Canadian luggage brand Monos has opened its first physical store in the US, with four more to follow by the end of this year.

The company has two stores in Canada – in Vancouver and Toronto – and its first US store opened in Boston last week.

The brand expects to open another store in Los Angeles later this month, with openings in Chicago and New York planned in October and one in Washington, DC slated to open in December.

The Chicago store will be a new concept for Monos called Postcard and will mark the brand’s entrance into in-store food and beverage services.

As Monos expands, it plans to focus on ‘substance and storytelling’, particularly through its Postcard concept in Chicago, which will feature a menu of snacks and drinks sourced from local partners along with a rotating lineup of DJs each week.

“We see Postcard becoming a third space and a more thoughtful alternative to bars and restaurants,” said co-founder Hubert Chan to Modern Retail.

“And we see this as somewhere that we can do music programming and events that bring the community together.”

In the US, the brand plans to utilize its distribution centres more, one of which is located on the East Coast and another on the West Coast.

“They were used less, mostly for some returns management and some wholesale,” said co-founder Victor Tam.

Monos has been experimenting with mixing materials through its newer Hybrid collection, which blends aluminium and polycarbonate luggage, with some recent models featuring two TSA-approved combination locks instead of one.

The brand will continue to open more stores in Canada and is launching its e-commerce channel in Germany, its first non-English-speaking market.