Ace Rivington Debuts Flagship Concept for Future Stores

Ace Rivington kicked off the fall season in a new location.

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The Santa Monica, Calif.-based premium denim brand recently relocated to a 1,200-square-foot street-facing corner store in La Arcata Plaza. It is Ace Rivington’s fifth location and third location on the same historic property. Each move has been a space to grow into, said Beau Lawrence, Ace Rivington founder.

“This move was about taking the next step of growth to establish a flagship format for us to be able to test in Santa Barbara, so that we can begin looking at duplicating that format outside of California as early as next year,” he said.

Despite its online start on Kickstarter in 2013, brick-and-mortar retail always been an important element to Ace Rivington’s storytelling . The new store features an original oak paneled room from the 1970s. A ceiling mural of the globe represents the brand’s global outlook and everal nautical and provincial themed movie props help create the “1930s, 1940s British gentleman study” vibe in the space. There is also 800 square feet above the store for a planning and design room and Lawrence’s first proper office.

The new store boasts the brand’s largest denim wall to date. “That is the heart of the store, and on our wall, we feature our exclusive Candiani fabrication,” Lawrence said.

Ace Rivington’s denim assortment spans 16 styles and wash options and four different inseams. Each jean has a lifetime warrantee—a move that Lawrence said puts onus on the brand to build high quality products. “What I tell our customers is, I want our jeans to look cool in their closet for 10 years or more. From a fashion standpoint, iconic products that outstand the test of trend, for me, is such an important thing,” he said.

Th brand offers tailoring to ensure the perfect fit. “We tailor to the one-half inch to make sure that the lengths are right,” Lawrence said. “Even in our shirting, we build different height options for customers of different stature so that people have things that truly fit them correctly and that make them feel good about themselves. At the end of the day, apparel is a simple thing—we wear it to have confidence.”

The store is in addition to the 1940s Army barracks at the Santa Barbara Airport, where Ace Rivington manages its wholesale and online fulfillment. It is also where the brand houses the direct-to-garment printer it uses to print all its T-shirts , and where it has a sewing line set up to tailor all its denim.

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Currently, Lawrence said the brand store accounts for 40 percent of Ace Rivington’s business. Approximately 30-35 percent comes from direct online sales, and the balance is wholesale and special projects. “We’ve got about 70 accounts around North America selling our products—some incredible retailers like Over the Rainbow in Toronto and historic retailers like Fitzgerald’s Men’s Store in Michigan and others who have gotten behind supporting our full range of products,” he said.

Though traditional retail has faced more than its fair share of challenges in recent years, Lawrence remains positive about Ace Rivington’s brick-and-mortar future. He is also on a mission to preserve customer service.

“There’s so much that I learned observing the service experience that my parents received in the 1980. When I was a kid and would go into shops with them, whether the pharmacist who would do deliveries to the house or the stationary store owners would find that special pen, I learned a lot about service pre-big box stores. Big box has obliterated the service experience for most people,” he said.

Instead, Ace Rivington’s approach is “very high touch” and service driven. “It’s made a difference for us,” Lawrence said. “Service is everything, whether it’s being a local concierge and sharing with folks the best place to get a burger or taco in town or delivering a pair of tailored jeans to their hotel, there’s nothing that we’ll stop short of to make the customer happy, because that’s what you’re supposed to do.”

That unshakeable dedication to customer service is driving Lawrence to plan more Ace Rivington stores in new markets. One possible location is Denver’s Cherry Creek neighborhood.

“I like the idea of a direct flight from Santa Barbara and someplace that has seasons, where jeans, flannels, sweatshirts and jackets are relevant,” Lawrence said. “We’re looking at opening a store someplace along those lines in 2025 and then maybe a couple of stores in 2026. Following that, we’ll start focusing on international.”

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