New York City startup Fourpost launches with $5 million funding to revolutionize traditional retail model and redefine next generation of shopping

The traditional brick and mortar model is broken and needs a transformation. Fourpost is a New York City-based startup what wants to bring people and brands together through community and experiences. Fourpost democratizes the traditional department store experience for local, emerging, and digitally native brands, and leverages technology to provide brands with tools and resources to expand their business.

Today, Fourpost announced the launch of a new retail concept with a$5 million funding. Fourpost’s curated destinations of Studio Shops and eateries will open November 1 at the two largest malls in North America: Mall of America in Minnesota and West Edmonton Mall in Alberta, Canada. The company has received funding from Susa Ventures, Collaborative Ventures, Blumberg Capital, Ludlow Ventures, Supernode Ventures, T5 Capital, Accelerator Ventures, Social Capital and Hersz Capital. Individual investors include Parachute Founder and CEO Ariel Kaye, Warby Parker Co-CEO Dave Gilboa, Rubrik Founder and CEO Bipul Sinha, and InVision Founder and CEO Clark Valberg, among others.

Founded by Mark Ghermezian, Fourpost is a new retail concept that brings people and brands together through community and experiences. The company democratizes the traditional department store experience for local, emerging, and digitally native brands, and leverages technology to provide brands with tools and resources to expand their business.

Prior to Fourpost, Ghermezian was the cofounder and CEO of Braze (formerly Appboy) where he, together with his cofounders, successfully raised over $180M and grew Braze to become the market leader in lifecycle marketing. In January of this year, Ghermezian transitioned out of Braze to found Fourpost, approaching the new venture through a similar lens of industry disruption.

Fourpost is both a response to and solution for the evolving retail landscape, where consumers and brands, ranging from local businesses and startups to established digital natives, can connect and build authentic relationships under one roof. By giving brands access to prime real estate, Fourpost democratizes the traditional department store experience and injects new energy into physical retail, starting with shopping malls and eventually expanding to freestanding locations.

“Today, brands are demanding better options for brick and mortar,” says Founder and CEO Mark Ghermezian. “The industry has not kept pace with modern retail. We built Fourpost to completely re-architect the process by building a community and breathing fresh air into what has been a stale industry between landlords and brands for hundreds of years.”

Fourpost lowers the barrier to entry by providing a turnkey solution to opening a brick and mortar storefront without obstacles like long-term leases, high rents, capital expenditures and operational logistics. Instead of focusing on traditional square footage, and the associated high costs, Fourpost offers a creative alternative with its Studio Shops. Brands have the freedom to choose a new shape beyond the standard cube, including triangles and rectangles. Each Studio Shop comes with fixtures, signage, lighting, POS hardware, and Wi-Fi, as well as access to various amenities such as event space.

Through Fourpost’s easy-to-use SaaS dashboard, members have access to tools and resources like dedicated onboarding and account management, business training, calendars and event bookings, and billing. The dashboard helps members navigate storefront data, and gain useful insights and analytics to grow their businesses. Members can also connect here and engage in meaningful conversations, share information, and ask questions–an invaluable benefit to entrepreneurs.

When brands become Fourpost members, they join a broader community of like-minded creators, entrepreneurs, and small business owners, and connect to brands within their shared space as well as across various locations. This collaborative environment extends to consumers, too. Fourpost is a place for endless discovery that plays host to immersive events and workshops, thought leadership programming, and social engagement. It is also a place to find locally curated collections, unique brand collaborations, and limited edition items.

Fourpost is headquartered in New York City, and, in addition to its November 1 openings at Mall of America and West Edmonton Mall, will open several new locations in 2019 across the nation.