- The U.S. Retail Industry Snapshot
- Top 10 Brands and Their 2025 US Expansion Milestones
- Aritzia – From Breakout Brand To U.S. Powerhouse
- SKIMS – From Viral DTC To Store Led Growth
- Mango – Fast Fashion Bets Big On Brick And Mortar
- Gymshark – First Permanent U.S. Flagship
- SUKOSHI – (No Verified 2025 U.S. Expansion Data)
- Knix – Intimates And Leakproof Innovation South Of The Border
- Mixue – First U.S. Store And Coast To Coast Ambitions
- Boden – First U.S. Store In Its Fastest Growing Market
- Subdued – Teen Brand’s U.S. Debut At Roosevelt Field
- Anta – Chinese Sports Giant Plants Its Flag In Beverly Hills
- Key Insights
- 1. The Flagship and Experience-Driven Approach
- 2. Strategic Regional and Demographic Targeting
- 3. Omnichannel Integration and Market Validation
- Future Outlook
The year 2025 marked a significant period of physical retail expansion in the United States, driven by both established international players and digitally native brands making their brick-and-mortar debut. This report analyzes the expansion strategies of the Top 10 Brands that made the most notable moves into the US market this year. The trend highlights a renewed confidence in physical retail, with brands prioritizing high-impact flagship stores, strategic regional rollouts, and an omnichannel approach to capture the American consumer. Key players such as Aritzia and Mango accelerated their store expansion, while brands such as Mixue and Boden opened their first-ever standalone US locations.
The U.S. Retail Industry Snapshot
Despite a global economic climate characterized by digital acceleration, 2025 saw a decisive pivot back to physical retail as a crucial component of brand strategy. International retailers, particularly those from Canada, the UK, and China, viewed the US as a primary growth frontier. For many, the expansion was not merely about increasing sales but about establishing brand presence, offering immersive experiences, and supporting existing e-commerce operations. This strategic move is evidenced by the focus on major metropolitan areas and high-traffic mall locations.
- Flagships as beachheads: Brands like Gymshark, Subdued, Boden, and Anta use single high-impact flagships (often in New York or Los Angeles) as launchpads rather than overcommitting to large fleets on day one.
- Omnichannel by design: Aritzia, Mango, SKIMS, and Boden pair physical growth with apps, loyalty, and upgraded websites, treating stores as part of a digital ecosystem rather than standalone P&Ls.
- Global to local playbooks: Mixue and Anta show how Asian champions are now entering the United States with proven multi-country models, but adapting marketing and supply chains to local expectations on value and experience.
Top 10 Brands and Their 2025 US Expansion Milestones
The following table details the top 10 brands that executed significant US expansion plans in 2025, showcasing their origin, category, and key milestones.
| Rank | Brand | Origin | Category | Expansion Type | Key 2025 Milestones |
| 1 | Aritzia | Canada | Women’s Fashion | Aggressive Store Rollout | Planned to open 12 new US stores, accelerating toward a long-term goal of 200 US locations. |
| 2 | SKIMS | United States | Shapewear/Apparel | Digital-to-Physical Transition | On track to open 16 new US stores, including major flagships in Los Angeles and the Mall of America, and transitioning from a primarily digital business. |
| 3 | Mango | Spain | Fashion | Aggressive Store Rollout | Planned to open over 20 new stores, focusing on the Sun Belt and Northeast, bringing the total US footprint to approximately 65 locations. |
| 4 | Gymshark | United Kingdom | Activewear | First Permanent Stores & Wholesale | Opened its first permanent US store (Roosevelt Field, NY) and a major flagship (Bond Street, NYC). Also debuted in the US wholesale via Dick’s House of Sport. |
| 5 | SUKOSHI | Canada | Asian Beauty Retailer | Aggressive Store Rollout | Rapid expansion, on track to exceed 20 US stores by year’s end, with new locations in top-tier malls like King of Prussia and Lenox Square. |
| 6 | Knix | Canada | Intimates/Apparel | First Standalone Store & Wholesale | Opened its first permanent US store in SoHo, New York City. Secured its first US wholesale partnership with Bloomingdale’s. |
| 7 | Mixue | China | Tea & Ice Cream | First US Market Entry | Opened its first US store in Los Angeles (Hollywood Blvd) in December, marking its debut in the Americas and signaling a new wave of Chinese F&B expansion. |
| 8 | Boden | United Kingdom | Fashion | First Standalone Store | Opened its first standalone US store in Alpharetta, Georgia (Avalon), expanding beyond its existing online and Nordstrom partnership presence. |
| 9 | Subdued | Italy | Teen Fashion | First US Market Entry | Opened its first US store at Roosevelt Field Mall, Garden City, NY, targeting the youth demographic with a physical presence. |
| 10 | Anta | China | Sportswear | First US Flagship | Planned to open its first US retail location/flagship in Beverly Hills, CA, signaling a major entry into the North American sportswear market. |
Aritzia – From Breakout Brand To U.S. Powerhouse
By Q3 Fiscal 2026, Aritzia operated 139 boutiques across North America, with 71 in the United States and 68 in Canada, after opening 13 new boutiques and repositioning four in the prior 12 months. In Q1 2025 alone, U.S. revenue grew 45.1% to $413 million, accounting for 62.3% of total sales.
For Fiscal 2026 and through FY2027, Aritzia plans at least 12 new boutiques a year and five repositionings, targeting about 150 total boutiques and up to a 60% increase in retail square footage; management expects 8–10 new U.S. boutiques annually, with many breaking even in under 12 months.
