Meltin' Pot Seeks Big Audience With Small Store

For the past year, Italian denim brand Meltin’ Pot has been making steady progress on introducing its five-pocket jeans to the United States. The retro-inspired brand has exhibited at the Project Global Trade Show and sells in boutiques such as Lisa Kline and H. Lorenzo in Los Angeles and Villains in San Francisco.

On March 24, the label tried a new angle to its specialty store strategy when it opened an in-store shop in West Hollywood boutique L.A.S.C.

It’s the label’s first North American “shop in a shop,” or mini boutique in a host store, said Vince Gonzales, chief operating officer for New York–based Meltin’ Pot USA. The label should open another in-store shop in the United States, probably in the Midwest, and two more in Canada later this year. It runs eight in Europe.

Gonzales was eager to test his denim at L.A.S.C. Competition for the attention of L.A.S.C.’s customers is fierce, considering its selection of more than 16 denim brands. His label also is going head to head with high-profile brand Diesel, which opened a mini-boutique at the West Hollywood store in August.

Meltin’ Pot was given 300 square feet for its honeycomb-shaped miniboutique at L.A.S.C. The display offers eight styles and four fits of the jeans, which start retailing at $150. Meltin’ Pot’s tops and non-denim such as chino bottoms are also sold at L.A.S.C.

Store buyer Alfredo Izaguirre said a buying trip to Italy last summer convinced him that his store should carry the jeans.

L.A.S.C. co-owner Don Zuidema said customer feedback has made him bullish on the brand. “The jeans are soft. People say they feel like they owned these jeans for 10 years,” Zuidema said. —Andrew Asch