NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--This season, holiday shoppers can find the perfect gift at Macy’s (NYSE:M) from a host of female-led small businesses in the SoGifted shops at seven Macy’s locations nationwide. The SoGifted shops are made possible via a partnership with SoGal Ventures, the first female-led millennial venture capital fund investing in diverse entrepreneurs in the United States. Macy’s recently became a strategic partner with SoGal through a minority stake in the fund. The SoGifted shops feature a selection of products and gifts from women-founded brands in the SoGal community including Lovevery, toys designed by experts for your child’s developing brain, Neely & Chloe, a fashion-forward accessories range, and HidrateSpark 3, a smart water bottle that tracks your hydration, among others.
Open through January 2020, the SoGifted concept shops give Macy’s shoppers access to new brands that define what SoGal stands for: entrepreneurship, equality, and empowerment of diverse enterprises. Today, SoGal co-founders Elizabeth Galbut and Pocket Sun guide more than 65 companies, reaching a network of more than 100,000 entrepreneurs in an excess of 30 countries.
“Our mission is to build a firm that embodies the cultural values that we want to see in the world,” said Elizabeth Galbut, SoGal Ventures co-founder. “With the partnership at Macy’s we’re taking this a step further and giving in-store shoppers across the country an opportunity to discover and support female-led small business brands - so the next generation of women can be empowered to know that entrepreneurship is within their reach,” added Galbut.
This type of brand discovery spotlights Macy’s ongoing partnership with b8ta, operator of the Ark Marketplace platform that allows brands that traditionally haven’t operated stores to quickly set up new physical retail operations. The b8ta-powered experience enabled SoGal’s range of entrepreneurs to activate at Macy’s within a matter of weeks – with products ranging from Bon Temps herbal teas to unbreakable hosiery by Sheertex.
For holiday shoppers, the fresh female-first lens brings diversity to Macy’s gifting mix, further reinforcing Macy’s newly established diversity and inclusion goals, which include increasing representation and advancing the growth of under-represented suppliers. Empowered offerings like TomboyX, a size and gender inclusive line of underwear and pajamas and Blume, a range of safe and sustainable feminine care solutions, highlight Macy’s commitment to testing new brands and categories. On the more traditional gifting side, Ettitude introduces sustainable bamboo pajamas and bedding essentials, OK Jewelry showcases its affordable high-end fashion jewelry, and Quirktastic supplies geek-chic graphic tees - perfect for the comics lover in your life.
The SoGifted shops are being supported by entrepreneurial focused events including a dedicated launch party with the female founders at Macy’s flagship location at Herald Square which took place on November 20 and a “For Women, by Women” panel discussion with the founders of Blume, TomboyX and Sheertex. In addition, there will be events throughout the holiday partnership including beauty and trunk shows, as well as wellness focused event content in January to bring in the New Year.
SoGifted will be featured at the following Macy’s store locations through January 31, 2020:
- Herald Square (NYC) - on the Mezzanine
- Lenox Square (Atlanta) - on the main floor
- Fashion Show (Las Vegas) - on the main floor
- Northshore (Boston) - on the main floor
- North Star (San Antonio) - on the main floor
- Twelve Oaks (Detroit) - on the main floor
- Galleria (Ft. Lauderdale) - on the main floor
Highlights of Events
Herald Square - Tuesday, December 17 – 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Lipstick reading with Laqa & Co
Make your mark! Lipstick reading is a modern adaptation of the ancient art of Chinese face reading. Try your favorite shade of Laqa & Co lipstick and get your own personal reading to find out what your kiss says about you with lipstick reader Beth Bongar.
Herald Square – Tuesday, January 14 – 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Female Founders In Conversation
Kick off 2020 in style and join us for an in conversation event with the female founders of retail brands Blume, Quirktastic, Sheertex and TomboyX. Learn how they built their brands from the ground up and created products that enable women to look and feel their best and most authentic selves. Hear about their triumphs, struggles and lessons along the way and leave feeling inspired.
All SoGal at Macy’s Locations - Saturday, January 18 – 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Weekend Refresh Events
Come recharge and refresh at Macy’s with a meditation led by local experts and mini facials for the ultimate start to your weekend. Plus, we will be giving out sample products to help you achieve your wellness goals!
About the SoGifted Brands
Blume
Blume puts your body before business and believes in empowering women with safe, sustainable personal care products, from glow getting bundles to natural deodorants.
