Business & Tech

Boutique With A Unique Spin To Open in Wayne

Kembrel will move into the first-floor storefront space in The Suburban Building.

Kembrel, a multichannel boutique for small, independent fashion designers, is moving into the empty first-floor storefront space of The Suburban Building.

The store, which started online, features small, niche designers from Philadelphia and New York. The designers and their merchandise are rotated out every week.

The Wayne store will join two Center City stores and the online store, which also rotates designers on a weekly basis. It is expected to open in early December.

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Stephan Jacob, co-founder and CEO of Kembrel, told Radnor Patch that they found a demographic match of their typical customer — mid-thirties to forties women and men — in Wayne.

“The environment there stood out,” he said. “I think it’s a good fit for that customers base and for the retail landscape out there.”

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Jacob graduated from the University of Pennsylvania last year with a Masters in Business Administration and Masters in International Studies. The business was started while he was still at Penn. Starting the business was “hard work,” he said. “We went to trade shows literally with a piece of paper explaining what we were trying to do.”

About one year ago they opened their first physical store. The “hybrid model” allows customers to buy online or in the store, to buy online and return items to the store or to buy online and pick up at a store. After looking around for a suburban location, Kembrel settled on The Suburban Building, which was completely renovated last year.

“We love to be in these properties that have a level of charm and are somewhat rustic,” Jacob said, adding that the space will feature an exposed brick wall. “It’s a beautiful space.” As for Wayne and the Main Line, “We think we can contribute to the diversity of the fashion merchandise available.”


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