Ana Luisa to triple retail footprint as it opens debut stores in Florida & California

Physical retail has always been a shifting landscape, especially for fashion and accessories retailers, and 2026 is no exception. Over the coming year, retailers will have to grapple with ever-changing patterns when it comes to consumer behaviour, technological advancements, economic volatility, and logistical complexities. For some players, overcoming these uncertainties and challenges calls for a complete reset and rethinking of their retail strategy. As many retailers take a good and hard look at what is serving them - and their customers - the focus for this year centers on knowing who you serve, what matters most to them, and how to deliver a customer journey that meets their needs. One brand that has been incredibly successful at meeting its customers where they are at is direct-to-consumer (DTC) jewelry brand Ana Luisa.

Originally started as a digital business, Ana Luisa has branched out into physical retail, opening its debut store in NYC, in SoHo in November 2023, before opening another store in the West Village and entering into a wholesale partnership with Nordstrom last year. And now Ana Luisa is pushing forward with its store expansion. Within the next five months, Ana Luisa aims to triple its retail footprint, opening new stores on the Upper East Side and Long Island and expanding to new markets in California and Florida. The first to open amongst this retail push is the new store at Town Center in Boca Raton, Florida, opening May 22, swiftly followed by additional store openings on Third Avenue and Long Island, in New York, and its debut location in California in Corte Madera, in early July. To learn more about Ana Luisa's sudden retail growth, its evolving strategy, and vision for the near and not-so-near future, FashionUnited sits with Adam Bohbot, cofounder of Ana Luisa.

Ana Luisa is gearing up to triple its retail footprint in the USA in five months. Originally, when you first opened the store in SoHo, you aimed to open ten stores across the USA over the next two to three years - what changed and why the retail push now?

Adam Bohbot: “When we opened our first store in SoHo, retail was still a test for us. We believed in it, but we wanted to prove that customers would respond to Ana Luisa in a physical environment the same way they had responded to us online. What changed is the data. Our first stores showed us that retail isn't just a brand moment — it's a real revenue driver, a customer acquisition channel, and one of the strongest ways to build loyalty. We saw customers coming in to discover the brand, try on pieces, experience custom jewelry, and then coming back to shop with us again and again, both in-store and online.

So the timing is less about “retail is back” in a broad sense, and more about the fact that our own stores proved the model. We now know what works: strong pedestrian corridors, the right co-tenancy, interactive services, and a store experience that feels elevated but approachable. That gave us the confidence to move faster.”

You previously noted that many digitally native brands are "rethinking retail," while you're doing the opposite. Which brands or signals are you looking at when you say that, and what are you doing differently?

Adam Bohbot: “ “Retail is very unforgiving if the model isn’t clear. For us, the mistake would be opening stores just because retail feels like the next milestone. That’s not the strategy. We’re opening in markets where we already have community, brand awareness, and strong customer demand.

At the same time, we're seeing strong examples of brands that are doing retail really well. Vuori is a great one — they built a strong DTC business, expanded into wholesale, and then moved into retail in a very intentional way. That kind of progression makes sense because by the time they open stores, there's already demand and brand equity there.

Some digitally native brands are pulling back because retail became too expensive or too disconnected from the rest of the business. Our read is that physical retail works when it is fully connected to the brand, the product, and the customer journey, not when it sits on its own."

At a time of economic uncertainty, rising gold prices, and less discretionary spending among US consumers, what makes physical retail the right choice for Ana Luisa now, versus, say, deeper international e-commerce or more wholesale partners?

Adam Bohbot: “That's exactly why retail matters. Jewelry is emotional, but it's also a category where customers want to feel quality. They want to try pieces on, understand materials, compare price points, and get advice. With gold prices rising, we've been very intentional about our assortment. We made an early bet on 10K solid gold because it gives customers durability and fine jewelry at a more accessible price point. That strategy has become even more relevant as the market has gotten more volatile. Physical retail helps us tell that story clearly, and it gives customers confidence in what they're buying."

Ana Luisa is opening new stores in key markets, including NYC, California, and Florida. Why these three states specifically, in what order will the stores be opening, and will they all be flagship locations, or?

Adam Bohbot: “We're prioritizing markets where we already see strong customer demand. New York is our home base and remains a priority, which is why we're expanding beyond SoHo and the West Village into the Upper East Side and on Long Island. California and Florida are natural next steps because we see strong existing customer bases there, and both markets have the kind of high-traffic lifestyle retail environments that fit Ana Luisa.

