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Lingerie boutique goes from Web to bricks

BY FARNOOSH TORABI | SPECIAL TO amNEWYORK

March 27, 2006

Call it the reverse commute -- taking your business from the Internet to the corner of Second Avenue and 78th Street.

That's where you'll find Beneath, a five-month-young lingerie and lounge-wear boutique that opened following the success of its Web site, AllThingsBeneath.com.

After two years of powering the site from the kitchen of her sixth-floor walk-up, owner Karyn Riale was running out of closet space to house the Web site's growing inventory of lacy underwear and pajama pants.

In 2004, the site debuted with a line of 10 designers. Today, it carries more than 25 names, from Fleur't to Eberjey to Roberto Cavalli.

The site's profits have increased a steady 10% every month, buoyed by a growing demand for fashion-forward lingerie.

Since the shop opened last fall, its sales have outpaced Riale's projections by 25%. Riale, 31, attributes that success to word-of-mouth, a marketing tool far easier to use in a city of 8 million people than in the infinite depths of cyberspace, she said.

But opening a Manhattan boutique has not been easy.

"It's a rude awakening," Riale said. "The responsibilities of having a storefront are 10 times harder than just having a Web site."

For one, the storefront bears bigger costs. Riale spent about $5,000 to start the Web site (not including inventory); meanwhile, average retail space in Beneath's neighborhood costs more than $100 per square foot, according to the Real Estate Board of New York. Riale described her monthly rent as "disgusting."

Riale also must perform double duty. She continues to run the Web site out of her home, and also spends 10 to 12 hours a day in the store.

"I have a problem delegating," she said, laughing. To help, she closes the store on Mondays. "That's when I sleep," she said.

Farnoosh Torabi is the business producer at NY1 News. If you know a small business with an interesting story, please e-mail her at AMSmallBusiness[at]gmail.com.