Cubitts’ first international store to open this month in NYC

London-based eyewear brand Cubitts is setting foot outside of its domestic market for the first time in its decade-long history with the opening of a flagship in New York City.

It’s the firm’s 17th store overall and will be in the heart of New York’s SoHo at 103 Mercer Street, opening on 25 April.

The company said it will be “a haven for eyewear enthusiasts seeking timeless yet stylish spectacles and sunglasses using quality British craftsmanship”.

Cubitts celebrated its 10th anniversary last October and is riding a very buoyant eyewear wave at present with its first permanent retail offering outside the UK being a prime example of how strong the market is for smaller eyewear brands.

The company currently has 11 stores in London, as well as locations in Edinburgh, Leeds, Brighton and Cambridge. But despite this UK-centric set-up, it already has an established clientele in the US via its wholesale partnerships with Saks Fifth Avenue and menswear brand ONS, plus its international e-commerce offering.

The space it’s moving into was originally built in 1900 and is “inspired by Cubitts’ love of 20th century industrial design. Like all Cubitts stores, this space reflects the local community, heritage and history, seamlessly slotting into the neighbourhood’s Cast Iron District”.

To mark the store opening, Cubitts is launching a new collection “inspired by iconic New York places and spaces, including Studio 54, Radio City Music Hall and The Mudd Club”. The collection will consist of seven pieces and will be available to try on exclusively at the New York store.

The store covers 275 sq ft with a design that “takes cues from American streamline design, the glamour of an Edward Hopper painting, and Andy Warhol’s Silver Factory”. 

It’s centred around two elements — an S-shaped display and a small table with a mechanical, rotary mirror. The company said the “shapes’ design echo the smooth flowing silhouettes of spectacles, architecture and machines and use sharp sheet metal, as seen on the Chrysler building and so many New York icons”.

Founder Tom Broughton said: “10 years on from our first store opening in Soho, London, I’m delighted to announce our opening in SoHo, New York. The goal on reaching £1 million profit was always to launch in the US as we have long gazed across the Atlantic with wonder and curiosity. I look forward to integrating Cubitts into the local community and bringing the craftsmanship and design we’re known for in the UK to Manhattan.”