Billionaire VC Chris Burch: To Compete With Digital, Stores Must Entertain

These days, "retail startup" is generally synonymous with "new ecommerce site." Given the relative low costs of building an online shopping destination, combined with projections for online shopping growth across the globe, the notion of launching a retail brand through bricks-and-mortar seems a little misguided — if not downright foolish.

Unless you're J. Christopher Burch. The billionaire venture capitalist, best known for co-founding fashion label Tory Burch with his ex-wife, is building his portfolio of brands through an aggressive — and innovative — physical retail strategy. Among them: C. Wonder, which opened a 5,000-square-foot flagship in SoHo in late 2011 and now has 19 additional locations across the U.S.