Cary Lane

What Cary Lane does

Cary Lane is a San Francisco-based specialty retailer founded in 2008 by Cary Lane LaScala that sells brand-new, unused designer apparel, accessories, and samples at 40-80% below regular retail prices. The company sources directly from brand samples, overstock, and past-season inventory globally rather than buying from the public or using consignment, which underpins its discount pricing model. Operations span a single flagship store in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood (1615 Haight St) and an e-commerce storefront at carylanesf.com; the company previously operated three Bay Area locations but consolidated to one flagship in 2024 after closing the Inner Sunset store in February 2024 and the Mission/Valencia Corridor location in August 2024. The product portfolio covers women's apparel (tops, dresses, sweaters, jackets, skirts, shorts, pants, intimates), men's apparel (shirts, sweaters, jackets, shorts, pants, swim), and accessories (handbags, jewelry, hair accessories, backpacks, travel), with hundreds of designer and independent brands carried at any given time.

The business model is direct-to-consumer via physical retail and e-commerce, supported by a unit-pricing model with periodic promotional events (Black Friday 40-50% off, sample sales 40-80% off, BOGO promotions) and digital gift certificates denominated from $25 to $1,000. Marketing is concentrated on Instagram as the top-of-funnel visual channel, an email newsletter for mid-funnel sales/event communication, and earned media coverage from CBS, SF Chronicle, Refinery 29, NY Times, and 7x7. In 2010 the founder launched Cary LaScala, a private-label men's button-up shirt line designed in San Francisco with European-inspired styling, expanded in 2023 to include overshirts, jackets, jeans, chinos, tees, sweaters, leather belts, and shoes; the private label is sold exclusively through Cary Lane. The technology stack is a standard Squarespace e-commerce implementation with no proprietary platform features, no APIs, and no disclosed data or AI capabilities.

Name

Cary Lane

Legal name

Cary Lane

Website

https://carylanesf.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cary Lane is a San Francisco-based specialty retailer founded in 2008 that sells brand-new designer apparel, accessories, and samples at 40-80% off retail through a single Haight-Ashbury flagship and e-commerce site. The company serves value-conscious fashion shoppers and also operates an exclusive private-label men's line called Cary LaScala.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Discount Designer Apparel Retail

NAICS

Clothing and Clothing Accessories Retailers (458110)

SIC

Retail-Apparel & Accessory Stores (5600), Retail-Women's Clothing Stores (5621)

akta.pro primary industry

Off-Price Luxury / Designer Resale & Discount Boutiques (CRAEABAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Overstock & Surplus General Merchandise Retail (CRAEAFAB)

Keywords

• Discount designer apparel
• Sample sale retail
• Men's private label clothing
• Outlet fashion retail
• Designer accessories outlet

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco, California

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Retail Clothing Sales: Revenue generated from selling discounted designer apparel, samples, and overstock items at physical store locations and online. Items are sold at 40-80% off regular retail prices.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Cary Lane is a San Francisco-based retailer that sells brand new, unused designer apparel, accessories, and an exclusive in-house men's clothing line (Cary LaScala) at up to 80% off regular retail prices. Inventory is sourced globally from samples, overstock, and past-season apparel directly from brands and is sold both at a single flagship store in Haight-Ashbury and through the company's own e-commerce website. The assortment covers women's and men's apparel, handbags, jewelry, hair accessories, backpacks, and travel items from hundreds of designer and independent brands.