Not every store needs to be a flagship. Some will be larger brand-building locations, and others will be more efficient neighborhood or mall formats. The common thread is that every store has to feel intentional and meet our criteria around foot traffic, visibility, co-tenancy, and audience demographics.”

The Ana Luisa SoHo store is playful, while the West Village store is more futuristic and Gen Z-coded - what design concepts have you chosen for the next stores, and how much do they vary per market? How will each of them differ (or not?)

Adam Bohbot: “SoHo is our flagship. It was our first foray into retail and is very much a statement of the brand at that moment in time. It has a distinct look and feel, and it allowed us to test how customers engage with Ana Luisa in a physical space. Since then, the brand has evolved both in our assortment and in our visual identity. Our West Village location reflects that evolution. The space is more intimate and futuristic, with permanent jewelry at the center of the experience, and it introduces a retail concept that feels closer to where the brand is today.

That West Village format is really the foundation for what’s coming next. Future stores will build on that direction: a more refined, experience-led environment — while still adapting to each market.”

The new store openings follow 'outstanding performance' from your first 3 retail locations, which 'exceeded revenue and traffic expectations.' Can you share more specifics? What's the internal benchmark a store has to hit to be considered a success?

Adam Bohbot: “The first locations exceeded our expectations across the metrics that matter most to us: traffic, revenue, conversion, new customer acquisition, repeat engagement, and strong payback periods. For us, a successful store is not just about four-wall sales. It has to be profitable, of course, but it also has to grow the brand in that market. We look at how many new customers the store brings in, how customers engage with services like permanent jewelry, how often they come back, and whether the store lifts the broader market around it. Permanent jewelry has clearly become a central experience pillar for us.”

Is permanent jewelry now a fixed offering in every store? Are you thinking of adding other services like piercing, engraving, and other consultations as well?

Adam Bohbot: “Permanent jewelry has become a central part of our stores and is quickly becoming a core element of the brand. It creates a real reason to come in, it’s inherently personal, and it gives customers a memory attached to the brand. The goal is for all future store openings to offer permanent jewelry as part of the experience. Beyond that, we’re continuing to build out services like personalization, consultations, and other interactive moments that make the store feel more than transactional.

At the end of the day, we want our stores to be places where customers don’t just shop — they engage with the brand in a way that feels meaningful and memorable.”

Ana Luisa now reaches 2.5 million customers in 150 countries online. Given how international the online business already is, are you also considering expanding internationally in the near future?

Adam Bohbot: “Eventually. We already serve customers in 150 countries online, so international retail is definitely part of the long-term conversation. Right now, the U.S. is the priority. We still have a lot of opportunities here, and we want to build the operating model carefully before expanding internationally. What we’re really focused on is building a strong flywheel between DTC, retail, and wholesale — where each channel reinforces the other. We’ve seen how physical retail drives brand discovery and loyalty, how DTC builds the direct relationship, and how wholesale expands reach. Getting that system working well in the U.S. is the priority.

The goal is not to open everywhere quickly. It’s to open the right stores, in the right markets, with the right customer experience — and then scale that model internationally."

Solid gold and lab-grown diamonds have been in the assortment since 2023, but Ana Luisa’s offering has grown significantly since. Is the price and category range of Ana Luisa widening, and how are you training store teams for a higher-consideration sale at the top of that range?

Adam Bohbot: “Yes, our assortment is evolving, but the brand promise is the same: elevated jewelry that feels accessible and wearable every day. We have always had a strong entry point, and that remains critical. But customers are also coming to us for solid gold, lab-grown diamonds, and more meaningful pieces. That requires a different level of education in-store. Our teams need to be able to explain materials, durability, care, styling, and value in a way that feels clear — not intimidating. It’s not about becoming traditional fine jewelry. It’s about making fine jewelry easier to understand and easier to wear.”

Fast-forward a year, and what does success for Ana Luisa look like to you? Is it a door count, a revenue mix between DTC / owned retail/wholesale, or something else entirely? Where do you want to see Ana Luisa in a year?

Adam Bohbot: “Success to us is not just a door count. Of course, we want to expand, but the more important question is whether each store is healthy and whether retail is making the brand stronger as a whole. A year from now, I’d like to see Ana Luisa with a stronger owned retail footprint, a clearer playbook for future openings, and stores that are contributing meaningfully to revenue, customer acquisition, and brand loyalty.

The bigger goal is that customers no longer think of Ana Luisa as only a digital brand. They see us as a modern jewelry brand they can discover online, visit in person, and move seamlessly between channels — with a unified shopping experience across DTC, retail, and wholesale.”