Joseph Miller and David Fishbein have opened a men’s store at Platform, the shopping and dining experience in Culver City, Calif., that the two created in 2016 via their real estate company, Runyon Group. The Optimist, as they’ve called it, officially opens its doors Friday.
“About a year ago, we got to this point where we couldn’t find a men’s wear store that we were excited about anymore,” Fishbein said. “Everything is streetwear with these crazy appliqué bomber and drop-crotch pants. Or it was the opposite end where it was super conservative. There was nothing really speaking to the L.A. guy. We were like, since no one else is doing it out there, maybe we need to be crazy and get into the retail business ourselves, even at a time when everyone is trying to leave the multilabel industry.
“Now at three-and-a-half years old, Platform has really come into its own where we’ve seen retail sales honestly go triple in the last year and a half,” he continued. “And that’s taking place at the same time while retail globally is going through this completely huge change, where brands you never thought would have issues are all of a sudden filing for bankruptcy.
“About a year ago, we got to this point where we couldn’t find a men’s wear store that we were excited about anymore,” Fishbein said. “Everything is streetwear with these crazy appliqué bomber and drop-crotch pants. Or it was the opposite end where it was super conservative. There was nothing really speaking to the L.A. guy. We were like, since no one else is doing it out there, maybe we need to be crazy and get into the retail business ourselves, even at a time when everyone is trying to leave the multilabel industry.
“Now at three-and-a-half years old, Platform has really come into its own where we’ve seen retail sales honestly go triple in the last year and a half,” he continued. “And that’s taking place at the same time while retail globally is going through this completely huge change, where brands you never thought would have issues are all of a sudden filing for bankruptcy.