Bandier enters into e-commerce

Bandier, the trendy active wear brand located in Manhattan's Flatiron District, has now entered the e-commerce realm with bandier.com. The website will carry over 40 brands, and approximately 400 stockkeeping units. While 40 brands may seem like a lot, they will be primarily focusing on up and coming brands such as Ultractor, Michi, and Human Performance Engineering and Varley.

Jennifer Bandier, the founder of the company, took her first dive into the retail world when she opened a temporary 1200-square-foot retail store last summer in Southampton which exceeded sales goals by 50 percent. The temporary location did so well that it will reopen next month just in time for tourist season. The seasonal boutique sold over 9,000 units and turned two-and-a-half times over in a three month period.

The 2,500-square-foot Flatiron location opened last November, and another two stores are expected to open by the end of the year. The company predicts that within a year from now sales with hit 10 million dollars, with 20 percent of that coming from e-commerce. The bread and butter of the company would have to be their leggings, which accounts for 45 percent of sales.

Some of their products do venture into the luxury price point realm, with items like the Lucas Hugh performance tights costing around 400 dollars. They do have cheaper items like the Phat Buddha leggings for 64 dollars, however. Bandier also says all the classic sportswear brands such as Nike, Under Armour, Y-3, and Stella McCartney for Adidas. The store carried the Nike City Pack sneaker collection which debuted on April 11th, but it sold out with rapid speed. Bandier seems to be the new go-to place for sportswear, and a welcome addition to New York's fashion scene.