Streetwear label GCDS boosts retail growth with new stores in UK, Italy, China

By

Laura Galbiati

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Nov 29, 2019

Quirky Italian streetwear and accessories label GCDS, founded by the brothers Giuliano and Giordano Calza, is currently deploying an ambitious retail expansion strategy in various markets worldwide.

 
In Italy, GCDS picked the capital, Rome, as the venue of a 50 m2 temporary store that will be open until the end of the year, in renowned Piazza di Spagna. The store’s interior design was curated by the label's Creative Director, Giuliano Calza, adopting many of the signature elements of GDCS's style. The store will showcase the label's main collections, and a few exclusive items such as sneakers and a sweater in Rome's colours.
 
Outside Italy, GCDS has opened its first UK store at 4 Peter Street, London, in the heart of Soho, a prime location for streetwear in the British capital. Here too, the interior design was curated by Giuliano Calza. The 80 m2 store extends on two levels and features a series of exclusive items, from a sweater to a lighter, a mug and an umbrella with a Union Jack design.

Finally, GCDS headed to China, where it opened a 219 m2 store inside MixC, Shenzhen’s largest shopping mall, and a 120 m2 retail space within Hong Kong’s K11 Musea, a new shopping destination that is also an art and culture venue.

GCDS (the acronym of God Can't Destroy Streetwear) is a men's and women's label founded online in 2015, and is based in Milan. It is currently distributed via over 400 retailers worldwide. The label premièred on the Milan Fashion Week catwalks in 2017 and, also through the support of bloggers like Chiara Ferragni, it quickly built a loyal community of aficionados.
 
In recent years, GCDS posted triple-digit growth from one season to the next, and in 2019 it expects to top the €20 million revenue mark. Italy accounts for 30% of its sales, the remainder being generated abroad, especially in South Korea, China and Japan.