Closing Yellow Jacket in Old Town
Today marks the start of the Spring Sale at all three stores. Over the week we have featured our favorite items from The Shoe Hive and The Hive — and we know many of you have already beaten a path to Old Town to get the deals.
Now it’s Yellow Jacket’s turn, and it is with great sadness that I have to announce that it isn’t just the start of the spring sale, it’s our Going Out of Business Sale.
I have had so much success in retail. We weathered a recession and COVID-events that sank too many great boutiques and stores. Thanks to the support of our customers we expanded The Shoe Hive and opened a whole new concept with The Hive for clothing, followed by its expansion into a much larger space. Then we launched Yellow Jacket to provide men with a fashion destination in Old Town. I have always said Alexandria is the best place to own a business because of the support of our community.
Closing Yellow Jacket is not a decision I’m making lightly, nor one I have made hastily, nor one I am happy about. I thought I could translate my women’s retail knowledge and skills into a men’s store. I have tried for three years, and am sad to say it just hasn’t worked as well as it needed to work.
We have a great location and have the most amazing people that work at Yellow Jacket, Chris Kidd served as our first manager, followed by A.J. I don’t know if I have ever received more emails or texts from customers telling me how wonderful it was to work with someone than I have gotten regarding A.J. As my teenage son likes to say, he has the “Riz.” If you need me to translate, he has charisma, or what I like to call the hospitality gene. He is just good with people - he likes them and they like him back.
One thing I am saddest about with the loss of Yellow Jacket is that A.J. will be leaving us later this summer.
With failure comes a lot of lessons. I believed my experience would translate to men’s fashion. I thought guys would be looking for a new casual wardrobe after Covid and we could help them figure it out. I was wrong. As it turns out, men buy clothing a lot less frequently than women do, it’s much less of a communal recreational activity, and getting on their radar to know you're an option has been a puzzle we have just not been able to solve.
You know the phrase "stay in your lane"? Well, I need to stay in my lane. I also believe that this experience has made me a better retailer. It has reminded me that after 20 years, I still love what I do. My mission has always been to help women feel better about themselves. Nothing makes me happier than when we help someone get dressed for an event or just for everyday life, and they come in and tell us about how good they felt. That is our purpose. If I see someone on the street and they tell me about how much they have worn an item they have purchased from us, I have a little skip in my step.
We have made some great relationships with our loyal Yellow Jacket customers, and I’ve been gratified by all the men who found us and said “this is exactly what Old Town needed.” If you, or your husband or son or brother counted on us for their wardrobe, I want to say thank you. We have tried hard to make this work and you gave us a good couple of years of runway to try for liftoff. We appreciate your confidence.
I think my other regret will be that I don’t get to work with the Sid Mashburn team. I am confident I am the only store he has visited the last three years. His head of sales, Conor, has helped walk me through this journey and been so kind and generous with his time and advice. The company is truly exceptional and this is because Sid is an extraordinary person. So if you do need a wardrobe refresh, please visit his store in Georgetown. I know I will never buy anything but Sid again for my husband and son.
Stay tuned as we move towards what is next for the space at 301 Cameron. It is a wonderful space and we have plans for it, building off some of the things I have learned in recent years.
The Yellow Jacket Sale comes at the perfect time for Father’s Day or if you have a college grad who needs some new clothes before sending them off. We plan on staying open until early August or until the clothes are gone. See what we have:
Thank you for your support of Yellow Jacket over the last three years and your continued support of The Shoe Hive and The Hive. With a little defeat, you do appreciate all your teammates and our wonderful customers even more– and we really appreciate you!
RELATED: Why is This Still Here? Five Deals to Love at the Hive
