Detroit’s retail landscape has changed this year, with a flurry of new stores and pop-ups opening downtown in time for the NFL draft earlier this year, along with several new stores that opened around the city this summer.
Several well-known stores, though, such as Hugh and Nora in Detroit’s Midtown neighborhood, have closed despite surviving the pandemic. They, and other stores that closed recently, like Ferne in New Center, blamed a challenging environment for small businesses that are competing with online retail and face Detroit-specific issues like a lack of population density.
Heading into the holiday shopping season, about half of Michigan retailers expect sales will continue to rise through November, while more than a quarter expect sales will decline in this period, according to a recent survey by the Michigan Retailers Association, a slightly less optimistic view compared with earlier this year following a sales decline in August.
Ahead of this season, the Detroit Free Press has compiled a list of store openings in popular Detroit shopping neighborhoods.
Downtown
Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty store opened in August along Woodward Avenue. The store, located at 1442 Woodward Ave., offers lingerie, sleepwear and loungewear in sizes up to 4XL for both men and women.
Prices range from about $6 for underwear to $120 for a corset.
Savage X Fenty is open from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday through Sunday.
On the other side of Woodward Avenue is Born in Detroit, a pop-up that opened just in time for the NFL draft but recently extended its lease until December 2025. The store, located at 1275 Woodward Ave., offers Detroit-themed apparel such as T-shirts and sweatshirts, along with an expanded apparel line for women and kids, hats and glassware, among other products.
Prices range from about $30 for a T-shirt to $70 for a hoodie.
The store is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. and on Sunday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
In Parker’s Alley by the Shinola Hotel, Aroma Labs opened in April, according to a post on its Instagram, offering customers an experience where they smell 40 fragrance oils and then using test strips and the oils, customers create their own custom scents.
Products range in price from about $25 to $80.
The store, located at 1435 Farmer St., Suite 122, is open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 12 p.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday.
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Midtown
Filson is back in Detroit’s Midtown neighborhood. The outdoor apparel brand opened a store in the neighborhood in 2016. It closed in 2020 but now the Seattle-based brand is back with a 1,130-square-foot store located inside the Shinola store at 441 W Canfield St.
The store, which opened in September, offers both Filson’s men’s collections and its recently launched women’s debut collection.
Prices range from about $24 for a T-shirt to $1,000 for a leather jacket.
Filson Canfield will be open from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday.
Other new stores to check out
BFame Boutique, which offers clothing for both men and women, along with skin and hair care products, opened in August on Detroit’s west side. Detroiter Lukisha Williams was able to open the store, located at 10545 Joy Road, with the help of a $45,000 Motor City Match grant, the city of Detroit said in a news release.
The store offers “affordable, trendy fashion,” including jumpsuits, denim, dresses and purses for women and graphic tees, jeans, joggers, outerwear and sweaters for men.
Prices range from about $25 for a pair of pants to $100 for a jacket.
Call or text 313-739-0615 for store hours.
Contact Adrienne Roberts: amroberts@freepress.com