Product overview

Cary Lane is a fashion retail business offering designer clothing and accessories at discounted outlet prices (up to 80% off regular retail). The product portfolio consists of four main categories: Women's Apparel (tops, dresses, sweaters, jackets, skirts, shorts, pants, intimates, tees, shirts), Men's Apparel (shirts, sweaters, jackets, shorts, pants, swim), Accessories (handbags, hair accessories, earrings, necklaces, backpacks, travel), and a Private Label sub-brand called Cary LaScala for men's clothing. All inventory comprises brand new, unused samples, overstock, and past-season items from designer brands worldwide. The company operates brick-and-mortar locations in San Francisco (Haight-Ashbury flagship) and an online store.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cary Lane Women's Apparel Women's clothing including tops, dresses, jumpsuits, sweaters, jackets, skirts, shorts, pants, intimates, tees, and shirts. All items are brand new, unused samples, overstock, and past-season apparel from designer brands worldwide, priced at up to 80% off regular retail.
• Cary Lane Men's Apparel Men's clothing including tees, shirts, sweaters, jackets, shorts, pants, and swim wear. All items are brand new, unused samples and overstock from designer brands, available at discounted prices.
• Cary Lane Accessories Accessories including handbags, hair accessories, earrings, necklaces, backpacks, and travel items from various designer brands at discounted outlet prices.
• Cary LaScala Private Label Private label men's clothing line designed by founder Cary Lane LaScala, crafted to European styles and standards. Initially focused on woven shirts and expanded in 2023 to include overshirts, jackets, jeans, chino pants, tees, sweaters, leather belts, and shoes. Products sold exclusively through Cary Lane stores and website.
• Cary Lane Gift Certificates Digital gift certificates available in denominations of $25, $50, $75, $100, $150, $200, $250, $500, and $1,000 for purchase online and redemption at Cary Lane.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Cary LaScala (Private Label)coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 January 2010Founder Cary Lane LaScala created his own private label men's button-up shirt line called Cary LaScala in 2010. The label features European-inspired styles with simplistic designs and fine tailoring, all designed in San Francisco. In 2023, expanded to include overshirts, jackets, jeans, chino pants, tees, sweaters, leather belts, and shoes. Products sold exclusively through Cary Lane stores and website.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves14 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Rue La La: Members-only flash-sale site offering designer apparel and accessories at discounted prices. Direct substitute for Cary Lane's sample-sale concept but operated online-only with a national member base.
• The RealReal: Online luxury consignment and resale marketplace offering authenticated designer apparel at deep discounts to value-conscious fashion shoppers. Directly comparable business model to Cary Lane's discount designer positioning, though operating at national scale online.
• Vestiaire Collective: Global luxury resale platform for pre-owned designer fashion and accessories. Comparable 'designer at discount' positioning for value-conscious fashion shoppers, though focused on secondhand rather than new samples/overstock.
• Century 21: Iconic off-price department store selling designer apparel at 40-65% off retail, with deep roots in NYC and a return to physical retail. Highly comparable discount-designer model though operating at a larger physical-store scale.
• HauteLook (Nordstrom): Flash-sale fashion retailer selling designer apparel at limited-time discounts, now owned by Nordstrom. Comparable sample-sale-style model to Cary Lane's periodic events, though online-only and at scale.

Broad incumbents

• Marshalls: Off-price department store brand from TJX offering designer and name-brand apparel at discounted prices. Similar 'designer at outlet prices' value proposition but with a broader assortment and significant physical retail footprint.
• TJ Maxx: Largest off-price retailer in the US, sourcing overstock and past-season inventory from designer brands at significant discounts. Overlap with Cary Lane's off-price designer model but spanning much broader categories including home and accessories.
• Nordstrom Rack: Off-price arm of Nordstrom selling past-season and overstock designer apparel at 30-70% off retail. Competes for the same value-conscious fashion shopper but at vastly larger scale and broader assortment.
• Saks Off 5th: Off-price division of Saks Fifth Avenue selling designer apparel, accessories, and shoes at significant discounts. Comparable value proposition (designer at outlet prices) but operates with national footprint and corporate backing.

Emerging players

• WS (formerly White Sales / Luxury Garage Sale): Boutique-style online and physical reseller of authenticated pre-owned and overstock luxury designer apparel at significant discounts. Comparable value-and-designer positioning for fashion shoppers, with overlap on targeting value-conscious urban consumers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/carylane
• Instagraminstagram.com/carylane
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cary-lane

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cary Lane