Bon Temps
Bon Temps teas celebrate the simplicity of every moment. Enjoy stress-free sips by avoiding plastics and bleaches, with Bon Temps biodegradable, non-toxic tea bags made of non-GMO corn. Better for you and for the planet.
Ettitude
Ettitude’s sustainable sleep essentials are made of the world’s first CleanBamboo™ - an eco-friendly, breathable and hypoallergenic fabric that feels feathery soft against your skin.
Give us a follow @ettitudestore
HidrateSpark
HidrateSpark is a smarter solution for staying hydrated - a Bluetooth enabled water bottle that tracks your daily water intake and helps you set achievable hydration goals.
Laqa & Co. (Herald Square only)
Laqa & Co. goes beyond beauty to perfect your pucker with superfood charged formulations - like its bold avocado oil infused lipsticks.
Lovevery
Designed by experts for your child's developing brain. Lovevery does all the research so you don't have to and creates beautiful, sustainably crafted toys and learning tools to support your child's development at every stage.
Neely & Chloe
Neely & Chloe have a handle on the need for high quality, well-priced accessories that are equal parts pretty, practical and perfect arm candy for your next party.
OK Jewelry
OK Jewelry celebrates individuality through fashion-forward jewelry that stands for ‘one kind,’ empowering you to make a personal style statement.
Quirktastic
Quirktastic makes it easier than ever to make friends with people who share your love of all things geek, from comic conventions and Trekkie times to anime.
Sheertex
So strong (underneath it all!) Sheertex creates unbreakable hosiery that are equal parts invincible and invisible - in other words the unseen hero of your every day.
Skin Inc.
Beauty meets technology with Skin Inc. targeted My Daily Dose serums that can be customized to your specific needs and help you easily achieve perfect dewy skin.
TomboyX
So essential for everybody! TomboyX believes everybody has an equal right to eco-friendly, comfortable underwear and makes easy, size and gender inclusive styles that are anything but basic.
Images of the SoGifted shop and products can be found here.
About Macy’s
Macy's is America’s store for life. The largest retail brand of Macy's, Inc. (NYSE:M) delivers quality fashion at affordable prices to customers at approximately 640 locations in 43 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam, as well as to customers in more than 100 international destinations through leading e-commerce site macys.com. Macy's inspires fashion exploration and discovery through the most desired family of exclusive brands for her, for him, for the home, and via our dynamic mobile and social platforms. We know the power of celebration, demonstrated through decades of memorable experiences created during Macy's 4th of July Fireworks® and Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade®, as well as spectacular fashion shows, culinary events, flower shows, and celebrity appearances. Macy's flagship stores – including New York City’s Herald Square – are internationally renowned and preeminent destinations for tourists. With the collective support of our customers and employees, Macy's builds community and helps make a difference in every market we serve, supporting local and national charities by giving nearly $50 million each year, plus 146,000 hours of volunteer service. For more than 160 years, Macy’s has, and continues to, make life shine brighter for our customers, colleagues, and communities.
For Macy’s media materials, including images and contacts, please visit our online pressroom at macysinc.com/news-media.
About SoGal Ventures
SoGal Ventures is the first female-led millennial venture capital firm. Elizabeth Galbut and Pocket Sun started this fund after experience as entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. They believe in the power of diversity, borderless business, and human-centric design. SoGal invests in early stage diverse founding teams in the U.S. and Asia, aiming to be the strongest ally for their portfolio companies. Powered by the SoGal Ecosystem across 40+ cities around the world, they are galvanizing a brand-new demographic - millennial & Gen Z women and minorities - to take center stage in entrepreneurship and creation.
About b8ta
Founded in 2015, with offices in San Francisco and New York, b8ta operates the largest experiential retail footprint in the world in which consumers discover, try and buy some of the world’s best and most innovative products in real life. b8ta also pioneered the concept of Retail-as-a-Service, making it possible for brands to access physical retail as easily as they buy digital advertising, and launched Ark Marketplace in 2019 to enable retailers and retail landlords to operate their own physical marketplaces.
Today, b8ta operates 19 branded flagship stores throughout the United States. In July 2019, b8ta announced a joint venture with Tru Kids Brands to open and operate reimagined Toys“R”Us stores in the U.S. In November 2019, b8ta launched Forum, a new fashion and lifestyle retail concept located in Los Angeles.
For more about b8ta, visit www.b8ta.com. To learn more about Ark and Ark Marketplace, visit www.ark.com. For more about Forum, visit www.forumstore.com. To find a b8ta store near you visit www.b8ta.com/locations.
