Revolve Store Shoppers Spend Nearly Triple, But Fleet Growth Stays Slow

By Tom Whitfield

Customers who shop both Revolve's stores and its website spend nearly three times more than single-channel shoppers, co-founder and co-CEO Michael Mente told analysts Tuesday. The figure anchors the fashion retailer's case for physical retail even as it refuses to rush new openings.

Revolve opened its third store just over a month ago at Aventura Mall in the Miami area, and the location is already surpassing company expectations. Private labels are generating almost 60% of net sales there, Mente said. The store opened in late September, following a January opening at The Grove in Los Angeles and a store in Aspen, Colorado, operating since 2024. Before that, Revolve experimented with a series of pop-ups.

Why the Q3 numbers strengthen the store argument

The store push arrives against a mixed quarter. Q3 net sales rose 20% year on year to $356 million, Revolve reported Tuesday. The bottom line suffered. Gross margin contracted by 75 basis points to 53.9%, and net income fell 27% to $15.5 million.

Several analysts noted that brick and mortar provides a major opportunity for the retailer. William Blair analysts, led by Dylan Carden, see owned brands as the margin lever.

"We are also increasingly encouraged by progress in physical retail, where a higher owned-brand mix offers a potentially meaningful margin opportunity as the footprint expands over potentially decades," Carden's team wrote in a Tuesday research note.

That potential, demonstrated by the stores opened so far, is likely why Mente told analysts the fleet expansion will accelerate. It will still remain relatively slow and methodical. Private labels carry higher margins than third-party brands, which is what makes the almost-60% owned-brand share in Miami significant.

How fast will Revolve actually open stores?

Not fast, by Mente's own measure. He framed the gap between Revolve and global retail operators in blunt terms.

"Compared to people who have global fleets, [where] we see people opening literally hundreds of stores a year – we're like years away from that," Mente said.

International net sales in Q3 rose 22% to $78.6 million, Revolve said Tuesday. The company sees growth abroad as well as at home, but through a deliberate build-out rather than a land grab.

What is changing at the existing fleet?

Expansion does not require new doors, Mente said. Revolve is reworking the ones it has:

• The 3,100-square-foot Aspen boutique "is too small to realize its full long-term potential," according to Mente. Revolve has signed a new multiyear lease in Aspen and expects to begin construction early next year.
• During construction, the retailer will operate a nearby temporary store with more than 8,500 square feet — nearly triple the existing store's size.
• The Miami store spans a little over 4,500 square feet. The Los Angeles store measures 8,450 square feet.

Store events and the assortment, including various curated edits throughout the year, cater to the local lifestyle and culture of each market, the company said.

Mente closed with a long-horizon view. "We're making great progress. We also realize it is a big world," he said. "We have a big audience, and it is a long journey to get to where we ultimately will be."

The takeaway in plain words: Revolve's stores are working — they lift spending and carry a richer owned-brand mix — but investors should measure the fleet in years and decades, not quarters.