Brandy Melville launched their grand opening at Pike and Rose, marking their first location in Maryland. Many people who commute to Georgetown to shop at the nearest Brandy Melville location, were excited to hear that they would finally be able to shop somewhere they loved while still being close to home.
“I love that it’s so close to my house and that I don’t have to go so far to Georgetown to shop there anymore,” senior Hulan Ganhuyag said.
The opening of the new location sparked new job opportunities as well. Many high schoolers have been looking for either a new job or starting something for the first time, so this was exciting news for all. Having their favorite store opening so close to home motivated many to apply online, giving the hiring team an overwhelming amount of applications.
“I was excited [when I got hired],” Ganhuyag said. “I got a friend who works in Philadelphia [who helped me] get the job.”
Walking into the store, many WJ students run into their classmates working that they usually see roaming through the school halls. With a brand new store opening closer to home, this excited many people to shop in the store versus going to Georgetown.
“I didn’t really shop at Brandy before this store opened at Pike and Rose, but I was excited to have a store so close to my house and I was looking forward to seeing what the store looked like and the options they had,” junior Gabriela Carvalho Neis said.
This access motivates more people to shop somewhere they hadn’t really shopped at before. Since the opening, the new store hasn’t had a moment of silence, having a constant wave of people walking in and out of their doors.
Top customers to this store found out from different ways. Most people received the news from a shocking instagram post on their account captioned “Hey Maryland! See you at our new location tomorrow at 12pm. 11804 Grand Park Avenue, Rockville MD 20852 #brandyusa,” the day before the grand opening. But, other customers found out in a more ironic way.
“I found out [the store was opening] from my friend while I was in the line for brandy [at the] Georgetown [location],” sophomore Amit Shacham said.
A documentary regarding the stores sizing problems was recently released in 2024, giving the store a lot of backlash and lawsuits. Yet, the number of people shopping at the store won’t be dying down any time soon. Choosing a populous location, they have a constant wave of new faces coming in, along with receiving store merchandise every day. Many people are excited to see all the new clothing pieces and options they are able to try on and purchase, with only having less than a 10-minute drive.
“I think it was a good idea for them to open here, because I know that a lot of people went to Georgetown to shop at brandy and other stores,” Carvalho Neis said. “Opening close to here allows for people to go to brandy more frequently, buy more things, besides making it easier for more people to go to the store since it’s in an area that is very popular.”
