A Convenience Store Chain for NYC Commuters

NEW YORK — Convenience store chain startup New Stand is preparing for a New York City expansion by reimagining the corner store for a new generation of commuters.

According to Forbes, the c-store chain plans to open 20 locations this year aboard citywide ferries that will connect Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.

Unlike other c-stores, New Stand connects to an app that offers daily deals, music and content. The app will allow ferry riders to validate their monthly passes at New Stand stores for redeemable points.

New Stand targets millennials by offering a product mix that includes better-for-you snacks, natural beauty products and items such as headphones and mini camera refills.

The company launched in 2015 with a c-store in Union Square, and later added locations in Brookfield Place and Columbus Circle. Airport locations will likely open in 2018, according to CEO Andrew Deitchman.

Although New York has plenty of corner stores and bodegas already, the company leader sees an opportunity for New Stand.

"On some level, starting a media company...not the smartest idea; starting a retail company...not the smartest idea," Deitchman told new news outlet. "But what we found is how both these two things can come together and blend from a revenue-based perspective as well as an experiential-based perspective."

New Stand's team of co-founders have backgrounds in art, fashion and design, and they are always thinking of new ways to interact with people in the stores through curation and design, Deitchman said. The chain's purpose is providing "day-improvement" to the commuter customers it serves.