What’s next for Scout Men’s Store?

The Scout Men’s Store has added a dose of contemporary men’s fashion and energy to the downtown Iowa City retail scene. Since September, they have offered high quality, “Made in America” menswear brands and hosted visiting trunk shows and even a literary reading. As the pop-up store winds down, we caught up with co-owner Catherine Champion to talk men’s fashion and what the future might entail for the store.

The Scout store generated a lot of interest and excitement around men’s clothing/fashion. Why do you think that was?

There is a lot of national interest around men’s fashion at this time and I think Scout came at the perfect moment for our local scene. We definitely have a mature and compelling women’s retail market here and men expressed they wanted the same options.

What happens next with with store and the overall Scout concept?

We will continue to expand and change our vision. Adding more categories like home goods and accessories, possibly doing an concept where we offer the same brands for both men and women. Anything and everything.

We also love the idea of being less permanent, so we can change on a whim. It’s exciting!

What did you learn about the market?

We literally went on a scouting trip before opening Scout, looking at different stores and concepts to get inspiration. Ultimately we landed on Scout.

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Also taking place in the world of downtown retail is a collaborative annual warehouse sale on the stage of the Englert Theatre, this Saturday Nov. 12 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Shoppers can enjoy drinks from the Englert Theatre bar and steep discounts from vendors. A portion of the sales will be donated to area non-profits. Read more about which retailers are participating and the non-profits they are working with here.