center, where design brands rent showrooms.

Closed in 2023, the former Marcell Von Berlin boutique with its bright orange facade opened in 2018 and expanded to include a coffee shop before closing its doors in early 2023 due to the death of its main investor and founder, Rainer Schaller, who died in a plane crash.

While the store’s facade is expected to change color soon, Emily Oberg and French CEO David Obadia will inherit a space of approximately 5,000 square feet, complete with a garden and coffee shop. The brand has just launched an Instagram story looking for new talent to manage the coffee section of the store.

In the midst of a retail overhaul over the past few months, this section of Melrose Avenue saw The RealReal close its men’s store at 8500 Melrose Avenue at the end of 2024, with the men’s selection now merged into the main women’s store. This was followed by the closure of the PrettyLittleThing store, whose unicorn window displays had been terrifying the entire neighborhood.

With the upcoming opening of the new Salomon store, the presence of Municipal (the brand co-founded by actor Mark Wahlberg), Hoka, Lululemon as neighbors, and the Silver Springs hot yoga studio, Sporty & Rich will anchor a new “wellness and athleisure” dynamic that perfectly matches the profile of West Hollywood residents.

Initially launched via an Instagram account and later a magazine, the Sporty & Rich brand unveiled its first clothing collection in 2018 and has seen its development accelerate over the past two years.

After opening its first boutique in New York in July 2023, the brand revealed its first collaboration with the Parisian palace Le Bristol in September. It continued this hospitality positioning with the Cap-Eden-Roc hotel in Antibes and The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel, in New York.

With more than 150 stockists worldwide, the brand has established itself in numerous prestigious locations, including The Webster concept store in the United States, Galeries Lafayette in Paris, Net-a-Porter, and Ssense e-retailers.

The brand has also launched several collaborations with Adidas and, more recently, 47 Brand, a brand specializing in licensed products from major American sports leagues. Last March, it released its first capsule collection with the successful Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, followed by another with their rivals, the Yankees.

Further openings could be announced soon. In a previous interview with FashionNetwork, Emily Oberg revealed her desire to open new stores in London and Paris.