Exclusive: Beyond Yoga is planting roots on the East Coast with a new Connecticut store

Beyond Yoga’s new store will allow the brand to better serve one of its fastest-growing markets, CEO Nancy Green told Modern Retail in an exclusive interview. In fact, while Beyond Yoga’s roots are in California, the Tri-State area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut is “No. 1” in online sales, Green said. After opening its Greenwich, Connecticut store, Beyond Yoga plans to open stores in Westport, Connecticut and Boston, Massachusetts later this year.

More broadly, though, Beyond Yoga is using the Greenwich store to kick off a new, larger model for its stores, one that “can be the best expression of the brand,” Green said. Beyond Yoga’s other stores are approximately 1,300 square feet each, so the company hasn’t been able to carry all of its online SKUs in stores. “We were limiting our potential with that existing format,” Green said. Now, Beyond Yoga is focusing on building bigger storefronts to showcase its full range.

“What you’ll see is an expansion of categories and fabrics, and that’s important, because our customer wants more things from this brand,” Green noted. “There are more end-use occasions [and] there are different needs in an active lifestyle that she’s looking for that we haven’t been able to offer [in stores] until now.”

Beyond Yoga is a female-founded company that launched in 2005. Known for its inclusive sizing and Spacedye fabric, it initially sold products via wholesale channels like fitness studios, as well as online. In 2021, Beyond Yoga was acquired by Levi Strauss & Co. for $400 million. Beyond Yoga opened its first standalone store in 2022 in Los Angeles, and it’s now in department stores including Bloomingdale’s and Saks Fifth Avenue. Earlier this year, Beyond Yoga reported a 10% rise in year-over-year revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2025.

Beyond Yoga joins other yoga and athleisure brands like Vuori and Alo Yoga in opening stores in search of more growth, and to reach customers in person. “Stores act as billboards that help raise awareness and connect with consumers,” said Stephanie Cegielski, vp of research and public relations at the International Council of Shopping Centers.

A 2023 ICSC study found that opening a brick-and-mortar store increases a brand’s online sales in the surrounding trade area by an average of 6.9%, she told Modern Retail. This number is higher, at 13.9%, for “emerging retailers.”

Still, when it comes to opening a store in new markets, there are challenges, Cegielski noted — including “find[ing] ways to reach customers who may be less familiar with the brand.”

Beyond Yoga does have some experience with physical retail on the East Coast. Last year, it held a pop-up in New York City and saw 52% new customer acquisition from the event as a result. Online, it does well with certain East Coast zip codes, and it’s sold in stores like Nordstrom’s flagship in New York City.

When it comes to bringing a West Coast ethos to the East Coast, Beyond Yoga isn’t overhauling its approach. “We are born and raised in California, and a lot of our photography represents that lifestyle, the outdoors, big open spaces,” Green said. But, she said, “We’re not a California surf brand. It’s more [about] the optimism and the casual side [of the culture]. … We’re just amplifying what the brand is about.”

Beyond Yoga is, however, taking a more localized focus in how it promotes its new Connecticut store, CMO Katie Babineau said. “It’s really important to go into these markets early to learn and build as we ramp up for an opening,” she said. Eight weeks ago, Beyond Yoga brought on local Connecticut influencers to start seeding the product. “There’s also a lot of organic excitement and customers in the space [who we are] welcoming early,” Babineau noted. In fact, the day before launch, Beyond Yoga held a VIP shopping event for local customers and members of the media.

The events don’t stop there; on June 6, Beyond Yoga’s Greenwich store will host a series of workout classes with local instructors and partners such as SotoMethod, CorePlay, Greenwich Barre Studios and Girls Who Walk Stamford. The brand also pledges to donate 10% of its proceeds from opening weekend to a Tri-State area charity, Soul Ryeders. As a tie-in to New England, customers who spend at least $500 during opening weekend can receive a free L.L. Bean tote.

Outside of the East Coast, this year, Beyond Yoga has plans to open a second store in Illinois (in Old Orchard) and another in California (in Corte Madera). It’s also eyeing New York City, where there is an abundance of run clubs and pilates studios. “We have not found the space yet, but we’re looking,” Green said.