Lovepop opens its largest store yet

Lovepop has expanded its presence in its hometown area.

The designer of 3D pop-up cards and gifts opened a store in Harvard Square, in the Boston suburb of Cambridge. It’s the fourth location in the company's hometown market and the fifth new U.S. retail opening  since the start of 2020. 

Previously occupied by greeting card company Papyrus, which closed all of its stores in 2020, the new 1,200-sq.-ft. Lovepop  is the retailer’s largest location to date. It features the company's full range of 3D product offerings—from cards to flower bouquets and giant pop-up gifts. 

"Every aspect of this new store is intended to facilitate connection and engagement with the community," said Colin Spillane, head of retail at Lovepop, which has 10 locations and whose goods are also available at other retailers.  "From the layout of the space to the design of the product displays, we are encouraging customers to experience the magic of our pop-up art and share their reactions in real-time. We hope they'll be inspired to do something special for the people they love." 

Lovepop has used an omnichannel sales approach to maximize its reach and engagement with customers. By prioritizing physical retail in addition to e-commerce in 2020, the company said it ended the year with 44% year-over-year growth.

"While we continue to see significant success as a digitally native brand, physical retail was our fastest-growing channel pre-pandemic," said Wombi Rose, co-founder and CEO of Lovepop. "As we build towards our mission of creating one billion magical moments, retail continues to be a core channel for expansion and the most immersive brand experience for Lovepop." 

The selection of Harvard Square was not only a strategic business decision, but also a nod to the company's history. While on a Harvard Business School trip to Vietnam, naval architects Rose and John Wise discovered the paper art form of kirigami and were inspired. The duo took their engineering background and combined this ancient art with the sliceform structure used in ship design. In 2014, Lovepop was born in a basement in Harvard Square. Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary invested in the brand in December 2015.