Photo: Macy's
While department stores have increasingly reserved spaces for emerging brands, Macy’s is introducing holiday pop-ups in seven locations devoted to 12 female-led small businesses.
The SoGifted in-store shops represent a partnership with SoGal Ventures, the first female-led Millennial venture capital fund investing in diverse entrepreneurs in the U.S. Macy’s recently acquired a minority stake in SoGal.
Open through January 2020, the SoGifted concept shops support Macy’s newly established diversity and inclusion goals, which include increasing representation and advancing the growth of under-represented suppliers.
SoGal has guided more than 65 companies, reaching a network of more than 100,000 entrepreneurs.
“Our mission is to build a firm that embodies the cultural values that we want to see in the world,” said Elizabeth Galbut, SoGal’s co-founder. “With the partnership at Macy’s we’re taking this a step further and giving in-store shoppers across the country an opportunity to discover and support female-led small business brands — so the next generation of women can be empowered to know that entrepreneurship is within their reach.”
SoGifted, with brands such as TomboyX, Ettitude and Quirktastic, "brings diversity to Macy's gifting mix," the retailer said. The gift shop will also highlight the gift shop during "entrepreneurial focused events," including a launch party and panel discussion with some of the female founders at its Herald Square flagship, as well as beauty and trunk shows and wellness-focused event content.
Macy’s work with the retail-as-a-service company, B8ta, paved the way for the SoGifted effort. Macy’s acquired a minority stake in b8ta and using the company’s software platform to support The Market @ Macy's, which offers a rotating selection of emerging and established brands. Macy’s partnership with STORY also supports emerging brands.
Nordstrom supports emerging brands through its rotating “Pop In @ Nordstrom” concept, and Kohl’s is spotlighting start-ups through a curation partnership with Facebook. The Sephora Accelerator program, launched in 2016, supports female-founded emerging brands in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Brazil.