SKIMS – From Viral DTC To Store Led Growth
By late 2025, SKIMS had reached an approximate $5 billion valuation after raising $225 million in new funding, and projected more than $1 billion in annual net sales for 2025. The brand operated roughly 18 U.S. stores and two locations in Mexico, and identified physical retail as its “single biggest growth lever.”
Earlier in 2025, reporting highlighted plans to open 16 new U.S. locations, including a flagship in Chicago, bringing the domestic footprint to about 22 stores, alongside five stores in Mexico and a London Regent Street flagship.
Mango – Fast Fashion Bets Big On Brick And Mortar
After exceeding its 2024 target of 40 company-owned U.S. stores, Mango entered 2025 with plans to open 20 more locations, taking its total to about 65 company-owned sites across the United States. New 2025 openings include high-profile malls such as Pioneer Place in Portland, Coronado Center in Albuquerque, and Fashion Show Las Vegas.
Gymshark – First Permanent U.S. Flagship
After testing a three month pop up on Wooster Street in New York, Gymshark is set to open its first permanent U.S. store in October 2025 at Roosevelt Field in Garden City, a 4,000 sq ft flagship inside a 2.4 million sq ft mall with over 270 retailers. The U.K. based fitness brand has opened four core stores globally over roughly 12 months and is using learnings from London, Manchester, Dubai, and Amsterdam to shape the U.S. format.
SUKOSHI – (No Verified 2025 U.S. Expansion Data)
There is currently no reliable, verifiable 2025 information from primary news, company releases, or major trade sources confirming a U.S. expansion milestone for a fashion or beauty brand named SUKOSHI. Available search results either refer to unrelated entities (such as F&B or local businesses) or lack credible, detailed data. Given this, it would be misleading to invent store counts, revenue or U.S. market moves for SUKOSHI. Any strategic analysis for this brand in the United States should wait for official announcements or filings that specify locations, timing, and scale.
Knix – Intimates And Leakproof Innovation South Of The Border
While Knix is a Canadian-founded brand, the United States has become a major growth engine as it expands its physical footprint beyond e-commerce. Public reporting through 2025 emphasizes rapid North American retail build out, but detailed, up to date U.S. only store counts are not disclosed consistently in primary sources, making exact 2025 milestones hard to quantify.
Mixue – First U.S. Store And Coast To Coast Ambitions
On December 19, 2025, Mixue, under MIXUE Group (02097.HK), opened its first United States store in Los Angeles, marking the beginning of its U.S. footprint. The brand already operated approximately 4,700 stores outside China across 13 Countries, including Australia, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore, before entering the United States.
Boden – First U.S. Store In Its Fastest Growing Market
British brand Boden reported first half 2025 sales growth of 9% and a “significant” profit increase, driven in part by double digit growth in the United States, which now accounts for almost half of total sales. The company added more than 300,000 new customers in the first half of the year and invested in a new website and customer service systems that went live in January 2025.
Subdued – Teen Brand’s U.S. Debut At Roosevelt Field
Subdued, a Rome based teen fashion label with over 130 stores in Europe and the U.K., is set to open its debut U.S. store in fall 2025 at Roosevelt Field in Garden City, New York. The store will showcase full collections in a boutique style setting and join more than 270 retailers, including Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom, Macy’s, and JCPenney.
Anta – Chinese Sports Giant Plants Its Flag In Beverly Hills
For H1 2025, Anta Sports reported total group revenue of about ¥32.10 billion (roughly $4.51 billion), with Anta brand revenue alone rising 5.4% year on year to ¥16.95 billion (around $2.38 billion).
Key Insights
The expansion efforts of these top brands reveal three dominant strategies shaping the US retail market in 2025:
1. The Flagship and Experience-Driven Approach
Brands are increasingly investing in large, experiential flagship stores rather than smaller, numerous locations. This strategy is exemplified by Gymshark and Anta, who chose high-profile locations in New York City and Beverly Hills, respectively, for their first major US retail statements. These stores serve as brand hubs, offering community events, personalized services, and a tangible connection to the brand’s digital identity. SKIMS’s aggressive rollout of large-format stores also underscores the importance of physical presence in building consumer trust and driving sales for previously online-only brands.
2. Strategic Regional and Demographic Targeting
Expansion is highly targeted, moving beyond traditional coastal hubs. Mango is strategically focusing its 20+ new stores on the Sun Belt and Northeast regions, indicating a data-driven approach to capture growing populations and specific consumer segments. Similarly, SUKOSHI is targeting high-traffic malls across the country, recognizing the demand for specialized Asian beauty products in diverse US markets. The opening of Mixue’s first store in Los Angeles is a strategic move to test the market in a city with significant cultural influence before a wider rollout.
3. Omnichannel Integration and Market Validation
For international brands like Boden and Knix, the 2025 store openings represent a transition from successful e-commerce and wholesale models to full omnichannel integration. Boden’s first standalone store in Georgia complements its existing online and Nordstrom presence, allowing the brand to control the full customer experience. Knix’s debut in SoHo, NYC, was quickly followed by a wholesale partnership with Bloomingdale’s, demonstrating a dual-pronged approach to rapidly increase market penetration and brand visibility.
Future Outlook
The 2025 US retail expansion wave is characterized by strategic, high-quality growth. The top 10 brands, whether international newcomers or domestic digital giants, are using physical stores as powerful marketing tools and essential components of a robust omnichannel ecosystem. This trend suggests that the future of US retail will be defined by experiential, strategically located stores that seamlessly integrate with digital platforms, offering consumers a compelling reason to shop in person.
