Ugg opens first new store in five years in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Ugg has opened its first new store in five years, a 3,001-square-foot space at 129 North 6th Street in the Williamsburg neighbourhood of Brooklyn. The Deckers Brands-owned footwear label is using the location to present its shoes, apparel and accessories alongside locally rooted art, customization and community experiences.

Cara Trevino, senior director of retail in North America for Ugg, described the store to Footwear News ahead of its opening as marking a "new level of intention" in how the brand uses its retail presence to connect with its communities. The company framed the approach as more localized and experiential than its past stores.

The aim, Trevino said, is to create spaces that are "rooted in the communities they serve and designed to foster culture, connection and long-term consumer relationships." Williamsburg joins Ugg's other New York locations rather than replacing them, she added, calling the neighbourhood a differentiated touch point that would not cannibalise the others.

Ugg's first North American store opened in SoHo in 2006, and a Fifth Avenue flagship joined the fleet in 2020. Beyond New York, the brand keeps permanent locations in San Francisco; East Rutherford and Paramus, both New Jersey; Atlanta; Chicago; and Bloomington, Minnesota.

It also runs pop-ups in Costa Mesa, California, and Boston, plus a shop-in-shop at Macy's Herald Square in Manhattan. "We're feeling great about those locations," Trevino said. She noted the brand is well positioned downtown in SoHo and in Midtown, and that Williamsburg adds a third, distinct marketplace.

For the new store, Ugg commissioned Brooklyn-based artist Sarah Zapata, a member of the Queer|Art network, to create a one-of-a-kind mural inspired by the borough and the brand's visual language. Trevino said the collaboration reflects a broader approach of working with local artists, creators and cultural voices.

The opening programme

Ugg is marking the Williamsburg opening with a rotating run of localized experiences through opening week and into November, built around art, customization, gifting and community programming. The celebrations began before the doors opened: a four-week takeover of the city's L Train started on Oct. 19.

The L Train wrap carries suede-inspired graphics and Tasman braid detailing across the exterior, with shearling-inspired posters inside that rework familiar subway announcements into playful Ugg messaging, including the line "Stand Clear of the Closing Doors Opening Stores." It runs through mid-November.

Trevino was careful to say the opening does not herald a wider expansion. "This opening is more about showing a deeper level of intention, and our focus on consumer connection and differentiating stores," she said. The brand is not necessarily looking to scale its physical footprint, she told the trade publication.

Instead, she said, Ugg is analysing how it shows up for consumers, whether in any future store or its existing ones, and investing more in that presence rather than simply adding doors. The message is deliberately measured after five years without a single new permanent location.

Deckers reports higher profit

The opening lands a week after parent Deckers Brands published its latest earnings. The Goleta, California, company reported net sales of $1.48 billion in the second quarter of fiscal 2027, up 3.5 percent from $1.43 billion a year earlier. Net income rose more sharply, and the shares still fell.

Net income for the three months ended Sept. 30 climbed 16.8 percent to $313.1 million, or $2.31 a diluted share, from $268.2 million, or $1.82 a diluted share, in the prior year. Sales nevertheless missed analyst expectations, which called for a range of $1.50 billion to $1.52 billion.

Earnings per share, however, beat the Street's estimate of $1.76 to $1.83, according to Yahoo Finance. By brand, Hoka led the company's top line with net sales of $677.2 million, up 6.8 percent from $634.1 million. Ugg contributed $786.4 million, up 3.5 percent from $759.6 million.

Ugg's growth was therefore slower than Hoka's over the period, even as both labels carried Deckers past $1.4 billion in quarterly sales. The parent group's shares fell after the results, with promotions pressuring the athletic footwear market and weighing on the larger business.

The Williamsburg opening is, in that context, a statement about the value of physical retail rather than a signal of an aggressive store push. Trevino framed the location as evidence of how the brand wants to meet consumers on the ground, through local art and programming, not merely through product.

Across the city, Ugg now operates three distinct retail points: the 2006 SoHo store, the 2020 Fifth Avenue flagship and the new Brooklyn space, alongside the Herald Square shop-in-shop and seasonal pop-ups elsewhere.

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Images: Courtesy of Ugg