Aaron Levant has at all times tried to determine a method to keep forward of the sport.
Now chief govt officer of Advanced, the entrepreneur began out as a streetwear designer, cofounded The Ntwrk advertising and social media company and created the Agenda commerce present, a pioneer on the street and motion sports activities industries through the peak of these industries within the early 2000s, when he was simply 19.
Along with one other streetwear legend, Marc Ecko, they created ComplexCon in 2016, a shopper pageant that celebrates popular culture, music, artwork and elegance. Final 12 months the occasion drew over 60,000 individuals to Las Vegas over a weekend the place over 300 manufacturers participated and attendees spent greater than $20 million.
Final 12 months, Ntwrk, which had morphed right into a livestream procuring platform, acquired Advanced Networks and Levant took the helm. Since then he’s used his expertise in tradition and enterprise to proceed to develop the Advanced universe.
About 18 months in the past, Advanced opened its first flagship on Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles, and now, the corporate is opening its second retailer in New York’s SoHo.
However Levant stated he doesn’t view these as conventional retail shops. Fairly, they’re “idea retail areas. We’re not open 5 or seven days every week,” he stated. As an alternative, the shops open for a restricted time, providing unique merchandise from celebrities and types fashionable with younger shoppers together with Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, The Weeknd, Sabrina Carpenter, Karol G, Reneé Rapp, and the viral Murakami x Dodgers assortment.
“It’s been very profitable,” Levant stated of the L.A. retailer, which has drawn greater than 200,000 individuals since opening. “The AOV [average order value] is absolutely excessive on a sq. foot foundation.” In whole, since its opening in Might 2024, Advanced LA has generated greater than $4 million in gross sales.
“They’re like micro ComplexCons,” Levant defined of the idea. “They’re open two to 4 days at a time, then they shut and reopen with a brand new idea. They’re all event-based and the merchandise is all unique.”
In a means, the shops might be considered as everlasting pop-ups, a preferred retail idea that emerged round a decade in the past. However as a result of the house is at all times obtainable, Levant stated the expertise may help create a “canvas” for his or her particular activations in a location that’s already constructed out and able to be up to date.
“Generally we ideate the idea, and typically the expertise does,” Levant stated.
The Murakami assortment created for MLB’s Tokyo collection this spring was an enormous success.
Courtesy of Advanced
In New York, the shop at 620 Broadway at Houston Road will open Friday night at 6 p.m. and stay open by means of Sept. 6. It should launch as a partnership with ESPN to have a good time the sports activities community’s newly enhanced app and can function a particular ESPN x Hellstar collaboration.
Levant stated the situation is “the middle of the world,” subsequent to the Adidas flagship and within the coronary heart of the NYU neighborhood. “It’s very seen and we’re hoping we get lengthy traces like Supreme and Kith,” he stated.
He stated Hellstar is “one of many hottest impartial streetwear manufacturers” that launched as a direct-to-consumer enterprise through the pandemic. “It has a extremely engaged fan base” that bridges youth sports activities attire and footwear.
Billie Eilish will get able to greet followers at Advanced’s L.A. retailer.
Courtesy of Advanced
Along with a particular ESPN x Hellstar assortment, the New York flagship will function the unique desk from SportsCenter and a financial institution of televisions displaying ESPN highlights, previews of the app and archival footage. Advanced’s content material exhibits can even be taped on the retailer.
Levant, now in his early 40s, stated that though he could have aged out of the demographic he’s concentrating on with Advanced, he believes he manages to remain present due to his “mental curiosity. I’m always speaking, studying and consuming with creators. I’ve at all times been fascinated by the inventive house, arts and music and I look to search out new methods to construct companies out of that.”
Going ahead, Levant stated he hopes to roll out this distinctive retail idea to different key cities within the U.S. and abroad. “We expect there might be 10 to twenty shops world wide,” he stated, mentioning London, Tokyo, Melbourne and a few cities in China the place there are followers of “music, sneakers and sports activities” — his goal buyer.
Along with the New York retailer, Levant will carry ComplexCon again to Las Vegas this fall. It’s slated to be held on the Las Vegas Conference Heart Oct. 25 and 26.
