Why cult London store Goodhood is on the move

“We had to shut all that down overnight,” says Sindle. “And from that point we’ve been getting ourselves back to that place. If we were like some of our competitors — who were backed a couple of years before that all happened — we’d be in a different position.”

Goodhood has since regained some ground. The retailer secured a US-based investor this year (the founders declined to share the name) and it has slowly paid off debts accrued while the store was closed during lockdown. The retailer will also use the new store to launch brand-incubator Goo that seeks to formalise the brand activations and mentorships Stewart and Sindle have long provided to their brand partners.

There are still headwinds: Goodhood faces ongoing competition from bigger retailers like End and Mr Porter. “We used to be in a position where we had a lot more differentiation in terms of what we sold, but we quickly realised that the industry was very much looking to us as a barometer,” says Sindle. “We’d start to sell a brand and test it out. Our competitors would see how it was going. And if we bought it again, then they’d jump on it and buy it as well.”

The new Goodhood will stock local East London brands like Broadway Market bookshop Artwords and vintage dealer Unified Goods, while the music will be curated by Hackney record store Stranger Than Paradise. In 2022, Goodhood launched its own fashion line, Goods by Goodhood, designed by the founders in collaboration with Brain Dead co-founder Ed Davis; this will feature more heavily in the Hanbury Street store, helping to set it apart from other destinations.

The retailer is also looking to stay competitive on price. “We’re up against companies that are pumped full of investment, with huge growth strategies that then have overbought stock,” says Sindle. “That’s been going on now for about a year and a half. And that creates an issue for us because we don’t have more stock than we need. So we don’t have to slash prices, but in order to be competitive, we have to match their prices.”

British streetwear star Aries is one of the many brands Goodhood has supported since the early days. “Kyle and Jo have created a community in Goodhood — one where the taste and interests of that community is reflected in a constantly evolving curation of brands for the like-minded,” says Aries CEO Nicki Bidder. “Their sustained support and celebration of independent brands has been key to setting them apart from the homogeneity of the big online retailers.”

Commitment to bricks and mortar

Goodhood launched online in 2008, and e-commerce now represents 50 per cent of revenue. “We’ve found the online store has global reach, because we have pockets of like-minded customers around the world,” says Sindle, notably in US coastal cities.