Woolrich John Rich & Bros. Opens First U.S. Store

Penn.-based Woolrich Inc. opened its first North American store this week. The two-level SoHo, NYC store at 125 Wooster Street focuses on the company’s men’s and women’s contemporary brand, Woolrich John Rich & Bros. but also stocks menswear from the Woolrich Woolen Mills brand.

The store features a 1,400 sq. ft. street level space and a 500 sq. ft. basement “Woolrich Men’s Club” that can be used for events.

There are 14 Woolrich stores in Italy, three in Germany, two in Sweden and one each in the Netherlands, Czech Republic, U.K. and South Korea. Italy-based WP Lavori in Corso holds the licenses to produce Woolrich John Rich & Bros. apparel in Europe and Asia, operates the stores in those markets. WP Lavori in Corso has plans for the Japanese market (a Tokyo store is scheduled to open next month) but Woolrich Inc. and WP Lavori in Corso will work together for the Chinese market.

“We’ve been talking about bringing our retail concept back home to the U.S. for a long time,” said Woolrich Inc. EVP Josh Rich. “The brand has performed very successfully in Europe and Asia over the past few decades thanks to our partnership with WP Lavori in Corso, but we’ve never had a strong retail presence in the U.S. We’re moving into to SoHo just as the temperature is dropping, so the timing couldn’t be better. Woolrich has been outfitting Americans for more than 180 years and with our ongoing expansion plan, we’re poised to be America’s favorite outerwear brand for 180 more.”

Woolrich says it will be opening stores in Aspen, Boston and Chicago starting next month.