Topo Designs to Debut New Headquarters and Retail Store at York Street Yards

One of the most prominent outdoor retailers in Denver has announced an exciting expansion. Come spring, Topo Designs will open its new headquarters at York Street Yards.

This mixed-use complex at 3821-3893 Steele Street houses everything from workspaces, retailers and fitness centers to a massive dog park, immersive entertainment and dining concepts like Cohesion Brewing. It’s cool, and Topo Designs’ debut storefront, corporate office and creative studio will fit right in. 

Topo Designs Chief Executive Officer Matt Williams recalls that in 2008, co-founders Jedd Rose and Mark Hansen technically started the business in Fort Collins. However, “The first office and first employees were always based in Denver.”

In 2013, the brand opened its flagship retail store and first headquarters in the River North Art District. As the team grew to around a dozen employees, its office was then relocated to Ballpark. Once again, business operations shifted locations during the pandemic and, since then, have shared space with the company’s warehouse facility near I-70 and Monaco Street.

“About eighteen months ago, we started looking for the next home for Topo. That’s when we stumbled across the York Street Yards development,” says Williams. 

“The space may seem a little bit larger than what we would need, but we’re looking to grow into the facility,” he says, adding that the company is aiming to expand its staff to fifty employees, roughly a 40 percent increase, in the next three to five years.

In addition to offices, this new headquarters will feature a creative studio for in-house photography and other forms of content, such as short-form videos for social media. This studio will also serve as a collaborative space for brand ambassadors and influencers. 

Meanwhile, Topo Designs plans to welcome third-party retailers and international suppliers, as well as consumers, to its new retail store. Occupying just a thousand square feet, it will double as a sort of showroom and complement the larger existing locations in RiNo, Market Station’s Base Camp and Cherry Creek.  

Despite the convenience of a digital cart, a recent report from Capital One Shopping found that just one in three consumers prefer to purchase apparel and accessories online. After all, there’s a benefit to feeling fabrics and ensuring a proper fit before scanning your card. 

But beyond those factors, Williams comments that retail stores have granted the opportunity for Topo Designs to demonstrate its brand concept, which initially was novel to consumers. “Topo was relatively new to outdoor lifestyle fashion,” he says — and where better to trial this positioning than Colorado?

“We’re a mountain culture-based brand, so when people walk in who are from this area, it resonates,” affirms Williams. “We’ve had a lot of success along the Front Range and in brick-and-mortar because people can really come in and feel what our brand is about.”

Classic silhouettes paired with modern features make Topo Designs’ catalogue of bags and packs visually distinct, as does its signature color blocking style. The brand also crafts women’s and men’s apparel and accessories that seamlessly transition from the office to outdoor adventures to the brewery. It’s quintessential Colorado fashion at its finest. 

Over the next three years, Williams says that the brand will continue to expand within its existing product categories. Additionally, Topo Designs plans to advance brick-and-mortar distribution, both through wholesale partners like REI and new owned retail outlets along the Front Range, including Denver. 

“We love Denver,” Williams concludes. “We’ve been rooted in Denver. We want to continue to be a Denver-based brand.”