August

Ownership

Rob Bowhan, after several years living in Europe and tenures working at Puma and Under Armour, moved home to Madison to strike out on his own. Bowhan both grew up in Madison and received his undergraduate degree there, at University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Local Sourcing

Bowhan curates the shop's offerings, balancing popular, well-known brands like Stüssy, ASICS and Nike with items from smaller designers. He designs his own clothes with two designers in New York and one in Portland, Oregon.

Community Involvement

August recently launched the AUGUST ART COLLECTIVE which now allows August to function as an art gallery that supports local artists during monthly art exhibitions. They have formally partnered with UW's First Wave scholarship program.

Local Workforce

The owner cites seeing his staff grow and evolve in the industry and giving people a shot to start their careers in fashion as the best part of owning and running August Shop. Bowhan wants to mentor the young people who work as salespeople in his shop.

Revenue Retention

Within two quarters of launching ecommerce, August Shop's eCommerce store surpassed its in-store sales, leading to a 157% increase in monthly revenue. This suggests significant online revenue likely leaves the community, though specific revenue retention data is unavailable.

Local Presence

No website available to analyze.