New York state of mind: Why July’s latest retail store opening means so much

Fast-growing Australian luggage brand July has unlocked another milestone by adding a new retail outlet in New York to its increasingly global footprint.

And while July has had a presence in the US market since 2021, according to co-founder Athan Didaskalou, this New York moment is particularly sweet for a number of reasons.

“For any Australian brand, it’s a coming of age moment when you are at a stage to open in the US, let alone something as resource-demanding as physical retail,” he said on LinkedIn on Tuesday.

With his characteristic frankness, Didaskalou said the brand he founded with Richard Li in 2018, “shouldn’t be here”.

“The odds were against us the entire time,” he explained but said “some resilience and focus on product and team” were what propelled the brand forward.

“Two years [of] Covid, travel down, people telling us interest rate rises will kill us, competitors with 100x biggest budgets.”

Speaking of competitors, Didaskalou said most of July’s call New York home, adding a friendly wave.

The entrepreneur also pointed to what others have described as the “Koala mafia” — the supportive network of Aussie ex-pats that call New York home.

“It’s nice to come into a city and feel welcomed by friends and smiling faces,” he said.

“The support network is wild, bigger than I expected. Whatever happens happens, but we appreciate the support from everyone from day one.”

Before signing off “from Melbourne with love”, Didaskalou said the new Manhattan store represents “another day one” for the brand that topped SmartCompany‘s Smart50 Awards in 2022. July, he said, is a brand that won’t be pigeonholed as only “direct-to-consumer”, “e-commerce” or “retail”.

“We are a brand looking to cement our place as one of many iconic brands on the world stage,” he declared.